Tartarus Divers

Hell practically jumped out of the restraints as soon as Pelican One landed in the bay. The sounds of mechanical supports locking the craft in place mixed with hoofsteps on the metal grating as she walked right up to the ramp and waited as it lowered.

She knew basic safety regulations required the go ahead from the ground team before exiting, but she was so desperate to leave the awkwardness inside the craft behind that she took step as soon as the ramp was flat enough to walk across. She bounced a little as the ramp hit the ground with her on it, her wings flared out slightly, like a bird cooling itself down. Then she was off. One hoof went to her bandolier and retrieved her sample container, remembering the instruction she'd received last time.

A stallion approached, having looked up from his hoof mounted screen. He noticed Hell standing at the end of the ramp with a sample container. He had a buzzed mane, hidden beneath the grey green cap of the ground crew, and an equally drab green fur covered by the same coloured safety suit. "Right here." He said, waving and catching Hell's eye.

She took two long steps forwards, and gave him the container, then went to turn away.

"Hey, I've seen you twice before right? You the mare that came back the first time?"

Even though she was already half a step into leaving, Hell resisted the temptation to just ignore him and walk away. She put her hoof down and made eye contact. "Yeah. That's me."

He gave her a surprisingly warm smile, "Well good work out there. Two's a pretty good number. Just make sure you come back again, okay?"

"Hah! That's what I told 'er Boss!" Horizon laughed as he exited the ship just then, trailing a duffle over his shoulder.

Hell ignored the strange joke, "Thanks, I will." Then she turned to leave. The action of spinning around so fast banged the open mouth flamethrower against her inside hoof, making her wince. Not nearly as bad as when Horizon kept talking.

"Hey, where you goin'?" She heard him call. She looked over her shoulder, aware that she didn't have a helmet on to hide her expression. "Don't you wanna join us for some after action drinks?"

Of course not. Hell smiled through the rising anxiety, "Uh-no thanks. I've..." She idly pointed towards the bridge. "Gotta... get back out there. You know." Then she began walking away again. Yup, it was definitely a 'walk', or so she told herself through the feeling of getting stared at from behind.

Luckily for her, the platform up to the bridge was close enough. She only had to dip between a few ponies who gracefully didn't try to strike up a conversation with her before she reached the platform. Once it started to rise, she took a deep breath, relaxing her nerves just before the sparklers started and nearly made her jump out of her fur.

The end result was the platform reaching the top as she posed like a cat about to pounce, her wings outstretched and her teeth bared as she stared down the sparklers.

"Wow!" Spanner. The lead engineer, clapped from a few hooves away, the mare was probably a few years younger than Diver, barely a mare herself, hence why she was so easily impressed by the false theatrics of Hell looking like she was about to eat the sparkler.

Hell, knocked out of her strange heart-pounding focus glanced up at Spanner and shook her head. She had a spare helmet on her back. Perfect Hell thought, and she trotted forwards to meet the mare.

"You look super fearsome. A real Tartarus Diver. How was your last mission?" Star Spanner said, shaking her high ponytail away from her vision.

"It was alright." Hell was far more focused on getting back even though everypony seemed determined to slow her down. "Is that helmet for me?"

Spanner nodded like she was about to get a cookie. Why is she acting so... young? She didn't act like that before... "Though, I'm just now seeing the rest of your equipment. We'll have to get you refitted before you can go out again." She leaned her head forwards, and down, getting a little too close to the barrel of the flamethrower and Hell's chest to be comfortable. "Who's this beauty?" She said, smiling all the while.

"Uhhh" Hell said, slowly taking a step back.

Spanner looked up at her, and adjusted her goggles with her ears. "Mind if I...?"

"Oh, sure. Here." Hell rolled her back leg, setting the rail to the 'loose' function, and Spanner reached forwards without any more prompting and pulled the flamethrower off of the long rail.

She sat back, and held the weapon upright in her front hooves, giving it a once over. "Oooo... This is a..." She glanced to one side, and suddenly the ammo cartridge fell out into her waiting hoof. "FLAM-203 SeaF original." She put the cartridge back in, and two or three components slid, followed by more Hell didn't even realize could move. "Where'd you find this?"

Hell internally stammered, not prepared for the sudden question or attention. "The ground." Came out, before she had the chance to come up with anything else to say.

Spanner didn't seem to care. "Well that'll explain all the dust and material damage." She scooted across the floor, once again getting in Hell's face. "See this abrasion damage right here?" She said, pointing at some scuffed piece of metal.

Only basic training kept her locked ridged in her current stance.

"Well that means th-"

"Star Spanner, you're not accosting our Tartarus Diver, are you?"

Oh thank Equestria. Hell knew how to do this. She saluted.

"Oh! No ma'am!" Spanner saluted as well, though her response was a bit askance, due to her proximity to Hell, and the support weapon cradled in her other hoof.

Hell met the eyes of the standing officer, who returned her salute. The both held it for a moment before returning to parade rest, you know, aside from the proximity to Spanner.

The maroon mare spoke, "Good work down there Tartarus Diver. I see you lost your helmet?" She said, distinctly not asking Hell, instead, turning her head towards Spanner.

"Oh!" Spanner turned, and lifted the helmet from her back. Wait... how was it still on her back while she was sitting upright? She hefted the thing around and lifted it up towards Hell. She grabbed it with her mouth first, then repositioned the guard over the bottom before grabbing it in her hooves and rolling it onto her head.

The helmet was comfortable, new. It had that new helmet smell that only served to remind her of blood on her fur and poison in the air. At least it was safe, and now she didn't have to measure her expressions. "Thank you." Came her voice, slightly distorted by the helmet's fabric cover for her mouth.

She glanced towards the standing officer and nodded a tiny nod, then made her way towards the bridge after taking the flamethrower from Spanner, much to her disappointment.

"Hey wait, we still have to fix up the rest of your armor." Spanner said.

Hell looked over her shoulder, though the helmet may have changed the tone of what she said. "It's only superficial damage. I do not want to waste any resources."

That was when the maroon officer interrupted her walking away, stepping forwards with an eyebrow raised. "You know you get a time to rest, after completing a mission, correct?"

Hell did not know that, but she did now, and she wasn't about to admit it. "Yes ma'am." She said, but... kept walking, unable to come up with anything else to say. She missed Spanner's deep frown, and sad look, and the standing officer pursing her lips like she'd just consumed a particularly philosophical thought inducing lemon.

Passing into the bridge, Hell sent a salute to the Democracy Officer, who saluted right back. It was only when she approached the planetary map and the screens did he speak.

"Diver, it's good to see somepony so eager to swiftly bring down the hammer of Democracy onto our enemies." His voice was as deep and gravelly as it usually was. Though, despite the ever present neutral frown on his face, he sounded pleased.

She nodded, fiddling with the controls, "Anything for Equestria." She said with conviction, as much as she could fit into the three words. With a hoofstroke, the screen displayed the planet in question. Keeping in mind the several gaps in her armor, she backed out from the display, and selected a nearby planet.

Several beep-boops later, she had her mission.

Medium Impact Operation
Mission, forty minutes
Eliminate Chargers

SEAF in this region have reported sightings of Chargers exhibiting dangerous new mutations

These specimens must be eliminated before their mutant strain spreads

She caught a respectful nod out of the corner of her eye from the Democracy Officer as she turned for the pods. She wasted no time, getting up on her hind hooves and backing into the pod, and being submerged in screen lit darkness.

She picked a location, and took a deep breath. A shudder she didn't expect ran up her hoof when she pressed the launch button. The clamps were far more uncomfortable with a weapon attached to the long rail, but she was unconscious after a few seconds, so it didn't matter too much.