The Visitors

Ben smiled as he fell towards the planets surface. He had been the last one to launch, and he could see his squad mates hurdling through the sky below him, like meteorites.

"Alright squad, here's the deal. There's an indig settlement to the south, at the head of a valley which goes east to west. Our LZ is in a forest to the North of this town, and east of the northern edge of the valley. There's a clearing with some obstacles in it. Orbital scans indicate that there are under ground caves. Those should be hidden well enough from orbit so that detection should be impossable. If we confirm this we are to call in the rest of the battalion, and then holdout until they arrive. If we haven't done this in twenty four hours, the battalion will land anyway. If that happens, we will be susceptible to orbital assault, because they'll just set down everything in the clearing, and we won't be able to get the heavy stuff under cover before the next batch of pirates arrive. Clear?"

"Yes sir." Came the replies.

"Good. This should be the last cloud layer. Impact in ten."

As they broke through the cloud layer, Jackson couldn't help but gasp. The planet was beautiful. There was a green forest, there were rolling grasslands, there was even a-

"Is that a castle built into a cliff? How did they even do that? The load bearing pillars are to small and-"

"Sense when have you been an architect O'Neal?"

He heard O'Neal growl over the comm. "I'm not an architect, I just have an eye for detail. Idiot. I am a sniper, after all."

Jackson stopped ribbing him as he hit the ground. They had decided to goin for a hard landing. That is, no braking. A soft landing would have used the jetpacks on their suits to keep them from hitting hard enough to give the suit pause.

As the squad recovered the looked around. Jackson's jaw, unseen beneath his helmet, dropped.

"This is a castle! Or, it was at one point! It looks like the ones on earth! That's awesome! But it looks like-"

"Jackson, can it. Anyone have any useful information?"

"Actually, Sarge, that could mean that the entrance to those catacombs is in the ruins.

"Alright squad, lets move! Barb, use the sensors to see if there are any entrances to the caverns under us. Everyone else, form a perimeter. Move!"

The squad rapidly took up positions around the ruins. There was a ravine on one side with a rope bridge, and a hall and tower which were mostly intact. O'Neal took up an overwatch position in the tower, and the rest of the squad went to the corners of the main hall.

"Sir, sensors are reading a massive cavern, and there's an entrance big enough for a drop ship carrying an outpost to enter in that canyon over there."

"Good. Jackson, contact the Prince and the Major Heinreich  and tell them we found a location for a base which is unnoticeable from orbit. Barb, plant a beacon for the battalion. Then we're gonna go and insure that these caverns are clear. O'Neal, stay here and direct the reinforcements."

"Yes sir."  "Yes sir."  "On it, sir."

They rushed to do what they were ordered to, and Sarge looked at the tower. The sensors said that there was a stairwell leading into the cavern there. That's how they would go in.

"Alright squad," he yelled as they accomplished their tasks, "we have one hour before the Battalion arrives in force. Lets go clear the caves before they get here."

"Yes sir!" Came the replies form the three who would accompany him into the caves.

"Jackson, you brought a flame thrower?"

"Uh, yes sir?"

"Good, take point."

"Dammit." Said Jackson, drawing snickers from his squad mates. They moved into the tower and proceeded down a flight of stairs. The stairs continued downward for about 100 meters before stoping at a dark opening. Jackson activate his night vision mode and gasped.

The cavern was huge, was open to the ravine on one side, and it had a massive skeleton in it. The skeleton looked like it was once a great, winged beast, with four limbs. It looked like it had been dead for decades, if not centuries, but the idea that such a large creature could exist was worrying.

"Is that a dragon? Cause it looks like a dragon." Asked Raven. "Cause if it is, that could be very bad, right?"

"Very bad. But we have a job to do." Sarge responded.

They moved deeper into the cave. There were signs of habitation, but none of them were recent. The large cave had three tunnels leading away from it. One led to a series of smaller caves coming of to the tunnel. One led down, and ended in what looked like a mine, and one led to yet another large cave. This one, however, only had one other tunnel. This one led to a cave on the surface. It had a narrow opening, but it was large enough to fit a tank through. The inside was large enough to fir several vehicles.

Several hours later...............

The setup had gone smoothly. The cave which opened to the ravin (hanger) now held four drop ships, the others having left for the transports, which were now making the jump to the rendezvous point. The smaller caves were being converted into barrack, the large central cave had been filled with the mobile base elements which were carried in by the drop ships. There was an outpost module serving as a command post, a resource processing center with several mining drones, which even now were at work with several troopers getting the old mine operational. There were also three materializers.  They could produce anything, given enough materials or energy. They would ,singly be used to produce a nutritious paste until the base was operational, but even then they would have difficulty producing anything larger then a turret or a suit of heavy armor. The newly installed fusion reactor was at half capacity, but would be operational within a week. And the surface cave (garage) had been filled with four tanks, four suits of heavy armor, four bikes, and eight transports. The door had a squad stationed on it at all times so that anything local couldn't just wonder in. Four more suits were in the hanger and the large hall on the surface. The tower was maned by a sensor station and a squad, and there were two more squads patrolling the surrounding area for threats. All in all, the base would be self sustaining in less then two weeks. Until then, the Third had to be on their guard.

In the woods near the citadel, as the great hall was coming to be called, there was a burst of fire, causing all the troopers who heard it to brace for an attack. Then there was a radio report.

"Hostile down. All units, be advised, there are hostile...um.....creatures, in the woods."

Jackson looked at the corpse of the creature he had just killed. It only took one burst from his rifle to kill it, but what the hell had the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the wings of a bat?

"Any ideas as to what that was?" He asked Raven.

"No fucking clue." She responded, rubbing the spot where the tail had hit her. It had gone right through her shield, but her armor had stopped it. It would still bruise, though.

Suddenly they heard a buzzing from ahead of them.

"That sounds like a-" they both said at the same time, stoping as the black, insect like thing burst through the underbrush. It stopped, took one look at them, and turned around and flew off.

"Changeling!" They both yelled, running after the little winged and horned insect like creature.

"So you were on New Belfast too?" Shouted Raven as they ran through the woods.

"Let's not talk about it right now. We have a bug to burn!" Shouted Jackson. The anger burned through him as he remembered the hated insect like enemy.

Suddenly they heard a pain shriek from up ahead. They ran into a clearing to see the changeling pined to a tree by a knife through its leg. It was pinned in such a way so that its rear legs could reach the ground. It had stopped screaming and was staring with an open mouth at the three armored figures already standing in the clearing.

"Thanks for leading him into the trap." Says Sarge, as he walks up to the changeling. "Now, lets find out why our little friend is here."

He turned to the changeling.

"Didn't we kill all you bastards when we Nuked New Belfast? No, don't answer that, it was rhetorical. Why are you here?" He asked.

When the changeling didn't respond, he grabbed the knife and twisted. It hissed in pain.

"Tell me what I want to know and I'll let you die quickly. Or don't, and I give you to Jackson here. He has a real soft spot for your kind."

The rest of the squad, except for Sarge, looked at Jackson. It was obvious, even with his armor, that he was barely keeping himself from ripping the thing to shreds with his power armored hands.

The changeling swallowed.

"Do your worst, scum." It hissed.

"Jackson, that's your cue." Said Sarge, stepping back. Turning to the creature, he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

He walked away as Jackson drew his first knife. He then lit up his flame thrower. Using the flame thrower, he superheated the knife. He then proceeded to cut of the changelings horn.

The screaming was heard by the patrols around the citadel, which was two and a half kilometers away.

"There, it's coming to. The drugs must be working."

The changeling awoke in a small stone room in a panic. It recognized the two beings who had caused it pain before, as well as a new being. This one seemed to radiate an aura of command. The changeling tried to detect his emotions, but it could not.

"I bet your wondering why you can't drain us dry, huh?" Asked the one who had been addressed as Jackson. "Trying to turn us into uncaring, unfeeling husks, huh? So we can-"

"Jackson, shut it. We have what we need from it, so end it quickly." Said the unknown figure.

"Yes your highness." Replied Jackson, as the two others turned and left. "Quickly, huh? Alright, how about some fire?!?" He yelled, as he turned toward the changeling, his flamethrower already warming up.

The changeling screamed in pain and terror as the flames engulfed him and he was cooked within his exoskeleton.

Five minutes later....

Ben walked into the briefing room and looked around. He had just restocked his supplies, and he was ready to go. The rest of the squad gave him the odd glance, but aside from that, everything was fine.

"Bout time, Jackson." Observed Sarge from the front of the room. "Now we can start. The information which was, um, obtained, by Jackson, has alerted us to the fact that the local royalty has been infiltrated. The changelings have replaced one of their leaders with one of there own, and this represents a threat to the stability of the region."

He paused dramatically, causing the squad to roll their eyes. "We have discovered a wedding is to be held in one weeks time. In the interest of our continued security, first recon is to drop into the palace of the local leaders, infiltrate the wedding of the replaced leader, and terminate the changeling which is disguised there. Our orders are clear. No unnecessary local casualties. We're gong in with sleeper rounds. The only live ammo we have will be used on the target. Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Now restock and rearm, we'll use a drop ship to enter the castle grounds. Intel indicates that there is a force field, but our shields will allow us to get through it. Stay alert, and stay alive. Oohrah?"

"Oohrah!"

And with that, they exited, determined to get some R&R before getting into the thick of the fighting again.

One week later........

The four drop ships were all loaded with drop troops. The ships could only fit ten troopers each in addition to, so there were three normal squads of ten, and two recon squads. First recon would go in first, and the others would wait at a high altitude so as not to alert anyone of there presence. Their shields would hide their presence by blocking sound and any detection by means other then natural. In the event that the changelings ended up getting into the city, the reinforcements would deploy across the city, each with a suit of heavy armor. They would then proceed to kill any changelings that they came across.

"We're over the drop zone, first recon. Prepare for Low Altitude Drop." Came the pilots voice.

First recon would drop form just above the first cloud layer. Sense it was early morning, and the sun hadn't risen yet, they would find an isolated room and hide. The changeling had given them information regarding the locals, but the squad was still skeptical. Sentient ponies, unicorns, and pegasi? That was a bit much for the squad to except. But they weren't taking any chances. They would use nonlethal methods to take out anything not confirmed as a changeling. They could confirm the species of the creatures encountered by a special visor mode. It detected the energies used by the changelings when they were transformed. This would allow them to locate the imposter, who was disguised as the bride.

First recon launched face first through the cloud cover and into the city. They raced towards the ground, the force field below them humming with energy as they passed through, and braked above the main hall of the castle.

They took a moment to get their bearings after landing on the roof of the hall, and located a suitable site for a hiding spot.

"Alright squad, follow me!" Shouted Sarge as he jumped to the ground and ran towards a storm drain in the wall of the garden he was in. The rest of the squad rushed after him they ran through the garden, scaring several smaller creatures, until they reached the drain.

"Raven, get us an opening." Ordered Sarge. Raven quickly complied, managing to open the grate covering the drain by cutting the bar holing it to the wall.

"Alright, everybody in." Whispered Sarge. The squad moved into the drain hastily, and closed it just as a pair of unicorns in golden armor walked around the corner.

"Holy shit, the changeling was telling the truth!?" Exclaimed Jackson. "Why the hell would it do that? And why they hell were those unicorns.......man that sounds crazy, even coming from me.......wearing armor?"

"Maybe their guards? This is a palace, after all. They could be the local equivalent of us, right?" Said Barb.

"Right." Agreed O'Neal. "We would be trying to protect the wedding from all sorts of crazies and paparazzi if one of the royal were getting married, right? Remember the last wedding. They arrested like, twenty people for sneaking onto the palace grounds before it even started."

The squad turned and moved into the sewers.

"Thank god for air filtration." Said Barb after a few minutes of walking through the sewers the storm drain connected to.

The shields burned anything that got close, so their armor remained scent free, but the smell could, and did, penetrate the shield.

"How much Longer, Barb?" Asked Raven. Barbra had been using her sensors to track where the squad was, and they were getting close to where the hallway outside of the great hall was supposed to be.

"Twenty meters ahead, and we're at the door. Perhaps here would be a good place, Sarge?"

"Alright, according to the time we have, the wedding is in fifteen minutes. Give another five so that the 'bride' is in position, and then we breach and enter the hall. Then we kill the thing. That should earn us the locals trust. Jackson, plant the charges. The timer is set, and the rest of you, get to minimum safe distance."

"Yes sir."

The charges were set without a hitch, and the squad spent the twenty minutes preparing their equipment and themselves for the coming battle.

"Jackson, do it." Came Sarges voice as the twenty minutes expired.

Jackson hit the detonator.

Celestia stopped talking and looked at the door. "What was that noise?" She asked.

"Go! Move, move!" Shouted Sarge as the charges detonated.

The squad activated their jump jets and rose thought the hole in the floor. They landed and moved towards the large double doors which were flanked by a pair of, now unconscious, guards. O'Neal took a second to realize that these two didn't have any extra extremities, they were just normal ponies.

Jackson reached the door first and kicked it. The boot of power armor is very powerful. It has to be, to allow the suits wearer to jump anything, let alone to the top of a one story building. So where the boot itself impacted the door fractured. The result was a small mist of dust from the remains of the impacted area clouding the now open doorway as the squad ran through. The effect was lost to all involved once they got into the room.

In the room was a crowd of ponies, all three primary races being represented. In front of them were three unicorns, two pegasi, and two normal ponies. There were also two beings resembling a large changeling, one seeming to have an ethereal mane. She was white, with a rainbow mane which wove through the air, despite the lack of a breeze, and had a sun on her rear flank. Her horn was glowing a golden color. The other was pink with a multicolored mane, and a crystal heart on her flank. She was dressed in a bridal gown, and the readings from the visor were indicating that she was the changeling. But that wasn't the oddest thing.

The oddest thing was the man in the light power armor of an Imperial pilot. The patch on his shoulder resembled a cobra about to strike, and he was floating three feet above the ground, a pistol in his grip, enveloped in the same color of gold as the aura around the big changelings horn was. As the troopers took up positions in the room, he looked per his shoulder. O'Neal heard Jackson gasp.

"Holy, shit. Mike?"

"Hello Ben. It's been a long time sense New Belfast."