Thursday
2345

"Contact!" Pumpkin's calm yell split the night. "Contact!"

I rolled off of Firefly and came up, scanning the street ahead of us. "Mineral! Get Crescent!" The shot had come from ahead of us, and I'd pushed Firefly out of the way. Crescent had been walking right behind Firefly....

The glance I spared Crescent showed she was down and not moving. Her Pipbuck sat on the ground beside her.

"Shooter, quarter right, third floor window by the glowing light pole!" Pumpkin's voice came through the comms, loud but not deafening. I'd lost track of her as soon as the fighting started.

Glad we still have Pumpkin's eyes with us....

I turned my eyes up the street and noted the building with the light pole. "Eyes on, copy!" I looked to my left, and I realized we were being rushed, hostiles yelling battle cries.

There's the assault element. These guys know what they're doing.

"Negative! Negative! Contact low left, street, incoming!" I took a step towards them, opening up with the beltgun.

"Hostiles beside us, building half right!" Ivory yelled from my rear, and a burst of subgun fire rang out.

Pumpkin opened fire from an adjacent roof, and by the flashes of pink, I saw way too many moving bodies. "We're surrounded! Time to leave, boss!"

I looked to Firefly; she'd crawled to her hooves and was readying her shotgun. "Copy! Dash, ambush left! Everyone on Dash! Go, go!"

Ivory backed into me and shrieked.

Damn it!

"Moving, moving!" I charged down the street, passing between a dress shop and a liquor store, firing the beltgun as I went.

Flashes from Pumpkin's beam rifle lit up the street. Ivory and Cast were a pace behind me, firing their weapons, and Mineral two, Crescent over her back. Mineral was not firing her weapon.

The heavy bark of a machine gun cut through the night, kicking up stone and dust ahead of me. I hopped backwards, and it shifted up, beyond me, clear of us. "Shit! We don't wanna be here anymore, boss!"

"Copy! Dash, building left, go! Light pulse in five! Everyone else, on Dash!" A sharp crack rang out behind me, and the machine gun went silent.

Nice shot!

"Copy, moving left!"

"Eyes, eyes!" I averted my eyes as Firefly fired a light orb down the street.

Screams of confusion told me her plan worked, and I spun to the left, bucking a waster through the door and leading the way through it. Cast screamed, but I was too busy clearing the room to look. "Clear, clear!"

Mineral, Ivory and Cast followed me in. I waited to see Firefly with us, bringing up the rear with Cyclone, before leading the way out of the building.

I met Pumpkin on the other side of the building, and Firefly wasted no time giving orders as she levitated her shield behind us. I spared the rest of the team a quick glance. Mineral was examining Crescent - she wasn't moving.

Damn it.

Ivory and Cast were watching the rear with Cyclone, weapons out. Ivory had been hit, her right hind leg, and was keeping her weight off it. The wound on Firefly's cheek had split open, and she'd picked up a bolt-action rifle from somewhere.

"Report!" Firefly looked to me, racking the bolt and slinging her shotgun tight across her flank, under her right saddlebag.

"Crescent is down. Ivory's hit." I glanced down. "Down to fifty rounds for the beltgun, boss."

"Understood." Firefly sighed. "Fighting retreat. Blitz, point, that way." She pointed a hoof in the direction we hadn't come from, to the south. "Find us somewhere to lose them."

"Aye." Pumpkin looked around. "Objective's that way, Captain." She pointed back the way we'd come.

"Forget it!" Cyclone shook his head. "Survive first, mission second."

"Yeah." Firefly looked to the rest. "Lethal force authorized."

Obviously.

Cyclone nodded grimly.

"Captain, those were Crimson Raiders." Pumpkin switched to the radio as we tailed her south through an alleyway.

"Are you sure?" I shared a glance with Firefly as we emerged into a slightly less narrow street, continuing south, tall buildings on either side.

That's not good.

"Same snipers from the settlement earlier. I'd bet my wings on it." That's a bold statement, Pumpkin.

"Survive first, mission second." Firefly nodded. "Revenge later."

"I dusted the sniper." You could hear Pumpkin's savage grin through the comms. "Nothing left of the bitch but kit and ash. Spotter got away, though...."

Cyclone tossed her a warning glare. "Not the time, trooper!"

Mineral yelped and stopped as the strap for her saddlebags broke. "My kit!" She turned back to get it.

"Leave it!" I bit her tail and tugged her forward. "Keep moving!"

"Fuck!" Our rush through the street lead us to a dead end, a street blocked by a building collapsed into a sewer tunnel. "This should be open!"

"Well, it's not! Find us another exit." Firefly turned, drawing her rifle as the yells came closer.

"On it." She hovered in place. "This way." She pointed a hoof to a door.

"Dash, get the door." I nodded and went for the door.

"There! I found them!" Screams and gunshots came from behind us.

Pumpkin turned, firing behind us. "Contact, rear!"

Fuck it. "Going loud!" I spun and bucked the door as several rounds hit around me.

These assholes can't aim for shit.

Mineral let out a muted yelp, and a few rounds tugged at my barding, though none went through.

Gotta stop tempting fate.

"Blitz, point. Cyclone, Dash, rear. Sands, Charm, Collage, after me, through the door." Firefly followed Pumpkin in through, and I turned, taking a step away from the door as I bit down on the trigger, dumping another burst of shells into the mob as they charged towards us.

Another round hit the ground beside me. "Dash, time to go!" I backed into the building after Cyclone, firing a few more shells through the door to keep their heads down.

Shit! Loud!

Cyclone leaned over to yell in my ear, "Grenades?"

"Right saddlebag! Top pocket!"

My ears kept ringing from the gunfire as something collapsed behind me, and I glanced around. The stairs leading to the second floor had collapsed. A few more rounds punched through the thin wooden walls beside the door, sending splinters flying.

"Dashie! Up!" I looked to Firefly, and she gestured to a hole in the ceiling. I nodded, and she took a running jump, landing on my back, and I jumped, throwing her up into the hole. "Blitz, get Dash!"

"Aye, Captain." Pumpkin flapped over to me, lifting me up. "Celestia, you're heavy." Cyclone was doing something with the door.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch. You wanna carry the beltgun?"

"Ha ha, not a chance, Lieutenant." I winced at her use of my rank.

She set me down on the second floor, and the floor creaked under me. "This fuckin' place is fallin' apart, boss." I glanced to Mineral - she'd set Crescent down and was tending to Ivory. "Mineral, you're hit."

She glanced down to her leg in confusion. "Oh, so that's what that was...." She went back to Ivory's leg.

"Stand by." Firefly looked down the hole, holding the riot shield. "Cyclone, you done down there?" He nodded an affirmative. "Blitz, get Cyclone."

"What'd he do?" I leaned in to speak with Firefly quietly.

"Grenades on a tripwire." She smirked.

"Good idea." I glanced to the wall beside me, noting a corkboard with tacks and string connecting various newspaper clippings. The words "Goldenblood" and "OIA??" were hastily scribbled on different sheets of paper in the middle. I stepped over and stripped the board, string, tacks and clippings.

Pumpkin dropped Cyclone on the second floor beside me and threw me a dirty look. "Why can't you be as light as he is?"

Firefly glared at us. "Cut the chatter, you two." I glanced down the hole as she barked orders. "Blitz, find us a path out."

Pumpkin turned and flapped over to a window on the opposite side of the building, wiping it off with a hoof. "This window leads to a back alley that leads to an open street. We should be able to ditch them from here."

Should?

"Right." Firefly nodded and opened the window. "Blitz, point. I'll follow. Sands, Charm, Collage, after me. Dash, Cyclone, rear."

As Cyclone dropped out of the window, I heard a loud, sharp thump.

The grenade detonating.

"They're entering the building, boss."

...

Followed by creaking and screaming.

That's a lot of creaking....

I kept moving quietly, and as I glanced back, the building shifted.

"Go, go! Building is coming down!"

"Get out of there!"

"I'm clear! Keep going!"

I gave up all pretenses of sneaking away and broke into a gallop as the creaking got louder.

Finally, the building gave up, falling in on itself, kicking out a cloud of dust in all directions. It wasn't as loud as gunfire inside a small building, but it was pretty loud.

I took a deep breath of mostly clean air and held it as I galloped down the street.

I noticed a building we'd just passed a mere five minutes ago, a burnt down store, and realized we just crossed Broadway - the street we'd been advancing along. "We just went in a big circle, boss."

"I don't even care at this point. We're still alive." All of us glanced to Mineral, Crescent slung over her back. 'Mostly' rang unspoken among all of us.

We stopped galloping after ten minutes, slowing to a trot. West for two blocks, north for one, past a church made of grey stone and tall, unbroken windows.

"Sewers, boss." I nodded over towards a marehole in the sidewalk.

"Good call." Firefly turned, looking behind us, before trotting over to the marehole and levitating it aside. "Blitz, point. I'll follow. Dash, Cyclone, rear. Collage, close the door behind Dash."

"I thought we said we weren't doing sewers anymore, Captain?" Pumpkin looked over to Firefly in confusion.

I caught Firefly looking to Crescent in the moonlight. "Things changed."

"Oh. Right." Pumpkin slipped down into the sewer.

I sure hope this ends better than the last time, boss....

Friday
0024

"That was an ambush, Captain." I looked to Pumpkin as she spoke, anger and pain visible in her eyes. "They were waiting for us, and they fucking wanted us dead."

"If they'd known what they were doing, they would have just opened up with the machine gun and cut us down where we stood, instead of piddling around with snipers." Cyclone shook his head in contempt. "Bunch of amateurs."

"Hold that thought - let's log this." I shifted, pulling my hooves out from under me, and started my Pipbuck's recorder. "Stable Thirty, reconnaissance log, Day One and after-action report for excursion to Redheart General. Captain Firefly leading, Lieutenant Rapid Dash, Sergeant Cyclone, Security officers Pumpkin Blitz, Ivory Charm, Cast Collage and Mineral Sands, participating." I paused. "Begin." I glanced around to my ponies. "We have been ambushed by unknown assailants, and Security officer Crescent Spark has been killed in action." I looked over to the corner where Crescent was laying....

"Not unknown." Pumpkin announced grimly. "Crimson Raiders."

"Not all of 'em." Dashie shook his head as he curled up next to me. "The assault element wasn't Crimson's troops. Mercenaries, perhaps?"

"Crimson doesn't strike me as the type to hire mercs for hits." Cyclone stretched, facing me. "If he wants you dead, he makes it public, and then he kills you. Seen it before."

"Might be an unofficial op, Cyc." Dashie stretched. "The patrols at the Central Exchange ignored us."

"Why would the Crimson Raiders want to kill us?" Charm was laying down facing me, between Collage and Cyclone, worry visible in her orange eyes. "Aren't they our allies?"

I shared a glance with Dashie. "There was an incident when we first met Crimson."

Sands spoke up for the first time since we'd made camp. "What happened, Captain?" She looked up from her leg.

I sighed. "I had a panic attack, shot two of his guards and ran off, leaving Pumpkin and Cerulean with him." Cyclone closed his eyes and groaned.

"Crimson then escorted Doctor Mend and I to our rendezvous point and asked us to ferry a message to Firefly, assuring her that he still wanted her working for him." Pumpkin cleared her throat as she continued where I'd left off. "It makes no sense for him to want you or us dead at this point, Captain."

"I'm inclined to agree this is an unofficial op, Blitz, but we don't know anywhere near enough to make any sort of accurate judgments. In the mean time, here's what we're going to do." I paused, looking around to my ponies, arrayed in a circle facing me. "We are not going to open fire on the Raiders. If they attack us, we are going to defend ourselves."

"We're not going to attack them, Captain?" Charm glared at me. "They attacked us!"

"That's correct. We don't know if this is official Crimson Raider business or a personal vendetta. If this isn't an official Raider hit, we are not going to fire the first shots and piss them off."

Charm rose to her hooves angrily with a wince. "They killed Crescent!" She waved a hoof at Spark's body, before taking a step towards me. "We're going to let them just get away with that?" Sands followed Charm's hoof over to Spark's body, then hurriedly looked away.

"I fucking know that!" I shot to my hooves, too.

Respond.

Don't react.

"I know, Ivory." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I know." I opened my eyes and looked back to her, and she took a step backwards. "If we attack them, and this was just some personal vendetta by two angry Raiders, we'll be the bad guys." I paused. "They will kill us." I glanced around to my ponies, speaking slowly and quietly. "All of us." Charm looked around. "If the Crimson Raiders really want us dead, the next time we see them, they'll attack us. And then, if and when they tip their hoof, we will do whatever is necessary to get home alive. Am I clear?"

Charm nodded grimly. "I... apologize, Captain." She laid back down.

I glanced around to my ponies one last time, and sat back down. "You did well back there. I'm proud of all of you."

"So... food for thought." Dashie nuzzled me for a moment, and then spoke up. "What did we do wrong? How did we get into this situation? Let's review."

"Well, I pissed them off." I sighed.

"Naw. No mopin'. Bad Firefly." Dashie prodded that spot on my side, and I glared at him. "I mean, that's true, but not what I was talking about." He shook his head. "We walked into that ambush unprepared, flathooved. How did we not know they were there?"

"They were well hidden?" Charm spoke up.

"No." Dashie shook his head again. "They were, but that's not my point. We were predictable and visible. They knew we were coming. They were watching us for a while. When we entered the city, most likely. Doesn't matter."

I stretched. "So, Lieutenant, how would you suggest that we change that?"

"I don't know if we can break observation completely." Dash stretched. "But we can be more unpredictable. For a start, we can stop walking in straight, predictable lines. Take roundabout paths. Don't walk down the middle of big, open streets. Take back alleys, or underground routes, if possible. Like I said."

He glanced back to me. "This is the second time we've been ambushed in as many missions - I think it's time we try something new."

"But that will slow us down." Charm glanced down to her leg.

"I think another ambush like that, one that kills all of us, would slow us down a bit more." Cyclone looked over to me, speaking quietly, just loud enough to be heard.

...

Silence followed Cyclone's casual statement.

"Okay. Point made." I sighed and nodded and glanced to my Pipbuck.

0102

"We rest here for the night. We'll move out in the morning. Questions?"

Nopony had any questions.

Nopony was in a talking mood, either.

I glanced to Spark's body, and closed my eyes.

I shouldn't have pressed on to Redheart General.

I thought about Crescent, remembering her and the stuff she'd done....

"Something funny, Captain?"

I opened my eyes and looked to Cyclone. "Just remembering Crescent...."

As I realized I was grinning, I turned to Dashie. "Dash - remember the thing she did with Weld? First night on patrol, the two of them together?"

Dashie chuckled lightly.

Collage and Sands smiled a little, sharing an awkward look.

Cyclone grinned, not in on the joke, but aware of the context.

Charm burst out laughing. "Oh mare, yeah! Weld wouldn't sleep in his quarters for a week!"

"That seems to rely on the assumption that Weld actually does sleep in his quarters." I smirked at Charm.

"Nah, he does." Dashie grinned. "I've seen him leaving his quarters before."

Charm snickered back. "What if he was just doing that intentionally, to make it look like he doesn't sleep in the Armory all the time?"

We all lay there for a long minute, grinning and chuckling. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sounds of my ponies laughing and remembering Spark fondly.

I sighed, and we all fell silent, our thoughts bringing us a grim reality check.

Crescent was no longer here, and it was all my fault.

I need to stop fucking around.

Cyclone was right - we should have spent the night at the Central Exchange.

I took a deep breath, opened my eyes and looked to Spark again.

"Debriefing adjourned." I looked to my Pipbuck, shutting off the recorder. "Cyclone and I will take first watch. Dash and Blitz, second. Lights out in thirty minutes."

Casualties of Operation Baltimare

- Security Officer Crescent Spark

Friday
0634

The raiding party returned to their home, full of confidence and victory. The Crimson Raiders group leader had been killed - what a bitch she was. They'd lost the target, and fanning out to look for them in Baltimare was a lost cause after freeing who they could from the collapsed building. The job wasn't complete, but they were returning to let the Raiders plan another ambush. They were just the muscle, after all. It was a Crimson Raiders job.

But then, they realized something was wrong. There was no cheering for their return, no children rushing out to greet their parents. And upon entering the town square, they realized why....

It was full of Crimson Raiders - the very same ponies that had contracted them for this job... only these Raiders were holding their families hostages. Many of the raiding party readied their weapons, until the leader yelled for them to stop.

The leader of the Crimson Raiders group stepped forward. He was a blue unicorn with a spiky, greasy mane, naturally dark green with red streaks dyed through it, named Mayweather. As he opened his mouth to speak, King Crimson Nimbus stepped out of the ranks. He gasped softly. Crimson was seeing to this personally? This was serious.

"This is interesting." Crimson paused, looking over the raiding party. "You see, I was under the impression that this village wasn't raiding other villages...." He frowned, speaking quietly as he approached. "But this looks very much like a raiding party returning. Lower your weapons." The raiders looked around, debating between fighting and surrendering.

They might have a chance. "Put your weapons down or we'll execute your families where they stand."

Mention of their families made them reconsider, and many looked into the mass of ponies in the middle, seeing siblings, children and spouses, held at gunpoint. Those who did not put their weapons down, were convinced to do so by their companions.

"Good." The red pegasus turned to his pony. "Sergeant Mayweather. Explain."

Mayweather cleared his throat before speaking. "It was the Stable 30 team, sir. They attacked these ponies."

King Crimson considered that. Unlikely.

But not impossible.

But very unlikely. His daughter wasn't stupid. "Continue."

"They attacked these ponies, and my team came to their aid. They murdered Belldandy, sir. There wasn't anything left of her-"

King Crimson caught whispers among the ponies with his Raiders. "Silence." He looked to the group, pointing to one of them. "You." Two Raiders dragged him to the front. "Did the Stable 30 ponies attack your group?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Are you saying that you were minding your business, when you were attacked by ponies from Stable 30?"

"Well, not exactly. We kind of...." He quickly fell silent, glancing around nervously.

"Please, continue." Crimson spoke quietly.

"What I meant was, yeah. They totally attacked us."

"They attacked you, but not exactly?" Crimson looked to the dark blue unicorn in the back, his horn glowing.

"Yeah." The wastelander nodded. "They attacked us." The unicorn discretely shook his head.

"Very well." Crimson looked to their barding. It was dark blue with light armor plates, a pair of saddlebags with a gear with nine cogs for a clasp, the number 30 neatly embossed on the face. Blood and specs of grey stained one side. "Where did your barding come from?" Rainbow liquid dripped out of a hole in one saddlebag, and as the wastelander shifted, the sound of broken glass bouncing around was audible.

"We killed one of them. Defending ourselves, I mean." He swallowed. "We took the stuff, because they weren't using it, right?"

"What were you doing in Baltimare in a group like that?" Crimson approached the group, crossing the front of the formation. "Because, from where I'm standing, this very much looks like a raiding party...."

"We were out... exploring."

The entire village fell silent. All present knew that they were lying.

Crimson turned to Mayweather. "Where did this attack happen?"

He swallowed. "The intersection where East Baltimare Street meets Broadway, sir."

Crimson said nothing for a long moment, before looking Mayweather in the eyes. "No more second chances. Arrest the traitors." He turned and trotted off. "If they resist, kill them. Kill the rest."

I turned and followed Father to the command center as the screams and gunfire began. "Father?" Something about his tone had begged... no, dared them to resist. "What's wrong?"

"Your sister...." Father paused for a moment.

"My half sister, you mean."

"Yes. Your sister." He nodded, looking over to me. "She's not a stupid mare. She gains nothing I can see from attacking these ponies...." He trailed off. "So! What would these ponies gain from attacking her?"

"Perhaps you're missing something? Are you aware of the Stable troops' motives? They did attack us, before...."

"Of course I'm missing something." Crimson shook his head, frowning. "I know of what they're doing in Baltimare in general." He trotted over to his saddlebags, digging out a thermos. "I don't know what they're doing right now." He looked back to me, smirking. "Beyond that, you did attack them previously."

"You ordered me to bring them in. You didn't specify how." I coughed and diverted the discussion elsewhere. "Mayweather and Belldandy were friends of Sharp and Aegis."

Part of me wished they had succeeded in killing Firefly....

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Do you know that the Stable ponies were telling you the truth?"

"I know Blue - he's trustworthy." He dug out a coffee mug, pouring himself some coffee as he thought. "Hrm... Attacking us now would be suicide. I'm sure she knows that. There's more going on than I know." He paused for a moment. "I'm not ready to write her off. Not yet." He rubbed his muzzle where the bruise was still healing. "But make no mistake - if she fucks up again, we will deal with her."

Good.

I felt better about that.

He turned to face me. "Major! You will personally inspect the intersection at Broadway and East Baltimare and tell me your findings. Once that is completed, you will then link up with the team observing the Stable 30 team. You are not authorized to engage them unless I personally issue orders to do so. Questions?"

"What do we do if they attack us?"

"Disengage, continue observation if possible and contact me."

"Yes, sir!" I saluted and turned off.

"Daughter." I looked back to him. "Stay safe out there."

"Of course, Father...." I smirked and hopped into the air, circling the village for a moment to think. The pops and screams had mostly died down. I kept my eyes on the streets outside of the settlement.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement, and a closer look showed a group of kids who were fleeing. A few of them had guns. "Exterior Team, Serenity. We've got movement, armed runners by the west wall, over."

"Copy, Major. Moving to intercept." Sergeant Tin Wall lead the unit that was responsible for exterior security.

"Who are they?" Crimson broke in on the radios.

A scream, cut off by a couple of distant pops came from below, and I winced as I flipped over in mid-air, turning to the west. "Looks like a bunch of kids, sir."

"Leave them. If they're lucky, they'll make it to a town and tell them what we've done. If they're not, the radiation or the wildlife will get them."

"Lettin' 'em do our job for us, huh, sir?" Sergeant Wall chuckled.

"Exactly. Crimson Actual, out."

Author's Notes:

Oh.

Well.

Soo... Um. That happened.

Hrm...

e: revised on 09.05.16