He had explained it twice but I still found it hard to comprehend. Not for any great complexity involved or, really, any kind of laudable brilliance on the part of Buck Beak. No...it was why he thought (and assumed) that I was at all willing to dip my hooves into any unsavory areas. That wasn't to say I had suddenly turned a new leaf and sworn off engaging in...less than permissible indulgences, but when it came to walking through manure...I was warranted a hard pass. With the majority of the so-called 'New Town' of Anakha officially secured, our biggest obstacle was the enormous barrier spell they had erected around the circumference of Old Town. Being a city older than Equestria had even been a country on the map, the Zeebs had made the most of the old city walls and used them as a stable platform for their barrier spell. Resistance after our initial assault had been sporadic but fierce, with all enemy forces behind the wall who could make it in all the confusion. Once they had shut the gates, all those caught outside were at our mercy and a general consensus was quickly reached that we had hit a significant roadblock. It was pointless to throw bodies at it from above or at ground level once word spread across comms about the first to brush with their shield and was vaporized on the spot. To make things worse, everyone within the shield could fire out at us with complete impunity as their bullets, spells and artillery passed clear through the spell while ours were vaporized on impact with little effect. And so...Buck's plan was insultingly simple: cause a ruckus at the gates and in the air above with as many loud asses as we could, all in order to draw as many eyes as possible from the maze of ancient sewer tunnels below. Deception and misdirection were fair game in war and were tactics the Zeebs relied on heavily so...what was stopping us from dabbling in it ourselves and serving these bastards a taste of their own tactics? Of course, there was also the high (near certain) likelihood that said bastards had also thought to cover all angles of approach. If they posted troops down there, or worse...warped creatures and/or magic, it was going to be a slog and a half to say the least.

Only a few hours had passed since we had our infamous meeting with Commander Typhoon and barely two since Buck had returned like a goddamned wannabe gallant knight. Typhoon had been so kind as to lend us the personal assistance of one of her own prized Shadowbolts, a mystery mare acting mostly in an advisory support role. As expected, she remained tight-lipped and silent as the professional she was and didn't waste a single word whenever forced to reply. While the rest of us chatted, rested, ate and collected ourselves from the nights' events aboard the Mauler, she remained seated towards the front at the communications station near the hatch to the driver's seat; a rubber coated wire from an advanced version of the PipBuck 2500 plugged directly into the comms equipment. Beside her sat the upper portion of her helmet which protected the ears, eyes and the majority of her skull while she retained the lower half which, masked her muzzle in an armored respirator and protected the neck and jaw. White fur with an emerald green mane and bright yellow eyes that sparkled with awareness and intelligence as she silently conversed on the radio with...whomever with an EarBloom visibly stuffed into her ear. Private radio conversations like this weren't super common and normally involved the speaker finding some actual privacy, but with all the chatter going on around us, it wasn't like anypony was eavesdropping. Indeed, I held private conversations with the members of Alpha Squad regularly, as did anyone who were issued equipment that let them muffle their words. Were she speaking with other Shadowbolts, I would just assume she would be able to do that directly using the radio in her helmet so as to why she needed something with a stronger transmitter...? I could only dream of being that important to Command so as to live out some sort of pipedream of being a high-stakes operative.

I couldn't focus on her for too long however before my interest wandered away again amidst the noise happening around me as we all took a breather. We had finally gained some down time after the frantic pace of the night and as a result, I was taking the opportunity (and following Healer's orders) to relax in the makeshift medical bay. With yet another glowing saline drip of Nexus solution trickling its way into my outstretched leg, I was given some time to think. Perhaps more than I would have otherwise preferred under such circumstances but, under risk of medical detainment by Honeydew, I had no choice but to lie still. Lie still on a suitably comfortable bunk and think in relative quiet while fighting off sleep in the event I were suddenly needed. Buck and I had...a mixed track record, far as our actions the night before were concerned to say the absolute least. While I had not raised the amount of hell as duty to issued orders demanded, there was little I could have done given my situation. I had been dangling by a goddamned harness attached at my back to a bullheaded featherass with a vendetta to settle, soaring hundreds of feet in the air. Given the circumstances he had thrown me into with little warning, the most I could do was make the most of his madness for the good of the overall objective. Airborne Anti-Machine work had been our primary directive for the duration of the siege, but the best laid plains of generals and leaders tended to end in pieces and tatters. That being said, we had done some good work in harmony with our orders and had silenced three Anti-Air emplacements on our own. Not only that, but there was also the rescue-in-progress of Conqueror, our survival against the Shaman and the destruction of the rearguard with the help of their own flak cannon. The punishments issued out for disobeying orders were not all made equal, and the level of severity was almost arbitrary and up to the whim of the one giving the orders. But...there was a precedent already set that disobeyed/restructured orders weren't necessarily punishable, so long as the ensuing results outweighed the cost of their insubordination. It wasn't something to rest our dress hats on but...results like ours would've taken three times as many troopers to accomplish.

The Mauler itself had become cramped from the number of wounded on board, all six bunks being fully occupied by the wounded and loaded down with Honeydew's portable equipment packages. While I had offered to take up one of the available bunks aboard Conqueror, Honeydew refused and insisted I remain within reach of a quick conversation giving me one of the topmost bunks instead. While I lounged and felt the aches in my body and horn slowly trickle away with every drop of the I.V, I watched with interest as Honeydew and her assistants flitted about like a flock of busy birds. A micro terminal had been hauled in with their supplies and was placed on the small dining table in the neck of the vehicle, seeing frequent use as note after note was added to the respective medical records of each patient. At the same time, a portable Alchemy station had been brought on board and set up in one of the alcoves between repair stations, filling the air with the smell of pungent herbs, steam and various arcane substances. There was never a moment's rest for these busy mares and yet, they were chipper and upbeat despite the wanton death and destruction surrounding us. Each hummed happily to herself while she worked, a smile gracing each pretty face as they spoke in reassuring tones to any under their care, including me. If anything...I was beginning to appreciate the well-earned break as I had the chance to observe some rather pleasant looking nurses in the heat of their element working at their peak capacity. I was no Healer but I found more than a little enjoyment in watching a few good looking ladies working professionally in their chosen field. Indeed, their speed and inherent level of skill in healing was something to be envied, both by myself as well as my lovely-

"Athena?? Athena are you in here??"

Expectedly and yet equally unexpectedly, the panicked cries of my mare rose above the sound of the busywork of the Healers and I poked my head up out of sheer instinct. Helmet off, violet brow daubed in sweat while her armor was smeared with dried blood sporting patches of sand which had stuck to it; several of her ready mag pouches sitting empty, both for her rifle as well as speedloaders for her Sequoia. She had been in a nasty fight, and just as I knew it wrenched her gut to know I was in battle without her there to watch over me, so too did I feel the same towards her. She had the same level of training and experience in the field as I did so I had less to fear from her fucking it up and more the sheer chaotic nature of life. Of course, I didn't see any obvious signs that she had come to any personal physical harm but...I wasn't able to say quite the same about myself. With three gaping holes in my breastplate, I was wearing my near-death experience like a placard until I got a spare. She was going to see it. There was no goddamned way she wouldn't and I was going to get a thorough, angry tongue lashing from my overprotective mate. (And not the fun kind either.)

"Here!" I called out above the din with a slightly croaky voice, waving a hoof so as to draw her attention. "Crow's perch."

It took a moment of waggling my hoof in the air ridiculously for her to finally notice but once she did, she wasted no time in leaping up the side of the bunks and clambering onto the side of mine. When the bunk didn't give way to the combined weight of two mares in near full kit and the medical devices, I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been keeping pent in and relaxed. Up close, there was not a scratch on her that I could see so I had to assume the sand blasted scarlet on her armor came from someone else other than her. Unsurprising and encouraging even...but I still hated to miss it. Of course, being so close to one another also gave her a perfect view of my folly. All three of them.

"Look...Hucks..." I started once her eyes inevitably went wide upon seeing the hits I had taken. Even with the impact plates removed, the damage done to my underbarding was difficult to hide while I laid there on my back for her to see.

"Don't you fucking dare go, 'Look Hucks' with me!" She snapped, her eyes flickering with a repressed anger, though towards what specifically...I was unsure. "You think I don't know what the damage from a kinetic penetrator and tracer looks like?? Don't bullshit me Athena. What happened? NOW."

Her words hit me even harder than the bullets she was getting so worked up over. I was out of danger, yes but...that wasn't anywhere near enough for her and her poor, worrying mind. In the moment, I would have taken another round with the Shaman then face her wrath. Then again...mom would be equally terrifying to face with a breastplate fulla holes, no matter how alive I was despite the whole damn experience.

"Well before I say anything, you wanna bitch at me? Lay them at Buck's paws first. He's the jackass I was fucking attached to before he decided to do his own fucking thing, like always. You and I both know once he goes full stupid, someone has to be there to help his dumb ass live through it. You wanna know what happened? He went full stupid and I wasn't given any option to stop him. Not dangling eight-hundred feet in the air with no easy or safe way to release myself."

She frowned with a very long, drawn out sigh of annoyance before flatly stating, "Alright, fair enough. I'll have to give him a piece of my fucking mind later...but that still hasn't explained the three goddamned holes in your abdomen, Athena. Your opening defense is over, get on with the explanation already."

I knew better than to beat around the bush when she got prickly and so I gave her the fullest explanation of events as I could without dawdling on unimportant details. As I spoke in short informative sentences, she continued to stare at me with her lips pursed and eyes narrowed. Gods only knew what was going through her mind while I spoke; a veritable storm of mixed emotions was surely bubbling away inside her like an angry storm. I went through everything. Buck taking shrapnel, our fight with the Shaman and his goons, the dead goon who nearly got her revenge from beyond the grave...she took exception to when I mentioned how I just managed to survive. Very...particular exception.

"Are you fucking serious?!" She nearly shrieked, earning her warning and a loud rap on the side of the bunk by one of the Nurses below before she lowered her tone to a loud hiss. "Are you...just...the fuck were you thinking?!"

"Look, the fact I survived at all in the first place was more luck than I should be fucking allowed." I retorted, bristling a little myself that she was hung up on the what-ifs seeing as I was still alive. "What other choice did I have, huh? Buck was in a completely different room and had needed basically my entire medkit for his bullshit. I had jackshit else to work with in the oh, twenty-or-so seconds I had to act before I fucking bled out! I panicked and went for the only option I had and did it as smartly as a dumb decision can be made! Cut me some fuckin' slack, alright?"

"You stupid mare, why wouldn't you just fucking bring more medical supplies in your kit like I keep telling you to! I swear to fuck Athena, your mom should pay me a salary for how much I worry after your ass on her behalf out here..."

It...hurt a bit to have her yell at me, even more to catch myself yelling back at her over something neither of us could now change but...she had every right to yell at me like that. We slipped into silence as we silently stared at each other, a silent maelstrom of thoughts swirling about behind her eyes while the seconds stretched out between us. The thought of how mom would respond to what had happened churned my stomach ferociously and I found myself more willing to face Hucks than her. I'd already seen a bit of the exasperation and bottled up fear and worry she had towards me during those few days we spent together...it was not something I wished to have linger in my memory.

"It's good to see you." She said finally, her gaze softening a bit as a sigh of relief escaped her lips. "I'm glad you're ok."

"S-same to you." I replied with a slight hitch in my voice before I remembered all the sandy gore on her armor. "You doing ok...?"

"Hm? Oh...yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about the blood, you should've seen the other bitch. Brandy tore her to fuckin shreds with her minigun although...I will admit it was a bit excessive for such cramped quarters. Between you and I...I feel the Tin Heads are too strong a force if we intend to limit civilian casualties and collateral damage to the city. Most of these buildings are barely thick enough to stop a 5.56 let alone the APs she was using. And don't even get me started on the 40mils they're packing..."

"No need to tell me twice..." I laughed with a grim snort. "It's not like Buck or I are all too helpful to that cause either but...we can't exactly predict if we'll get an ammo stash to pop now can we?"

She sighed and nodded with half of a smile tugging at her stubborn frown saying, "Heh...with the kind of HEs you two pack into your magazines? I'd be frankly insulted if you didn't manage at least one detonation while you were fucking around up there. Now...I must ask, from the perspective of a student of medicine, what...what was it like to use a Griffin Stim device? Buck Beak only recently got it and hasn't bothered to let me borrow it for a closer examination since then."

My gut clenched painfully in response as the memory of the experience came as a bright flash of sensation and emotion leaving my heart racing and my eyes watering. Though I had thought myself sneaky by holding back the wretch that came with the sensation, I should have known better than to try and hide something like that from her peering gaze. Naturally, she caught on immediately and her frown turned into a sour pucker of understanding and empathy.

"I assumed as much...with that much matter being reconstituted all at once...sweet fuck, you truly are lucky to be alive, Athena. I can see now why you managed to endure that experience now that you've explained it. The mix of painkillers, the adrenaline of the moment, the minimal amount of Stim being injected, and just your sheer...absolute pigheadedness...seems to have been what saw you through the night. By all fucking rights you shouldn't have made it but..."

"Aww. If you weren't so pissed off with me, I might even think you were trying to compliment me."

I earned a soft bop on the muzzle from her armored hoof for my sarcasm, as well as a small smile and that soft sparkle in her eye that I loved so goddamned much. I knew she was ecstatic to see me alive and well, even with three gaping holes in my stomach; especially because of those in all reality. We had to play it careful though...just as we always had to be in public in front of those who weren't and didn't need to be in the know. Showing love and care for each other was a cautious balancing act that we knew we struggled to often to maintain safely. At best, we were shooting for the appearance of tightly-bonded sisters in arms who treated each other as family. It was appropriate, expected even, for us to embrace and worry for each other in the midst of a siege but, we both had to restrain the urge to kiss and faun over each other like a couple of lovebirds. In moments of intense emotion like this...nothing sounded quite so sweet as her tender embrace but for the sake of both our lives...a few moments of deep respite were not worth the potential consequences.

"You holding up ok?" She finally asked after another minute of comfortable silence while the Nurses continued their busywork down below.

I nodded towards the I.V line and responded, "Yeah...not a fan of having another damned needle in my leg but damn if this new brew of theirs ain't a kick in the ass! If you asked my body, it'd barely even be able to remember it went through both a fight and a burnout in less than an hour!"

"Is that so? I've been seeing those glowing vials in the Healer's equipment packs tonight, but haven't had the chance to ask anypony about 'em. Powdered Nexus I'm assuming?"

"Far as I know, yeah. Makes me wonder why this shit wasn't researched decades ago if it's this versatile."

"Darling, we both know it's because of the Earth ponies and the Industrial Revolution they brought about. Even with Celestia in charge, Unicorns weren't exactly paving the way for everything with magic now were they? Harnessing coal was a massive boon at first but it got in the way of developing...well, less harmful power sources. It's a damn shame how far behind magic has been left compared to our prowess over technology..."

"Humph..." I groaned in disgust, reclining fully once more for some further relaxation. "Well, in the end it isn't our fault but it's our fate to live with the shittiness anyway. Well...when put like that, I guess it ain't too different from having a desk jockey for a CO."

"Indeed heh..." She laughed softly before her smile slacked and she glanced down the aisle. "I should return to Crystal... She and I are to lead a team sweeping a block of housing in the poor district East of here. Before I go, please...just tell me right fucking now if there's any other hairbrained bullshit you and Buck plan to get up to to this morning?"

"Um...well..."

"Oh this is going to be a treat..."

It didn't take long to explain Buck's rather simplistic plan as there really wasn't much else to be said aside from a small team (or two) would take to the underground while the main force would distract the enemy from ground level and above. Her frown from earlier returned in full force and I found myself looking more at the wall then her face as I recounted what Buck had told me. In truth, there was a whole helluva lot wrong with his plan, with my chief question during his whole ramble being how we were to find our way through an unknown series of ancient pipes? If Command had come into the possession of a detailed map of the city which included it's system of sewage piping, they had failed to tell anyone about it during our scatterbrained debriefing. As it stood, we would be entering the city's rank underbelly entirely without a map or a guide to navigate us to...wherever the fuck it was we needed to go. We had to get at the source of the barrier spell one way or another and going under was the only major course of action we had yet to pursue. Unfortunately, I'd zero idea as to how Zebras cast and projected their shield spells, let alone how they were powered and sustained. Given Commander Typhoon's intrigued tone and expression when Buck spoke, I just...had to hope she or one of her subordinates had the secrets we needed to do the mission as proposed. Given the Commander's rank and position, tentative field clearance had already been granted for Buck's insanity and the attempt would be made within the next few hours. The how, when and why's were all being (hopefully) handled by Typhoon, Buck and others so all that was left for me was...to go along with it all once a plan was set in place. It seemed like a goddamned long-shot but...then again, so was my own survival from the injuries I sustained. Command was in seeming chaos, struggling to put together a plan against the Zeebs as if they had expected our mechanized advantage to guarantee an easy victory. In the end, all I could do was just hope we wouldn't have to spend long underground, especially a sewer that had been in use for thousands of years...

"Lovely..." She breathed once I had finished speaking, taking a moment to rub her eyes with her hooves. "So your dumbass subordinate goes and recommends you for a suicide mission and then just expects the team medic to just...go with it?? The fuck does he get off telling you what to do? Fucking jackass won't kno-"

"Just...shut it please." I pleaded with her quietly, hoping to get my internal exhaustion across through my tone of voice. "Leave Buck alone...we can bitch him out for all this shit later once we're back in recognizable territory. At this point his stupid idea has gotten the attention and approval of Commander Typhoon of Shadowbolt Team 'Crash'. Whole buncha people know about it in their chain of command by now and to pull my name back out of the hat would be career suicide at this point."

"That still doesn't mean you have to do it though!" She pleaded softly with me in kind. "Let me speak with your Healer! I can convince her to mark you as unfit for immediate return to duty and have you put on bed rest for the next 24-hours, buy you some more time for them to get Rain Dancer or Penny or...just anyone else to fill in for you."

"What, and let them get all the glory? Common Hucks, you know it ain't gonna fucking happen and I'm gonna get sent down into the shitpit with our resident feathered jackass. Idea was for no more than two teams of two to go down there and find a way in. If it'll ease your worried mind, you are more than welcome to volunteer as part of that second team as long as the spots haven't already been filled by someone in Command."

"Ah, yes...because volunteering for this ridiculous mission is what you would call 'easing my worried mind'..." She grunted with sarcastic bitterness. "I'm going to fucking strangle that Griffin with his own vas deferens..."

"Is that a yes?"

"Ughhh...sure, fine, whatever!" She pouted, crossing her forelegs and looking away in a huff. "Can't believe this shit..."

"Neither can I, and I was volun-told what to do. Least I gave you a choice in the matter."

She flicked her eyes back towards me sharply and asked, "Did you though?"

"No...but you're still offering to do it of your own volition. I might as well have tendered my resignation if I was thinking about saying no to a Shadowbolt. All the same...gonna be glad to have you covering my back down there."

"It's not your back I'll be worried about..."

And with that we drifted back into another bout of silence, though this one was less tense than the last which was a blessed relief. There was so much that could be said in the moment regarding the insanity of it all, or our mutual fear of harm happening to the other but...it wouldn't do any good to voice any of it aloud. Orders and objectives were undoubtedly being concocted as we sat and thought and once they came down from on high, the only thing stopping them from being enacted were the moves made by our enemies. Buck Beak was insane enough in suggesting this sort of plan, and ever more so for his willingness to throw me under the proverbial carriage in order to join him. It wasn't for lack of qualifications of course, neither of us would have become Rangers if we weren't found up to snuff. Despite the term 'Anti-Machinist' attached to my name on official documents, a Veteran Ranger would be caught (and found) dead if they couldn't make use of dozens of fighting tactics. That included cramped, enclosed spaces such as the sewers I was to be unceremoniously dropped into. I would have to leave my beloved rifle behind in the Mauler's on-board Armory, but I would not be leaving without the sawed-off shotty which had served me well once already the last time I was caught indoors. In a somewhat nice change of pace, my Sequoia, paired with a long and sharp combat knife, would be given ample opportunity to shine in such confined quarters. The margins for error would be somehow even tighter than they were inside the manor home with the AA, and my reactions would need to be even sharper than ever. The chips were set, the die had been cast and we were now all waiting for them to hit the table and set the game in motion.

"Colonel Crete? A word in private if I may?"

The needle in my leg had barely been withdrawn and the rubber tubing coiled up when I was suddenly approached by our Shadowbolt operative; the lower half of her mask now removed from her face. Her expression was still as blank and empty as I had expected so I was at a loss for gauging any sense of how she was feeling going into this little chat she wanted.

"Uh...sure!" I grunted in reply, swinging my legs over the side of the bunk and plopping down onto all fours. "Right here, outside or...?"

"The cockpit is currently empty so it will be suitable for this occasion." She responded in a near monotone. "Come along, please. This is rather urgent."

Medical staff were still thickly packing the inside of the Mauler and so it took some time to navigate our way down the twenty or so feet needed to reach the small dining table in the neck of the vehicle. Even then, there were still several ponies occupying the space and taking a moment to enjoy some field rations, or really whatever else that could be found in the on-board larder. Past them we mounted a short stairway that was both wider and not as steep as the one leading up to the turret, passing through a sealed bulkhead into a control station just barely large enough for two sitting side-by-side. I had only seen the inside of the cockpit once sometime during our initial tour of the vehicle back in the Badlands, and I was yet again blown away at the sheer volume of technology on display within. Levers, switches, buttons and knobs littered every surface alongside large terminal screens, save for the reinforced triangular viewports granting a little over 185^o of visibility. The two padded seats she and I crammed ourselves into, separated by a center console with further controls, were...comfortable enough on the body, but gave me some appreciation for the struggles Engineers assigned to pilot these beasts went through; not to mention the fact so few of them were considered qualified enough to work with them that they were only assigning one driver per Bünkerwagen.

Once we had both settled in with the bulkhead behind us sealed, she turned to me and pointedly asked, "Do you trust your subordinate?"

I was so caught off guard by this that I stammered in my response and asked, "W-what do you...what do you mean?"

"The Griffin. Buck Beak I believe his name is?"

"Uh...yes, Ma'am. That's his name, yes."

"Very good, now please. Answer the question, Colonel."

Gods...did I trust Buck Beak? I knew that even this brief moment of hesitation in answering would be telling her volumes but...I didn't feel like throwing him under the carriage like that. Sure, he had done so to me already by volunteering me for the damn thing to begin with but...that was different, if for no other reason than my gut was telling me so. What he did was to be expected of his jackass self and 100% within character so if anything, I was playing the fool expecting not to be roped into yet another featherbrained scheme of his. He'd nearly died a few times already since the siege started and I had brushed with death far closer than I had ever asked for while getting dragged along behind him like a can tied to a wagon. And yet...I had been there to save his dumb ass and he had come and repaid the favor while rather seriously injured himself. I just couldn't let him bumble around in the dark on his own without me covering for his faults and Hucks covering for mine.

"Your hesitation says volumes..." She replied after what felt like a minute of pure silence.

"Common, give me a chance to explain my thoughts a bit please...Buck is a complicated butthead. The guy is...brazen and just can't help but channel his species' inherent need to take on big challenges and boast about 'em even bigger. But...it's as everyone's already said, we can't get in from the sky so any advantage we had with wings is shot and trying to hit the old city gates directly has proven completely ineffectual. We gotta at least try and test out the underground method and see if there's any possibility of success going that route, else...we bring in more Combat Mages and ammunition for the bigger guns and hammer the shit outta the shield until it gives. But let's be honest, who the fuck knows how long that'd even take? No...if Buck said he's going to try the sewers then I don't think there's a damned thing anyone can do to stop his dumb ass from trying it, short of detaining him at gunpoint with a Squad, no...two Squads of Tin Heads. Er...Steel Rangers."

"No offense taken, Colonel." She replied with a small smile of amusement. "So, in fewer words...please sum it up for me. If this gets approved, will you be accompanying him or not? You are absolutely correct in saying we will have to attempt this avenue before we consider diverting more heavy munitions to this siege. This is your chance to veto any of this."

"Heh...well, glad to be vindicated I guess. To answer your question, uh...what is...your name?"

"Captain Nimbus."

"Ah, Captain. Got it. Anywho, yes. To answer your question, yes. I will accompany him down into the shitpit and try to find a way under that goddamn wall without getting our asses chewed up down there. My team medic has also made some overtures for volunteering for this mission as well if there is an opening, or a need."

"Oh? I do not believe I have met with them yet, are they qualified for such an operation?"

"I trust Captain Crisp with my life on the daily sometimes." I laughed with a bright smile I just couldn't hold back. "We might get shat on by the other Corps, but you don't get asked to join the Desert Rangers just for being good at standing guard and plinking static targets at the range. Some actual skill is needed to be given the honor of wearing the duster."

"And you don't earn the rank and title of Veteran by dying like a bitch, right?"

I looked up at her in a bit of shock and saw the same smile from before, only wider with a hint of sparkle to her otherwise stoic gaze.

"Look...I know everyone likes to call you guys Nad Pads and the Steel Rangers stole your limelight ages ago. Just want you to know, at least as far as I care, I don't hold anything like that against you guys. You were all the best of the best far as ground forces were concerned until the Steel Rangers came and took all that away from you. We all got to see some of your performance earlier and your actions were quick, responsive and extremely effective given the force that approached your position. Needless to say...impressive for a group of four, though I doubt I would be wrong in assuming the two of you are to thank for that in large part. If you are willing to stake yourself on that Griffin, excuse me, Buck Beak, and your medic is volunteering herself as well...I don't see why this plan of his would be a waste of resources. Again, we need to try...and better to try it with a proven team then to waste time bringing on another."

"Heh...after our time in the Badlands, I think every Ranger in my Corps is more or less used to being seen as effective but disposable assets. We've lost ten Squads over the last two tours here, four of those being Veterans...if we don't make it out of there, then it's no fur off of Command's muzzle. They'll just dismantle Alpha and reassign Rain Dancer and Penny to other Squads to make way for Beta Squad to become the new Alpha by default, just like the mantle was passed along to us literally the day we got the call to haul our asses back South."

"Colonel, please...you sell you and your Rangers short. We heard about the...ahem, sudden detaining of the previous members of Alpha Squad. There is no reason to debase your own achievements tonight."

"Eh...fuck it." I replied with a tired sigh and a wave of my hooves in the cramped space. "Guess I'm feeling suicidal like Buck is. Besides, at this point, if I say no, I might as well take a shit on my own epaulettes and strip my AMR down to send back to Mareseilles in a box along with my pride."

With yet another small smirk she nodded before glancing off to the side and saying, "I know the feeling. Did you catch all that, Commander?"

"Loud and clear, Captain!" Came the sudden reply from Typhoon over the radio which, I had never been told was on. "Apologies for not informing you that I was listing in on this but I wanted to hear your opinion of this whole scheme with someone other than myself asking the question. I was hoping for a more honest answer by using this method and I think it worked quite well so thank you for your cooperation."

"Uh...um...well, not for nothing Commander but...I'm scared shitless around any of you Shadowbolts..." I replied timidly and completely unapologetically given the mystique surrounding them. "If you were looking for more honesty...maybe next time try using someone not so...intimidating, heh."

"My, my...perhaps she has to take back those words about you Veterans being the best of the best." Typhoon teased pleasantly before returning to a more serious tone. "All jokes aside, if you say you are willing to do this then I see no reason as to why we shouldn't give this idea a go. Command was more than likely going to ask us to go down there and try it ourselves eventually so, eh...not for nothing but, eh...if this thing goes badly, at least it can't be blamed on us. No offense."

"None taken, truly." I replied with a somewhat hollow laugh. "No, I completely get it. End of the day our reputation is already tarnished and out of our control so we can take the fall here if need be. There's still plenty of Unicorns and Earth ponies out there in the world to take our place at roll call and Griffinstone is brimming with jackasses like Buck. If not us then...someone more important."

"For heaven's sake you are a downer, Colonel Crete!" Typhoon laughed softly over comms. "As the Captain said, you sell you and your Rangers too short for the kind of work you all do. You guys pull this off and I'll try my damndest to start spreading some good words around about you guys around places higher than you guys are allowed to reach these days."

"Good words? So is that to say that all the ones before now have been trash-talk?"

"Ooooh...she got you good there, Commander."

"Oh hush. Back to business ladies, please. Colonel, you said your team medic was willing to join this little escapade?"

"In so many words, yes. She wouldn't be part of my team if I didn't have full confidence in her, and I wouldn't be bringing her name up for the same reason. If you want her part of this then that's all that needs to be said. She'll be there."

"Good...good. Well, I think that's all I needed to hear from this little huddle of ours. This mission is as ready for final clearance with General Oliver and his staff as it can be under the time constraint. We should hopefully have it rubber-stamped and working orders for everypony else before 1200 hours. Oh, and Captain?"

"Y-yes, Commander?"

"I think I remember hearing the idea being floated around that there should be two teams of two going down there. If their medic joins, they'll still be missing a fourth volunteer to round it all out, would they not?"

"...Understood. May I request a resupply, Ma'am? I will need some extra equipment for this...adventure."

"Heh, heh...granted, Captain. You two hang tight and talk this over between yourselves while I wrangle the brass in a timely manner, get this shit gets taken to task sometime before this century is out. I'll try to give you an update as soon as I can but, don't expect it anytime in the immediate future. The fact we got this far this fast with this whole plan is a bit of a miracle on its own. Any questions will have to wait until I've got something more than 'I don't know' as an answer for you. Typhoon, out."

We sat in silence for a few moments as the conversation was processed before I tentatively said, "Well...that was...something."

"Indeed..." Nimbus responded with a heavy sigh. "I suppose we are now both being told where to go and what to do. Are you comfortable navigating small spaces like that?"

"Are you?" I asked semi-jokingly. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Honestly...it's less the tight walls and more the fact I'll inevitably have more contact with shit and piss than I'll ever want to deal with in my life..."

"Oh Goddesses...please don't remind me..." She grumbled while rubbing her eyes with her hooves. "Oh the girls are never going to let me live this one down...even if we somehow pull it off."

"Heh, well with that attitude we might as well just shoot each other now and escape the embarrassment altogether. What, you think we're gonna die down there?"

"Well let's just say I won't be surprised if the last thing I see is that godsforsaken sewer...no hard feelings though."

"At least there's that I guess..."

"Well, not so long as your ass is lying there dead next to or at least somewhere nearby mine. You make it out of there and I don't and I swear to fuck, I'll haunt your ass for the rest of eternity."

"Why me? Buck's the dumbshit who got this ball rolling so haunt his ass instead. I was victimized by him too so I can join you in haunting him if he somehow makes it out and we don't."

"...You know what? Deal. Least we've got someone we both can agree is to blame if shit goes south."

I snorted and broke down in laughter before I managed to gasp out, "Oh fuck...if only you knew how often I've thought something like that before now..."

The official orders finally came in at fifteen-till-noon, technically on time as far as Typhoon's estimation had been but it still left us too much time to sit and wait anxiously, to one degree or another. As expected, our briefing was rather short and succinct with our primary objective being to navigate the city's rank underbelly in search of a way under the wall. Naturally, we were relying on our PipBuck's AutoMapper spell to help us find a path, with both teams splitting up at the first major junction to cover more ground at once. We would do our best to keep an open datalink between ourselves so our individual maps could be combined into one master version we all could see expand (hopefully) in real-time. It was...debatable as to how well or for how long the datalink would actually work since it had not been extensively tested under these conditions. But, there was little to be done about it now. At the very least, we would have a partner each and could still rely on our own maps as they formed during our tentative prodding through what was inevitably going to be a maze and a half, seeing the size and sheer age of the city. As far as pairings went, I was assigned to work with Buck Beak given my recommendation for him wasn't exactly glowing enough for Nimbus to feel comfortable working alongside him. Hucks held back her dismay at the news of her partner well save for that little swish in her tail she just couldn't control whenever she was irritated. I knew it was nothing personal towards the venerable Captain, merely just a result of her own worry for my wellbeing and the ache that forms from the inability to closely monitor a loved one. We exchanged glances during the briefing and solved, at least in part, our mutual worries and anxieties without any need for words. This was just another day in the life we chose to pursue when we signed those papers to apply to EastPoint so there was little point in fraying the nerves anymore than the mission called for. For now, we had some time to prepare and get our heads in the right space while the rest of the GA, Airborne, and the new armored element that had arrived prepared a suitable distraction for us.

As soon as our group huddle around the comms station ended we went immediately for the on-board Armories at the other end of the Mauler, each team commandeering one of the narrow caged-off rooms. Here, Buck and I helped each other slap on our various pieces of armor and kit that had been put up in favor of increased comfort whilst waiting around for orders. I could feel the scowl etched deep across my face while Buck was almost shivering with excitement at the task that lay ahead for the four of us. Buck didn't get to work with his Shadowbolt cutie pie and I didn't get to work with mine. If there was anything I could take some pleasurable solace in...it's that we both got the short end of the draw in our desires. And all because Buck was such a jackass that no one could be blamed (Hucks included) for teaming up with anyone else. Lucky me.

"You ready for this shit, Crete?" He asked excitedly, plopping my spaulders connected like a mantle down with little regard for my shoulders.

"Would you believe me if I said yes...?" I responded with my sarcasm dripping like venom. "Fuck off with the low hanging fruit, Buck. I'd slug you for dragging me into this shit, but I don't need your sorry ass out of commission and for Command to assign some other asshat to fill in for you. I'd much rather work with the dumb fuck I know then learn to put up with an entirely new asshole from who the fuck knows where or cares?"

"Woof...aren't you nippy today?"

"Nippy? Buck, you and your fat ego just had to go and start spouting those goddamn featherbrained ideas you're always getting. Luckily for you, it wasn't some dumbass scheme like normal and you didn't make an ass of yourself in front of a fucking Shadowbolt. But for the love of all shit that's sane and reasonable...why'd you drag me into this?"

"...Well...I thought...you might...I dunno, like...enjoy the challenge?" He replied feebly, looking me square in the eye with hesitation. "I don't know, Crete! I just...you saved my ass tonight and took better care of me than I honestly deserved for taking you on that wild ride up there. And yeah, I saved your ass like the badass I am but I'm getting ahead of myself...look, I just knew from the moment she said I was reading her mind that I wanted you covering my back. Just...take the compliment, alright? I hate giving that shit out so just take the thing and run with it."

"Well...thanks?" I mumbled softly in surprise, slightly touched by his rather kind words by his usual standards. "But...still. If I wanted to wander blind through a sewer with you, you could've just fucking asked me when we were all last shitfaced in Las Pegasus. Probably would've been a good place to hide from the MPs now that I think of it..."

"Ah! There ya go, you're in the right groove to jive with this stud!" He grinned with absolute cocky confidence. "Learn to dance better with this bird, little lady! These paws and wings are the stuff of legend in twelve districts of Get and Some!"

"Is he always this insufferable?"

There was an outbreak of laughter from the Armory directly across from us that was in no way sealed off nor soundproofed against eavesdroppers like the cockpit was. Captain Nimbus was more than obviously getting her first true in-person display of the typical bravado that sloughed off his being like last years' molt. If she wasn't sure about her choice in pairing off with Hucks before now, there was nothing preventing that revelation from hitting home now.

"Yep!" I called out, much to his chagrin which I did not particularly give a damn for at the time. "But he gets results most of the time despite it so we keep him around."

"Great...thanks...I feel so loved..."

"Oh piss off, Buck." Hucks quipped jovially. "It's not like we hate you. You just consistently win jackass of the team year-on-year so we've got to take our chance when we get to strike back a little."

"Fine...whatever..." He pouted before immediately going quiet and intensely focusing on his equipment. "You'd miss my ass if it went missing and y'all fuckin' better not deny that shit."

I cocked my eyebrow and semi-glared at him as I pointed at my now discarded breastplate sitting propped up against the far wall, the three holes surrounded by blast marks on full display.

"Does it fucking look like I am?" I challenged him pointedly while levitating a spare plate out from storage.

"Well of course not you..." He groaned while rolling his eyes back at me. "Was just saying in general, dumbass...sheesh."

With that he fell into silence and I was left free to finish levitating my new Kevyarn-backed breastplate into place, the electromagnets doing their job and locking it tightly against my armored underbarding. Now that I had drawn my own attention back to it, I just couldn't keep my eyes away from those three damned holes punched clean into the Celestium plate over the abdomen. They were no bigger than a quarter of an inch across each, the desert pattern camo around them scorched black from the explosive and incendiary effect packed into each meaty round. Each one of them could have ruptured multiple vital organs or pierced my abdominal aorta, either of which wouldn't have even given me the time to think to use the Stim in the first place. I'd brushed with death once already this tour when that damned Cheetah had clamped his jaw around my neck, nearly succumbing to asphyxiation during that horrible experience...and yet, this was somehow infinitely worse. Even standing there staring at the relic of that experience, I was feeling sick to my stomach as the all-too-fresh memory flashed across my mind's eye for a moment forcing me to look away.

"Oh yeah, that thing!" He commented after he noticed where my eyes had been lingering. "Fuckin' wild, Crete! Now that I can see those holes in the light better, you're fuckin' lucky to still be kicking. You better keep that fuckin' thing as a trophy or I swear to fuck I'll dig that shit out of whatever foundry they'll send it to and mount it over your door."

Another painful shiver wracked my gut and I replied, "Just...shut up...please. I...don't feel so good."

"Oh yeah? Common, you're doing just fine. That hot Healer of yours made sure you got lots of happy feel-goods in your system, I saw her jab you with the needle myself."

"There's a reason you're the demolition munitions expert and not a Marksmare..." I sighed with a heavy groan underneath. "Even when the point is obvious and right in front of you, you shoot for the ballpark and still miss it entirely."

"Shoot for the ballpark? What the...?"

"Lemme act as your personal metaphor translator for just a second and spell this out for you: shut the fuck up, Buck."

With the obvious now spelled out in full for his featherbrain to understand, he got the message and shut his fat beak while we finished up the last touches of our personal preparations. Buck and I both had to shed our preferred primaries for the likes of a suppressed shotgun and a similarly suppressed LMG with a collapsible stock; all in an effort to avoid excessive noise and muzzle flash. That all wasn't even bringing up the ever-present danger of a catastrophic cave-in of the tunnel network due to too much damage being done to the ancient stonework. The kick of a sturdy 12 gauge was solid and readily responsive compared to cushioning the recoil of a 25 millimeter round; not to mention having a tube of ten rounds versus the AMRs short stack of five allowed for some wiggle room with my shots. It had been years since I had been assigned a mission wherein my talent behind a large scope was wholly unnecessary, and it was with some reservation I removed the associated pouches from my rig, replacing them with various shotshell bandoliers. Whatever excess weight that I could shed was up for consideration though admittedly, there wasn't much to consider given I already had one of the lightest loads in the squad, only beat by Huckleberry and her lighter weight rifle. That said, the weight and size difference between the shotgun and my AMR was something in the range of ten-ish pounds of raw mass, and three-feet worth of fluted barrel. None of us had even seen the inside of the sewer tunnels yet so as to how much room any of us would have to maneuver was anypony's guess. The best plan I had was to have as many options available to me as possible.

Buck was unsurprisingly unhappy with having to leave his beloved grenade launcher behind, even when told he would be the one transporting and handling the explosive charges we would be using to destroy any infrastructure or device deemed vital. He opted instead for one of Rain Dancer's spare Boulder 63s sitting on the rack alongside other weapons in a ploy to 'playfully' spite him. Like myself, he too was forced to strip his rig of beloved ammunition such as 40mm rounds and spare missiles, replacing them with minimalistic rigid frames which snugly held the plastic ammo boxes of belted rounds meant for the LMG. Given his size and brutish strength, Buck was also packing more ammunition than we were likely to need, which didn't stop him from taking on the extra weight anyway. We both retained our Sequoias for extreme close-quarters, further accentuated by long combat knives and, in Buck's case, a set of viciously spiked brass knuckles which fit snuggly over his armored talons. As an extra precaution, each of us added an additional holster to our persons meant to store a spare semi-automatic pistol for situations requiring reloads less frequent then every six rounds. While my choice of a 10mm N96 gave me the advantage of capacity at the cost of stopping power, Buck naturally opted for the strength and middling capacity of one of Griffinstone's Desert Falcon monsters chambered in .50 Werewolf. Augmented with a batch of smoke and gas grenades (and yet another backup, backup knife), the two of us felt as prepared as we could be for what laid below with our weapons and equipment all checked and found to be battle-worthy.

With a fresh plate attached and the MHG system showing green in most places and yellow where it still hurt, I felt as confident as I could under the circumstances. If anything, my faith in the Mrk. V, and indeed the whole Multi-Combat Armored Platform line that myself and most others serving relied on, was the majority of the reason I was still alive at all. While the all-too lauded Celestium impact plates had failed to stop those bullets from penetrating, I had to remind myself that it did have limits that several guns in service on both sides could defeat. Those shots had gone off at such a close range that their velocity and rigidity were simply too much for the impact plate to handle, let alone expect it to ricochet off like it could with lesser rounds. The fact I had survived at all...it went without saying I had experienced a miracle which had ensured I had both the time and the wherewithal to save my own life, even if it was an extreme risk. Buck too had gotten the hole in his wing covered up, courtesy of a new heavy wing covering stored in his supply locker as part of a spare suit of armor each of us was issued for situations (and injuries) like ours. The wounds inflicted on him had mostly occurred in less-armored joints, the majority of which coming from shrapnel though not including the boobytrapped door that had severed his foreleg. Indeed, on top of the new wing plating, he was also forced to don an entirely new Kevyarn undersuit as his previous one was full of jagged holes from where he had taken damage the night before. While I thought a hot shower and a night's rest would do all of us good before engaging in a mission like this, we were going to have to make do with a light nap and a hearty lunch whipped up by Crystal and others. Once we both took turns checking each others' equipment and syncing our helmet radios, we cleaned up after ourselves in the rather tight space and made sure the Armory was fit for inspection.

"Took you two long enough. Get lost in there?" Hucks chuckled from where she stood next to Nimbus as we exited through the cargo bay and into the world outside.

"Nah, badass like me just needs some extra time to make sure he's got all the tools he needs for the job. You two ready for this shit?"

"Not exactly..." Nimbus replied grimly, her helmeted gaze constantly turning upwards as if looking for something.

"I'm with her on this one." Hucks sighed in defeat while nodding towards Nimbus. "I ain't too excited to be doing this, Buck. I hope you're aware of that."

"Absolutely I am!" He grinned as if pleased with himself. "All eyes are on me for once! Let's go get me a fuckin' medal!"

"The last thing you deserve is another shiny dangling off your dress uniform..." I groaned in reply, giving him a sharp rap against his side. "We're as ready as we'll ever be for something like this. You two ready?"

"I am, Nimbus here is still waiting for her resupply request to be fulfilled."

"Indeed...it should have been here already but there's been no word. Needless to say, I am not all too happy about this situation. Any longer and I'll have to radio...hold up. The FOB? What're they...?"

We were all on the cusp of asking our own questions but were immediately silenced by a loud thud felt through the paved stonework beneath us and was from somewhere very close by. A moment later and the air some ten-feet away was sliced open as if to another world as a pneumatic drawbridge lowered and the cargo bay of another Bünkerwagen lit in a tactical blue light came into view. As soon as my eyes comprehended what I was seeing, I immediately recognized that the inside of this craft was highly modified from the version we had just walked out of, with far more internal room and a long, runway-like bay door being only some of my observations. Standing and waiting for the door to fully lower was none other than Commander Typhoon herself, dressed proudly in her shadowy combat armor and beckoning us to come aboard quickly.

"Come on, we don't have all day! We had to wait until unneeded eyes were turned elsewhere to land. Climb aboard and we can talk inside!" She hollered out, glancing past us to see if the inner hatch leading from the cargo bay to the rest of the Mauler was sealed shut.

The only one of us that wasn't struck dumb by what we were seeing was, of course, Nimbus who seemed to relax the moment the bay door started to lower and began to move towards it before Typhoon even opened her mouth to speak. We all followed in hot pursuit so as to not draw any unwanted attention to the Shadowbolts' private operations base, passing up the ramp and through the portal into the visual illusion. As soon as the last of our hooves touched the inner bay, the large door withdrew its extended ramp and quickly hissed shut while the sensation of the entire craft taking flight shivered through our bodies. Even though I had been somewhat expecting it, and had spent some time in the sky inside flying metal contraptions, I still felt my knees buckle somewhat underhoof forcing me to steady myself somewhat against the wall. Once I felt I had regained my 'air legs', I looked up from my hooves and found myself alone in a familiar yet, wholly unfamiliar cargo bay with Hucks; the others having obviously gone on without us due to their comfortable tolerance to this sort of thing. From the dimensions alone, I was guessing that they had sacrificed some or all of the space dedicated to the Armories within the Bünkerwagens I was familiar with to make for a larger bay. Along the walls were hung sections of thick cargo netting interspaced with a dozen or so basic folding seats, and a long overhead cargo rack running the length on both sides. Interspaced on either side were several idle computer stations featuring a wide arrangement of keypads, docking ports for PipBuck data cables and such, and odd attachment points which seemed compatible with most respirator air tubes. The floor below me was more or less the same as what I was used to with numerous anchor points for lashing down supplies while the ceiling above me sporting the same recessed LED lighting I knew and small vents for air circulation. I could not see a hatch to the ladder leading up into BuzzSaw minigun turret that were featured on the ground variants, however, there still existed an odd ring-like structure with an access panel to possible wiring and machinery underneath.

"Well...this place is new." Hucks said with a weak laugh as we exchanged glances whilst looking around our new surroundings. "Somehow looks even higher tech than what we got. We definitely like...took flight, right? That wasn't just me that felt that, yes?"

"No, no, I totally felt it too." I replied with a shaky laugh of my own while gesturing to the room around us. "I mean...I wouldn't be back here clenching my ass and holding onto my knees for dear life along with you if I didn't, would I?"

"No...guess I should be glad that I'm vindicated in my sudden onset motion sickness. Common, let's go find the rest of those equilibrium-having jerks with the wings. Heh...you know what I mean."

"Gotcha." I winked with a nod since she couldn't see it through the helmet. "I won't say a word about it if you don't."

I took the lead after that and approached the metal hatch sealing us off from the rest of the vehicle, almost immediately being allowed through as it hissed softly open to reveal a short hallway leading into yet another familiar yet unfamiliar space. The abrupt hallway had an additional sealed hatch on either side as we passed into what could only be called a highly advanced mobile command station, complete with multiple large, multi-screened computer stations, large television displays built into the walls, and several additional screens dangling from the ceiling as well above each workstation. Commanding the center of the somewhat cramped internal space was a large, squat circular table with a high rim around the edge and a flared border surrounding it. Meanwhile, the tabletop itself seemed to be covered in...sand? I was completely flabbergasted at the sight of several comfortable benches stuffed into the four corners, carpeted floors sporting M.O.I and Airborne Corps livery and, perhaps most amazing of all, a sizable, semi-professional kitchen in the upper quarter of the craft where our main turret ladder, dining area, comms and radar station were otherwise located. Every computer station on board was dutifully occupied and attended to by a mix of Pegusi and Unicorns, all dressed in matching Airborne style jumpsuits. In a change from the usual blue/gray coloration, these uniforms sported an odd color pattern; royal plum across the torso and most of the upper half of the legs, with jet black at the hooves and neck separated at the border by a jagged golden stripe like a lightning bolt. Each likewise was seemingly issued a PipBuck 3000 as data cables connected each user directly with their workstation at the left foreleg. All of them were laser-focused on their assigned tasks and were seemingly entirely oblivious to our arrival. The dull murmur of radio chatter filled the air as most stations appeared preoccupied with scanning communication frequencies in search of whatever relevant information they were assigned to monitor for. Those not tasked with keeping an ear on the radio waves were instead monitoring radar displays and what looked like highly detailed overhead maps of the immediate area littered with so many blips and markers I couldn't even begin to make any of it out. The general vibe within the technological marvel of a room was tense but somehow relaxed, with everyone seemingly somewhat on-edge yet seemingly cool as could be under pressure. For a war going on around (or, as of now, below) us, not a one on board seemed to be feeling the tension or strain of the situation weighing them down.

Indeed, exemplifying this attitude were our three missing winged compatriots, all standing at the far end at what passed for a countertop separating the kitchen area from the command center. They were seemingly sharing a casual round of shots recently poured by a yellow Pegasus stallion in what seemed to be a much more official Shadowbolt uniform. That is, his came across as identifying him as a direct member of Team Crash rather than one of their support crew with a thick, obvious Kevyarn weave construction and electromagnetic nodes for mounting armored plates onto. The glasses they were enjoying from were all admittedly small but...there was something both surreal and...perhaps a bit in bad taste, in such an open display of decadence on the verge of a major operation. Then again...Buck, Hucks and I were just mere Desert Rangers, and while there was a 'Veteran' title somewhere there alongside the name, it hadn't ensured too much luxury for ourselves while out in the field. At least...not to this degree. A private tent to ourselves, preferred meal status and near limitless ammunition requisition forms were about the full extent of extra benefits extended to us by courtesy of Southern Command. Whereas the Shadowbolts, Rainbow Dash's most prized gems in her arsenal, were seemingly living it all up with a well-stocked minibar and a cooking/prep station some restaurants would kill to obtain. While the insufferable insanity of the entire concept was on the verge of too absurd to take in, I had to hand it to ourselves to somehow be so lucky as to get a glance into the private world of the true military elite amongst the fighting branches of the Equestrian Armed Forces. Buck was especially relishing in his newfound surroundings and was motioning with his empty shot glass at the stallion who had just poured him his second shot since I had caught sight of them. He was starting to push his luck a bit with his newfound friends, and while the occasional ego course correction was necessary for an asshat such as himself, the fallout from bad impressions on a team like this could hurt a helluva lot more than his ego...

"Drinking on the job?" I asked to the group at large so as to not single Buck out too much. "That wise right before a mission?"

Typhoon grinned with a playful smirk and nodded to the stallion to toss each of us a glass for ourselves before gesturing us to come forward and get them filled before saying, "Bah! Our ancestors always had a little fire water in their veins on the eve of important battles to steel the nerves and enliven the spirit through...well, spirits! Vapor Trail here will get your drinks sorted out so just pass them over and let's get you two a little pick-me-up!"

I glanced at Hucks who gave a slight shrug of confused exasperation and finally gave into her request, levitating my glass over to be poured up a shot of whatever he had in his unmarked, government stamped bottle of clear fluid. Quick as a professional bartender, the stallion tipped the bottle over through dexterous use of his wings and decanted till the spirit met the brim of each glass and not a drop more. With the same level of skill, he lightly bopped each glass back towards us with the tip of his hoof managing to successfully return both drinks without losing any of their contents despite how quickly he sent them back in our direction. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the entire experience unfolding around me. The casual tone from such an enigmatic and elite group, the extensive modifications to an otherwise familiar Bünkerwagen, and the fact we were, somehow, standing at a bar top having a little chat over shots of alcohol. It was all just...so very surreal given that somewhere below me there was still a siege going on with nopony the wiser that we were all up here. Drinking. Is this how all Shadowbolt teams operated behind the scenes? Or...was this just the result of years in the field allowing for certain regulations to be avoided and ignored?

"Drink up me lassies!" He chuckled in a deep baritone voice which almost vibrated the air with his rumbling tone. "Don't let good Moskipone vodka go to waste! Even we don't get our hooves on quality stuff like this often!"

With another sideways glance at Hucks, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder and tipped our glasses back down the hatch in near unison, a motion we had some practice with after years of working with Buck and Penny. After all, just like it would have been career suicide to refuse this mission, to reject our hosts' offer on an expensive drink would simply be in horrible taste in such esteemed company. In even poorer taste, the rancid liquid hit my mouth like cold fire, burning all it touched as I fought the urge to gag on it as it ran down my throat. It hit my stomach like a smoldering rock, my only saving grace being a lunch of steamed vegetables and a lot of dense wheat bread which did little to attenuate the slow burn that accompanied it; my eyes watering and my mouth began to drool in an attempt to exude the horrible flavor from my tongue and the inside of my cheeks. All the same though...I kept it down and only had to fight back the urge to gag for dear life in an attempt to save some face.

"Heh, you alright there you two?" Typhoon asked with a soft teasing tone. "Too strong for your taste?"

I nodded with a grimace while Hucks hoarsely replied, "Much too strong...she, Rain Dancer and I are less into alcohol than Buck or Penny's Worth are so we don't drink often. That or go out of our way for the super strong stuff to be totally honest."

"I hate to bother but...do you happen to have a chaser of some sort...?" I asked timidly once the horrific flavor became too much for my mouth to bear. "Something fruity...?"

"I got ya, Colonel!" Nimbus called out with a wink of acknowledgement before sliding a bottle of SparkleCola Cherry across the bar in my direction. "Don't feel too bad, I have to pop a breath mint after a shot of that stuff and Typhoon here? She's-"

"I'll just stop her right there and cut to the chase with where she's going with that..." Typhoon groaned, giving Nimbus a friendly shove. "I gotta plug my nose to even down one of these things. I've thrown up twice because I failed to do so and she in particular will not let me live it down."

"Oh common, Commander!" She grinned as I discarded the bottlecap to my drink, taking a long swig before passing it along to Hucks. "You gotta give us something to work with, leave the ugly stuff where it lie and have some fun with it."

"Shut it, Nimbus. Point is, don't feel too bad about not being cut out for the hooch they produce in the Frozen North. Only a bunch of backwards numbnuts like them and ponies of a similar insanity could possibly find it enjoyable to get drunk off that shit."

"Yeah, well add me to the list of the insane because this shit ain't too bad." Buck smirked while wiggling his empty glass in Vapor's direction. "Hit me with another?"

"I think you've had enough for now, tough guy." Typhoon sighed with a slight frown, motioning for the bottle to be put away. "Even at your size, four shots of that stuff will leave a tingle in your bones. Besides, we need to save some for the afterparty of course! Like Vapor said, even we don't get our hooves on rare imports like this. Ever since the country went dark after the Great Northern War, bottles like these are extremely rare and collectable. And yeah, anyone with some potatoes or radishes or whatever can make some homemade vodka out of their bathtub but this stuff is the real deal. General Dash herself gave us the three bottles we have as part of a reward for an...operation we were involved with recently. Although she didn't outright say it, she eh...she hinted that the cost equivocated to like a full half-percent of her Ministry's yearly budget which is just...absolutely wild to think about."

"All that money...just for some nasty, professionally-made fermented potato juice." I grumbled, forgetting that was supposed to be a quiet inner thought.

"Hey, it might taste like absolute ass but this is the kind of stuff you reach for when you wanna get drunk quick and don't care about the hangover." Typhoon replied. "Ignore the taste and you'll soon be too drunk to even taste it."

"Eh, they're all a buncha pansies." Buck chuckled smugly. "Those three are total party poopers whenever we have the rare chance to go on leave off base and enjoy a real bar. Passes to go to Las Pegasus aren't passed out for free at Camp Macintosh, so they dangle those things like a fucking lottery for teams on streaks of good behavior."

"Oh yeah? You guys are the DR's Alpha Squad though, right? How often on average do you guys get passes like that?" Vapor Trails asked with such a genuine curiosity that I doubted he was just pulling our tails with his question.

"Oh hell, we've only been there...what, eight times now?" Buck asked, glancing between Hucks and I for confirmation.

"Nine." I replied with somewhat of a frown since I wasn't so keen on Las Pegasus as he was. "Why do you ask?"

"Goddamn!" Typhoon laughed before her eyes went a little wide in fear and she reassuringly followed up with, "No offense, of course! Just...was not expecting such a low number from a team that is...well, supposed to be the best the Desert Rangers have on offer."

"Hey! We are the best our Corps has to offer!" Buck huffed indignantly until Typhoon cut him off with yet more reassurance.

"And I believe it, Sergeant. I wouldn't have even considered this plan of yours if you guys were anyone else." She said with a bit of a sigh that worried me. "Regardless, what I was trying to say was that I am just surprised a team with a reputation and merits such as you guys are afforded...well, so little for lack of a better word. I mean, not for nothing but...Team Crash and I all have guaranteed leave in any city or place of our choosing every nine months. With the twelve of us all on the roster, we rotate through being on tour and on leave so at least half of us are always on duty, while the others are getting some well-earned R&R of their choice."

"That sounds nice..." I mumbled almost under my breath. "We've got a similar schedule but there's no standing replacements for us so when we're off the clock, we all go as a group and Command is out an entire team at once. As a result...98% of the time, any Rangers on leave rarely actually leave Camp Macintosh just in case we're needed at a moment's notice. They've got some good amenities on base, don't get me wrong, but...it's a real treat to be allowed out of the goddamned San-Palomino. I get tired of being cooped up behind concrete walls in the middle of a desert."

"And Command had to go and replace one desert for another with you guys." Vapor Trail commented with a shake of his yellow head, his green eyes hanging heavy with disappointment. "Well that's a damned shame then. Las Pegasus has some of the best restaurants and live shows in Equestria…I thought you guys had the same perks as us, I swear."

"Indeed..." Typhoon hummed softly. "I thought so too, to be honest. So all those rumors we keep hearing about you guys getting shafted by Command are true then?"

"Absolutely." Buck grunted angrily. "Every single one."

"I wouldn't go that far with that statement, Buck..." I interjected. "We don't know what they've heard so we can't just cast out a blanket statement like that. But I can't deny...most of the rumors are probably true. We've got good equipment and top-notch training but the shine and prestige of the Desert Ranger Corps started to dull long before we joined up."

"Well that's some tough shit..." Typhoon replied with a look of pity in her eyes. "We genuinely thought that you guys have the same system that we use, honest to Celestia. But! We've wasted enough precious time already standing around chatting over a bottle of vodka. Come along, let's head to the ops table."

With that Typhoon and Nimbus both made their way past us towards the large table I had spied on the way inside, Vapor Trail pausing to rinse our shot glasses before moving to join his compatriots. Hucks, Buck and I followed closely behind, if with some reservation as none of us knew exactly what to expect from this so-called 'ops table' as we gathered ourselves around the unfamiliar device. Within a moment my questions were mostly answered as Typhoon scanned her hoof into one of the computer stations lining the rim and the sandy tabletop began to glow. With the aid of some advanced spell completely above my skill-level to comprehend, the thick layer of sand was lit in blue and suspended in the air forming a detailed three-dimensional map of the city below us. It lacked the numerous blips found on the radar displays of nearby workstations but it was still undoubtedly a useful tool for the kind of work they performed. Born with wings as they were, the ground itself remained the only major barrier to the otherwise near-complete freedom of movement they (and Buck) got to enjoy. With a display such as their funky sand table, they could even map out the various cloud formations they would be using that would otherwise remain absent from any maps we would otherwise be using.

"Damn this thing is fancy!" Buck commented as he craned his head around to view it from multiple angles. "You guys have all the cool toys on this thing!"

"I mean...each Nacht-class Bünkerwagen has one of these as standard." Nimbus commented with some surprise. "Yours don't have these?"

"Nope, the ones we work with aren't anywhere near this packed with computer hardware. In this area they've got six bunks and four Power Armor repair bays while that kitchen zone over there is where the bulk of our computer shit is like radar and comms." He replied with broad gestures towards the areas he was talking about. "We've got like a little kitchen...thing of sorts right over there where the cockpit hatch is, but it's just a dinky lil' table and some food prep areas with dry storage."

"They sound much better suited to ground operations than ours then." Typhoon said before changing her tone to a much more professional level. "Alright, let's focus on the map everypony. We've wasted enough time as it is."

With some inputs on the keyboard before her, the map changed shape to reflect the roughly circular Old City wall which encompassed several large temples, multi-story manor homes, public parks, another market district, and what used to be the enormous private residence of the regional governor. With the wall surrounded and the New City district essentially secured through our many combined efforts, the enemy was locked in place with nowhere to run, and all nearby reinforcements were successfully routed. The six gates built into the city wall stood roughly the same distance apart from one another with six broad roads leading towards an enormous obelisk built into the center of town; each gate highlighted in small splotches of red light. A thin sheen of blue sand formed a dome across the circumference of the wall providing the Old City with an impenetrable bubble of protection and the size of it was...staggering. Although I wasn't all too familiar with the full rough dimensions of Anakha, I remembered from our briefing that the Old City alone covered some eight square-miles of territory. With well over three-thousand years of near continuous habitation, I was terrified at just how big their sewer system could possibly be...

"Alright, so this is the latest you need to be in the loop on before the starting gun in thirty-minutes." She continued, using her console to highlight floating arrows in green which pointed at all six gates. "Far as any of us are concerned, Old City is locked down under our control so all effort can be focused on the assault, outside of the rearguard garrison and insurrectionist patrols. The storm Airborne put over the city last night blocked most outbound communications, though at this point we can rule out taking this place out from under the Empire's nose. So, with all that being said, given this attack is occurring in broad daylight, we are going to be acting as your ride to the insertion point. We've narrowed it down out of a list of possible sewer access points to one located in the cellar of an old restaurant which has a private, inner courtyard just wide enough for the Black Swan to land. As you guys saw for yourselves, the invisibility spell around this thing only covers the outside and any prying eyes might be able to see you disembark were we to try it out in the open."

The map moved to highlight a squared off building a half-mile or so from the perimeter of the wall in a less densely urbanized section that was part of the upper-class area of New Town. Once I had refamiliarized myself with where in the city I was looking at, I was amused to see that our destination was not too far off from the manor home where Buck and I were seriously injured. The nearest city gate was only a mere quarter-mile from our insertion point with the staging area for elements of 5th and 6th Platoon out of Beta Company's Armored Regiment a similar distance away to our East. Needless to say, there was going to be no shortage of noise to cover the four of us slipping below ground.

"Ah, questions already. Make it brief please, Captain...Crisp I believe it was?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Hucks replied with the nervous twitch in her tail starting to swish about. "I just wanted to ask, why this particular spot out of the other potential options you mentioned? Not that there is anything inherently bad with it, I'm just...I guess I'm curious what the other sites looked like that made this one stand out?"

"To put it simply Captain, proximity to one of the groups making noise and attempting to breach the objective on their own. That and...it's the only one our recon of the area found to be closest to the wall, the others were farther away. Well...minus this one other spot, but it's in the slum district in the West of town and preliminary scans with the spell array showed concerning levels of decay in the tunnel walls. It's right up against the wall but we deemed it too structurally unsound to be considered a viable option, otherwise it would've been our top choice without question."

"Well that settles it then, drop off Huckleberry and Nimbus at the primary choice while Athena and I try the harder path." Buck interjected confidently as if the whole siege had just been solved. "We'll double our chances of finding a path and we were planning on splitting off anyway, so what's the difference if we choose to try it like this?"

"Now hold the fuck on, Buck." I retorted with some ire, granted he had already used up most of my patience for him already. "You can't just keep volunteering me for this kind of shit without even a second's thought as to how I might feel about it."

"Yeah, I know. But you also know that I'm right on this one too. You heard the Commander, it's only 'structurally unsound'! That means at least enough of the damned thing is still standing down there that shit hasn't literally backed up anywhere we can see. That and there's no sinkholes that've been reported due to cave-ins so far as I've heard."

Whatever Typhoon was truly feeling, she played it close to the chest and glanced between us as she replied, "I can see why the Colonel described you as...how did she put it? 'Just unable help but channel a Griffin's inherent need to take on big challenges', or something along those lines? Regardless...now that the idea is on the table, you might as well give your full opinion on it, Colonel."

To be frank, I was furious; even more so than when he had initially gotten Hucks and I tangled up in his web of bullshit tighter than normal. First strike was taking me along for an unexpected joyride, his second was volun-telling me that I was to be part of this veritable suicide mission so soon after our last. And now he had finally arrived on strike three, all in less than twenty-four hours which was a new record, even for his sorry ass. Of course though, he was right. He was right yet again that we had to at least try any and all options, even one with low odds...and I hated him for it.

"I hate the idea but fuck it, even if I said no he would still zip off there now that he knows about it, and I can't stop him from trying. Best I can do is back him up and the best we can do is try this second avenue. Like he said...we were already planning on splitting off as soon as we hit the first major junction. This'll strain the data feed, if it'll even work at all by that point, but...yeah. That's all I've got to say."

"Um...as the unofficial medic for Alpha Squad, for the sake of the team, and our Squad Leader, may I respectfully object to this outrageous idea?" Hucks piped up nervously, the swish in her tail getting angry and frantic. "If the Commander says it was too unsafe for us to use then I say we take that as ironclad reason not to fucking do this. Pardon my language, Commander."

"At ease, Captain. This here's Z-country and as you drank for yourself, we don't stand too much on rigid protocol around here. Your objection is, however, very much justified as I reviewed the geological readings of the survey myself and wouldn't send my own team down there unless I was ordered to do so from on high."

"See??" She pleaded, looking between Buck and I with desperation. "That right there is common sense talking, Buck! Don't risk it, please..."

"You begging me to be safe?" He responded with an amused smirk and a chuckle. "Well damn, ain't that a new one. But...it's too late sweetlips, like Crete said, I'm gonna try that damn entrance one way or another. She might as well watch my back and double my chances of pulling this whole thing off."

"Buck, if you get Athena killed, I and the rest of Alpha will absolutely end you." She growled in response, glaring him down with such ferocity that even his normally unbreakable smirk cracked under the strain. "You fucking hear me? She nearly fucking died tonight and deserves a soft bed with the Ministry of Peace at Camp Sentinel resting up after getting shot in her goddamn abdomen!"

"Alright! Alright! I'll be extra fucking careful this time around, alright?!" He retorted, slamming his fist on the ops table which got him a reprimand from the Commander.

"Oi! Careful with the fucking hardware, flyboy!" She grunted angrily, swatting his fist from off the table with her hoof. "You're starting to irk me, Sergeant. I know I said we're relaxed around here but this is still a multi-billion bit investment from the Equestrian government so treat the Black Swan with a bit more fucking respect. Now, are we done with this?"

"Yes." Hucks huffed back after taking a deep, long breath to steady herself whilst I remained on edge in my boots. "We're done. Athena? Be as safe as you possibly can, alright? Buck? Keep your ass alive long enough to make sure hers gets the fuck out of that sewer alive, got it?"

Out of the two sharp prods into his pride, I could only assume the reprimand from Typhoon was the barb that cut deepest as his eyes had shot wide and his grin had shattered, if only for a moment. As I feared, his many vices and shortcomings were starting to rear their ugly heads in front of ponies who mattered. He endlessly dreamed about pushing his wings to their absolute limit and few pushed them better than the Shadowbolts. Indeed, he seemed almost at home with himself while mingling with Typhoon, Nimbus and Vapor Trail but he had not rightly earned the privilege of acting like them. Typhoon still outranked him by miles and with the direct oversight of one of the Ministry Mares funding and leading their ranks, the kind of weight her word and opinion could sling around were potentially enormous. Enough to earn Buck that shiny new medal he went on about or...enough to earn his career an early, dishonorably discharged and ignominious end.

"Alright, that's good enough for me then." Typhoon finally responded after gazing over us with a critical eye. "Look...I know we're all running on fumes in this bloody town, and I wouldn't love anything more than a hot bath and a dose of tranquilizer so I can sleep for two days straight. But as long as that goddamn shield stays up, those damned striped assholes will prevent us from claiming Anakha for Equestria. Until we take this city, Army Group South will not be moving any farther South towards the capital of Kyopsis and at this time, it's going to be on you four to try and break this stalemate before it drags on any longer. Every day we stay hung up on these stubborn, dug-in pricks is another day for those bastards to gather their forces and organize counter-attacks. We've made it this far...let's make this our final push and get this goddamn city under the flag of the Princesses, alright? We'll upload what ground scans we have to your PipBucks before you depart, but beyond the wall...we don't know much about the tunnel layout. You'll be flying blind and will have to trial-and-error it with your AutoMaps. Another question? Go ahead, Colonel."

I dropped the hoof I had raised back to the rubberized floor beneath me as I asked, "So...I'm just curious if, in some unfortunate situation of whatever sort, one or both of us have to deal with a short-out of our PipBuck spell matrices...?"

"What, are you that concerned about your equipment?" She responded with a cocked eyebrow and a worried tone. "Are the Desert Rangers that scrapped for funding and supplies?"

"No! I mean, we could use more of both for damn sure, but no. I'm just...trying to have some sort of advice for a worst case scenario that came to mind. We all double and triple-checked our gear before we came on board and I've yet to meet a PipBuck that can't stand up to the pressure we put on 'em. No...the idea just came to mind and it worried me. We're going to be extremely isolated down there and anything could go wrong, including catastrophic equipment failure."

"I see...well, if your PipBucks go dark...at least your helmets should have an independent backup power supply for basic low-light optics and the headlamp, if they're anything like ours that is. I cannot attest to how similar the internals of our gear differ from each other, but it's obvious the overall design of our armor was heavily inspired by yours."

"Yes, they've got backups, thank Celestia..." I sighed with a hidden tension in my gut. "Supposedly, they should be able to run a more rudimentary version of the OS when separated from the physical PipBuck but...I've been admittedly a bit scared to detach mine from my bracer and risk losing it."

"Well then, there's your answer. Use the backup OS and if that doesn't work...just use the LED lamp and do it the old fashioned way. I really don't know what you want me to tell you, Colonel. Our ancestors had to make war with a lot lower-tier tech than any of us here are enjoying, hell even our grandparents had less to work with when they fought the Great Northern War. If they could beat armies and raise Kingdoms without this shit then we can most certainly do so too."

"Understood..." I mumbled back in reply, feeling more than a little stupid for asking such a question I could have easily answered for myself. "No other stupid questions, Ma'am."

"Good. Look...I know this mission has a lot of unknowns going on around it and we just don't have all the answers you might like. Command is breathing down everyone's neck to get this shit wrapped up and the city ready for the Ministry of Image's propaganda campaign. Pushing them out of the Badlands wasn't exciting enough to even hit major headline news. I'm not saying we're doing this for public image sake because...common, we are all of us in this shitpit together doing our parts just as ever to keep this Army fighting and functioning. But, at the same time...I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for anyone. Taking Anakha is a major power play by General Olive and he can't be bothered to even hide it this time. If we can get this all wrapped up and done within three days, max, the whole of Army Group South will be in consideration for expanded funding and investment from Command. I think it goes without saying at this point...I think we all deserve a bigger slice of the pie coming out of the Royal Treasury every month. Whatever your opinions on the General are, this means a whole hell of a lot more than just another victory medal for him and we should try to finish this as quickly as possible all the same. This could mean a raise for everypony, better, newer equipment and maybe even some more of these beautiful works of Gryphon art! At the very least...think of the poor fucks in the GA taking the brunt of the casualty reports."

"Wait, the...M.O.I is sending a broadcast crew? Here?" Hucks asked tentatively. "Goddesses...when was the last time they came down our way for anything?"

"Some fifteen-odd years for anypony keeping track. The point is, regardless of how Command and Canterlot want to spin this operation during the afterparty, all of us want to get off our fucking hooves and get some sleep. Let's put on our best war faces and kick some ass as fast as we can so all of us can earn a better standing with the money makers up North. Now...are we all ready? Any more questions, comments, and otherwise that should probably be left unsaid?"

The group of us all glanced between each other before collectively shaking our heads in response, prompting her to reply, "Good. You'll be going in half-blind so you'll need to be at your best. If this goes badly, well...officially, Command never knew you, we never knew you and uh...the War will find another way through that goddamn city wall. Unofficially...my deepest condolences to each of you for your brave attempt, and if this all somehow goes right then by all means, please forget everything I just said. I wouldn't have let this get off the runway if I didn't think you guys had a chance of making this work and Command won't rest until we've tried every option."

"Thank you for those...beautifully kind and thoughtful words of encouragement." Hucks grumbled unenthusiastically under her breath, just loud enough for me to hear her over the noise going on around us. "Fucking hell, I should never have opened my fat fucking mouth and said yes to joining this mad crusade of yours..."

Next Chapter: Chapter Forty-Five: Homesteads Near and Far Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 48 Minutes