Marble Falls stood in front of the gate. It was a giant metal door in the clouds. There wasn’t much to it. Just a steel box.

Captain Nova gave final orders. “Team, take a RadBlocks and then secure your masks.”

Marble Falls took hers and downed it with a dash of water. The mask fit on slightly differently than the others. Their helmets were not much different, but the typical masks were about protection. They needed protection, but they also needed oxygen to function at higher speeds than what normal troops would be, even in combat. This system used a duel extra large filter system to allow them all of the oxygen they needed.

Captain Nova hit their coms. “Marble Falls dear, you’re first. Get in and secure the area. Then its Razor, Me, Clean Blade, Rose Lightning, and then Lieutenant Spring Jade bringing up the rear.”

“Important for those of you who have never used a gate, especially 17. Its a metal chute through the clouds. Around 30-40 feet, depending on the area. 17 is tighter than most because of the location. So you have to make sure its a straight drop or you will hit the side. That will be an automatic disaster. Redirecting while falling through a gate is not easy or wise.”

Captain Nova raised a hoof and looked at the Lieutenant. He dropped it to signal the opening. The metal broke along the center line and dropped. It was a simple split swing gate.

Marble Falls stepped up to the edge and looked down, judging things. She didn’t even notice the land below. Her focus was on the walls that appeared to be closing in on themselves the further down they went.

Marble Falls took a slight step back once she had judged it. She moved forward into a long step and part tip to drop down. She was close to the wall she had stepped off on but in a few seconds she was free and clear.

Marble Falls didn’t fight the fall, but opened her wings and used it to give her the speed to come up and around, setting herself in a figure 8 pattern to keep watch over the area.

It was desolate. The trees below her were warped and stunted. If it lived, it was twisted and harsh. The land was choking and dying, but it wasn’t going down easily. And it would take any living thing with it that it could as it died.

And that wasn’t covering the light. Despite the thick clouds that sealed the Pegasus Race from the wasteland and protected them, it couldn’t stop the sun. Only most of it. It wasn’t dark, but it was muted. It was more than enough to live, not enough to make you smile, enough to see clearly, but a forever reminder that the sun was gone.

Razor Tempest didn’t join Marble Falls. He set his own pattern. Captain Nova formed up on Marble Falls and so did the rest. Razor Tempest didn’t join them until they were ready to move out.

Marble Falls began to make her entry logs. “Start: Time, 0754. Heading, South by Southeast. Height, unknown. 100 feet below clouds.”

They were staying high as the flew straight to their target. It was not visible. Marble Falls was making reports every ten minutes. There was little charge as the morning wore on.

And there was no good landmarks to note. It was difficult for Marble Falls to ascertain location information. That was why Clean Blade had the Pathfinder on his foreleg. It gave him speed, compass, time, and the ability to track their movements. As he fed information into its programming, he could make stamps that would later be used to give a direct flight path they took. Pairing that with the video cameras they had rolling, they could lay out a full map for their flight. Visual and logistical data.

They flew on. Marble Falls kept checking around her for landmarks. She made a few small ones, but they would be easy to miss, even if you tried to follow their path. Finally the city came into view and the Fifth Squadron dropped down to their operating height of 100 feet.

The city never came. Marble Falls lost her bearing as they found themselves over a sea of indistinguishable suburban housing. It was a nightmare. All off the buildings were decaying differently, but they were all the same. With small backyards and the odd pool here and there. There was nothing special about it. And worse, it blocked the accurate distance to the real city of Fillydelphia.

“Mark Time, 1132. I lost bearing as we entered suburban housing. No way to see where the real city starts. Below, its all the same. No landmarks. Markings will be by time now.”

Marble Falls continued to scan. By the way Razor Tempest was acting off to her right, he had lost his bearing. Things now certainly rested on Clean Blade’s reports for that information. And Marble Falls couldn’t see him from her spot in the formation.

“Mark Time, 1158. Small Park with playground to my 315. Check that, its a school. A school is at my 315.”

Marble Falls did a quick glance to check on the others. She went back to looking at the school. It seemed so peaceful. What horrors did it hide?

A shot rang out.

“Shot fired at Time, 1202. Location and target unknown.”

They flew for several more minutes before more gunfire erupted.

“Mark Time, 1211. Firefight on the ground. My 345. No landmarks.”

Several rounds flew by them. They all held their breath, hoping it was an accident.

A loud thunder erupted and a round blasted past Marble Falls’ head. She instinctively dropped, darting at the location and then opened her wings and slipped right back in formation.

“Mark Time, 1214. Shot fired at team. Over my head. Dart tactic on the general location of the shot. Potentially made a bogie scramble.”

A burst of fire erupted all around them.

“Loosen up!” Captain Nova ordered.

Marble Falls rolled out. Razor Tempest dropped back more, to give a wider coverage.

“Wide pattern at Time 1220. Shots fired at team.”

They all began to move more in their separation. It would make tracking them harder.

“Mark Time, 1227. City edge clear and at my 0. Two minutes out.”

Several more shots were erratically taken. Most were only heard. A pointless waste of lead.

They entered the city’s edge and tightened back up. They began slipping into the taller buildings. More gunfire erupted, but it was not directed at them. It was impossible to tell what direction at their speeds. Everything echoed. Marble Falls marked it in her log.

Automatic gunfire rained down on them from higher up. They rolled apart to avoid it, but stayed together. Captain Nova called for the split and Marble Falls followed after Lieutenant Spring Jade.

“Mark Time, 1242. Standard split. Right, Left, Straight, Left, Right, Straight, Straight, team crossed ahead, Right. Teamed up, 1244.”

The gunfire popped up at times.

“Straight, Right, Left, Mark Time 1245. Left, Straight, Over, Right, Left, park on our Right, Left.”

Marble Falls saw a set of low roof top buildings ahead and it was clear they were going over. Something moved and before Marble Falls understood what was happening there was a flash from a big gun and deafening blast.

Lieutenant Spring Jade just was gone. Lightning. Thunder. Gone.

Marble Falls reacted, lighting the rooftop ahead of them up with her minigun. Nothing came of it except exploding concrete. They were over it a second later.

“Mark Time, 1247. Spring Jape dead. Explosion in formation. Right, Left, Straight, Right, Left.”

Marble Falls focused on calling out their movements. An explosion in the air banged in front of them. It had come from behind. Two more came in quick succession and they turned out of the line of sight.

“Straight, Straight, Over.”

The air erupted in fire again. Both explosions and small arms fire. They took a left and Marble Falls saw a block thing on a building. She briefly saw two ponies on either side. Here minigun spun up, but she canceled it as they turned and were out of it’s sight. The air still exploded behind them in a fit of rage.

Whatever she half saw, it might have caused the explosions. But there was no explaining it, no real description. It looked like an Air Conditioning unit on the rooftop of many of the buildings.

Small arms fire tore through them from multiple sources. Marble Falls felt one hit her belly’s armor and another ripped through her left saddlebag, dumping the contents that survived. As she glanced back at it, she saw Clean Blade drop and pull to the side, slamming into a building at full speed.

“Clean down. Time, 1252.”

They pulled several more turns and everything suddenly opened up.

“Mark Time 1252, Opened up to a crater. Half the city is gone.”

A big landmark for mapping the city, but it also was a death trap. Marble Fall’s geiger counter spiked to highly toxic levels, screeching warnings in her ear. And it was still worse. The air began to explode from all angles. They were exposed and easy targets. Several rockets were launched at their location.

The team was blown apart as an explosion blew up right above their heads. Marble Falls was forced into a spin out. She knew she was feeling more than a headache, but it didn’t matter. She was falling and out of control. Marble Falls opened her wings and finally flipped back and around towards the Squad.

“Blow apart. Time, 1255. Rose Lightning missing.”

More gunfire strafed through them and in between Marble Falls and the others. She had to pull up and avoid it.

There was no way for her to describe the horrors she was feeling. She had a target on her back, and front, and to each side. She was a target. A nice, perfect target. And there was no way to get rid of it. And now it was worse. She was alone, trying to get to the others.

Marble Falls pulled up all the way, getting above the city and then dove on an intersect to the others. She pulled out her wings at the right time and perfectly slid in the open position on Captain Nova’s left.

The air in front of them didn’t explode as much as it was lit on fire as everything went off in their path. They were forced apart. Marble Falls skirted left, Captain Nova pulled up and Razor Tempest banked a hard right.

Marble Falls immediately had to dive to avoid a rocket and small arms fire. She cut low, barely above the crater. The radiation made her tingle. She rolled up to get height and saw Razor Tempest on the crater’s edge. Blood was on his uniform from a bullet wound, above his guns. His guns were the reason why she knew it was him.

He moved, rolling over. Marble Falls didn’t see Captain Nova, so she turned towards him. She was going to grab him and go. She was not going to be alone.

As she came in, a unicorn wielding a bat stepped over to Razor Tempest. Razor Tempest moved his head, looking at the visitor. Marble Falls saw him recognize the danger as he tried to move.

The bat slammed down on his head. The built in goggles shattered on the second hit. Marble Falls spun up her minigun as the third hit slammed home. She canceled it because she would tear apart Razor Tempest as well. A worst sentence for her.

Marble Falls opened her wings and pulled up as she watched in horror as the fourth hit rang home in a splash of blood. The fifth was in motion as she turned and lost sight.

“Mark Time, 1302. Razor dead. No visual on team. Evasive maneuvers.”

Marble Falls almost gave up as more of the sky exploded all around her. Out of nowhere Captain Nova was on her wing. Marble Falls pulled them into a high roll.

The roll gave her enough of a sight to see her next move. She dove and cut across the crater towards a building that had been reduced to it’s mangled steel frame. As they got free of the crater, the air exploded above them.

Marble Falls blacked out as she fell out of the sky. When she blinked awake, the ground was a second away. She gave into her fate.

Marble Falls was slammed into and picked out of the air. She opened her wings and let Captain Nova get her airborne again. They made a straight line to the structure. Their attempts to avoid the blasts had failed them. It didn’t matter.

Marble Falls had lost her mask in the last blast, along with half her helmet. Her left goggle was mostly gone and her right was cracked. The HUD was down. She could not give any more updates, but her com unit was somehow online.

Captain Nova took them in and through the metal structure. They hugged it as it shielded them from the explosions. Small arms fire was directed at them from below. They rolled and Captain Nova took them into an aggressive dive.

Captain Nova edged ahead so they were more in line. He brought them right above the ground, as fast as they could sustain. Marble Falls caught glimpses of movement, but they suddenly entered a very different part of the city.

Skyscrapers and tall buildings were replaced with giant rectangular buildings. Heavy machinery was all around and several cranes were looming over the giant buildings. They had found Philadelphia's legendary factory district.

“Mark Time, fuck!” Marble Falls swore as she remembered she couldn’t see the time or make a report.

Captain Nova pulled them skyward, straight up. Marble Falls rolled a bit as they flew up. As they got to the clouds they leveled off and continued at their previous heading.

Marble Falls saw water off to their left. She tried her com. “Captain, water to our left.”

Captain Nova nodded and they turned towards the water. They began to move in darting, sharp zags to avoid any potential dangers. They had cleared the city, but they were not going to play it safe. It had breathed it’s fire upon the Squadron and sunk it’s teeth into the Enclave too many times now.

Once they were a good 100 miles out over the sea they leveled off. Captain Nova turned them north and they began the return trip. Captain Nova slipped back so he was side by side with Marble Falls.

“How are you dear? Are you hurt?”

“Nothing major,” Marble Falls replied. “I know I’m nicked. I can see blood on my snout. The whole thing was blasted off of my face. At least it was there to take the blast. I know my armor took a few rounds as well.”

“I got nicked and my front chest plate is shattered from multiple strikes too, but I’m fine. I… look, can you push it? We need to make getting back to the gate. Our greatest priority. Then we can figure out what the fuck happened.”

“I’m still gassed up,” Marble Falls shot back. “Let’s fly!”

Captain Nova jetted ahead and Marble Falls had to play catch up for almost a minute before they found their fastest cruising speed. It was a lot faster than they had started with. Still, it was nearing dark when they finally found the gate. Captain Nova knew what he was doing and had gotten them almost straight back.

Captain Nova’s radio was down, so it was Marble Falls who called to the team above. They dropped the gate and Captain Nova sent Marble Falls up first. It was single file.

Marble Falls set down and for half a second was afraid Captain Nova had given up. But he came up.

“CLOSE THEM!” Captain Nova ordered. The pain and rage was evident in his voice.

“Captain!” The Lieutenant yelled, dashing over. “What the...”

He just stopped, unable to form words.

“We are going,” Captain Nova told him. “We need to get back to Scout Command right now.”

“Ready Captain!” Marble Falls immediately said. “But, can we get a drink of water?”

“And food!” The Lieutenant. “Don’t be stupid.”

Captain Nova sighed. “Fifteen minutes. But we can’t take longer. We can’t let it ground us. Trust me dear.”

Marble Falls took a deep breath in. “I do. I understand. A quick bite to eat, bathroom run and gone.”

They got water inside. Captain Nova also had lost his. His saddlebags didn’t exists. The little left was singed from being on fire.

They took Rad-Flush, a RadBlock, downed water, ate, and then did the final prep. Marble Falls met Captain Nova out front. His helmet was off and his cheeks were wet. She formed up beside him, but he didn’t move.

“I… I thought I had lost everypegasus. But then I caught sight of you. I… I already lost Spring. I couldn’t lose you too. If I had lost everypegasus… I… I only came back to get you safely home.”

“Captain, may I ask a question?”

“Yes, but after what we went through, we have a deep bond. Captain doesn’t sound right. Nova, please.”

“Spring Jade was with you since the beginning. It was more than that, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Captain Nova said stoically. “Yes. It was much more than that. But we never feared what we faced because we had each other. And now, I am not morning as much as I am afraid. I am afraid of being alone. It has been so very long, I have forgotten how crippling and dark it is.”

Captain Nova put that fear to use, taking off, straight up. Without running maneuvers, they moved a lot faster. Their cruising speed was reducing as the beating from the mission replaced their adrenaline, but they pushed. It was a little before sunrise when they touched down at Camp Bullis.

They were noticed coming in and the gate had been rolled back. Worse than no gate guard was what it meant. Behind it was General Quick Breeze, in his Wonderbolt armor. By his side was Colonel Shielded Vengeance and Major Firestorm. Both were in armor. All three were clearly shielding themselves against emotions. And the Lieutenant at the gate and withheld any reports.

Captain Nova stood proudly in front of them, letting the pain be his backbone.

“What happened?” General Quick Breeze calmly asked after a deep breath.

“Mission 30,” Nova stated. “The mapping of Fillydelphia and the final mission of Atlas. We need to review mission logs before we say more.”

“Where are the others?” General Quick Breeze directly asked. “And where is Colonel…”

“Fuck off!” Captain Nova yelled. “Dead! Every single one of them was claimed by the wasteland! And now, you know what I know.”

Marble Falls was disappointed in the General and the way they were greeted.

“So, he dies and you jump off on a mission?” General Quick Breeze growled.

“I don’t have to justify it to you!” Captain Nova barked. “But it was a simple mission. You can read the file in the War Room.”

“Why did you do a mission when the Colonel was gone! Why they fuck did I get here yesterday morning and find out that my entire Scout Command was killed!”

“You were getting your reports on Atlas,” Captain Nova spat. “That’s all that mattered. That the operation is now complete. That each mission was undertaken.”

“And many failed! Why did you push when you didn’t have to? When Scout Command was gone!”

Captain Nova sighed and hung his head. He was physically tired. But his anger was burning strong.

“Because,” Captain Nova growled. “We had to complete Atlas. Because we knew what was coming. And we were not going to leave a mission on the table.”

“And what was coming?” General Quick Breeze asked, holding his anger back.

Captain Nova ignored him. “Tell me Lieutenant Firestorm, how long ago were the others told to stand down.”

She let a bit of her breath out. It spoke more than words ever could convey.

“That’s why,” Captain Nova continued. “I was not going to let it all go to waste when we had one simple, final mission. And not while I had a full team. We knew what was coming. And we were not going to let it all get shut down without getting that fucking map!”

General Quick Breeze exploded. “You lost dozens of lives over a map! You let your map dictate the choices of the command so that they lost their lives!”

“Fuck no!” Captain Nova yelled back, narrowing his eyes in hatred at General Quick Breeze. “We did no such thing. It was decided by the five Squadron heads that Atlas would be done before it all ended. We knew it was coming to an end.”

“Five years, all blood with no tangible gain, we were not going to let it happen. We had fought too hard. We had outright lost the Seventeenth, Fifty, Fifty-Seventh, and the Seventy-Second. We knew teams were ready, but had not been released. We knew were were on a short timer.”

“So Operation Atlas was built. It was 30 missions to map the key points of the wasteland. We knew the risks. And we lost. But it wasn’t thrown away. We were fighting against the wasteland itself, in an attempt to get something for the next generation. So that our blood meant something! So that our sacrifice could spare some blood for when the next generation has to face below!”

“We went down blind and we were not going to fucking let that happen again! I was first down and last out! And if it cost all nine squadrons fine! We fucking swore to get Atlas done, now let us go write our report and lick our wounds! We can discuss ethics later.”

Marble Falls was the first to move. She confidently stepped forward and then around the three Wonderbolts. Captain Nova stepped to her outside, letting her shield him. They didn’t know what to do with them walking past them.

They entered Building Two and went to the War Room. Captain Nova locked the door behind them.

“Terminal,” He said, pointing to the six along the wall. “Plug your helmet into it and see what you got.”

Marble Falls plugged her helmet in. Captain Nova had to pace a bit before he could settle down and plug his in.

“I have it all,” Marble Falls said. “Well, all until my helmet was half ripped off. I lost my recording mic then.”

“I had lost my com line,” Captain Nova said, browsing his data. “I lost my data stream when we got to the crater.”

“I barely got anything said at that time,” Marble Falls sighed. “I just…”

“You were surviving,” Captain Nova finished. “And that is what was important. We don’t need audio reports to explain that time and our observations.”

“We needed to do it,” Marble Falls said. “I never doubted that. I didn’t even think. I got here, it meant the Fifth Squadron was at it’s full strength, so of course we had a mission. The fact that Forty-One had been lost the day or two prior, it didn’t matter. We had a mission prepared for us, with clear orders.”

Captain Nova took in a deep breath. “Yes, we did. Its difficult to see that from the outside, but it was set. We didn’t need the Colonel to be alive to give the order. It had been given when the operation was put in place.”

“And I will attest to it,” Marble Falls said. “I believe in what we did. That it was the right call. And I was caught up by Rose on what had been happening. I knew the risks. I… we never could have seen Fillydelphia being so high risk for a fly over.”

“I never would have sent us in if we had a hint of it,” Captain Nova added. “Can you write a report now, or do you need rest?”

“I’ve been typing, while you have been spacing out.”

Captain Nova chuckled. “I do that when I am concentrating. Especially thinking. I did it before all of these missions. But it got worse. My wing got worse. Some pony scrambled my brains a dozen missions back. Before Atlas.”

“After whatever the fuck we just experienced, I believe it.”

Marble Falls wiped some blood off of the terminal. “I am assuming we are grounded.”

“The whole program was going to be scrapped. Its beyond that. And now, we have an angry General Quick Breeze to handle. And its going to have to take a bit to shove him back so we can put bandaids on and take a bit to map the mission.”

“I have good reports on our turns. Every action at each street was given, even stated if we went over a building. I have all four deaths marked with times. I will stick to that report and my belief in the mission. Those are the facts and I won’t slip into speculations.”

Captain Nova sighed. “The mares always die first. Jade was always the exception to that rule. Jade went down, I can’t believe it wasn’t Clean Blade or Razor who survived with me. Jade and then Rose. Always first.”

“Jade and then Rose?” Marble Falls asked. “I saw Clean Blade go down shortly after Spring Jade did. And I lost Rose Lightning in the crater when I got separated from a spin out, the result of a blast.”

“Fuck,” Captain Nova swore. “That’s not right. I know it was Rose. Its done. It doesn’t matter. They all went down valiantly.”

“That they did,” Marble Falls replied quietly. “A fight to the end.”

Marble Falls perked up. “But, we are here, locked away from that fucker, and we had a decent enough meal several hours ago. I am ready to chart these time stamps. To map the bitch out.”

“I like you, dear,” Captain Nova smiled at her. “You are a fine officer with a good head and a great heart. One that is perfect for Scout Command. No nonsense. Yes. Lets chart!”

“I lost our heading when we hit the suburbs,” Marble Falls said.

Captain Nova sighed. “So did I. We need what Clean Blade had. But we don’t have it. So no sense crying over lost data, only over the lost friends and comrades. I have a general idea of where we entered.”

“Same, but it is a very general, wide area.”

Captain Nova scanned Marble Falls’ recordings that had been dictated by the program. “You have good, turn by turn information. That is impressive. Too bad the Scouts are through.”

“Lets get this charted,” Marble Falls said. “Before we get disturbed. Again.”

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