Firefly was bored.

The one thing that nopony really spoke about in academy or in basic training was that the bits of adrenaline overload in combat were spaced by long stretches of nothing. Sometimes there wasn’t even busywork to fill it. In the absence of activity, everypony had to come up with their own way to kill the time. Some ponies read, some ponies wrote home, others made idle conversation.

Firefly was none of these.

Books never interested her. Focusing on printed words on a page gave her headaches and the snail’s pace of reading to get information drove her crazy. Writing frustrated her similarly. Half-remembered ideas addled her and words seemed to evaporate from her mind the moment she put pen to paper. So the aetherjets thrummed. The crew chattered idly. And Firefly festered. The locks on her knife clicked open, whirred as the blade twirled on its bearings, and snapped closed again, endlessly repeating as the trip dragged on.

Firefly paused for a moment, allowing the knife to lock in its open position. Knife was perhaps a misnomer. The blade was comparable to an Aquellian sword bayonet in size and function, barring the clear inspiration in mold from an Indrekan Karambit.

Regardless, blades were a part of her life, even more than guns. As a filly, she’d been taught their proper care and use, first as tools of survival, then as weapons of war. Royal Equestrian Army Air Corps doctrine taught air combat maneuvering using guns first. Utilizing blades and bare hooves were always a last resort in training, but to Firefly, they were all equally valid means of terminating a foe.

Sometimes, Firefly wondered if there was something wrong with her. War was never romanticized in Equestria. Before the long chain of events spiralling into the Continental War, large-scale armed conflict was virtually unheard of. Certainly there were the occasional news reports from Indrek of the griffons’ war, but those were no more than strange stories from a faraway land to a people who had never known war. In Equestria, violence was an aberration of the highest degree. It took months of training to even begin to break the equine aversion to violence... for most.

Firefly was a rare breed, a natural combatant. Out of all the things that she could have been, out of all the possible destinies for which her cutie mark was bestowed upon her, it had to be this: war. Where others were cowed, Firefly dared. Where others faltered, Firefly fought on. Where others fell, Firefly survived. She stared at the point of her knife as if balancing this last thought upon its tip.

She survived.

Firefly growled in frustration and snapped the blade closed. She leaped to her hooves and blew a throaty, exasperated burst of breath from her nostrils. Nothing felt right. Every limb was uncomfortable. Every joint needed cracked. Firefly needed to do something, else she would surely go insane.

“Storm Warden, this is Thunderhead. How copy, over?”

The radio crackled to life, momentarily drawing Firefly’s attention. Even if it was just a routine checkup, it was a welcome break from the uncomfortable monotony. Firefly trotted over to the ARC operator, standing behind and out of the way as she went about her business.

“Five by five, Thunderhead,” the radiomare said. “Send traffic.”

Firefly admittedly had rarely spoken with Siki. What little prior interactions they’d had involved pre-flight checklists, flight plans, and review of orders. She could say, however, that the tall zebra mare’s sharp gaze matched the acerbic edge on her tongue. Firefly was happy to have a competent operator on board for this rotation.

“I’ve, uh, got some pulsed static on the lines. Sounds like it’s coming from your end. Do you mind running a calibration check on your IFF transponder?”

“Roger. Running self-test circuit, stand by.” Siki operator flipped several switches on her control panel, keeping constant eye on the IFF transponder window. “Self-test came back clean. Recommend you recheck your end, Thunderhead.”

“Already done, Storm Warden. Test came back clean on my end.”

Siki sighed emphatically, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “It looks like I’ll have to slap maintenance around again once we land. Not much we can do about it while we’re airborne. Check in again if something changes.”

“Understood, Storm Warden. Thunderhead, out.”

“What’s our ETA, Siki?” Firefly asked the radiomare.

Siki turned to face Firefly, leaning over her chair. “We’ve got about fifteen majesties until we hit the next waypoint. It’s all canyon from there.”

Finally. An excited, involuntary shiver gripped Firefly. Her tail flicked happily and she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally something was going to happen.

“About damn time.” Firefly strode over to the bunks and banged loudly on the bulkhead. “Wake up meatheads!”

Her enthusiasm was met with groans from the stallions as they grudgingly roused from their slumber. Thunderlane rolled off the top bunk and fluttered to the deck, shaking himself awake from head to tail. Stretching out his wings and cracking his neck, Thunderlane noticed that Sunburst had chosen to roll over and try to go back to sleep. A single grey pinion flipped out like a jackknife and slid toward Sunburst’s muzzle.

Before he was even done, Eastwind was laughing. At Thunderlane’s tickling, Sunburst spewed forth a thunderous sneeze, launching himself upright and smashing his forehead directly into the underside of the bunk. At first, only Eastwind’s shrill cackle persisted, but soon Firefly and Thunderlane joined in. Siki was caught by the epidemic and soon the rest of the ARC crew was in hysterics.

“Oh sure,” Sunburst grumbled. “Make fun of the old vet, huh? If you guys tried this while I was RDC I’d ride your asses so hard you’d wish you were lame instead of chafed!”

“Oh gods,” Eastwind panted, still unable to control her laughter, “Make it stop!”

“You should have seen the look on your face, abuelo!” Thunderlane had composed himself but was still all smiles.

“Laugh it up, nugget!” Sunburst growled, ostensibly angry, but it was easy to see the smile tugging at his lips from the sheer absurdity of the situation. “See how you like it when I wake you up next time!”

“All right, all right, pull it back together, guys!” Firefly waved a hoof in the ‘rally up’ sign, calling for quiet. “We’re about to go in, so I need everypony up and ready. Siki, patch us through to the other ships and Typhon unit.”

“Aye, ma’am.” Her hooves danced across the radio controls. The radio beeped as the encryption unit completed its handshake. “We’re live. All escort units, this is Storm Warden. Report in.”

“Hydra unit stands ready. Thunderhead standing by.”

“Manticore team is ready. Derecho has all lights green.”

“Typhon reads. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

One by one, the teams and their ARC ships reported in. Firefly clicked her radio on, linking it to the temporary network established by the ARC ships. “This is Timberwolf One. Our favorite lady in grey has already briefed you all on the situation, so I won’t rehash it. I will say that the less noise we make, the easier this will be. It’s like going through the Canterlot train tunnel as a foal: hold your breath, stay quiet, and wait for the light on the other side. Any questions?”

“Just one, commander,” Thunderlane said, injecting as much mock snark into his voice as possible. “How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?”

“You secure that shit, lieutenant!” Firefly smirked, pausing to allow the chuckles across the net to die down. “This is the toughest leg of the trip. Once we’re through, we’re home free. Now let’s get to it!”

“Hydra and Thunderhead copy.”

“Manticore and Derecho understand.”

“Typhon unit!” Firefly issued her final order. “Everyone ready?”

“Of course,” Roshina replied. Firefly chuckled. She could almost hear Roshina’s signature draconic grin.

“You’re cleared to break formation and engage targets of opportunity. Happy hunting!”

“Typhon unit, peel off and head north! Let’s start a fight!” A chorus of cheers could be heard among the warrior dragons. “I’ll see you on the other side, Firefly!”

“Likewise. Wolf One, out.”

“Probably itching to get into it, huh?” Thunderlane trotted up to her side as he spoke.

“Always. You expected Roshina to ease up on a milk run like this?”

“Guess I shouldn’t.”

“Don’t get too comfy yourself,” Firefly said. “We’re on guard duty when we hit the canyon. Suit up.”

“And here I was thinking I could get back to napping!” Said Sunburst with the most dramatic of sighs.

“If all goes according to plan, we shouldn’t even need to worry about decoy or real deal,” Eastwind said. “If they don’t know we’re here we won’t have to fight ‘em.”

“Since when has anything gone according to plan?” Firefly chided. “First Onyx, then the Abyss, and now Nopony’s Land. I’d rather be ready to light up those sumbitches and be pleasantly surprised than expect a cakewalk and get a funeral.”

Firefly was already gearing up as she spoke. She slid the weapon locker open and strapped on the familiar repeater. For her secondary slot, she selected the real steel version of the scattergun the Timberwolves had used in training. Firing ballistic lances in close quarters would not be a terribly good idea; Firefly would be relying on the ARC ship’s heavy repeater to provide fire against hardened targets.

“It’s been ages since I’ve gotten to bust this baby out for ops! Oh my little Virago how I’ve missed you!”

Sunburst cradled the weapon like it was a small foal. Unlike Firefly’s aether-fueled repeater and scattergun combo, the carbine was clearly a firearm. The weapon had clear heft to it. A fluted barrel ended in a massive triple baffled muzzle brake with cutouts angled to deflect gun gas and muzzle blast away from the shooter’s face. The receiver was blocky, feeding from an oversized magazine of 13.3mm rounds. A magnified optic rounded out the weapon system.

“Virago”, he’d called it. Firefly had fired the rifle version once during weapons familiarization training. The rifle version lived up to its nickname with its intractable recoil and skull-shattering muzzle blast. She could only imagine how REA engineers had managed to shrink it down without turning it into an even harsher mistress.

“Boys and their toys,” Eastwind muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Did I ever tell you about sniper school, Thunderlane?” Sunburst said, completely ignoring Eastwind.

Thunderlane paused, lifting an eyebrow. “He serious?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, he is,” Eastwind snorted. “Got the tabs and everything... back when we were still considered infantry anyway.”

“Save it, Sunshine. Just put your gear on like a good colt scout.”

Sunburst stuck his tongue out in silly retort before returning to suiting up. Eastwind and Thunderlane had elected for less exotic loadouts, each equipping the same repeater/BLX combination that was standard for fliers in the unit. A quick peek out the porthole showed that the ARC ship’s gunner was already in position in his cupola and additional crew were working on preparing the deck. Firefly took a deep breath.

“Ready?”

“Ready as we’re going to be,” Eastwind nodded.

“Hit it, Siki.”

“Going dark.” The lights in the cabin switched to red alert lamps as Siki worked the controls. “Shutting down wireless transceivers. Radars set to passive mode. IFF shut down. Emissives readout is clean. We’re running silent now.”

“Timberwolves. Out on deck, now.”

Eastwind hoofed the hatch open and the Timberwolves filed out, joining the armed ARC crew on deck. The otherwise clean lines of the ARC ship now bristled with armored panels and racks holding ballistic lance tubes, Virago magazines, and LEAPS cartridges for aetheric repeaters. Wordlessly, the squad dispersed, taking up position behind the armored shields, weapons pointed outwards.

Siki’s pronouncement was matter of fact. “Entering the canyons now.”

Firefly looked forward and couldn’t help but gawk. She’d seen it once before, but it was just as awe-inspiring the second time. Titanic walls of stone and ice loomed ahead. Striations of brown and grey were broken up by streaks of blue and white where ice had intruded into exposed strata. What appeared as a small ravine from the map could easily have swallowed the Majestic whole were it turned sideways. It was as if an unfathomably large blade had been dragged across the surface of the wastes.

Thunderlane gave a low whistle. “If this weren’t a warzone it would be a great vacation spot!”

“Keep your head in the game, kid.”

The canyon walls continued to grow as the convoy approached, stretching nearly a thousand meters skyward. The width of the opening, however, was barely enough for two ARC ships to fit through abreast. Darkness fell upon the formation as they entered the canyon proper. Silently the convoy advanced. There was no chatter, no radio traffic, only the white noise of aetherjet turbines echoing through ancient stone. Like a strange heartbeat the low thrum went out, returning to Firefly’s ear after bouncing through narrow rock defiles and splinters of intruding ice. Firefly could feel the air around her change. It was palpably colder, deader, and stale, as if the air had not been disturbed in millenia.

“And now we wait...” Firefly muttered to herself under her breath.

Firefly had lost count of the course corrections after the thirtieth. Each turn executed by the helm was slow and calculated, assigned a waypoint name, a grid coordinate, and a deflection angle. If she’d flown the path before she’d be able to lead somepony through. Steering a ship through the labyrinthine passages via dead reckoning, however, was a much different matter; a matter that Firefly was glad she had no part in. Much like her aversion to literature, her aversion to hard numbers shone through when she was bored. Restlessness continued to plague her in spite of the fact that they were technically on combat alert.

Firefly’s ear flicked, followed by her tail. Soon her hoof was tapping the deck and scraping at the base of the armored shield. The air was changing again. There was more movement to it and a crispness to it that indicated it was flowing into the canyon from the outside. The headwind that had developed confirmed her hunch.

Soon enough, the ship’s deck lit up in the glow of sunlight falling through the the rocky cleft of the canyon exit. Firefly breathed a sigh of relief. It was almost over. Soon they’d be able to light up the turbines, go strato, and go home. She could just feel the wind in her mane and under her hooves, the sun on her coat, and...

Firefly’s ear twitched. Something was wrong. They’d stopped moving. Gritting her teeth and mumbling curses under her breath, Firefly strode to the hatch and violently hoofed it open. The loud CLANG of metal on metal reverberated through the canyon.

“What the hell is going on?”

The two pilots looked at each other like they didn’t know what to do at first. Finally, one of them spoke. “Mines, ma’am. The exit is blocked with mines.”

“You’ve gotta be shitting me.”

Firefly trotted into the cabin and peered over their shoulders through the front windscreen. Sure enough, it was as they’d described. Bulbous aerostats with snow-white envelopes floated ahead, a blocky metallic growth dangling below each one like a bell on a wind chime, each loaded with high explosive. Firefly squinted. In the glow of the afternoon sun, Firefly could make out silver strands of spun cable linking the floating mines together. The cable net spanned the width and height of the canyon, as far as she could see.

There was no way out.

Firefly’s eyes went wide and the hairs in her coat stood on end. No. No one should have been here. No one could have known. There was no way there should have been a minefield here. Her danger sense piqued at the realization. Years of combat training and the millennia of prey instinct hardwired into her species came together in that instant. They were being stalked.

“Siki, get radars online now.”

The zebra raised an eyebrow. “We’re breaking radio silence?”

“Do it,” Firefly said as she keyed her radio. “All ARC ships, this is Wolf Lead. Spool up radars and prepare to move out!”

Leaving Siki to her tasks, Firefly bolted out of the cabin. She was greeted with the quizzical stares of everyone on deck. Eastwind caught her eye, a concerned frown forming on her lips. Firefly called for rally up with a hoof signal.

“What’s going on?”

Firefly’s ear twitched. She raised her eyes skyward. Pillars of cold sunlight filtered down through the rime-rimmed cliff edges. At first there was nothing. But suddenly, there was movement, unnatural shadows flitting across the crystalline crevasse lip. Firefly pointed above and shouted.

“AMBUSH!”

Before she’d finished her warning, Firefly was already mashing the trigger. Her aether bolts streaked upward and found soft flesh, eliciting a cry of pain from above. The ballistic lance meant for her ship screamed past her head, burying itself harmlessly into the canyon wall. The crevasse exploded. Rockets and tracers rained down from above. Aether lances and heavy repeater rounds blasted into the cliff face from below. In the eye of the storm was Firefly.

Surprise was quickly quenched with anger. Not on her watch. Not while she was capable of fighting. With a furious burst of predatory ferocity, Firefly launched from the deck. She burst from the canyon, slamming into her prey at bone-shattering speed. A surprised squawk barely escaped his beak before the blade tore into his throat, stripping his voice from him in a fit of crimson mist.

Suddenly, the fugue broke. Firefly was airborne, losing speed, and the object of attention from a nest of angry Talon marines. She gasped for breath as she whirled around, putting the body of her now-deceased victim between herself and the soldiers below.

Finally, Firefly hit the apex of her climb. Green tracers flashed past her like angry hornets, blasting her with sonic shock and propellant smoke. Bullets pinged off the dead griffon’s armor plate and sank into exposed flesh with sickening thuds as she began to fall. Firefly yanked her blade out of her victim and returned fire in kind. Violet aether lances lashed out at the grounded griffons, momentarily silencing her foes. With the ground mere meters away, Firefly kicked off the corpse and give her wings a mighty flap.

CRUNCH.

The bullet-riddled griffon slammed into the exposed stone and crumpled into an amorphous heap. Firefly quickly folded her wings and tucked her head. Snow planed out around her as she skidded to a halt, a deep drift saving her from enduring the same fate as her adversary. The gunfire resumed. Tracers screamed overhead as she crawled through the cold snow to the cover of a large boulder.

“Timberwolves, Manticores, Hydras, get your asses airborne NOW!” Firefly snarled into the microphone. “I’m topside! I’ll cover you from here! MOVE!”

A chorus of affirmatives came back over the airwaves. Firefly quickly peeked around the boulder, snapping off quick bursts at the few griffons she could see. It was just enough to get their attention. Firefly pressed her back against the rock and withdrew as streams of green tracers pounded her fighting position. Scrambling around the far side of the rock, Firefly dropped onto her side, leaning out just far enough to throw more fire downrange. Again the reprisal was vicious and immediate.

“Over here, asshole!”

Firefly winced as the muzzle blast of the Virago overloaded the microphone in the wake of Sunburst’s taunt. More shouted commands and the distinctive sound of Equestrian repeater fire quickly followed. The silhouette of a pegasus flier screamed overhead, guns blazing. A resounding BOOM shook the cliffs as Thunderlane fired his ballistic lance.

“BLX out!”

Firefly keyed her radio. “Eastwind, SITREP.”

“Talons are retreating to the north. Hydra is sweeping for stragglers and Manticore unit is holding the cliffside. Where do you need us?”

Firefly peered out from behind cover now that the return fire had dwindled. To the north, opposite her boulder, she could pick out the paw and claw prints of retreating Talons. Sporadic bursts of green and violet tracer fire arced between the pegasi of Hydra team on the ground and the remaining griffons up the hill. Where were they trying to go? Firefly was going to find out.

“Stay airborne. I’m coming to you. Storm Warden, come in.”

“Storm Warden copies. Send traffic.”

“Damage report.”

“Minimal. Auxiliary antenna damaged on us. Two crew lightly wounded on Derecho from a ballistic lance glancing off a deck armor panel. Minor damage to engine nacelle on Thunderhead. All critical systems on all ships are functional.”

“Good. Spool up and get airborne in five majesties. If we don’t clear these guys in time I need you to make a break for it. Cargo is priority!”

“Roger that, commander.”

Firefly launched into the air, her wings feeling much better in proper flight than cowering on the ground. A few flaps more and she was close enough to fall in with the rest of the Timberwolves. Sunburst was positioned to the east atop a cloud, the barrel of his Virago still smoking from his last shot. Eastwind waved in greeting as Firefly formed up with their orbit.

“What are they falling back to? Do they have an EVAC ship?”

“Don’t know,” Eastwind shrugged. “We have air superiority right now so they might try to extract on foot. We might be dealing with airborne rather than fighter-trained. They seem way more eager to fight us on the ground than in the air.”

Firefly’s lip curled into a frown. “Talons with no ACM training? Something doesn’t feel right.”

The ridge above splintered into jagged, rocky, crags that shot out of the wastes like a leviathan’s fins. Smatterings of ice stained the otherwise featureless slate of the underlying rock. Hard shadows broke up any outlines on the ridge above -- save for one. Her eyes were drawn to cluster of boxy shapes nestled in the broken rock. Movement around them confirmed her suspicion.

“There! I see more of them on the ridge!” Thunderlane said.

“Looks like they have a backup plan. Let’s interrupt.”

“Wait what are they setting up?”

Puffs of smoke backlit with orange flame burst from the Talon fortification. The brightly burning flares rose into the sky in the distinctive launch signature of an Aquellian rocket mortar pack. But the rounds did not arc back down, instead continuing to rise into the sky, directly into the path of their patrol route.

“Airburst! Get down!”

Firefly snapped her wings shut and let gravity take her. The mortar rounds burst harmlessly above as she snapped her wings open again meters from the ground. Firefly growled angrily. She wasn’t about to let a bunch of neophytes make a fool of her.

“We need to get back up there! If we lose the air, we--”

Firefly was interrupted by the agitated chatter of machine gun fire. A stream of tracers lashed out at her. She tucked her wings and rolled into the snow, grounding herself once again. Firefly skidded to a halt behind another glacial boulder. She angrily pounded a hoof against it.

“Should have known this was too easy!”

“This is Hydra One! We’re pinned! That MG isn’t going to let us take off!”

“So much for air superiority!” Thunderlane barely managed to catch himself as he slid into cover next to Firefly. Eastwind was not far behind.

Firefly did a quick headcount, “where the hell is Sunburst?”

“A hundred fifty meters behind you,” came the reply via radio. “Flak got a bit intense there, but I’ve got a good position.”

“Where are they shooting from?”

“It’s a camouflaged bunker up the ridge from you. They’ve got good cover and a lot of snow to block line of sight. No wonder we didn’t see it from the air!”

“Do you have a shot on the gunner?”

“I can’t hit the gunner from here, but I can cover you from anyone stupid enough to stick their head up.”

Suddenly, she felt the earth move beneath her hooves. Firefly instinctively pressed even harder against the rock as the shock wave washed over their position. A fine mist of icy crystals lingered in the wake of the blast. More orange-yellow flares backlit their cover. The dread whistle of mortar rounds coming down grew loud in Firefly’s ears until finally the salvo finally hit ground. Looking behind, Firefly saw the craters blasted into the rocky ground by mortar shells that had overshot their position.

“Those rocket mortars are zeroing in on us!” Thunderlane shouted above the din of gunfire and explosions. “The ARC ships will get wrecked before they can take off if we don’t take them out!”

Firefly mashed her radio switch. “Siki, belay my last order! You are not cleared for takeoff, I say again you are NOT cleared for takeoff!”

“Understood. Remaining in cover.”

“Uh guys, they’re walking the mortars in on your position.”

“Thank you captain obvious!” Eastwind snarled at Sunburst.

The older stallion chuckled. “Didn't realize I was up for a promotion so soon!”

“I’m about to promote you to Major Pain in the Ass!” Firefly cut in. “Mortars need a spotter! Find him and take him out!”

“More mortars incoming!” Thunderlane shouted.

A quick peek from behind cover was met with mass machine gun fire. Firefly shouted her curses until they ran together.
It had only been for a split second, but she’d seen it; the tiny glint of light off the Talon scout’s spotting scope lens.

“Sunburst, slew northwest of our position up the second-tallest spire! Hurry!”

There was no reply, only the distant report of the Virago. A sharp thud-CRACK rang through the valley as the sniper round tore through the air. Firefly inched out from behind the rock just in time to see the results. A plume of chalky grey dust lingered above the scout’s perch. Out of the cloud fell a single birdlike form. No attempt to stabilize or recover was made; she was dead before she hit the ground.

“Still think I never went to sniper school, kid?”

“Haha! Nice shot, abuelo!”

“Wolf lead, we’re in position. We’ll provide covering fire when ready.”

“Suppress now!” Firefly leaped over the boulder with a quick flap of her wings. “Timberwolves on me!”

A torrent of violet lances burst from Hydra team’s position, kicking up plumes of molten rock chips and steam in front of the machine gun position. There was a momentary pause in machine gun fire. When the tracers resumed, they were directed at their new assailant. Her opening secured, Firefly bolted from behind the rock, scrambling up the scree and snow of the slope.

The Timberwolves took wing behind her, skimming along the surface of the slope ahead. Single rifle shots flashed by. Unaimed mortar rounds splashed harmlessly behind. Firefly flapped harder, half flying, half galloping toward her distant target. Her final dash placed them directly under the bunker, out of sight of the machine gunner. Violet and green tracers screamed overhead punctuated with unintelligible shouting of orders and curses.

“Eastwind, ballistic lance!”

Eastwind nodded and unclipped her ballistic lance tube. Firing up at the cliff face required an altered stance, one that could not be achieved using the flight harness mount. Eastwind carefully checked the backblast zone and sighted in on her target.

FOOM.

Firefly’s ears rang with the shock of the BLX shot. High explosive hellfire tore away the bunker face, showering the pegasi below with fragments of rock and clouds of soot and steam. The machine gun fell silent. For a moment, the valley was calm. Suddenly, the innards of the bunker blew out in a massive gout of orange-yellow flame. Secondary explosions thundered across the valley as the entire mountainside seemed to ignite. The flames dispersed, replaced by the grinding, screeching sound of shifting stone echoing from above as the cliffside gave way.

“Move!”

Firefly grabbed Eastwind and shoved her into Thunderlane, sending all three of them tumbling across the slope. One rock fell, then two, followed by a cascade of snow and stone that flooded the valley with a choking cloud of ash grey dust. Firefly coughed and sputtered, her lungs burning in the blasted cloud. Eastwind groaned beneath her and Thunderlane scrambled to his hooves, spitting the dust as he went.

“You mind telling me the next time you do that?” Eastwind’s gripe was clearly in jest, the levity just barely enough to cover the shock of what could have been. “I think you almost broke a wing!”

Firefly managed a wan smile. “Would you rather be part of that avalanche back there?”

“You’re going to need to stop doing that, jefa,” Thunderlane smirked. “I hate owing my superiors favors!”

“I’ll try not to oblige you too much then,” Firefly chuckled. “Anyone else still alive report in!”

“Manticore team is good.”

“Hydra team is still online.”

“Wolf Four, here. That was a hell of a secondary!”

In wake of the detonation, an eerie silence settled over the valley. Firefly strained to hear anything beyond the sporadic bursts of radio chatter between other squads, but there was nothing. Firefly frowned. The lull made her jittery. She had seen and survived some incredible things; was this all it took to end a team of Aquellian Marines? Regardless of her feelings, they were on the clock. Something had to be done and quickly. She keyed her radio again.

“Manticore, hold the cliffside. Hydra, move up and secure east side of the slope. My team will take the west. As soon as we secure this area, we’re skids up and getting the hell out of here.”

“Roger that.”

“Sunburst, keep an eye on that ridge while we advance.”

“You got it.”

Firefly oriented herself and took point. The trek up the slope was slow. Visibility was poor from the miniature avalanche and patches of loose scree made ground traversal treacherous. Each step was placed with caution and guarded with wary glances uphill. Finally, they arrived.

Charred rock and smoldering craters marked the ruins of the Talon outpost. Secondary explosions from mortar rounds cooking off had all but obliterated any semblance of structure in the griffon camp. Tent poles were snapped like matchsticks by the force of the blasts.

There was little discernable blood on the ground or the slope. It appeared that all wounds had either been cauterized by the flames or carried away in the avalanche. Firefly grimaced as the smell of burning flesh wafted into her nostrils.

“That’s gonna take a while to wash out..." Eastwind muttered, clearly suffering from the same odor.

“Not a single survivor,” Thunderlane whispered, mostly to himself, before turning to address his squadmates. “This damn outpost must have been loaded with mortar packs. What the hell were they prepping to kill?”

“Us,” Firefly said grimly. “Let’s case the camp for intel.”

“Not sure how much we’ll be able to get out of this, jefa. This place is trashed.” A stern look sent Thunderlane back to sifting through rubble.

Any camouflage netting and tent material not burned to ash were shredded and tattered beyond recognition or usefulness. The main bunker was completely obliterated. A small pile of stones marked where an egress port would have been; the rest was several hundred meters down the slope in a pile of smoking rock and cinder.

“Who the hell were these guys?” Eastwind wondered out loud.

“Rookies,” Firefly scoffed. “We haven’t fought as infantry in years, but they completely buckled when we fought them on the ground. That trick with the rocket mortars and machine guns was clever, but they didn’t take advantage of the opening they made. No battle-hardened veteran would make that mistake.”

“Probably conscripts from other pirate bands Cindermane assimilated...” Eastwind trailed off.

There was a brief beat of silence as they listened for any sign of griffon activity. But even in the silence, Firefly could tell that words remained on the tip of her tongue. “Spit it out, Windy.”

“Am I the only one who’s uncomfortable with this entire op?” Eastwind finally spat. Even as she searched the rubble, Eastwind failed to hide her concerned frown. “Something’s wrong, Fi. What are the odds we ran right into a Talon outpost that wasn’t there during the scouting mission a few days ago by chance?”

“Damn near impossible.” Firefly growled.

She’d meant to ask the questions later when they were safely back at Topaz. But Firefly was terrible at being patient. Eastwind spoke exactly what was on Firefly’s mind, bringing the mystery back to the forefront. How did the Talons know where they’d be? Did the Talons know of their cargo? Who had given the Talons intel on their movements? Firefly hated thinking about it, but only one thought kept coming to mind.

“Someone ratted us out,” she finally said.

“But who?” Eastwind asked.

“It would have to be someone high up on the chain,” Firefly mused. “Someone with access to strategic info and troop movements. Someone who’d also be willing to screw us over. Someone like...”

“Skywind?” Thunderlane interjected.

Firefly couldn’t help but laugh, however terrible the joke was. “Sunburst is rubbing off on you, kid!”

“What about Rafale?” Eastwind suggested. “She’s got access to more intel than we’re privy to and she’s willing to keep her own operatives in the dark about it. She won’t even tell us what’s in those crates.”

“Weren’t you two chill?”

Firefly shot Thunderlane a dirty look. “Not funny, Thunderlane.”

He raised a hoof in a halting gesture. “Pun not intended, jefa. Just thought you two had made up and gotten friendly before we left.”

Firefly snorted in mock disgust. “Friendly? No. Professional? Yes. I trust her like I trust Skywind. They’re assholes, but they’re not traitors.”

“Then who set us up?”

“I have a feeling the answer is in that crate.” Firefly looked back to the ARC ship. “I’m going to grill the shit out of Rafale when we get back. We deserve answers.”

The radio beeped, interrupting their discussion. “This is Sunburst. Firefly, I’ve got something shiny about thirty meters north of your current position. Might want to check it out.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Sunburst.” Firefly pointed to their destination. “Let’s go!”

The team trotted across the broken ground. As they approached, Firefly saw what Sunburst had directed them to find. A glint of silver metal peeked from the rubble. Firefly pushed the broken rock and dirt aside with a hoof. The sheen resolved itself into the familiar shape of a radiotelephone set, one that she recognized as an Aquellian marine infantry model. Firefly bent down, inspecting the casing.

“What have we got?” Eastwind asked.

Firefly’s brow furrowed. “It’s a radio. Looks like it might be salvageable.”

Curious, Thunderlane gave the radio a poke with his hoof. He recoiled in shock as the dirt and rock slid neatly off the casing, leaving it with the appearance of a mirror sheen.

“What... that’s not damage, that’s dirt.” Thunderlane said in surprise. “The casing is barely even scratched.”

“Pyrium casing,” Eastwind said. “That can’t be cheap. Why would a rookie unit have access to something like this?”

“Do you remember who they were assigned to take down?”

“Cindermane must have wanted to keep tabs on these guys. This might be just the link we need to track her down. Thunderlane, get the radio back down to the ARC ships.” Firefly keyed her radio. “Storm Warden, this Wolf Lead. I have intel I’m sending over for lockup.”

“How long until we get the ships up and running?”

Firefly tapped one hoof on her earpiece. The other restlessly pawed at the deck, seeming to move of its own volition. Anxiety was not something Firefly experienced often. It wasn’t from imminent combat, either. Firefly could slay Talons all day. It was the unknowns that nagged her. Who had set them up? What was so important about the cargo they carried? What was Rafale keeping from them?

“Thunderhead’s field repairs are almost complete. Shouldn’t be too much longer now.”

The ARC ships were anchored a hundred meters above the canyon’s edge, low enough to keep them out of the line of fire but high enough that their radar masts were able to scan the horizon. Talon resistance had all but vanished. Firefly reckoned that they were all either dead or routed. Either way, her team didn’t have the horsepower to hunt down stragglers or continue the search.

“What happened to ‘lightly damaged nacelle?’” Firefly growled.

“There was more damage than we’d previously thought. Looks like a loose turbine blade. We need to fish it out or the whole thing will go up in flames when we spool up.”

“Not to rush you guys, but we just wiped out an entire platoon of Red Talons back there. When they don’t report in, the rest of them are gonna come looking! Get it done and report back in when you do! Wolf Lead, out.”

Firefly cut the transmission and let out a long, slow breath in an effort to calm herself. She would save her temper for those who deserved it. Snapping at the crew on board ship wouldn’t help anyone. They were doing the best they could and she couldn’t ask much more of them.

“Commander Firefly?”

With a much more even tone, Firefly answered. “Siki?”

“I have something you need to hear.”

“What have we got?” Firefly leaned over the console.

Siki patched the signal through, broadcasting on Timberwolf squad’s subchannel. There was nothing but static at first. But soon a pattern emerged from the noise. “What am I listening to?”

“I recorded this on passive comms on our way in. It’s an IFF transponder signature.”

“Why didn’t you report this earlier?”

“It was just static earlier. I dismissed it as a calibration error at first but it kept popping up.”

“You said it was a transponder signal.” Inside, Firefly already knew the answer, but she had to be sure. “Whose transponder signal?

“It’s an old Aquellian transponder profile — pre-war. I had to do some digging in the codebooks to find a compatible cipherkey, but it’s a match for the type ANA combat vessels used during the war.”

On cue, the radar console beeped. Firefly’s blood ran cold. That was the beep code for radar contact. All of the pieces fell into place. The radiotelephone, the cargo, the ambush, the IFF code; they were being hunted.

“Commander, I’ve got new radar contacts to the north!” Siki exclaimed. “Two airships, high tonnage!”

“We need to get out of here, NOW!” Firefly shouted. “Timberwolves, get airborne! All ARC ships stand by for liftoff!”

“Repairs to Thunderhead’s engines are not yet complete.”

“Then hurry your asses up! The Talons are damn near on top of us!”

Firefly stormed out of the cabin. They were stuck. But she wasn’t about to leave the ARC crew behind. She wasn’t leaving anyone behind.

“All teams, be advised, one radar contact has broken off from formation and is headed our way!” Siki updated the teams by radio.

“We’re out of time. All combat flier teams get airborne now!”

With a hoof signal command, the Timberwolves launched from their ARC ship deck, bursting from the canyon in a spray of swirling powder. Hydra and Manticore were close behind. Firefly glanced north. The vessel was smaller than the cruiser they’d battled over Onyx, but it was also much closer. Like its larger cousin, it shared the same beak-like prow and streamlined hull. The frigate bristled with guns and marines could be seen moving around on deck as they prepared for combat.

“Horizon-class frigate. We’re not packing enough heat to bring it down.” Firefly’s mental assessment was quick. “Storm Warden get Typhon over here, NOW!”

Frigates were cannon fodder against capital ships in fleet formation. But Firefly had neither. ARC ships were for reconnaissance and patrol. They could handle a flier squad easily, but machine guns and aetheric repeaters wouldn’t even scratch a frigate’s armor. Frigates were loaded with autocannons and rockets that could make short work of the lightly armored patrol craft.

“Typhon unit, this is Storm Warden, give me a SITREP!”

“We’re currently engaged with Talon skirmishers.” The chatter of gunfire in the background confirmed Roshina’s report. “What’s going on?”

“We are under overwhelming attack at grid square Omen Four-Four! Need QRF here immediately!”

“Understood. Disengaging and maneuvering to assist, ETA eight minutes.”

Eight minutes? It may well have been eight years. The frigate would be on top of them in under sixty seconds with a full complement of heavy weapons and fresh combat fliers. Firefly gritted her teeth.

“What do we do, Commander?” Even Thunderlane’s reply was missing its characteristic mellow charm.

With grim determination, Firefly replied, “We fight.”

It would be a delaying action. A dozen lightly armed combat fliers stood little chance against a force thrice as large with close-in capital ship support. Firefly was willing to fight impossible odds herself, but not when precious cargo and other lives were on the line. The best Firefly could hope for was holding the Talons long enough for the ARC ships to escape.

“Something’s wrong,” Eastwind suddenly said. “They’re not deploying in attack formation.”

Firefly squinted into the distance. The ship had stopped growing in size, indicating that it had halted its advance. Talon marines could be seen disembarking from the decks, taking wing and fanning out to the north and south but staying well clear of gun range. None of the attackers dared to close with the Timberwolves.

“They don’t want to shoot us down. They want the cargo intact. The flankers are out to cut off our escape!” Firefly growled angrily at the realization. “ARC crews, stand by to repel boarders! Hydra, Manticore, I need you on the north and south flanks! We need to keep our escape window open as long as possible!”

“Aye, ma’am!”

“Wait. If those guys are the backstop, then who’s the boarding team?”

Thunderlane’s answer came from the deck of the ship. Four metallic dots launched from the frigate, gleaming brightly in the late afternoon sun. As they closed, the shining lights resolved into the polished luster of blood red armor trimmed with polished silver. The trap had been sprung.

Now, the hunters had returned to collect their prey.

Author's Notes:

Yes, the Ironclads' armor color scheme is based on the ZOE planes from AC2/ACAH Legacy.