Chapter 60: Specific War
Part 1: Niihao Island Raid
TIME: 09:27 NRWT
DATE: War Day 566/25 Decemus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Niihao Island, Occupied Empire of Neighpon
It was me, Ambrosia, Sigmask, Sacquet, and a detachment of Fusiliers Marins, 24 in number. Our objective? Raid an enemy supply dock on Niihao Island, that was a transit point towards Neigha. While the supply port wasn't large enough to support the kind of fleet Tirek might need to retake Neigha, it was large enough to support Torpedo Boats, which was dangerous enough.
Sacquet: "Mon ami.." He pointed with his FA-MASE rifle's barrel towards a decently concealed lookout tower.
K: "Sigmask, sight that in. Sacquet, bring up a markspony."
Sacquet: "Oui, K." He slithered back into the tall elephant grass.
Sigmask: "Nice'ta be workin' again." He smirked.
K: "You never came back. Why?" I asked, idly.
Sigmask: "Had t'teach'em what I knew." He grinned. "How'd'you think we kept Tirek's forces all off balance?"
K: "From the reports, a lot of hit-and-run raids. Taking a few small islands here and there. You retook 5% of the country with Neighpon's own forces, and a fleet of mixed captured ships."
Sigmask: "Darn straight." He snorted a tad. "There's one Rap up there.. gotta Patton copy. Interesting.. thought they only used Shermans." He shrugged.
K: "Might be that someone in Tirek's organization thought upgrading was worthwhile." I gestured as the Prench Markspony came up.
Matelot 1ere Lattre Tassel: "Mon Marechal." He took position carefully.
For a sniper rifle, the Prench used a homemade weapon, the F2, which was completely original from the ground up, chambered in 9x40mm like a Super Sherman. It was also a straight-pull bolt action, not a semi-auto. The FA-MASE F1 was their assault rifle.
K: "Matelot." I nodded to the tower. "Affix your suppressor, take out that target on my mark." I looked at Sigmask. "Grab your section, prepare to move in." I looked then to Sacquet. "You, too, mon ami." And back to Ambrosia. "You stay with me. The three of us will move up after he fires."
Ambrosia: "No prob, K." She smirked, and gripped her Chaffee.
The Fusilier Marin attached the suppressor to the rifle, and sighted in on his target, giving me a small nod to let me know he was ready. I nodded to Sacquet and Sigmask, then rescanned the target area.
The Raptorian in the tower.. hadn't moved. Puzzled, I frowned, and scanned the treeline. Sure enough, I could pick out a Goblin hiding in a tree, with his own Sniper Sherman, aimed in our general direction.
K: "Matelot.. five feet right, ten feet up." I murmured.
Lattre Tassel: "Oui.. I see him. Zee Raptorian.. a decoy?"
K: "Oui." I responded in Prench. "Drop the Goblin in three.. two.." I raised my Bradley-Gavin. "..one!"
The thump that emitted from the rifle struck the Goblin in the head, blowing off a nice chunk, and dropping him from the tree. He was tied there by a rope. The Fusilier caught sight of something, quickly re-racked his rifle, and fired again. I saw a large package hit the ground below the Goblin.. and I deduced what it was.
K: "Fail-Deadly. That sniper was boobytrapped." I frowned. "Sacquet.. advance slow and careful, watch for traps. Sigmask, your section has overwatch." I tapped Ambrosia. "Slow and careful." I looked back to the Prench Fusilier. "Cover us."
We advanced on our bellies.. slowly.. carefully. I was starting to get the feeling this was a trap. That Tirek's local CO had started to beef up their softer targets with boobytraps by the bucketful, to discourage exactly what we were attempting - hit-and-run tactics. That could either mean they had a LARGE force of soldiers ready to pin us down in a field of traps and wipe us, or there were almost no troops actually here, and nothing of tactical value, as it was all moved elsewhere.
We got to the wire, the fence surrounding the outer perimeter. I gently raised my hand for everyone to stop, and looked at Ambrosia.
Ambrosia: "Whole fence's rigged. I can see three rigged mines right there." She nodded slowly towards a couple mounds in the dirt.
K: "Got it." I motioned for Sacquet to fall back.
He knew better than to question it.
Once we got back to the ditch/hill we'd started out from, I moved over to him.
K: "Radio. We got trouble." I nodded, and was handed the Mic. C> "Alpha Actual to Normandie. We have traps and mines all over the place, here. This isn't what we gamed for. Requesting a couple Pegasi for a fly-by. I want active recon."
Normandie Comspony: C> "Normandie, Affirmative, Alpha."
K: C> "Alpha Actual to Spahi."
Spahi Comspony: C> "Oui, Alpha."
K: C> "Lead the Torpedo Boats up the coast towards the base. We may need support or a fast retreat." I looked to Sacquet. "Defensive positions."
Sacquet: "Oui." He nodded, and motioned to the Fusiliers' officer, an Ensign 1st Class.
She came over and slid in carefully by the Sniper.
Ensign 1st Class Ayaene Chastellux: "Oui, Marechal?"
K: "Defensive positions. Dig in. Something's very suspicious, here." I nodded slowly to her.
Ensign Chastellux: "Oui, Marechal." She slithered off.
I cocked a brow, not expecting that level of professionalism. A glance to Sacquet, here, and a shrug.
Sacquet: "The Fusiliers Marins were trained the hardest." He shrugged slightly. "It has been three months, you know, since your little.. intervention.. in court matters." He smirked a bit.
K: "I never asked - who oversaw the retraining?" I tilted my head.
Sacquet: "Sergeant Vigilance, and Sergeant Braeburn, I know.." He shrugged a bit. "..I think some other Marines that had been at Carousel Island, as well."
K: "I see." I shrugged, remembering the humerous interaction I had, once, mistaking Vigilance for my wife.
Matre Chef Claude Allons: C> "Recon Flight to Alpha."
K: C> "Alpha Actual, go ahead, over." I nodded slowly to Sacquet.
Matre Chef Claude Allons: C> "Ze facility is abandoned.. I see only a few snipers in ze trees, Marechal. I sink zees ees a trap, oui?"
K: C> "Keep moving and stay high, Recon." I shook my head, slightly in frustration. C> "Alpha to Normandie."
Normandie Comspony: C> "Oui, Alpha."
K: C> "Put Fox Actual on, over."
Adm. Lauzun: C> "Fox Actual."
K: C> "Fox Actual, the facility is abandoned. I'm falling back to Point C. Prepare for naval bombardment. Advance the fleet to Foxtrot Lima Six, speed, ten knots. Have the Torpedo Boats out ahead looking for naval mines."
Adm. Lauzun: C> "Fox Actual, Acknowledged."
K: "Okay, Phillipe, we're out of here. I'm not messing with a sniper's nest and a booby trap mine field if I don't have to." I shrugged. "Ensign!"
Ensign Chastellux: "Oui!"
K: "Snipers in the trees. We withdraw to Point C by Squad. Suppressive Fire, at the treeline." I pointed. "Sigmask!"
Sigmask: "Yeah!"
K: "Your squad goes second to last." I nodded, and slid around over to him, then to his left. "Brose, you take the Ensign and her squad first."
Ambrosia: "Right." She moved to Ensign Chastellux.
K: "Sacquet, your squad, second." I looked at the six ponies of my squad, that I was taking. "Name." I pointed to the Squad Leader, a Matre.
Matre Maxime Ribauld: "Maxime Ribauld." She cocked a brow. "Zees is Harald Rouge, Timoty Montblanc, Charles Buzelet, Aimee Jaune, and my second, Second-matre Aubrey Verte."
K: "We withdraw last. When I tell you to, open fire on the tree line." I gently pointed behind me. "Alright. Sacquet, cover fire!"
Sacquet: "OUI! SUPRESSIVE FIRE!" He pointed at the tree line, and his squad opened up on them expertly, on full auto.
K: "BROSE! FALL BACK!" I indicated.
Her squad, of course, withdrew rather expertly. She made herself tail-end charlie, making sure there were no stragglers.
K: "SWITCH FIRE!" I called out.
Sigmask: "YEAH! SQUAD, OPEN FIRE!" He indicated.
Sacquet's squad stopped firing as I was giving the order, then fell back two seconds after Sigmask opened up. Once they were clear, I stuck my Bradley-Gavin above the crest of the ditch.
K: "SWITCH! SQUAD, OPEN FIRE!" I gently tugged the trigger, not really firing on anything specific, but putting three-and-four shot bursts on anything mildly suspicious.
Sigmask withdrew expertly, with his squad.
K: "BY TWOS!" I pointed at Verte and Buzulet, as my mag went dry.
I changed, quickly, as they fell back. I then pointed to Jaune and Rouge, popped back up, and held my fire.
Last was me, Ribauld and Montblac.
I motioned for them to cease fire.
K: "Reload to fresh mags." I nodded. "You two go ahead of me."
Ribauld: "Oui, Marechal."
They did, and we moved.. I was moving almost backwards, expecting to see just about anything behind us.
Because I knew.. I knew something was there. I just wasn't sure what it was.
We all got back to Point C, a little hill with a nice natural trench behind it that was once a stream bed. Sacquet had already set up shop. My three moved slower than the rest, even though it was almost a straight line.
Sacquet: "Marechal?" He gave me a look.
K: "Something's here. I know it is." I shook my head. "I just don't know what." I slowly shook my head, and grabbed the mic. C> "Alpha to Fox. Fire Mission, Support Team, pre-set coordinates Alpha, Papa, Lima, Charlie, and Delta. Three salvoes each."
Adm. Lauzun: "Fox, Affirmative."
K: "Everyone dig in, we're kicking a hornet's nest. I dunno if the hornets are actually home, though." I got into position next to Sacquet.
The thunderous gunfire of Normandie's 305's and the Cruisers' 160's could be heard in the distance, as the Prench fleet moved in. The screams of them coming overhead was comforting, but I was still ill-at-ease.
I watched as the shells ripped up the buildings, fence line, and docks. Pounding the ground, making it shake..
..I still didn't feel any comfort from it.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Island Rear-Advance
TIME: 09:44 NRWT
DATE: War Day 566/25 Decemus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Niihao Island, Occupied Empire of Neighpon
Once the bombardment ceased, I was looking through my binoculars and shaking my head slowly. Was it paranoia? No, no, something was telling me that something very.. very bad was here. The traps at the base were a coincidence - I'd stumbled on to something big.
Lowering back down, I looked at Sacquet.
K: "Something's here. I don't know what it is, but I know something's here." I grabbed the mic. C> "Alpha to Mike Alpha."
Forest Spirit: "Mike Alpha. Go ahead."
K: C> "Deploy the command team. Something's up, but I don't know what it is." I looked at the two hills that dominated the island. "And send the rest of the Prench Marines.." I paused.. seeing.. something in the distance. "...quickly. Alpha, out. Alpha to Fox."
Adm. Lauzun: C> "Fox here."
K: C> "Rolling barrage from coordinates Delta through Lima. Four salvoes, all Support Section ships. And get me some air cover! NOW! Alpha, out."
Sacquet: "SACRE DAMNE!!" He could see it.. them.. too..
Ensign Chastellux: "Eh...?" She peeked up at this point.. and I could hear her whinny in worry.
K: "I have no idea what the hell is going on here.." I pointed at them.
Ambrosia: "K.. that's a whole damn army." She was flat with her delivery. "They're at full charge.. Duregars on the sides, Porcines, Raptorians.. there's-"
Sacquet: "DIG IN! FIRE AT WILL!" He immediately ordered.
They'd come from tunnels, I was sure.. tunnels, and bunkers, and foxholes, and spiderholes, and everywhere they could get cover. They were charging our position headlong. They had at least five tanks. They had ten armored vehicles.
I had twenty seven ponies with light equipment.
Ensign Chastellux: "This ees no raid!" She threw herself into her position and started shooting.
K: "Pick your shots! Machinegunners, area effect fire, four hundred meters!" I only had two. "Sigmask!" He was the only one besides me with a Gavin.
Sigmask: "Time to party!" He hefted himself away fromt he berm, and slid over to me. "What'cha got?"
K: "Barrage will be incoming in seconds. You and me are going to sneak around to the side when it's over and take whatever armor we can. Sacquet!"
Sacquet: "Oui, oui, mon ami! Keep ze fire coming, don't let up, an' make sure ze position is still here when you get back." He chuckled.
Right as he finished, Normandie, Conde, and Conti began the barrage. The pre-set artillery strike points were all along the edge of the base perimeter, about 400 meters from our present position. This was Danger Close for battleship guns.
I could hear the shell impacts, and I got down by the radio, ready to call for additional support. This was going to be a major battle, not a mere raiding skirmish. But, somehow, I knew this wasn't all..
Once the barrage ended, I peeked up, and I could see the enemy recovering from the attack. Soldiers getting up, some dragging off the wounded, but the uninjured and barely-injured starting to move towards us again. First, slowly, as they regained cohesion, and the remaining armor formed up, but then, they all broke into a run. And more were coming out of the ground like ants.
So much for trying to hold out!
K: "Oohhhhh! FUCK!" C> "Alpha Actual to all callsigns! We're going to be overrun before backup gets here! We're pulling out! Fox, rolling barrage from Pre-Set Lima to Advance Point Charlie." I stood up. "WITHDRAW!"
Too many... wayyyy too many.
Sacquet: "Back to ze landing craft! MOVE!" He started pulling soldiers from their positions.
I waited until everyone had started moving, and took up the rear position. I could hear the enemy start opening fire, once they saw us retreating. I kept my eyes peeled for any that fell.
Fortunately, the enemy's aim at a run was horrible. The rolling barrage coming at our backs, didn't do them any favors.
We ran right to the beach, and I could see Moonlight coming closer to shore, initially to try and drop more troops, but now, it was to facilitate our escape.
The Sailors manning the primary launch were already in position, and had the forward dual 11mm guns racked and ready. The two smaller launches were ready to go, already turned out to sea. I waited until everypony was aboard, before jumping into the primary launch, and rolling over.
The engine pulled back at full speed, just as the enemy forces broke through the tree cover at the edge of the beach. I didn't need to tell anyone - everyone started shooting. In the distance, I could hear the rolling barrage ending.
Only once we were halfway to Moonlight, did I stop shooting. Just as well, as I was down to my last magazine. I let myself roll back, into a familiar stallion's side.
Sacquet: "Mm.. I am uninjured, I think, this time." He patted my head. "Take heart, mon ami. I think there were no wounded."
Ensign Chastellux: "WE WERE SHAMED!" She spat. "Prench Fusiliers Marins, forced to RUN like COWARDLY DIAMOND DOGS!" She hit the gunwhale of the boat with her hoof in anger.
Sacquet: "Oui, this is true, our pride is damaged.. BUT! What have you learned?" He lifted his head up, looking at her evenly.
Ensign Chastellux: "Zat I do not like ze taste of defeat!" She crossed her forelegs as we got close to the side of the ship.
K: "Ensign. He means combat lessons." I corrected.
Ensign Chastellux: "Oh.." She blinked. "..well.. zat is somesing else to sink about.." She suddenly got very inflective, and started thinking..
K: "Smart one, that." I nodded. "Passionate."
Sacquet: "She is Prench, mon ami." He smirked, and chuckled as we pulled alongside.
TIME: 11:00 NRWT
LOCATION: Ward Room, HMS Moonlight, off Niihao Island, Occupied Empire of Neighpon
Twilight: "They were waiting for you." She shook her head, looking at the map.
K: "Tell me about it." I pointed at where the fence line was drawn.
Sacquet: "Oui. And worse, they vanished back into the island as soon as our heavy artillery started to get clear shots at them."
Ensign Chastellux: "I am still very angry." She crossed her forelegs, and sat on her haunches.
Rainbow Dash: "Soooo... next step? Precision bombing?" She tilted her head.
K: "Not a terrible idea, but a risky one. I'm betting they have good Triple-A protection." I point-wagged at her. "We'll need good SEAD."
Ensign Chastellux: "Seed?" She tilted her head, now confused.
Rarity: "Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses. Something K explained to us when he was creating an Air Force." She smirked.
Gilda: "I can take my scouts and cover the island.." She looked at Webley. "..get a couple squads of paratroopers to call in coordinates.." She shrugged at me.
K: "I would like the Prench to handle this, themselves, if possible. Part of the reason this is an Allied expedition is to teach them what war means." I looked at Sacquet and patted him on the back. "The ones that don't know."
Forest Spirit: "I agree with K." He nodded. "But, Dash is right. Precision strikes are the best way to go. My suggestion? Slide in at night, start marking all their lookouts, find cave openings, spider holes, the works. Lay out a bombardment plan. Then have the Prench naval force saturate the island with shells - precisely."
K: "See, this is why I made you Commandant. That sounds like one of MY plans." I smirked.
Ensign Chastellux: "I volunteer. My team, too." She nodded.
K: "Alright, but I want to do a couple things. First, take a couple days on a safe island and teach you proper Night Ops. Second, fool the enemy into thinking they've won and we're leaving." I wagged a finger. "When we reinsert, we'll use a Destroyer."
Applejack: "Sounds good't'me.." She smirked a bit. "A'hm comin' with, next time." She nodded.
K: "Okay. Toola, I want you, too." I nodded to her.
Toola Roola: "...why?" She tilted her head. "I'm an artist.. I draw.. and.. paint things. You want my memory!" She grinned.
K: "Right-o. If we get caught, or something happens, I can reasonably expect you to see the map as a canvas, and think of - in detail - where all the little subjects are, and maybe even repaint the island from memory." I nodded at her. "It feeds into your special talent."
Toola Roola: "It DOES!" She clapped her hooves.
Forest Spirit: "Anyone else from the command staff?" He tilted his head.
K: "Nurse Sweetheart, Gilda, and Ambrosia." I nodded. "Sacquet is automatic."
Twilight: "Why them?" She nodded to me.
K: "Medic, Scout, Engineer." I listed it off. "Medic if we get hurt, Scout in case I need an expert, and Engineer just in case a better solution gets found."
Ambrosia: "Heh. I've been through quite a bit, you know." She smirked.
Fluttershy: "You and Lyra and Bon-Bon.." She lifted her head. "..we have such good friends." She smiled.
K: "Alright. Let's do this." I nodded.
We may have been sent running in defeat before, but we were not about to give up. No matter what they had, here, we were going to defeat them and take it.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Night Ops
TIME: 00:13 NRWT
DATE: War Day 568/27 Decemus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Kyattosupou Island, Empire of Neighpon
I was in the deep darkness with the Prench Marines, and my chosen staff. For my people, this wasn't new territory. For the Prench Marines, this was something they'd only done in training, and not to this extent.
Kyattosupou was an island in transition. The southern half was occupied by Neighponese troops of the Rikujoujieitai, or Land Defense Force, their variation of The Militia System, and led ultimately by Bushin Roshi. The northern half still had enemies on it, and they had a defended base. Nothing major, but the Land Defense Force would assign fresh recruits here, to get them some combat experience.
I was doing much the same thing. Live fire exercise with real consequences. The enemy garrison was mostly Raptorians, who had relatively poor eyesight anyway, but they were backed by a company-sized unit of Goblins like Lostshort, and a few Porcines.
We, at the moment, were creeping through the underbrush very carefully. Slithering along like snakes with two or four legs, careful not to make any noise. That was the core of night ops - stealth. This was also the first time an entire formation of my troops would use suppressors. Everyone had one.
Our goal was to sneak to the edge of their perimeter, eliminate the guards at the four front towers, and set off a very small timed explosive by their communications building. Not destroy it - we needed them for a sort of XP grind. This was just an exercise, and we were to do it without firing a shot. The suppressors were 'just in case.'
Not a word was spoken as Ensign Chastellux and her troops got to the edge of the clearing. Their combat uniforms had been run through some darkening dye, so they blended in better with the night. I signalled to her to begin the operation - my more experienced troops would just provide overwatch.
We all got into position to cover them, and I watched them go to work. One of the Marines, with his partner, broke off from the main body as they moved to the wall in groups of four. They waited for a sentry coming around the corner and expertly took him down from behind, wringing his scrawny neck with a garrotte, and pulling him down by the ankles, dragging him into the shadow with them. The Raptorian never made a sound.
Once the unit was assembled, they stacked themselves against the wall, so each of them could climb over the other, the stack was four ponies high - two at the base, one on all fours on the base, and one with their body raised up.
The next group of four climbed them, and over them, then into the walled yard. I couldn't hear anything after that. The group of four on the outside, took up security positions in the shadows.
I waited. Three minutes passed, and the guards in the guard towers all vanished, one by one. Silently erased from this mortal coil. Ten minutes passed. Then, I saw all the Marines start coming back over the wall, one at a time. As the last ones got over the wall, the bomb went off...
Ensign Chastellux: "WITHDRAW!" She ordered.
They'd done it exactly as planned - and once they got to the cover of the foliage, the enemy started coming out of the gates. Now, the second half of night ops - killing large quantities as quietly as possible.
The enemy troops saw where the shadows had gone to, and charged into the jungle. I watched with faint moonlight as, one by one, they vanished. Death by blade and garrotte. At least fifty of them died, before their remaining comrades realized that the bushes meant death.
They tried to run away, retreat from whatever monsters lie in the darkness that weren't them. More vanished. One made it almost to the edge of the bush line, but I saw a pony raise up carefully, still mostly covered with foliage, and snipe them in the back of the head with a suppressed rifle. The body fell just beyond the bushline. His comrades watched in horror as a dark tentacle grasped his leg and dragged him back in.
The remaining soldiers ran back for the little mini jungle fortress, making noises of abject terror. Fear was the order of the night. We owned it, and they now knew that.
The fortress gates were shut, and extra torches and lights strung out, as a vain attempt to keep the darkness at bay.. keep us at bay.
The truth was, I could have taken them all right at that moment, if I so chose.
But, they would live. Live to spread the fear like a virus to any unit they were sent to. Live to spread terror of what ponies can do at night, even without Princess Luna.
And I gave the Prench Fusiliers Marins a taste of real victory. Not just an accomplished mission, but one that spread ghastly tales among enemy soldiers. And the only evidence they'd find in the morning would be their comrades' bodies piled carefully at the brush line, their clothes arranged into a symbolic simulation of the Prench flag.
They'd know who did it.
They would fear them, just as they'd learned to fear me.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Recommittment
TIME: 00:00 NRWT
DATE: War Day 571/30 Decemus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Niihao Island, Occupied Empire of Neighpon
The time had come. We would take Niihao island. Ensign Chastellux and her ponies were as ready as they could be. Besides Kyattosupou Island, they'd also raided and taken over an enemy vessel two nights ago.
Instead of a Prench destroyer, this enemy vessel would be our insertion craft. Crewed by Prench sailors, the captured enemy screw frigate - which they named "Destin" - would bring us close to the island, and smallcraft would take us to its shores.
We knew the odds were high - there had to be thousands of enemy soldiers on that island. But, now, we had to take it. Partly for pride, partly for strategic importance. To fix in place and destroy a large enemy force, would deny those troops to Tirek later, when it might've mattered.
Chastellux: "We are ready, Marechal." She was just finishing fixing her grease stick on her face, with a compact.
K: "I see that. Remember the mission." I nodded. "Identify enemy positions, mark them on the map, then withdraw. Minimal engagement - none if possible - with the enemy."
Chastellux: "Oui." She nodded.
I got into my assigned longboat with Applejack, Sweetheart, and Ambrosia. Sacquet was steering, and I rowed (given that I could comfortably do so all by myself). Slowly, quietly, we made our way to shore. Almost to the beach, we split into our groups.
I felt the bottom of the boat catch sand, and dug an oar in, slowly getting out, and dragging the boat up on the sand, though still partly in the water. Everyone got out, and I switched to my Suppressed Bradley-Gavin.
To be fair, I had one shell loaded - a flare. If the Destin saw that, everything was beyond pear-shaped, and they needed to call for the fleet to come rescue us.
We eased on to the shore with our three assigned Marins, creeping into the bush, and soon being swallowed by it. We took an entirely different path than before, not going anywhere near the (former, now shelled into oblivion) base facility. We were looking for the spider holes and hidden cave entrances and exits they'd used to flood the island with troops.
Instead...
Sacquet: "Mon ami! Over here!" He hissed.
We stepped into the clearing ahead..
Applejack: "Are these.. bananas?!" She hissed.
Sweetheart: "They are.. so many.. so big." She poked one with her Ridgway, and it was about the size of her whole body.
K: "Dragon." I stated, flatly. "Food. For a Dragon." I blinked.
Sacquet: "Mon dieu.. what do we do?" He sighed quietly.
K: "That's why I felt something was wrong. I'm betting the Dragon's presence is very strong.. and since I'm weak to magic.." I trailed off.
Ambrosia: "Cover!" She pointed to the far side of the clearing - enemy troops coming.
We dove back in to the bushes towards the beach, and waited, watching. Two Raptorians, and twenty Porcine with huge hand carts, came into the glade area.
Lead Raptorian: "More food, more food. Never get tired! Always eating!" *Annoyed brawk*
2nd Raptorian: "At least it no eat us!" *Squawk* "Not like the others!"
Lead Raptorian: "You! Big fellows! Pick Banana! Load carts!" It huffed, and sat down on a rock. "Yes, we no feed, it eat us. Like the others." *Bork* "Tirek have plan, though! Soon, Dragon earn its keep!"
2nd Raptorian: *Chortling Brawk-Brawk-Brawk* "Soon, pony city burn! No more ponies to fight us here!" He rubbed his hands together.
I leaned in to Sacquet.
K: "They're going to have the Dragon burn Neigha." I frowned. "Bad news. Circle back to the beach with the comms gear, report this to Admiral Lauzun. Tell her we need to prepare for immediate mass invasion of Niihao."
Sacquet: "Oui, mon ami!" He hissed back, took the Marin with the coms gear, and fell back.
We watched the Raptorians as they stared at the Porcine, who were detaching the bananas from the bushes with giant machete, and loading them on to the hand carts. Once the carts were full, they departed.
Curiosity got to me, and I managed to sneak back into the clearing and over to one of the very large banana. I knew that eating one this large would be fatal to a human.. something about too much potassium. But, still, I carved into its skin - finding it an inch thick - and got to the meat. I carved out a piece, and tasted it.
Then, spat it out.
Underripe, but it was definitely a Gros Michel, not a Cavendish. I went to the next one, carved into it, and tasted it. THIS one was ripe. Oh, and damn tasty.
If we could capture this island relatively intact, we would have a source of food for Neighpon, to replace or suppliment whatever they had left after the Occupation.
I brought back a few pieces for the others, and passed them out. Silently eating, the others had about the same looks on their faces as I did. Saquet returned with the comspony, and I forked over pieces for each of them.
K: "What'd the Admiral say?" I asked.
Sacquet: "Ze fleet will be here by dawn. Forest Spirit assumed you want ze Equestrian Marines in ze vanguard."
K: "I do, and they left." I held my hand out for the Com unit. "This food is incredible. If I'm right, part of this island's ecosystem evolved to feed that dragon." I pressed on the Mic's button. C> "Alpha Actual to all callsigns. Watchtower, Watchtower, that is all."
Watchtower was the signal for the worst case scenario - something I'd had an inkling of since the raid a few days ago. I'd first brushed it off as just being somehow aware of the enemy force, but I knew now I was wrong. So, just in case, I'd come up with a plan for a general invasion instead of a pinpoint raid or other options. I named it for the invasion of Guadalcanal.
Everything was more or less preplanned. The Equestrian Royal Marines and Royal Army Artillery, with the most experience, would invade first, with the balance of my command team landing as soon as feasible. Behind them would be the balance of the Fusiliers Marins. The Ambelon, Germane, and Roaman land forces would be in reserve. A secondary operation would occur 12 to 18 hours later (if I didn't call it off) with one of the Neighponese divisions and their mixed fleet attacking from the other side of the island.
We planned to pinch the enemy into a narrow slit of land in the center, divided by a fresh water river and small lake. While it gave the enemy control over the island's water supply, it would force him to defend two shorelines with poor cover, no retreat path except out into the ocean going down the river, and no real room to dig in and get comfortable. We could then shell them into oblivion or until they gave up.
The drawback? This would be a very bloody campaign. This also set into motion other plans - the immediate return of all the Transports with a modest escort to refill with more troops, diversion of land forces from the Allied Nations to make up the expected losses.
Time.
Delays.
Tirek seemed to be running out the clock as best he could. Problem is, I didn't know how much time was left, what the result would be if I took too long, and what threat he was actually making.
I tossed the banana skin to the ground, and shook my head, realizing all of this. This would be bad.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Draconic Mnemonic
TIME: 00:37 NRWT
DATE: War Day 571/30 Decemus, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Niihao Island, Occupied Empire of Neighpon
We got back to the shore line, as the rest of the Fusiliers Marins regrouped. It was time for a different strategy - mass invasion. But first, we needed to soften up the enemy. The longboat arrived with my backup team - La Boche, Norfy, Cosmic, Gaze, Forest Spirit, Kiwi Spritz, Dusty Dunes, Teddy, Doc Allcome, Gilda, and Gorcat.
Teddy got out first, and took a knee. He was dressed in Canidan Ranger camos - probably borrowed from Havoc, I guessed - and toting a Timberwolf. Odd for a pony to opt for a bolt-action rifle, given that, unlike Canids, he didn't have individual digits. I could see the bolt handle and knob were oversized - he was biting it? Interesting.
K: "Teddy. First dance. You good?" I nodded to him.
Teddy: "You bet. About time I started paying Tirek back." He snorted confidently. "Havoc's trained me well enough, I hope."
K: "Hope you're a good, fast shot with that. I have plans."
Teddy: "I'll be good." He smirked.
K: "Doc." I nodded to Cody.
Dr. Allcome: "K. We're ready."
K: "Sacquet. Take the entire Prench force down the west side of the island, and start eliminating observers, pillboxes, anything that could hang up the landing. Silent kills and sabotage. Don't let them know you're there." I nodded.
Sacquet: "Oui, mon ami." He nodded and took off, La Boche joining him.
K: "Alright. My team. Our objective is deep penetration. Sacquet and the Fusiliers will take care of the shore defenses, we're going to get as far into the island as we can, and disable anything we think we need to. The full invasion starts automatically at zero-six hundred." I nodded to them all.
Gaze: "Roight." He smirked.
Applejack: "Got'cha, hun."
With that, we moved in. Slow and careful, towards the banana grove again. This time, we were planning to engage any foraging parties we saw. Kiwi, Spirit, Gorcat, Gilda, and Gaze had Funston RPG's, so unless the dragon was exceptionally huge, we'd be able to handle him.
Arriving at the grove, we found another work party harvesting more bananas. I looked to Teddy, and indicated the head, then the Porcine that was standing by the carts, and closest to the Pershing machine guns they were usually armed with. I indicated around to who got what targets, then signalled to Teddy that it was on his go.
He got into a human-like one-knee kneeling position, rifle braced from elbow to raised knee.. and then I remembered, the G2 ponies could physically contort themselves more like humans. It was a result of how the animators wanted to humanize them.. that should also mean...
*KRACK!* *Kashik-chuk*
..he could operate the bolt as though he had fingers and hands!
Forest Spirit: "FIRE!"
We opened up on the rest of them, and in a single, fast volley, they were all dead. I looked over at Teddy, who was grinning slightly.
K: "Okay.. okay.. I forgot, Ponies of your generation were animated more like humans in horse suits.." I shrugged. "I didn't think about it - your hoof-grasp would be very close to mine."
Applejack: "..ain't never seen the lahk."
Dr. Allcome: "Huh! It seems an Earth Pony's grasping field has grown weaker over the millenia.."
Norfy: "..except Pinkie."
Dr. Allcome: "How utterly fascinating!"
Teddy: "Aww.. that was nothing!" He had a slightly cheesy grin, scratching the back of his head.
K: "Let's move. I want to know where they were taking all that food." I nodded as we came out of the brush.
We moved on either side of the path in two staggered lines, carefully working our way down it, and deeper into the island, in good concealment, given the jungle bushes and things. We walked about half a kilometer or so, and then we saw it..
..the enemy had a large fort, concrete structures, an AIRFIELD, and a tank company, and a very large base facility in the deep interior of the island. The port we were aiming at, must have been just a minor extension of this facility. This.. this was the reason they were on Niihao Island, not to function as a fleet replenishment point. The docks weren't the point of the island, THIS was.
Forest Spirit: "Estimating a couple battalions' strength, K." He frowned. "Minimum. Not counting support troops."
K: "Signal the fleet. As soon as they're in range, I want Pegasi bombers. I don't think naval artillery is going to be able to hit this very well.." I pointed at the ringing cliffs. "..being in a three-side box canyon like this, shelters them from sea-based artillery, except at the angle we're facing them, and they've minimized the profile of the base in this direction." I shook my head. "Whoever made this is smart. Very smart."
Ambrosia: "Worse? The buildings we'd be able to hit at this angle are heavy concrete, constructed at oblique angles to deflect shells. It'd take a lot to hammer through them - I'm fairly certain only Invincible and Inflexible have a large enough gun caliber for that, and they'd have to use AP shells." She shrugged. "Either that or we get close with heavy demolition charges.." And shook her head. "..lots of them, with a shaped charge penetrator."
K: "Suggestions?" I kept staring, I knew we wouldn't have too long before they realized the foraging team wasn't coming back.
Ambrosia: "Mmm.." She rubbed her chin. "..get the dragon to do it for us?" She snickered a bit.
Forest Spirit: "..that's actually not a bad plan.." He looked at me. "..no, no, she's right."
Ambrosia: "I am!?" She blinked.
Forest Spirit: "If we can piss off the dragon, it's not likely to watch its aim. We can try to get them to use their dragon fire on those structures.." He smirked.
Applejack: "Sounds good t'me.." She looked, then looked over to me with narrowing eyes. "And, a'course, mah stallion's gonna be suggestin' hisself as bait, ain't he?!" She was a bit annoyed at that.
K: *Sigh* "I'm more maneuverable.." I shrugged. "..I can shuck-and-jive and get into and over places, ponies can't."
Teddy: "Most ponies." He raised his head.
K: "No way. We just got you back-"
Teddy: "Sir. K. Come on. I'm either all in, or all out. No half measures." He stood his ground.
Gorcat: "Me, too, boss." He smirked. "Gonna need that third dimension, and I'm a stronger flyer than my cousin, here." He needled Gilda.
Gilda: "Like heck you are!" She hissed.
Gorcat: "Can you carry both of them, AT speed, if things go pear-shaped, woman?" He turned and looked right into her eyes - this wasn't an insult, this was concern.
Gilda: "..no." She backed down, and her cheeks got flushed. "Not yet! I've been pumping iron!"
Gorcat: *Tongue-click* "Can't wait another couple months for you to show your gains, cousin." That was encouragement.
Gilda: "Okay. Point! You better take good care of them." She nodded, and looked at me.
K: "Okay. Doc, Sweetheart, make sure you're ready to plug leaks." I shrugged. "Dusty, got eyes on the dragon?"
Dusty: "Yup. It's in that huge pavilion, over there - looks like a circus tent, or half'a one, anyway." She pointed.
Indeed, you could see a dragon's tail from this angle..
..it certainly looked do-able. It was time to put up, or shut up.
{End of Chapter 60}
