Chapter 105: Crown
Part 1: Statement of Intent
TIME: 21:28 GKT
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Aboard HCMAS Enterprise, Above Abyssal Abyss, Griffon Kingdom
I sat up, to Dr. Allcome smiling at me. I looked to my right, and there was Fizzy..
..she looked back to me, and smiled.
Her horn.
It was fixed. It was different. It was now made of a dark green crystal, and at full length.
Dr. Allcome: "It seems you're both just fine. Lost consciousness, though." He said, patting my forehead.
K: "Applejack? Gorcat? Greta?" I asked.
Dr. Allcome: "Also fine. And he has recovered the Idol." He stepped back, and pulled back the curtain on the sick bay beds.
Applejack: "Honeybun!" She smiled. "All fah'n." She had a bandage over her forehead.
Gorcat: "Boss." He nodded with a smile, and held up the Idol. "Look what we found?" He had a bandage over his right arm.
Greta was CURLED UP with him, though her back right leg was bandaged.
K: "You two together, now?" I nodded to him with a grin.
Greta: "Eh. He'll make an okay boyfriend, I think." She smirked.
Gorcat: "Boyfriend? Nah." He shrugged. "I want.. I want you to be my Queen." He patted her face.
Greta: "Mm.. okay." She nodded a little, but she was blushing.
Fizzy: "Eh.. I.. already introduced myself to your wife." She smiled, but she was blushing now. "Do.. uhm.. you actually have a problem with mares being.." She shrugged and gestured.
Gorcat: *BAHAH-HA!* "You have no idea! Our victory orgy after liberating Neighpon? Me, Gilda, his wife, Gilda's wife-"
Rarity: "And me. Darling." She slid into the sick bay, and brought us all something to eat. "Rarity Belle. Pleasure." She gave Fizzy a pat on the shoulder.
Fizzy: "Fizzy Berrytwist." She smiled a bit. "I-I.. assured your wife you won't have to worry about that from me." She nodded to me, regarding my.. uh.. various horizontal misadventures.
K: "Prefer Mares?" I asked offhandedly, taking the coffee Rarity brought me, and drank it down.
Fizzy: "Eh-well.. yeah.." She looked down at her coffee.
Applejack: "An' ah told her, that ain't no-o-o-o problem." She smiled a bit, raising her eyebrows to me.
Gorcat: "Uh-huh. That isn't all you said." He nodded and smirked to me.
K: "Mm." I shrugged. "If my wife wants to get better acquainted with you, without me there, that's fine." I munched a bread roll with fresh butter.
Fizzy: "I.. I just didn't think.. you know." She shrugged and sighed. "Being accepted is new to me." She touched her horn. "And, you kept both your promises. I.."
Rarity: "Katrina and Moon Dancer think that when you tried to pry her out with the Sword of Rainbow's Light, the internalized pure mana in her, crystalized." She shrugged a bit.
K: "I'm glad." I nodded slowly, then looked at Fizzy. "Who told you we'd be there?"
Fizzy: "Lord Goldstone." She sighed. "He's been working with the Storm King for ages. I've been his contact the whole time." She shrugged. "The whole plan was to have the Storm King acquire the Idol, disguise me as a Griffon, and take over the Griffon Kingdom, and draft the more violent ones to help us attack other countries along with his own Guards."
Greta: "Like.." She sighed. "..I can see the outcast bands doing that. Very eagerly." She looked at Gorcat. "My brother's in one." She lowered her head a bit. "He would."
Rarity: "And the rest of the Griffons, darling?" She shrugged a bit.
Greta: "Ehh.. stir them up enough, throw in the Idol.. maybe. Any that don't-"
Fizzy: "Would have been used as slave labor. Made to disappear. Those Guards are living creatures, they do eat food." She shook her head.
K: "Where is the Storm King from?" I looked over to her, as I rolled to a seated position and dug in to the Shepherd's Pie (true Equestrian style, no meat).
Fizzy: "The Outer World." She frowned. "He has a base of operations far to the north and east. North of Europa." She shrugged with her hooves out. "I'm not exactly sure where. He can be contacted at certain magical pools and portals he's corrupted over time. It's how I met him, I was.. going to drown myself in one of them." She lowered her head.
I gave her a reassuring head-skritchie.
K: "Well, we know what we know." I nodded to her leg. "Did that get healed, too?"
Dr. Allcome: "Yes, yes it did." He shrugged. "Pump enough mana into something, anything's possible."
Gorcat: "What's our next move, Boss?" He smirked.
K: "Set course for Griffonstone. Air Fleet to Red Alert. Aero Marines and General Staff prepare for combat drop. I'm not walking in to that chamber unarmed and unprepared." I frowned. "Not with the future King of the Griffons with us." I looked to Gorcat, and nodded. "And you can stop calling me Boss. Your Highness."
He blushed a bit, and nodded.
Gorcat: "Then I'll call you Friend." And smiled.
We all got out of Sick Bay, and rearmed and re-equipped ourselves. I went to the Bridge with Gorcat. As expected, everyone was quite happy to see me in good shape.
Sombra: "My Friends." He nodded to us.
K: "Everyone, this is the King-Presumptive Gorcat of the Griffon Kingdom." I gestured to him, as he held out the Idol. "Admiral, set course for Griffonstone. Comms, start broadcasting on all channels - we come in the name of the King, to put an end to treachery. Those that would flock to the Idol, come with us, we come as friends."
Iris: "You heard him. Helm, come about, set course and heading, all ahead full." She stood proudly. "It's time to restore hope."
It wouldn't be long, now, that we could free the Griffons from their bonds. Stop the curse on their lands, stop the divisiveness of their culture, and re-unite them as one. On top of that, with the Abyss quieted, weather patterns should change for the better.
Eh, give it a couple years, they'll be planting plenty of food in areas they simply couldn't, before.
And my friend Gorcat, who went from an enemy to an ally to one of my best friends, would be there to lead them.
I had no idea just HOW MUCH I'd helped the Griffon race. Or what this would mean in the future.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Core-o'-Nation
TIME: 22:03 GKT
DATE: War Day 885/9 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Aboard HCMAS Enterprise, Above Abyssal Abyss, Griffon Kingdom
As we approached the capital, a small cluster of Griffons had taken flight and were following. Civilians. All of them. Whether they sensed the Idol's power, or heard the radio broadcast, I wasn't sure.
All I knew, was, the people were rising up. And they were on our side.
Enterprise was in the lead of the formation, with Centaur to our left, and Superb and Swiftsure in the rear. The XY craft were between us and Centaur. All guns were loaded, and crewed.
I expected a huge fight.. instead..
Air LT Cobson Coppers: "Admiral! General! I'm getting a message from the Capital."
K: "What's going on, Lieutenant?" I nodded to him.
Air LT Cobson Coppers: "On speakers." He clicked over the speaker switch.
Prime Minister Buran: C> "..is Prime Minister Buran. As head of the elected government, I am officially requesting the assistance of NEIGHTO! There is a coup being attempted as we speak, against the Civilian Government, by the Council of Lords! We are hole up in the Guard's Quarters at the far end of the Palace!"
I took the Mic and keyed up.
K: C> "Prime Minister, we're less than five minutes out. We bring the Idol of Boreas with us. Reinforcements are coming, just hold on a little longer!"
Prime Minister Buran: C> "Understood!" He sounded prouder. "We will fight to our last feather! FOR OUR NEW KING!"
K: "Tuber? 120% on the engines." I nodded to the ship's Chief Engineer, Tuber Sterling.
Tuber: "120%?! Och.. I'll give it all she's got, sir, but she could blow!" He retorted, but called down to the Engine Room none the less.
I paused a moment, the words sounding familiar, but shook it off.
K: "Everyone, prepare for Combat Drop! Fast Rope and Wing! MOVE!" I pointed to the door, and we rushed to it.
Sombra: "I shall accompany you! Admiral, cover us with Machine Guns and Smoke Shells." He nodded to Iris.
Iris: "Yes, Lord General.." She said, but just as he was about to leave, she stopped him. "Lord General." She bowed a little, then rose up and..
..KISSED SOMBRA RIGHT ON THE LIPS!
Sombra: *Egha!* "Ah!" He blushed deeply. "M-My Lady..!" He bowed his head a bit.
K: "Kiss her back, man!" I patted his back.
Sombra: "For Luck." He swept her into his forelegs and kissed her deeply.
The whole bridge crew clapped for them.
Dr. Grey Slater: "I hope you two don't ask me to officiate the wedding. I'm a doctor, not a preacher." He smirked.
I chuckled at that, and that feeling like I was seeing something familiar hit me again, but I ignored it as we ran towards the open deck to prepare to fast rope.
K: "Blizz! Olivine! YOU TWO STICK ON ME!" I demanded.
Olivine: "Yes, General." She nodded, and chamber-checked her Grant.
Blizz: "Of course, sir." She had a Buckner, and hefted it, getting the rope secured to her.
K: "AJ! Sunset! You two on my Squad, too. And Gorcat." I nodded all around.
Applejack: "Any time, honeybun." She smirked, and as she had a Buckner also, nodded to Blizz. "You'n me on front'n rear, shugah."
Sunset: "Well.. here we go." She had a Kreuger DMR. "My first real mission."
K: "Which is why the three of you are with the three of us. We have more experience. Do what we say, you'll be fine." I nodded and secured the rope. "PREPARE FOR DROP!" I called out.
Rarity: "READY, DARLING!" She called out almost from the far side of the team.
K: "GO-GO-GO!" I said, seeing the Enterprise start to come to a complete stop.
Over the side, and down the rope, carefully. Letting it out in short bursts, until I descended the 50-or-so meters to the ground. When my boots hit pavement, I brought up my Grant and covered everyone else.
There were a few Griffon guards, here, but all of them threw down their weapons immediately, and held their arms up.
K: "SECURE THEM! My teams! ON ME!" I said, rising to a stand, and moving towards the far side of the Palace.
We found the Guard's Barracks alright, and there were a number of Griffons trying to barge their way into a small room. Wounded were laying around, and I couldn't tell one side from another.
K: "Fluttershy. See to the injured." I motioned, then got everyone sort of lined up. "Gorcat."
Gorcat: "HEAR ME!" He bellowed. "I BEAR THE IDOL OF BOREAS! AS YOUR RIGHTFUL KING, I ASK YOU - FRIENDS, NESTMATES, BIRDS OF A FEATHER - LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS!"
All the guards that were trying to break into the small room, stopped. They turned and saw Gorcat, holding the Idol above his head.
The threw down their spears, and bowed.
K: "MISTER PRIME MINISTER!" I called out. "IT'S SAFE!" I motioned for Blizz and Olivine to move the surrendering Griffons out of the way.
The Prime Minister came out of the room, nursing an arm and wing wound. Nurse Sweetheart moved up to him immediately and started bandaging the bleeders.
Prime Minister Buran: "My King.." He bowed to Gorcat. "..you have my undying allegiance."
Gorcat: "Lord Goldstone. Where is he?" He asked.
Prime Minister Buran: "Council Chambers." He nodded.
K: "He gonna be okay?" I asked.
Nurse Sweetheart: "It's less serious than it looks. He'll be fine. I just need to get these closed up." She shrugged.
K: "Elements, Fizz, on me. Everyone else, secure the Palace." I ordered. "That means you, too, Gorcat."
We moved to the council chambers, soon joined by Greta and Dr. Gormutton. We threw open the chambers, and the Elements of Harmony acted as body guards as we advanced inwards, them and me surrounding Gorcat.
The Lords and Ladies were here. All nine of them.
Gorcat: "I return. With the Idol. And.." He pointed at Lord Goldstone. "..I identify a traitor."
Lady Gallifrey: "IMPOSSIBLE!" She hissed.
Fizz: "It's true." She moved forward enough to be seen. "I worked for the Storm King. A creature from beyond The Veil. He planned to steal the Idol, disguise me as a Griffon, and control you all through its powers. Then use you as cannon fodder to attack other lands."
Lord Gestal: "This.." He looked at Goldstone. "..is this true!?"
Lord Goldstone: "...eh." He spat on the floor. "I accept Outcast-"
*GUNSHOT!*
Lord Goldstone fell to the ground, with a bullet hole in his head.
Gorcat: "You accept a quick death over humiliation." He looked at the other Lords and Ladies. "A humiliation and shame you'd all bear." And re-holstered his Dager. "I am the Bearer of the Idol. I am your King." He held it up. "I, Gorcat the First, proclaim myself King of the Griffon Kingdom. And furthermore.." He put his arm around Greta. "I take Greta Grainsberry as my mate."
Greta: "Mmm.. making me Queen." She smirked. "Not bad for a former peasant seed gatherer."
Lady Gallifrey: "This.. is.." She stammered.
Gorcat: "..the reunification of our people, and the repair of our culture." He nodded. "Furthermore, as King-Presumptive, I have secured approval for the Griffon Kingdom to join NEIGHTO, and become a partner in the War against Tirek.. and now, the Storm King as well. WE face our own threat! If we do not have the means, we cannot defeat him. And we can only get those means, through NEIGHTO. Together. With our friends." He gestured to me and the others. "We very nearly became his PAWNS!" He shook his head. "And threw away our best and brightest on a fruitless slaughter."
Lady Gallifrey: "..you bear the Idol." She stopped her attitude, and bowed to him. "Despite our objections, our.. resistance.. you showed us the true spirit of an Outcast. To return to the Nest in true Glory." She nodded to Gorcat. "My Liege! I pledge my life."
Lord Gestal: "I so pledge!" He bowed as well.
They all did, as Prime Minister Buran came in.
P.M. Buran: "As does the civilian government." He was being aided by Dr. Allcome. "Let us all put aside our differences, and unite. We face a threat. Multiple threats. We must stand together, or we will fall individually."
Gorcat: "Mm." He nodded to each of them in turn.
Seven Devils: "General? Palace is secured. We.. uh.. the guards are all asembled outside and are pledging their lives to Gorcat." He nodded back towards the hall.
K: "I think the whole kingdom is secured, Seven." I smirked, as Gorcat kissed Greta on the beak, in front of everyone.
My friends. I had no idea how this little skirmish would change the future.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Relief Supply
TIME: 09:03 GKT
DATE: War Day 887/11 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Rural Griffon Kingdom
Hunger was an issue the Griffons just dealt with. They didn't have access to the level of foodstuffs that ponies did. Yes, they had farmers. They had hunters. But, they didn't have the logistical network needed to bring food from areas of plenty, to the places without.
The Griffon Kingdom itself was about the size of Newfoundland or so. Maybe a bit smaller. It certainly made it a larger kingdom than, say, the BeNeLux trio on Earth together. Given that even Equestria was smaller than the United States by about 12% and Canida smaller than Canada by 35%, on roughly similar land masses, this did permit "room" for these "extra" nations, even if they were culture-and-nation swaps.
We were out in the rural part of the Kingdom, with Gorcat coronated as King, and Greta as Queen yesterday, with us bringing the good news. And Gorcat himself.
Gorcat: "..and I really want us to have a road system like Equestria does." He finished.
K: "No problem. It'll be a good chance for the various Corps of Engineers to get some construction experience." I shrugged. "It's fortunate that Equestria and Europa were already in times of plenty before the war - even with the damages suffered, we can still spare things like food, construction materials-"
Greta: "Oh!" She pointed to one of the fields. "That one really looks like it's in bad shape." She frowned.
Olivine: "I'll.. ah.. get on the horn, sir, and get some of these things arranged." She nodded.
Applejack: "Mm." She nodded to the field, which looked almost totally fallow. "Somethin' ain't right there."
K: "Let's go take a look. Ol?" I nodded to her. "Get back to the XY and radio this in, yeah, but come back with some food and water."
Olivine: "You got it, K." She trotted off.
The five of us - Me, (KING!) Gorcat, (QUEEN!) Greta, Applejack, and Blizz made our way over the fence to inspect the field. Both Applejack and I went to the soils first, to test them.
K: "Feels gritty. Dry." I sniffed it. "..salty?"
Applejack: "Salty." She nodded. "Someone dun irrigated this field with salt water?" She shrugged. "Don't see how. Ocean's hundreds'a kilometers away."
Gorcat: "Huh." He shrugged his wings.
Blizz: "I think.." She suddenly moved off, around a tree cluster, and down a bit. "GENERAL!"
We all came over there. There was a spring, here, flowing from the rocks. I reached out and let the back of my hand touch the water. It felt.. burning? I quickly washed it off with my canteen.
K: "Something's up with this. This spring is contaminated with something." I said, wiping my hand. "Don't drink from it."
Gorcat: "Maaan.. what the Tarjas is going on, here?!" He snorted.
I hit the mic button on my headset.
K: C> "Olivine. Come in." I didn't bother with callsigns.
Olivine: C> "Read you." She replied.
K: C> "I need Chemical Lens out here. And you. Something's up with the water, here. Chemicals of some kind, I'm not sure." I looked at the stream. "The hell is this..?" Note? I didn't take organic chemistry.
After a bit, Olivine returned to where we were.
Olivine: "XY-3101 is on the way with some Engineers and Chemical Lens." She shrugged. "Anything I can do?"
K: "Yeah. See if there's enough of it in the air to coagulate into a mass, so we can analyze it." I shrugged. "Worth a shot?"
Olivine: "Sure is." She nodded with a small grin.
She moved over to the stream, and sniffed the air a bit.. then flapped her wings some, and started summoning a small wind ball, coalescing the air together, and starting to extract the impurities from it. It took her a few minutes, but she produced something about the size of a marble.
I held out an empty canteen cup, and caught it, when she dismissed the wind ball. It splatted inside. So, I gave it a 'waft' - where you waft your hand over the suspicious chemical, to get a faint scent to your nose (because huffing strange chemicals is dangerous).
Smelled.. kinda like a battery. Caustic Potash? Huh.
K: "It's caustic potash." I shrugged.
Olivine: "You mean you know chemistry, too!?" She was a bit excited.
K: "No, but I know what an alkaline battery smells like, and this is it. It just happens to be called Caustic Potash in some circles." I shrugged. "How long until 3101 gets here?"
Olivine: "Another twenty minutes." She shrugged.
K: "Let's search the farm. See if there's anyone here - alive or dead. Something's fishy, and I don't mean fish." I snorted.
Greta: "You know, if I'm going to be your Queen, you're going to have to train me to protect the Nest, you big lug." She nudged Gorcat.
Gorcat: "Heh.. yeah, yeah, I will, huh?" He grinned, still hefting his Abrams. "I must be the rockin'est king ever - I carry a machine gun."
K: "Best King I've ever seen." I smiled a bit, rising up. "Me and AJ on point, Blizz, you and Ol in the rear. Remember, keep your eyes peeled. Fizz didn't know how long the Storm King was doing stuff around here - and he might've corrupted other Griffons."
Applejack: "Mm. Good thing th' air fleet's close by." She nodded a bit.
We got up, and made for the farm house in the distance. Probably 500 meters across relatively open ground. As you can imagine, by NOW.. hell, even when we were banging around with Shermans.. I'd be pretty suspicious.
K: "Fan out." I said in low tones. "Gorcat, keep that new wife of yours covered.. something happens, get to the right flank."
Gorcat: "You got it, bo-ah.. K." He smirked.
Greta: "You suspicious of something?" She asked in low tones.
Gorcat: "Him and I both feel it. Something's not right here. We've been ambushed before." He shrugged. "If you hear a shot, don't fly, they'll pick you off."
Greta: "You got it." She nodded.
K: "AJ, you and Blizz off to the left - you both got shotguns. You're out ranged. We get shot at, try and skirt up the left flank and get in grenade range." I nodded. "Olive, you stay with me."
Olivine: "Yes, sir." She nodded, and moved a bit closer. "Think this is an ambush?"
K: "Hell of a good place to make one, if it is." I shrugged just a bit.
We moved at a casual pace another 150 meters or so, now 350 meters from the farm house. My combat instincts were telling me - and I'm sure Gorcat and AJ, too - something felt wrong here. Like, we were under the eye of a sniper or machine gun team. It might've just been nerves, too. There was no real cover or concealment the whole way - just fallow fields.
I casually slid my binoculars out and paused a moment, scanning the area.. I made it look casual, like I was taking in the sights. I scanned back over the farmhouse.
The building itself was two story, and looked like a European Medieval stone house, with a big straw thatched roof, which looked vaguely like an inverted nest. It had wooden cross beams supporting the straw in an almost bowl-like web, secured at the walls.
It also had a second floor window facing us. I moved the lenses over it.. and I saw what I didn't want to see.
K: "Gorcat. Second floor window. On my go." I nodded slightly, as I scanned to the first floor - I could see the edge of a Pershing barrel jacket, painted black, sticking out from a hole. "Machine gun, first floor, hole on the south-east corner."
Gorcat: "Ready, sir." He said in hushed tones.
K: "AJ. Blizz." I inquired, now very slowly putting my binoculars back.
AJ: "Ready, hun." She nodded, pretending to be distracted by a butterfly.
Blizz: "Ready, sir." She looked casually to the left.
K: "Ol, stay on me when I take the shot, hose down the machine gun area so Gorcat can get a shot at the Sniper. I'm going to rattle their cage, nothing more." I nodded.
Olivine: "Yes, K." She pretended to grope for her canteen.
K: "On my shot. Three.. two.." I casually gripped my Grant rifle. "..one.." And slowly raised it a bit.. then whipped it up suddenly, fire selector to full automatic, and I hip-fired up towards the house.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Farmhouse Mouse
TIME: 09:13 GKT
DATE: War Day 887/11 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Farmstead, Rural Griffon Kingdom
As predicted, the second I opened up, the sniper tried to, only for Gorcat to dump half his belt into the second floor, while crabwalking to the side.
Once his burst started, I dove to the ground, rolled several times to the right, then came up, and had my Grant in front of me. I sighted in on the machine gun team, as they aimed up towards Gorcat. I fired into the hole on full auto, dumping the rest of my mag. Olivine picked up right where I left off, and fired on semi-auto, careful jerks of her fetlock, barking off rounds.
I rolled on my back, and got the magazine out of the gun. Grabbing a fresh one from my rigging, I slid it in place. I'd redesigned the Grants to lock the bolt back when empty, unlike the G3/HK91. That way, a pony could reach forward with mouth or foreleg and simply slap or bite-and-release the bolt. More dexterous races could hit the bolt release button on the receiver.
I.. being human of course.. delivered an HK Slap, which brought my offhand around to grasp the forestock, allow me to roll over in one fluid motion, and cover Olivine.
The machine gun was silent. By my accounting, whoever it was, never got off a single shot.
K: C> "AJ. Take the house from the rear. Watch for hostages. Gorcat, cover from the right flank." I nodded to Olivine. "Full gallop when we break and run. Ready?"
Olivine: "Ready, sir." She finished her own reload, and used her mouth to cock the bolt.
K: "Go!" I got up and ran, knowing she'd outpace me easily.
She did, and got to the doors in short order, covering the 350 meter distance in 30 seconds. It took me over a full minute, and despite my better condition, I was huffing and puffing a bit. I slammed against the wall on the other side of the door from her.
K: C> "AJ, Blizz. Status?" I called out.
AJ: C> "We's at th' back door now." She replied.
K: C> "Breach!" I called out, and nodded to Olivine. "Mule Kick it!"
She reared back and heaved both hooves against the door. I rolled to the ground, banging against the frame as I dove, and came up with my Grant aimed inwards, with me in a deep crouch.
K: "Move ahead, sweep and clear!" I ordered, as I got up and transitioned to my Type-34 - a much better option at close quarters.
Olivine moved in, and took the right, as I took the left. The first room was the common room - kitchen, dining room, living room, all at once. The machine gun crew were here.. all dead. The Pershing's water jacket was pierced at several points, too. I moved over to make damn sure, kicking the bodies.
They were more Gizmonks. This was Tirek's doing in some way.
I checked the Pershing, and noted it was chambered in the same "enhanced" 9x35mm that the Nasser Rifle was. The Gizmonks had Nassers as well.
AJ: "HOSTAGES! HONEYBUN, WE'S GONNA NEED A DOCTOR!" She called out from a back room.
K: "Ol, go see what you can do." I nodded to her, as Blizz came up to me.
Blizz: "What's this, K?" She poked at the Gizmonks. "Gizmonks!" She examined the Nasser. "Are these those Orghuz rifles?"
K: "Very good, you read your briefings." I nodded to her. "Yes, those are Nasser rifles, chambered in an enhanced 9x35mm round. Maximum effective range is about 250 to 300 meters or so."
Blizz: "The machine gun, then.." She nodded to it.
K: "We were at the very maximum effective range of it, and only for area targeting." I shrugged. "I had a guess and I took a gamble. I was right."
Applejack came in, and handed me a very interesting looking rifle. It reminded me of what would happen if someone that only recently learned what guns even were, tried to design a sniper rifle. Wooden stock, manual bolt action, roughly twenty inch barrel.
Applejack: "Snaiper had this'n." She nodded to the back. "Griffon family back 'cher. Dad's been beaten somethin' fierce. One'a th' chicks is hurt real bad." She lowered her head. "Found some chemical containters back'ere too."
K: "Let me guess - they were salting the spring, and the dad caught them in the act?" I turned to her, opening the rifle's bolt.
Applejack: "More lahk.. they been us'n this place's'a base'a operations fer a long time." She frowned.
K: "Tirek made a move here." I nodded. "I'm not exactly sure why. I'm going to guess Tirek was trying the same thing the Storm King was - turn the Griffons against everyone else. Make it look like we sabotaged them." I reached for my headset, and hit the mic button. C> "All's clear, Gorcat. Get to the XY and radio for medical. We have wounded civilians here, and two of them need a doctor."
Gorcat: C> "Roger that."
K: "This ammo." I held up the ejected bullet. "Nine mil rifle, longer case." I took out my multitool and measured it. "Forty six millimeter. Odd measurement. But, I'll bet, this extends the effective range out to 400 meters or so. Probably more." I examined the scope, hefting the rifle and looking through it. "This rifle was designed for a Gizmonk. The scope glass is about 4.5x or so, I'd say. Perfect for 400 to 500 meter shots in combat conditions." I closed the bolt, and flipped the flag safety on the back. "Tirek didn't design this - the Orghuzians did."
Applejack: "Whul of all the.." She frowned.
K: "Holds five, single stack magazine, closed, no trap door to let the rounds out." I shrugged a bit, and tapped the bottom of the base plate. "Probably have to thumb them out."
Gorcat: C> "K. Back-up is on the way. ETA ten." He called. "We're holding at the XY."
K: C> "Roger that." I called back.
Blizz: "Want me to police up the rest of the stuff?" She shrugged.
K: "Sure. Get the weapons stacked over there, and get the bodies dragged out. Hun? Lend a hand." I gestured, and stepped over to the door, to provide cover.
I didn't realize it, but one of the Chicks came over and kinda slumped against my leg. Without thinking about it, I'd knelt down and picked them up in one arm, and held them close. The Father in me didn't want to go see the wounded. I was angry enough.
The little chick was soft and fluffy, they still had their birth feathers. The poor thing was so very young. Probably less than a year old.
I was very happy to see XY-3105 and 3101 land near the farm house, and my troops start to disembark. Doc Allcome rushed over and I nodded him towards the inside.
Sunset: "How bad was it?" She asked, stepping up.
K: "Bad enough. The Orghuzians developed a sniper rifle. Good one, too. I bet it gets about 2MOA or better. Range is probably better than 400 meters." I shrugged, still holding the little chick.
Ambrosia: "K?" She paced up. "What'cha need from us?"
K: "You and Jim start taking a look at how bad these fields are. They used Caustic Potash. Work with Chem. CHEM!?" I called out to her as she disembarked with her husband.
Chemical Lens: "Yes, K?" She trotted up.. oh, my, that belly looks sucked in.
I looked at Wide Lens.
He just looked back at me sheepishly. She'd given birth alright!
Wide Lens: "Twins, sir. Kayleed Lens and Shutter Lens." He shrugged. "Kayleed is named for you. Sir."
K: "Just K, come on!" I reached over and tousled his hair, with a smile. "I'm honored."
Chemical Lens: "Mmm. And what did you need of me, sir?" She just gave me a knowing grin, only pretending to put on her airs of detachment.
K: "Analyze how contaminated the water is, find the source of the contamination, and neutralize it any way you can." I nodded. "We need clean water."
Chemical Lens: "Of course." She nodded and took off.
I needed answers. I'd get them, too. And in the process, we'd work to reharmonize the Griffon Kingdom and bring relief to those that needed it. A detour from the Rainbow, but a necessary one.
After all, we just made them allies, we had to show them we were friends, too. And as I've been saying constantly, Friendship is Magic.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Field of Reasoning
TIME: 09:47 GKT
DATE: War Day 887/11 Noneus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Farmstead, Rural Griffon Kingdom
The civilians had been evacuated to the capital. Seeing the situation unfold, I sent Superb and Centaur back for additional supplies and personnel. Better safe than sorry. Swiftsure and Enterprise moved into our area of operations to provide cover.
I called for the 1st Aero Marines Regiment, and for the Equestrian Royal Army 1st Battalion's 2nd Infantry, 1st Armored Cavalry, and 1st Operational Support Regiments, as well as Derpy's 1st Royal Rangers. The rest of 1st Brigade was put on alert and moved towards the border, along with 1st Company of the Royal Guards.
Screw the "soft approach." Something was up, here, and I refused to be jumped without enough force to stop whomever it was from doing whatever they wanted. Between Tirek and the Storm King, the real risk of a major shooting match breaking out in the middle of the Griffon Kingdom was there, and they hadn't anything to defend themselves with. Not like us.
Tirek had, it seemed, taken to poisoning the water supply. While the Storm King infiltrated the Griffon government, Tirek aimed to take them out from below. It raised the question..
Sunset: "..how do we know Tirek and the Storm King aren't at odds? Like, they're now fixing to kill each other." She shrugged.
K: "Probably." I gestured. "The Storm King himself said he aims to take out Tirek. The problem WE have, is, they've picked the Griffon Kingdom as their battle ground."
Rarity: "So.. what's the plan, Darling?" She gave me a small grin.
K: "Move in more assets. Start training the Griffons to fight. It's clear they'll have to, soon. I have no idea how Tirek is getting forces in here, but he's going through Orghuz. As of now, we should consider them a co-belligerent. Not just non-aligned, but officially aiding Tirek for whatever reason."
Toola: "I'll start mapping the area. Come on, Dash." She nodded to the door.
Dash: "Yeah. Better know what we're dealing with." She shrugged, and followed.
Fluttershy: "I can hardly believe we've all made it this far." She sat on one of the stools in the room. "And now, we're moving towards lasting peace with the Griffons." She smiled.
K: "Gorcat being king is just the first step." I patted Gorcat's shoulder. "The kings and queens that come afterwards are the real test. If we show them we can all be friends, and they can stay unified, even call us for help when they need to.." I shrugged. "..after Tirek - and the Storm King, it seems - we can go on to the future knowing we won't have another war like this. Ever." I nodded.
Fluttershy: "That's what I'm hoping for. That's why I keep going." She smiled brightly. "Nothing can stop us." She nuzzled my hand. "Especially with you around. You've always been there, trying to help everyone you can."
K: "Thanks, Fluttershy." I smiled a bit - she probably sensed I wasn't feeling myself since rescuing Fizzy.
Gorcat: "Good thing about bein' a fightin' king? I can teach my Griffs. And I can lead from the front." He smirked.
Greta: "Uh-huh. You better watch it - you'll have chicks to raise soon enough, big guy." She smirked as well, looking up into his eyes.
That made AJ.. and Sunset.. and Dusty.. and Rarity.. all move a bit closer to me.
TIME: 11:22 GKT
We cleaned up the farm as best we could. Contaminated grains and plant life were buried in a lined trench. Burning them was out of the question. Letting them leach into the soil wasn't a plan, either. Only thing we could do was line a trench and bury it.
Chemical Lens and the Engineer team returned in short order.
Chemical Lens: "We tracked the contaiminants. There's an underground cavern with an opening about 3 kilometers from here. Several stoneware jars each holding roughly 20 litres of fluid were found there. The jars were drilled on the bottom, to allow the mixture inside to slowly seep into the water." She nodded. "We've removed the jars, sealed them as best we can, and buried them. Upstream, the water is fine. If my calculations are correct, within a week, the natural water flow should decontaminate the down stream areas."
K: "Alright. Area affected?" I asked.
Chemical Lens: "This farm, and probably several down stream from it. The evidence suggests that this isn't the only act of sabotage. I suggest we take all the XY's and get a look from up above, and see if there are any other contaminated areas." She pointed to the dead Gizmonks. "A team this small could not have undertaken such a mission. There are more of them."
K: "Prediction of force size?" I nodded to her.
Chemical Lens: "A company, minimum, and they have to have some method of transport. As the Griffon Kingdom is land-locked, sea travel is out of the question. That leaves only magical teleportation." She looked at the girls. "Sunset. Moon Dancer. You have the best chances of detecting it."
K: "Indeed." I nodded. "Alright, we'll split up like this. Sunset, take the Elements, Dex, Vy, Octavia, Gaze, Norfy, and Cosmic, head south-east. Dusty, you, me, Webs, Slapshot, Firecracker, Dawn, Radio, Moon Dancer, Olivine, Blizz, Gorcat, Greta, south west. Havoc, you and Seven, take your team together and head north from here. Sombra, you, Julienne and the Legionnaires, and Opalfire and her Dragon team. Go east." I nodded. "I'll take 3101. Sunset, 3102. Havoc, 3105. Sombra, 3103. Enterprise heads roughly east-south-east to cover Sombra and Sunset. Swiftsure heads north. When Centaur and Superb return, they'll be coming from the south-west as it is."
Toola: "And.. Sunset's in charge of us?" She tilted her head.
K: *Sigh* "Yeah. I get it. She's inexperienced." I nodded to AJ, Rarity, Dash, and Fluttershy. "Teach her. And don't let her lead you off a cliff." I looked to Sunset. "Let them teach you. Listen."
Sunset: "You don't have to tell me twice." She shrugged. "I get it. I have big shoes to fill." She looked at the others. "We're friends. We'll figure this out."
Rarity: "Indeed, Darling." She patted her shoulder. "We shall be fine. We are a team, and friends, no matter what."
K: "Exactly." I nodded. "Friends of ours have come and gone." I nodded to Gorcat. "This'll be his last big operation." Then to Toola. "Some of us have taken the place.." Then Sunset. "..of those that've gone on to higher duty. But, we will make it through this war. As friends."
Toola: "Darn straight, K!" She nodded, confidently. "Come on, let's get going. Gotta make sure we're stocked up, this could be a few days."
K: "Resupply from Centaur and Swiftsure if you need to." I nodded. "My team, on me." I motioned.
I found it interesting that, of the team I picked, not one of them had been there at the beginning. Slapshot, Blizz, Olivine, and Moon Dancer were all new rookies to my unit. Dawn and Radio were the closest, former members of the Royal Army 1st Regiment, 2nd Company, that'd been almost wiped out at 2nd Ponyville. Webs had been on that operation, later.
That had been two years ago.
Two whole years.
And there was probably two more years of fighting ahead. At least.
We made for 3101, and I thought back to how it all started. With me in the forest, found by Fluttershy. Why I was here. I was here to help.
And these Griffons would see just how good of friends they'd just made.
{End of Chapter 105}
