open Patria y Libertad

[child of the night 271]

Synth heard the other ponies talking but didn't bother to listen. Looking at the colt she had picked she didn't want to bother with it so she sighed and put it back into her carrier. Puling out her sword she unsheathed it and layed it on the ground in front of her so she could check it. Looking it over she cleaned it while looking down the other ponies to judge their skills.

[HigurSan 195]

@,

 

Steeleye Sungazer

"Carefully chosen, hmm?" Steeleye muttered as he examined the group. As compared to the majority outside, they did seem to be of better quality. But considering that those outside equated to something like foal-school soccer drop-outs on the scale of military toughness, that wasn't saying much. At best, he might rank the squad collectively as 'conscripts'. None of them had ever fought together, meaning they had none of the collective experience and harmony that squad who went through boot-camp together had. On a chaotic battlefield, without backup, that could be deadly not only for each individual but for the group as a whole.

 

"None of you bunch ever walked a day in the field hmm? Not got more sense or respect than the common chicken? Sloppy. Disgraceful. If this is what the Saddle Arabians are getting, for their call of aid, then the whole lot of us would be better served to back of and Return To THE BLOODY SCHOOLHOUSE! Because OBVIOUSLY none of you saggy CIDER SUCKERS have graduated Kindergarten! Couldn't make a straight line if given a ruler and some chalk! Wouldn't know how to salute if shown with motions and little rhymes! Couldn't hit the side of a barn wall with a two foot range and shotgun!" Over the course of this tirade, his voice had steadily risen until by the middle the air shook with his shouting. It was comparable to the Royal Canterlot Voice, with more Drill Sergeant.

 

"What a DISGRACE!" he roared. "GET IN LINE. SHOULDER YOUR ARMS. SALUTE. -MY- name is Regimental Enchanter-Captain Steeleye Sungazer, Senior-most Military Enchanter in the GLORIOUS nation of Equestria, aide to the Royal Princesses and NOW attache to the Saddle Arabian Royal Family! What that means for YOU LOT is that as of today, I am your Superior. You are my squad, and I SWEAR, if you sorry bunch of foal fondlers don't shape up, I will make it my PERSONAL DUTY to make sure your life is a LIVING HELL! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

 

(Some assumptions are taken in this post, and are entirely open to changes if incorrect.)

[Dust and Memories 557]

@,

 

Steeleye Sungazer

"Carefully chosen, hmm?" Steeleye muttered as he examined the group. As compared to the majority outside, they did seem to be of better quality. But considering that those outside equated to something like foal-school soccer drop-outs on the scale of military toughness, that wasn't saying much. At best, he might rank the squad collectively as 'conscripts'. None of them had ever fought together, meaning they had none of the collective experience and harmony that squad who went through boot-camp together had. On a chaotic battlefield, without backup, that could be deadly not only for each individual but for the group as a whole.

 

"None of you bunch ever walked a day in the field hmm? Not got more sense or respect than the common chicken? Sloppy. Disgraceful. If this is what the Saddle Arabians are getting, for their call of aid, then the whole lot of us would be better served to back of and Return To THE BLOODY SCHOOLHOUSE! Because OBVIOUSLY none of you saggy CIDER SUCKERS have graduated Kindergarten! Couldn't make a straight line if given a ruler and some chalk! Wouldn't know how to salute if shown with motions and little rhymes! Couldn't hit the side of a barn wall with a two foot range and shotgun!" Over the course of this tirade, his voice had steadily risen until by the middle the air shook with his shouting. It was comparable to the Royal Canterlot Voice, with more Drill Sergeant.

 

"What a DISGRACE!" he roared. "GET IN LINE. SHOULDER YOUR ARMS. SALUTE. -MY- name is Regimental Enchanter-Captain Steeleye Sungazer, Senior-most Military Enchanter in the GLORIOUS nation of Equestria, aide to the Royal Princesses and NOW attache to the Saddle Arabian Royal Family! What that means for YOU LOT is that as of today, I am your Superior. You are my squad, and I SWEAR, if you sorry bunch of foal fondlers don't shape up, I will make it my PERSONAL DUTY to make sure your life is a LIVING HELL! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

 

(Some assumptions are taken in this post, and are entirely open to changes if incorrect.)

If someone could accurately describe the look on Wilhelm's face, it would be most often compared to a category-five hurricane distilled into a expression. Keeping eye contact with Steeleye the entire time, he clicked his hooves together, shouldered his weapon- barrel pointing up, of course- and saluted in a swift, clean motion. Still staring at Steeleye, though his expression had morphed into a eerily quiet state, he kept the salute just long enough to darken the atmosphere in the tent by a few notches, and then abruptly lowered his hoof. Stridently, he spoke-shouted, in the military style so often preferred by boot-camp privates all over Equis, "Sergeant-Major Wilhelm de Winter, 201st All-Pegasus, Ret., Royal Astronomer to the Diarchy of Equestria, reporting for duty." After a brief, sarcasm-laden pause, he added "Sir." Still standing at attention, Wilhelm continued, still in the eerily expressionless state and with the calm, clear voice he held in high regard when dealing with people he couldn't outright condescend. "Also, sir, I would thank you not to impunge the honor of the assembled ponies here by delivering groundless accusations of pædophilia, severe mental retardation, and various other offenses, which, coincidentally, can be construed as slander by anypony with a working knowledge of the Equestrian legal system, but instead to attempt to purvey your obviously well-developed vocal cords into a more... suitable profession. Tell me, sir, have you ever considered opera?" Wilhelm held the gaze, sky-blue eyes boring into Steeleye's skull. A slow smile had begun to curve the edges of his mouth from the word "profession". "And yes, I do understand you. Perfectly well; I'm sure ponies in Baltimare could understand you with a voice like that." Wilhelm purposely dropped his eyes to the floor, signifying in the universal language of the body that he was done with the conversation.

 

 

OOC: Yes, I realize he's in for it now, but I honestly couldn't help writing this post. Quite frankly, it's very much in-character.

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

Spectre looked up at the pony yelling at them, he looked at his trident, the symbol of the ESFU. He had a choice, get in line like ordered, or ignore him until he got glasses. What most offended Spectre was saying he couldn't hit the side of a barn with a shotgun, So many years of marksmanship and now he is being called inaccurate, sure it has been a few years but still. Saying he wasn't trained was another one, this pony yelling probably wouldn't survive the first day at BUDS, none the less a year. He was still thinking whether he should listen to him or not. He decided to get in line and stood up. But he did want to speak his mind "Codename Spectre, you don't get my real name, maybe ya heard of me, since you're an Equestrian... oh wait they probably wouldn't trust you with that information..."He said, smirking under his mask. Spectre stood in attention and gave a perfect salute. 

Edited May 23, 2015 by Delta-62 Scorch

[dragonsponies 101]

Blackburn saluted as best he could at the pony calling himself Steeleye Gazer, that and some title. which seemed to be one of the most important things in the millitary. dragons only had 3 ranks and they were based on size and attributes from the start.

the rank system in equestrian armies were different and Blackburn would have to get used to that.

 

after holding his salute for a respectable time he returned to a normal position, that beeing the time where a pegasus in their group seemed to want to test his superior's patience. in a rather amusing way. 

Blackburn couldn't help but chuckle when the pony mentioned opera as a perfect proffesion for the commander. 

he was definatly gratefull to the pegasus for loosening up the tension in the group.

 

 "oh snap" Blackburn whispered

Edited May 25, 2015 by dragonsponies

[HigurSan 195]

@@dragonsponies, @, @@Orion Caelum, @@child of the night, @,

 

Steeleye Sungazer

 

While a fifth category hurricane might be considered outright dangerous, it ought to be considered that the creak of ice underhoof could be much more deadly. At least with hurricanes, you had some advance warning to bolt out of Dodge. Steeleye's expression was frozen into a look of solid iron, the burning furnace of his eyes smoldering behind that armor. Saying nothing, he pulled a pistol clip from his side belt and idly unloaded then reloaded the bullets. Shoving it back into its slot, he straightened up. Turning away from the group, he trotted over to the side of the curtain. A quick tug of his hoof on a rope opened up the side of the tent, allowing them a full view of the semi-organized chaos of militaries everywhere, and the desert beyond.

 

"See that out there?" he asked with a neutral tone. "That lot is what Saddle Arabia has, pretty much all it has, to defend against an enemy which is better armed, better trained, and better motivated. If things as expected, most of those poor bastards are going to be dead in the next week. Unprepared and unknowing of how screwed they really are. Case in point, most of them are going to die horribly, with little chance of rescue. You lot have been selected to do what they can't, to try and give the rest a fighting chance of winning." When he turned back to face them, his expression was volcanic.

 

"But all I see before me are braggarts, outcasts, and those too wet behind the ear to not trip over themselves." He closed the curtain again and pulled out a small book from a pocket, slamming it on the table. "None of you have proved anything to me or the world at large. Whatever you might have done before means nothing. Your individual skills are useless in this desert. You're going to work as a squad, or you're going to die. As of today, I'm your squad leader. That means your chance of survival goes up when you're doing as I tell you, not just to the letter but in spirit as well." He pulled a map out from its messenger tube and spread it on the table next to the book, weighting it down with available ceramics.

 

"Now gather round. We've already been given our first objective courtesy of the honorable Sayyid Quarbari."

[Dust and Memories 557]

Wilhelm clapped inwardly. It was rare to see a drill sergeant who could explain things logically and convincingly, and even rarer to find one who wouldn't go off the rails at the first signs of rebellion against his authority. Now, truly, that was interesting. He sidled over to the map and looked over it, the former mix of emotions replaced by the analytical gaze of a trained strategist. Since he didn't know what the objective was yet, per se, Wilhelm contented himself with merely developing ways to attack various random cities on the map. However, as he thought regretfully, most ways to attack a city with even moderate defenses in the modern age with their squad wound require air support and possibly a few tanks or mechanized infantry transports. Wilhelm had to admit that he was rather interested in what Steeleye had planned.

[FancyHorse 1,209]

@@Orion Caelum

@@child of the night

@@dragonsponies

"From this operations onward, we will be designated call sign 'NAPALM POET' . " Quarbari states and points first at himself.

"Ill be actual." Then to Steeleye,

"One.", next to Orion.

"Two." To Blackburn,

"Three." Next then to Sharpie "Four."

Now to Synth Star "Five." And finally to Specter "Six."

 

Quarbari points to the north western part of the map.

"Gi'Gar. While within our own strategic border insurgents have been seen within these city limits. JRBs have been a rather nasty common. Our first procedure will take us to it. Keep yourself steel every pony. " Quarbari informs.

 

"It would be generally safe. " he says and places on the table a boxy antenna like device.

"Just one example of a JRB discussed with our asset Steeleye." He adds.

 

"During our travels if you spy any thing you feel remotely to a,trap do not hesitate to inform us."

[Dust and Memories 557]

Wilhelm raised a eyebrow. "How are we going to attack? Moreover, what's our objective? It would appear that they would have us outnumbered...this squad, at least. Also, about your JRBs; I may have a solution." He turned to Steeleye. "I believe that it would be possible to find a spell that can detect certain chemical signatures, such as that contained in explosives, likely based off of Star Swirl's work on detecting poisons in food? If so, do you expect we could find a framework for this spell before troops are deployed into JRB or IED-heavy areas?"

[FancyHorse 1,209]

@@Orion Caelum

((OCC: I apologize. I tend to forget to leave out details))

 

"That does sound like a unique tactic. And no worries, the city is completely under our territorial control. We'll be transported onward by convoy. Fellow units will tag along for the ride." He adds.

[child of the night 271]

(OOC: sorry I have been away for awhile and I couldn't get quite enough time to respond...)

 

Synth had been listening intently from the start of the conversation but wasn't too interested in what they were saying. She stood when she was told and saluted when it was important to do so but at the other times she wasn't quite in tune. Sitting back down at the corner of the tent she listened intently to what her new commander was now telling her. After awhile she heard herself being labeled as number five and quickly popped up,"Can I not be number 5 please, I have a bit of a bad history with that number and yes, I am superstitious."

[HigurSan 195]

@@child of the night, @, @@Orion Caelum,@@dragonsponies, @,

Steeleye Sungazer

 

"We -had- thought of that Sergeant-Major," Steeleye said neutrally. "Given the number of casualties beginning to pile up due to contraptions like this one, and the disruption incurred, counter-measures have been deemed top priority. The problem is the simplicity of the design. To be short, it is so simple that regular magical sweeps pass over it like its only a rock. When we catalouge a pattern and add it into the spell sweep, the design will have already changed enough that the spell will no longer recognize new plants. In addition, all the chemical components seem to be meticulously  loaded into completely impermeable tubes in separate location, then added to the device on site. As such there are no trace elements to detect. " He tapped the map where their destination was. "Gi'Gar is not very important strategically. No resources or large population. The only reason it matters is because it sits on one of the biggest intersections in friendly territory, and as such is a major staging point." He glanced at the JRB.

 

"These things are popping up on those vital roads like acne on a prepubescent colt, locking down resources and inflicting terror on the population. From this and gathered intel, it has been summarized that Gi'gar is being used as a testing ground for the enemy's bomb manufacturers. They'll need to be close at hoof to properly observe and research the effects of their handiwork. As such, it can be assumed that either the mastermind behind these JRB's is in Gi'gar, or someone who will lead us to him. Our job isn't to root out all the insurgents in the city, but to identify those planting explosives. Then we're to use any means necessary to extract information regarding the designer of the bombs, and any manufacturing facilities they might have. Questions?"

[dragonsponies 101]

@@HigurSan @

 

Blackburn heard his number, he memorized it. And kept it busy in his head for a while. It was definatly an important thing to remember.

He was glad the 1st mission was something fairly safe. It would give him time to get used to the group on how everyone in it works. He sat down and listened to steeleye giving them the mission details.

 

Blackburn had only one question in his head. From what Quarbari it seemed that they might encounter traps from time to time. Which was a rather old technique in his opinion. Though it was probably a great tactic. What he couldn't make out though were what these traps could be. Since there's easy to spot traps like a tripwire for example. And then there's hidden traps like a burried landmine. It all depended on the equipment their enemies carried.

 

Blackburn started his question, showing a bit of a worried face

"I have one question"

He turned his head towards Quarbari

"When you say we should look about for traps, i wonder what technology do they use for these traps? are they advanced like landmines, or more crude and simple minded traps that are easy to spot? mor speccifically is it hard to spot these traps?"

Edited May 26, 2015 by dragonsponies

[Nameless Knight 1,001]

Specter listened and kept his mouth shut. He heard one of them speak of IEDs, he hated those things. Almost lost plenty of his friends to them, not to mention when innocents stumble on to one and, boom their body is scattered.

 

His number was 6, he had nothing wrong with the number 6, His squad before this place was ESFU Squad 6 so it was fitting. He raised his hoof "I got one small question, about the targets we are suppose to locate and get information out of. Do you have any possible suspects? We can't just go asking around. It would be too obvious, they would flee the city before we get to them..." He asked. 

[Dust and Memories 557]

Wilhelm had been thinking carefully, and at Spectre's question, he spoke up. "What we need to do is find the most recent JRB detonation and stake the place out with snipers. Give the squad easily concealable weapons, and have them wait at the detonation spot in a concealed location. When someone comes out to the detonation site and plants a new one, we tail him back into the city. Once he gets to his commander, we tranq both of them and haul them in for interrogation." He looked at Blackburn next. "They're crude on average, but they're always very well-concealed. Hopefully, however, we won't have to go into any undetonated areas." Finally, he turned to Steeleye. "If we capture the head engineer responsible for these and lock him away- or better, shoot him- and then burn most of the facilities, I believe that the sweeps will last longer as it takes longer to develop a sufficiently different pattern to fool the sweeps. Furthermore, with the purpose-built facilities down, any JRBs will have to be assembled in village workshops by hand, and thus I expect that there will be a great deal less protection and carefully-built chemical trace shielding, allowing us to detect devices even easier."

[FancyHorse 1,209]

Quarbari nodded his head at the suggestions.

"Sounds amicable." From around he looks down at the small watch he had placed down earlier.

"Alright. Time to go. Our ETA is possibly 4 hours. Let us load up. Back to the vehicles outside." Quarbari says and motioning every pony forward out the tent.

[dragonsponies 101]

Blackburn was glad that he got the information he needed. the mentioning of traps got him on edge a bit. it was not the most heroic way to die. and it's something that is easy to look over. he would definatly keep an eye out though.

 

The dragon walked out of the tent and headed for the vichicles. he would have been happy to fly there. but it was quite a long ride. and they'd be an easy target to spot. not that they'd be ambushed or anything on the road. something like that would be very unlikely, yet still possible. Blackburn checked all his gear to make sue he wasn't missing anything important. when he was done with that he got into the green transport truck.

 

he was glad Sharpie had tightened his harness. he didn't quite know how to wear one of this model. but it felt like it had a better position now.

he looked at the pony who helped him with his harness.

 

"thanks for tightening it, it fits perfectly now." he said as he put the gun closer to the side with a hinge located on his battlesaddle. this ensured that he could easily move around without the guns getting stuck on everything. he hadn't noticed the feature up until now. 

 

"so uh... my name's blackburn, what's yours?"