1460 replies and 7 files omitted.
>>139738There are quite a number of squad members there, about six in total, a couple of whom talk together, while the others rumage through the possessions of the Changeling machinegun nest. The Changeling with the carbine lying on the ground has stopped breathing, and seems to have a couple new blue-knife wounds in his body. One of the squad members wears a belt of Changeling machinegun ammunition like it's an over priced scarf while going to the opera.
>>139739"I assume Town Hall is clear, then? Where is Lieutenant Brisbuck?"
>>139740“Uh, sir, downstairs, sir.”
>>139741"Thank you."
Silver goes downstairs to meet with Lieutenant Brisbuck.
>>139742Silver goes downstairs to find Brisbuck in the dining area, above a few of the wounded soldiers and speaking to the cream colored pegasus.
>>139743Silver joins them, listening in on the conversation instead of interrupting.
>>139744Silver learns from the Cream colored pegasus - who seems to have taken over Salt Lick's role as messenger - that Changelings in the town have set up more defensive positions in the easterly part of the town.
>>139745Silver nods, and asks the cream colored pegasus a question.
"What is current status of A Squad?"
>>139746The pegasus looks over, at first stunned
"Still frosty; no longer under fire."
>>139747Silver nods, and looks at both the pegasus and his Lieutenant.
"Once you are done receiving reports, I have information to give to you, Lieutenant."
>>139748The Lieutenant pulls away from the pegasus.
"And what is that, sergeant?"
>>139749"We found telephone switchboard and two army telephone operators upstairs who managed to avoid changeling replacement. We discovered that Changeling forces initiated bombardment of our Frontline to prepare for their big assault either tonight or tomorrow morning. These Infiltrators were sent ahead to deafen Command as to their plans. I am also afraid that it appears telephone and telegraph lines have gone down again just now."
>>139750His eyes go wide.
"Then I think you know what we must do. We need to push them out of their positions."
>>139751"Indeed. And if I may, I think we may have just kind of equipment we need for such endeavor in our wagon. I wonder if they know we have mortar."
>>139752He smiles
"I think they just might find out"
>>139753He smiles back at him, and salutes his Lieutenant.
"What are your orders, Sir?"
>>139754"Use teams as necessary to scout out the Changeling positions. Use any firepower necessary to dislodge them and remove them from the town. And above all else, keep the telephone, powerlines, and roadways clear of all Changelings for use in defending The Front"
>>139755"Sir, yes Sir! Do you know of Sargent Amber Grain's location?"
>>139756He's sitting down, over there"
He points a hoof towards a wall, where Amber Grain is sitting
>>139757"Thank you, Sir."
Silver trots over to the sitting Amber Grain.
"How are you doing, Sargent? I saw you got hit during earlier engagement."
>>139758"I've been better" He winces. "But they've stopped the bleeding."
>>139759Silver smiles at that last bit of news.
"Good. Think you are up to leading soldiers, or do you still need more rest?"
>>139760“Somehow, I don’t really think rest is an option for any of us at this point.” He pushes against the ground, attempting to stand up
“Ugh! Umph!”
With difficulty, he stands up.
“I think you need medical assistance yourself, Sargent.”
>>138272 →"We are boarding a train so we can slip past patrols. After all, only approved passengers make it on the train, and you fit the criteria we need to get on it."
>>139762“Uh... okay.. I’ll leave the infiltration fo you, though.”
He seems unsure.
Spark now has the task of getting himself, another pony, and at least one wolf on a train without being noticed or seeming out of place.
>>139761"Probably."
He looks down to the multiple bleeding bullet wounds across his body, staining his uniform crimson.
"Hurts like hell, but it is nothing I have not dealt with before."
>>139764“Wounded before?” He asks
“Well, ugh! It’s my first time.”
>>139763Hmm....
Spark looks to the wolves.
"How about it? Ready for a train ride?"
>>139766Waabishki is left silent for a moment, and Maakade’s eyes go wide.
Makade: “I am not so sure the doubles will be happy to see wolves from the north forest.”
>>139767"Then you will just have to be left unseen."
>>139765Silver nods.
"That I have been. For your first time, you are holding up rather well. I am impressed!"
>>139768Makade’s ears lower, and then raise
Waabishki answers
“I will have this much trust in your pony medicine, and this much trust in you. You were found in the nest if a Sa’be. That must be a sign.”
>>139769“Hopefully it will be the last.” He says
“What is the news?”
>>139771Spark nods and turns back to the doctor.
"We are going to need some crates big enough for our wolf friends, some blankets for them to rest on, and some documents to say the contents are of a medical nature."
>>139773Spark accompanies the doctor in search of the supplies.
>>139771"Changelings have bombarded our Frontline in preparation for their assault. We have orders from Lieutenant Brisbuck to drive changelings here in Vale from their defensive positions using any necessary force, and to patrol telegraph lines, power lines, and roads to prevent further Changeling sabotage from cutting Front off from Command."
>>139774“Uh, well we have... what will fit a wolf? Especially without hurting their necks.”
He goes back to his office, and looks through the back.
“Uh, well we have body bags and coffins. That will fit them, at least.”
>>139775“So it’s true. We should have expected a massive assault after uncovering their misinformation campaign.”
>>139776"There have been rumors of it for while. Turns out, they were true. That thunder we heard when we began our assault was sound of changeling artillery in distance."
>>139776"Well... I suppose they wouldn't be much interested in searching coffins. That could work if you can drum up some fake death reports and certificates."
>>139777His hair seems to stand up at points.
“It is a good thing we did not split our forces, as the first reports suggested.”
>>139778“Three coffins they will not want to search? I think I can work with that.” He answers, strangely confident
>>139779"That's the spirit. But remember, you have a cargo of wolves inside, and they best be comfortable as you can afford to make it. Unhappy wolves tend to not be pleasant if you can imagine."
>>139780He blinks
“I think I’ll leave opening the coffins once we are safe to you.”
>>139781"No problem. Got the paperwork needed to get on board?"
>>139779Silver nods.
"Anyways, if you were up to it, we have two tasks we can split between us. One of us assists in dislodging changelings, other leads team to patrol area."
>>139782“Uh... let me get some death certificates made. If I have my guesses right they won’t bother to look too closely.”
>>139783“Yes sir. I will go where you need me.” He answers
>>139784"Though we will still need a few regular supplies to keep the sick one well through the trip. We will also need to be able to check in on them. We can't have them suffocate or go thirsty."
>>139785“We need to be in the same car, or at least access the same car. They will have to get out during the trip.”
>>139786"What if other changelings see them and report it? They could have drones waiting at the station we arrive to and arrest us. We need to be able to quarantine the car or something."
>>139787“Have them place the coffins in the baggage car, or a freight car. That should be mostly safe. I think...”
>>139784"Okay. Youlead team on patrol, it should be easier one of two to do while injured."
>>139789He nods.
“Understood. Where are we patrolling?”
>>139788"Sounds good. Now for our disguises. Think I could pass as your apprentice?"
>>139791“Well, the term would be a ‘resident,’ a student who has graduated medical school and is now learning the trade. But I doubt the Changelings will be so savy to know that.”
>>139792"Then the last issue I can think of is how do we move the coffins into the more equipped medical facility once we arrive. It might look strange that we are bringing coffins in there."
>>139793“Maybe.... do you have a cover story?”
>>139794"Not off hoof... I would have to think up something. Perhaps it was a request to move the bodies directly from the hospital to the coffins. Perhaps I will just have to smooth talk it by."
>>139793>>139794“Or... when we are in Whinnyapolis, it may be easier to hide them. They may not even stand out as quite as unusual when we get there.”
>>139790"Patrol along telegraph and power lines. Somewhere along them changelings sabotaged them, and we need to find where they are broken and keep changelings from destroying them permanently."
>>139797He nods, and picks up his submachine gun.
“Yes sir.”
>>139798“Uh, good. Are we ready, then?”
>>139799"Good. I will lead rest of our troops in breaking changeling defenses. Do not be startled if you hear mortar fire in town."
>>139800“Alright... I’ll get these coffins... then let’s get a train.”
>>139801He makes something resembling a smile.
“Ill let the Changelings be startled, for once.”
>>139802"I don't suppose you know when the next one headed our way arrives?"
>>139802Silver chuckles in response.
"Alright, let us get it finished, Sargent."
>>139803He blinks. “We could catch the 11:55, maybe, as it stops in town.”
>>139804And now, Silver Sword has to decide where to send the squads. The road north of the town hall is Whinnington. The town hall faces Old Mecc’s trail, and so does the courthouse north of it. North of Old Mecc’s Trail is main street, which the courthouse is backed to. The way to Wald is East, the way to the Frong is West.
>>139805"Perfect. Let's go get the wolves then."
>>139806They go back up to the clearing, to find all three sitting down in front of Miskobag, who is still on the sled.
>>139807Spark waves them over.
"We are about ready to head out."
>>139808Waabishki stands up, then Makade. Waabishki takes the sled.
“Good.” She says with a rope in her mouth. “Let’s go then.”
>>139809Spark follows the sled until they get to the edge of the forest.
>>139805Silver leaves B Squad under the command of Amber Grain, as well as leaving the exact performance of the task to his discretion. He does suggest to start with patrolling the way to the Front first since the remaining changelings have taken up defensive positions in the East.
>>139811Is Amber Grain suggested to patrol east, or does Silver?
>>139810The third wolf (technically fourth) still helps pull the sled to this area.
>>139812Well, Silver is leading the rest of the platoon in breaking the changleing defensive position in the East. He doesn't dissuade Amber Grain from patrolling East, only that it is advisable to patrol the path that doesn't have changelings on it.
He also goes back upstairs to the mayor's office to investigate the changeling machinegun.
>>139813Silver returns to the office to inspect the machine gun. The gun is a medium or “universal” machine gun that is heavier than the Equestrian light machine gun, and unlike that gun, cannot be reasonably fired while walking of in clearing a building. It is belt fed, and is a true “crew served” weapon requiring at least one assistant gunner, and usually has two. It is, however, air cooled and light enough to deploy in the squad, which they do.
The Changeling submachine gun is popular enough with Equestrian troops that it’s not unthinkable that a captured one would end up in a rear supply company, but this gun would have had to be carried in by the Changelings, along with all of its ammunition and the replacement barrel.
>>139814Silver bends down to inspect the damage done to it when they grenaded the room, while asking those present a question.
"Any of you think this weapon is still operational?"
>>139815As an air cooled weapon, there is no vulnerable water jacket to be damaged by shrapnel.
“I think so. It doesn’t look like it got hit directly.” One of the rifle ponies answers.
>>139816"We might be able to use it, then. Suppress changelings with their own gun. Think you can bring this and equipment for it to our machinegun attachment?"
>>139817“We can
bring it. I don’t know if they’ll have enough ponies to use it, though.”
>>139818"They may have to take on additional ponies from A or C squad then, but this is opportunity that we can not pass up."
>>139819“Yes sir.” He answers, trying to pick up the machine gun, as another grabs an ammunition box.
>>139820Silver assists in carrying the machine gun, as well as the replacement barrel. He groans a little in pain from the extra weight.
>>139821It’s down the stairs, out the front door, across the street to the sherif’s office to get it to the machine gun detachment. It’s not heavy enough to be a pain at this distance, at least. Silver is met in front of the sherif’s office by a brown pony with a full helmet.
>>139823“Huh? Oh. Uh, uh, Dragon Echo.”
>>139824Silver sighs, and uses his magic to levitate his flashlight up to check the pony's eyes.
>>139825He scrunches, and pulls away. It’s hard to see exactly what is going on from a distance, but nothing immediately pops out as out of place.
>>139826Silver puts the flashlight away.
"Dra-con-e-quus. Anyways, we have new acquisition for machinegun attachment. I am thinking of using it against its previous owners."
>>139827He taps his hoof to his chin
"Hmmm, a new gun, is it?"
>>139828"You do not see this big gun we are carrying?"
>>139829reeeHe blinks
"We barely have enough ponies for the unit we have. Especially with one stallion down..."
>>139830"One stallion...oh, right, infiltrator. We can temporarily reassign riflestallions from A and C Squads to operate this gun. I just want to see it used against these changelings, it is beastly and it would be quite enjoyably ironic."
>>139831He smiles
"Yes sir. We will see what we can do."
>>139832"Heh. Almost want to be one to fire it, myself. Anyways, I have heard changelings have taken up defensive position on east side of town. Let us get A Squad, C Squad, Machinegun Attachment, and this gun into position to assault them. Also send couple of ponies to fetch mortars from wagon. We are going to rain hell and let thunder loose on these bugs."
>>139833"Yes sir. Do we know where they are positioned?"
>>139834"East of firestation. We will need to put scout on crows nest in area."
>>139836"Come on, let us get A, C, and MGs moving. This gun is heavy and lifting it is killing my wounds."
>>139837He nods.
Time to locate the enemy.
>>139838Silver heads to the firestation to look for a crow's nest.
>>139839Silver enters the Firestation after acknowledging A company. They tell him that Changeling forces approached trying to reinforce the Town Hall, they shot at them and a firefight ensued, before the Changelings withdrew, evidently after the machine gun nest was destroyed. This happened on Whinnyton Street, with the Changelings approaching from the east and retreating east.
Inside the fires station, Silver can see that it is small with room for two vehicles. The building is narrow with a set of stairs connecting to a second floor and a firepole in the center of the floor. The upstairs contains a set of beds and the downstairs contains a tiny kitchen. There are a few windows, several of which have been used to fire rifles and the squad machine gun. There is no third floor nor proper roof, though this building, like most of the town, is flat roofed.
Silver can see that almost all buildings in the town are one floor or two floors. The Equestrian Harmonist church on Old Mecc's Trail is probably the tallest building in the town with its steeple and bell tower. There is a second, smaller church, presumably of a Reformist denomination, on Whinnyton street that also has a smaller, but lower tower.
There are two buildings that are slightly outside of the town that have elements that seem to be accessible by ladders that are even taller: a dairy processing facility with big, steel towers on the west side of the town, and what seems to be a grain elevator slightly north and east of the town by the railroad.
>>139840Silver shows the gun to A Squad.
"You know of good emplacement for this thing?"
>>139841The sergeant of A squad, a yellow earth pony, answers:
“Sir, anywhere facing the enemy. A second floor window facing a street will do.”
>>139842"Thank you.
Silver finds such a location to set it, then he goes into the church belltower on Old Mecc's Trail.
>>139843This is immediately down the road only a few blocks away on the other side. It's a simple matter of going through the doors and viewing all the narrow rows of pews inside, and seeing the stained glass princess Celestia on the far side above the altar. Silver does have to go through the foyer and into the sanctuary before finding the door on his left. But up this narrow flight of folding stairs, then a small landing on a second floor above the foyer that gives a view over the line of pews, and then up the stairs to the bell tower.
>>139844Silver goes up to the top of the bell tower to hopefully get a view of the Changeling position.
>>139847Silver swiftly identifies at least the first of the threats: The changelings have set up a machinegun nest further east in the tower of the other church, on Whinnyton. And it looks like they may notice Silver soon.
>>139848Silver hurriedly rushes out of sight down the stairs, hoping they might assume he was just a figment of their imagination brought on by stress.
>>139850Silver does
not hear a hail of bullets coming to his position, so that's a small victory.
>>139851Silver continues on his way downstairs, and back towards the firestation.
>>139852If Silver stays on the Old Mecc's Trail side it's easy to evade the nest, because of buildings that block line of sight. What is less sure is approaching the fire station or anything on Whinnyton. That is best done by going all the way around the Town Hall, just to be sure.
Silver arrives back at the fire station
>>139853He finds the highest ranked pony there besides himself to give his report to.
"There is machinegun nest in church tower on Whinnyton. No doubt there are more forces beyond there, but if we are to get to them, that nest needs to go."
>>139855Silver looks to see if there's an angle on the Whinnyton church from the firestation where a scout or machinegun could take out the nest.
>>139856In the back are two windows, one of which is in a bathroom, that face westward on Whinnyton and have a view over the top of a few residences and a shop between the fire station and the church - if only narrowly.
>>139857Silver debates himself on what to do. It seems like a difficult shot to make, but he doesn't particularly want to break out the mortar and dedtroy the church. He decides to ask the scouts and machinegunners their opinions.
>>139858The angle from the firestation isn't especially great, given the roof of a house that blocks the view of everything below the tower, especially on the window closer to the front. Of course anywhere you can see them, they can see you.
The sergeant replies:
"The way I see it, there are only three options: shoot at them from a distance, storm the building, or use explosives. I guess you could do that either close and personal or from a distance."
>>139859Silver lets out a sigh.
"I know. Celestia forgive me for this decision, but it is wisest to take course of action which has minimum threat of injury to our ponies. We are shelling church."
>>139860"Yes sir." He answers. "So much of our country has been leveled thus far. It can take a little more. Who shall work the mortar?"
>>139861"Anypony you know here has experience firing one?"
>>139862"The Weapon's section probably has training, and your 'Amber Grain' as well."
>>139863"Amber Grain is leading patrol here in town, so let us get ponies for our Weapon's section."
>>139864Silver is able to go retrieve the Weapons section, and the mortar as well.
>>139865Silver should also get a map so he can give the coordinated of the target to the mortar team.
>>139866It's not certain where a map can be gained, but this is also largely unnecessary, as the church is visible, at least when a peak is taken around the corner. It just needs a spotter to call out positions
>>139867Is there a suitable spotter among their Weapon's section?
>>139868One person in the full group will sometimes take the role, although any scout from a squad will do. No one in Silver's entire group has any specialized training like being a forward observer for artillery.
>>139869Are there any scouts available for that?
>>139870They can be peeled off of A squad; yes.
>>139871Then that's what Silver does.
>>139872It's a simple enough matter to set up the mortar somewhere further back and out of sight of the church, as mortar's don't need line of sight. It's also simple enough to relay an approximation of where the target is located. But, as the team leader of the weapons section tells Silver:
"We ain't likely to hit the first time, or even the second."
>>139873HelloBut it's so hard... >>139874"I suppose you would suggest we have alternate plan for if changelings evacute from their position?"
>>139877"They'll adjust to our fire, you can be sure of that."
>>139879"Hmm...perhaps...set up machinegun positions watching entrances of church? If any try to leave they will be cut down by hail of bullets."
>>139880“Definitely a good idea. Hope they don’t see the machine gun position first, though.
>>139881"Hmm..."
Is the church located in town, or is it closer to being in the wilderness?
>>139882It is within the town, albeit a bit closer to the northern edge
>>139883Any bushes or shadowy backalleys nearby they could exploit?
>>139812Spark stops the wolves once they reach the edge of the forest.
>>139885The wolves are stopped shortly away from the road
>>139884The semi-desert does not provide many tall plants, with most of the ground being covered in sage brush or scrub rarely more than a few feet high. What trees there are are all by the river. Likewise, there is not much in the way of alleys given the low density of the town, but a few spaces between commercial buildings, especially on Old Mecc and Main, could be construed as smaller alleys.
>>139886"We are going to want to stay hidden. Once we get close, we are going to need you to hide in these coffins to slip onto the train."
>>139887"Coffins?!" Waabishki narrows her eyes and raises her left paw
>>139888"Nopony is going to search a coffin with a doctor bringing it on board, and it can be made reasonably comfortable for a ride. It is our best bet for sneaking."
>>139889Her ears go down, and she looks away
"If you say so, I will go with this,"
The two wolves say something to the peppered wolf, who walks away, and gives the sled to Makade and Waabioshki
>>139890"Alright. All that's left is to board the train. How are the changeling trains by the way, doc? I assume you took one to get here."
>>139891"They check IDs of anypony to enter the train. The services themselves are.. not great. There are no sleeper services except on a few key routes like Las Pegasus to Vanhoover, and the trains are often late, never arrive, or are overcrowded. Just in general, Passenger service has taken a backseat compared to military and even freight needs. And then they started adding guards to trains when partisans started robbing them."
>>139892"Interesting. Well, I have had a run in with ID checks before. Hopefully I still have my touch."
>>139893"Well, we'll find out..."
Roll die
>>139895>>139894Spark, the Doctor, and Makade and Waabiski move with Miskobag down a set of roads into the back of the doctor's office. They don't
seem to have been noticed. Or, hopefully they weren't noticed. Hopefully.
The doctor has the goods in the back. It's simple enough to sort out ones intended for adults from those intended for foals. The Wolves are similar enough in size to ponies for these to work.
>>139896With the hiding spots picked out, all that is left is to find the right train.
>>139897A train comes through from further north around noon time, according to the pony at the train station.
>>139898Spark signals the doctor to get ready.
>>139899The next matter is to take the coffins in a cart with a cover over them to the station. There is more than enough time to do this in the time available.
>>139900Spark does so. He talks with the doctor on the way.
"Do you know any of the doctors over there?"
>>139901“Yes. Dr. Warbler is a section head, and Nifty is a doctor there I did my residency under. A few others too, though doctors have been moved around a bit.”
>>139902"Are they the kind of ponies that will take sudden arrivals?"
>>139903"It won't be entirely welcome, but its what's available."
>>139904"Do you know if they have much experience with wolves?"
>>139905“I don’t know. There are a decent number of wolves in Whinnysota, so... maybe?”
>>139906"That's good. I wonder what it is like living with wolves that are integrated into the city."
>>139907“Well, the wolves haven’t entirely integrated in most areas. Whinnyapolis isn’t exactly an exception.”
>>139908"Can't say I'm surprised."
>>139909"Well, there aren't that many non-ponies in Northern and Central Western Equestria. Wolves are the most common, or at least they were before the Changelings came. Well, you never really know how many changelings are in a city. You'll see a yak, a deer or even a griffin every now and then. Dragons on mountains. But it's pony country, really, outside of the deep wilderness."
>>139910"I suppose it is also the ideal spot for changelings to hide in plain sight. We might want to make sure everypony we talk to isn't a plant."
>>139911“That’s... that’s not easy. Unless we only talk to a select few ponies we know.”
>>139912"Perhaps. We might need to form a code in case we get separated."
>>139915Merry Christmas!
>>139914"Perhaps something that like, sled in the woods. Something we have encountered personally but makes no sense to changelings that have just met us."
>>139886Silver goes to find a suitable location from where a machine gun can cover the entrance of the church, without being spotted by the nest in the tower and hopefully without getting blown to smitherines by their own mortars.
>>139920"'Sled in the woods'... that could work" he says
>>139921Silver sees that while there are not many alleys or large plants, there are houses and shops. In particular, an accountants office, and a floral shop are nearby, with windows that face the church. Spots inside these locations could hide ponies or weapons that could shoot through the windows and at anyone coming out of the church, but would not be visible from the bell tower. If a mortar hit the road in front of one of these positions, damage from shrapnel is
possible but that's a risk in most places, and things like counters or remaining in other rooms could presumably mitigate some of these dangers.
>>139922Silver quickly returns with instructions to bring an MG team to the floral shop and use the counter as cover.
>>139923Now here's the conundrum - how to
get inside without being seen. Going down Whinnyton heavily risks being seen
>>139924Silver comes up with a solution: he serves as bait, drawing the attention of the nest from a different direction than where the MG team is coming from.
>>139927Possibly imperfect given the existence or presence of riflelings alongside the machine gun to serve as spotters, but worth trying.
>>139928Silver decides to ask the squad's sergeant if he has any better ideas.
>>139929"Make a lot of noise, be convincing... maybe have some other rifle ponies with you, especially if you have concealment like from smoke... could work."
>>139930"Hmm...that
could work. Do you have any rifleponies to spare?"
>>139931"We can use almost any pony in the squad. Six in the rifle section, plus the scouts and light machine gun team."
>>139932"I will take rifle section, unless you have better need of them elsewhere."
>>139933He nods
“You’ll want them to clear the church, sooner or later.”
>>139934"Alright then, I will gather rifleponies and head out."
>>139922"Sounds good. So, what else should we do while at this city? I figure that we shouldn't waste our trip with just one task."
>>139938Hi!
>>139938Hello>>139939"You tell me. You're the one with a mission. I'm just along for the ride."
>>139940"I was hoping you might know a couple of highlights of the city for me to make a guess at that."
>>139943"What do you mean? Go to the Fair for an afternoon? I'm not supposed to leave this town today at all, and I am taking a risk by going there to help you."
>>139944"Well, I guess we will find out once we get there. As for your risk, there is no concern. We are going to get you transferred back home, remember?"
>>139946"Change a few files, talk to a few doctors and directors of the hospital, and I'm sure we can alter some medical records and transfer details. The changelings aren't going to fret if a doctor is moved to a new location that needs it."