Ponyshock: "Raven" Squad

---Pipbuck Call: Dr. Gene M.D.---

"...*Static*...Umm hello? anypony there? ...ah...good.....You see my name is Dr. Gene...and I need your help, there are specific things I need so we....yes I said we, the only way to get out of here is with me....once you obtain them then we can escape together...now I'll give you a moment to catch up and prepare. Feel free to ask questions....astheysay Knowledge lies within...."

Gazing about the room, the group could see pipes leading everywhere, a giant sign indicating that they were in 'MA--T-NA-CE" the floor had holes that gave a clear view underneath...

There was barely enough space for the group to stand outside the pod, and only one small narrow hallway through a single wall, however, about 30yds through, the lights dimmed on and off for several seconds at a time....long enough for something to crawl around...

Kestrel did not like this place, he did not know where it was, how the hell he got here, or what the hell he was going to do to get out. The only thing he did know was that he had gotten down here in one piece and managed to keep all his gear with him.

Looking around at the others Kes began tallying up who was here and just what the group was capable of. Most of the members he recognized. Zestari, Arc, Dash, and that guard from the boat. Others were totally new to him.

Next he looked over their transport, a massive, bus sized...something or other that, if the view out the windows was anything to be believed, was currently underwater. Great...just great.

Just as Kes was about to ask a question his pipbuck lit up and a crackly voice began to pour through its speakers. Kes listened intently to what the individual on the other side of the line said. Cooperate, Survive, Escape. Hell...it was just like that time back in that hell hole with that time scientist and the megaspell. On another note the voices saying of 'Knowldege lies within' struck Kestrel as odd...he made a note of it.

Looking around at the group the gryphon coughed a bit and cleared his throat, casting his predatory gaze upon the others without hesitation. Most of them looked like rookies.

"I want your name, gear, and skills..." Kes started out speaking to every pony in the transport with him, his voice just as cold and calm as it usually was. But inside Kes was still reeling from the trip, it would pass soon enough; fifteen minutes tops.

"...Name's Kes, Skilled in Shooting and Stealth, and I have guns and ammo to spare."

Okay, this struck him as odd. He just woke up here, just like that. He shook his head, and got up. This place was amazing, and it was underwater. He looked in awe at the city, and he wondered what he found there. And then, he looked at himself. A wet shirt that was under his tuxedo, oddly fitting in with his blue hair. One of his hoofs had a chain on it, a single tattoo, and he looked odd. Especially with his missing tail.

He looked at Kestrel, who cleared his throat, and asked for a few things, like his skills. "Im good at shooting and cooking, if anything." He said, and looked around him for a certain pouch, and there it was. It was by his back hooves. He put the pouch near his flank, and it was a sort of saddlebag meant for that area. It was small, couldn't hold much, but it was something. He looked in the pouch, found his 9mm, a small amount of ammo, but no frame for a 44 revolver. He forgot it on his tuxedo back at the boat.

"I have a 9mm, and ammo for it. Im sorry that i cant have anything else of use, such as supplies or medical bandages." He also heard the call but didn't comment on it. This guy seemed...a little too nervous, he thought. "Yeah, i have a question for you. Why is this city out in the middle of nowhere?"

Dash opened his eyes groggily, he coughed a few times and felt water and saliva come out with each one. He groaned and put a fore hoof against his head as he took a few breaths, the air smelled stale and lifeless, like breathing it wasn't actually doing for him what air was supposed to. He was choking and gagging, however, so it was at least not water and keeping him alive. Dash looked around at the ponies and others he was now crammed in with, but his attention was stolen by the view outside the windows of whatever they were in... They were underwater and beyond was... A city...

Dash was utterly shocked for a few moments, but then instinct kicked in. first began peeling off the wet prewar formal suit he had been wearing over his armored vest. He still had most of what he had on him at the time of the apparent shipwreck... He remembered for a moment crying out for Leafrun, Meadowsong, and his parents and friends to forgive him as he had went under the waves... He shook his head and continued getting himself back together.

Kestrel's voice made his head zip to attention. The big griffon, Dash thinked he remembered his name being Kestrel, wasted no time getting down to business with the situation. Dash couldn't really explain it, but he felt that he was now likely one of their only chances, "My name's Galactic Dash." Dash said, keeping his tone as strong as he could, though it was still a bit raspy from swallowing a bit of seawater, "I can shoot and sneak too, not too bad at flying, either. It probably won't do me much good here though... I only have a 9 mil and this barding enforced vest, I'm afraid..."

The first thing Mona did was check her sidearm, as she levitated the 9mm out of it's holster and gave it a quick run through, it had been soaked, but it still looked in good condition. She was lucky. The sharpened kitchen knife she kept concealed in her armour seemed to have survived as well.

Giving a glance about at her companions, she recognized a few of them as guests, noticably the Gryphon she had talked to earlier...and the Zebra stood out from the other guests, though Mona thought she had seen two of them board the ship...she even saw the pegasus who shot her back in Stableton, though now wasn't the time to hold a grudge.

Suddenly, a voice started playing through the pipbucks in the room. Mona couldn't help but note his odd way of speaking, once he was done though, her attention shifted to the Gryphon, as he gave an attention-grabbing cough.
Listening to his request, Mona quickly responded.

"Mona Tones. Gunpowder firearms and melee weaponry. I have a 9mm and a Knife on me."

She stated quick and clearly, as she gave a nod towards the gryphon (Who she now knew as Kes), if he wanted to take charge, she was fine with that.

As the sphere drifted through the ocean, Zestari was hard pressed to stifle a sound of awe at the site of the underwater metropolis, despite her currently less than enthusiastic state, thinking about where Happy was.

Towards the back of the sphere, a pile of equipment was tossed and a few moments of searching through it revealed her saddlebags, the outsides slightly damp but the contents okay. Her ordinary leather barding and the 10mm pistol she'd packed.

With a metallic grinding the sphere docked with a lower building and vomited the group out into a room with a rusty and decaying sign that probably once read maintenance.

A voice came over the loudspeaker, and whilst Zestari was interested to learn more about the place they'd been ejected into, she was far more focused on the group around her.

She looked around at her fellow sufferers, she only recognised two; Kestrel and Blazen. The rest were new to her, especially that Diamond dog, she was sure she'd remember him if they'd met before.

Kestrel stalked to the front of the group and turned back towards them, eyeing them all critically. Zestari knew how he operated, he was friend of Happy's and if he wanted to be in charge, she had no issue with that. He was certainly competent and gave the group their best chance here.

Name, gear and skills. Right. Good idea, let’s start with that.

"I'm Zestari, I'm an alchemist and healer, and thankfully, I have some alchemical supplies here." She nodded at her saddlebags. "I am also trained in zebra martial arts," she went into a stance before returning to all four hooves.

"Equipment? I have this 10mm pistol and a few magazines. This leather barding I'm wearing, and uh... that's about it."

She watched quietly as the rest of the group introduced themselves.

Kes nodded silently as he listened and waited for the others to speak up. He added the information given to him to his mental files on each of his teammates that he had started building.

Already he was planning on who to rely on, who to put up front, and who to keep in the back, and so on. His thoughts on the team had been confirmed, most of them had only basic weapons and they looked a bit green to Kes. No matter, they would toughen up or die. Kes would do his best to keep them living, but if they disobeyed his orders they were gone.

Checking his Pipbuck again Kes began to scroll through his inventory. He still had his Hunting Rifle and his Repeater to spare. He could make do on his own with his Sniper rifle and his revolver. He'd need to pick out people to loan out his other gear to until the group came across more useful stuff.

The group seemed to have most of its bases covered already. Medic, Sniper, Scouts, and Arc was a decent engineer. The diamond dog would hopefully be good at fighting head on with those claws of his. But Kes would be patient and wait to hear what the rest of the group had to say before he started handing out orders.

Slowly Amity woke up from his sleep. Noticing that he had been on the floor though, he used his wings to quickly flip himself over and land in a ready position though. Everyone else seemed to be doing the same exact thing as him. The only thing they were doing that he wasn't was taking inventory. Doing that he carefully toke off the long suit that he had worn over his light leather barding and checked to see if his katana was fastened to his sides. He also took not of the throwing knifes still strapped to his legs and his trusty switchblade that he kepy within his armour was still there.

Then only then though, Amity stopped to look at his surroundings. Normally he would be berating himself for not doing that first, but his mind could keep hold of that though as he peered out of the glass and into the deep blue waters to see the city that lay before him. He wanted to ask questions, seeing as this sort of thing was quite amazing. But amongst the few ponies and people here, Amity didn't think that they had any answers themselves.

After shaking a bit of the water still trapped in his mane, Amity heard a familiar voice call out to the others around him as well as himself. Knowing a roll-call when he heard one, Amity spoke quickly and quietly.

"Amber Dusk. Katana, Throwing knives, small knife. Melee, Repair, Stealth."

Didn't really need to say much more he thought to himself. If he waited long enough, the answers would reveal themselves to him. He just wanted to get out of here. Not only were they in an enclosed space underwater, but crowds always made him feel claustrophobic.

Or at least that's what he told himself to deny the fact that he was just shy.

Dae woke up and grunted quietly as Zetari was introducing herself. Dae walked up to Zestari and looked down at the small pony.

"I guess you don't know me... My name is Dae. I am a mercenary, but I will do anything for the greater good."

"For all of you who have not noticed yet I do not like anyone."

He paused for awhile. He then looked out to everyone else.

"I will work though... I don't want people to not like me."

Dae walked off into the corner and sat down. He began to scrape a Roman Numeral I into the wall. He then laid his head down and shut his eyes.

"Wake me if you all need me."

Dash looked over the others as they came to as well... One of them, 'Aw horse feathers...' Dash thought as he saw Mona Tones. The incident in the bar was still rather fresh in his mind, and having been the one who had been shot, he was certain Mona had it fresh in her mind as well. He wasn't so sure how it was going to work with her. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Blazen Shield was still alive. He had almost been certain the brown earth pony buck had been dead as he had drifted away to leave him alone with that awful Twisted Vision.

Dash listened to the others began gathering information such as their names and skills, so he would know who to call on if he needed assistance. Though it already seemed as though the big griffon Kestrel was likely to be the one in command. The diamond dog's actions made Dash's jaw drop open slightly, "Sleep at a time like this?" Dash muttered.

Kes found the Diamond Dog's gruffness to be interesting. His statement that he was willing to work was good enough for Kes to know what he would do. Normally the gryphon would not let his team rest till the job was done, but first he needed to figure out what that job was and where the hell they were.

Glancing down at his Pipbuck the gryphon plopped down and held it up, motioning for the others to come in a bit closer with a talon.

"Got a few questions Doc..." He started looking over at the windows of the transport again. Out at all that sea life and brine beyond the thick glass.

"Where are we, and just what the hell do you want?" he finished holding his foreleg out so the others could ask any questions they had as well.

---Pipbuck Call: Dr. Gene M.D.---


"....*static*....city in the middle of nowhere..? Oh, its Stable eight two 'O' , a private stable designed and built by Filthy Rich to become a free market Uptopia.... As for what I want, I need some to draw out some research from my lab along with some 'special' items from maintenance that will fetch a fair price topside so I can dig out a living in whatever economy is existent thereoff so yeah...you just head down the hall and make a left, then another left, then go straight, make a right, then a left, then go upstirs, go left, then straight, then go right, then open the door....THERE you will find the control panel for the power, redirect it to A5-X06 and in the next room over, you will find computer consoles, download the data from those as well...once you've complete this task, I'll inform you of the next step....Oh and theres a footlooker near you with 5 health potions and 2 machetes, its crap I know, but I've had to divert....resources...elsewhere.....hmm? oh right, I have to go! stay informed!...*static*"

Items
-2x machetes
-5x health potions
-1x Skull of unknown Origin

At the sound of static Kestrel frowned a bit, not that it was obvious. The gryphons signature mask hid his expression perfectly.

"Well, thats those questions answered." Kes thought to himself, getting up and moving over towards the footlocker that Dr. Gene had mentioned. Inside were the objects that he had described. Kes took the Skull for himself and left the rest for the rest of the group to sort out.

Looking over them all Kes began to weigh his options. He knew what to do with at least one of his rifles, the gryphon motioned to Mona with a talon and pulled out his hunting rifle. It was a beautiful, well cared for weapon. Though the recent dip in the sea had left it a bit saltier than usual, it still worked just fine. A quick polishing of the scope and it was ready to go.

He handed it off to the mare along with some extra ammo; 25 rounds to be exact. Kes always carried a surplus of .308 ammo, so losing 25 rounds was nothing to him.

"I want it back." Was all he said before he wandered off to his next target; leaving Mona to get acquainted with her, temporary, new rifle. He then began scanning the group for a viable choice to loan his Repeater out too.

It was coming down between Blazen and Dash, the other two gun users of the squad.

Mona took the rifle and ammo, as a lavender glow surrounded it and brihgt it closer to her sight, as she inspected the weapon. It really was very well cared for, and while Mona usually preferred a more 'Automatic' sort of weapon, the rifle would more then work. She would want to watch her ammo though, 25 rounds would go a way, but this was a powerful weapon, and if ammo got scarce, then it wouldn't do to be using this on any old thing.

"Thanks. I'll take care of it."

She stated to Kes, as she checked the currently loaded ammo, before strapping it to her back. Always best to make sure your weapon was fully loaded.

Zestari had gotten close to Kestrel when he held his pipbuck and asked his questions. For the moment she couldn't think of anything more important to ask and simply nodded her approval at those he enquired after.

As the self-proclaimed Dr. Gene gave directions to research and 'special' items, Zestari couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Are we seriously going to do what he asks? We know nothing about him."

After Kestrel opened the footlocker, he waved to the group to let them take what they wanted. Approaching the locker, Zestari took 4 of the 5 health potions. "Who wants the last potion in the event I get separated or am I unable to deliver healing?" she asked turning to the rest. She had no interest in either of the machetes in the locker.

She watched as Kestrel passed out some of his better weapons, preparing the group as best as he could. She was pleased; hopefully the group would work well together.

Walking up to the locker, Amity picked up the last potion with his mouth and nodded in appreciation to the Zebra that had offered him the potion. He probably should of offered his thanks before stuffing his mouth with something Amity though to himself. Mentally scolding himself yet again, Amity walked away towards Kestrel. He had to step up his game, he needed to focus. Slipping the potion into a small bag that hung to the side opposite his blade, he then pulled out his switchblade with one fluid motion and held it in his mouth.

He stretched his wings a bit to check for anything out of order. He noticed though the somewhat restricted movement of his wings though as he rotated them around. Shoving this off though as just his reminder of why he couldn't fly in the first place. Reaching the griffon, Amity closed his wings as he waited patiently for the next development.

After the indtroduction to the premises by Dr. Gene, Arc decided to look around the room.

"Look around everyone! This place, this place is absolutely beatiful! I can only start to imagine how ridiculously overengineer must the plumbing be, for example, or the air circulation systems, or everything! And it managed to stay in working shape for hudreds of years, even agains all the pressure and corrosion prom the sea."

Arc suddenly realized how out of place how must look, praising a place that might soon enough turn into deathtrap, but still... amazing.

With awkward smile, he said in a meek voice:
"Oh, and i guess i am sort of a engineer? I am good in science and repairing stuff, a little? And i suppose i can be a decent shot with an energy weapon, heheh?."

Arc realized that noone in the room gave him any attention, as everyone in the room started checking their equipment, whatever little they had. He levitated his pistol out of it's holster. It looked fine, the sea did not damaged it in any other way than making it a little damp inside, but this was a reliable model and it was known to survive worse punishments. The two ammo clips for it appeared ok too, and the knife... well, there wasn't much to break on a knife.

"A stable." Blazen said, looking completely surprised. This was more like a complex and gigantic city, and there may just be more wonders to behold. The Diamond Dog woke up, saying that he could be ready to work, but Blazen was too into looking at his 9mm. He opened the pouch and inspected the 9mm, slowly removing the slide to look at the machinery inside. This thing wasn't going to last long.

Its been good to him so far, though. He put the slide back and everything else, and placed it in his pouch. The hilt on the 9mm was perfectly well kept, which can be used as a melee weapon if used right. He look at his 9mm again but closed up the pouch right.

Dash grabbed the mouthgrip of his 9mm and pulled it out, releasing the magazine inside of it afterward. He caught the mag on one of his fore hooves and gave it a quick lookover, making sure it was still full. He then slid the mag back into the gun, having already seen that it had a round chambered. He then slid the pistol back into the holster on his vest. He let out a bit of a daunted sigh, this was about as prepared as he was going to be. He had spent a few caps on ammo a while back, so he had about 40 at this point, the problem was getting all that ammo into the mags, which wouldn't just magically happen in combat. He only had 3 of those. He looked to Kestrel, "So what's the plan?"

Kes looked his group over as they prepared, silently glad they were not all idiots. They were actually checking their gear, and supplies before hopping into battle. That's one less lesson that he would have to teach to them. Now if they can actually aim right, hit targets, and obey orders this would whole situation would end up looking brighter than it currently was.

He flicked his gaze over at Dash when the young buck asked him what he was going to do. The bird grunted a bit and then pointed out the exit of the transport at the small room beyond.

"We move out, get our bearings, then formulate a plan..." He said started simply, turning and walking back towards Dae the groups Diamond Dog. He was needed now.

The gryphon rather non nonchalantly kicked his right foreleg at the sleeping beast; shaking him awake. It wouldn't hurt the guy, nor was it really all that threatening. It was just Kestrel's way of waking him up. The time for sleep was over, now it was time to move.

"Get up, got work for ya." He growled out in his signature calm before turning back to the others again and starting the process of handing out orders.

"I don't like talk so I'll say this once. We keep tight, we keep calm, and we stay keen and we'll be alright. When we move we move as a group, when we stop, we stop as a group..." He said, moving towards the front of the transport and turning around to look over the others.

"Amber, Blazen, your with me in the front of the group..." He said not waiting for complaint before moving on.

"Zestari, Arc, you're in the middle of the group. Stay behind us in the front, and try and keep your heads down if shit hits the fan..." Kes said with a nod, before flicking his gaze over at the others.

"Mona, Dash, Dae, you're pulling up the rear. Don't let anything get close, got it?" the gryphon finally finished, before turning around and opening the door to the transport.

"Any questions?" The bird asked turning his head back over his shoulder and letting one of his cold eyes flick over the group.

Blazen went to the front of the group without complaint. He didn't have much to fire with, but just enough to probably get another weapon or ammo for his. To think that this whole stable is, well, a stable, is madness. It looked more like a underwater city with advanced machinery then anything else. He quickly walked back to the pod and came back with Reinforced Leather Barding. It was tucked in the back of the pod, wet but still usable.

Arc loaded one of his two clips into the pistol, checked safety and placed it back to the holster. He did not see much point in asking for more ammo, he was shitty shot anyway. As for Kestrel assuming leadership, he had no problem with that, Arc knew the Griffin has seen some and he will keep the party together.

"No questions from me."

Arc moved tho the middle of the file formation.

"Closed narrow corridors, maintenance hatches and heavy blastproof doors..."
Arc inhaled.
"...it's like being back at the 113."

Dash couldn't complain about position assignments, "Got it." he said. He was happy enough being empowered to help and be a part of the group that would not only keep himself alive, but everyone else too. He shook his head at Arc's comment about this being like being inside a stable, "I've never been inside a Stable before." he said, "I got no idea what they look like on the inside."

As Kestrel explained how things were going to work, Dash felt a tinge of nervousness build up. He had never been in a situation like this, as part of a combat group. He knew he had to push it aside because everyone in the group now counted on eachother. There was little room for any sort of doubt.

Amity just flipped his switchblade out of his mouth and slipped it back into his inner pockets as he unsheathed his katana and held it firmly in his mouth. Then with a flip of his wings he landed in towards the front of the group and waited patiently for the rest to go to their places as well. He really didn't care that he was taking orders yet again considering that he was given them all the time. He just wanted to get out of a cramped space like this and back to the surface where he could continue his work.

For now Amity held the katana as he kept his eyes and ears on a swivel. His wings were outstretched and ready to evade of attack anything that required such action. The training that he was put through had prepared him well for any given situation, but this didn't seem like the run of the mill situation.

Zestari smiled and handed the extra healing potion over to Amber, and watched him deposit it opposite to a wickedly sharp sword.

When the others in the group drew and checked weapons, she noticed Kestrel's approving glance. Oh, better check her own firearm. She slipped the pistol out of its holster, checked there were bullets, and turned the safety on. That's all that was required, right? She gave a nod to Kestrel.

Kestrel organised the group's order, and with a nod, Zestari happily dropped into the middle of the group, just behind Arc. Chances were that she'd be using her firearm if the group came upon conflict, but if anything they came across breached the wall of fire Kestrel was putting in place, she'd still be able to give it a hefty hoof-strike.

"This place is like the horrible stable, 113?" she asked Arc, quietly and now looking around with increased interest at how everything was constructed and tied together, her morbid curiosity piqued at the thought of getting more familiar with the place that had brought such tragedy to many of the ponies in Stableton.