Chapter 4: Deployment

The squad walked on through the forest.

Wulum was enjoying the time away from his labor duties in High Charity. This planet was relatively warm, unlike his icey bitter homeworld.

As they walked on, he took in the surroundings.

The various plants they saw were similar to some that he'd seen on human worlds, such as ferns, bushes and vines. However this forest had a… strange feeling. As if something… felt off. Wulum couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like he was being watched.

Suddenly the deep voice of N'thiko 'Sattinee got his attention.

"Make haste. I do not want to be here when a predator arrives."

Wulum looked to his new commander

"You feel it too?"

"Feel what Unggoy?" N'thiko 'Sattinee replied

"Like… somethings looking at us?"

"Something is looking at us. We are being followed."

"How do you know?"

"I can see it on my motion detector."

There was a growling sound and the group stopped.

Wulum and the other Unggoy huddles together, and Jik crouched down ready to fire his beam rifle.

N'thiko 'Sattinee turned

"A fight it is then. He said, raising his plasma rifle.

There was a roar and suddenly a large lion-like beast lept from the shadows. It was yellow-ish, woth a red mane, scorpion-like tail, and it had bat wings on its back.

The Manticore nearly landed on N'thiko when he rolled out of the way, the Manticore roaring in frustration.

Jik lept up out of the way as well, leaving the 3 Unggoy nearby.

The Manticore whacked the Unggoy aside with a swipe if its paw, sending several of the methane canisters flyign across the forest floor, before slashing Tilm with its claw. Tilm screamed in agony, before crawling away.

Wulum and Yapaw both fired their plasma pistols erratically at the Manticore, but this merely angered the beast.

There was an explosion as Jik shot one of the methane canisters as the Manticores feet, setting of a chain reaction with 2 more. The Manticore reared in its hind legs, its front legs severely injured, before N'thiko 'Sattinee lept from a tree onto its back, before climbing up to its neck, and activating his wrist energy daggers. He plunged them into the beasts head, and it fell to the ground, letting out a final groan before dying.

N'thiko 'Sattinee leapt down from the dead beast's head.

"No match for an elite, vermin!"

He looked over his troops.

There was a trail of bright blue bioluminescent blood that led up to a tree, where he found Tilm being tended to by the other Unggoy.

"What is your condition?"

Tilm coughed and wheezed, moving his arms to reveal that he had a series of deep gashes from the Manticores claws, exposing several organs. He was bleeding bad, and likely wasn't going to make it.

"I'm… scared" he said, beginning to breathe more panicked. "I-I wanna go… h-home…" he said, before coughing again.

"Tilm… don't die!" Yapaw exclaimed

Tilm reached out to his friend, touching his shoulder with his small stubby fingers before going limb.

Yapaw began to cry and closed his dead friends eyes.

"Good riddance." Jik said

Wulum and Yapaw glared daggers at Jik, before Jik bent down and picked up Tilm's plasma pistol.

"This will do fine as a secondary" he said, before attaching it to his hip.

Wulum punched Jik in the stomach, who hissed back at him.

"Enough!" N'thiko 'Sattinee said, shoving them aside. "He died as a warrior, that is all that matters" He said "now we must move, before more arrive"

Wulum detached the shell of Tilm's methane tank and pulled out the gas module

"We'll need this. We lost 3 of our 5 canisters"

Yapaw nodded and hugged him Tilm's body before saying "Walk the path" and moving on.

The group had been walking for several hours now, and sunrise had just occurred. Wulum stopped and examined Tilm's methane module. It was only 40% full, which means he had less than a day left. This means that they had 3 days of methane left, then they'd have to locate a new supply.

Wulum hitched it to his waist and walked on all fours to catch up the group.

"Sorry about Tilm…"

"I'll miss him. We've worked together for years."

"I know what it's like. My old squad died today."

The brush began to grow less dense, and they neared the edge of the forest.

"Jik, I need a reading." N'thiko 'Sattinee said

Jik nodded and climbed up a tree, looking through his scope at Ponyville in the short distance.

"Small town… primitive buildings…" he said

"Good for plunder…" he muttered to himself.

Jik zoomed in further with his rifle.

"See horse creatures…" he continued

"Any humans sighted?" N'thiko asked

"No… horses look strange. Colorful, seem to be only inhabitants…"

N'thiko thought for a moment.

"We must investigate the village further. Unggoy, I want you to investigate the village."

"Alone?!" Wulum exclaimed

"No. You two will investigate while Jik will watch from the rooftops, trees and other areas of cover."

"What if they attack?"

"Fight back." N'thiko simply replied "you have your weapons."

"What? Against all of then?" Zapaw asked

Jik interrupted

"Yes, I will kill all of them if they attack."

"Yeah! Me too!" Wulum said

"Yes I may kill the Unggoy in the confusion as well".

"Jik, take this" N'thiko said, giving him a small blue and purple device. "It's a small active camouflage module. It can conceal you 5 times for 40 seconds each. Use it wisely to move large distances unseen."

"What if they are friendly?" Wulum asked

Stay there, Jik will monitor your interactions with them through these" he said, giving the Unggoy 2 small listening devices which they hid under their armor. We need to learn about them. Provide minimal information on us. Do not mention us if possible. Let none know of my presence. Once I view it is safe, I will join you."

"Okay boss…" Wulum said nervously, before beginning to walk towards Ponyville with Yapaw and Jik.

They exited the Everfree Forest and Wulum could feel the warm sun on his tough hard skin.

"What you think they'll be like?" Yapaw asked

"Dunno." Wulum replied.

"They'll probably kill you and eat your carcasses." Jik said

Wulum and Yapaw shuttered at the thought.

"Why?!"

"Because no one likes you. Your annoying. Jik replied "besides even if they don't, they'll still probably kill you anyways."

"Hey!" Yapaw said "if they kill us they gonna kill you too!"

"Not if they can't see me." Jik said, activating his camo and performing one of the Kig-yars famous running leaps, landing on a rooftop and leaping from house to house, before settling into a tree near the center of town.

"Show off…" Wulum grumbled, as they neared town…