[STAR]Acquisition of Shadows (Closed)

[IceStorm]

 

Northern Storm Industries... This was the place that was housing the thing that Ice needed. The thing that STAR had to have. The one thing that when it was finished, would be the staple point of not only the organization, but quite possibly the lynch pin of Equestria as well. The Shadow of Ice. A ship that will... forever change the skies, and she needed to have it. They were located just on the outskirts of Stalliongrad. It was cold. Stark contrast to most of Equestria at this point, as it was pretty far north, not too far from the coast. The air itself was moist, and Luna's moon was invisible behind the ominous clouds that threatened the skies. Rain was coming. She knew that rain was coming though. That's what they planned for. The rain would help muffle their hoofsteps both into the facility, and once they got in. The plan was simple. Get in, get what we need, and get out. She figured the place was probably going to be guarded, and heavily booby trapped.

 

Thankfully, Ice knew exactly where the prints were at, however, she wasn't sure what security systems they had in place. She looked around to the others that were with her. She herself, was not in her usual attire, nor did she even look the same. her coat was inverted, a dark midnight blue was all that could be seen. A simple illusion spell. Her cutie mark was covered up by a coat-tight body suit that matched the coat. The spheres orbiting really close to her neck to not draw attention. At some point she planned on having a necklace made that she can rest them in when they weren't in orbit, but that was for another time. The only thing that was the same about her was her eyes as she looked to the group. "Alright, the prints we need, are in a file cabinet on the third floor in the Master's Quarters. Knowing how to get there is one thing, but we need to be mindful of security protocols. I don't know what kind of system they run here, but I imagine they will be guarded. When we find them, we book it. There's no reason to stay beyond that. Once we have these prints, our real work can begin." she told the others that were with her.

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride looked over the area. She was without her armor, or her weapons. Her only clothing was her cloak which hid most of her body. That did not mean, however, that she was unable to protect herself. Her horn sparked softly, as the smirk crossed her face. "I can always cause a serious distraction. Nothing scrambles defenses like a rain of lightning bolts from random places they cant see. Draw every pony out into the open where they have to hunt for me. On the other side of that idea I can always just zap individual ponies and render them unconscious. That gets them out of our way and we can carry on without being seen. The only other option I can see is a long range teleport, but I can't teleport other ponies with me at that range. It would be a serious risk as well, given that magic like that makes a lot of noise," she said softly. 

 

She looked at the large building, cracking her neck. Her mane was bound tightly in a bun, and her horn was adorned with a single golden bangle. It looked more ornamental than anything, but she said it served a purpose. She was running through her list of spells. She had one that would make her invisible for a short period, as long as she stood completely still. The issue with it was that it took concentration and a lot of magic. Then an idea struck her, "You know... I do have a time delayed spell. Set it on the wall furthest from where we want to go, and then rejoin you. Once it goes off, they should rush to find out what it was. That would buy us at least ten minutes. No pony would be hurt, but they might be blind and deaf for a day....what do you think?" The mare looked at her companions and tried to gauge their reactions to her idea. 

[Skycoaster]

Midnight sat off to the side of the group, listening to what both Ice Storm and Stormstride had to say. To be honest with himself, he felt a bit out of place what with the others on the team being unicorns with a large collection of spells at their disposal. He was here because of his skills in darkness...his stealth.

 

The bat pony would would step out from the shadows, a dark cloak around him, as he flipped the hood down. “I think it’s best if we do this the old fashioned way, right Black Ice? We need to keep it simple.”

[IceStorm]

 

As soon as Ice Storm finished speaking about ideas, she heard Stormstride speak up. She mentioned that she could always cause a serious distraction. Nothing cause a distraction like masses of lightning bolts coming from what somepony can't see. She also mentioned Zapping individual ponies to get them out of the way. that it would only knock them out and wouldn't kill them. Otherwise she said that the only other option that would realistically work would be to teleport but she couldn't teleport everypony that far. "I can teleport as well. There's enough moisture in the air I wouldn't even have to spend a lot of energy to do it. However, I don't know what security devices or traps are here. I've never been here after hours. IF we teleported, we could very much not like the location we teleport in, As much as I'd love tomagic in, and out. I don't think that will work here," she spoke, as Stom also brought up the fact that she had a time delayed spell. She could set it on the farthest entrance that they were going in, and then meet back with them. When it went off, it would be able to provide them with ample time to get what they needed and get out.

 

When Midnight suggested doing this the old fashioned way, she raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think we are here? Regardless of any method we use, we'll still need to watch our steps and be on our guard once we're inside. A distraction is just that. Once it's over with, they'll know something's up and our time will be limit. . Anything that can help the mission be a success, is worth a shot as long as the risks do not outweigh the reward. Regardless of what we do though, we need to get inside before the rain actually starts. It won't do us any good to be stealthy, if we have wet hoof prints leading them right to us. I don't thing we have long as it's already spitting a few drops. Storm, how long will it take you to port over to the other entrance, set the spell and be back here? we need to enter from the same location, and we should set the spell to go off roughly twenty minutes from now. Give us time to get to the room. It goes off, the distraction ensues, we get the prints, and get out." she said looking back to her.

[PyroBlaze]

Yoru had been largely silent up to this point, partially because she had been having a discussion with In’ei, though mostly because she had let In’ei take the wheel as it were. In’ei was much more suited to this than her, especially with the mastery of magic that manipulated shadows. Granted, she hadn’t used it much for stealth missions, but she could easily figure out the uses with Yoru’s help. 

 

Since In’ei was currently the one controlling their body, it had changed into one more fit and physically impressive. A guardian’s body. On top of that, she was now purple with red eyes and a black and gray mane that was constantly shifting like a flame in slow-motion. She even carried herself differently than Yoru, more confident in herself and her abilities, with no trace of the shyness Yoru displayed. 

 

“Yes, a timed distraction could certainly make getting out easier, though it might be a better idea to set something with a remote trigger instead of a timer, so that if all goes well we can be in and out without them realizing we were even here.” In’ei said in response to the proposed ideas, looking between the others on the mission. “By the time they realize anything is missing, we would be long gone.”

[BeGoneThots]

"Give me abut 60 seconds I can set up two of them in that area and make them think they are under attack from that side," she said, before vanishing in a soft crackle of green magic and electricity. Storm appeared in a bush near the opposite side, crawling on the ground slowly. She made it with thirty seconds to spare, casting the two markers with a whispered word. Then she crawled back to the bush, settling down and taking a deep breath. She counted down a few more seconds before teleporting back to the group. Letting out a held breath, she brushed some dirt from her chest and then sat. She smiled with a malice the likes of which was not very pony like. 

 

"Charges are set. They wont destroy anything, but any pony on top of the wall or in front of the marker at the time one goes off will be stunned fairly powerfully. They wont die, but they will wish they had. That said, each flash lasts about two seconds, and is bright as looking right into the sun. So when I say now, cover your eyes. When you are ready commander I can detonate them remotely or just let their timers run down. We have about a minute before they go off on their own. I staggered their timers so that they will go off about ten seconds apart. Should be enough time to make them think they are under attack. One on the wall, one on the ground a very short distance away. That good enough for you?" 

 

Storm seemed rather gleeful that she was about to cause serious disorientation and confusion to so many ponies. In truth she relished it, having gotten a taste for being a dominating presence from her time in Maretonia. She had a tinge of darkness in her soul and at times like these, it made itself known. 

[IceStorm]

 

Ice Storm frowned just a but, but it just meant that they had to work faster. If the only had Sixty seconds to move in, this could potentially leave them without an exit strategy. She liked the idea of the remote trigger as well, but if a minute was all they had, then a minute would have to do. Again, it just meant that they would have to be quick. "Seems like a good idea, though we'll have to move with haste. If they think that they are under attack, it means that they will likely call for reinforcements. We'll need to be out of here by the time those reinforcements arrive," she said getting next to the door that they needed to go into. It was a repository exit for the trash and dumpsters. It wasn't guarded. As soon as they neared it, there was another loud crack of thunder that bellowed through the sky. Lightning arched it's way through the particles in the air, giving the final warning signs that they needed to get inside now.

 

"On my mark, detonate the first one," she said looking to the sky. The scent of rain was in the air. It was close, they didn't have much time. "Three," she started, keeping her eyes up, "Two," she said as she was hit with the first couple drops of rain, "Now," she said, waiting for the detonation to open the door and enter the unoccupied janitorial closet. Had they waited any longer, they risked blowing their own cover by leaving a trail straight to them. "In'ei, take point to stairwell A, it's down this hall to the end o the left. From there, we go up two flights of stairs. Storm, follow behind. Keep a look for anypony coming up behind us. I'll take point int he middle to help both sides. Incapacitate any that see us. No one can know we're here," she said lightly opening the door and using a small piece of ice with her magic as a mirror to gauge the surroundings before motioning for In'ei to head into the hallway.

[PyroBlaze]

In’ei sighed slightly as the mare listened to some of her words but clearly missed the point of it. Unless that magic had to have a timer, but she wouldn’t know without seeing it cast and feeling through it. 

 

Regardless, it was too late to change that now it seemed, as Storm had already set up the charges. She nodded to Ice’s orders, getting herself ready as the shadows nearby rippled slightly before covering the group. The shadows made them all look like silhouettes of the same random pony, wings and horns being the only difference between the unicorns and the bat pony. They could all still see just as well as they could before. 

 

On Ice’s signal, she darted into the hallway, moving at a quick but stealthy pace as she kept her eyes out for any threats, physical or magical. 

[BeGoneThots]

Stormstride held up her hoof tapping the air as if she were counting down. "Shield your eyes," she whispered, and ten seconds later the first trap went off. The explosion was enough to actually shake dust form the walls as lighting arced out in a dozen directions, striking ponies and objects within a few feet from it. She shot forward, low to the ground and moving like the wind. Her path was not straight, but angled and zigging all over the place. 

 

No sooner had she reached the door than the second blast hit, sending screams up pain up with it as several of the guards were caught in the blast. Blinded, unconscious, and deafened by the volume they staggered about as their pleading and the blasts drew others toward them. Coming to the door, she leaned on the wall out of the way in case some pony came out to check that door. While there, her horn lit up with her magic, glowing and covered in the electric energy of lightning. 

[IceStorm]

 

Ice Storm frowned a bit as the charges went off. They were effective, but perhaps a bit too much so. Still they definitely weren't going to be a problem from this point on. She just hoped they would actually be okay. After all, their end goal was still protection. That's why they were doing this after all. Still things were set in motion and there wasn't time to dwell. They had to move. That kind of distraction would prove to be a double edge sword. Once they realize it was a distraction, they will realize someone is here. They will also have others coming to see what's going on. They were very much on a time limit.

 

With a quick spell, In'ei had them secluded in the shadows which helped them a lot as they moved towards the stairs. It was a simple straight shot and with the distraction outside, there was no pony in the area that would be capable of noticing them. Once at the stair well, they opened the door leading into it and Ice froze it shut behind them and turned and made a wall of Ice on the landing next to them that filled the width. No pony was going to be following them from this point forward. At least, not using this set of stairs. "Let's keep moving. they can't follow us from here." she said as she started up the stairs.

[BeGoneThots]

Stromstride nodded and moved ahead, retracing the route as Ice had shown them before. Her hooves clicking on the stairs as her metal shoes gave away her position. However, with most of the ponies outside, there was not going to be any near by to hear her hopefully. That said, she never went into a mission unarmed. Her horn was still glowing and she intended to use it if she were seen. 

 

As she rounded a corner, she came face to face with one of the soldiers. He seemed very surprised to see her there, and bluntly asked who she was. Stormstride felt bad for him, as her horn flared and zapped him right in the face. He slumped down and landed at her hooves. As she gently pushed him aside, she looked back at the others. "He'll live. I just stunned him. The spell will wear off in a couple hours so hes gonna sleep for a while. Might have a nasty headache though." 

 

Heading around the corner she peeked, making sure no one else was coming. She figured it was best to hit her first, rather than any of the others. 

[PyroBlaze]

In’ei really wasn’t sure what Storm was thinking, wearing those metal shoes without any sort of muffling spell or material. This was supposed to be a stealth mission after all, and all she seemed to do so far was put them on a timer they could’ve avoided altogether and give away their position with every hurried step. 

 

Regardless, they were already here, all she could do now was make the best of it. All In’ei offered in response to Storm’s words was a curt nod, moving with the group up the stairs and towards their objective. They needed to get this done with as soon as possible.