Chapters Star Trek: Ongoing Elements
Nol 'Sevra OrbitFinal Standard , Port-side Interior Observation Deck
Lieutenant Jefferey Wilson wondered what time it was. In space, everything was set on Starfleet's schedule, it wasn't based on the position of any celestial bodies they happened to be near. It was more effecient that way but he still preferred telling time like he'd done on Elysium. He'd grown up there and despite living in space most of his adult life, he was still used to coordinating the current time with the position of its three moons. If he'd only had a few seconds longer, started a few seconds faster, he wouldn't be in this situation now.
He thought about asking one of the tall pirates that dragged him through the deck by his arms if they had the time then quickly reconsidered. While his unversal translator worked fine, he was fairly certain these klingons didn't speak a word of any language he knew. He may have even been the first human they'd ever seen in person. His hands were bound or he would've probably tried to steal one of their weapons or strangle one of them.
After what seemed like an hour, the two klingons finally pulled him to the main viewing platform. Another klingon stood, his back to the three of them as he looked out the window into the massive hangar beyond.
"Get him on his feet," the Klingon escorted the two carrying him. They simply hauled him up by his shoulders and allowed his feet to find their own stable position. The two of them could easily have carried the small crewman, it was likely they dragged him simply because they didn't want to expend the energy. The klingon turned slowly. Lieutenant Wilson figured this must've been their commander.
"Where did you find him?" the commander asked, folding his arms.
"Cowering on their bridge, whispering to one of their machines," one of the klingons answered.
The klingon commander scratched his chin. Probably handsome by klingon standards Wilson guessed, the only distinguishing characteristics were the five strands of hair that made up his beard. They hung on his face in neat rows, looking more like scars or warpaint than facial hair. He looked as if he was almost studying the crewman.
"He can understand us?' the commander asked.
"Yes sir but his translator won't be able to make it so we can understand him. Even if he knows it, I don't think he's willing to speak klingon," the gaurd answered.
"I need only to understand one word," the commander said, walking over to him. With a single powerful hand, he picked the young man up off the floor and pressed him to the wall of the observation window. His face was mashed up against the window, the Starfleet pin on his red uniform pushed into his chest.
"Lights!" the commander barked. One of the gaurds moved to the wall and threw a switch. Slowly, lights on the hangar's floor and ceiling began to light up, illuminated the dark hangar beyond. Lieutenant Wilson recognized some of the klingon ships as part of the fleet that had ambushed them. They'd been cloaked and had taken them by surprise. Looking at them now, he realized their ships were mostly in poor condition. Several civilain vessels, large, bulky and vulnerable had been outfitted for war. These klingons were pirates. In the center of the menagerie of ships, Lieutenant Wilson recognized his home.
"Speak! What is the name of that ship?!" the commander shouted at him.
Name, rank, number. "Wilson, Jefferey. Lieutenant, serial number four-two-three-nine-" The klingon pulled him back away from the wall and then smashed him into it again, his chest hitting first and slightly lessening the blow to his head.
"The name of the ship! Now!!"
Lieutenant Wilson's eyes began to tear from the pain. "Wilson, Jefferey. Lieutenant, seri-" The commander pulled him back, smashed him against the bulkhead this time, face-first. Wilson's nose was smashed and he tasted blood. One of his teeth felt loose but he wasn't sure. Grabbing him behind the neck, he pressed the crewman against the window again.
Outside the viewport, he saw his ship, his home, floating amidst all the garbage that had somehow captured the beautiful vessel. It was scarred, the surface pock-marked with black streaks, the hull damaged and warped in several places and enormous black holes exposed several vital areas. He read the letters and numbers that adorned the hull of the saucer section near where the bridge was housed. The symbols were still legible. The rest of the ship looked like part ruined building, part massive, gutted sea mammal.
Wilson was sad to see the proud vessel in such a state. If he'd only been a few seconds faster, he would've entered the self-destruct codes and finalized the countdown. The ship would've gone out in a last, glorious burst of energy rather than become a prize for some scum. The "Big E-Z" as the ship had been dubbed would've gotten the death it deserved. That failure now weighed heavily on Wilson's mind.
"What is the name of that ship? Speak it now!!" the klingon thundered at him. Wilson struggled to turn as he was pressed against the glass again, his own blood smearing against the window. He smiled as he caught the corner of the commander in his eye.
"Excuse me but could you tell me what time it is?" he asked with a sly smile. The commander was done playing games. He turned Wilson around and grasped his thraot with one powerful hand, crushing his windpipe. Wilson's ears popped as darkness began to press in on the edges of his vision. He heard the klingons speak again, it sounded as if the voices came from far away even though he knew they were standing right in front of him. He felt like he was in freefall, sinking slowly away from the world.
"I will not ask again!!" the commander roared. "What is the name of your vessel?! The ship we found you on, what is its name?!!" What was the use in keeping the name to himself? The crew was dead, the mission was a failure and he was never going to see Elysium again. What would denying the enemy one last time accomplish but another second of pain?
Against all the pain, finally Lieutenant Jefferey Wilson snapped. His resolve had been broken. "En... en..." he began to say, studdering against the grip of the klingon's massive hand. Responding, the klingon released his grip slightly so he could speak.
"N... NCC- seventeen-oh-one-dash-zee," With tears streaming down his cheeks, the lieutenant betrayed his home, his family and himself. He said the name of his ship one last time, "Enterprise ."
The klingon released him and he dropped to the floor, slumping against the glass. The klingon laughed triumphantly and pulled a disruptor from his holster. Part of the hangar just outside the viewing platform was illuminated by three green flashes. Despite the fact that Lieutenant Wilson's head now had three smoldering holes in it, the translator attatched to his ear continued to function and even record the klingon's shouts.
"She is ours! Enterprise is mine at last! Victory!!" The klingon commander announced it to his crew, his voice echoing through the viewing platform. The Federation's flagship, the pride of their fleet and their most powerful warship was now in their hands. Truly, the spirit of Kahless was singing in their hearts this day.
Curso System
Clinically, Commander Paul Jones was fine and fully recovered from the injuries he recently sustained. That had nothing to do with how he felt, however. He felt like he'd lost a lot more blood than he really had. But that's usually how people felt when most of the people they considered family die.
A purple unicorn walked into the room. Commander Jones, still lying in his hospital bed turned his head to face his visitor.
"I'm sorry, Twilight," he told her. "I..." he stopped and then corrected himself, "We failed you."
Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "No, you didn't. If we hadn't come here, none of this would have ever happened," she said, trying to take responsibility. There were tears in her eyes as she said, "You wouldn't have lost all your friends."
"You saved my life. The least I could've done was try to get you back home," he told her. "If we hadn't found your world, you never would've been involved."
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm happy you found us. I'm so sorry that all of this happened."
"It wasn't your fault, Twilight. We should've prepared for this."
"You did your best, you all did. There's no way you could've anticipated what happened. If you hadn't done anything," Twilight turned her head to the floor. "my friends and I would be dead."
Paul grabbed Twilight's hoof. "If you hadn't done anything, I'd be dead."
Paul felt tears on his cheek. Three days ago, he'd been the Executive Officer on board the flagship of the Starfleet and the Federation, the U.S.S Enterprise -Z, a proud position if ever there was one. He and the rest of the crew had been sent on a mission of paramount importance to Twilight's home planet, Equestria. Technically, they'd already been there once but getting back had proven to be a more complicated matter than anyone could've imagined.
"I don't know what's going to happen now. But I know they'll probably want me back on Earth when it happens." Earth and the entire Federation were currently in grave danger at the moment. Stars, the sources of light, life and energy for the galaxy had recently become unstable throughout the Milky Way Galaxy, threatening the population of every inhabitable body that orbited them and all known life in the unvierse. What caused the problem was unknown but affected stars began fading out, simply fizzling up and dying. Without stars, civilizations across the galaxy could not function.
A solution had quickly been discovered, a cure of sorts. Recent scans indicated the possibility of a star-stabilizing material, a substance capable of stopping a star from dying and continuing the life-giving reaction on Twilight's homeworld. But the substance had only been found on Equestria, a planet in another galaxy entirely.
The Enterprise along with a science vessel, the Acclimator , had been sent to retrieve some of this miracle material and also to return Twilight and her friends back home. The mission quickly turned into a disaster. The Acclimator suffered a malfunction and dropped out of warp in non-Federation controlled space. Commander Jones had been beamed over to the science vessel in order to repair the damage. It was at this time the ambush came. A fleet of enemy ships set upon them like vultures attacking wounded prey. Enterprise was more than capable of defending herself and retreating. Unfortunately, it would've left the Acclimator completely defenseless. Sacrificing themselves, the Enterprise stayed behind to cover the Acclimator 's escape.
Paul hoped that the captain had given them hell before she died. He knew she would fight to the very end. The Acclimator then fled to Starbase 156. The loss of so many friends, people he considered to be his family left a hollow feeling inside Commander Jones, like a pocket of dead air that filled the cavity of his entire body.
"We'll find a way to get to Equestria," Twilight told him, her tone sad. Her optimism was almost enough to make Paul cry. He didn't have the heart to tell her how little chance they had, how they'd probably both wind up on Earth as it died. He placed a hand on her hoof.
The speaker next to his bed beeped twice. "Commander Jones," a voice he didn't recognize addressed him from the speaker.
"Go ahead," he replied.
"The admiral's instructed you to report to Starbase One for debriefing. A shuttle for you and the diplomatic party is waiting at hangar eighteen," the voice said.
"We're on our way, Jones out," he said. The speaker flipped off at his reply. "Debriefing... not like anything we say's going to change anything. We lost The Big E-Z and we didn't even make it to Equestria. There's nothing they can do now."
"Starfleet doesn't have any other ships that could get us back home?" Twilight asked, hoping for a different answer than the one she already knew.
"Enterprise and Acclimator were the only ones capable of making the trip. And sending a science vessel out into deep space unescorted is suicide. No," Paul's voice turned sad and low. "there's no other ship capable of getting to Equestria."
"Why do they want you back on Earth, then?" Twilight wondered.
"When things... don't go according to plan, the people in charge like to hear about it from people who were there. And usually blame them for it." Paul said as he moved to the edge of the bed.
"You did everything you could've. My friends and I won't let you take the blame for what happened," Twilight said adamantly.
"I don't think that's something you or anyone can stop, Twilight. But they'll probably want to talk to you too."
Twilight looked down at the floor for a moment, thinking. "I... understand. I'll go get the others ready," she said, turning around and heading out of the room.
"Twilight," Paul stopped her. She turned as she reached the doorway. "Thank you again for saving me. I'm sorry I couldn't return the favor."
"You don't owe us anything, Paul. We're... we're friends," she said back to him. They shared a smile and the doors closed.
Author's Note
Starting off on a sad note, I'm hoping to get to the action and Discord pretty soon.
This story ignores a good portion of the Star Trek: Enterprise storyline and when I say good portion, I mean almost all of it. In fact, this story ignores a lot of Star Trek lore... but I believe it keeps to the core. The most obvious note I think I should point out, that being Enterprise-Z. If you're familiar at all with Star Trek, you know that Starfleet is led by a ship called Enterprise. Ever since the third movie, Search for Spock, the original Enterprise was destroyed. This began a very long tradition of naming the next Enterprise with a letter at the end of the name.
Trekkies like myself will remember the more notable ones, A, B, C, D, E, J. Picard said when Enterprise-D was destroyed that there were plenty of letters left in the alphabet. My story explores what happens when they get to the end with Enterprise-Z. Nicknamed The Big E-Z or Big Z, I'm thinking she fits the profile of a warship, designed mostly for combat. Rather then start off the story with a captain being introduced to the new ship like in so many Star Trek stories, I'm beginning with an Enterprise being introduced in defeat.
Ashes spread will be gathered so that the new may rise from them.
Star Trek: Ongoing Elements
Northern Equestria, Crystal Empire
One month ago...
"Wow, pegasi sure pulled off a storm," Prince Shining Armor said, looking out the window. The entire sky was pitch-dark, he couldn't see a foot outside as rain pounded on the outside. "They've been at it for hours."
"The Crystal Empire hasn't had a good rain like this in a long time. It'll be refreshing for the land," his wife Cadence said as he walked over to where she sat on one of the royal sofas. "When the Empire vanished long ago, it was removed from regular weather rotation. There was literally nothing here that needed the water. This will be the first time in a thousand years that the whole Crystal Empire has had a storm."
"And the Empire needs every drop," Shining Armor said, joining them. "This is our first time overseeing the Grand Crystal Harvest, yesterday was just the Aurora Ceremony. All next week, we'll be harvesting fresh crystals so the soil needs the rain."
Twilight and her friends were sent to the Crystal Empire a few days ago to prepare for the Grand Crystal Harvest, an annual event when the Crystal Empire grew new crystals to collect for various uses. The Crystal Heart, a magical jewel of the empire, was filled with energy from every pony in the kingdom to start the Harvest. Once full, the Heart released an amazing aurora that spread throught the sky over the entire empire. The light was then collected into clouds by pegasi who created a massive storm, the energy then descended to the soil as a magic rain that caused beautiful crystals to grow across the surface.
"It's so good to see both of you," Twilight said. "We don't get to visit the Empire that often so I was hoping we could stay at least a few days."
"We certainly could use the extra hooves harvesting the crystals," Shining Armor said. "This is mine and Cadence's first time and we're hoping for the biggest yield Equestria's ever seen."
"I'm sure the girls will be happy to be a part of it," Twilight said with enthusiasm.
"The pegasi should be finished soon," Shining said. "When the storm's over, we should be able to see the first new crystal crop in a thousand years." The royal chambers were one of the highest rooms in the palace. The balcony offered a breathtaking view of the kingdom, when the weather was clearer, that is. The three continued chatting as the storm raged outside.
High above the balcony and the royal chambers, three others were wanting to see the crystals themselves for other reasons.
"There's no way this is a natural formation!" Lieutenant Jefferey Wilson shouted over the storm. Rain was pouring down on all of them making it hard to see. Harsh wind and lightning made it dangerous enough rapelling from a shuttle on to an unknown deposit, the torrential downpour was making it hard to even keep their footing on the strange structure.
Commander Paul Jones squinted to read on the scanner in his hand. He couldn't believe the data he was seeing, the scans of the structure they were standing on. He read the display one more time just to be sure.
"It's... it's hollow!" he shouted to the other members of the away team. The three of them clung to the top of the pillar, the top of it was a triangluar peak with smooth surfaces. They were clinging to the base of the triangle as the shuttle hovered just above it while they tried to figure out exactly what the pillar was and why it was here.
"What? That's impossible!" Dr. Charles Brody said. While it wasn't normal for the Enterprise 's chief medical officer to be part of the away team, Dr. Brody was an avid recreational rockclimber and so had been picked for this mission. The three of them stood on what had to be the largest pillar of arcicite anyone had ever seen. It stretched almost three full kilometers into the sky, finding it from orbit had been a stroke of sheer luck. Despite the storm, the imporatance of the mission had deemed deployment of a surface party necessary to get a sample of the rare mineral in the hopes that it could be the solution to another problem. Since coming down though, it seems the party had found only one surprise after the other.
"The whole thing's almost completely hollow!," Commander Jones yelled back. "Captain," the commander pressed a finger to his comm unit. "I think the Lieutenant's right! This thing's not natural!"
"We haven't detected any indeginous lifeforms," Captain See'ra, the Enterprise 's vulcan captain said back over comms. "If it's not a natural occurence than the deposit was moved their, somehow." Aricicite, an incridibly rare form of crystal capable of stabilizing and maintaining energy reactions was also incredibly durrable.
Flight Officer Deena Bessit could barely see out of the viewport in front of her in the cockpit of the shuttle. She took a deep breath and kept her hands steady on the controls. The storm outside was fierce but it didn't make her feel any better not being in it. Another flash of lightning broke out in front of the viewport. She struggled to resist the instinct to move the controls and position the ship out of danger. She pressed a button on the comms unit to raise the away team.
"You guys wanna hurry it up down there?" she asked. "I don't know how much longer we can maintain position in the storm."
Captain See'ra's voice came back over the comms unit. "Commander, get a sample of that formation for analysis and return to the Enterprise ."
"Understood, ma'am," Paul answered back. He opened up the slack on his line and rappelled down further. Arcicite wasn't the toughest material known to the Federation but it was still pretty tough compared to other materials. Commander Jones got out his mineral cutter from his tool belt and prepared to cut a chunk of the formation off the side.
A bolt of lightning flared in the distance, this one close. Despite her nerves, Officer Bessit nudged the controls the slightest bit. The away team was immediately made known of the abrupt course change.
"Woah, woah woah!" Dr. Brody called out as he was dragged by the shuttle. The three of them hung of the shuttle by three cables, three life lines attatched to three lives. The smallest jerking motion by the shuttle caused all three of them to lose their footing on the smooth top of the arcicite formation.
"Bessit, what's going on up there?" Paul asked over the comms, feeling like a fish on a hook. He looked down and saw nothing but clouds, no surface. He didn't know precisely how long it would take him to reach the bottom if he fell but he didn't want to find out.
"Sorry sir, having trouble keeping her steady against the wind," Bessit said back.
Commander Paul Jones raised the mineral cutter and moved closer to the side of the formation. "I'll try to make this quick, stand by."
Another bolt of lightning arced through the sky, this one too close. Deena Bessit pushed forward on the controls, the shuttle had just narrowly avoided the hit. The comms system burst into static as she heard two voices yell. She pulled the shuttle back into position over the structure as quickly as she could and cursed as she did so. It took a moment but the comms finally reset. Deena hit the button and raised the team again.
"You guys okay?!"
A burst of static answered her before Jeff's voice came back. "...'s been cut!"
"What was that Jeff? Say again,"
"The commander's line has been cut! He's falling!"
Commander Paul Jones's ears still rang from the lightning. He recognized the feeling of freefall though, the ice-cold wind rushing by him as he plummeted. His heart pounded as panic set in, he activated his comms again.
"My line's been cut, I'm falling off the side!!" he yelled, hoping someone was on the other end hearing him.
"Transporters, lock onto his signal and beam him back!" Captain See'ra ordered from the bridge.
"The storm's causing too much interference! I can't get a lock!" the crewman manning the ship's transporter console answered, unable to comply.
"Bessit, can you get a lock on the commander's signla?" the captain asked, hoping the ship's sensors could still read the commander's signal in the storm.
"Negative ma'am, that's a negative!" Bessit replied. Brody and Wilson climbed back into the shuttle's bay, she closed the doors behind them and goosed the shuttle's controls down. "I'm going to try to catch him on visual!"
"You're gonna what?" Dr. Brody asked.
"Hang on!" she yelled. The shuttle dove into the storm.
Commander Jones still held his mineral cutter in his right hand. He considered his options. What were the chances that freefalling he could stop himself using the mineral cutter? He didn't know how far he was up or how much longer he had to go. He didn't know if what he was about to do would save him or not, how likely or unlikely it was. With as much strength as he could muster, he gripped the cutter and plunged it into the side of the crystal formation.
The cutter's blade snapped off almost on contact. To make matters worse, the abrupt jerking motion sent the commander tumbling now as he fell. He'd lost some momentum but it was likely he'd pick it back up. He may have also dislocated his shoulder trying to stop himself in such a way but he had no way of telling. It was the least of his worries now anyway.
On the bridge of the Enterprise -Z, the ship's sensor officer was puzzled by the readings on his console. He blinked to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. "Captain, there's something going on here."
Captain See'ra looked over the officer's shoulder at the console. "Are the sensors able to pick up the commander's signal?"
"No ma'am but there's something going on with the storm. It's disintegrating rapidly but the interference is still there," he answered.
The officer's description was accurate. The display read the storm clearing up abnormally fast. "Keep trying to get a lock on Jones' signal," the captain ordered.
Sunlight broke out on the surface over the Crystal Empire. The soil all over the kingdom, energized by magic-rich water combined and collected various ores into multiple formations. Soon, these formations sprouted wherever there was space, blooming like flowers throughout the Empire.
Shining Armor opened the door and walked out onto the balcony. His wife and sister followed him outside and the three of them witnessed the fruits of their labors shimmering in the sunlight.
"Wow, it's amazing!" Cadence said. She walked with Shining to the balcony's edge and looked over at the side. The roads, the spaces between them, every place where there had been bare ground now sported an enormous, gleaming crystal formation.
"Our first crystal harvest. It's so beautiful," Shining Armor remarked. Twilight started to walk over to join them when her eyes caught a shadow on the ground. She turned her gaze upward and had to use her magic quickly to catch something else before it hit them.
Commander Paul Jones didn't feel any pain. That was the first odd sensation. He felt the sudden stop but no pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was facing skyward and noticed that the storm clouds that had been above them were gone. In fact, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Was this heaven? Had he hit the ground already, died and now he was in heaven? His skin tingled and suddenly his vision changed as he was turned around.
As if moved by some invisible hand, he was flipped over and stood up so that he faced his vision was level. Just like that, he had gone from plummeting to his death to standing back on the ground. His legs felt like jelly and he took a moment to catch his breath.
"Who are you?! How did you get here?!" a male voice from behind him asked. Just like that, he was picked up off the ground and pressed against the wall.
"What is it?" a female voice asked from behind him.
"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it," another female voice said. "It fell from the sky. Could it... could it be an angel?"
"I don't think so. It could be a threat," the male voice said, sounding determined. Whoever these voices were, it looked like they had saved him. He tried to turn to face them.
"I'm Paul Jones, Commander of the U.S.S Enterprise ," he said to them. "I mean you no harm."
Suddenly, his body flipped again so his back was pressed against the wall. Paul finally got a look at the creatures that saved him. In the limited library of alien species Commander Jones knew of or had heard about, he had never before seen creatures like these. Somehow though, they reminded him of horses only smaller. There were three of them, a purple one and a white one both with a horn and a pink one with a horn and wings. His mind immediately thought of ancient Earth mythology.
"What is this 'enterprise' you're the commander of?" the white one asked, the male. His tone suggested he felt Paul Jones was dangerous.
"The Enterprise is a ship, high above your planet." Paul tried to explain.
"You think we're fools?" the white one asked, his voice still aggressive. "Ships travel on water and the nearest ocean's miles away." This was normal: pre-spaceflight civilizations normally expressed confusion upon first contact with aliens. Fortunately, the Federation dealt with this kind of thing all the time though this was Paul's first. Still, he was happy to be alive and he figured he owed them an explanation.
"This is going to sound hard to believe," he began. "but it's a starship. In space. I and my team were above your..." Paul looked around, noticed the enormous formation behind him. "your castle, trying to examine it."
"You.. you're from outer space?" the pink one asked.
Paul nodded. "I'm a human. I'm from Earth," he answered.
"What were you trying to examine? Were you looking for weaknesses in our defenses?" the white one didn't let up, he stepped forward with gritted teeth, his horn glowing blue. Paul figured it was this one that held him in place.
"We were trying to study the material of it, it could be very important to us and-"
"Your highnesses!" another voice said. The three creatures turned away from Paul as another one approached flew down to them. "Your highnesses, we've found something. An unidentified flying object was above the castle."
The white one the flyer addressed turned to Paul again. "Your 'star-ship'? Enterprise?" he asked.
They must've found the shuttlecraft. "A smaller ship but it's part of the Enterprise . You found three other individuals inside, correct?" he asked them directly, trying to prove his honesty.
The white one turned to the flying one who nodded. "Commander Paul Jones... you say you mean us no harm?" the white one asked.
Paul nodded. "We mean you no harm," he repeated.
"I'm going to see this... 'star-ship' of yours. If what you say is true, you'll be allowed to leave peacefully. You will be held here until I return. Twilight," he turned to the purple one. "Keep an eye on... our guest until I get back."
Twilight nodded, her expression worried but serious. Shining left with the pegasus and she and Cadence were left alone on the balcony with the alien. Twilight had never seen any creature like it before, four limbs but only two legs. Apparently, it was wearing some kind of clothing that was dripping wet. Her first instinct was to offer him something to dry off with.
"Your friends, they're from space too?" Twilight asked.
"Yes," Paul said. "Everything I've told you is true. We came here to study your palace. It's made of a material that's very rare to us."
"It's rare to us, too," Twilight said. She had to admit, her curiosity about the alien was overwhelming. Hopefully, what he said was true and this could be the beginning of... Twilight couldn't even imagine. Her mind raced with possibilities and excitement. She decided she'd be the first to approach the new creature.
"What did you say your name was?" she asked.
"Paul Jones. Commander Paul Jones of the United Federation of Planets."
"It's nice to meet you Paul Jones. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
Star Trek: Ongoing Elements
Equestria, Canterlot
3 weeks ago
Captain See'ra could name every single regulation she and her crew were breaking at this very moment. She knew every code, every rule in the handbook, all the consequences for the violations they were making right now just by being escorted through the castle. But her stride didn't break as they entered an enormous chamber in Canterlot Castle.
Initial scans of the planet hadn't revealed any indigenous lifeforms. Clearly, the sensors' reading had been wrong. It might've been a result of traveling through the high-altitude anamoly they found above Earth, right now, that seemed to be the most likely explanation. At first, it seemed like they'd found a deposit of arcicite, the very mineral they'd been sent out to search for on an uninhabited world in another universe. After the near-disaster last week that almost cost Enterprise her first officer, Captain See'ra now saw that things on "Equestria" were a lot more complicated than they appeared. She kept her senses alert as the natives led her to a seat in the main chamber.
Dr. Brody and Commander Jones took seats by her side. The room was lavish, a huge, oval table occupied the center with a dozen chairs surrounding it. Guards, by the looks of them, stood at attention with eyes focused forward along the wall. There were twice as many guards as there were chairs. On the opposite side of the room, another pair of double doors opened and two more ponies stepped into the chambers. A purple one and an incredibly regal-looking white one, See'ra had to guess she was a leader here.
The two new arrivals took seats on the other side of the oval table.
"Welcome honored guests to Canterlot," the white one spoke, her voice just as regal as her own appearance. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of the kingdom of Equestria. This is my student," she gestured to the purple one, "Twilight Sparkle."
"Greetings Princess Celestia," Captain See'ra began. "I'm Captain See'ra of the starship Enterprise , this is Commander Paul Jones and Chief Medical Officer Doctor Charles Brody. On behalf the the United Federation of Planets, we come in peace." The speech was something See'ra had been drilled to use but had never had to use before. Meeting new civilizations was a delicate procedure; too often they proved hostile or unready to come into contact with more advanced cultures. The introduction See'ra just went over was part of Starfleet's mandate on first contact with civilizations outside of the Federation, something every Starfleet member new almost by heart.
"My student," the princess gestured to Twilight, "tells me that you come from outer space. What has brought your travels to Equestria?" she asked.
"We are searching for a substance, a mineral that has unique properties unlike any we've ever seen before. We've found large quantities on your planet," Captain See'ra explained.
"I see," Princess Celestia said. "What is it you need these minerals for?"
Commander Jones spoke up to answer that question. "Our galaxy is in danger. The stars that give so many different planets, countless civilizations and lifeforms are dying. We don't exactly know how it's happening. But we think this material can stop it."
"Your stars... are dying?" Twilight asked, her voice in a sorrowful shock. "That's terrible."
Commander Paul Jones nodded solemnly in response. "The crystals, that's the material we believe can reverse this process... and save our galaxy from annihilation."
"So you require our crystals in order to save your galaxy?" Celestia asked.
"Yes, your majesty. Our ship was scanning the surface of Earth, the only other planet where a small amount of the crystals were found. We encountered some sort of atmospheric anamoly, what appeared to be an aurora but with strange energy readings. When we investigated, somehow, it pulled us through... a portal of some sort and we reappeared over your world," the captain explained.
Twilight thought for a moment. She could think of only one explanation. "The Aurora Ceremony! Last week was the day of the Aurora Lighting Ceremony to start the Grand Crystal Harvest! Your starship must've been teleported here somehow."
The pieces were starting to come together. "This ceremony, what is it exactly?" the captain asked. Understanding it was likely the key to returning to Earth.
"The Aurora Ceremony is an annual event to mark the beginning of the Grand Crystal Harvest in the Crystal Empire. For an entire day, the magic of the Crystal Empire is drawn into the Crystal Heart. At sundown, the Heart releases the energy in the form of an aurora that spreads across the sky and remains for hours. The light and magic from the aurora is then collected into clouds by pegasi who create a huge storm. The magic then descends to the surface in rain water which energizes the soil and grows crystals," the Princess elaborated.
Commander Jones looked over to Dr. Brody, his face frozen in an unspoken question. He was holding his tricorder out so Paul had to guess he was recording the conversation. Magic, Crystal Heart, creating storms, these things boggled Jones' mind. The thought just then occurred to him that the terms his fellow officers were using might be equally confusing to the ponies. He had to hope that things would become clearer to both parties soon. For now, he decided to try and put two and two together and see where it led.
"Captain, if I may," he looked over to See'ra for a response. The Vulcan gestured for him to continue. "It's possible that this 'aurora ceremony' might be linked to the phenomenon that we investigated over Earth."
See'ra nodded. "That does seem to be the likely explanation at this point."
"Likely?" Dr. Brody asked. "Nothing about this is even remotely 'likely'. There might as well not be an explanation as impossible as this is."
"Doctor, if there was no explanation, we would not be here," the captain explained.
"Not necessarily," Dr. Brody disagreed. Paul rolled his eyes; yet another philosophical debate was brewing. "A lot of things happen without an explanation. UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, marriage."
"Twentieth century myths aside, just because an explanation isn't known at the time does not mean one does not exist."
"Excuse me, guys?" Paul said, getting the two's attention. "You think you two can save this until after we're done meeting with the magical talking ponies?" he gestured across the table. Both the captain and chief medical officer took half a moment to recompose themselves. A quiet, awkward moment followed that.
"If a portal appeared during the aurora ceremony," Twilight spoke up, breaking the silence. The gazes of the three officers and the princess were cast on her, suddenly the words stopped in her throat.
"Go ahead, Twilight," the princess encouraged her.
"Well, if the aurora ceremony created a portal... there's another ceremony after the harvest is over."
"You're saying the phenomenon is going to appear again?" Dr. Brody asked.
Twilight nodded. "At the end of the week, the excess energy of the Crystal Heart is released again to mark the closing of the Grand Crystal Harvest."
"And the harvest began seven days ago..." Paul said, an uncomfortable feeling growing in his stomach. "So if an aurora teleported us here and another one's going to appear in the sky tonight..."
"Now hold on," Dr. Brody started. "We don't know what brought us here, whether the "ceremony" on this planet had anything to do with what we saw over Earth or whether it will take us back."
"It's a coincidence we can't afford to ignore," Jones replied.
Captain See'ra thought. There was a lot that wasn't explained. It seemed that whatever the event was that occurred on this planet had brought them here. But there was no way to be certain; to ascertain if in fact the ceremony would transport them back home again would take weeks, probably months of investigation and research. Time they didn't have.
Logic dictated caution, patience, careful trial and error while collecting data. But See'ra was captain for a reason. She had the uncommon ability among Vulcans to know when to "go with her gut" on an issue. Not something she enjoyed, it was nevertheless something she was about to do now. Both the commander and the doctor knew what she was considering. They both waited for her answer.
The captain stood. "Princess Celestia, on behalf of the Federation, I would like to ask for your peoples' assistance."
"We'd be happy to help with whatever you require," Twilight offered. She hesitated for a moment and looked back at Celestia. The white alicorn only smiled back at her, encouraging her to continue. "What can Equestria do to help?" While normally the leaders of large civilizations might be reluctant to help out strangers, fearing that they might be taken advantage of. But Celestia already knew this and in fact, giving aid quickly was one of the things that made Equestria different. She was proud to see her student reach out to others so quickly.
"Thank you. I'm sorry to put such pressure on you and your kingdom but time is of the essence."
"It's not a problem," Celestia stood. "We will get to work immediately."
With that, the captain activated her communicator. The doctor, Twilight and the princess all rose and made their way out of the chambers with Paul being the last.
Paul smiled; this is what Starfleet was about. In the midst of disaster, this felt like one of the good days. Things were rarely this convenient in the universe and it was nice to see two groups of individuals come together. There was no doubt in his mind that they would be able to return home with the arcacite.
He followed the group out the doors. Sure, there would be a lot of complex proceedings, regulations to follow, rules to iron out, protocols to check and make sure were being followed but in the end, what they were doing would be to work together with a new species, an entire newly-discovered civilization to accomplish quite possibly one of the greatest tasks in the history of the galaxy. There was going to be a lot of work in the next coming hours but it was something he'd seen before. It was work he was looking forward to.
Star Trek: Ongoing Elements
Earth Orbit
Present Day
Paul Jones was a bit surprised. Rather than heading to the Admiral's office for a debriefing, Admiral Preston immediately invited the commander into another shuttle the moment he arrived. While he understood how grave the situation with Starfleet was he didn't know why he was being forced to board another shuttle craft right away. Still, Paul didn't question the Admiral's instructions as they both entered the small transport.
The craft detached from the interior wall of the space dock, floating freely for a short moment before its small engines activated. Starbase One was normally the berth for the Federation's first fleet, but with the current problems in the galaxy the enormous space station's dock was completely empty. All of Starfleet's ships had either lost power when they came in contact with one of the Milky Way Galaxy's 'poisoned' stars or been destroyed trying to valiantly provide a solution to the problem. It was indeed a dark time for all of the Federation; Starfleet had no starships.
The Acclimator had been used to evacuate Starbase 156's staff but she was still in a damaged state. Without the Enterprise -Z, there was no way to reach Equestria and retrieve the Arcacite. If they didn't find another solution and fast, the entire galaxy would go dark and die. Paul still struggled to grasp the sure magnitude of what was happening.
The shuttle craft floated through the empty space station, beginning a long, slow turn around the central spire that dominated its hollow middle. The berths of the various starships were all vacant; there were barely any lights on in the massive dock. It was like one giant, empty garage. Even the shuttle pod was silent as Admiral Preston stared out of the forward viewport next to Paul.
The Admiral took a deep breath. "We know you did everything you could, Jones," he said, breaking the silence.
"I..." Paul began, trying to say something. "We all did, sir. There were just too many."
"I read the report," the Admiral said, keeping his view forward. "These are dark times, Paul. Darkest I've seen. Losing Big E-Z... the crew... it shouldn't have happened like this. We should've been prepared."
"I don't know how you can prepare for stars dying, sir," Jones remarked, not trying to disguise his defeated tone.
The taller moustachioed man shot him a glance. "One things for sure, it won't happen next time."
That comment made Paul skeptical. "Next time, sir? We have no ships left, nothing to get more Arcacite with."
"No, Jones, there's always a next time," the Admiral replied.
"Sir, I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
"We don't have time for much of a debriefing, son. We have to get you and the aliens that came back with you set up to continue your mission."
"The mission, sir?" Jones asked, now fully turning to the admiral. "So we're continuing the mission to travel to Equestria for the Arcacite? Are we taking the Acclimator ?"
The admiral grinned at him which only served to make him more confused. "Acclimator 's a science vessel and with the damage, she won't be going anywhere for quite a while, unfortunately."
"But sir, the Federation doesn't have any other ships."
"That's not entirely true, captain," Admiral Preston stated.
Captain? Did he just call him 'captain'? As the shuttle craft rounded the central spire, lights on the side wall illuminated the back of the space dock. "Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand."
The Admiral swept his arm outward and pointed out the viewport. "Captain Jones, your new command."
Paul Jones turned back to the viewport to see a single ship at the final birth. Other craft around it flew about, docking and detaching from the vessel. Unlike the rest of the station, this last corner was alive with activity like the starbase normally was. The shuttle craft approached the vessel and Paul was able to see it clearly.
"My... new command?" Jones repeated, trying to comprehend. Rather than getting a debriefing of what happened in his last disastrous mission, it seemed Paul Jones was being elevated to the rank of captain and being given command of a new ship. It was a lot to take in; Paul almost didn't believe he was seeing his new vessel.
The ship itself looked more like an antique. Jones could vaguely remember seeing the classification before but couldn't put the name to it at the moment. He thought he'd seen ships like that in books; they hadn't seen action in centuries. He found the fact that they had managed to refit a vessel like this astounding but what was even more astonishing was the name he read across the hull.
"Enterprise ?" he asked.
The Admiral nodded. "A mission this important, there's only one ship we could trust to get the job done."
Paul looked at the vessel, reading the name again. But at the end of the name, there was no dash or letter to indicate its continuation of the line of ships that bore the name. There was nothing to indicate it was the next member of the legacy.
"There's no dash or letter," Paul commented, practically pressing his hands on the glass.
"That's because there never was any," the Admiral responded.
Paul turned to him. "Sir?"
"There never was any dash or letter on that hull, captain. She's the original."
Paul turned back to the ship as if seeing it for the very first time. "Original?"
"We thought we lost her over the Genesis world some centuries ago. But over time, our science teams kept bringing back pieces. If sentimentality is a crime, that's something we're all guilty of. Slowly, over the years we started piecing her back together. It took time, hundreds of years but eventually we found most every part. She's the original Enterprise , Captain Jones. The first ship of the NCC line to bare the name."
Jones couldn't take his eyes off the ship as the Admiral spoke. The legendary vessel itself commanded by Pike and Kirk was alive before him, waiting for him. It was like walking into history itself. He was at a total loss for words.
"The Equestrians are already onboard and your flight begins immediately. She's older, Constitution -class but we don't really have time for a shakedown run. Your crew is already on standby and as soon as you board, you'll be underway." He turned to face Jones. "I can't tell you how important this mission is, son. Get them home, find that Arcacite and bring it back. Or there won't be a home to come back to."
"I... I understand, sir," Jones said, his mouth hanging open.
The admiral turned to face him as the shuttle craft docked with the ship. "This is the last ship in the Federation, captain. The last Enterprise . It seems fitting, though. Whenever we couldn't afford to lose, we always place our last bet on Enterprise . Make us proud, Jones. Get them home."
"I will, sir," Jones replied, saluting. It was a lot to take in, a lot for him to process all at the same time. The doors of the craft opened and Captain Jones stepped aboard the USS Enterprise .
Author's Note
J.J Abrams brought back Captain Kirk, the original captain(after Pike). I decided to bring back the original ship.
