Silence

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

“Captain, ve’ve—”

The static noise abruptly cut off the signal, just as it had every time somepony tried to speak across the radiolink the last hours. With a scowl, the cobalt-colored mare pressed a wingtip against the earbud, growling, “I thought I had ordered radio silence, Vostok.” She grimaced as the static noise returned. Without bothering to make sure the bridge heard her, she hastily added, “I’m on my way.”

With a hard flick of her wingtip she removed the earphone and placed it on the table next to her half-filled glass. The estimated time of arrival is hours away, she thought for herself as she slowly slid a hoof around the tip of the glass. What’s so important that it’s worth interrupting her? Especially with standing orders of radio silence?

Throwing a last, wistful glance towards the drink—the strong liquid from her private bottle of Griffon Rare lying on a bed of iced rocks—she pushed it away and rose from the cushion. “Computer.”

“Yes, Captain?” answered the sing-song voice of Helion, the ship’s AI.

“Have you found the cause of the interference yet?”

The terminal, covering most of the wall, lit up as she moved closer to it. From there she could overlook nearly everything happening on the ship— from the atmospheric pressure and temperature inside the ship to Actuator and White Rose trying to hide their affair in one of the cubbyholes. With a roll of her eyes she pressed that camera away before it was too late, mentally making a note to get that room cleaned out afterwards. Maybe I should even give them a couple of cushions or—

“I’m sorry, Captain.” The AI interrupted her train of thought. “I’ve been unable to pinpoint the location of the disturbance.”

“Keep looking, it has to be here somewhere.” With her wingtips, she moved the controls as swiftly as any unicorn would, bringing up the data from the bridge. Blinking, she read it through again. “Computer, is this data correct?”

“The requested data is correct, Captain. ETA: five minutes.”

With another flick of her wingtip she scrolled through the data from the start of the journey, going through it with a trained eye. “The entire journey the ETA has been ticking down like normal. Less than ten minutes ago the ETA was set to seven hours and twenty three minutes, and now you’re telling me that we will arrive in five minutes?”

“That is correct, Captain.”

Turning around, she ordered: “Give me the bridge view.” She made her way towards the platform in the center of the room with hasten steps. Barely had she stepped up on it, before she turned back to look at the monitor. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the ship that were their destination, hanging there motionless and powered down in the empty space, before they narrowed again. “Computer, ascend me.”

“Right away, Captain. Shall I inform the crew?” As he spoke the platform rose towards the roof, spreading the same twinge of worry through her body as it always did.

Trying to calm down, she continued, “No. I want to get a view of the situation first.” She stretched out her wings. “Computer, my armor.”

“As you wish, Captain.”

From the edge of the platform, a circle-formed wall rose up. Barely had they stopped moving before the blue light from the scanner swiftly moved over her body. Once they had calibrated her position, the mechanical limbs shot out from the walls and started draping her in her thin, golden tinted armor.

When the arms went back into the walls, she quickly looked herself over to make sure that her armor were properly equipped. With a nod of satisfaction, she looked up at the roof above her as the wall retracted back into the platform. With a deep breath she closed her eyes and tried to push away the thought that was always present when she used the platform.

It won’t open and I will be crushed...

The sound of ponies hastily taking their places suddenly drowned the sound of the moving platform. Quickly, she opened her eyes and released the breath she had held. When the platform came to rest on the bridge she didn’t show any of the fear that had washed over her only seconds earlier. For a moment, she stood still and looked over the ponies saluting her.

“What’s the status, Vostok?” she finally asked, waving dismissively to the rest of the crew. As the crew returned to their work, she stepped down from the platform and took the first step towards the transparent dome that separated the bridge from the normally empty space outside. Her eyes didn’t leave the seemingly dead ship on the other side. “We’re not supposed to be this close to her in several hours!”

The bulky, red-tinted stallion turned his chair around to his station again, quickly flicking over the terminal as he spoke: “Ze just appear on sze screen vithout a varning—” a part of the dome was replaced by a transparent map, and the captain quickly averted her eyes to the line on it that represented their travel. “Ass you can see, ve left Kelestia fiftzeen hours aggo—” he zoomed in on the line that represented the travel and moved until it just disappeared from the map. “—szen here, it just... jump.”

She stared at the screen as he quickly moved it to their current position. “How...” she whispered as her eyes moved between the transparent map and the ship outside. With a quick shake of her head, she regained her composure. “Computer, open up a communication link with Argentum.”

As the silence were stretched between the AI and the captain, more and more of the crew stopped working to turn around and look at her. Slowly, the sound of keystroking that normally filled the bridge disappeared, until nothing more than breathing disturbed the silence.

“Computer, I gave you an order,” she snapped after three minutes of silence, her left eye twitching. “Open up a communication link with Argentum!”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Helion answered calmly. “But Argentum isn’t answering on any channel.”

“Is the distress signal still sending?”

“Unconfirmed. I can’t get any contact at all, but my scan didn’t show any lockdown or other disturbance in the ship.” The map was replaced by a survey map of Argentum, every room filled with green indicators. “The life-supporting systems are up and running, and there’s no sign of damages on the ship’s body or machinery.”

She looked over the map, nodding to herself. “And the ship’s computer?”

“There’s no signs of it, whether it’s active or not, I’m afraid.”

“Vostok, with me.” Turning around, she started walking to the other side of the bridge and the door leading into the small meeting room there, continuing giving orders as she walked, “Computer, send after Doctor White Rose, Sergeant Stechschritt and Theta. I’m not to be disturbed until this meeting is over.”

Actuator softly nuzzled the white unicorn mare’s neck, his cybernetic leg gently moving down her back and coming to a rest under the clothes that covered her flank. No words passed between them; they allowed their bodies to do the talking.

She smiled as she turned around—a move that was more awkwardly in the cramped area than either of them would want to admit—until she stood with her back against one of the many cases that littered the small room. With a light kiss on his chest, she slowly moved her own hoof down to his. With another kiss, she started untie the tool belt running down the side of his oily working clothes and…

“Doctor White Rose, please report to the bridge immediately.”

Surprised at the sudden announcement she broke the kiss, and for a moment they just stood there, the earth pony looking down at the smaller unicorn.

“The Bridge?” he whispered. He regretfully pulled his hoof up from her clothes, with a sigh and placed it next to her. “Ah guess it’s important then?”

She looked up at him with soft eyes, slowly correcting his belt. “I wish it wasn’t,” she admitted, reaching up to give him a kiss. “I’d rather be here.”

He returned her kiss. For the most volatile of moments they stood there perfectly still, until he broke the kiss, and the moment, and pushed away from her. “Ah know. But if they call for you... you better go. Ah can wait.”

Sighing she pushed of the case and gave him a quick hug. “I won’t be gone for long, I promise.”

“Doctor White Rose; Please report to the Bridge immediately.”

He looked her over with a smile. “Look at you, dirtying your clothes like a real mechanic pony.” He snorted as frowned down at her now grime-covered clothes.

She quickly shook her head. “For the love of... Now I have to go and get changed before I get to the bridge and—”

With a quick kiss he interrupted her. “And you won’t get there if you stand here all day, sweetie.” Gently, he pushed her in the side, forcing her to take a step closer to the door leading into the hallway.

She nodded. “I will be back as quickly as I can and then we can—” she gently swept her tail over his muzzle “—return to things.”

“Then Ah would tell you to get those cute little legs moving.”

With a smile she gave him a quick wink before she opened the door to the hallway and, after a quick glance in both directions to make sure that nopony saw her, slipped out, the door automatically closing behind her.

Actuator shrugged as he slowly counted to ten in his head. It would be enough time for her to move down the corridor. Once he had counted it down, he left the small room, not caring much whether anyone saw him or not.

Stopping in the hallway, he took a moment to look down the path of the spot-free and mellow-lit hallway that would take him to the medical care, social area, and dormitories, and in extend to the bridge. With a thin smile, he silently turned around and started walking down the other end of the hallway, towards the maintenance area.

With three sharp voice commands he brought up the screen over his left eye. The screen quickly lit up, allowing him to quickly scroll through the requested data as he walked. One of the perks with the cybernetic leg was the wireless access it gave him to the ship’s computer network. Officially, it only gave him as much clearance as he would get on the computers available to him, but during the eight years he had been stuck with the leg he had extended that authority.

He stopped mid-step, his gaze frozen on the numbers glaring back at him from the screen. His eyes darted back and forth between the three windows, all but one of them showing abnormal values occurring at the same time: just about thirteen minutes ago.

>Engines: 20e5%

>Temperature: 3.3e9 K

>Systems: Okay

“This is impossible,” he mouthed silently as he eyed the values for the fifth time. His mouth went dry as he tried to understand the numbers. A spike in the system, maybe? He quickly dismissed that thought. A spike would never get even close to these values. Nothing on this ship would everbe able to get close to these values! Maybe a failure in the reading system? That would be even more fatal.

With another sharp voice command he opened up a communication link to the engine room. As he waited for it to appear he started galloping down the hallway, remotely opening the doors before him.

“Actuator, where the—”

“What happened down there, Toroidal?” he sharply interrupted the other pony as he ran through the last door leading to the elevator, grimacing but otherwise ignoring the static that suddenly filled his ear. “These values... did something happen with the gauges?!”

“I don’t know! It just shone up like a bright light and... I tried to contact you, but with the radio silence in effect you can only get to the captain and... How did you open this link?”

“That’s not important! Gather every piece of data from this trip. Ah want every second mapped out.”

“Actuator, that’s—”

“That’s an order, Toroidal!” he snapped as he smashed the button in the elevator. “Ah’m on my way down.”

“...Right away, Chief.” The stallion on the other end sounded resentful, but Actuator quickly shrugged it off.

Using his position to get others to work was something he rarely did, but this was not the time to take things the easy way. Thirteen minutes ago... how could the entire ship not have been affected by it?! A temperature like that would have... well, caused the entire engine room, and a great portion of the ship with it, to melt! He could feel a shiver running down his spine. Even in a controlled setting, those are extreme temperatures!

“Helion,” he ordered as the elevator started descending. “Assist Toroidal with assembling the data, and that quickly. Inform Captain Aerial Strike that we might have a problem down here and that I will contact her as soon as Ah have gotten a picture of it.”

“I’m regretful to inform you that Captain Aerial Strike have ordered not to be disturbed until after her meeting. However, I will get to helping First Assistance Torodial without delay,” the calm voice informed him.

Gritting his teeth, he thought over the possibility to simply override the captain’s order about not being contacted; that was an authority he had given himself years ago. He took a deep breath and shook his head. Overriding an order from the captain like that would turn attention towards him. Questions would be asked.

Questions he rather avoided for now. After all, giving himself authority like this... that would be more than frowned upon. If he was lucky he would just get discharged.

So, resting his head against the wall, he decided to wait until he had seen the entire picture before he did anything. But if it’s something wrong with the engines or system… then I must let her know immediately. The entire ship can be at risk!

“You called, Captain.” Every eye in the room moved towards Doctor White Rose as she stepped into the meeting room, their shared weight causing her to shrink back

“I did, Doctor. Fifteen minutes ago,” Aerial Strike said coldly. But you were to busy fooling around with your stallion friend to come here sooner, she added to herself before motioning towards the empty cushions. “Take a seat so we can begin.”

Without a word the unicorn hurried to a seat and sat down, her head hanging low. She didn’t even see the encouraging, fang-filled smile Theta gave her as she passed.

“Well then,” the captain started as soon as she had sit down herself. “As you might have noticed on your way here, we’ve arrived to Argentum several hours early.” As she spoke the screen behind her gave a view of the ship hanging dead in the empty space. “And that—”

“And how exactly did we get here this quickly, Captain?” Sergeant Stechschritt interrupted her.

The silence grew thick in the room as Aerial Strike glared at the sturdier earth pony, who met her gaze seemingly unaffected. In the end, he smiled sardonically and looked away.

Aerial scoffed as she turned her attention to include the diamond dog, the unicorn and the second earth pony as well, the last two fidgeting slightly in their cushions, wishing to be anywhere but here.

“I will let Vostok explain that, Sergeant,” she said after a moment, motioning towards the earth pony, who rose from his cushion and placed himself before a small terminal on the table.

He took a deep breath, fidgeting again with his hooves as the gathered ponies looked at him, before he cleared his throat. “A-ass sze captain zaid, ve’ve already reacshed sze zship,” he started, nervously pressing a few keys on the terminal to bring up the map he had shown the captain onto the screen. “Khow ve got here… I cann not anncvher. A moment, ve vere here—” he motioned towards the place where the line representing the travel cut off, before his hoof moved towards their current position. “—sze nexht, he—”

“Captain!” Actuator’s voice caused Vostok, as well as both Rose and Stechschritt, to jump in surprise. “Ah’m sorry to interrupt.” The screen changed to show the machine room and the mechanic standing there with a worried frown.

Aerial was the only one who seemed completely unaffected, her voice turning poisonous. “Chief Engineer Actuator. This better be important! I’m in a meeting and…” Her eyes turned hard as stone. “Computer.”

“Yes, Captain?” Helion instantly answered.

Actuator scowled. “We don’t have time for thi—”

“Didn’t I command not to be disturbed until this meeting was finished?” She raised an eyebrow towards the screen. “And is not a captain’s command an order of the fifth rank?”

“I can confirm that you did, Captain. You issued a fifth ra—”

“Section twenty three in the seventh section of command give me the right to, in a situation that can endanger the crew of the ship, override any command previously given to prevent anything to happen to the crew.” He slammed his hoof down into the desk, looming over the camera. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “Right now, we’ve discovered such a situation.”

Author's Note

Today, while purging my Gdrive, I found this little story hidden beneath a layer of dust. (A pretty think layer, mind you!)
So, instead of deleting it like everything else I found, I thought "Hey, why not write something short.". This is what came out. No, the story is not finished, and I'll try to work on it between university and finishing editing Clockwork Tower.

Comments, both positive and negative ones, are highly appreciated!

A huge thanks to MelonHunter. Damn, dude, I must be the biggest annoyance there is right now! Pushing everything my insecure brain comes up with under your nose~

Also,a big thanks to Nick Nack, for taking his time to help me improve, both with the story and in general!

Chapter 2

Actuator loomed over the small desk, looking down onto the small terminal screen. The terminal worked as a two-way communicator—he could see and hear the ponies in the meeting room as clearly as they could him.

Right now, not a word passed over the link. Every eye in the other room was on the three lists that he had brought up on the screen. The three lists had been put together by Toroidal and Helion while he had looked over the mechanics and system. They gave an exact overview of the engine system— its power levels, heat, and condition—from the second Aurum had left Celestia until just a couple of minutes ago.

His own eyes were on Aerial as she read through the lists with a deep frown, systematically comparing each row both with the row before and the adherent numbers in the other lists.

Close to halfway down the list, Theta interrupted her concentration: “Down there, Captain.” She pointed towards the middle of the second half of the list with a paw, where the numbers, despite being labeled as okay under the condition, were exponentially higher than they ought to have been.

Aerial quickly looked back at the list, blinking as she found the row. “This…” Her eyes widened slightly, before she snapped her gaze to him. “Are you sure these numbers are correct?”

He slowly shook his head. “It should be impossible for these numbers to be correct. Nothing on this ship can get close to those values. However”—he motioned towards Vostok—“neither can this ship just teleport like that. If you check the time for the jump, I can nearly promise you that it’ll coincide with the spike.”

Aerial raised an eyebrow at him. “You think there’s a connection?”

He nodded. “The thrust modulator has been completely burned out. While the engines can still produce power for the ship’s interior—life support system and shields—we can’t move until we’ve done an replacement. I can’t understand how it happened, but it’s a likely assumption that a spike in the power system hit the thrust modelator. The modulator tried to use all the power, causing the jump and burning itself out in the process.” He knocked his hoof in his desk. “The only problem is that such a course of event is impossible! A power spike of that magnitude wouldn’t have just burned the thrust modulator; it would’ve torn this ship to pieces!”

She closed her eyes and leaned back, rubbing one of her temples with a wingtip. After a few moments, she motioned towards the lists with the other wing, without opening her eyes. “Why wasn’t this brought to my attention as soon as it was detected?”

“With you commanding Helion not to be disturbed, Ah had to make sure that Ah was authorized to contact you first. Moreover, Ah had to put the lists together first and make sure that no other action had to be taken to ensure the crew’s safety. ” He paused for a moment. “Right now, we’re in no immediate danger. Ah’ve terminated all contact between the engines and the non-vital systems in an attempt to not overload the systems, should that’ve been the cause to all this. However, Ah thought it was best to report this occurrence as soon as my authorization allowed me to.”

She nodded and looked up to met his eyes. “How long will it take to repair it?”

“With repair parts? I can get a thrust modulator up and running in fifty minutes. Going through the system in close would take a couple of days. If we’re lucky.” He shook his head. “The main problem is, we don’t have any repair parts. According to the ship’s record, we should have a modulator aboard. However, neither Toroidal nor Helion have been able to locate it yet.”

“So I’m to assume that we’re stranded?” she asked. She waited for him to nod, before she sighed and looked across the table at Theta. “What’s your thought on the situation at hoof, officer?”

Theta, who up until now had kept her eyes on the lists, shook her head and met the captain’s gaze. “That there’s not much we can do while being stranded like this,” she said with grating voice, before she paused lazily scratching one of her ears with a claw. “We should first and foremost take every course of action to keep the crew safe, and I’d say that Actuator have taken most of the actions that can be taken rig—”

“And how’re you planning to keep the crew in place?” Stechschritt interrupted with a slight smile, before he looked at Aerial. “Once the information that we’re stranded reach the stallions, they’ll—”

“Go on exactly as before, Stechschritt,” Aerial snarled darkly. She turned her hard glare to him. “With the life-support systems up and going, the life onboard this ship will not differ in any way from the last month’s travel.”

“Except that we can’t move,” he smugly pointed out. He averted his eyes to the screen. “And how’s Actuator going to fix this small issue?”

Actuator slowly shook his head. Is that kid still trying to challenge the captain? Through the screen, he could see how Aerial slowly rose.

“Sergeant Stechschritt,” she said calmly, glaring down at him. “Unless you keep silent until spoken to, you’ll be dismissed from this meeting room. Do I make myself clear?”

His smile turned resentful. “You’ve no right to dismiss me! Do you know who I’m rel—”

“As Captain of this ship, I’ve every right to do so,” she interrupted him. “While you’re onboard the Aurum, you’ll follow my orders. Do I make myself clear?”

He hesitated for a second, his smile vanishing. “I… I could have you discharged! My au—”

“One more word, sergeant, and I’ll arrange for you to be confined to your quarters.” Her voice had turned cold as ice, and she raised a wingtip to keep him silent. “Your blood might’ve gotten you to your position, Stechschritt, but not even your family would be able to get me discharged after three decades of loyal service to the fleet. I’ve been patient with you, buck, but let me tell you something. Aurum is the kingdom’s flagship, and I’ve been it’s Captain since the day it left Equestrian soil. This is my ship, and while you’re on board you’ll do as I command. If I say jump, you jump! Do I make myself clear?”

Actuator couldn’t help but smile slightly as he watched the lecturing from the other side of the screen. Ah’m surprised she didn’t do that earlier, he thought to himself. He’s been acting all mighty since his parents arranged for him to be enlisted aboard this ship.

The meeting-room was completely silent as Stechschritt just stared up at Aerial Strike with wide eyes, his mouth working but no words coming out. Around the table, the rest of the assembled ponies, and Theta, looked between the captain and the sergeant.

After what felt like minutes, Stechschritt finally closed his mouth. With a gulp, he slowly nodded. “You’re making yourself clear, Ma’am,” he said quietly and looked down into the table.

She nodded and slowly pushed away from the table. “You’ll stay here after the meeting,” she said simply before she turned her attention back to the rest of the assembled crew. Under her gaze, they quickly looked back at her. “Theta, I want you to contact Celestia as soon as this meeting is over. Tell them about our situation and request a tractor-ship and, if possible, repair parts for the engine to be sent here.” She waited for Theta to nod, before she continued. “It’ll take a few days for help to arrive, so let’s do the best of the situation. The crew of Argentum haven’t answered our attempts to open up a communication link between us, and neither has the ship’s computer. I’ll take one of the shuttles over to her to look over the situation.” She raised a wing to silence the protests that both Theta and Vostok voiced. “That’s final. Theta, Doctor Rose; I want you two to accomplish me there. Until our return, Vostok will be acting captain.”

“Captain,” Theta said after a few seconds, breaking the silence that had followed Aerial’s words. She tapped a claw twice in the table. “Is this really a wise decision? Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer and then retry to contact them? We don’t know what awaits us in the Argentum.”

Aerial smiled sadly before she shook her head. “I know my brother. He wouldn’t send out a distress signal as a first resort. No, when Argentum send out a distress signal, then there’s a reason behind it. A grave one. That’s why I picked you two.” She paused for a moment, looking Theta over. “You’ve been my first officer since the day I took on the role as Captain of this ship. Not once have you let me down. Instead, you’ve saved my flank multiple times. On this ship, there’s no-one who can challenge you in close-quarter combat. If something has happened on that ship, then I want you by my side.” She averted her eyes to White Rose. “Doctor Rose. I want you by my side as well. The scans showed no disturbances onboard Argentum, and their life-systems and engines are up and running. However, if the crew is sick or in any other way injured and in need of treatment, I want you to be able to give them that directly.”

White Rose glanced towards the screen—towards Actuator—before she nodded silently. Theta, however, tapped her claw in the table again. “You believe that we’ll meet resistance? That something went horribly wrong aboard that ship?”

“Hopefully, they only have problems with the communication.” She sighed. "But I don’t want to risk running into something unprepared.”

“Then why run in there at all? We don’t know what have happened with her crew; we’ve no camera vision and they don’t answer our hails. We should at least take a few more ponies with us.”

“Captain,” Helion chimed in, causing most of the ponies in the room to give a start. Without waiting for the captain to answer, it continued: “I’ve looked through the files I’ve been able to find about Argentum. According to the records from their last syncing with the fleet’s database, they should have a spare thrust modulator onboard. This modulator should be compatible with our own systems.”

Before anyone else could say anything, Actuator spoke up: “Then I’m coming with you.” He raised his cybernetic hoof. “Captain, I was stationed on Argentum for eight years before being relocated to this ship. I know her inside and out. While you and the other’s check on the rest of the crew, I can get down to the maintenance level and request the modulator. Should something have happened to the crew…” He shook his head. “Then I can be a valuable asset in other ways.”

Aerial snapped her eyes to him. For a moment, she met his eyes, before she nodded. She moved her gaze to include the others as well. “Well, then, you have your orders. Vostok, you’ll be acting captain until we return. Theta, Doctor Rose and Actuator, I’ll see you down at the shuttle bay in ten minutes. Dismissed.” As the crew nodded and rose, she averted her eyes to Stechschritt. “Not you, Sergeant. I wish to talk with you.”

White Rose and Theta shared a gaze, the former grimacing slightly, before they hurried to make their leave after Vostok. Actuator leaned back slightly, with a slight nod pressing the key that would terminate his part of the video communication, leaving Stechschritt and Aerial seemingly alone. However, he could still see and hear them over the partly opened channel.

Stechschritt slowly sat down again, glancing towards the door where the rest had disappeared, before he looked at Aerial with a worried frown. “Yes, Captain?” he said. As she didn’t make any moves to speak first, he added: “You wish to speak with me?”

She looked at him for a moment longer, before she sighed and shook her head. “What am I going to do with you, Stechschritt? Your family might’ve given you this position, but do you really think that you can rely upon them for everything?” She knocked a wingtip in the table. “Because you can’t. We both know that. The Blueblood family might be one of the oldest noble families, if not the oldest one, in Equestria, but out here? The name might’ve made it easier for you to get accepted into the academy, and your parents might’ve pulled a few strings to place you here, but do you really think that they would be able to go through with having me discharged just for dismissing a colt?”

He looked down in the table, not saying a word, and she slowly rose from her place and walked to him. Placing a wing on his shoulder, she continued talking: “Is it just a wish to be seen, Stechschritt? A wish to be acknowledged?” She sighed. “Let me tell you something: You didn’t get enlisted to serve on Aurum that easily. Your parents migth’ve pulled some strings, but in the decision laid in my hooves. After reading through your files and supervising a few of your exams personally, I decided to agree and take you under my command.” She removed the wing and took a step back, looking him over. “Don’t make me regret that. Go and get your armor. You’re going to accompany us to Argentum.”

Confused, he looked up at her with wide eyes. “I… You want me to go with you?”

She snorted. “You’re my sergeant, Stechschritt. You might not think that it’s much, coming from that family, but here you’re the fourth-highest ranked pony. Add to that your expertise on weapons and combat, and you’ll realize that you can stand on your own legs.” She shook her head again, turning around towards the door. “Stop comparing yourself with the ponies of your family. None of them have ever enlisted into the fleet. You’re the first one to do so, so set a new standard for them to follow.” She took the first steps towards the door.

“I…” His voice made her stop just before the door, craning her neck to meet his eyes. “What do you think we’ll encounter on Argentum, Captain?”

With a sigh, she turned back towards the door. “Five minutes, Sergeant. Get to it.”

“Where are you, Actu—”

Actuator could faintly hear her voice continue behind the static noise that emerged from the elevator’s speakers. “Helion,” he said quickly. “Terminate the communication with this elevator until I’m out of it, and tell the Captain that I’ll be in the shuttle bay in less than two minutes.”

“Affirmative, Chief Engineer,” Helion’s sing-song voice answered as the static noise disappeared.

For a few seconds, the only thing he could hear was the sound of the elevator as it made its way upwards in the ship. However, it didn’t take long before Helion returned. “She’s not happy, Actuator. You should’ve been at the shuttle five minutes ago.”

“Tell her that I had to give Toroidal a few instructions to make sure that the safety of the crew is maintained. And Helion?” He went silent for a moment, his eyes on the small display that showed the elevator ascending upwards in the ship. “If something happens, I want you to assist Toroidal in keeping the crew safe. He’s a good stallion, but I doubt he could handle everything himself.”

“I’ll make sure that every available processing power is put to keep the crew safe, Chief,” the AI answered him. For a few seconds, he was quiet, before he asked: “May I ask something, Chief?”

Actuator took a last look at the display, before he turned his head toward the elevator doors. “Of course, Helion.”

“If you doubt that Toroidal will be able to keep the crew safe, why are you leaving him alone? You could even have sent him to get the modulator in your place.”

With a sigh he looked up in the ceiling. “I served under Captain Collateral and his Chief Engineer Transducer for seven years before I was moved to serve as Chief Engineer aboard Aurum. Neither of the ponies Aerial chose to take with her have any knowledge about that ship.” He shook his head as the elevator door opened, revealing the shuttle bay before him. “If needed, I can guide them through Argentum, get the modulator and get us back again. In the meantime, I trust that you and Toroidal can keep Aurum and her crew safe.”

“Understood, Chief.”

“Thank you, Helion.” Without waiting for an answer, Actuator stepped out of the elevator.

With hurried steps he walked down the pathway that ran past the shuttles, which stood parked in neat rows, and the ponies who always seemed to be present down here. A few of them looked up and greeted him as he hurried past, but most of them simply continued on with what they were doing and completely ignored him.

The pathway soon took him to the main landing-strip. It was located in the middle of the shuttle bay, with multiple pathways like the one he walked on connecting to it, and it was wide enough for up to three shuttles flying in breadth to fit there.

A shuttle, one of the smaller models, stood parked about halfway down the strip. Standing at the base of the ramp leading into it stood Aerial Strike and Stechschritt. The later had adorned his crimson-red armor, while the former stood and stared in his direction, her hoof impatiently tapping in the floor. As soon as he saw it, he turned his step towards it.

“Finally. We were about to leave without you,” Aerial said before he had even managed to reach them. “The rest are waiting inside, so hurry up and take your place.” She turned her eyes towards Stechschritt, and he quickly straightened his back under her gaze. “You can fly one of these?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded as Actuator started walking up the ramp. “Foal’s play.”

“Then take the steering and let’s go.” She turned around after Actuator. “We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

Chapter 3

“Young Actuator! What a pleasant surprise.” The small group, who had barely stepped out of the shuttle and into the shuttle bay of the Argentum, gave a start at the sudden deep voice of Vox, the ship’s AI, sounding around them. “I haven’t seen you in years! And you brought friends as well? Simply delightful!”

Aerial collected herself and looked up at the one of the multiple screens placed around the shuttle bay, and the projected, pony-like head on it. “Where is everyone?” she asked. “There should be ponies working down here,” she added after looking around herself.

“Captain Aerial Strike, I assume?” He sighed regretfully, and the head on the screen slowly shook from side to side, parts of it not completely following with the image. “I’m very sorry about not answering you earlier. You must’ve been worried senseless! You see, I received your hails, but I was unable to respond to them. Your brother gave me strict orders to stay away from the voice channels, and I’m afraid that the rest of the crew have been a bit too…” The screens around the room went blank for a brief second, but the head was quickly there again....absent-minded to answer in my place.”

She snapped her head up towards the ceiling again. “What do you mean ‘absent-minded’? Where are they? I want you to open a communication channel to my brother right now!”

“I’m afraid that will do no good, Miss Aerial. Your brother is very tied up right now, and is unable to talk with you. If you wish, I could send after somepony who could give you a place to rest until things have been sorted out?”

“Tell me, Vox,” Actuator spoke up. “Who sent out the distress signal?”

Aerial glared down at him, but stayed silent as the computer answered, “That would be me, young Actuator.” He paused for a moment, before he continued. “I don’t think Captain Corretal agreed with me sending out a distress signal after five of his ponies were killed by one of the guards. He was simply not happy. No, he wanted to ensure everyponies’ safety himself, and gave me strict orders to not use the ship’s communication systems to request or answer help.”

Silence fell over the small group at his words. White Rose looked at Actuator and Aerial, who shared a look, while Stechschritt tensed and looked around himself. The only one who seemed unaffected was Theta, who slowly looked further down the shuttle bay and lazily scratched an ear with a claw, deep in thoughts.

“He did what?” Aerial asked, breaking the silence. “What happened to the killer?”

“The guard, a mare named Livor I believe, turned her gun on herself once her work was done.” He sighed, the projected head seemingly looking down in the floor. “Her target seemed to have been the engines. However, she also killed the five ponies that were unlucky enough to be present in the engine room as well. The Chief Engineer himself, the second engineer as well as three other engineers. Without anyone who could repair the engine alive, I sent a distress signal in hopes that someone would be able to come out here and help us repair it.”

“How did she manage to do that?!” she asked with heated tone after a few seconds of shocked silence. “Wasn’t there any other guard present in the engine room?”

“I’m afraid not, Miss Aerial. We’re in Equestrian territory, and as such your brother didn’t deem it necessary to keep a full guard schedule. He didn’t expect an attack, least not from his own crew.” The AI went silent for a moment, before it smile sadly and added: “Would you?”

She blinked, her wings tensing for a second, before she turned around to the small group. “Sergeant Stechschritt, Doctor Rose, you two will accompany me to my brother’s stateroom. Theta, I want you to accompany Actuator to the engineer room”—she looked at Actuator”—where you’ll retrieve the modulator and see if the engines are within your range of repairing.”

With a quick nod, Actuator and Theta left the small group, the former taking the lead towards the elevator that would take them to the lower levels. After having looked after them for a second, Aerial nodded and turned her head towards the door that she assumed would lead out to the main corridor of the ship. “Computer,” she commanded as she started walking, the others following after her. “What is the fastest way to get to my brother?”

“I’ve told you, Miss Aerial: Your brother is very tied up at the moment, and will not be able to talk with you.” Vox sighed again. “Of course, if you’re even half as headstrong as your brother, that won’t stop you. Exit the shuttle-bay through the main exit. That would be the door you’re heading towards, yes. Once you’ve reached the corridor outside, take a left. Walk past the first five hallway-junctions, and take a left at the sixth one. Go all the way down that corridor, and you’ll reached the elevator that’ll take you directly to the bridge.” Without another word, the AI disappeared, leaving behind blank screens.

“Stechschritt, I want you to have your gun close at hoof,” she said lowly as soon as the AI was gone. She threw a wary glance towards one of the suddenly empty screen. “If you deem it necessary, you’ve my permission to shoot to scare. Two shots, then a third to kill if needed, understood?”

White Rose went pale, and even Stechschritt was visibly shaken at the captain’s sudden, grim comment. “Wh-what are you saying?” Rose stuttered, looking at her with wide eyes. “You can’t be serious! I-I thought we came here to help these ponies!”

“Keep your voice down,” Aerial snarled lowly, placing a wing over her muzzle and glared down at her. After a second, she shook her head. “Helping my brother and his crew is still what we’re here to do. If it wasn’t, I would’ve entered that shuttle back directly. However, you heard what the computer said about what that guard did. Something is very, very wrong here, and right now I’m putting the lives of my crews before anything else.” She looked between Stechschritt and Rose. “Do I make myself clear?”

Rose quickly nodded, her eyes wide, and Stechschritt was close behind with a nod of his own. As Aerial removed her wing from Rose’s nuzzle, the earth pony lowly asked: “If-if you think something is wrong, why didn’t you tell Actuator and Theta before they wandered off?”

Aerial smiled slightly and looked towards the path the two crew-members in question had taken. “I didn’t deem it necessary. I believe that Theta already suspected that something was wrong.” With a snort, she turned around towards the door. “Let’s get going. I want to talk with my brother as soon as possible.”

“I’m very sorry to interrupt, Sir, but your sister is on her way here. I know that you’re really... tied up at the moment, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

A low wheeze escaped the captain’s mouth.

“I know, Sir. I take full responsibility for anything that happens from this point. After all, I sent out that distress signal without consulting you firstly.” The head on the screen seemed pained. “I’m terribly sorry that it have come to this. I know how important your family is to you.”

He flapped wildly with his wings, drips of blood splashing against the walls and screen. His growl ended in a series of coughs.

“Captain! You simply cannot be serious! You’re very sick, and I understand that you don’t wish her to see you like this, but getting rid of her? I’ll do no such thing!”

He spat towards the screen, baring his teeth.

“I… that’s an order then, Captain?” Vox hanged with his head, looking down in the floor from the screen. After a few seconds, a thin smile spread over his muzzle. “I’ll see what I can do, Captain. But, if you don’t mind me speaking my mind, it would be easier to take care of them if you returned the control over the environmental syst—”

With what sounded like a growl, the captain interrupted the AI. Vox gave out a slight laugh. “I understand, Captain. You removed that privileges for a reason. Nevertheless, I’ll use the assets you so gracefully have given to me to take care of your sister and her crew, Sir. In the meantime, I really have to encourage you to get some rest. I’ll return to you with a report as soon as I’ve… dealt with our guests.”

“Shouldn’t there be crew members going about their work down here?” Theta asked, before she yawned and scratched her ear. “It feels like the ship is abandoned, doesn’t it?”

Actuator nodded. They had followed hallways, empty and with nothing but a orange, dull emergency light illuminating them, ever since the elevator. Not once had they seen a crewmember, pony or otherwise. Even today, nearly eight years after he had been transferred from Argentum to Aurum, could he find his way to the engine room.

“Something is amiss,” he said, with a command calling forth the screen over his left eye. “Even when the engineers are killed should there be ponies onboard that, with the either the computer’s or Vox’s guidance, could fix the engines enough to sustain normal lightning.”

“Didn’t the ship’s AI say that the engines had been destroyed?” she asked, throwing a glance into both the hallways they passed.

“Not to the point where they shouldn’t be able to power the lightning down here.” He shook his head. “Had that been the case, the environment systems would’ve been disabled as well, leaving the ship without oxygen.” He slowly moved his eyes over the roof and walls.

“So why haven’t anyone fixed it?” She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. “And what are you doing?”

“Ah’m scanning the hallway,” he answered, taking a step closer to the wall. “One of the few perks with this leg of mine. The processing cores in my leg are connected to my visor, so Ah can simpl—” He stopped mid-sentence, his hoof moving over the wall. His eyes widened slightly as he looked down on his hoof. “Vox.” He quickly looked up at the wall again. “Do you have any recordings about a fight or wounding in this area occurring… less than five minutes ago?”

“I’m sorry, young Actuator, but these deck have been off-limits since the death of the engineers. No-one has somuch as put a hoof down here since then,” Vox said, his voice echoing vaguely in the hallways.

“I guess that answer why nothing has been done about the engines,” Theta said with a shrug. She took a hold around his hoof with a paw and looked closer on the blood. “It doesn’t explain what this—” she took a lap of the blood, before she released his hoof and bared her teeth in a grin “—unicorn is doing down here.” She turned her attention away from Actuator’s shocked expression. “Computer, in what way is this off-limits reinforced?”

“For as long as there are standing orders about an area being off-limits, no-one except the captain and crew members appointed by him are allowed into the area,” he answered. “The rest of the crew will not be able to reach this deck by elevator, and the doors leading here will not open.”

Actuator looked up at the diamond dog. “You licked me and knew what race the—” He blinked, the AI’s words reaching him. “Then how could we get down here, Vox?” he asked and wiped off the blood, and saliva, from his hoof onto his shirt.

“You were appointed,” he said simply.

“Why would the Captain appoint us?” Actuator asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You were appointed,” the AI repeated.

“Yes, yes, Ah get that,” he said, mildly irritated, and shook his head. “But why would he appoint us? To repair the engines? So that we could pick up the thrust modulator?”

“You. Were. Appointed.” The voice was followed by a static noise, not unlike the noise that had disturbed the communicators onboard Aurum.

Theta quickly shielded her ears by folding down the tip and pressing her paws over them. As the noise grew louder and louder, Actuator fell forward and brought his front-legs to his ears in an attempt to block it out.

The noise suddenly disappeared, as quickly as it had started. It didn’t take long before Vox’s voice filled the silence that followed the noise “I’m terribly sorry, Young Actuator and Theta. That static noise have haunted us for days now, and you never know when it’ll activate.” He cleared his throat. “But as I said, the Captain appointed you so that you could take a look on the engines. If you’re able to fix it, we’ll be very grateful. If not…” As the AI paused, a weak static noise could be heard across the link. “If not, then you’re appointed to take the thruster and try to repair your own engines.” The AI hesitated for a moment. “Should you manage to repair your engine but not ours, the Captain humbly ask of you to let our crew lift with you to Celestia—both the living and the dead.”

Actuator looked at Theta, who slowly nodded. “Ah’m sure we can arrange something,” he said slowly. Throwing a glance towards the blood on the wall, he added: “Vox, could you keep an eye on the cameras on this deck? Let me know if you see anything.”

“Of course, Young Actuator. Although, I wish to remind you; no-one else can reach this deck. You’ve nothing to fear here.”

“Just keep an eye on it while we take care of the engine, okay? If we’re lucky, the shots didn’t hit anything to vital.” Folding back the visor, he continued walking down the hallway.

“We’re not alone down here,” Theta whispered. “That computer is lying.” As he looked back at her, she bared her fangs in a smile and tapped her nose, every trace of the earlier tiredness gone. “I can smell that unicorn in the air. It passed through here not long ago, but that wasn’t the first time it walked here. No, the entire place reeks of it; both old and fresh blood. It’s blood.”

He nodded and threw a glance towards the hallway behind them and the different junctions that spread out from it. “Do you think you can take care of it?”

Her grin grew. “These hallways are small. I’ll smell and hear it before it can see us, and once I’ve found the unicorn, it shouldn’t be hard to take care of it.” She ran her tongue over her teeth, before she gave out a short laugh at his expression. “I’m a hunter. Long ago you ponies were our prey, not our friends. I don’t think this unicorn should possess any trouble.”

Aerial threw a glance at the elevator’s dead interface, which hadn’t responded to her tapping her wingtips against it, before she looked at the screen before her. “Computer!” she commanded.

Vox was quick to answer her—his head instantly materialized on the screen, his eyes in level with hers. “Yes, Miss Aerial?” he asked, his mouth movements delaying slightly compared to his voice. “How can I be of service?”

“The elevator is offline.” Her wing pointed towards the small keypad infused next to the screen. “I want you to circumvene the interface and take us to the bridge.”

“I’ll do no such thing, Miss. You see, the eleva—”

“That’s an order, computer,” she said sharply, taking a step closer to the screen. “I’m going to my brother, and that’s final!”

“I’m afraid you have no power here, Miss Aerial,” he answered calmly, meeting her hard gaze with a thin smile. “You might be the Captain of Aurum, the greatest ship in the Equestrian fleet, but onboard the Argentum, you don’t have the right to order me around.”

She blinked, before her gaze and voice hardened. “My brother—”

“Will see you when he deems it time,” he interrupted sharply, his voice still low. His smile grew slightly. “Besides, I’m afraid that even if I was forced to heed your orders, I’d be unable to. You see, the engines were, as you might recall, destroyed. We’re running on the emergency systems, and there’s not enough capacity in there to keep the elevators running.” He chuckled. “That is, of course, unless you want me to remove the life-support systems.”

Aerial opened her mouth as if to say something, but slowly closed it again. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a few, deep breaths before she looked the computer in the eyes. “I want answers from my brother,” she said slowly, her voice having regaining its calm. “If the elevators aren’t working, then I’ll take the stairs.” Turning around, she added: “Let my brother know we’re on our way.”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that,” the AI answered softly. The elevator doors slammed shut before her nuzzle, effectively locking the small group inside of the elevator. “I’m afraid that my orders are simple, and I quote Captain Collateral directly: I want the ship engine repaired as quickly as possible, and I don’t want anyone to disturb me until I invite them myself. I’m certain you understand that I can’t go against such an order, and it’s my hope that you won’t hold it against me.”

She spun around to face the screen. “You mean that we’re trapped in here?!” she snarled between clenched teeth. “I want to talk with my brother this instant! You hear me?” She slammed a hoof against the wall. “He has no right to treat us like this!”

“I’m afraid that he has every right to do as he pleases on his own ship, Miss Aerial. Including keeping his younger sister away from seeing him.”

“You listen to me, you sad attempt for intelligence,” she said slowly, moving her head closer to the screen and glaring down at him. “If you don’t open that door right now, I’ll have Stechschritt open it instead! Do I make myself clear?”

“Definitively, Miss Aerial,” he answered calmly, before he raised an eyebrow. “But may I remind you that opening fire on board this ship would be seen as an act of utterly violence, and I would’ve no other choice but to call security.”

She smiled grimly. Looking into the computer’s eyes, she commanded, “Stechschritt, get us out of—”

“You. Have. Been. Appointed.” Vox voice was followed by a static noise that slowly grew in level.

The three ponies grimaced at the sharp sound. White Rose threw her hooves over her ears, giving out a slight whimper. Aerial covered her ears with her wings, motioning towards the elevator door with her head. Stechschritt, who had tried to cover his ears as well, tried to get a hold around his pistol instead. Just as his teeth grasped the mouth-grip, the static disappeared, leaving them in deafening silence.

“I’m terribly sorry, Miss,” the AI quickly said as soon as the noise had disappeared. The head on the screen grimaced. “That terrible noise has haunted us for days; you never know when it’ll activate.” He made a sound as if he cleared his throat. “But, as I was saying—” his smile turned grim “—you’ve been appointed.”

Author's Note

As with the earlier chapters, a big, BIG thank you towards both MelonHunter and Nick Nack for helping me with grammar and story, as well as putting up with me!

This story would be nothing without these two!