Strange New World

I – Chatty Chattye

 Commander Patrick Stein stared at the mapping table. It was the centre of the CIC, and it usually displayed a holographic map of the surrounding areas. Right now, however, it was nonoperational, like many things aboard Yamato.

 Besides, even if it had been operational, the blood that had congealed all over the top would have blocked the holo-emitters. Stein frowned, eyes tracing the trail of blood. It was Leonard Bates’ blood, spilt when the Androsi had butchered him.

 Bates had been a good friend to Stein, even when those trumped-up charges had been laid against him back on Ulysses. Bates’ family pull was the main reason Stein was still in the service, much less aboard Yamato and not scrubbing toilets on a mining facility in the Kuiper Belt.

 And now Bates was dead, killed by the Androsi. Stein had never met an Androsi in person before, only through the computer screen. He had no doubt that if an Androsi were to come into the room right now, he would beat it to death.

 He softly rapped a fist on the tabletop, looking up at the expectant face of a female cadet. She was nervously playing with the hat she held. Why she wasn’t wearing it was beyond Stein.

 “What’s the status report on the ship brain?” he asked.

 The cadet shook her head. “Still acting up. When we do get a response from it, it’s either gibberish or asking where Adria went. Doctor Amir thinks it’s developed a dependency on her.”

 Stein nodded. A computer dependency was a bad thing out in the boondocks of space. It was supposed to be only theory – that a supercomputer on the level of Yamato’s would gain a rudimentary sentience and develop an attachment to its android operator. The theory stated that such an attachment would drive the ship brain mad if separated from its operator for too long.

 “Does the doctor have any suggestions about what to do?” Stein tapped his fingers on the console, a nervous habit of his.

 “Yes, sir. He said to get Adria back.”

 Stein nodded, and gestured the cadet away. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. For all he knew, Adria was dead, killed by whatever lived on the planet below, and discarded for not tasting good. What he needed was a foolproof way to find Adria and bring her back relatively unharmed.

 And then they could recover the jettisoned cargo pods with her help and jumpstart the mining process. After that, it would only be a matter of time before humanity had the edge on the Androsi and a new era of peace would reign over the galaxy. And maybe then they could deal with the Ylen…

 Right now, he needed someone who could find Adria before the ship brain completely lost it.

 He needed Chattye Dravidian.

***

 Chattye Dravidian, a subcommander in the galactic marines, stared at the sheet-covered body. Dark stains marked the sheet where blood had dried. She wiped a tear from her eye and took a slow step forward, towards the covered head.

 Her hand lingered for a moment above the cloth as she wondered if it was worth it. With a swift motion, she tore the sheet from the body, and saw the face beneath.

 It was Richard Ames. Her heart broke as she saw the extent of the damage the Androsi had done. Were it not for the Androsi’s aversion to facial injuries, he would’ve been unrecognisable. It was a miracle he was still in one piece.

How can I be so cold? Chattye thought, covering his body again. Because I have to be, she answered herself. I have to be strong. For both our sakes.

 “I’m sorry, Subcommander Dravidian,” Doctor McClain said, stepping up behind her. “If it’s any consolation, most of the wounds were post-mortem. He didn’t suffer.”

 It was comforting, in a strange way. It was still sick, that the Androsi would desecrate a corpse in such a way.

 Chattye opened her mouth to say something in response, but the boatswain whistle cut her off.

“Subcommander Dravidian, please report to the CIC immediately. Repeat, Subcommander Dravidian, report to CIC ASAP.”

 She sighed. “Another time, doc.”

 Chattye dashed out the door, jogging for the elevator to the CIC. Entering it, she caught a glimpse of herself in the cracked mirror. She brushed her short, dark hair out of her eyes, fingers brushing her light brown skin as she did so. Her eyes were a shade of brown so light they were practically yellow.

 Within a few seconds, the doors swooshed open, dispelling any thoughts she had about her appearance. Taking a quick stride out of the elevator, she saw that the CIC was in a state of disrepair. Cadets were busy cleaning up broken lights and other things that had detached from the walls and ceiling during the enemy assault.

 Commander Stein stood near the mapping table, leaning on it. He was practically slumped over. She doubted he had gotten much sleep, if any, since the attack.

 “Subcommander Dravidian reporting in,” she said, snapping off a quick salute.

 Stein turned just in time to catch the end of the salute. He nodded to her and gave a quick two-finger salute in response. “Subcommander. Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

“No, sir, you didn’t,” she lied. “Always glad to be of service. What’s going on?”

 Stein clasped his hands behind his back. “As you know, ship brain cancelled the evacuation order. However, one escape pod launched before the order was rescinded. Adria, the android partner to ship brain was on-board. Now ship brain’s going haywire. We need to get Adria back.”

 She nodded. “You want me to lead a team to the planet’s surface and find her then?”

 “Negative on that, subcommander. It’s too dangerous down there. Two frames just launched from the enemy ship. We can’t afford more deaths on our hands. What I need is for you to take a frame down to the planet’s surface and find her before they do.”

 Chattye frowned. She had a dislike for Stein already, given what she’d heard of his past, but this almost dismissive order was increasing that dislike. “Sir? I can’t pilot a frame. I don’t have the training.”

 Stein leaned in, so close she could smell the bourbon on his breath. “Here’s a secret, subcommander: Anyone can pilot a frame.”

 She took a step back, both in surprise and to get away from the stench of alcohol. “Bull,” she said. “You have to take piloting classes and everything.”

 “It’s true though,” Stein said. “It’s very intuitive. I used to pilot frames, years ago. It’s like riding a bike. You know what that is, right?”

 Chattye nodded. Having come from earth, she had the good fortune to be able to ride a bike. She was terrible at it – the number of skinned knees and bruises she’d had were proof of that.

 “The sensor suite in the standard Gunman-class frame should be more than enough to detect Adria’s life signs. You’d better hurry, though. I don’t want the Androsi to find her first.”

 Chattye snapped off another salute, and rushed into the elevator. If she was going to pilot a frame, she might as well do it right. Put on the tight little jumpsuit and everything.

 As the doors shut, her face fell into a frown. She couldn’t help but feel this was a strategy by Stein to get rid of her. Since Richard and Commander Cody were dead, she was now de facto leader of the marines. If something bad were to happen to her on the planet’s surface, Stein could choose who to place in charge, and he’d probably choose someone with his best interests in mind.

Well, I’m not gonna die, she thought. I’ll come back, even if Stein doesn’t want me to.

II – Day of Twilight

 Twilight shut the door behind her, turning to face the humans. What was she going to do? The humans had revealed themselves as being violent, and she wasn’t used to violence, especially not on the scale they were used to. Taming an ursa major or Cerberus or even fighting the changelings was nothing compared to what the humans had done.

 Her mind spun as she stared at them, eyes flickering from one to the other. Of the four, the youngest hadn’t actually done anything, at least that she had seen. For whatever reason, that made her want to trust him more than the others.

 A loud, frantic knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts. She glanced back at the door, heart skipping a beat. Somepony was already panicking about the incident in the streets and wanted reassurance from the resident princess. To be honest, that was the one thing Twilight didn’t like about being a princess – constant interruptions for one reason or antoher.

 Opening the door back up, Twilight came face to face with a mint-green mare. Lyra.

 “Hello, Lyra. What’s going on?” Twilight asked, shooting the best grin she could.

 “Bonbon said she heard a bunch of weird noises and yells. I could ask you the same thin–” Lyra peeked over Twilight’s shoulders and saw the humans. She let out a shriek and ducked out of sight.

 After a few moments, Lyra’s head peeked around the corner. “They’re still there,” she said.

“That’s right,” Twilight replied.

 “What are they? They look creepy.”

 “They’re called humans, and… well, is everypony around? I guess it’s better if I tell them all.”

 Lyra nodded. “They’re in the town square. They sent me to get you.” She looked up at Twilight, big golden eyes watery. “They’re not bad, are they? The hew-mons?”

 Twilight opened her mouth and then shut it. She didn’t know. They seemed nice, but… “I don’t know.”

 ***

 The crowd that had gathered in the town square was essentially all of Ponyville. Rainbow and the Apples were conspicuously absent, but they didn’t live in town so they likely hadn’t heard the commotion.

 Mayor Mare stood at the forefront of the crowd, her grey mane fringed with pink. The battle must have interrupted her mane dying routine.

 “What exactly is going on?” she asked. “And is this blood all over the fountain?”

 Twilight shut her eyes and sighed. Opening them, she spoke. “Yes. I went on an expedition to the Everfree and found four humans. They are friendly and seemed harmless. But apparently, they have enemies, who attacked us to get to them. They retaliated.”

 “So you let people that you only just met into Ponyville without even asking them simple questions?” The mayor looked very angry. Twilight didn’t blame her.

 “It was difficult to talk to them; they speak a different language. And yes, I did. They were in need of help, and I helped them. It’s common decency.” Twilight stamped her hoof. “Besides, there was no way of knowing we’d be attacked. Not to mention you should be thankful they fought back! Who knows what they would’ve done to us if the humans hadn’t been here!”

 “When are they leaving?” Mayor Mare’s voice was hard as stone.

 Twilight closed her eyes again. “Princess Celestia has ordered me to help them return to their homeland. When the next train comes in, we’ll be leaving.”

 “Well, the next train is going to be here in a few hours. You’d better get them out of here as soon as it arrives.”

 Twilight could only nod. This was the first time the people of Ponyville had disagreed with her since she’d become a princess. It was better to agree to whatever they said right now. Again, it wasn’t like she couldn’t blame them. If she were in their horseshoes, she’d be angry and lost right now too.

 Of course, she already was angry and lost, so she could really empathise with them.

 Slowly, she trotted back to the library. There was no point in arguing with them further. The only thing left to do was to get the humans, and get them out of Ponyville fast.