A Search in the Darkness

Chapter 6: Meeting the Crew

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The crew of the Rainbow Dash arrived in droves. Most paid no attention to the Elements or the Princess, just heading out into the dock. The first to greet the ponies was the captain after he was called forth by Luna.

“Come here Blunt Quasar. Don’t you wanna meet your charges,” Luna asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the worlds your majesty,” he replied. Blunt Quasar was white coated stallion with an orange mane. He stopped right in front of the Elements and put a hoof to his chin, seemingly in deep thought. His face quickly brightened as he quickly shook each of the ponies saying, “And you must be the Elements. Commander Quasar at your service,” he said with an exaggerated bow. Continuing he said, “Well I’m huge fans of you guys. I loved the book, but the Virtual Movie sucked. I mean they made Fluttershy’s stunt double was a guy.”

This made the Elements laugh and brought a smile to the Princess’s face. The joke brought back old memories in all. “This here is Commander Quasar. I taught him myself back in the Lunar Naval Academy. He’s probably the youngest officer to receive a vessel of his own. How’s patrolling in Marian space?”

“I know you pulled some strings, Princess. And patrols weren’t good. As you know, a huge amount of our navy was pulled to aid our allies since they seem to be getting the brunt of the incursions. Morale’s low as they seem to come from anywhere at any time. We’ve only had one major incident, but that only served to lower our spirits. It was when a Tharovak light cruiser jumped to the Yeu system. Only a frigate flotilla was stationed there at the time. They should’ve waited for reinforcements, but they all went in gung-ho attacking the cruiser. When reinforcements did arrive, all they found was a lot of debris and dead ponies and Marians. The Human cruisers destroyed it before it got away, but many ponies are starting to get the idea that we aren’t gonna last a week if total war breaks out,” the Commander explained.

“I heard about that incident. I didn’t realize it affected our ponies so intensely. I think I’ll make a visit there soon,” Luna said.

“Of course. The Dominatus will be a welcome sight the next time the Tharovaks decide to rear their ugly heads. Anyway, let’s get you acquainted with the crew,” the Commander told them. He led them to a small group of the crew that was separated from the mingling mass further back. “This here is Nebula Switch our Navigator and head pilot.”

“Hello ladies. I know it must be hard with all these changes you’re facing in the future. My room is a clothes-free zone, feel free to join me whenever,” he said with a sickening smirk. He was a black Pegasus with a dull white mane.

“In your dreams,” Rainbow replied.

“I truly hope so,” Nebula said causing the cyan Pegasus’s face to turn into a frown and the color of a beet red.

“He’s one of the best pilots in the Navy...just don’t ever get drunk around him,” he warned them. “And this is Crescent Knife, our weapons expert,” he said gesturing to dark blue earth pony with a violet mane. Two light blue stripes ran down her mane.

“She’s the only pony I know who has gotten plasma cannon working from parts removed from a drop ship allowing a cruiser to fight off dozens of Vallion boarding vessels,” Commander Quasar explained.

“You must be the lost heroes from the past. If you ever feel like you’re outgunned you know who to call,” she told them.

Leading them to the last pony, he introduced “Stellar Geas, our magical expert.”

“Hmmm, Element of Magic. I think we’ll have a lot to talk about. Oh and you can explain that one theory you made that nopony’s ever been able to understand,” the unicorn said.

“I think I’d love that,” Twilight responded. ‘Magic. Doesn’t matter if there are aliens and spaceships everywhere. Magic will always stay the same.’

“And lastly our head nurse Soft Touch,” he directed them to an Earth pony mare. She had a soft pink coat with a red mane.

“Hey there fillies. It don’t matter how many holes the Tharovak or Kareen poke through you with, spend an hour with me and I’ll have you up and on your feet.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. The Princess would kill me,” Commander Quasar said.

A bing rang out and the red light over the terminal turned green. The crew all began picking up their gear and heading down the tunnel.

“This is where we must depart. As it is your time to go,” Princess Luna said as trotted up from behind them.

“We’ll miss you Princess,” Twilight said as they came together in a group hug.

“Be careful out there my little ponies. And remember, never let anything ever break apart the friendships you’ve made,” the Princess said as they began to move away. The ponies nodded as they entered the tunnel. When they got to the end of the tunnel, they got into line for checking in. 2 security guards checked scanned the ponies back. The other crew members seemed to have at least a single bag while the Elements carried nothing, but a hoof pad the guards would use when checking them in. Once they had been led inside they found the inside of the ship to be very similar to the metal corridors that seemingly all of the Capital was made of.

Commander Quasar led them through the maze that put more thought into function than fashion. Not that it was ugly, the uniform symmetry and the bedazzling amount of lights was more amazing than Twilight could have ever imagined. ‘To think that every screw and light had a specific purpose. Everything was designed to improve efficiency and functionality.’

“Here we are,” the Commander told them. They stood before 3 different doors in a part of the ship that seemed no different from the rest. The consoles next to the doors each held one of the Element’s cutie marks. Twilight walked into her fairly sized room and jumped onto the bed.

“And before I go, we’ll be undocking and lifting off. You might want to come up to the cabin. From my limited knowledge of Ancient history, I believe that is something that may interest you,” he offered.

“I’d love to. It’s one thing learning about space travel. Experiencing it is another. I’m sure my friends would love to come too,” Twilight added.

“Sure, bring whoever you want,” the Commander said as he pressed the button to close the door.

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Princess Luna walked into a dimly lit room. “Harmony, give me a playback of the recent Tharovak attack,” the Princess commanded.

“I assume it’s the one that occurred in the Yeu system,” the AI said. Luna said, only nodding her head. The room came to life as an Equis-like planet came into existence. “The Yeu system contains a terran planet with a mineral refinery in the nearby asteroid field. 5 Equestrian frigates and 7 Marian frigates. The Tharovak cruiser entered the 17:05:01." Each ship was labeled with its name and bars that displayed its hull integrity and shield capacity. Each of the Equestrian ships was an Arrow class heavy combat frigate. Their name was partially derived from their design. The Arrows looked like 2 arrowheads crossed together. Each one contained 4 plasma cannons could each fire on its own independent target. 6 of the Marian ships were the Arrow's Marian counterparts. They were boxlike ships that contained a single large plasma cannon. Only one ship was not a heavy combat frigate. The Mark 3 Marian Scout Frigate. It was similar to the Equestrian Loyalty class frigate, but was a little bit slower. It sacrificed speed for a denser hull. The ship contained no Plasma cannons and relied only on its plasma torpedoes and low powered laser cannons. The frigates were large ships when compared to any merchant vessel, but each was dwarfed by the Tharovak light cruiser. It was an oddly shaped ship. Even in comparison to other Tharovak ships. The main body was a metal sphere that had a scoop taken out of it. From the sides, two thin arms extended outwards. On the end of these arms was the Light Cruiser's main armament, 2 plasma batteries. Each one could more powerful than anything the Equestrians or Marians had. "At 17:07:42 the fleet stationed at Yeu III left their positions in low orbit and moved to confront the enemy vessel. The fleet was aided by a bomber squadron “In the corner of the display, footage from surveillance cameras on the Equestrian ships began to play. Orange flames propelled the ships toward the enemy. A camera caught a view of the bomber squadron as they flew past the lead frigate. They looked like bees as they passed the large ships. "The bomber squadron fired the first shot at 17:10:27." The small ships fired a wave of plasma torpedoes once they got in range. The torpedoes lit up the red shield of the ship, but did little to harm the vessel itself. Small lasers fired at the bomber squadron slightly decreasing their numbers. "By the time bombers had gotten out of range, the frigates had taken formation and began firing at the cruiser." The Equestrian ships opened up firing bursts of plasma charges while the Marians shot a single large plasma bolt. Ripples appeared on the shields of the cruiser, like a shower of pebbles in a pond. Missiles and plasma weapons could not shake its bubble shield. The Tharovak cruiser's weapons aligned themselves with the scout frigate. The scout’s light shields and armor gave away to the high powered plasma cannons of the cruiser. The ship exploded into pieces. Their wouldn’t have been time for anypony to get to any escape pods.

'Why would they fire at the scout frigate first? Shouldn't you direct your fire towards the ship with the most powerful weapons' Luna thought to herself. As the cruiser cut more bombers down, Luna came to a horrifying conclusion. 'They knew from the beginning who was going to win. They took out the only ship capable of evading them. The Tharovak were planning to annihilate them all along.'

The Tharovak began concentrating on the formation of heavy combat frigates. A Marian cruiser went out much like the scout frigate did. An Equestrian frigate's shield on the left flank gave out. It floated still for 10 seconds, a deathly quiet as the shields flickered weakly, trying to reestablish themselves. A red plasma bolt struck in the center propelling each wing away from its once convergent body. The shot had been aimed at the cabin crew. The bomber squadron began an attack a third time. Weaving through the fire in the no man’s land, they arrived within range of the Tharovak anti-strikecraft weapons. The bombers weren’t as fortunate as before as the full might of the close defense laser and missiles came to bear upon them Most didn't get time to release their torpedoes before red lasers sliced their craft in half, only 5 bombers remained to escape . The cruiser shot a Marian frigate whose shields had been knocked out. The shot missed the center of the ship, but hit the left portion completely destroying it. With its shield down and a gaping hole in its side, the frigate began to spin out of control, its propulsion system having been severely damaged. Lifepods could be seen exiting the ship only to be swatted down by the hull of the frigate. The frigate flew straight into an Equestrian frigate. The shields of the Equestrian frigate held, but the Marian ship exploded on its side. The weakened shield of the Equestrian frigate made it the very next target of the Tharovak cruiser. 2 more minutes and 3 more vessels had been taken out by continuous fire from the Tharovak’s plasma batteries.

“It was when only 2 Equestrian frigates and 2 Marian frigates left did Captain D’arkeen called a retreat of his ships into low orbit over the Yeu III. He commanded the Equestrian frigates to exit the system and took up a defensive formation over the planet.” As Harmony explained this, Luna saw a camera in the cabin crew record the command being relayed. The Pony captains on the screen nodded grimly before signing out of the hologram. Other cameras showed the ships turn away and retreat from their invincible foe. To give the other frigates time an Equestrian frigate moved towards the looming monster asking for the cruiser’s attention. For 30 seconds it got just that. The remaining bombers returned, hoping to aid the frigate in its suicidal mission. They flew in with light of Yeu behind them. 2 were cleaved in half before coming in range. The last 3 unloaded their payload which landed uselessly on the shields. The bombers didn’t even attempt to escape before they were blasted apart by lasers. Meanwhile, the concentrated fire of both plasma batteries had punched through the shields. In only seconds, the strongest frigate model in the Celestial Empire’s Navy was caught up in a large explosion that left none on board alive. While it had cost the Celestial hundreds of ponies, it gave the other frigate the time to charge up its hyperdrive. The frigate turned off its sublight engines as the Hyperspace window opened in front of it. A distortion in space that had high power currents running through its length. Then the FTL engines truly turned on the ship seemed to bend forward as if being sucked into a black hole. As soon as the forward hull connected with the spatial distortion it was pulled in lightning fast, it entered full Hyperspace only for it to come out a few hundred miles away.

‘Obviously the Tharovak have the same hyperdrive disabling device as the humans,’ Luna thought.

It wasn’t long before the cruiser decreased the distance enough to fire its plasma batteries. The frigate didn’t put up much of a fight and soon resembled all of the other Equestrian frigates. The Tharovak cruiser, instead of moving into combat the Marian frigates stationed over the planet, began moving through the debris. It hunted for and destroyed any lifepods. The Tharovak were going to make their victory absolute. When it finished its hateful purge, it leisurely moved towards the Marian frigates.

Luna didn’t need to see what happened next. She yelled, “Turn it off!” Harmony complied, immediately the scenes from the cameras gave way to the dim office. “Oh mother help us all. So many of my little ponies will die before the Tharovak are defeated,” Luna exclaimed. Shortly after she looked up with fire in her eyes. Her hair frizzled as it reacted to her anger. Nearly shouting, the ancient alicorn proclaimed, “Harmony, order the Dominatus to be ready. I shall be joining my sister in the front lines.”