Exodus

An asteroid drifted through space, one of many hundreds in the solar system. It was identical to its siblings in many ways, from colour and size to composition and density. It was, for all intents and purposes, an unremarkable piece of space debris displaying absolutely nothing of interest for anyone who might have stumbled across it.This was an intentional facade. A cavernous chamber roughly hewn from the rock formed the core of the asteroid.

At the exact center of this chamber stood a statue, imprisoned in a rock tomb by its jailors for hundreds of years. Its shape was indiscernible, its form constantly shifting and changing. It was solid, yet amorphous and ethereal at the same time. Across its form, images and shapes pulled from across all of reality were warped and simultaneously played out, as if displaying the dreams of an insane god. To gaze upon such an impossible structure would have been to invite madness.

Then, abruptly, the changes halted. The dreaming had stopped. The statue sensed freedom approaching.

And it laughed.

"General quarters! General quarters! All crew to battlestations!" Admiral Argo's stentorian voice boomed across The Ark, cutting through the din of blaring alarms and confused civilians milling about in the corridors. "All civilians report to designated safe rooms! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"

The corridors were suddenly filled with armored Imperial marines and ship's crew, who began shouting and shoving civilians towards the safe rooms scattered across the ship. Standard technology aboard Imperial ships, the safe rooms were self contained units capable of recycling oxygen and protecting its occupants during battle. In the event of the ship's imminent destruction, each safe room was linked to at least one escape pod bay by maintenance corridors running throughout the entire ship. They were, in theory, the safest places to be aboard a ship engaged in combat.

Captain Fortis Hastae wished that he could stay in one for the duration. But he had appearances to maintain, and couldn't jeopardize his false reputation by cowering in an armored box filled with civilians. He tightened the straps on his infantry armor and donned his beret with quivering hooves. He picked up the loaded flechette blaster on his desk and jammed it into a waiting socket on his shoulder pad, making sure that the aiming bit was within easy reach of his mouth.  Pressing a hoof to his ear, he activated his comm bead and was immediately treated to a chaotic chorus of frenzied shouting.

"Silence on the comm!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, with the most authoritarian voice he could muster under the circumstances. As a master of illusion with years of practice, it was an easy feat to disguise the faint quiver in his voice.

"Status report. How are the civilians?"

"Section one reports all sub sections cleared." One of Fortis' company commanders reported. Each company commander was in charge of a section of the ship, which in turn was divided into sub sections under individual squad leaders. Each squad would have immediately evacuated only the ponies in their sections when the alarms sounded.

"Section two is seventy five percent cleared."

"Section three is fifty percent cleared."

The remaining three sections had all been cleared, and Fortis nodded in approval despite no one being around to see his gesture. "All units report to action stations once civilians are clear. Prepare to repel boarders should the need arise."

"Will you be joining us, sir?" That was Alpha company's commander, Arcus Duro. Fortis silently cursed him. Of all the ponies he had met, Arcus had been the most suspicious of Fortis' military record and career. Even though Fortis had spent his entire career keeping his head down and making sure that his record was spotless and, for all intents and purposes, looked like that of an fearless war hero, Arcus had never trusted him, and had taken every opportunity possible to make sure Fortis proved his reputation. Now that he was in the spotlight, he couldn't possibly refuse and cower in his office as he had originally planned. Not with all of his subordinates listening.

"But of course." Fortis replied, injecting a small dose of menace into his voice. "Whatever are you implying, lieutenant?"

"I meant no disrespect, sir. I merely wished to clarify our operationa-" Fortis cut him off. Arcus may have been sharper than most, but Fortis had a lifetime of experience acting and dissembling.

"Then I am sure that you won't mind if I take over personal command of Alpha company for the duration." At least this way, Fortis still looked like a war hero, and was in a convenient position to keep Arcus in between himself and the enemy.

"Yes sir. We await your command." Arcus' voice was deferential and controlled. Try as he might, Fortis could not detect a hint of sarcasm or insubordination in the unicorn's tone.

"Gentlecolts, you have your orders. I want status reports every ten minutes. Fortis out."

The first impression Celestia and Luna received upon teleporting to the bridge was one of controlled chaos. Ensigns and bridge officers were rapidly hammering keyboards, shouting orders and galloping across the bridge. In the center of the bridge, admiral Argo was holding a conference with his warship captains. He turned at the distinctive pop of teleportation, and beheld his two monarchs with stern eyes.

"Your Majesties, we are in a deadly situation." He beckoned them over and gestured at the holographic projector next to him. Smaller projectors were arrayed around this main unit, upon which stood the images of the twelve warship captains. As one, they bowed their heads in respect as Celestia and Luna approached.

"Ten minutes ago, a Federal fleet entered the system on a war footing. It has just begun its approach, and we should be engaged in battle within the hour." Argo's face turned grave as he continued. "They are drastically superior in composition. They have three battleships and a carrier of equivalent capabilities as our own carrier, Hive Queen. Six heavy cruisers and ten combat frigates make up their escort. This is a war fleet. They knew we were here."

"How did they find us?" Luna's voice was dangerously low. "Was the existence of this fleet not kept secret?"

"Your Majesty, our hypothesis is that one of their rear echelon support ships at Equestria Prime spotted us leaving the system, purely by chance. They must have followed us, confirmed our location and then acted while our warp drives were recharging."

"Discussing such things is pointless." Celestia interrupted, eyeing Luna with faint disapproval. "This lies in the past, and only the present matters. Dear admiral, what are our options?"

"We were discussing them, your Majesty." He swept a hoof to indicate the assembled captains, and turned back to his projector. "Do we know anything about this particular fleet?"

As if on cue, a nearby ensign turned in his seat and shouted. "Sir, the enemy flagship is hailing us!"

"Put them through. I'd like to hear what our foe has to say." Celestia ordered, a frown creasing her otherwise flawless features. The ensign nodded, the princess clearly taking precedence over the admiral's authority, and patched the enemy transmission through. An image of a human of Asian descent appeared on the screen, his features uncovered by any adornments. His hair was shaved short, not quite to the scalp. A small black mustache accentuated his high cheek bones, and a mocking smile seemed to be lurking on the periphery of his mouth, as if ready to appear at any time.

"I am Fleet Commander Yeung Gao of the Federation Ninth Fleet, and I am here to put an end to your pathetic civilization once and for all." His high Equestrian was flawless, and carried only the faintest trace of an accent. Upon hearing his words, Captain Star Breaker snorted with derision and leaned forward.

"I know who you are, 'hero' of Mars. You lack honor. You lack any resemblance to a true warrior in the cowardly way in which you wage war. It will be my pleasure to crush you like the insect you are."

"Excellent." Yeung laughed mockingly as he replied "Most excellent. I will take particular pleasure in destroying you, crowbait."

"Words are a coward's currency, ape." Star Breaker sneered.

"I have am here to inform you of the terms of our engagement." Yeung ignored Star Breaker and focused on admiral Argo. "No quarter will be given. No surrender will be accepted. I will exterminate you like insects, and your cries for mercy will go unheeded. In other words, you will be treated the same way you have treated the rest of the galaxy for centuries." With a sneer and a flourish, Yeung killed the transmission.

"He is arrogant and proud. Fascinated with concepts of glory." Star Breaker said, blissfully unaware of the irony. "He is an easy foe to provoke, or manipulate. That is where our advantage lies."

"How do you know so much about him?" Admiral Argo quirked a questioning eyebrow.

"I was at Mars. And several other battles involving him. He thinks much like I do." The assembled equines, princesses included, raised their eyebrows at this uncharacteristic self depreciation. "What? Am I not allowed to have a sense of self awareness?" Star Breaker asked, his tone unusually light.

"Your input will be invaluable, captain. Thank you." Celestia bowed her head, and received the same.

"I suspect that the capabilities of The Ark are unknown to our foes." Argo said, reviewing a list of The Ark's weaponry and military personnel. "Only two of those frigates are specialized for anti strike craft roles. They do not realize that we possess more than twice the number of strike craft they have prepared for."

"The Thousand Bites?" Captain Ground Shaker, the commander of Hive Queen, quoted one of the classical Equestrian battle strategies taught at every Imperial military academy. "Cut off the head and the snake will die. Half our strike craft can attract the attention of those flak frigates, and the other half can launch a concerted attack focused on the enemy flagship and bring it down."

"Yeung Gao is a glory hound, and he likely considers it a great honor to be charged with the destruction of the last of our people." Star Breaker smirked, savage satisfaction plain on his face. "He will be at the forefront of the attack, in a position to gain as much glory as he can."

"And he has a personal vendetta now, doesn't he, Captain?" Celestia smiled, impressed.

"Here is what we will do." Argo said, clearly in his element. He took out an electronic pen and brought up a battle map of the Exodus fleet's location. "We will draw the fleet back before their advance. Our fastest frigates will work with The Ark and Hive Queen's strike craft to initiate hit and run attacks on the enemy fleet, using the cover of these asteroid fields." Argo marked said fields with his pen, circling and highlighting them on the holograhic map.

"Our attacks must come from all directions simultaneously. This will confuse and scatter the enemy ships, and likely deal a blow to Yeung's ego. When he makes himself vulnerable, the entire fleet will strike and concentrate fire on his flagship." Argo paused, and replaced the map with a schematic of The Ark itself. "The Ark mounts enough weaponry to function as a battleship in its own right. We will hold it in reserve until it uncovers a weak point in the enemy line, and attacks with the element of surprise."

"Risking our civilians? Admiral, may I remind you that the ponies on board this ship are the last hope of our people. If they are lost..." Luna trailed off for dramatic effect, a look of disapproval plain on her face.

"Which is why we will refrain from using The Ark in direct combat until it can attack the weakest point of the enemy formation, where the risk is minimal and the gain is greatest. Do you object to this strategy, your Majesty?" Argo's voice contained a great deal of forced patience. His expression clearly stated his offense to Luna's doubt.

"No, admiral. I trust you implicitly." The words came as Celestia glanced at Luna, as if an unheard conversation had passed between them.

"Very well." Argo brought up the map and began drawing out his battle plan, using numbered arrows to indicate the fleet's movements. He quickly finished, his mind working at the incredible pace which had earned him so many victories over the years, and sent the map to every ship captain in the fleet. "Gentlecolts, you have your orders. For the Emperor."

"For the Emperor." Came the simultaneous reply, and the ship captains winked from view as their projectors powered down.

Fleet Commander Yeung turned as the door to his bridge opened, and two marines escorted in a frantic looking Jovian. The dimunitive, red furred aliens were highly skilled mechanical engineers and sappers, possessing incredible problem solving skills and excellent memories. They were also extremely superstitious, and tended to spend as much time worshipping at their religious shrines as they did actually fixing mechanical problems.

"Commander! Commander, I must speak to you!" The Jovian leaned forward and tried to catch his breath. Though he barely passed Yeung's waist height, his gold emblazoned uniform marked him as the ship's head engineer. Such a rank would have  made him responsible for interpreting religious matters among his own people.

"Jan'ik, you may not have noticed, but we are about to fight one of the most important battles of the war." Yeung's tone was friendly, and only slightly reproving. It was always a good idea to keep the Jovians pacified, as their skill was unmatched and thus irreplaceable.

"This is bigger than the battle! This concerns the entire galaxy!" The Jovian ignored the chuckles and stares he received from the mostly human bridge crew. "This system is not safe! Do you know why it is uninhabited?"

"Becau-" Yeung did not get his chance to speak, so frantic was the Jovian in front of him.

"Because this system contains death! Reh'namok! The ancient spirit of chaos and destruction! When my people first ventured into the stars a thousand years ago, we came across this spirit, who tempted us with power, riches and dominion over the galaxy. In reality, he manipulated, toyed with us and ended up killing tens of thousands with his insane schemes. Our greatest shamans barely managed to bind him into stone, and imprisoned him in a remote star system where he would not be found."

Yeung waited patiently for the punchline, resisting the urge to roll his eyes and mock the Jovian for his idiocy. "That star system is the one we occupy right now!" There it is. Yeung thought.

"So, my dear Jan'ik, what do you propose we do?" Yeung said, squatting down and humoring the Jovian by putting on the most serious expression he could muster. The Jovian was not amused, and his brow creased in an angry frown.

"You don't believe me. Know that our survival, and the fate of the entire galaxy depends on our leaving this system immediately, before Reh'namok escapes! His influence is a corrupting one. Now that we are here, he will find an easily corruptible victim and use him to escape!"

Humans and barathi alike could not contain themselves. The entire bridge broke out in raucous, mocking laughter. A glare from Yeung silenced them all.

"Jan'ik, this is the most important battle of the entire war. If we do not fight it, the Equine will escape, and they will return to take their revenge. I know that you do not want that." Yeung stood, and nodded at the two marines beside him, who proceeded to gently grip Jan'ik's shoulders. The Jovian did not struggle, merely resigning himself to disappointment.

"I knew that you would not believe me." Jan'ik said, his tone mournful, yet not surprised. "Mark my words, Fleet Commander Yeung. Death will find us here, and not at the hooves of the Equine." The marines brought Jan'ik outside, and the bridge doors silently slid shut.

As Yeung turned to regard the soon to be battlefield through his bridge viewing window, his gaze settled on a large asteroid field in the distance. Despite the absurdity of Jan'ik's words, he felt an involuntary shudder ripple through his body as he observed the asteroids.

Within the asteroid field, a statue laughed, the first seeds of fear and doubt already feeding and strengthening it.

The Federation Jaguar Class Assault Cruiser drifted through space, its engines stuttering and failing to propel the ship forward as fires broke out throughout its ruined, cratered structure. It was the first ship to fall in the battle. Admiral Argo's plan was so far working like a charm. The two hundred strike craft of Hive Queen had outnumbered those of Arbiter, the Federal fleet's own carrier. The two strike craft formations had met in direct combat, and in the ensuing dog fight, the Federal fighters had been decimated and forced to limp back to their fleet. Imperial casualties had not been as heavy, and the Equine fighters had gone on to begin harassing the Federal warships, overwhelming the two flak frigates present with the sheer weight of numbers.

Lasers, missiles, and blinding white autocannon slugs filled the void of space between ships as Imperial fighters fired at and were fired upon by their Federal counterparts. Hundreds of shards of shrapnel and dozens of fighter wrecks drifted aimlessly, presenting a large risk to the strike craft and ships still fighting.

Primaris squadron, along with several of its sister squadrons, had targeted the Jaguar lurking on the edge of the Federal fleet, and sustained, concentrated missile fire had crippled it and rendered it a useless hulk.

"Primaris, form up! We're going in for another run!" Spectral Blaze whooped, exhilarated at this first taste of combat after an entire month. The eight other predators of Primaris formed up in a V formation alongside Spectral Blaze as they approached one of the flak frigates, which had moved to the edge of the Federal fleet to counter the fighter threat. Its eight autocannon emplacements swiveled in their sockets, and targeted the oncoming Imperial strike craft with a storm of blazing fire. Gladius squadron, on Spectral Blaze's rightward side, lost three predators as the slugs tore through their armor and cockpits, causing two to veer off uncontrollably, while one simply exploded, showering and denting its siblings with shrapnel.

"Got a lock!" Pinkie yelled with glee. A second later, two inferno rockets screamed out of their mounts and detonated directly on one of the autocannon emplacements, blasting it into a twisted wreck. Unfortunately, this only made the ship's gun crews even more determined. Gladius squadron was annihilated as every turret on the ship swiveled and focused fire on them, tearing them to shreds with an unavoidable storm of steel. The turrets swiveled to target Primaris squadron.

"Disperse!" Blaze yelled, recognizing the threat presented by the specialized ship's weaponry. "Fall back to the asteroid field and regroup!" Primaris squadron's fighters peeled off and wheeled around, swerving and weaving to evade the flak fire which attempted to chase them down.

"Aw. The party was just getting started." Pinkie pouted, obviously displeased at not getting to fire more missiles.

As the predators fled, a stream of autocannon slugs smashed into an unusually large asteroid and breached the chamber within. The hole was not large enough to warrant examination in the middle of a battle, and thus the oddity of the asteroid's structure went unheeded.

Scintia Caelum huddled in one of the safe room seats, clutching her restraints with a hoof clenched in a death grip. The battle had been raging for a short time only, yet she could not help fearing that a missile would hit the ship and destroy it, and her with it. Around her, dozens of other equines were strapped into their seats. Some were silently praying, others were humming in an attempt to drown out the sounds of battle, and others had simply fallen asleep, hoping to wake up if the battle was concluded in the Imperium's favor. The atmosphere was tense and charged with fear. Any disturbance, any bump whatsoever, was enough to at least startle the room's inhabitants. At worst it would send a few highly strung equines into a full on hysterical fit, which had already occurred twice.

Which is why Scintia violently jerked with surprise when a smooth voice entered her mind.

My, my, my. Such potential. Such great power contained in such a little pony.

"What the buck? Did anypony hear that?" Scintia spoke up in an anxious rush. Was she going insane? The other occupants of the safe room either ignored her or shook their heads, misinterpreting her question as the usual tension and fear.

Oh, don't waste your breath, my little pony. The others can't hear me. We can have a lovely little chat, just the two of us.

Silence reigned as Scintia fearfully froze, about to have a panic attack.

I won't hurt you, my little pony. Please, stop being so fearful. Its really quite dull, being the only speaker in this wonderful mind of your's. Just think your reply.

Am I insane?

We're all insane, my little pony! A high pitched, amused laugh rang out through Scintia's mind. She had to admit that it contained a friendly, humorous quality which made it not entirely unpleasant. But no, I am very real, not a figment of your imagination. And I want to help you and your people win this battle because your enemy happens to be my enemy as well.

Scintia was speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond. What are you?

I am one of the unexplained mysteries of the universe. A...cosmic entity, if you will. A higher form of life, which has yet to be discovered...until now. Scintia's inner scholar took over at the promise of new discoveries.

You are magical in nature? A spirit? A spirit! I've never seen a spirit before! I didn't even know they existed! And a being born in space too?

Let me show you who I am. Images flooded Scintia's mind. She saw a stallion, possessing handsome and extremely dashing looks, rearing up on a hill. He winked at her and began galloping down towards her, sunlight blazing behind him and accentuating his luxurious golden mane. Suddenly, the stallion reared up. Short, horrible, red furred creatures with fangs and horns leaped out of holes in the ground and lunged forward, swarming and overwhelming the stallion with sheer weight of numbers. They dragged him down with a struggle, and when they moved back, the stallion had been transformed into a stone statue. The scene changed, and Scintia saw a horrific cavern, iron spikes and chains adorning every inch of its walls. Fire burned everywhere but the center, where the stallion's statue stood, tears rolling down its face.

Perhaps an romanticized version, but that is, in essence, my predicament.

For which the Jovians are responsible. That explains your need for revenge. Scintia thought, shocked and not a little bit sympathetic for the voice's supposed fate. How exactly can you help us?

Release me, and find out. An image of a particularly large asteroid drifting through space flashed into Scintia's mind. The depths of my gratitude will be limitless! Not only will I help you, I will let you study me. Think, you could be the first scholar in the universe to discover a previously unknown form of life! Your name will go down the ages! Your fame widespread throughout the entire galaxy...

An image of a gleaming marble building entered Scintia's mind. High Equestrian runes carved into the entrance arch read 'Scintia Caelum University of Magic'. A golden statue of Scintia herself stood in a grassy, tree filled courtyard, and students laden with books and saddlebags milled about, studying, reading and talking about Scintia's scientific accomplishments.

It was paradise, and Scintia was utterly overwhelmed by what she saw, such that she was speechless.

What do you think of my offer? Pretty sweet, isn't it?

Scintia struggled for a moment, unsure of the wisdom of letting a supposedly powerful spirit roam free to do as it wished. Then she recalled the image of the academy which bore her name. She imagined a library filled with shelves named after her, and all resistance and doubt broke down.

I'll do it.

My hero. The voice swooned with pleasure. Had Scintia been listening attentively, she might have caught on to the cackle which echoed afterwards.