Captain Solar Shield, a buff earthpony stallion that had a blue coat, a solar eclipse for a cutie mark and a cerulean mane, just hovered there, suspended by the lack of gravity...
"See anything captain?" Moon Beam, a very level-headed unicorn with a light blue coat and a blue-green mane with a lunar eclipse fr a cutie mark, called out to Solar shield.
Instead of answering, however, Solar Shield just hovered there... looking into the blackness of space and admiring the beauty of the stars. Solar Shield had been part of the space program for about 20 years now and yet he still found the view breathtaking.
"You know I bet she's also looking up at those same stars right now..." Moon Beam said as she pushed herself forward until she was beside Solar Shield and joined him in admiring the view.
"*sigh* I like to think that, but iv'e been gone for 18 years I wonder how she is" Solar Shield said, Solar Shield was the captain of a space station but he still missed his life on earth. Although he had never told anyone about the reason why he missed earth so much, Moon Beam knew that he missed his wife Twin Flare, a light blue pegasus with a bright pink mane who had an injection for a cutie mark.
"I know you miss her, but look on the bright side... you only have to be here for another 2 years then you can go back to her and retire happily" Moon Beam said as she tried to cheer up her discouraged colleague.
"I know, but c'mon Moon beam what do they hope to find up here anyway? I mean they do have theories about some distant civilization, but who actually believes that?!" Even though it was Shields dream to find another civilization he never actually through that it would come true. He went to the space station to fulfill that dream but if it wasn't for Twin Flare's support, he would've never stayed for 20 full years.
Moon Beam was about to give a reply until she was cut off by a pony calling out for her and the captain from the radio control room...
"Capt'n Shield, Moon Beam come quick, you ain't gonna want'a miss this" The pony called with a thick Manehatten accent and a rough sounding voice.
As soon as they heard their names being called they immediately rushed towards the radio room and left the first mate back at the bridge to keep things running smoothly.
"What is it Ace?" that captain said upon arriving, Ace Starfire, a talented radio pony and a well known crew member aboard the space station, he had a warm caramel coat and a chocolate brown mane with a headset for a cutie mark.
"This captain, listen..." Ace said as he handed Solar Shield and Moon Beam a pair off headsets...
"Transmi---cutti---can't esta---stab---connect---contac---at---3684--5-6--2-00---sector--5---02---d--yo---r--ad---m--- nee--el- *static*" The whole room went quiet and the message recorder stopped. Ace Starfire didn't recognize the transmission origins and couldn't trace where they came from and he also couldn't use a set of incomplete coordinates... but he tried nonetheless...
"Unidentified Spacecraft this is Space station Equestria Alpha at coordinates 2-5-2-2-6-00-4 do you copy?" Ace said into the mike, realising that whoever sent the message must be in bad shape judging form the sound of his voice and the state that the message was in.
*static**static* Ace, Moon Beam and the Captain waited for a solid two minutes before Ace decided to try a different approach.
"I'm gonna launch radio buoys 3 through 7 to try and establish a secure connection, confirm order capt'n?" Ace looked at Solar Shield and awaited a go signal.
"Umm... uh... uh.. oh-ah! sorry, yes launch buoys and get a shuttle ready, I want to know where these signals are form and who's sending them" Shield had to get over the shock of realising that his dream could actually be reality and that he could make it happen, he wasn't going to miss this opportunity... not for the world.
Solar shield began to run towards the shuttle hanger and was stopped only by the voice behind him...
"I have a reading on th' craft sir!!" Ace called out to the fleeting form of captain Solar Shield who was heading to the shuttle hanger.
"Send the readings to shuttle twelve I'll look into them there, for now you should just stay there and monitor it... make sure you keep it within the DSR (Deep Space Radar)" Shield said before continuing his journey towards the shuttle hanger.
Along the way to the hanger he ran into Moon Beam, who had already started preparing for space travel. She didn't like to tell anyone, but she knew for a fact that while others stand in awe she's always the one to snap out of it first.
"Moon Beam, I need you to wake the Elements, especially Princess Twilight, we need them to represent Equestria once more." Solar Shield said before running up to the hanger doors and scanning his hoof.
Moon Beam, on the other hand was still trotting calmly towards the deep sleep chamber with six additional space suits for the elements. Moon Beam may be the captains assistant, but she still does most of the work.
Time to wake up your highness... Moon Beam thought as she turned of the sleep module that contained Princess Twilight and all of her friends. Slowly, the module started to decompress and, after letting enough compressed air out, the door to each individual sleep pod popped open.
Moon Beam walked over to the sleeping figures of the Elements of Harmony which reminded her of when she first went to space, she was so enthusiastic about it...
Moon Beam waved good bye to her family one last time before stepping on to the shuttles launch pad and entering the spacecraft...
"Are you ready?" Solar Shield asked her, she just gave him a weak smile and fastened her seatbelt. Moon Beam was incredibly nervous and exited for her first trip to space. Moon Beam and Solar Shield had been assign to be the new captains of the space station: Equestria Alpha, the first space station that Equestria had ever launched into space...
Before moon Beam could continue to reminisce she was snapped back to reality by the sudden sound of coughing and wheezing. Moon Beam immediately recognized the voice...
"*cough**cough* Ahem... umm... where are we?" Twilight asked in total confusion, she remembered that she was part of a space program so her metallic surrounding didn't scare her. What did scare her however, was the fact that the calendar on the wall read 2089...
"Princess, umm... you were put into hyper sleep for the time being, Princess Celestia's orders. But we need you right now, we found an Unidentified Spacecraft and by protocol it's you who should do the talking... you are to go to the shuttle hanger and meet with the captain there" Moon Beam kept her level head throughout that entire rant and Twilight was not one to be told twice.
"Ok, but umm... how long will my friends be out?" Twilight said as she pointed to the sleeping forms of her friends.
"They aren't alicorns, your majesty, so it will take a few more minutes to wake them up. The pegasi are usually the ones to wake first, then the unicorns and then the earth ponies" Moon bean liked to things by the book, and so naturally she had already memorized most of the details.
"Oh... well ok then, just be sure to call me when they do wake up ok?" Twilight said in a groggy tone before turning to leave the room. "Wait did you say we found a ship?!" Twilight looked back with a shocked expression on her face, but before Moon Beam could reply Twilight had already begun her run towards the hanger.
Moon Beam smiled reluctantly at Twilight before realising that she still had Twilights suit with her "Wait Princess your suit!" Moon Beam called out while levitating Twilights suit up to her. Twilight quickly trotted back to the sleep chamber and grabbed the suit she then took a short detour to the changing room. Unlike Everyone else on the ship, the Elements of Harmony didn't have space suit under there clothing and still had to put them on... despite them being completely naked anyway.
Twilight, after struggling to put on a space suite with no one else's help and coping to the tight fit, was now making a mad dash towards the shuttle hanger...
I hope am not late... Twilight said as she darted towards the hanger door and pushed her hoof against the identification pad. The hanger door slowly swung open, allowing for Twilight to continue her journey towards the shuttle bay. Twilight made a final sprint and made it to the shuttle bay and was quickly escorted to shuttle 12, where Solar Shield was already waiting.
"Princess praise Celestia you're here I just got word form Ace that the alien ship has tried to establish contact once more!! We must hurry if we want to get to it! ... uh umm... your majesty" Captain Solar Shield said before climbing aboard the shuttle.
"Wait who's Ace and has the ship tried to contact us before?" Twilight said with a quizzical look. Solar Shield motioned for Twilight to come aboard and told her that he would explain everything on the way to the alien spacecraft.
After Twilight and Captain Shield had boarded the shuttle the hangar manager had already begun to open the take-off doors and started the launch sequence. Shortly after the launch sequence started Twilight and Captain Shield were hurtling through space at supersonic speed. When Captain Shield was done calibrating everything and establishing connections with the base he began filling Twilight in on their current situation, this included a brief recap of what she missed during hypersleep.
"So we just go to the ship and try to contact them?" Twilight said for the third time still not wanting to believe that so little planning went into this first encounter.
"Yes, your highness, this is what we do for every spaceship in need of repairs... and by the sound of it this ship needs alot of repairs" Solar Shield said while remembering the shattered bits and pieces of the message that they had heard.
"But what if they're armed and dangerous?! what if they want to kill us or-or-or maybe even take over our homeworld?!" Twilight said starting to panic.
"Relax Princess if they are armed... well we are too... I just don't want to have to use our arms..." Shield said trying not to imagine a worst case senario.
After those words the entire shuttle fell silent for a few minutes until Ace's voice cracked through the radio.
"*static* Hello can you hear me? *static*" Ace spoke through his radio. "*static*Loud and clear control what does it look like form up there?*static*" Shield replied happy to have established contact.
"Well, you should be able to see the actual object in a few minutes..." Ace said while he scanned through charts and graphs trying to work out where the object came form and whether or not it was one of theirs.
A few minutes passed and not a sound was heard... until Twilight caught a glimpse of what they were looking for.
"WOAH! that thing is huge!!" Twilight blurted out suddenly while she glued her face to the window of the shuttle to try and get a better view.
"What is it?" Solar Shield said while he slowed the shuttles engines down to a near stop right next to the behemoth of a spacecraft.
The captain slowly brought the shuttle right next to what he assumed was a boarding bay, but he didn't try to attach himself, instead he simply picked up the radio and began broadcasting a massage to the ship. Due to the fact that they had no idea what kind of frequency the radio rode on, Solar Shield just began broadcasting several messages on several signals so that there would be a very slim chance that the spacecraft wouldn't be able to receive the message.
"It's only a matter of time until one of our messages gets through and we can establish contact..." Shield unbuckled himself and floated over to the shuttle's control panel and turned on every receiver that they had, when suddenly one of them started blinking...
Beep beep beep...
...Beep beep beep
"We have confirmation that the launch was successful!!" Thomas Mallory, a muscular and fit man with an above average height, yelled triumphantly at the rest of his team at N.A.S.A. his team was delighted... all except for one...
"What's wrong John? I thought you always wanted to build a working spaceship? and now you have, so what's up?" Thomas walked over to John Dickenson, an excellent computer engineer who had below average height and a slight slouch and was renowned for making extraordinary spaceship designs and blueprints.
"...They said that the Arch would be our last hope... do you really think that they were telling the truth?... I mean look at what we are doing to our planet..." John said in dismay as he looked at the files in his hands...
The Arch (1)
Model: DST( Deep Space Traveller)
Type: Self-sustaining
Purpose: Exploration
Created: July 10, 2076
Launched December 2, 2078
Included Functions: Weapons Systems, Multiple communications arrays, Hyperjump Generator, and reinforced plating.
Description: The Arch 1 was meant to carry the last survivors of the human race in case of some species threatening disaster.
"I wanted to create a ship that would allow me to make contact with other alien races... not this..." John said while letting a tear run down his cheek.
"Being remembered as one of the people who saved humanity is, in my opinion, more important than aliens..." Thomas said to his friend trying to lighten the mood.
"It's not that it's just that... has humanity really gone so far... that we have to think about what would happen if we destroyed are own planet?" John said with sadness sewn all over his words.
"*sigh* I don't know anymore... I don't even know what to be scared of... the fact that we planned for the worst... or the fact that the worst could happen at any time..." With those words John got up and left the room... leaving Thomas to think about what he had just heard.
Meanwhile aboard the Arch 1
"I'll find them for you dad..."
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long to update I had the Quarterly Examination tests to get outta the way, I am terribly sorry for the lack of warning
Any comments on this chapter, again I am terribly sorry for the unedited raw content T^T
Also I have a question, should I have lengthened the portion where the ponies were in contact with the humans? right before boarding? It seemed rushed to me...
A Sad Story
Beep beep beep
"We are sending out all the signals your majesty, it's only a matter of time before they pick up at least one" Captain Shield said to Twilight in reassuring manner.
"I know it's just that I can't shake the thought of something going wrong I am merely planning for the worst case scenario... what if there transmissions are down... what if they can't understand us... what if they are planning their next move to attack us... what if-" Twilight's train of thought was cut off by the feeling of a hoof on her shoulder
"Your highness... I have thought of these possibilities and I have also thought of more positive ones... but a wise pony once told me 'Life is what happens when your busy making other plans' " The captain said with conviction, he may not have seen Equus in a long time but that does not mean he forgot what he learned there.
"I know that line... Neigh Lennon?" Twilight asked as she struggled to remember anything from before she was sent to space. Twilight had been part of the space program even longer than any other pony on the ship... she was even part of another voyage before this one. Twilights previous voyage, aboard the Prometheus rocket, was very short-lived and din't really require much from her so she wanted more, which is why she was assigned here. However, in all of her 80 years in the space program, she never expected to actually be able to make contact with an alien race.
Beepbeep Beepbeep the receiver on the small shuttle bleeped in quick succession. Twilight was quick to react and picked up the short-ranged communicator...
"This is the Arch one... do you read?" a stern sounding voice bellowed through the radio...
"Hello? We received a message form this frequency... do you c-copy?" the voice sounded a little more panicked and started to stammer towards the end
"We hear you Arch 1 I take it that you need some help... We are just outside one of your bay doors... I think." Twilight held the communicator in her magic, making sure not to let go. She wasn't one for first impressions but she knew when somep- err anything needed help.
"Ok you have permission to land... assuming that you can fit..." the voice was followed by the sound of metallic clinking and before Twilight or the captain knew it all the bay doors of the Arch 1 had opened.
Captain Shield brought the ship into one of the bay doors and slowly turned of the ships engine, he was very paranoid about putting his life in the hands of another race entirely however he was determined to meet this new race... and if things did get ugly he did have one of the most powerful alicorns on Equus.
Slowly the two ponies dawned their helmets and attached them to their suits, they then opened the cock pit and took that one small step onto the ships tarmac.
At the same time the highest ranking official aboard the Arch, General Malcolm Granger, was descending a long flight of stairs that lead towards the occupied landing bay. He had with him, a small firearm, two bodyguards, and his wits but that was all he had... it was all the Arch had left to spare.
The doors of the hanger slowly and the two ponies looked intently at what would come out...
"Hello friends, I do so hope that you come in peace, as I have." the general said as he walked closer to the two ponies.
"We can understand you, perfectly well... are you wearing some sort of translator?" Captain Solar Shield said with a cocked eyebrow, that the General couldn't see due to his tinted helmet.
The General was surprised by the forwardness of the visitor and began thinking of an explanation for his ability to understand them completely and for them to understand him. After about 15 seconds of awkward silence Twilight spoke up trying to salvage the situation.
"Umm... *ahem* where are my manners, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and the co-ruler of Equestria. I and my companion have come here to represent the planet, and the ponies, of Equus." Twilight said in a regal and commanding tone in her voice.
"uh...oh... sorry I am General Malcolm Alexander Granger, the leader of the last human survivors of planet Earth." Granger said as he tried to formulate the best statement to represent his planet. Not thinking clearly, but trying to be polite, Granger let out his hand in a gesture of friendship.
Twilight took the hand in her hoof as best she could and began shaking it up and down hoping that the gesture meant the same way for the new aliens and that she hadn't made a bad first impression.She was not very versed on the behaviour of these strange aliens and how they would react to some of their common customs.
General Granger had mixed thoughts about how Twilight had taken his hand, he was pleased that she took it and shook it with what he saw as friendship, but he was also puzzled as to how a completely different race of being could be so knowing of earthen customs and culture. He decided not to dwell on the thought for now, as he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"Umm... I don't mean to be rude but how can you understand us so fluently, and how are you breathing in the hanger of a space station with no suit" Twilight said as she questioned how the general was breathing so normally in an atmosphere that was so different form their own.
"I don't understand, this is a regular atmosphere. The ship automatically regulates itself according to what the latest development is within the human body" Granger said as he slightly cocked his head towards his visitor.
"Sir, I think we should move to the safety of the inner Arch, this hanger is already severely damaged as it is." one of the generals' body guards said as he gestured his gun towards the door of the hanger then towards the bay doors, which were very tattered and dented.
"Oh, umm... not to be rude but we really have to go inside the Arch if we are to continue this conversation." Granger said as he took his hat off as a sign of respect.
"Well if you think that it's best we can-" Twilight was cut off by Captain shield who was scanning every single surface of the hanger.
"Wait Twilight, I think that it would be a good idea to radio base before we go into someone else's ship" the captain said as he began to radio base.
"Well I appreciate the trust you put in us, I have to question, have you encountered any other alien race? It just doesn't seem likely that your...uhh... bodyguard? would be so cautions if a situation like this was not in training..." Malcolm said as he remembered his rigorous training at the military academy.
"Well first off, he's not my bodyguard... he is a captain... second he hasn't seen situations like this before and neither him or my ponies know of the dangers, or tidings, a new race could bring" Twilight said as looked over to the general, who was remembering the trials and tribulations; the hardships and sufferings that humanity as faced. Granger only wanted to secure the future of his people.
"So how long will he take? I wanted to tell you this somewhere else but it seems of the utmost importance that you know this..." The General said as he took his hat of and feared what his visitors would do if they found out what their real reason was for leaving their home world.
"Our ship is on the verge of collapse and if we don't land somewhere soon we could all die... the human race would go extinct" Malcolm said as he caught a glimpse of what he thought of as a shocked expression behind the golden sheen of Twilight's helmet.
"What happened to your-" Twilight was cut off by the sudden voice of Solar Shield, who was quickly approaching the pair.
"Princess, we have orders to report back to the space station and radio for back-up, they told me that Princess Celestia herself would be shuttled directly to the station using our new technology; the warp drive" Solar Shield said with excitement oozing form his face.
"I have also received word that we are to request that an emissary form this new race to coma aboard the station and represent the race as a whole to the princess and other delegates already aboard the ship" solar Shield said before literally jumping into the shuttle and preparing it for take off.
"I will represent the human race..." The General said with pride as he put his hat back on and turned on the communicator on his wrist.
"You there get me my Spacesuit and my uniform" Malcolm said with pride to one of his guards as he motioned for the rest to take up post at the entrance. No sooner had they gotten to said posts an full entourage of six armoured personnel came in; the two in the front carrying suitcases, one with the Generals uniform and the other with a standardised spacesuit.
Granger quickly stepped into the changing rooms(which were located behind the hanger) and suited up in his uniform and put on his spacesuit, he then stepped towards the small shuttle and debated on where he could sit comfortably for the next hour or so.
"Hmm... where will I be sitting" The General pondered to himself wondering how he would fit into such a compressed space.
"I'll just take my own shuttle" He said to Twilight, who was standing next to him, with a sigh upon realising that him with two guards plus two more ponies would never fit in such a small craft.
The general's actions may have seemed quite trusting to the world leaders of the earth he once knew but they are long dead and gone. Humanity was already hanging on to life by a thread before their arrival to this strange new planet, with a population of a mere 500 and a ship that looked like it would explode if touched from the outside. Granger never really trusted these ponies but he had little choice since they could very well be his and humanity's last hope. The shuttle he sat in bore the world flag of Humanity which was the earth bordered by an olive branch on either side and a dove depicted flying across it's surface. General Granger stared out his port hole window at the smaller shuttle that lay on the runway beside his and took notice of a small logo, it depicted two ponies, one with a pristine white coat and the other with a midnight blue one, holding spears across a golden shield with the symbol of what looked like a set of sparkles layered over a blue heart.
The hangar doors were soon opened and two shuttle crafts could be seen ready to leave, one a lot bigger than the other. Twilight Sparkle sat back in her seat looking over to the ship that was supposedly going to follow them to the space station and a feeling of sadness crept over her, she wasn't really sure why she felt that way... but the look of the shuttle beside her threw her off, it was dirty riddled with dents and showed a very faint logo on it's side which looked peaceful because of all the calming colours used to paint it but she had no idea what it meant and naturally she felt scared. The ponies have always feared what they didn't understand.
It had been a few hours before they were able to navigate back to the station and get the Generals ship docked using such poorly maintained technology and a smaller fitting compartment. Twilight herself had taken off her helmet and joined the ponies on the deck to help with the docking process but after what seemed like a millennia of trying to get there new visitors to safety they were finally able to get the General of of his ship and into the Space station without harm.
"Well that went better than I had expected..." Twilight spoke to no pony in particular as she rushed of to the docking bay to rejoin her visitor and welcome him to a more comfortable environment.
"Well that wasn't so bad was it?" The general asked his two body guards who were already bending down in an attempt to catch their breath after nearly being sucked out into the cold vacuum of space.
"I hope your ok?! General? are you alright?" Twilight asked frantically as heard the general panting heavily inside his suit. Though she was not versed well in the anatomy of humans she still saw panting as a sign of being panicked, tired, or hurt.
"Relax Twilight, I have survived worse than this... I can definitely assure you of that" Malcolm said as he quickly regained his composure and motioning for one of his guards to keep watch of the ship.
"Are you sure? We have medical staff that can assist with anything should you need assistance" Twilight said as she looked over the Generals form... or his suit to be more specific.
The General stood up and a realization hit him, in front of him was a purple pony with a horn atop it's head wearing a futuristic suit that looked like it came strait out of a sci-fi film from his childhood on earth. He stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to do or what to make of this situation.
"We need to get you the airlock chamber before those suits run out of air!" She said as she noticed a blinking oxygen and hydrogen meter on the Generals suit. She quickly, and quite literally, dragged the general using telekinesis towards the airlock and quickly pushed a button to alert the medbay to the situation.
The two guards, who were still at the ship, were also out of breathe but recovered quicker due to their younger age and their specialized suits. Granger was in shock, partly from his shortness of breath and what he had just seen. The ponies at the medbay were doing their best to calm him down and trying to keep his vitals in a stable condition.
"Are you feeling ok General?" Twilight asked frantically in hopes of eliciting a response from Granger's lifeless form, to her dismay not a single sign of motion came form the General....
until now..."Wh-What are you?" the General managed to say between scared and shaken breaths... It was true that he had seen many things and had first thought he was ready for anything else, but it turns out he wasn't ready for the shock of being confronted with a purple po--no unicorn dressed in a suit that looked like it had been pulled out of star wars.
"Oh thank Celestia your alright... Celestia!! ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno...." Twilight began to chant in a panicky tone as if the world was about to end.
"Twilight we have been informed that Celestia and Luna's shuttle will be arriving shortly" Moon Beam called from the other room in her calm soft toned voice that seemed to relax Twilight a bit.
"What's the matter? Are we being attacked?!" The general said frantically noticing the pained expression he had seen so many times in another races face, but this was different... it wasn't a look of fear but one of concern.
"We have to make you look presentable!!" Twilight said as she glanced over the Generals disgruntled uniform and his obvious lack of hygiene...
It took a full hour, but Twilight and the entire medical staff were able to get the General into a state that was considered acceptable by royalty, and just in time to the princess had just arrived...
