Author's Note
As promised, Dead space but with ponies. This chapter is clean and would be rated "Everyone" if not for the rest of the story. If you want violent dismemberment, stay turned for ch.2
Chapter 1: The Message
The Message
“Metal, It's me ...” said the most beautiful unicorn in the galaxy. Her coat was a shimmering silver grey that sparkled like diamond dust in the hologram. Her blond mane had fallen into her eyes and, in a motion that that I found just so adorable, she brushed it back behind one ear. Her golden eyes were fixed on the camera.
She hesitated for a moment before pushing on. “I wish I could talk to you ...” Her words were gut-wrenching, especially compared to how giddy I’d been feeling before I received her message. I fumbled with the newly purchased black velvet box between my hooves, not quite sure what to do with it.
“I’m sorry.” The sadness of her words gripped me in a vice, my brain numb. Her long, haggard face was a contradiction to the bubbly, energetic mare I knew her as. She sounded tired, so tired, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
“I'm sorry for everything,” she continued. She had been staring fixedly at the camera, and now at me, through me, all the way to my soul. The shimmering at the corner of her eyes hinted at the tears she was bravely fighting back.
“I wish I could just talk to someone―” I tentatively reached over a hoof. It hovered above the stop button as I felt my insides squirm. I couldn’t bear to see her this way. I had to make it stop, had too, or else it would spoil the image of the mare I so deeply loved.
She took a moment to look right and then left, then returned to gazing longingly into the camera, right at me. “It’s all falling apart here,” she said. “I can’t believe what’s happening …” She took a moment and sighed, casting her eyes down in defeat.
I felt split, torn between two responses. The first half of me wanted to crush, pound, and stomp whatever or whoever had done this to my very special somepony. The other half wanted to dive through the hologram and hold her in my loving embrace, promising to never let go.
“It’s strange … such a little thing …” The message crackled with static. I brought my hoof down, bringing the message to an end. The hologram winked out. I blinked for several moments afterwards, clearing the moisture from my eyes.
I had received the message late last night. Now, glancing down at the time piece next to my bed, I cringed at the hour. I would have to get ready for work soon. How many times had I re-watched this video and still I couldn’t fathom a reply? What do you say when someone is pouring their heart out to you billions of miles away?
White Rose was the senior medical officer on board the CMC Sparkle. That massive planet cracker was currently orbiting Aegis 7, a planet on the outer rim of explored space. In this instance, we were literally separated by half a galaxy.
My monitor sprang to life. The otherwise darkened room was bathed in a ghostly blue light. A S.A.M. (special alert message) flashed on my screen. The computer beeped twice in quick succession. I glared at it. Again the twin beeps sounded. The annoying sound wasn't going away until I answered it. The computer demanded my attention, again with another set of beeps. Reluctantly I pulled myself away from White Rose’s message and opened the S.A.M.
I leaned forwards, trying to focus my sleep deprived brain on what was before me.
Dear Employees of CMC;
At 0200 hours communication with the CMC Sparkle was lost. A volunteer repair team is being dispatched to the CMC Sparkle to bring communications back online. Any employee interested in earning extended overtime pay please reply to this message immediately. A list of open positions is attached to this message.
Sincerely,
Apple Seed, CMC Senior Staff Member
It took me a moment to process what I had just read. When it finally did click, I felt my heart skip a beat and all my muscles tighten like there was an electric current coursing through my body. “White Rose!” I hissed to the darkness.
I opened the attached document. Sure enough, there was an opening for someone with my skillset. I couldn’t hit the reply button fast enough. I hastily pounded out a message on the keyboard.
Dear CMC;
This is Engineering and Ship Systems Specialist Metal Dash. I volunteer for the repair mission to the CMC Sparkle.
I hit ‘Send’.
White Rose’s message, coupled with a communication breakdown, meant something was going on. What it meant I had no idea, but something. White Rose better be alright ... or else.
The wait was becoming unbearable. One minute ticked by, and then another. I found myself chewing on my hoof. I yanked it away from my mouth, returning to absentmindedly toying with the velvet box in my hooves.
A message popped up on my monitor. I hastily opened it. The message was short and to the point.
Dear Metal Dash;
Request granted. Report to the CMC Marco Polo in docking bay 2 in one hour. Your RIG objective has been updated.
I grabbed a suitcase from the closet and rapidly filled it with two sets of casual clothes and any other personal items I would need for an extended stay. On a whim I selected a suit jacket and a matching vest, carefully folded the clothes, and placed them on top of the other items. I slipped the black velvet box into the pocket of my suit jacket. I shut the lid, the latch sliding into place with a soft “click”. I hosted the suitcase up onto my back, balancing it in place.
Before leaving the apartment, I paused briefly in front of the mirror. Any spots or grime were practically invisible against my chocolate-brown coat. Black mane was buzzed short and didn’t require any upkeep. A set of tired looking golden eyes stared back at me. Overall I looked ... good enough, but needed to take a shower at the next opportunity. With a quick nod to my reflection I dashed out the door.
Hold on White Rose, I’m coming.
*** *** ***
I was encased in a monstrosity. Nothing else can quite describe the CMC Class One engineering RIG (Resource Integration Gear). It was a bulky, unwieldy piece of equipment, with gravity plates in the boots, a full encompassing metal helmet, a UHM (Universal Health Monitor) displayed along the spine in glowing tubular lights, a HUD (Heads-up Display), and a three-dimensional holographic projector in the wrist. The suit served as a communication hub, environmental control module, and work station all rolled into one. Its grey exterior made it as aesthetically appealing as the walls of the cargo elevator on which I was riding.
The hologram to my left was regurgitating the news. Its constant babble was making it terribly difficult to think about White Rose. Even with all the power and training granted to me by the CMC, I could not turn the darn thing off.
“Equus 5,” chimed the hologram in its permanently cheerful voice, “located in the Bridle system on the outer rim, went dark Monday. A spokespony from the government was quoted as saying ‘We are investigating the blackout with Equus 5 and other colonies but at this time have nothing to report. At this moment travel to this colony is restricted. Any ship attempting travel to Equus 5 will be met with lethal force’. The blackout with Equus 5 makes it the latest in a string of outer rim colony blackouts.”
The hum of the elevator began to wind down. It finally came to a stop with a thud and a lurch. I stomped out of the elevator, the sound of each hoof step echoing inside my RIG.
I activated the RIG’s O.M. (Objective Marker). The computer system in my suit automatically updated my path in real time to compensate for congestion. A blue neon line flashed on the ground, the hologram guiding me to my destination. Without it I would have been lost in the barely suppressed madness that was the Jupiter Station docking port.
The ponies of Jupiter Station had made a fine art out of controlled chaos. On the ground floor pegasi and earth ponies used the kinesis modules in their suits to lift small to medium objects. The unicorns utilized the same modules, but instead to enhance their own telekinetic abilities, enabling them to lift massive objects without tiring. The various shipping contains shifted from one energy aura to another, before being loaded onto platforms for transport. In the open sky of the station Pegasus zipped by with hover wagons stacked high with even more shipping containers. The granddaddy of the show was the massive crane running along the ceiling, transporting several metric tons worth of cargo to the zero gravity loading docks.
A deafening drone saturated the air.
The walkway rattled as a unicorn galloped towards me with a metal crate held in her magical aura. I sidestepped, hastily shifting my hips to keep my suitcase from sliding off my back. The unicorn barreled passed without so much as a word.
The Objective Marker sharply turned ninety degrees to the left. I followed the O.M. as it led me down a deserted corridor until it disappeared at the door hatch to a ship.
The CMC Marco Polo was pitiful in comparison to the other ships around her, as far as cargo transports ships were concerned. The ship was barely 250 feet long and 30 feet wide at her narrowest, stretching out to nearly 60 feet where the cargo compartment was attached to her belly. She resembled a fat turtle instead of the graceful bird her designer had envisioned. Her two massive boosters hanging off the port and starboard sides of the ship like a pair of stubby wings. She wasn’t the prettiest ship in the port―her red and brown paint job doing her no favors―but she was fast. And right now time was of the essence.
I set my suitcase down and raise a hoof up to the ships holographic interface. I paused a moment, taking a second to glance at my suitcases. My mind was wandering back to the black velvet box. I smiled. The smile in turn stretched into a foalish grin as I thought about White Rose and how surprised she would be when I presented it to her. I entertained the fantasy for a moment but then shook myself back to reality.
With a single hoof tap the hologram sprang to life. It expanded to show a horn surrounded by a mass of purple mane with black streaks. The unicorn in question was facing down, typing furiously away at the keyboard before it. I loudly cleared my throat and said, “Hello, I’m Metal Dash, Engineering and Ship Systems specialist. Permission to come aboard?”
The unicorn looked up, his green eyes locking with my pink ones. “Two seconds,” he said as he rapidly glanced around for something outside the view of the camera. “Ah ha! There you are.” and he levitated a tablet over to him in his magic. “Metal Dash,” he read aloud, “Engineering and Ship Systems Specialist. Gotcha! Permission granted.” The unicorn hit a button and the hatch opened.
The unicorn in question met me just inside the ship. He gripped my extended hoof in an artificial one. “First Officer Comet Chaser, pleased to meet you,” said the dark red unicorn as he practically shook my hoof off. My gaze was fixated on his artificial leg, following its entire length until it connected with his barrel. “Don’t mind that,” said Comet Chaser, following my eyes. “Lost that in the service three years back. Still itches sometimes.”
I took a quick look around the ship. The single room was cozy and plain, but clean. Four bunks were set into one wall. The pilot’s pilots care, crew seats, and the adjacent area were crammed with computers, monitors, and equipment. There was hatch set into the back wall, apparently leading to the cargo and maintenance areas. The floor pulsed with the low hum coming from the MARE (Magical Alicorn REaction) Drive.
“Choose a bunk,” said Comet Chaser, gesturing towards the bunk beds. “It’s going to be a 14 hour trip to the CMC Sparkle. You’re the first one here so you get first pick.”
“What about you and the Captain?” I asked as I threw my suitcase onto a top bunk.
“We’ll rest once we arrive at the CMC Sparkle.” As Comet Chaser walked away, I got a good view of his cutie mark: a solitary red puzzle piece. I briefly wondered how he got interested in flying spaceships, or being a soldier for that matter. It usually took a special kind of pony to join the United Equus Forces.
The stallion in question gave me a backwards glance before resuming his post. “Feel free to strip out of your RIG. Like I said, it’s going to be a long flight.”
I had just sprawled out on the bed, pulling up White Rose’s message for another repeat, when three more of the crew members arrived. They were the ships security personnel. The lead pony was a rust colored earth pony named Iron Hoof and towered over Comet Chaser with an extra head of height. What I could see of his black mane was buzzed short. Iron Hoof was referred to as ‘Sarge’ by the two ponies flanking him: a light blue unicorn named Grinder and a dark green earth pony named Bash; their black metal security RIG’s giving them an ominous air. The trio shrugged off Comet Chaser’s greeting with a grunt and lodged themselves in a corner. They produced immaculate triple barreled pulse rifles from their luggage and began to clean them. Their rather crude jokes filled the single room.
The next to arrive was another engineer. He too wore an engineer’s RIG, but his was a class four. It came complete with a full metal muzzle shield, build in status mod, tracking optics, and protective plates. The engineer removed his helmet before greeting Comet Chaser. The pony in question turned out to be a unicorn, with flecks of grey in his otherwise bright red coat and white mane. He gave his name and title in a rather sharp tone. “Lunar Dust, Senior Engineer and Ship Specialist”.
Lunar Dust surveyed the ship, frowning. “Do you not have private quarters for Senior staff?!”
“Sure,” said Comet Chaser with a smile, indicating the hatch at the end of the room. “Maintenance and Cargo are open for your pleasure, but things may get a bit noisy once we enter subspace."
Lunar Dust’s frown only deepened. He surveyed the security goons with indifference but downright glared at me. “What do you think you’re doing out of uniform?” he growled at me, pointing an accusatory hoof at my neatly stacked engineering RIG. “This isn’t a pleasure cruise,” he snapped.
The First Officer came to my rescue. “I told him he could dress down.”
“But we are in the middle of a job!” Lunar Dust practically shouted. “CMC regulation clearly states that …”
Comet Chaser cut him off. “ My ship, my rules.”
“It’s not your ship, it’s the Captains!”
“True,” agreed Comet Chaser, “but until she returns, I’m in charge.”
Lunar Dust grumbled something to the floor. He chose a seat next to the port side window and pulling up a holo-screen. The unicorn continued to grumble to himself, occasionally shooting dark glanced at Comet Chaser.
The next to arrive was Calendula Blossom, a yellow unicorn with strands of her pink mane sticking up out of her collar. She wore only a plain civilian’s RIG: white cloth with only a spinal health display and holographic projector in the wrist. Comet Chaser greeted her like he had all the others: with an artificial hoof and a “welcome aboard” speech. Calendula ignored the hoof. “Hi-yeah!” she squealed as she wrapped Comet Chaser in a full hug. Leaving the First Office dazed and more than a little perplexed she danced her way over to my bunk. “Hug?” she offered with her fore legs spread wide.
I briefly debated her request. Hugging a perfect stranger was just a little out of my comfort zone. “Only if you can climb up here,” I said, tearing my eyes away from White Rose’s message.
Calendula’s smile faltered, but then bounced back brighter than ever. “Aww, you look like you could really use a hug,” she said. She looked cute enough to melt a frozen heart; and darn it, her smile was infectious. The corners of my mouth were rising to mirror hers. If I wasn’t fixated on White Rose at the moment we might have had a longer conversation.
“That’s better,” said Calendula Blossom as my smile blossomed before her. She twirled her way over to the security trio, giving them each a hug in turn. They only grunted in fictitious protest.
She turned to Lunar Dust. “Don’t even think about it,” he said, glaring daggers at the mare. “Oh mister grouchy pants,” giggled Calendula as she twirled over to him, “everypony loves hugs”. Lunar Dust eye’s narrowed to the thinnest of slits. “Don’t!” he warned.
Calendula only shrugged, “Your loss.” She grabbed her two suitcases in a light yellow aura, one of them stamped with a bright red cross, from just inside the door and tossed them onto the bunk just below mine. Gliding gracefully across the room, she sprawled out in the Captain’s chair and produced a paper bound graphic novel. She started humming a cheerful tune, much to the annoyance of Lunar Dust.
The older pony ground his teeth until he couldn’t stand it anymore. “Stop that you stupid mare!” he snapped at Calendula Blossom. The mare wiggled around in the chair until she could look at him. She smiled with all the love and care of a viper.
“Sir,” she said, making a mockery of any attempt to be polite, “there are three ‘golden’ professions that you should never piss off: law enforcement, payroll, and medical. Guess which one I am?” She pressed on, not waiting for a reply. “If you should be wounded on this expedition, I don’t have to rush to your aid until the zone has been declared ‘safe’. You might want to munch on that metaphorical apple.”
Lunar Dust promptly shut up.
The door slid open and a pegasus marched in. Heavy bags hung under her, her grey mane was sticking out at odd angles and her lime green coat looked like it hadnt seen a brush in days. A picture of a rudimentary rocket decorated her flank.
“Captain on deck!” barked Comet Chaser. Everyone scrambled to their hooves, or in Calendula case, straddling the chair to see above it. The Captain glanced briefly at the ponies around her before striding over to her First Officer. “Prepare for departure,” was all she said before turning to her seat. She glared down at Calendula Blossom who in turn smiled at her sheepishly. “Out,” the Captain ordered.
“Yes ma'am,” replied Calendula Blossom with a mock salute and tumbled out of the chair. The mare twirled her way to the other end of the ship, nearly colliding with another pony as they entered the ship. “Oh…” was all Calendula said as she stopped and stared on in amazement.
“Navigator on deck!” bellowed Comet Chaser. I found my eyes riveted to the new arrival, unable to turn away from her glowing, luminescent body. My jaw was sliding uncontrollably to the floor. I wanted to reach up a hoof and close it yet I found my body petrified.
I had seen synthetic alicorns from afar, but never close enough to get a good look. Now that one was standing before me, I couldn’t string two words together. She was a beautiful pale green with solid black eyes that reflected the infinite depth of space. Her horn spiraled into a fearsome point more than a foot from its base. Two massive wings shrouded half her body in long silky feathers. Her towering height forced even Iron Hoof to look up, although not by much. She was beyond beautiful, radiant to the point that I could almost look beyond the sad predicament that afflicted all synthetic alicorns: she bore no cutie mark.
The Alicorn rolled her eyes. “That’s quite alright, Comet Chaser,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Just call me Navigator ... or Thunder Clap.” She looked around at all of us gawking stupidly at her.. “The formality is really not necessary.” She gave everyone a full smile. “As you wish,” said Comet Chaser with a low bow.
And like that the spell was broken. I sucked in a deep breath, along with everypony else. Calendula Blossom wobbled over and collapsed into my hooves. “Was that real?” she asked, looking up at me slightly dazed.
“Prepare for MARE Drive!” ordered the Captain. Everypony hastened to obey. I buckled Calendula Blossom into a chair just behind the pilot and then myself next to her. The Captain turned to Thunder Clap and politely asked, “Navigator, would you please assume your position?” The Alicorn positioned herself on a red rectangle just behind the Captain’s chair, Her horn coming to life. The metal under her hooves rippled like water and she sank beneath the floor. Then came a hissing sound and a large tank slowly rose up. The Alicorn was suspended inside, surrounded by a clear blue liquid.
“Ship integration complete,” said Thunder Clap, but this time her voice projected from the intercom system. “Beginning pre-flight systems check.”
“Skip the check and launch immediately,” commanded the Captain.
“Understood,” said the Alicorn. “On a separate note, the onboard supply of Navigator Stimulants are nearly depleted. Although we do have enough to reach our destination, a return trip will be impossible unless a new supply is acquired.”
The Captain typed out a message on the holo-screen before her. “Your concern has been noted. Proceed with mission. Disengage clamps.”
“Disengaging clamps,” echoed Thunder Clap. There came a hiss and rumble. The ship came free and began to drift away from dock. “Ship is clear of all obstacles. Comet Chaser, please guide us out.”
“Firing port and starboard boosters,” called Comet Chaser. The ship lurched forwards and then began to pick up speed as We passed through the energy barrier separating Jupiter Station from the vacuum of space.
“We are clear of Jupiter Station,” reported the Alicorn. “Request for F.T.L (Faster than Light Travel) has been granted. Setting destination as Aegus 7. Total travel time will be fourteen hours and ten minutes. Diverting all power to MARE Drive. Entering subspace in thirty seconds. 30… 29…”
“Everypony have their barf bags?” called the Captain. “If you puke it you clean it.” I reluctantly held mine up. I hadn’t eaten anything recently so hopefully I wouldn’t need it.
A high pitched whine filled the cabin.
“You think Princess Sparkle could have invented a better way to travel,” gripped Lunar Dust.
“Hey,” I retorted, “just deal with it. It will be over soon enough.” Lunar Dust glowered at me but did not reply.
“This should be fun,” chimed Calendula Blossom with a huge smile, though she was already looking a little green.
“Captain, we are being hailed,” reported Thunder Clap. Comet Chaser echoed the same statement a second later. “What? By who?” asked the Captain.
“Military ship,” reported the Navigator, “directly behind us; five hundred miles and closing.”
“Playing message,” said Comet Chaser. He pressed a few buttons and the intercom blared out a rigid, no nonsense voice.
“CMC Marco Polo, this is Captain Black Shield of the UEF Destroyer Laffey. Disengage your MARE Drive immediately and stand down. I repeat: disengage your MARE Drive or you will be fired upon.”
“What?!” gaped the Captain at the disembodied voice. “Who the heck does he think he is? You can’t threaten civilian like this. Navigator, how much time left until we enter sub space?”
“15… 14… 13...” counted Thunder Clap. Suddenly she paused and then said in a calm, clear voice “Warning. Missiles launched.”
I sat there in shock, unable to believe my ears. Calendula Blossom silently clutched my foreleg to her barrel in a death grip. Everyone else was screaming themselves hoarse in a vocal avalanche of panicked energy.
“Evasive maneuvers!” screamed the Captain.
Iron Hoof charged up to the front of the ship, yelling “Where are your countermeasures! You’ve got to have counter measures!”
Comet Chaser was already responding to his Captain. “Turning to vector 2-5 by 7-2 … What the Buck! I’m locked out!” he howled. “The Alicorn is still trying to jump to subspace!”
The Captain rounded on Thunder Clap, furiously bombarding her with commands and violent threats until her voice cracked.
Lunar Dust pulled his limbs in tight, screaming at the top of his lungs “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die! Oh, Celestia, Please! Someone do something!”
With nothing else to do, Comet Chaser pulled up a holo-screen, watching helplessly as the missiles streaked towards them. “10… 9… 8...” he counted off.
I was frozen in place, silently sitting there like petrified wood as Death approached with his scythe held high. I tried to say something but my throat was scratchy and coarse; I couldn't even find enough moisture to wet my lips. Somewhere inside of me a little pony was huddled in a corner, crying. The only thing I seemed able to do was turn slightly and offer Calendula what I hoped was a comforting smile.
“5… 4… 3...” continued Comet Chaser.
“Engaging MARE Drive,” said a calm, clear voice. The engines reached a fevered pitch. A great gaping black maw opened before us. The front of the cabin was stretched out impossibly before me, and then I slammed back into my seat. A blur went shooting past and impacted the rear wall with a thunderous crash. In an instant the force crushing me against my seat vanished as the cabin returned to its original state.
I felt a surge of bile climbing up my throat. I forced it back down. Calendula Blossom had one hoof clamped over her mouth and the other waving frantically. She had lost her bag in all the excitement. I held out mine. She snatched it away and retched. Several other ponies copied her.
“Welcome to subspace,” said a rather smug voice from the ships com system. “Oh ye of little faith.”
Chapter 3: Not All Is Lost
Not All Is Lost
The lock disengaged and the large, circle steel door slid soundlessly open. Beyond my RIG was a perfect silence only achieved in a vacuum environment. Inside my RIG I was subjected to the soft huff of my every breath and the drumming of every step.
“Entering zero gravity,” chimed an automated voice into ear. “Engaging Grav Boots”. I stomped out of the airlock and into open space, but now with two additional items. An external tank filled my RIG with ten minutes of breathable air and a wedding band rested in my RIG’s inventory.
I was thankfully hidden in the shadow of the ship, and now privileged to a spectacular view. All of space was before me, blacker than tar and full of mystery. Pure, unfiltered stars washed down on me. They sparkled like grains of sand, so close that I could just grab them with my hoof.
The airlock platform ended abruptly. I took a cautious step over the side. My Grav Boots locked onto the ship, keeping me from floating away. I pulled myself off the platform, orienting myself perpendicular to the ship.
Contrary to my first impression, the side of the ship was not flat. Instead, it slowly curved out of sight, not unlike the oceans back on Equus. Little work stations broke the smooth curvature of the ship, springing up at periodic intervals. Some had active holographic displays for an oxygen port, others with labels that indicated what welding equipment and tools were stored within.
I glanced down at my air counter: nine minutes and forty five seconds of oxygen, and dropping. I set out, trotted down the side of the ship. Walking in Grav Boots was a partial nuisance. I had to pick up my hooves at an angle to disengage them from the hull and then set them back down flat. I felt like a mare in heels.
Speaking of mares….
Dun-dun-dun-dun echoed each hoof step inside my suit. A series of green lights flashed no more than fifty feet ahead, indicating the location of an airlock. I grinned at the sight but stopped when I spotted one of those … things. It was hiding behind a work station, back towards me, moving listlessly.
The thing’s suit had been shredded just below the shoulders. Tattered wings flapped slowly, uselessly at his side. The hind legs were completely gone and instead a long fleshy tail flipped a nasty looking barbed hook back and forth. Only the Grav Boots on what remained of his front hooves kept him attached to the deck.
His boots slid across the ship, shuffling as if he couldn't figure out how to walk, slowly wandering away. A glance at the distant airlock solidified my plan. I took a hesitant step out. The creature didn’t so much as twitch in my direction. I broke into a gallop.
Grav Boots pounded against the ship. I was breathing so hard my suit was fogging up. Green lights flashed before me. I scrambled onto the platform. And found the airlock upside down, the hologram to open it dangling above my head. I kicked off from my perch, slowly spinning, and landed on all four hooves.
The RIG was completely fogged over, leaving a huge blind stop. My heart was hammering away, its rapid rhythm pulsing through my ear. I fought to get my breathing under control, inhaling and exhaling deeply through my nose. Slowly the fog receded.
I hit the button.
A hook sliced overhead, missing my helmet by inches. I ducked, watching it in horrified fascination as the hook slashed back and forth. Like a snake it flicked back out of sight. I looked to the airlock but the lock had only just disengaged, the door itself opening with agonizing slowness.
The thing appeared. It stared down at me from its perch. Whatever emotion is might have expressed was hidden by a protective faceplate. There was no mistaking its intention, the way it scrunched its shoulders together and flicked its tail back and forth.
I scrambled away, pressing myself up against the half opened airlock. The thing landed on the end of the platform. It turned and faced its me, its prey. The tail whipped at me but fell short.
There was no longer a wall of steel at my back. I collapsed inside the airlock. “Leaving zero gravity,” reminded the voice from my RIG. I felt strangely heavy after my spacewalk. All four hooves were planted solidly on the ground.
The thing launched itself at me. I pivoted on my front hooves and bucked with all my might. Something crunched. I hurriedly backed away.
It just floated backwards, motionless, at least until it started to thrash around again. It reached out with its Grav Boots and tail, trying to grab ahold of me. But I was beyond its grasp, as well as the ship for that manner. I watched it drift away, wiggling helplessly in the emptiness of space. The airlock closed.
Air hissed into the room. I disengaged the external tank, letting it clatter to the ground from where I stood. Images of the thing with its slashing tail still filled my mind.
With a lasting sign I turned and faced yet another airlock.
The maintenance hallway was empty and substantially better lit than those I had entered before. Grey walls funneled me down a corridor of exposed piping, wires, and intact air ducts. The place was studiously clean.
Maybe those things hadn’t made it to this deck yet.
I found a set of double doors with the words “Crew Deck” illuminated by a yellow back light. Just to the left was a side door with “Janitorial Room and Shop” printed on it. Below the words was a plaque reading “Office of Ms. Dust, Ship Hygienic Specialist”.
The janitor’s door hissed open. I stood poised outside, ready to bolt if anything so much as twitched. The interior was dark. Of course it just had to be dark. I cast a nervous glance towards the double doors and then back the way I had come. Holding my breath I tentatively stepped inside. The lights flickered on.
Ms. Dust kept a tidy office. And apparently had a crush on a certain unicorn pop singer. She had a signed poster, a calendar, and over a dozen neatly clipped pictures covered the far wall, all of them containing a picture of the sleek black stallion grinning mischievously. What really caught my eye was a red medical box hanging on the wall. Inside was a cylinder of med-gel.
The other half of the room was a workshop. The place was swept clean, with all metal scraps placed in large tubs. Two metal lockers occupied the back wall. The first one contained wrenches, spare wiring, ripper blades for a hoof held saw, and a hydrazine torch. The smaller locker next to it contained two bottles of hydrazine fuel.
Setting the torch out on Ms. Dust’s desk, I rummaged around in the lockers as an idea started to form in my mind. With the assistant a screw driver and a mallet I managed to dislodge the “ CMC authorized nozzle”. I took a larger nozzle and slipped it on in place of the old one. An adjustment to the air and fuel regular and I had myself a flamethrower.
I stepped back into the hallway, the torch in hoof. Eerily silent walls greeted me. Dim lighting flickered overhead. With a sigh of relief I placed the torch on one of the four utility hooks attached to my suit.
The white walls stretched on, interrupted by the occasional painting or door. Double doors to my left revealed a small cafeteria. A sign above the room to my right proclaimed it to be a recreation room. This one was smashed in, splitters of the wreckage littering the otherwise pristine hallway. I cautiously peered inside.
A bookshelf, a couch, and a Ping-Pong table lay discarded near the door in a haphazard fashion. Dull red blood was splashed against the far wall as if someone had hurled a full bucket of the stuff at it. More blood was confined to a large pool that radiated out from the wall. In the epicenter of the carnage lay … nothing. No corpses could be seen or the things that had killed them.
I hurriedly left.
My hallway intersected another running perpendicular to it. Neatly painted blue arrows provided me with a guild to what lay in the three different directions. “Cafeteria”, “Recreation Room”, and “Music Room” lay behind me. “Class 1 Crew Quarters”, “Lounge”, and “Cinema” were down the hallway on my left. The arrows to the right directed me to the “Commons”, “Elevator”, and “Trans System”.
I went to the right.
The Commons proved to be a long specious room with couches, tables, two large display screens and a bookshelf that stretched the entirety of one wall. The lights were dim, the hologram overhead depicting a slowly revolving imitation of Luna’s night sky. Soft classical music played from hidden speakers.
A data recorder lay discarded on a couch. It twinkled in the half light from the hologram above. I plugged in the recorder and examined its contents. Most of the files were work related messages about work orders from engineering, but a very recent audio file caught my attention. The recording crackled to life. I could discern soft music in the background, identical to what was playing now.
“I was sitting in the common room when I got the news; I’m still having problem believing the reports. They brought up a spire from the planet weighing several thousand pounds! Never mind the fact that it looks like that thing the Saddletologists worship, it’s made out of pure Dragidium. Do you know how many Alicorns that could make? The First Officer is already talking about 20,000 bit bonuses for everyone. I’ve been working my tail off to pay Dawn Shimmer’s tuition at TSAC, you know, Twilight’s School for Arcane Science. Wait until I tell her! I may even be able to take a vacation.”
I left the Data Recorder were I had found it.
My eyes were fixated on my hooves, my mind lost in thought. I wasn’t watching where I was going and nearly collided with the door. The only thing that stopped me from smacking into the wall of metal was that my hooves tripped over another set. And I was subsequently introduced to the other occupant in the room.
A pegasus was propped against the door, her head lolled to one side, eyes closed to the world, and tongue poking out. The front of her green RIG was covered in dark red vomit sinking of alcohol. A container of prescription pills and a spilt bottle of wine lay next to her. Long scrapes and small dents indicated where she had beaten futilely upon the metal.
The mare hadn't let a note explaining why.
I forced myself to look away, lest I start dwelling on why the pegasus had taken her own life and what helpless situation she must have faced to make that the only viable option. With the addition of the griffin and my crewmates -who could all be dead by now- there had been…. so much death, blood, gore, violence… kill. “Gah!” I exclaimed, shaking my head vigorously as if to free it from its train of thought.
Kill...kill...kill...
The door was locked. Or, more appropriately, it wouldn’t open. It would hiss as the motor engaged but then shutter in place. I tapped the open button, then hit it with slightly more force, finally pounded on it until I stood before the door, seething at the inanimate object. A small voice repeatedly chirped “Door Error Code 1157, please contact maintenance”.
With a sigh I activated my HUD and interfaced with the ships systems. I fed my override code into the computer and hit the open button. Still the doors refused to yield. I gave it one final frustrated buck.
Still nothing.
Now where do I go? I pulled up the ships schematics. Maybe there was a maintenance shaft somewhere. Dredging through the bowels of the ship with those things on the loose had about as much appeal as getting a….
I was yanked instantly from my thoughts by rattling above. Frozen in place, I following the sound with my eyes. It worked its way across the ceiling and down the side of the wall to the air grate. The grate was forced out. One of those things climbed into the room with me.
Its body was similar to that of a bat, mainly consisting of two leathery wings with large hooks on either end. A jagged, exposed spine ran down the length of its short hairless body. It appeared to have no visible legs and crawled towards me on the tips of its wings. Its face was a flat affair with no obvious muzzle, ears, or eyes. A long tongue hung from its putrid mouth.
I scampered backwards, fumbled for the torch. After a brief but agonizing second I finally brought my weapon to bare, ready to burn the thing where it stood. But it ignored me, and instead went for the corpse.
It wrapped the corpse in its wings and, rearing its head back, thrust its javelin like tongue into its skull. The creature shook the corpse vigorously, spraying out blood and gore in all directions. Fur and feathers began melting off her back and dripping to the floor. The limbs of the dead mare extended and viscous blades split their way through her hooves . A sickening gurgling arose as the corpse started spewing forth fluid of its own.
The two parted, newly animated body dropping unceremoniously to the ground. It wobbled to its feet, the two hoof blades making the distinctive tink, tink as they struck the metal. Both turned towards me.
I gave a guttural cry and sprayed them with a torrent of flame. They stumbled backwards, briefly trying to scrape the flames off their body before diving headlong a me. I ducked and dived as a burning scythe sliced the air where my head had been a moment before. They advanced on me, seemingly unaware of their cooking flesh.
There was a clank and a splat as another creature dropped into the room, and then another.
I bolted back the way I had come, scrambling along on three hooves while burning anything that moved. A barbed tail bounced off the top of my helmet with a sharp tink. I set the owner on fire. One of those slasher things was crawling down the length of the bookshelf. I sent an arcing blast in his direction. It fell to the floor, hissing, and looking more pissed off then hurt. I blasted it again.
The flames didn't care what they consumed as long as it burned. The books instantly combusted. The fire raced to both ends, fed by the mass of dry paper.
From every direction lurched hulking, cooking, sizzling monstrosities, flames licked up their bodies creating a sea of living torches. A few collapsed as their bodies were finally consumed by the fire. Even more pushed definitely onwards.
“Come and get it you bastards!” I roared as I clamped down on the trigger of the torch until the fuel ran dry.
The room was rapidly filling with smoke. A lazy grey haze clung greedily the ceiling and start to slowly consume the rest of the room. I tried to shout at the monsters but was struck with a racking cough as I inhaled a great breath of smoke. I dropped to my knees, trying to breath.
I was roasting inside my suit, my body covered in a sheet of sweat. My eyes stung from the smoke, tears drying before they could fall. Living flames danced around me.
Everything was so hot.
One of the creatures stumbled in front of me, its charred body burnt beyond recognition. I kicked its legs out and it fell to the ground. I beat furiously upon the body until it stopped moving.
I backed off, hacking and coughing. My eyes were watering. My throat dry and scratchy. I was desperate for some water. I felt light headed. My vision was starting to blur. Somewhere above a bell clanged loudly.
A torrential downpour assaulted me from above.
The flames hissed, sputtered, and died. Steam billowed forth as the water struck hotspots. The floor became a shallow pool, turned black by ash. The once peaceful and relaxing room was now a hot, humid, sopping mess of my own creation.
The smoke had been mostly purged from the air. My breathing had almost returned to normal now that I wasn’t inhaling a cocktail charcoal, soot and ash. With a resounding grunt I climbed shakingly to my hooves.
The sprinklers sputtered, gurgled, and then shut off.
I looked at the blacked room and then down to the torch still clenched in my hoof.
Without a second thought I dropped it onto the floor. I was done playing with fire. Never again. I was about to toss the extra canister of torch fuel when chunks of ash and charcoal stood up.
Only three had been spared the cleansing fires of Tartarus inside the inferno, surviving long enough to be saved by the sprinkler system. Their half charred bodies were more grotesque than before, now with charring and open seething wounds. As they arose, chunks of flesh sloshed to the floor with wet splatters to reveal cooked meat beneath.
They set their sights on me.
I turned and dashed out the door, but not before snatching up the torch.
Changing out the fuel canister while running was impossible. No matter how much I wiggled and jiggled the torch, the canister stayed firmly attached. It wasn’t as if I could just stop and unscrew it. The three burned monstrosities behind me made sure of that. Two more came running up from the other end of the hall. I darted left, back the way I had come.
A tail hook wiped out, slicing through my RIG and into my shoulder. I screamed in agony. My foreleg collapsed under my weight and I crashed to the ground.
“Warning!” sounded an extremely unhelpful automated voice in my ear, “major laceration on forward extremity. Please seek medical assistance immediately.”
The two legged monstrosity hovered over me, its tail flicking back and forth. I drew in my rear legs and bucked. Bones crunched under my hooves and the thing became airborne. It smacked into the wall with a sickening splat.
I rolled to my hooves. My leg flared with pain as I tried to put weight on it. With a hurried movement I roughly straped the torch to my gear hook. Testing the injured leg again I desperately started to hobble way, grinding my teeth to keep from screaming in agony. Blood flowed freely from the open wound, leaving a trail down the corridor.
The pursuing horde now joined me in the hallway, six undead abominations all gurgling and spewing and trying to slice me apart. I ducked into the cafeteria and the double doors hissed shut behind me. I hit the “lock” option on the control panel and the doors sealed themselves. The cafeteria was thankfully empty with the exception of a few plastic tables and chairs. The kitchen was closed, pail light leaking out from under closed shutters.
My salvation lay in a single door at the opposite end of the room. I hobbled over and wrenched it open. A trio of ponies were standing with their backs to me. They turned around with the dreaded tink, tink of their hoof blades. Three undead. Six sets of eyes blinked briefly at me before they gurgling forth a slew of fluids. I slammed the door in their faces and engaged its mechanical bolt lock.
The sound of hoof blades beating against metal echoed throughout the room. With a wrenching sound that tip of a blade punched through. It was joined by others. Together they steady remodeled the doors until the texture was reminiscent of a cheese grater.
Holding the torch between my rear legs, I grabbed the fuel canister with my good hoof and started twisting. It came off with a slight pop. With shaking hooves I slid in the new canister and twisted until it locked into place.
I could see their ugly faces through the ever widening holes in the metal. One of the doors buckled. Two hoof blades sliding through the gap, slowly forcing it wider.
The sound of my panicked breathing filled my ears. My mind was running wild in a desperate attempt to get away from the horrors coming for me. The little pony in my head was huddled away in a corner, sobbing pitifully.
For some reason the thought of dying like a stupid, panicky animal left a bad taste in my mouth. I focused on my breathing, inhaling and exhaling through my shout, letting all my limbs sag. The torch felt heavy in my hoof. For a moment I debated letting go, letting the thing fall to the ground, embracing the inevitable. Then the earth pony in me stepped forward, beat my inner self to a bloody pulp and seized control. A jolt coursed through my body. I fiercely clutched the torch in a death drip. It might not have been much but it was a weapon, and I had a full canister of fuel.
If those things wanted me, let them come. They would all burn!
“INCOMING!” hollered a voice. There was a brief pause and then the far doors burst inwards in a blossom of blue plasma fire. I felt the heat wave as it rolled into the room.
“Yippee ki yay mother bucker!” shouted the same pony as a flaming blue sword cut through the lone surviving monster. A pegasus emerged from behind it wearing a bright orange miners RIG. His face was covered by a blast shield.
He flew into the cafeteria and hovered in place. We eyed each other across the open distance. He held his flaming sword towards me.
In the second or two that passed I realized that his weapon was an Plasmablade, a device that utilized air and electricity to make a three foot cutting edge along a ceramic core, a tool typically used to cut through rock and soft metals.
“You alive?” asked the pegasus. I just stared at him in shock. When I failed to produce words he advanced on me.
“What! Yes, yes, I’m alive!” I said, hoping I sounded braver than I actually felt.
The pegasus visibly relaxed. He took his hoof off the power button for the Plasmablade and the flames died, leaving behind the ceramic core.
“Dang! Its good to see another. Name’s Silver Lining, what’s yours?” he extended out a hoof.
“Metal Dash,” I told him as I bumped it.
The trio were still trying to slash their way through the other door. I glanced between the three monsters and the pegasus. “Any chance you could...?”
Instead of answering me the Pegasus turned and called down the hallway in a sing-song voice, “Aquamarine, I need your help.” A pale bluish-green unicorn trotted into the cafeteria, strands of white mane sticking out of her light blue scientific RIG. She held a pulse rifle in an aura of light green magic. A dozen or so plasma grenades hung from a bandolier across her chest.
“Yes, my love?” she asked as she laid her beautiful brown eyes on me. And then my injuries. “You’re wounded.” She started towards me, but was stopped by the pegasus.
“First we deal with those things.” The pegasus indicated the monsters still trying to break into the room. The mare rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. “So glad I have you to keep me focused on what's important.”
The pegasus might have been grinning, but then again, even if he was no one could see it. He flew over to the door. Ignoring the hoof blades slicing through the metal, he grabbed the lock and undid it with a hard yank. The three things tumbled into the room.
Aquamarine blasted the legs out from one of them with her pulse rifle. The pegasus cut one in half and then brought the Plasmablade around to dice it. The last one staggered towards me, wildly swinging its blades. A magical aura picked it up and floated it inches above the ground until the pegasus carved it up. The last thing, with its legs blown off, started crawling on its hoof blades. Another burst from the pulse rifle took out its remaining limbs. It shook, convulsed, and finally died.
Suddenly the mare was at my side. “Silver Lining,” she called back to the pegasus, “he’s lost a lot of blood, need to stem the flow immediately. Bandages are in the left front pouch of your saddle pack.”
“I’m right here,” I said, waving a hoof at her.
“Sit down,” she ordered, “you’ll pass out as soon as the shock kicks in.”
While the pegasus rooted around in his saddle pack, I guiltily produced a stainless steel cylinder from my inventory. “I’ve got some medi-gel,” I offered.
“Well, why didn’t you say so!?” said Aquamarine as she ripped it from my grasp with her magic. Off came the lid and the contents of the entire container were dumped straight onto my wound. I gasped as frozen lighting coursed through my system.
*** *** ***
The pair led me down the hallway to the left, past the lounge and theatre, all the way to a set of double doors labeled “First Class Crew Quarters”. Another left, then a right down another long hallway. Finally we arrived at a large metal door with rebar attached on its face.
“Welcome to my ‘Safe Zone’,” announced the Pegasus as the door opened to reveal an apartment complex beyond. Upon entering I noticed that somepony, no need to guesses who, had ripped out the ventilation ducts and welded solid steel plates over any openings. Aquamarine led the way down the hall.
As we passed by the closed identical doors I couldn’t help but ask “Are there other survivors?”
“Were,” emphasized Silver Lining. “The last ones were the sweet older couple in 09. “Don’t you remember them?” Apparently this last bit was directed at Aquamarine.
“Of course, how could I forget. They took us out to dinner our first night and you got roaring drunk. But they were absolutely devoted to each other, even in the end.”
“What happened?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Aquamarine didn’t seem to mind. “They left a note yesterday saying how they had lived a long and happy life but could no longer contend with the prospect of a violent death. Their destination was the airlock behind the cafeteria.”
“By the way,” continued the mare without skipping a beat, “how did you get in here? The main doors are sealed and the Trans system is down.”
“Airlock behind the cafeteria,” I replied, trying not think about who may have gone through it before me. A shiver ran down my spine as the prospect.
“Did you see any bodies along the way?” she asked.
“No.”
“Sounds like they made it,” said the pegasus to no one in particular. For some reason that statement brought a small smile to Aqua’s face.
We stopped before the very last door.
“Mister Thunder,” said Silver Lining, standing proudly. The door hissed open. I followed the pair inside.
“Take off your RIG,” said Aquamarine as she started to do the same. I didn’t need any further encouragement.
The final latch-lock came undone and my RIG fell to the ground with a thud. I breathed a sigh of relief, marveling in the feeling of fresh air against my coat. It felt like hours since I’d been free of my RIG’s claustrophobic confines.
The mare was beside me, examining my wound. “Looks like the medi-gel did its job, but then again I’m not a medical professional. You should get it examined if you have the opportunity. The CMC Sparkle has quite the … er, had quite the medical staff. I don’t know how they are doing now.”
Indeed, the medi-gel had completely sealed the gash. It left a transparent film overtop the wound, clearly revealing my twitching muscles and pulsing veins. I diverted my eyes from my very personal anatomy lesson.
“Do you know many of the medic staff?” I asked innocently enough, my mind immediately centered on a very special somepony.
“Not really,” she replied, hanging the pulse rifle and grenades on a wall hook before slipping out of her RIG. “ My special talent is marine plants but I also love to dabble in chemistry. That combination landed me the position as the Senior Scientist in charge of Hydroponics.” Indeed, her cutie mark was of three stocks of seaweed waving in a nonexistent ocean.
“Do you know a White Rose? She’s the Senior Medical Officer.” I anxiously watched Aquamarine, hanging on to her every word.
“Yes, I know White Rose. We have lunch once a week to swap notes and catch up on girl time. Why?” She asked, slowly scanning my face. Suddenly she gasped in recognition. “You’re Metal Dash! You sent her that retro vinyl record containing DJ Pon3’s greatest hits for her birthday. You’re all she talks about.”
“Silver, Silver!” Aquamarine excited exclaimed to the Pegasus, who, after putting away the Plasmablade and other equipment, was only now starting to take off his RIG. His blast shield came off first, revealing a golden brown coat, black mane, deep purple eyes, and a crooked muzzle as if it had been broken and not allowed to heal properly.
“Yes, my cadence, my love song?” he replied, giving her a big toothy grin.
“This is Metal Dash!” said Aquamarine as she practically leaping from hoof to hoof.
“Metal Dash?” pondered Silver Lining, absentmindedly rubbing his chin with a hoof, “doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Of course you know Metal Dash. The very special somepony to White Rose, lives in apartment 06. I’m been hounding you with our girl time talk for the past several weeks! And don’t you go laying on the ‘I’m getting too old’ shit. I know YOU of all ponies have an excellent memory.”
Silver Lining leaned in close until he was practically nose to nose with the mare. “You know I really don’t listen to anything but your pillow talk.”
He received a punch in the shoulder for that one.
“Please excuse my husband of ten years. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he’s all mine.”
The pegasus acknowledged her statement with a hoof before addressing his wife. “Rough is one way to put it. It sure ruffles the feathers of those high and mighty types to have a ‘laborer’ in their mists. I just happened to marry a beautiful mare for her brains and not the size of her tits. And trust me,” he said to me with a wink, “ ‘rough’ is exactly the way she likes it.”
“You ungrateful, little―”said Aquamarine, swinging yet another hoof at her target. Silver Lining caught the hoof, and grinning, leaned in close and said “sweet Celestia you’re hot when you get fired up.”
“Not as fired up as when I get done with you.”
“Violence sure makes a mare horny.”
“Not so much the violence as seeing you standing there like an unstoppable god of war, cutting down the undead with that flaming sword of yours. I’ll show you how to use that other ‘sword’ you value so much.”
They locked lips.
There was a brief struggle before they toppled unceremoniously to the floor. My hooves tapped the floor nervously, working hard to keep the blush from rising to my face. I looked anywhere but at the passionate couple on the floor.
“Can you please excuse us?” called Silver Lining from beneath the mare who was working her way down his neck with a slather of kisses, “we need to…resolve our differences. Password to next door is ‘Mare’s Breath’.
“I’ll show you ‘Mare’s Breath’—” was the last thing I heard before gratefully stepping out into the hall.
I was alone in Silver Lining’s “Safe Zone”. The room immediately in front of me was number 16. Next room over was number 15, labeled “Aqua’s Second Office”. I glanced down the hall, scanned the door number until I found the one labeled 06. I bit my lip, glancing right and left, before trotting over. My hoof steps echoed in the deserted hallway.
I stopped before the door.
“Welcome to the Private residence of White Rose. Please speak or type the password,”prompted the automated system. A holographic display appeared on the door. Luckily for me, White Rose had left a “forgot password” option.
“Please enter your date of birth.” Too easy. I typed in September 13th, 1480.
“Please enter the make and model of your first hover car.” Another one I knew: a D-Tiara.
“Please enter the most significant date in your life.” I stared at the screen, thinking. What date was most important to my very special somepony? Oh! The day she got her cutie mark, the day she finally realized she wanted to be a healer and help other ponies. I swiftly typed in May 26th, 1491.
“Wrong, please try again. You have two chances remaining before you will be locked out.”
Then it had to be the date we graduated from college. The same day I slipped and fell in a puddle, covering my own graduation gown in mud. White Rose even gave me a hug so that we matched for the ceremony. She always smiled when I retold that story. I entered June 14, 1503.
“Wrong. You have one chance remaining. Please try again.”
I paced back and forth. “Come on, think about it,” I uttered to myself. “You’ve lived with her for the past three years, known her for seven. What is the most important date in her life?” I reread the the holo-screen. What was the most important … er, correction, what was the most significant date in her life. What was most ‘significant’ in her life? What caused her life to dramatically change? The day she left for the CMC Sparkle? The day we moved in together? The date of our first kiss? The day … we first met? That brought back memories of a stammering, sweating earth pony stumbling through saying ‘hello’ to the mare his friend was introducing him to. Of spending the entire night just talking while they watched the stars. Of only realizing they had stayed out too late when Celestia raised the sun.
I thought about it for a moment longer and then typed in October 4, 1501.
“Welcome back White Rose, Senior medical officer of the CMC Sparkle. Please remember to change your password before leaving.” The door hissed open.
The room was dark. I cautiously stepped inside. The light flickered to life. From behind came the sound of the door closing.
Of course she wasn’t here. But everything else said she had. Even the air was infused with her scent (Carousel Boutique number 5, ‘Rare Gem’). One wall was devoted entirely to pictures: a few were of her mother, father, and a younger sister still in highschool, but mostly were of us. I sat down on her still made bed, staring at the pictures.
I didn’t know how long I stared at them, but it was a twinkling object that finally pulled me away from the photographs. The data recorder was laying on the nightstand. I plugged it into my suit and played the most recent audio file. Turned out to be an unsent message for me.
“Metal Dash … I miss you. It’s been four long months but everytime I wake, just for a moment I still feel you beside me. The bright side is I’ll get to see you in exactly … 57 days. You better believe I’m counting down every one. Yes, I’ve made some good friends on board the CMC Sparkle, but none of them quite add up to you. Things … things have been a little hectic lately. There’s a strange … infection making its way through the colony. It’s been causing workers to be consumed by sporadic aggression and violence. The other medical staff and I are working around the clock to try and―” In the background there was a set of distinctive beeps. “Where is the pause button,” I heard her say, but for some reason the message kept playing. I heard her talking to someone in the background. “This is White Rose, go ahead.” Something was said but I couldn’t make it out. “I’ll be there right away,” relied White Rose. “ … Now how do you turn this recorder off?” and the message ended abruptly.
I jumped at the sound of a hoof rapping against the door. Upon opening the door, I found Silver Lining standing there. He was once again suited up, his blast shield hanging from his neck by its strap and Plasmablade at his side. The pegasus smiled sadly at me.
“Aqua said you might be here,” he said, looking at me. Silver opened his mouth to say something else but then closed it again. He scraped at the floor with an idle hoof before looking back at me. “Sorry about that. Aqua and I… ever since this whole thing started we’ve been rutting at every opportunity. It’s like we can’t get enough of each other. I don’t know what set us off but … seeing so much death really puts things into perspective.”
Silver Lining glanced back down the hall toward his room. “I’m going out on patrol, checking the perimeter, taking out any creeps that wandered too close. You should go talk with Aqua. She’s in her office.”
I watched the pegasus leave out the circle door. Following his advice I found Aquamarine in her “second office”. The room was originally just another apartment, but the furniture had been removed to make room for the new additions. All the equipment and machines a chemist would need was set up along one wall. Directly opposite it was a fold out workbench for nano-circuit repair. My RIG lay on top of it.
A pile of computer, monitors and other electronics near the door appeared to be a recent addition. They were stacked haphazardly on top of one another. Electrical cords snaked along the ground to any available power source. A large holoscreen showed a number of different rooms from a variety of angles, probably from the various camera's onboard the ship.
So thats how they knew where I was.
Aqua was staring intently at the holo-screen before her, muzzle scrunched up in thought. Picking up a test tube in her magic, she poured a few drops into a petri dish. Sliding said dish beneath a microscope she finally glanced over at me before returning to her work.
“I see Silver found you,” she commented without looking up. “He was a little worried when he didn’t find you in here. He does his best to protect everyone but sometimes it’s just not possible. I take it he left on his ‘patrol’?”
I initially nodded but then answered with “yes” when I realized she wasn’t looking at me.
She continued with paused “I really wish he wouldn’t. He knows I couldn’t … wouldn’t going on living if something happened to him. But it is safer this way. Almost every time we go out together they try to swarm us.”
Not knowing what to say I remained silent. The low hum of electrical fans filled the void between us. I suddenly noticed that the room was rather uncomfortably warm.
Aquamarine remained silent for a minute before asking “I take it that commotion earlier was you arriving?” She was watching me attentively out of the corner of her eye, biting her lower lip as she did so.
“Yes,” I said, leaping onto a subject that I could answer. “Although something happened and we crashed onto the flight deck”. I heard Aqua sigh, her features noticeably crestfallen. “Although,” I quickly added, “ her exterior is beat up, the area around the crew quarters is made with reinforced bulkheads. She’s still structurally sound. If we could figure out how to get her out into space, at least it would get us off this ship.”
For some reason she started to prances nervously. “I, um… don't really fancy the thought of just floating out in space. I’ll keep it in mind as a last resort.”
As I watched Aqua a thought struck me. “Why haven’t you and Silver Lining taken an escape pod off ship?”
“They’re all gone,” she stated matter a factly. Upon seeing my questioning look she continued. “This whole business started three days ago, well, before then but thats when the ship was over run. I was working here in my office―there are enough empty first class cabins that I can take my work home with me―when I suddenly got an alert that a ship wide lockdown was in effect. That order can come only come from one of two ponies. I was about to call one of them with a very direct ‘what-the-buck’ when I heard rapid blasts echoing throughout the ship. I quickly realized that it was the escape pods launching. I went outside and everypony else was as confused as I was.”
At this point Aqua was studying the floor. She licked her lips nervously but continued. “Then the reports of the killings started to come in. It started slowly, but then the … necromorphs spread rapidly through the ship. Frantic messages were coming in from all over from trapped crew members, begging, pleading for help. Too many of those ended in screams.”
Aqua finally met my eyes. She looked a little pale; her barrel oscillating rapidly. After taking several calming breaths she pressed on. “I didn’t know what to do so I hid in the bedroom … the radio became so overwhelmed with the sounds of death that I just turned it off. I might have fallen asleep. The next thing I remember is the door opening up and there was Silver Lining, grinning like a maniac, covered head to hoof in blood; not his own of course. I still don’t know what came over me but I grabbed him in my magic and threw him onto the bed. The next instant we were going at it like never before, rutting until neither of us could move.”
Aquamarine had regained some of her composure, but her eyes were moist along the edges. I need to do something. Say something. When the solution presented itself I didn’t even hesitate. It was the same thing I would always do whenever White Rose had a troubling day at the office. I trotted over and gave Aqua a hug.
We stood like that for a moment. I stepped back, smiling sheepishly. Aqua returned the smile.
The door hissed open and Silver Lining stepped inside, removing his blast shield as he did so. Aqua immediately returned to her previous task. I stood there looking guilty. Silver gave me a knowing look. Tiptoeing around to stand right behind his wife, he leaning in and blew a big raspberry against her neck. The mare beat him back with a false protests.
“How was your patrol?” asked Aqua as she returned to her microscope.
“Two Slashers and a Glider,” he rattled off nonchalantly. “Slashers are the ones with the hoof blades and gliders have the two legs and tail hook,” he explained to me. Resting his forelegs on Aqua, he leaning in to peer over her shoulder. “What you working on?”
“Trying to keep us alive for the next twenty four hours,” she said, dislodging Silver with a shrug.
Silver Lining looked over at me, “she’s convinced that we’re all going to suffocate unless we do something drastic.”
Aqua glowered at her husband. “We are,” she insisted. “The necromorphs―they reanimate dead flesh, hence the name―”, she explained to me, “are slowly poisoning the air filtration system with bio spores.” She held up the test tube from earlier, swirling the blue liquid inside. “If I can perfect this cure, it should purge the spores from the system. Unfortunately, in order to inject it into the air filtration system we have to get to the life support systems on the medical desk.”
“Is there a way to contact anyone on the medical?” I asked.
“We’ve tried. What do you think all that equipment is for?” said Silver Lining as he pointed a hoof at the pile of computers. “We’ve been regularly broadcasting messages throughout the ship, warning about danger trying to coordinate with other survivors, get someone to fix the Common’s door so that we can get out of here. The only pony we’ve made contact with was the First Officer. We told him about the air system, and that we were working on a cure. He said he was going to investigate. Haven’t heard back from him. ”
“What about other ships? Surely any broadcast would be picked up and they would come to investigate.”
“We don’t have an encoder, or a long range transmitter for that matter,” admitted Silver Lining, “ unless you're scanning open frequencies, which hardly anyone does due to space interference, it will appear as fluctuating static.”
Like what we received before arrival….
I looked at the pair, thinking out loud. “What about the way I came in? Surely both of you could…” I stopped when I say Aquamarine start to shake. Silver Lining draped a forehoof protectively over her shoulders.
“Aqua has severe astrophobia. I’ll be the first to say that it was quite the challenge to get her on board. She settled in just fine, but still won’t go anywhere near an airlock … or a zero gravity room.”
I opened my mouth to say something but Silver beat me to it. “I won’t leave her side,” he said flatly. His eyes flashed, fierce and hard, the message was all too clear: he would sooner die than leave her. I gave him a nod, letting him know that I understood. His aggressive posture diminished slightly, but he still clung to Aquamarine.
Suddenly the computer terminal near the door started to beep. Silver left Aqua to investigate. He hit a button and the speakers crackled briefly with static before I heard a voice. A very familiar voice.
“Someone please help! I am trapped on a service lift in the Trans system maintenance facility. Those things have me surrounded. Please come quick.”
“Calendula Blossom,” I hissed.
“Shipmate of yours?” asked Aquamarine.
I nodded.
Silver lining had pulled up a diagram of the CMC Sparkle and was studying it intently. “You know,” he said, turning to me, “if you popped back over there, you could fix the Trans system, rescue your friend, and then come back for us. It would be a neat way to solve all our problems in―as we pegasus like to say―one fell swoop.”
I nodded in agreement. “Let’s fix my RIG and then I can go,” I said. “Where’s the torch?” I asked, looking around.
“I’m in the midst of upgrading your weapons,” Silver Lining said smugly.
“Upgrades? Weapon-s?” I asked, not quite sure what he meant.
Silver Lining grinned, a manic grin that promised a little bit of genius and a whole lot of crazy.
*** *** ***
“How much further until we reach this dead friend of yours?” I hollered as I lined up my my shot. Aquamarine’s advice still rang in my ears: ‘aim for their limbs, dismember them, it’s the most effective way to kill them’. I awkwardly depressed the safety with one hoof while pressing the trigger with the other; the tool had not been built with an earth pony in mind, at least not one that couldn’t use his mouth because of a helmet. The modified Plasma Cutter shot a horizontal burst of energy.
Normally this “burst of energy” would have been impossible for such a tool. It was limited by a force field which condensed the energy into a short blade. Silver Lining had shown me how to utilize the workbench and bypass circuits to solve this ‘design flaw’.
The flat plain of plasma sheared the Slashers leg just below the hip. The creature crashed to the floor. I took off one arm and then the other. It thrashed and died as muddy liquids spewed forth.
It was almost invigorating, in a morbid sort of way.
The display on the Plasma Cutter read “0”. I ejected the plasma pack. Pulling a fresh one out of my RIG’s storage I inserted it into the Plasma Cutter. A “12” flashed onto the screen.
Silver Lining finished cutting through a Glider, just another in the quickly mounting dead we had put down on this expedition. Whatever the pegasus was feeling was once again hidden behind his blast shield. He hovered above the Glider as it twitch its last.
“It’s just around the corner,” he said.
And just around the corner...more monsters. This time I didn’t even wait for Silver Lining, just pointed my Plasma Cutter at the closest one and took off a leg. Then did the same to its buddy. These things were easy to pick off once they were forced to crawl their way towards you.
I finished off the last of them while Silver Lining moved ahead. I trotted after him to catch up, nearly colliding with him when he stopped abruptly. Silver opped the door before him and entered. I followed inside.
A dead earth pony was lying on the bed. I tried to ignore the mess he had made by turning his plasma pistol upon himself; there wasn’t much of a head left. Silver Lining didn’t even seem bothered by it as he flipped the corpse over. He immediately went to work, taking parts off the dead pony’s RIG. He lay aside the rail mount and several protective plates.
“Now for the fun to begin,” he said, holding up the mount. Silver Lining indicated for me to turn around. I did so. First he went to work on the mount itself, then connected it to the slot just above my left shoulder. He took the plasma cutter from my hooves and slid it onto the rail. Finally, after a quick search, he discovered the dead pony’s helmet and removed a chip from its computer, only to insert it into my own.
An alert popped up on my HUD, indicating that new software was downloading. When it completed a bit trigger sprung out from inside my helmet and stopped in front of my face. Grabbing the trigger in my mouth I saw a targeting laser appear from just over my shoulder. It swung this way and that with the movement of my helmet.
“Nifty, huh?” asked Silver Lining as he attached several protective plates to the slots on my back and sides. “Now you don't have to carry it in hoof.”
“It’s gonna make running and shooting much easier,” I agreed.
With a final click of a plate sliding into place, Silver gave me a pat on the back and turned towards the door. “Lets get you to the airlock so that you can rescue your friend, and then the rest of us”.
Just before leaving the room I snatched up the plasma pistol and attached it to my utility hook.
Author's Note
This is the chapter that unfortunately turns the rating from teen to mature. I will try to avoid full on gore, but we'll see how long that lasts.
This will be my only chapter submitted for the next month or so. Unfortunately I have to devout my time to other things...like College.
Feel free to speculate below in how you think the story is going to progress. I am very interested in where my readers think this is going to do. But... as a certain Dr. River Song is famous for saying, I wont be reveling any "spoilers..."
