First contact

Ponyville, 5 minutes before touch-down.

It was the end of the Lunch Rush. Everypony who came to eat had left, and the streets were less than bustling. A few ponies milled around in the town square, a few dozed on their porches, a few worked in their gardens or tended to their shop stalls, and a few talked with friends. It was a particularly normal day, nothing out of the ordinary really seemed to happen. Although, one pony could sense... something. Something big.

A bright pink pony, with bright blue eyes, curious and staring, like a child, and a ridiculous smile that could brighten a room, was hopping down the street. Not walking, not trotting, but hoping. Her name was Pinkie Pie. She wasn't in search of much, at the moment, just saying hello to anything that would pass her by, although a few villagers deliberately stayed away. Pinkie was the town nut, a kind and happy mare, but... different. Some villagers even made up all sorts of rumors about her. The most popular and well-known rumor about Pinkie is that she's a psychopath that drags ponies down into Sugarcube Corner's basement, slaughters them, and uses their innards to create cupcakes. The theory was debunked easily, thanks to some of Twilight's test's on Pinkies cupcakes, and the distinct lack of disappearing ponies. Another was her use of powdery white substances to give her the speed and vigor, but that, too, was disproved. Some say she can bend space and time, and see's another world, and that may very well be true. However, there is one myth that everypony knows is true, but nopony understands: her "Pinkie Sense". Her "Pinkie Sense" was her peculiar ability to sense a catastrophe or accident before it happens. It has saved life and limb for quite a few ponies in the past. Well, it did help break every bone in one pony's body, forcing him to stay in the hospital for over three months (at least he had Rainbow Dash as a roommate... er...) , and there was one time Twilight was studying her sense, when she was crushed by an anvil, a piano, and a cart full of hay, but it has served as a warning sign in the past for others.

Pinkie was hopping along down Mane street, leading to the crystal castle in the middle of town, Twilight's castle. She figured she'd stop by, say hello, talk a little, and leave. It was better than hopping about without a purpose. She, then, saw a light tan mare, with a deep red mane the color of a rose. Her eyes were leafy green, soft, but slightly distant, as though she was always thinking about something else. She was Rose Luck, and she was hefting a sack of soil down the road. Rose Luck spotted Pinkie, and silently cursed. Rose Luck was a tad anti-social, and Pinkie was far too social. Rose Luck could carry a conversation, but she had learned to be used to being alone, and had come to enjoy her solitude. She faked a smile.

"Hiya, Rosy! Watcha doin'?" Pinkie said, still jumping in place. Rose Luck elbowed the bag back in place on her back.

"Just bringing home some more soil, thinking of expanding my garden a bit more." Rose Luck said. She was indeed thinking of expanding her garden, but the problem was that, since the Tirek attack or whoever, her garden was demolished, along with all of her personal belongings. She had moved into a new place, and had ignored furnishing her house for the time being, since gardening was both her only real source of income and it helped her feel much better.

"Oh coolieo! Sorry, but I gotta-" Pinkie, suddenly, stopped and stood rigid, eyes wide.

'Oh great, she's having another episode. I better go before she starts ranting about the Illuminati, or whatever happened last time,' Rose Luck thought to herself. Then, Pinkies eyes began to twitch. Rose slightly recoiled, uncertain of how to react. Then, Pinkie began looking around, panicked. Her mane and tail (somehow) began violently twitching and wiggling, and Pinkie sat down and began scratching her neck like a dog. She was having a fit, more specifically, her Pinkie Sense was kicking in. Rose's eyes widened, and panic set in. "Uh... hey, Pinkie, I gotta go... Seeyabye," Rose Luck said, galloping down the road, trying to get as far away from Pinkie Pie as she could. Her soil fell off her back, and she picked up speed.

"Hey! Lady! You dropped your soil!" A stallion behind her shouted, but she didn't stop, and neither did Pinkie Pie. Pinkie continued to itch, twitch, and jitter everywhere. Pinkie had finally decided to head straight for Twilight. Pinkie had full access to the castle, so the sentries simply stepped aside as Pinkie busted through the doors.

"TWILIGHT!" Pinkie screamed. In the castles library, Twilight Sparkle, the newly appointed princess of Friendship and Harmony, was startled out of her concentration. Even for being a new member of royalty, she had quite little to do, and was busy color coding her entire library of over 100,000 books when Pinkie Pie came in. Twilight dropped her color coding book, and sighed.

"Yes, Pinkie? I'm in the library." Twilight responded, annoyed. Pinkie sprinted into the crystal library, full speed, and skidded to a halt.

"Ohhh! Twilight! It's happening! It's happening!" Pinkie said, looking around as though she were expecting somepony. Twilight rolled her eyes. Pinkie was like this a lot: vague. Somehow, an overly active mare who couldn't STOP talking for the life of her, could dance around the simplest description.

"Pinkie Pie, please be just a tad more specific?" Twilight asked. Suddenly, almost like her request was answered, Pinkie Pie's eye began to twitch, her body began to itch, and every muscle in her body began to jitter. Twilight's eyes widened in horror as the situation became prevalent. "Oh my Celestia..." Twilight whispered. This was the worst Pinkie Sense fit she has ever seen, her limbs shaking at every angle. Then, just as suddenly as it arrived, it stopped. Pinkie shook her head, and hid under a desk.

"Oh my gosh! What do we do!?" Pinkie Pie pleaded, covering her eyes. Twilight crouched down, peeking under the desk.

"Look, for now, let's just try to keep things under wraps. I mean, hey, how bad could it be?" Twilight asked, foolishly. Pinkies' Sense hadn't really kicked in since a while back, not even for the Tirek incident, so Twilight figured that, maybe, this was a false alarm. Maybe nothing would happen. Maybe...

"Well... I'll try." Pinkie Pie said, glumly, as she crawled out from under the desk. Twilight smiled, warmly.

"Don't worry about it too much, Pinkie. We can tackle anything that comes our way, I promise." Twilight said, wrapping a hoof around her friends shoulder in a comforting hug. Pinkie smiled, as she always did. "Now, why don't you go off and see what Dash is up to? I'm sure she's done with her weather patrol. Besides, it should help you take your mind off things." Twilight offered. Pinkie Pie grinned, and threw her arms around Twilight's neck in a much more chocking embrace.

"Oh, thank you, Twilight! You always know what to do!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and began hopping back out of the library, as though nothing happened. Twilight watched her friend go, and simply lingered on the experience. Would this potentially mean something in the coming future? Was this more than just a "twitch", and maybe a real prophecy? Twilight shook her head.

'No matter,' She thought. 'Come Tartarus or high water, we can and will overcome.' Twilight thought, defiantly. She bit her bottom lip, and looked to the scroll desk. She chewed her lip, and finally agreed with herself to keep a scroll and ink close by for any possible emergencies. She took a scroll into her magic telekinetic field, and flew back up to her perch, where she continued to color code her upper library.

Meanwhile, in the southern fields, high above the grassy hills and flower beds, resting on a cloud was Rainbow Dash. She rested her head on the pillowy clouds and slept, quietly. She worked weather patrol from time to time, trying to tame her life a bit. Even for her, times had recently gotten absolutely crazy, and a bit of serenity, as well as predictability, would be highly appreciated. She snuggled into the cloud as songbirds chirped their melody, trying to block out the noise. She growled under her breath as the birds not only continued their song, but flew about her cloud, chirping at her. Her eyes opened slowly, and she turned to one of the birds, and stared at it, hoping it would get the message. It didn't and chirped even louder. She growled at it, like a dog, not wanting to directly address it. It didn't leave. Dash, rolled her eyes, got up, and attempted towering over the bird.

"BUZZ OFF, YOU JERK!" She shouted, getting in the bird's face. It backed off, and pointed with its wing, for at least a moment, above Rainbow Dash's head. She cocked an eyebrow. "What?" She turned to look. "What are you pointing ah..." Dash's voice slowly trailed off as she saw... it. It was a massive... thing. It was long and slender, like a tube, but with six orbs, two on it's left and right, one in the back, and one in the front. It was as black as volcanic rock, and appeared to be shooting fire out from under it. Dash's eyes widened, and fear gripped her for a moment. Her mind buzzed with questions, uncertain just what to do. She, then, realized it was directly above her. It was, also, then that her ears were alerted to a deep rumbling, like a volcano. Was this a flying volcano or something? Stranger things have happened. Dash yiped, and jumped off the cloud, unfurling her wings. She beat her wings against the wind as she attempted to fly past the thing. However, the closer it got, the hotter the air became. Dash began to pant and sweat from the heat, and rather than attempting to fly to a nearby cloud, she glided down to the Everfree's edge, and shook the hot sweat from her coat. She backed away from the area, and watched as the flying volcano slowly touched down. She hopped into a dense bush, and assessed the situation. 'Okay,' She thought. 'A... flying volcano, I think, just fell out of the sky, nearly burnt me to a crisp, and is now...' she watched as legs slowly emerged from the craft, and touched down. The ship gave out a loud hiss, and it settled down. Dash's eyes widened, as she realized- 'IT'S A FRIGGIN' SPACESHIP!'... yeah. She stared, unable to move from both excitement and terror. 'Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmyGOSH! Aliens! Here! I can't believe it! What should I do? Maybe I should go and talk to them... no... I have to tell Twilight! She'll know what to do!' Dash thought. She gathered up her courage, and galloped off, deeper into the forest, for Twilight's castle.

5 minutes after touch down.

Sean and Peter clicked away at their keyboards, entering in the data that the scanners brought back. Their eyes were wide as the info rolled in, and told them about the atmosphere, the soil, the surrounding area, everything. It did a two meter scan underground, and unveiled tiny rabbit tunnels. The world was alive. Frank, Hughe and Stacy stared out the windows of the craft at the massive trees of the jungle. They smiled wide as they saw all assortments of birds and butterflies fly and flutter about outside. The world appeared almost fresh, new. The outside had blue skies, dense grasses, flowers, a jungle, and a...

"What the Hell is that?" Frank asked, pointing out the window to what appeared to be a giant crystal star atop a finely carved crystal spire. It was so finely pointed and flawless, it appeared artificial. The crew stared out the window, uncertain what to say. Hughe, then gasped in a mixture of awe and horror.

"Holy crap! Look over there!" He shouted, pointing up at the clouds. The crew craned their necks to peek under what little cloud cover there was, and squinted. Then, it came into view: a city, with a massive central building, a factory, a small town and even a colosseum, all made of clouds. Every tiny detail seemed to be perfectly molded out of clouds, and the cloud never drifted. It either was a real city, or a crazy optical illusion. Stacy's jaw fell open, and she simply stared, uncertain what to say. She stepped away from the window, and leaned back on her terminal, thinking. She was the team leader. Fearless, or so she thought. Hughe and Frank looked to each other, stupefied. Was this proof of extraterrestrials? While they, at the time, overwhelmingly hoped so, there was a kernel of doubt in their minds, and a hope that it was false. Peter and Sean had came to the window, too, and Peter was just as uncertain as Frank and Hughe. In all honesty, he was scared. Scared of the idea of extraterrestrials, and simply meeting one. But Sean... she was overwhelmingly excited. Not just of the extraterrestrials, but of how fresh the world appeared. The crew looked away from the windows of the craft, and attempted to formulate a plan.

"Alright... we don't know that there are aliens... It's probably an optical illusion... let's just stick to the plan. Peter, you should do a perimeter scan in the hazard suit, in case there's more than just birds and butterflies out there." Stacy said, regaining her composure. The thought of intelligence, however, lingered. Peter sighed, and proceeded to the storage wing, on the far left side of the ship. Peter hated the hazard suit, as it was bulky and hot. The suit, composed of an alloy of magnesium and lined on the inside with graphene, is incredibly strong, able to withstand the blast of a grenade, a focused laser, or even a train, and keep the wearer alive. Peter entered the storage wing. On the left wall, laser cutters, spare parts, and a few pieces of scanning equipment awaited use. In a cryogenic locker on the left wall was the height of non-combative laser technology: a mining laser, able to cut through bedrock, and be worn on the users back, rather than crated around in a rover or car. On the right wall was an essential part of the operation: a 3D printer, able to create any item the crew desired, using it's "Dummy A.I." and a database of over 500,000 words. And, ahead of the door, was the wall of suits. Each was colored a deep midnight blue, but each was designated for a different crew member, their suit's wearing their name on the suit's chest. Peter walked over to his, and removed the helmet, activating the entry sequence, where the shoulder pads pull away, giving Peter clearance to lower himself into the suit. He settled into the suit, feeling the rubber gloves of the suit, and placed the helmet on his head. The helmet was spherical, and his face plate exposed his entire face. He slid down the three primary visors. Each visor provided different levels of protection, the first being a radiation screen, the second being a solar screen, and the third prevented blunt force trauma to the face, being able to protect against the force of a 50 caliber bullet. Peter adjusted to his new suit, swinging his arms and taking a few steps, and walked out to the bay door. The heavy suit made it sound as though Peter gained 300 pounds, even though the suit was about 80 pounds. The hiss of his internal communications system came to life in his quiet helmet.

"*Hiss...* Testing one, two, three. You hear me?" Frank's voice rang out in the new, quiet realm that was Peter's suit.

"Oh no, YOU'RE the one Stacy decided I would be on the line with?" Peter said with sarcasm.

"I couldn't miss the opportunity to get a look outside without going outside." Frank said. Peter rolled his eyes as the bay door to the exterior lift opened. The elevator itself seemed to be hiding something much more insidious than a new, alien world, like it was darker than usual. Peter stepped inside.

"Alright Frank, let's get this over with." Peter said, his heart now beginning to race, and his palms sweating profusely. He clenched his fists, not letting fear overcome him.

"Scared, Peter?" Frank taunted. Peter then remembered the scanning devices on the suit itself, with interfaces that hooked up to tools, computers, and even his own heart rate.

"Very." Peter replied, his voice unwavering. The elevator began clicking as electrical components buzzed to life.

"Alright, lowered in three, two, one. Going down." Frank said. The elevator lowered, and the sound of the outside world flooded into the elevator: tree's blowing in the breeze, birds chirping, and a quiet nearby stream. None of these sounds even made it into Peter's helmet.

"Frank, would you kindly enable the outside feedback?" Peter asked.

"Oh, right. Here we go." Frank said. Suddenly, Peter heard the grainy sounds of the outside as the feedback became enabled. Peter marveled at the green of the outside world, as he slowly stepped out of the elevator, and into the outside world.

"Frank, you seein' this?" Peter asked, looking around the world with child-like curiosity.  The elevator closed behind him, leaving him isolated outside the ship with only the remote communications system and video feed to keep him in touch with the crew.

"Clear feed. Head for the crystal spire, see what that's all about." Frank said. Peter nodded, and walked for the spire. But, before he could even get ten steps in, Frank stopped him. "Wait, somethings... somethings... Peter, run." Frank said, as fear tainted his voice. Peter began to panic.

"What? What, why? Why should I-" Peter was cut off, as what alerted Frank inside of the ship landed beside him.

Rainbow Dash landed deftly on the balcony of Twilight's library, not even stopping to catch her breath. Adrenaline forced her forward, propelled on the wings of fear and excitement. Aliens, one's that came in a ship, and she could prove it!

'Here's to hoping they're not like the ones from Daring Do's book about those Crystal Pony Skulls.' Dash thought to herself. "TWI!" She shouted. Twilight groaned, annoyed, and flew up to the upper balcony.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, you gotta come with me! Right now!" Dash said, panicked. Twilight cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?" Twilight asked, confused.

"There's a thing! Aliens! Twilight, you gotta come with me!" Dash said, pointing out to the Eastern fields. Twilight chuckled.

"Aliens? Please, Dash, don't be so silly. There are no aliens." Twilight said, shaking her head. Dash furrowed her eyebrows angrily.

"Twilight, I'm serious. There are aliens, and I can prove it." Dash said, angrily. Twilight did this quite a bit, insulting Dash. She didn't hate nor despise Dash, but Dash was quite the knuckle-head, and it was always kinda fun to see just how puffed-up she could get, but it could go overboard, and Dash could hold a grudge better than most. Twilight sighed, and flew up to Dash's side.

"Alright, Dash, if you are so insistent on the idea that this is a ship..." Twilight said, walking out to the balcony. Dash huffed, and sprinted past Twilight, leaping off the balcony and unfurling her wings. Twilight joined Dash, and the duo flew for the Eastern fields.

"So, Dash... aliens?" Twilight asked. The Eastern fields, speckled with wild flowers, came into view. Twilight was certain that Dash was wrong, as she couldn't see the Everfree's ridge.

"Yes, aliens. They landed just outside of the Everfree. Must be hidden by the tree's, I guess." Dash said, peering down at the Eastern fields. Twilight's lips curved into a smirk, certain she had proven Dash wrong, but her confidence was replaced by uncertainty and confusion when she saw the ship herself. Instead of "I told you so", she gasped, hanging in the air for a moment. The rear end of the ship, as well as the left pod, were visible from their perch in the sky, but not the front. "I TOLD YOU, TWILIGHT!" Dash mocked. Twilight simply stared, trying to find words, though her mind was frying, just from looking at it. Her head began to ache, and she had to land.

"D-Dash... I... oh my Celestia... I need to land... I think I'm going to pass out." Twilight said, quietly, drifting down to the ship.

"Twilight!" Dash shouted, reluctantly following her. "Ergh, for an egghead, you can do some dumb things." Dash Said, under her breath. Twlight landed, softly, and got a much better look at the craft. It calmed her a little, knowing it was a size she could comprehend. It was the size of a two story house, towering over her. It was a deep, dark black, like the night sky, or the darkest pools of tar. It hummed, quietly, with an internal power. The front facing capsule of the ship was buzzing the loudest, tiny components sticking from it and scanning with tiny beams of light that darted every which way, searching. The craft was held up by six foot legs, two on each capsule, and six along the large, central tube. Twilight felt oddly safer, knowing it was much smaller than what she anticipated. Then, she made the horrid mistake of looking to the left. There, a good six feet away, stood a monster. It towered at six feet, maybe bigger, and it had long, claw-like arms. It's legs ended in weird boxes, like bricks, and it was a deep, midnight blue. It was bulky, its chest large and heavy, its shoulders large and broad. But, most horrifying, was its head, and utter lack of a face. Its head was spherical, almost perfectly round, but its face was grey. Grey as ash, and cold as ice. It lacked a gaze, yet Twilight could feel eyes beyond the grey. However, the monster reacted... differently than expected.

Peter stared, uncertain just how to react. It looked like a horse, but much smaller, and it had a persons face. At least, that's what his terrified mind could immediately identify. They stared in silence, uncertain what to do. Then, Peter did the only logical thing: throw his hands in the air, and run to the ship, screaming.

"OH NO! OH, GOODNESS! LET ME IN!" He screamed, jumping up and down, waving his hands around. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew inside stared at the frozen screen, staring at the extraterrestrial. It was, indeed, equestrian, in one form or another, but much different. In physiology, it appeared much more plump and small than a horse, with less obvious muscle mass. It's legs were shaped oddly, as well, its hooves being much larger than a terrestrial horse. However, one of the most extreme differentiating features was its face . Its eyes were similar looking to a human eye, save for the distinct size difference. Its iris was a bright, colorful purple. The face was contorted in an identifiable emotion of fear, and its lips looked and acted human. Its muzzle was short and boxy, ending in a sharp point rather than a blunt, round nose. Its nostrils were small slits above the mouth rather than large gaping holes. It had wings, on its sides, that were large and long, appearing almost five feet per wing. It also had a long, strait horn, measuring an educate guess of one foot. The crew had gathered around the terminal, and gawked. "HELP ME, YOU IDIOTS!" Peter screamed, shaking the crew from their awe-inspired encounterSean and hughe rushed to the window, to get their own look at the aliens, while Stacy stayed with Frank, ready to command him to open the door.

"Peter! Listen to me, you're gonna be okay, don't worry. We'll open the elevator right-"

"Whoa! Something's coming! Another one!" Hughe shouted from his position. Sure enough, another equine landed. This one was a baby blue, its mane and tail bright, vivid representations of the rainbow, and its eyes were a bright magenta. She was much more muscular, but still far from horse-level muscular.

"Twilight, you dope, what are you-" The new equine shouted from behind Peter, which stopped abruptly. Peter felt a pure sense of dread, and knew exactly what Frank wanted him to do.

"Peter... turn around..." Frank said, quietly, unsure just what to say. Peter, fearfully, obliged.

Rainbow Dash stared, feeling as every fiber in her being screamed at her to grab Twilight and run. Her stomach churned with a fear that made her heart pound, and made her feel like she would puke. Her legs felt stiff, numb, and refused to move. Her eyes stayed glued to the abominable creature, waiting for any real reason to run. Twilight, the cool headed, intelligent leader, had finally cracked, and felt as a sort of dark fear crept into her. The creature turned slowly, and simply stared. The whole world felt as though it froze, holding it's breath, like time itself stood still. Not even the birds dared to chirp. Finally, static, panicked breathing echoed from the creature, sending chills up their spines. Though, Twilight thought she could hear an undertone in the creatures voice, an undertone of fear. Finally...

"H... Hello?" The creature asked. Its voice, strained by fear, was oddly soothing, deep. It calmed them, yet it also terrified them. Twilight could feel the fear in its voice and decide to take advantage. She took a step forward, and took in a deep breath.

"Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are in the country of Equestria." She said, confidently.

Peter stared, mystified. This thing SPOKE. Spoke fluent English, and it stated its name and country. COUNTRY! Peter chuckled. It was all his feverish, confused mind could think to do. Twilight gave him an odd look.

"Twu... Twilight Sparkle...?" He repeated. She looked even more confused.

"I... yes... my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the Princess of Friendship... though I am not the ruler of this kingdom." She replied. Peter cleared his throat.

"You... you have a ruler?" He asked, pointing to Twilight. The little rainbow one began to walk over, a little cautious, but much less so than before.

"Yeah, her name's Celestia-"

"And Luna, don't forget Luna." Twilight butted in. The rainbow one rolled her eyes.

"And Luna, silly me." The rainbow one hissed, giving Twilight an angry look. "And if you cross either of us, they'll send your big, freaky butt sailing back home!" She shouted, trying to puff up her chest. Her failed intimidation vanquished the fear Peter previously felt, and caused chuckles to escape the crew mates inside.

"Alright, alright, no need to be hostile, Ms...?" Peter asked.

"Dash. Rainbow Dash." She replied, giving him a stink eye. Peter nodded.

"Ms. Dash, Ms. Sparkle, I would like to make a request, may we speak with your leader? We are new here, and are looking to study the environment a bit, nothing too serious." Peter asked. Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, and nodded.

"Uh... yeah... yeah, we'll be... right back." Twilight said, wrapping a hoof around Dash's neck in an embrace, before dissapearing in a poof of purple smoke. Peter stared, shocked.

"Hey... could you let me in, now?" Peter asked, surprised and a little freaked out.

"Yeah... yeah, I'll open the elevator, and lower the ramp." Frank replied. As promised, the elevator opened, and the ramp for easier access lowered to the outside. Peter climbed the ramp to the door, and entered through the airlock. His head spun with questions, and he wondered if he was an effective diplomat. The airlock opened, and Peter was greeted with cheering and clapping. Frank walked forward, and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter pulled his visors up.

"Way to speak for us, big guy. You made First Contact."Frank said, a huge grin across his face. Peter smiled back, and felt his heart beat warmly.

"You've paved the way to a better future, hopefully. Get out of your hazard suit and rest. We can take it from here." Stacy said, pulling off the rest of her atmosphere suit.

"Wait, it's safe outside?" Peter asked, removing his helmet.

"Perfectly. We can begin studying soon."

"And what if their leader arrives?" Peter asked.

"Frank'll wake you up." Stacy said, nodding to him. "By the way, Frank, would you kindly take my suit to the storage?" Stacy asked, wearing her jumpsuit, and handing Frank her atmosphere suit. Frank groaned, and took the suit. Peter wandered into the storage room, followed by Frank.

"So, this is it... what do you think we've got planned?" Peter asked, plugging his suit into the console and climbing out.

"Lots of public speakings, abduct some cows, crush weird runes 'n stuff into their grain fields. You know, alien things." Frank said, a big grin on his face as he stuffed the suit into one of the storage crates beside the 3D printer. Peter chuckled, and walked to the barracks to lay down. As he lay, he felt... uneasy. Excited, but with an undertone of fear. Peter closed his eyes, and drifted to sleep.

On Mars.

Delvont stared at his papers, glaring at the draft papers of the new ship he was funding. The ship could carry eight million soldiers and a crew of one million engineers to keep it working. The project was one of the most ambitious since the wormhole device, but it was top priority. Delvont felt his head pound with the force like a jackhammer, his skull feeling like it was threatening to split. He closed his eyes, and placed a hand to his head. He listened, closely, through the static in his mind.

"All hands must work on the ship, Delvont. The ship will be completed faster. Do it." The deep, evil voice commanded. Delvont smiled.

"Yes, my lord." Delvont replied. The ache left, and he stalked over to the intercom. "Attention all available engineers, the Dreadnaught is of top priority. All hands are to work on the Dreadnaught. That is all." Delvont commanded into the speaker. He felt immensely pleased, and turned the intercom off. He returned to his desk, sat, and stared at the plans. 'Yes, my lord...'