Empty Space: A Battlestar Galactica Crossover

"Phoenix one is secure on board, sir."

"I'll take the report in the conference room. Colonel Luna, you're with me."

The report puzzled the Admiral in the extreme. "No activity of any kind?"

"No, sir. No observed ships, no observed lights on any body in the system, no comm traffic, no power-generation signatures. We maneuvered through the system without challenge. If there's anypony there, they're very well hidden."

"That's peculiar. If it was me, I'd want bases, early warning stations, at least a monitor buoy."

Armor scowled, sure that somehow there was a key to this puzzle that he just needed to grasp and all would make sense. "We have to remember that the Earthers have been separated from us for so long that their viewpoint may be hard to understand. Alien, almost."

"It's a long way to come to find aliens. We've always assumed that if we ever found any, it would be by stumbling into them."

"Let's hear what Lt Maud has to say." He picked up a phone. "CIC, this is the Admiral. Tell Ms Maud we're ready for his briefing in the conference room. Armor off line."

The named officer appeared at the door. Saluting his superiors, he began at a nod from the Admiral. "We can now definitely confirm that the signal is in fact coming from the single system which was our leading candidate before. While the fleet has been in maintenance, I have been studying the system. I believe there are four large planets, probably gas giant type, and several smaller bodies, including moons of the large planets. I believe, based on spectrum shifts in the earth signal, that it is a planet in its own right, and not one of the moons.

"Another feature that we have noted in our monitoring is that the proportion of out-of-language broadcasts is rising. In fact, we have identified one that appears to be a language instructional video. I know I'm going out on a limb here, but it seems as though the Earthers have more than one language."

Luna snorted. "Why bother creating a new language? What possible gain would there be to justify the enormous cost?"

Armor pursed his lips. "Different people, different priorities. Do you have any speculation on why, lieutenant?"

Maud shifted uncomfortably. Out of the realm of fact, she always felt exposed; to error, to uncertainty. "It may be a security measure, a way to encrypt messages. It could be a way to separate one group from another, the way we color-code lines and tubes according to function."

Spike heaved up on an elbow, struck by a sudden thought. "Why aren't you an officer?"

Rarity blinked at him. "We can't all be officers. Somepony has to do the actual work." Spike snorted.

"Well, yeah. Sure. But I've talked to lots of officers, and at least half of them have less on the ball than you do. Don't they pick out officer candidates during basic training?"

"Yes, but you have to volunteer for it."

"Well, then, why didn't you?"

"I don't know. Officers have a lot of responsibility, and I guess I just wanted to do a job I knew I could handle and not have all that burden. Nopony wants to hear from me, anyway." Spike laughed out loud. She slugged him. In the arm. Hard. "Don't laugh at me, I was being serious."

"Ow," he yelled. "I wasn't laughing at you, not exactly. You should read the stuff we have to wade through from the public comment link. The occasional intelligent post is such a relief."

"But things work out better if responsibility is given to the most capable, not to those who want it the most." There was a brief silence. "Didn't I see some sort of notice that the Fleet was recruiting more officers? Why don't you find out who's in charge of it and apply?"

"It's Col Luna, but I don't..."

"That's perfect, you see her all the time."

"Maybe," she said, turning the possibility over in her mind, weighing the gain in prestige, pay, and living quarters against the chance that she would flub it, and have to work alongside people who could never forget her failure. After some time, her train of thought wandered onto a new track. "Is she happy?"

"Who? Luna? She's happy enough, I suppose."

"No. The President. I've seen the way she looks at the Admiral, and he at her. What are they waiting for, do you think?"

"I don't know. It's not the sort of thing I can really talk to her about."

"Sure. And it would be inappropriate for me to bring it up with him." And there the topic died. For the moment.

Lt. Sparkle turned up at the Comm Shop for her assigned rotation. She surveyed the scene before her with some concern. The number of hooves far exceeded the detail he had expected, and only one of the teevees was under active monitoring. The others were functioning, but no eyes were on them. His predecessor noticed him and stood to be relieved. "It's a game. Nopony is allowed to touch the ball with their hooves or use magic, except the 'goalie', who is never a unicorn. This team is called 'Arsenal' and they're playing their arch-rivals..."

"Thank you," Sparkle interrupted curtly. "And on the other frequencies?"

"Um..."

"I see. Relieving you," she said abruptly and formally.

"I stand relieved."

Sparkle adjusted the selector and the game vanished, replaced by some sort of seaship gliding past what appeared to be a floating mountain of ice. "I think we have learned all we can from that broadcast," he stated firmly.

Rarity emerged carefully from the side chamber and back into the flurry of her engagement party. She clutched her fiance's arm and gasped out, "I think I'm going to be sick." She doubled over.

"What is it? What's the matter?" he asked, all solicitous.

She looked up at him and shrunk back in upon herself. "I just told the President of the Colonies how to run her love life. Oh, my gods. What have I done? How will she look at me now? Oh, I can't believe I did that"

"Is that all?" he said, sympathy irritatingly vanishing in the instant.

"Is that all?" she repeated incredulously. "She's the President of the Colonies! And who am I?"

He lifted her up and tilted her face toward his. "Who are you? I'll tell you who you are. You are her assistant's fiance, an important member of the bridge crew of our flagship, and a constituent. On any one of those bases you could say whatever you want to her. This is a democracy, after all."

She clutched his arm. "But what if she takes it out on you?" she asked urgently.

"First of all, she's not the kind to do that, even if she figures out that I put you up to it -- which she probably will; she's no fool, after all. Second, everypony tells her stuff like that. I can't tell you how many messages of personal criticism come in every month. It's all part of the job."

Rarity approached the imposing old pony and saluted. When she acknowledged her, she said, in a voice carefully rehearsed to exude confidence, "I'd like to be considered for the officer training program... sir." Inwardly, she cursed herself for the delay in courtesy, imagining it betrayed her inner weakness. But she did not let any shadow of doubt show on her face.

"Would you?" asked Luna, as though she had never heard of such a program, nor imagined that the likes of Specialist Rarity could ever qualify.

"Yes, Colonel," she replied evenly.

"Well, Specialist, let's say that there's a fire aboard the ship, and it is approaching the fuel stores for the Manticores. Let's further say that there are, oh, five people trapped in that area, fighting the fire. Do you think you could give the order to vent the section to space, knowing that those people would die? Do you think you have the stomach for it? Do you really?" she asked, boring into her soul with a steely gaze.

She tried not to let her discomfort show. "To save the ship and everypony aboard, sir? Yes, Colonel, I think I could."

"You think?" she challenged.

"I could. Because I would have to.," she said firmly.

She left her standing at attention and entered a few keystrokes in the log. "Finish out your watch, then get some rack time. You'll need it. I've adjusted the duty schedule. Report to the port watch training officer for the first night watch. Was there anything else you wanted?"

"No, sir." She saluted and moved to re-assume her station.

As she left, she said, "Oh, cadet Rarity."

"Sir?"

"It's about damn time."