Tempered Steel let out a soft moan, sitting up and clutching his head. His vision was swaying in and out of focus, but he could still make out a few ponies rushing around, and many other crew members lying around like he was.

“What…what happened?” he managed, staggering to his hooves, a pony limping over to him and propping him up.

“The human ship hit us, sir,” the pony groaned.

“They fired at us? Our shields would have absorbed that,” Tempered Steel retorted.

“No, sir, I mean they literally hit us,” the pony reiterated. “It looked like they had a weapons malfunction and then rammed us.”

“Get me a damage report, we’ll figure out what happened later,” Tempered Steel shook his head, his vision finally clearing enough for him to see properly.

The bridge was in ruins, a few crew members fighting a small fire which had erupted within one of the many destroyed consoles, while others were helping the injured back up, trying to regain some sense of order.

“I want a damage report!” Tempered Steel shouted, making sure he was heard over the groans and screaming. “What have we lost in the rest of the ship? Adamantine…”

“He’s dead, sir,” one of the bridge crew called out, Tempered Steel catching sight of his second in command.

The massive form of the Minotaur was now pinned to the wall, a large chunk of the ships superstructure stabbing through him, a large pool of blood forming around him. His hands were both around the metal that had killed him, still holding on in their death grip. Adamantine would never had gone done quietly, and even at the end, he fought.

“Ok, we keep going,” tempered Steel bellowed. “Sweetie?”

“Offline, sir.”

“Somebody else then. List off, life pods?”

“Over half are gone, the majority of those that remain are exposed to the void and unresponsive.”

“Communications Array?”

“Main antenna destroyed, secondary and tertiary not responding.”

“Power plant?”

“Primary is operating at two percent capacity, secondary overloaded, it’s spilling plasma out onto decks thirty-eight through forty. The crew down there can’t contain it.”

“Life support?”

“It’s operating, but only just, we lost a lot of our atmosphere in the explosion.”

“Do we have anything working? Anything?”

“Forward torpedoes are still operating, as are the starboard broadsides.”

“Great, the one thing we don’t need,” Tempered Steel growled. “Do what you can to set condition zero throughout the ship. Get the crew off of decks thirty-eight, thirty-nine and forty and redistribute them to the damage hotspots. What’s the least damaged area of the ship right now?”

“Mess hall four, sir.”

“Then give the order for all injured, doctors and non-repair crew to meet there. Divert any power we can to boost the life support at that part of the ship,” Tempered Steel ordered, limping towards his command chair and sitting down. His leg was bleeding from a shrapnel wound, but it wasn’t life threatening.

“Captain, the bridge backup generator just went dark,” a pony called out. “The bridge will be flooded plasma in under ten minutes.”

“Order a team to try and contain it,” Tempered Steel sighed, standing back up. “Everybody else, divert anything you can to personal computers and abandon the bridge. Set up as best you can in Mess Hall. We’re abandoning the bridge.”

***

“What the hell happened?!” Carnak bellowed, struggling to be heard over the screams of his fellow crew members. “Did the humans fire at us?!”

“No idea, Sir!” one of Carnak’s pilots called back as he galloped past. “There’s a fire in the hanger bays, come on!”

Carnak didn’t waste any more time, running off after the pony towards the hanger bay. They passed by dozens of screaming ponies and Gryphons on the way, many of whom were bearing horrific injuries, slowly ducking underneath the collapsed super-structure of the ship as they tried to limp towards safety, wherever that was at the moment. Carnak paid them little mind as he headed directly into the smoke filled hanger, grabbing one of the emergency extinguishers that lined the walls.

“Save the Interceptors!” Carnak bellowed out, heading towards one of the sub-bays and looking in at the ten craft that were nestled within.

Equestrian Interceptors were the smallest jump capable crafts the Empire had, each ship in the fleet carrying at least one of them. This bay was one of five on the Celestial Fury, and Carnak just hoped that at least one of the ships would still be working afterwards.

The fire had already spread across many of the ships, the automated fire suppression systems being overwhelmed, but one was still relatively undamaged, and Carnak headed towards it, hosing down any of the flames that were licking at its sides, trying to engulf it.

“You men, get this interceptor out of here, the main corridor should be just about large enough and is on a separate atmo-system,” he ordered, looking over at a group of armsmen who were trying in vain to keep the fire from overwhelming a heavily damaged craft.

“But sir…” one began.

“Just do it!” Carnak roared, finishing off the last of the extinguisher and tossing it aside, before putting his claws on one of the Interceptor’s wings, pushing with all his might.

The craft didn’t move, even as Carnak grunted and strained, before it suddenly jolted forward as the group abandoned the other Interceptor in favour of helping Carnak. More crew continued to join them as they slowly pushed the Interceptor through the hanger, two Minotaur’s hauling any wreckage standing between them and the door out of the way.

Eventually, after much effort, the Interceptor was pushed into the corridor, almost fully filling it, the wings scraping against the walls slightly. Turning back to the hanger, Carnak watched as crewmen still fought the fires, but he knew it was a losing battle, and experience told him it was just prolonging the inevitable.

“Order everyone out of the hanger now, then seal the bulkheads and vent it,” he ordered, turning to the nearest pony.

“The fighters haven’t all been sealed, Sir, they won’t survive void exposure,” the pony pointed out.

“They won’t survive flames either, this way we might save a few,” Carnak replied. “Just give the order, I need to go and find out what is happening in the rest of the ship.”

“Attention all crew, attention all crew,” a voice crackled through what few speakers remained operational. “This is the Captain, the bridge is lost, as are all decks below thirty-eight. Any crew still below thirty-eight have ten minutes before we have to seal them off. Repair crews focus on preserving life support to the mess hall, you have leave to order evacuation of unsavable modules and sealing them off. All injured and medical staff get to emergency triage stations set up in the mess hall. We can get through this, Equestrian’s, Captain Tempered Steel out.”

“You heard the captain, if you’re not taking wounded to the mess, follow me down to thirty-seven and assist in the evacuation.”

Once again, Carnak ran through the ship, a clutch of his men following him while the others began to help carry the most heavily injured in the direction of the mess hall.

***

“Move move move!” Apple Tart roared, standing beside one of the airlocks and hurrying ponies through, before bringing up the rear once more. He had been on deck forty when whatever had happened sent plasma spilling through the deck, as had his team, and now they were sprinting for deck thirty-seven.

“Apple Tart, keep moving! We need to seal the deck off!” the voice of Apple Pie came over the speakers. “You’ve got to hurry!”

“I’m coming,” Apple Tart growled softly in-between pants, cantering hard, the rest of her team out of sight before her. “Almost…there.”

***

“Apple Pie, we have to…seal the bulkheads,” Carnak muttered. “You’ve got to give the order.”

“My brother is still down there Celestia damn it,” Apple Pie snapped back. “We’re not sealing anything until…”

“Don’t seal it yet!” a pony called out, before rushing through the bulkhead, followed by the rest of the engineering team, save for Apple Tart.

“Where’s Apple Tart?!” Apple Pie roared, grabbing one of the Griffon’s by the shoulder and shaking him back and forth.

“He was…right behind us,” the Griffon panted, collapsing to the floor and wheezing.

“Get him to the mess hall,” Carnak ordered, standing beside Apple Pie. “Apple Pie…”

“Don’t say it,” Apple Pie snarled, before stumbling as a fresh explosion rocked the ship, emanating from beneath them.

“Apple Pie!” Carnak roared, looking at the Earth Pony Mare. “Seal the bulkheads, or we’ll lose this deck too!”.

“My brother is still down there!” Apple Pie roared back.

“You’re the rutting Head Engineer, lose your brother or lose the ship!”

“I…I…” Apple Pie began, before Carnak slammed a claw on the metal deck.

“That’s it, I’m doing it,” he roared, before slamming his claw down on the control panel, the bulkhead slowly beginning to close.

“You bastard!” Apple Pie roared, diving at Carnak and knocking him over. “My brother is still in there!”

“Get off,” Carnak snapped, easily pushing the pony off of him and glaring at her. “I’m sorry, but the ship has to come first.”

“You’re a…” she began, before her ears picked up the sound of cantering hooves.

Turning, she laid eyes on Apple Tart, heading for the closing door at full speed, his chest heaving as he gave it all he had.

“Hold the door!” he roared, pushing himself harder.

Apple Pie turned to the console, only to find Carnak standing in the way.

“Don’t try it,” he warned.

“Fuck you!” Apple Pie roared, turning and beginning to scramble under the bulkhead. “I’m coming!”

She got almost half way under before she felt something close around her tail, twisting to see Carnak grabbing hold of it and beginning to pull.

“Let me go you feathered freak! She screeched, kicking and flailing, but it was no use, and she was pulled back under the bulkheads, her mane clearing it just moments before it sealed in place. A split second later there was a thump on the other side, Apple Tart beginning to frantically pound on the door.

“Open up! I don’t have long left in here!”

“Hold on!” Apple Pie roared back, before delivering a kick into Carnak’s face, sending the Griffon reeling, but not letting go of her tail. “Let me save my brother!” she roared again, trying to kick Carnak once more, before he pinned her to the floor, letting out an angry screech of his own.

“He’s gone! I had to do this and you know it! I will not let you destroy what’s left of this ship, understand?!”

“Fuck you! I’m…” Apple Pie began, before Apple Tart called out from the other side of the door.

“S-Sis? Sis it’s ok, he’s…he’s right. You can’t open the door, you’ll…you’ll never get it closed in time.”

“No, don’t say that,” Apple Pie shook her head, Carnak letting her wriggle free as she crawled over to the bulkhead, placing her ear against the metal to better hear her brother. It was already hot, not to an extent that it was painful to touch, but it was uncomfortable, and it was rising steadily. “We can get you out, just…”

“Pie, it’s ok, really,” Apple Tart murmured from the other side, laying his own head against the door, sweat matting his fur. “I knew the risks, don’t take it out on Carnak. He was only doing what’s best. Carnak?” he raised his voice slightly.

“I’m here, Tart,” Carnak replied, his voice solemn and his eyes downcast.

“Thank you, for saving my sister,” Tart let out a soft chuckle. “She’s as stubborn as an Ox. And don’t blame yourself either. You made the right call.” His voice began to raise as he spoke, becoming slightly more frantic, Apple Pie having to take her ear off the metal as it grew hotter.

“I-I know it’s not possible to open the bulkheads again,” Apple Tart began, his voice definitely showing signs of panic and distress, “but can you open the other ones? Ones exposed to the void?”

“What?! No!” Apple Pie screeched, tears rolling down her face.

“It will be a quicker and less painful way to go,” Apple tart pleaded. “Please, sis, don’t let me burn.”

“I can’t,” Apple Pie sobbed. “I…I’m sorry.”

“Carnak! Override code 773549!” Apple tart half roared half screamed. “Please!”

“Celestia speed, Tart,” Carnak muttered softly to himself, typing in the code on the panel.

There was a soft thump on the door, followed by a whistling noise, before silence fell over the bulkhead. The heat in the door had dropped rapidly, and Apple Pie instantly put her ear against it once more.

“Apple Tart? Apple Tart!”

When there was no reply, Carnak moved forward slightly, extending a claw towards her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Apple Pie, but…” he began, before he was knocked flying by a double hoofed buck, landing in a heap on the other side of the corridor as Apple Pie stood over him, glaring down at him with rage in her eyes.

She stayed like that for almost ten seconds, breathing heavily as neither one of them moved, waiting for the other to make the first move, before finally she turned on her hooves and stalked off up the ship, leaving Carnak on his own.

“I guess I can give her that one,” he grunted as he got up, massaging the two horseshoe shaped bruises that were already forming on his chest, before following after Apple Pie and heading for the Mess Hall.

***

Tempered Steel emerged into the mess hall to the sound of screaming. Hundreds of voices, pony, griffon, minotaur, were all mingling together as any crew member with medical training darted between the injured, doing what they could to stop the pain and prevent any more deaths. Tempered Steel could see that they were giving it their all, but his practiced eye could already tell that a lot of the injured wouldn’t make it without a proper medical bay, something they were lacking at the moment.

“Sir, are you hurt?” a Pegasi mare ran up to Tempered Steel, quickly checking him over for any major damage as she spoke.

“No, concentrate on the others,” he shook his head.

“Then step back please, we can’t afford to be asking whether ponies are injured or not,” she snapped, sounding harsher than she probably meant to, before hurrying off to see to her next patient.

Tempered Steel watched her go, before slowly walking around the outside of the room, looking at the rows of injured. His staff were setting up a temporary command centre in an adjacent room, but for now he had a few minutes to look at his crew. As the captain, he felt it important to show his crew he cared for them, even if all that meant was lending a hood to any doctor who needed it. The smell of blood was almost over-whelming, and even though he had smelt it before, Tempered Steel would never get used to it.

“Captain?” a groggy voice called out as he walked past one of the benches-turned-hospital bed, looking down to see the very pale form of Guard Captain Lance.

Lance was a huge example of an Earth Pony Stallion, and even in his clearly weakened state he looked imposing. The bits of his armour that Tempered could see were covered in blood, while a blood-stained sheet covered the rest of his body. Whatever his injury was, it was likely he would survive, otherwise the medics wouldn’t have given him the bench and sheet.

“What…happened?” Lance asked, moving his head slightly to better look at Tempered.

“It doesn’t matter now, you just focus on getting some rest,” Tempered assured him, kneeling down beside him. “How many of your guards are still active? Do you know?”

Lance coughed, before weakly gesturing to his headpiece on the floor beside him. “Readout’s…will all be on there, sir. I’ll…I’ll be up soon to help.”

“You get some rest, that’s an order,” Tempered smiled softly, before walking off and standing to the side of the room, waiting to see if any of the medics were requiring assistance.

“I’m fine, it’s just a bruise,” came the unmistakable voice of Carnak from the other side of the room, Tempered looking over at the Griffon and seeing the two horseshoe bruises on his chest. From the glares that Apple Pie was giving him, it wasn’t hard to figure out who gave them to him, and he made a mental note to find out the cause.

Tempered began to head over to Carnak, before one of the ships guards cantered over to him, skidding to a halt and saluting quickly.

“Sir, deck thirteen reports the sounds of plasma cutters being used. They’re not ours, and the scanner we could salvage reports double hull thickness, we’re guessing it’s the humans. They’re cutting through the hull.”

“Assemble all free guards there,” Tempered looked over at Carnak. “Are any of your pilot’s personal weapon trained?”

“A few of them, sir,” Carnak nodded. “I’ll have them meet us there.”

“Let’s go then,” Tempered said as he set of at a gallop, the guard leading the way and Carnak bringing up the rear, barking into his headset as they went.

Author's Note

So I finally got around to actually writing this, sorry for the delay :P