Alone in the stars

Chapters

Chapter 1: Alone in the stars
Chapter 2: Escaping the trap
Chapter 3: Into the hole

Chapter 1: Alone in the stars

Screen Glare eyed her screen suspiciously and tapped it a few times before shaking her head. She glanced out the window into the empty abyss of space, illuminated more by their magical windows than any actual light in the void. The red pegasus twitched a bit before looking over at the other pegasus piloting the ship with her. “You ever just get this... itchy feeling in your wings?”

“Hmm?” Rough Skies asked, glancing up. The pirate shrugged, then looked at his screen. “Nah, why? Nothing's showing up on the scanner.”

“I know. I just... I don't know,” she muttered before looking back to hers. “For a second something popped up, but it was gone a moment later.”

“Some trader probably hit the teleport gate and zoomed out, it's fine. Besides, we're almost done,” he said before motioning towards the window. Outside two other small frigates like hers were examining the wreckage of a few earth pony trading ships they'd popped a few moments ago. They should have known better than to come into pirate space. Mining none the less.

“I don't know,” she muttered. “I just can't shake this feeling that we're being watched.” She shook her head and started to get up. “Ugh, you've got this, don't you?”

“Of course I do, it--” His words were cut off as suddenly the ship reared to the right, jarring up and down as the system attempted to avoid a collision.

Screen moved to the controls a moment later as the ship righted itself, quickly looking out the view screen as she searched for whatever had hit them. There was a light, flickering glimmer in the air and their alarms started to go off, warning them they were being locked. The long, horn shaped vessel slowly materialized, moments before drones began to spill out from it. She quickly started locking as well.

“That's a unicorn vessel! What are those bastards doing out here?”

“Get us out of range, target the drones!” Rough yelled as he frantically clicked the controls. One of the frigates was already being peppered by the drones and after a second it exploded into a fiery inferno, the lack of air suppressing the fire in moments and leaving a black, collapsed wreck in its wake. Something was odd, their batteries were draining far faster than they should have, already almost out.

She was tempted to fight, but her survival instincts said no. “I'm pulling us out, aligning to the third planet,” Screen yelled, frantically hitting her controls as she tried to align herself. She knew it was impossible with the vacuum of space, but she swore she could hear, and even feel, as their second ship went up in a fiery explosion. One of the drones flew past the screen, making her freeze for a moment. They were almost aligned, they were going to be okay. All they had to do was dart away then. They were far smaller and faster than that other ship, they'd be fine. They aligned. Hit the right speed.

Their mana batteries were completely dead, all the magic drained from them. They couldn't warp. “No no no!” she shrieked as she tried to click the warp button over and over. The sound of their armor breaking could be heard echoing through the ship. “Stop! No! Damn it! Damn unicorns!”

A single rust-colored earth pony wearing a thin red bodysuit shuddered inside his chair as the last ship exploded. Wires sprung out from the back of his head, plugging directly into the ship. Information flooded his mind and he almost casually cast whatever he didn't need aside, his focus on the wreckage before him and on his scanners for all the teleport gates. With a mental wave of his hoof, the drones slowly popped back into his ships and he slowly advanced towards the wreckage. He shuddered again as his ship's magical field reached out, plying open the wreckage and telling him what they'd found.

The ship calculated everything, determining what would be valuable and worth actual bitz, before funneling it into his mind and making him shudder once more. All that data entering his skull felt oddly cold, like a bottle of ice water was being spilled directly into his brain.

There were only a few damaged weapons of value, as well as their corpses. He shuttled it all into his cargo hold before he took a slow, deep breath and engaged the cloak once again. His ship disappeared from the world and he slowly aligned himself with the nearest gate out. He mentally sent out his message.

One of the many screens ahead of him came on, showing a red earth pony's face staring back at him. “Please hold on while we connect yah,” it said in a thick drawl. He disliked these kinds of talks. He could just as easily do negotiations and talks mentally through the ship, there was no need for him to actually talk with people, face to face.

But most of his clients tended to not feel the same way, preferring a pony face to do business with. After a few moments a yellow earth pony appeared. “Hmmm? Oh, the pod pony. Did you find the pirates?”

“Yes, they won't bother you any more,” he said softly, cringing again. With his ship connected directly to his skull, he swore talking made his mouth hurt. He knew, officially, that it didn't. But he still couldn't deny the sensation. The phantom pain making each word horrible.

“Ah, good. And their corpses?”

“Gathered as proof, as well as recordings of their ship's destruction,” he said softly. “My payment is ready?”

“Of course. It'll be here as soon as you dock.”

“Thank you. I'll see you then.” The comms dropped and he took a slow, deep breath. His ship left warp as he arrived near the gates, quickly activating them. He took a another deep breath before a soft female voice spoke up. The ship's AI, Celestia.

“Would you like to activate autopilot?”

“No,” he said back. He brought up a display of the map, quickly plotting his route. From his current position it would only take four jumps, but the way in had been rife with its own perils. He quickly chose an eight jump route that went around a few troublesome sectors. After a few moments a soft, soothing melody filled his mind.

He appeared outside another gate and instantly aligned towards the next, engaging his cloak as soon as it disappeared. He set his warp to a hundred kilometers away, before warping towards it.

He was being paranoid, but he didn't want his ship getting blown up. Once her arrived, he examined his scanners and didn't see anything. He quickly warped to the nearest planet, before warping right back onto the gate, activating it.

Finally after eight long, tedious jumps and managing to avoid running into any trouble, the stallion let out a sigh of relief as he left warp and saw the massive structure.

It shown out across the world, a massive crystal tree many miles tall, with ships entering and leaving its branches by the dozens. He sent in his standard docking request and waited. It only took a few moments for it to be accepted and his ship to be towed in.

As he went, he passed a few of their ships, mostly drakes. Missile boats mainly. He wondered if he'd even be able to break one of their shields if any of them decided to attack him. Then again, he supposed the station's turrets would probably blow any of them up if they tried. The guns hit hard and didn't take kindly to people causing trouble in their docks and drakes were hardly known for being fast. He was just being paranoid, of course.

He was slowly brought in through the hanger, his ship held in the station's tractor pull as he passed all the other massive ships. Most of them earth pony designed, a bit clunky(but nowhere near as bad as pegasi ships), designed for function over form. Quite deadly and not to be underestimated.

There was a shudder through the ship as it was deposited in one of the hangers. Slowly the metal plugs pulled back from his skull, sending another feeling of ice water through it. He leaned forward and reached back, putting a hoof to the back of his skull just to make sure it had closed up correctly. It had, just like it always did. But he couldn't stop being paranoid.

Slowly he slid out of his chair, taking a moment to regather himself as the feeling of the ship being gone flooded him. It felt as if he'd lost his massive body of steel and magic and had it replaced with a single tiny, fragile pony body. He grabbed a small datapad as he passed by, sliding it into his saddlebags. He slowly walked towards the doors, making his way towards the exit ramp and off the ship. His cargo was already being unloaded by a few dozen drones using fork lifts and the like.

“Ah, Mister Why,” a voice called, making the earth pony look up as a green earth pony mare trotted towards him, a clipboard dangling from a cord around her neck.

“Ummm... Ex,” the earth pony said softly. “It's Ex. And you are?”

The mare blinked a few times before paling. “W-wait, Ex? I'm sorry, I thought--”

“It's fine,” he said with a shake of his head. “Again, who are you?”

“I'm Miss Timing, I was sent to check the bodies and get the recordings? It would be best if you didn't... need to come back to the main office.”

Ex blinked a few times before giving a slow nod. “Of... course. Whatever you like,” he said softly before looking at the hauled crates. They were all unmarked and perfectly organized in the ship thanks to the magical field that put them in. He tried to remember which had which, but finally just shook his head. “They'll need to open them.”

“Of... course,” she said nervously before she started walking towards them. He noted that she seemed to be almost desperate to stay as far from him as possible. He gave her her space. The mare walked to one of the consoles nearby and started tapping it a few times. The drones froze in place, before quickly moving in front of the crates and proceeding to spill their contents over the ground. She eyed the turrets. “I see you have no qualms about robbing the dead.”

“It's not robbing if they'd already dead. Not like they'll need it, anyway,” Ex said before pointing towards the third crate, the bodies laying in front of it. “There.”

The woman shuddered as she looked at them. She tapped a few more times on the console, before one of the drones moved over and started moving one of the bodies around so its cutie mark could be seen. She glanced at it for a moment before nodding. “It... all seems to be in order. If you could give me the recordings I can have the money deposited in your account?”

He nodded and walked towards her, reaching back to grab the datapad in his mouth before facing her again. The mare had taken a step back, a forced smile on her face. “It's... i-in there?” she asked nervously.

“Mmmm hmm,” he said with a nod.

She tentatively took it in her hoof and then jumped back, connecting it to the terminal. After a few moments she nodded and put the pad on the terminal, not handing it back. “Well, it all seems to be in order so there.”

There was a light buzzing in the back of his skull as his implants alerted him to a sudden increase in assets. He took a moment to count them before nodding. “Thank you,” he said before reaching out and grabbing the datapad. He then eyed her for a moment. “Is something wrong?”

“What? No! Nothing's wrong!” she said with a shake of her head.

He took a step towards her and she quickly stepped back. Her eyes were wide and frightened as she watched him, a little sweat forming on her brow.

He pulled back and smiled. “Thank you. You were very helpful.”

Relief flooded her features and she quickly turned and galloped off, not able to get away from him fast enough it seemed. He watched her go for a moment, before moving to the console and tapping a few more times. His ship would be ready to go in a few hours and he didn't expect it would take long to sell all the junk he'd acquired. The drones started picking it all up as he downloaded a map of the station to his datapad.

Now it was time to get something to drink. He headed towards the nearest bar.

Ex let out a soft breath of relief as he stepped into the bar. It was quiet and calm, a small little hole in the wall, one of the dozens of bars in the station. There were a few tables, but not many filling them.

He quickly looked away. The only other residents were earth ponies, most of them looked like miners or transport pilots. None of them had insertion points in their skulls that he could see, so he doubted there were any other podders. That was good for him, at least.

He moved to the bar and smiled nervously. “Some apple cider, please.”

The stallion behind the bar glanced up and cocked his eye. “Cider? Don't get much call for that around here, stranger. You sure you don't--” He quickly went quiet as Ex turned his head to show the jack-in port. “Right, right, whatever you want.” The tender quickly moved to the bottles before grabbing a small, dusty one. He wiped it off with a rag before putting it on the counter.

“Hey, you one of them podders?” a pony asked from the seat two down from him.

Ex took a swig of his cider, shivering a little as he felt the cold drink flow down his throat. He could barely taste it, though. “Yes.”

The pony nodded slowly. “So... what's it like to... die? Over and over?”

Ex gave a sigh, before shrugging. “It hurts. Mostly... it just hurts. But better than dying for real.”

“I've got a cousin, twice removed. Became a podder.” There was a groan from a few seats away and Ex had a feeling this was a story that had been repeated a thousand times. “Says the first time you die, it's all like... weird and shit. But after that, it's fun.”

“It can vary from person to person. The first time is quick and painless, though. Later... it just depends on how you die.”

“You ever go to the badlands?”

“Once or twice,” Ex said again, his hoof shaking slightly. “Listen, I'm just trying to enjoy my drink.”

“I just wanna know, you ever see any proof about the rumors? About the alicorns?”

Ex sighed and shook his head. “I haven't seen anything to prove or disprove them. A lot of people believe they're out there somewhere, watching over the stars. So who knows?” He heard the door open and glanced up, a griffon stood in the frame for a moment, looking around. He eyed her for a moment, but then the pony got right in his face again.

“Well, you're pretty much immortal, right? Why don't you go and try to find them? With all your--”

“Slip, I think you've had enough,” the tender said.

“What? I've only just--”

“I think it's best you go, walk this off,” the tender said, gesturing towards the door quickly, worried eyes glancing towards Ex.

“But I don't--” The pony let out a yelp as suddenly a pair of talons grabbed him around the shoulders and yanked him down, shoving him to the ground. He groaned and looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of the griffon staring down at him with bloodshot eyes.

“I think you'd best listen to your friend,” she said coldly.

The pony yelped and jumped to his feet, running out of the door as quickly as his hooves would take him.

The griffon then smiled and sat by him, looking him over. “Do they get a lot of podders here?”

“I wouldn't know,” Ex mumbled softly before taking another swig of his cider.

“You live in this station long?”

Ex glanced over to the griffon, his eyes focusing on the back of her head. She had the same kind of ports he did. A fellow podder. He shook his head. “Just traveling through.”

“Interesting. That your ship out there? Don't see many earth ponies driving unicorn ships.”

Ex slowly put his drink down. He looked out of the corner of his eyes but didn't see much of anyone, the bar almost empty now. Even the tender looked like he didn't want to be there anymore. “I got it cheap.”

“Really? It's a fine ship. Good for exploration. A voyager, right?”

“Pilgrim,” Ex corrected, a chill going down his spine.

“Really? You don't say...” she said coldly, eying him again. “You know, you're pretty small for an earth pony.”

“I was the runt of the litter,” Ex said, sliding out of the chair. “I really better get going.”

“Oh? What's the rush?”

“I have a job to do.”

“Oh? Is that so? You know...” the griffon said before turning back to him. “There's a pretty big bounty right now on one of those. A big ol' pilgrim piloted by some pegasus. One of those unicorn's slaves.”

“I wouldn't know anything about that,” Ex said, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to move towards the door, but the griffon moved to block his way. “Why would you care? I thought the griffons didn't get along with the unicorns?”

“I'm a mercenary, I get along with whoever has my money.”

Ex heard a clatter as the tender accidentally knocked over a bottle, followed by the shatter as it fell to the ground. The griffon turned towards it, giving him the moment he needed. He reared up and drove both his hooves into the griffon's face, making her stumble back, wide eyed. It wasn't nearly enough to take her down, but it was enough to stun her. He then raced past her, shoving out the door and racing down the station's halls.

His heart pounded in his chest as he glanced back, expecting to see the griffon chasing after him, but there wasn't any sight of her. Had she really given up so easily? He looked up towards the roof, but didn't see her there either. Even so, he didn't stop running until he made it to the hangers, looking around wildly as he made his way towards his ship.

And stopped dead when he saw two earth ponies and another griffon standing outside the platform where his vessel was being housed. He quickly moved behind cover, trying to hide as he struggled to think of something, anything he could do.

At least he knew they weren't armed. Weapons weren't allowed in the station and all the scanners would have gone off if they had them. But there were three of them, there was no way he could hope to get around them. And that was in station. There was no telling how many of them were out of station, waiting for him to undock.

He shook his head. “Focus. In station now, out station later,” he mumbled to himself, before looking around. There were a few other ponies out here, but none of them seemed at all interested in what was going on. The drones were zooming along as well, going back and forth from ship to ship. Moving as they--

His eyes widened and a grin formed on his lips.

It was simple, but it might be effective. He moved to the nearest console and started tapping, doing his best to keep his head low and not draw attention from the group guarding his ship.

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay on this one. Forgot to put crossover in the tags(d'oh.) But that was the only listed problem, so should be up soon, hope you enjoyed!
So, been playing a bunch of Eve Online lately(had an old account, reactivated it... ended up making a new char anyway while my main focuses on harvesting isk. I never really got far anyway). However, it's really inspired me to write up my own sci-fi story so I decided to make it my third of the three short stories, this one will be the three chapter one.
It's based on the idea of what might happen if the three pony races and griffons made it to space and found themselves at war once again, so yay! Or... not yay. Depending on how you look at it.
So, if you're a fan of the game, shoot me a mail. Maybe sometime we can hang out and stuff. I'm an explorer! In my tiny lil frigate coffin.

Chapter 2: Escaping the trap

Ex gulped as he hung onto the back of one of the many drones moving along the hanger. It had taken a few minutes to override the AI to allow him to ride it, but it would last until its next cycle, at least. The drone moved to the ship pod opposite where his was stationed, before slowly turning around.

His hooves tightened.

Suddenly the drone raced forward, making the ponies and griffon dive aside as the drone raced through the hangar and towards his ship.

He then remembered he'd forgot one important part. To tell the drone to stop. He let out an eek as the drone kept racing forward before, finally, slamming into the side of his ship. He let out a shriek as he flew off, spun once through the air, and crashed back first into the side of the ship. He laid there for a moment before gravity seemed to take hold and he slid down, crashing to the ground below.

“Ow...” he said with a groan.

“Get him!” a voice yelled.

He shook his head. “Right! Running for life now, writhing in pain later!” he said quickly. The hatch for his ship slowly opened as a platform extended. He shook his head and slowly wobbled up the steps, his back throbbing with each step. The drone slowly picked itself back up and raced back out of the platform.

He made it inside the ship and the door sealed behind him as he slowly made his way towards his pod, his heart pounding almost as bad as his back throbbed. “S-start engines,” he yelled, racing through the halls.

It took him only a minute to get to the pilot's chair and he slid into it, staring out the view screen as his heart pounded harder and harder. No alarms were going off, so it seemed they weren't trying to force their way in. Yet. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

A cold sensation filled his head as his ship slowly plugged back into him. He grit his teeth as he felt the wires and metals jacking into his brain. After a few minutes the world seemed to come alive as he was once again one with his ship. The pain in his body became distant as he saw and felt through his ship. There was no damage to the vessel, at least that he could sense. No one had tried to break in. That was good. He sent a request to undock as he slowly raised his landing gear.

It took only a few moments before his vessel was lifted and slowly carried out through the structure. His scanners picked them up a moment later. A large griffon vessel off port side. A dominix. Looked more like a giant metal space egg. It was already locking him, but he quickly started to align to the nearest planet, readying the warp.

Then a second vessel locked on and there was a small fizzle as a beam of magic enshrouded his ship, knocking the warp off. He was jammed. A frigate, zooming around his ship so fast he could barely see it. The station was shooting at it now, but the ship was moving so fast it had no real effect. He started locking both vessels, not that it would do much. That was a battleship, his drones weren't made for picking off something like that and if he tried sending his drones after the smaller ship, they'd likely be picked off by the giant metal egg. He had one idea to deal with the smaller ship, but he didn't know how long he'd last if he started trying it.

Comms opened and a moment later the griffon from the bar appeared on his screen. He was trapped, they both knew it. He desperately searched for some way to throw the larger vessel off as he stared at her. “Sorry about the hoof to the face.”

“My own fault, really,” the griffon said with a chuckle. She was jacked into her ship the same way he was. “Are you going to make this easy?”

“Probably not. I assume you're the one in the big egg?”

“Of course. You wanna try to crack it?” she said in a teasing tone.

He was now locked onto both, not that it would do any good. “Not much point, is there? My ship can't take yours. Probably have a lot more in station, too.”

“Smart, for a pony. How about you power down and surrender? Make this easy?”

He took a deep breath before chuckling. “How much are they paying you for this? What's my bounty at now?”

“Ten mil.”

He frowned. “Really? That's disappointing.”

“And we get to keep the ship.”

“Ah. That's... less disappointing.” He smiled none the less. “How about this? I give you five million, we call it a day? A lot less dangerous.”

“Or I could just blow you up here and now?” she countered, cocking an eye.

He gulped and decided to gamble. “That's not really an option, is it?” His ship was moving at a snails pace, the frigate had him webbed as well it seemed. He hated small ships. “You'd have torn me apart by now. They want me alive, don't they?” He started mentally crafting his backup plan. It was a bit stupid, dangerous and just plain reckless, but it was all he could do at this point.

The griffon sighed. “Indeed. Now you can't go anywhere, so how about you just pop out of my new ship, I'll scoop you up and we can get this over with?”

He mentally sent out his plan, sending the messages out quickly. “You know I can't do that.” His ship shuddered and he let out a yelp. “W-what are you doing? You fired on me! I thought you wanted this ship!” Panic started flooding him.

“Well, obviously,” the griffon said with a chuckle. “I kind of lied. You see, I'll get one of those fancy ships either way. But I also get to keep whatever I loot. I figured I could get two, but ten mil, whatever I can salvage and one ship instead of two is still pretty good.” The dominix lit up on his screen a second later as more bullets struck his shield.

He gulped. “Y-you'll... you'll kill me, too.” He eyed the frigate, was it time? No, if he did it now, they'd realize what he was doing. He wouldn't get a second chance. But he mightn to even get a first chance now.

“You're a podder. We already have your clone surrounded with a few of my boys. If you don't survive this... well, we get a second chance.” There was another shudder as his shields went down. He sped up as fast as his crippled ship could go, aimed towards the planet. “You going to give up, or not?”

“Not a chance!” he yelled at the screen. He activated his defenses as the next volley struck his armor plating. The nanomachines across the hull instantly went into action, repairing the damage, but he knew it wouldn't hold forever. That ship of hers was designed for combat. His was designed for exploration. It couldn't win a one on one fight against something like that. “I could pay you? More than five mil?”

“Oh? How much?”

“I can't match theirs, but I have—”

“Can't match it, not interested,” the griffon said with a dismissive wave as the next blast tore into his armor again. His repairer was working its hardest, but this ship wasn't designed for prolonged combat.

Then he grinned. “About time.”

“Huh?” the griffon said, before her eyes widened. Five ships had just entered the system. “What in tartarus?”

He gave a soft little giggle. “You're right, I can't escape. I won't get away... but I can make sure you don't get what you want, either.”

“What?” Three more ships entered the system and he didn't need to focus on his scans to know they were all already on their way.

“I sent out my position, along with the bounty, to every ship in the region. A mass 'come and buck me' sign,” he said with an almost manic grin. Ships were starting to undock as well. He cringed as another volley of rail gun bullets slammed into his ship. “I may have to accept being captured. But at least I can make it as bloody and violent as possible.” He broke the comm channel and gulped. More ships were arriving in system by the second and as the next volley struck his armor, three vessels finished their warp in. The dock was getting crowded, now. He was being locked.

For a few moments there was silence and he held his breath, waiting and watching. Then a volley of fire struck the side of the dominix, repelled by the vessel's mighty shields. He grinned wider as he kept aligned to the planet. A few seconds later even more ships arrived and the firefight began. He was weak and vulnerable, the battleship was the real threat. And to his delight, more and more of them were appearing. Judging by the fire they were unleashing on each other, they weren't friendly. Unfortunately, the ship circling him still had him weak and helpless and he knew better than to try and release his drones now. They'd be popped like insects in the fight.

But he had a target. He mentally aimed at the ship and unleashed the few options he had. The same telekinetic grip that allowed him to grab objects in space and store them in his cargo hold reached out and wrapped the small vessel in its grip. The ship barely slowed, still easily avoiding the station's turret. But that wasn't the goal.

The magical grip began to suck the magic from the vessel, draining the magical crystals that kept it flying and recharging itself. It wasn't long before the ship began to slow as its engines sputtered, the telekinetic grip of the ship holding it back and finally allowing the station's guns to hit it. The first volley knicked it, but the second volley struck true, tearing off one of the wings and sending the vessel careening off.

His systems returned, but he knew he wasn't safe yet. The other vessels hadn't seemed to notice his freedom, yet, and were too busy locking each other to focus on a helpless pilgrim. His ship began to pick up speed as he initiated his cloak, the magical energies circling his ship and beginning to make it adapt perfectly to the empty void around him. But it would take time. His engines flew into overdrive as he activated his microwarpdrive, pushing his vessel to extreme speeds and letting it zoom off ahead. He was almost to warp

However, he could already see that two of the vessels were turning to block his way. They were at full speed and would cut him off before he could get into warp. The collision would knock out his cloak, but he had to keep aligned if he wanted to warp. He took a slow, deep breath as he kept racing at them. He felt the tingling sensation that let him knew that he was completely cloaked, invisible to their sensors, then turned his ship straight down, breaking his warp path.

It was nearly three seconds before the ships started moving as they seemed to realize what he'd done. They fanned out, some warping off, as he flew down. They couldn't see the direction he'd gone and at his speed it would be nearly impossible for them to cover enough area to find him in time. Still, he changed his angle every few seconds to make it as difficult as possible.

Finally sure that he couldn't be interrupted, he aligned himself to the nearest teleportation gate and readied his warp again, the magical crystals humming as power was gathered. He couldn't help but chuckle. Evading a griffon ship was not an easy feat.

He arrived almost a hundred kilometers from the gate and saw half a dozen ships on it. He gulped nervously and aligned to the next, before warping. Then the next, and the next, and then the last.

Every gate was filled with ships, looking for him. He shuddered and moved to the nearest planet, disabling his drive and flying at standard sub-warp speeds. He couldn't believe it, he was trapped.

He activated autopilot and slowly the metal retracted back out of his skull. He took a deep breath and climbed out of his chair, reaching back to feel the sealed hole. “R-right. Okay, think this over. Think.”

“Sir, would you like to send out another S.O.S?” Celestia asked, her automated voice echoing through the hull.

“What? Oh, no. Thanks. I just need to... think,” he muttered. “Keep me on a straight path, alert me if anything comes within two hundred kilometers.”

“Of course,” the voice boomed through the hull. “Sir, you're showing high levels of stress. It has been ZERO days since your last station visit and FOUR-HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO days since you have last been planet side. Perhaps a visit to the ground would help ease your stress?”

“What? NO! No no, no!” he said quickly, giving a shudder. “I don't need to go... anywhere near planets. So full of...” He shook his head again. “What food supplies do we have?”

“There are TWO-HUNDRED kilograms of veggie paste in storage.”

He shuddered again. “Just... make... a salad or something for me,” he muttered as he started walking through the ship. Compared to him, the ship was massive. It was designed to be piloted by dozens, sometimes even a few hundred. The magical connections and mana crystals jammed into his skull allowed him to control and manipulate the ship as if it was a part of his body, to actually live through it and use it as he willed. It allowed him to pilot the entire thing by himself.

Unfortunately, even ships like this normally had a crew. Albeit, a small crew. There had only been fifteen back then. Back before they'd found that site and--

He shuddered and leaned against the wall, banging his head against it a few times. He banged it as hard as he could until finally collapsing on the ground. The dirty ground. It all had to be cleaned. There was still blood on the floor, though thank Luna the smell was gone. All of the little maintenance things that were done by the crew were stacking up.

He shuddered again as he wished one of them was here. Any of them. They'd tell him what to do, where to go. They'd tell him what to fix, how to fix. He wouldn't have to think anymore, he wouldn't have to--

He started slamming his head against the wall again, hitting it hard enough that by the time he stopped, a little blood trailed down his face.

“Sir? You're showing signs of mental instability. Would you like me to--”

“No!” he yelled, shaking his head. “I'm fine. I just... it's over. It ended when I put the gun to my head and pulled the trigger,” he muttered, before slowly getting back to his hooves and trotting down the halls. “Warm up some water, I'm taking a shower.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Do NOT contact anyone or try to schedule me a meeting with a brain prober. Or a therapist. That's an order.”

“Of course, sir.”

He sighed and walked through the halls, his head throbbing as he made to the the bathroom. It was, fortunately, probably the only place clean. It was the only place he really knew how to clean. His masters had made sure of that. They'd made him clean it every day and he'd followed the practice religiously until his mind had finally--

He shook it this time, the throbbing in his skull the only thing stopping him from slamming it against the wall again. He tore off his bodysuit and looked in the mirror. His 'wings' were nothing more than little tiny nubs only a few inches long, not a feather on them. He couldn't even remember when they'd 'removed' them. He was pretty sure it was before the first time he'd died. They didn't hurt, though. His cloning profile had been altered, so now his clones just had stubs, no real wings. He wondered if now that he was free, he'd be able to fix that. To grow real ones.

He thought back to home, watching some of the other slaves fly through the air, putting on displays for their unicorn masters. He wondered if that would have been him, if not for them deciding he was to be a pilot.

“Sir? Are you okay? You may be suffering from a concussion.”

“I'm fine, Celestia,” he muttered softly. “But... activate the medical drone after this. I just... need a shower. That's all.” He moved to the side of the room where a small white tub stood. He stepped into it and a small glimmer of magic formed behind him. An invisible curtain to keep the water in. Water poured down around him from all sides, an artificial rain cloud hovering over him. It was practically ice cold. He'd have to get that fixed, too. Probably something... magical. His owners would have known what it was. He shuddered and reached out, pushing on a crystal on the wall. The water drained into the floor and the magical barrier closed in around him, wiping all the water away as he passed through it.

He felt better now, at least. Cold, but clean. He just wanted to curl up in his chair. But the medical bay first. He started walking out through the halls again.

When he walked inside, he shuddered again. A small magical dome was the only thing clean in the room. There was blood on the floor and splattered across the walls. He really needed to get some bitz to clean it up, fix everything. So much of it was broken. So many things cracked and useless. The vessel had been designed to function for years in deep space and they'd managed to almost break the thing in a few months. He moved to the dome and laid down. “Do a scan,” he muttered.

Metallic arms reached down from above, connected with all manners of tools. They poked and prodded at him for a bit before pulling back. “Sir, all vital signs are showing within reasonable parameters. However, you're showing small signs of malnutrition and--”

“I'll eat something.”

“High levels of stress.”

“Well I can't really do anything about that,” he muttered, laying there for a few moments. He then paused. “Celesta, are you still... there?”

“I am always here.”

A little red filled his cheeks. “Just... brush my mane for a little bit. Please.”

There was a pause before slowly one of the arms came down, a brush held in its grips. It began to slowly run through his mane. It didn't feel natural, or smooth, lacking the magical grip he was used to. But it helped, for now. He closed his eyes and rested there a moment. He could always eat later.

Author's Note

So, technically can't cloak when locked in the game. Going to go with story vs mechanics on this one. In pony verse, cloaks can be engaged unless engaged. Yup, that's my story and sticking to it.

Chapter 3: Into the hole

Ex nibbled at his salad as he looked out the view screen. It had been three days since he'd returned to this system. To his despair, the ships were still out there. Waiting. Watching. All of the gates were locked off and they were routinely checking the planets. He must have pissed the griffon off more than he realized, she wanted his head. He'd slowly been moving again and again, hundreds of kilometers off from the nearest constellations. But he couldn't do anything, not now. He was trapped. There was no way out.

Well, there was one way out. One tiny, horrible, nasty way out. He took a deep breath and chewed on his lower lip as he glanced down to the map. There probably wasn't one here, so it was likely just a waste of time. The idea was so silly, so foalish. After all, there were only so many of them that could exist. What were the actual chances of him finding a wormhole? Here? Now? When he needed it?

But what choice did he have? The ship was functional, for now. He had the bits he needed to repair and clean the non-essentials, but going to the station was impossible. They'd find him. If he tried waiting them out, something important might break. Something needed.

He took a slow, deep breath and leaned back in the chair. After a moment, he felt the connections as the ship jacked back into him. The world came alive. He took another slow, deep breath and released the cloak for a moment before sending out small, tiny probes into the world. It was only out for a few seconds, before he reactivated the cloak and disappeared. He held his breath, watching his scanners for any sign of other ships, but there was nothing. He then began the long, slow, tedious job of scanning the region.

He hummed softly as the first one appeared to just be a bunch of drones working on... something. Probably unimportant. Maybe some pirates were set up out here. It could be anything. The second showed signs of a hidden base. Definitely pirates. Or maybe some kind of corporation's hidden, off the books dealings. He remembered his masters bribing quite a few of those groups.

However, the third made his breath catch. A wormhole. He could hardly believe his luck. He warped to it in a moment, landing about fifty kilometers off from it and looking around.

There wasn't a ship on it. It was completely untouched. He slowly started advancing towards it, looking around for any sign of trouble. Any sign of danger. But there was nothing. He gulped and pulled back his probes, slowly moving towards it.

He stopped about five kilometers off and stared at it. It looked like a giant gaping wound, cut through time and space itself. A swirling mass of light and darkness, rippling across space. Where it led he couldn't even begin to guess.

A shudder went through his body yet again and he swore he could taste blood. Taste flesh. Hear the screams as they all died. Feel the gun pushed to his chin. Hear his own screams. Feel the pain and agony. He could still remember the crate.

He reactively put the ship in reverse, traveling away from it. “No. No no no. I can wait. I'll wait them out. I have time. I have food. I can do this. I WILL do this,” he said softly, his hooves wrapping around himself.

“Sir? You're talking to yourself again. Would you like to speak with me? I am programmed with over--”

“NO!” he yelled. “I am fine! I am not crazy, I am just... I'm...” Tears welled up in his eyes and he took a slow, deep breath. Slowly he stopped the ship. He'd done this before. He could do it again. His ship slowly lumbered forward into the wormhole as space twisted around him. He couldn't breathe as the world shifted.

Then, in an instant, he was out into space. His scanner did a quick scan as he looked around for any sign of danger. There didn't seem to be any ships.

But it took only a moment for his scanners to reveal he was in an unknown area. Where ever he was, there was no telling. He whimpered. He could be anywhere in the galaxy, so far off from any of the normal planets that there was no telling where he'd be next. He took a slow, deep breath.

He was out of the trap, though. That was all that mattered. He logged the position of the wormhole before looking at the scans of the area. There were three planets in sector. He sent it as his destination to wait for the wormhole to close.

He let out a shriek as he came closer to the planet and realized there were things on it. There was a station there. There were half a dozen ships there.

Worst of all, he'd warped directly onto the planet, into the midst of a herd of them. His cloak failed as he looked around at the ships. Within a moment, he was being locked and swirled by the mass of ships.

He couldn't believe it. How could he be so stupid? He palmed his hoof to his face and whimpered. There was a light bleeping and he opened the comms with a groan.

To his surprise, a pegasus appeared on the screen. “Well well well. What brings one of you empire horn pus...” The pony blinked a few times and stared. “You... aren't a unicorn.”

“N-no I'm not,” he said softly.

The pegasus' eyes narrowed. The image cut for a moment and he gave a little jump as a light tingling spread through his ship's body. Magic was coursing through the hull as the ponies scanned him. After a few moments, the signal returned and the pony was there. “You're the only one in the ship. Why are you flying one of their shiny horn ships? Power down.”

Ex stared back, barely managing to avoid gaping. He was locked, webbed and scrammed. He slowly put his ship into full stop and stared. Through the ship scanners he could see their vessels. Most of them looked shoddy. As if they were held together more through tape and force of will than any actual technique or finesse. The majority of them had more rust on their outside than his entire ship had on the inside.

They were pegasi ships. The results of what happened when a race that could already fly and more interested in physical competitions than war machines and magic suddenly had to develop technology to fly through the stars. Or become slaves. Not as nice as the fancy griffon ships, but they worked.

“Well? Answer, pegasus.”

Ex gulped and slowly jacked out from his ship, giving a little cringe as he stood up from the chair. He felt naked, he wouldn't be able to tell if they attacked him now. Not that he had much choice. Slowly he reached up with a hoof and started stripping off his body suit, revealing his stumps of wings. “I'm... an escaped slave. My masters are dead. Are you... with the Pegasus Republic?”

The pony nodded. “Ahhhh. I see. Well, today's not your luckiest day.” The pony grinned. “See, we're not with the Pegasus Republic. We're pirates.”

The color drained from his face. “O-oh.”

“But it still might be a little lucky. That's a nice ship you've got there, stumps. I assume you're capable of piloting it if you got all the way out here. So maybe I might have a use for you.”

Ex slowly sat down into the chair again. “R-really?” He couldn't help but feel a little excited. Orders. It had been so long since he'd had orders. Someone to tell him what to do. Someone who-- he quickly squashed those feelings. He was free now, he didn't, couldn't go back to that. “And... if I do it, you'll let me go?”

The stallion nodded. “Of course, Stumpy. You can call me Bloodeye. Nice to meet you.”

“Blood... eye?” he asked, staring.

“Wouldn't be a very good pirate if my name wasn't as bad ass as me, now would I? Dock with the station and we'll have a little talk.”

He nodded slowly and manually set the ship towards the station. Maybe today would turn out to be his lucky day, after all. He still couldn't believe how stupid he'd been.

Author's Note

And so ends this mini-story. I'm sure most who've played the game will say the game really starts when you join a corp... even if your reasons for joining are... under duress.