The sound of chattering voices echoed through the massive underground warehouse, ponies, changelings, and all other manner of creatures were pouring over the vessel that had been housed there for the past couple years. Now that it’s computer had been unlocked, the ship was getting a second look over. With the addition of the computer, it had been determined just what the vessel was called. The ENS Harbinger. More importantly, the scientists had been able to determine how the ship had been armed. The technology was on par with that of Onorus, but it relied more heavily on arcane circuitry as opposed to regular wiring.

Most worrying of all the finds was the captain’s log, which had been deemed classified as soon as it was uncovered. Three men from Providentia had come and removed it from the ship in a briefcase handcuffed to one of their wrists. Agent Yearling hadn’t even had time to listen to the digital recordings before they had been taken, and all trace of them had been wiped from the vessel’s mainframe. All she knew was that the mysterious Thestral was involved, he had been one of the Providentia Agents that helped secure the files. Normally the Nocturne Agency handled every bit of information that possibly came from another dimension, so to have Providentia take custody of those files was extremely out of the ordinary.

The thestral in question, a stallion known as Schwarze, was sitting with his superiors in a darkened conference room. They were all turned towards a screen on the wall which displayed the footage recovered from the ship’s data logs and captain’s logs. The first half dozen or so had been normal, speaking of ship troubles and personal notes… Something changed around the eighth log entry, the captain in the footage seemed more nervous and spoke less and less about the status of the ship.

”...We’ve just confirmed that we are indeed at war, though command didn’t get a chance to tell us who. Something about this region of the sea is jamming our transmissions. I’ll have Sparks take a look at our comm system tomorrow… That’s all for now.” The captain said before the screen went dark, Schwarze looked at his superiors, all of whom were now very much interested in what was going on. A technician quietly pushed a couple buttons on a remote, this brought up the next log.

”Captain’s log, screw the date and time… We engaged an enemy ship earlier today, though for the life of me I don’t know how the Griffon’s managed to create such a powerful vessel when all their other ships are little more than tin cans.” The captain of the alien ship said into the camera from within his cabin. ”Oddest thing was it wasn’t flying Griffon Colors, but there were definitely griffon crew members… But there were also other ponies and what looked like a couple minotaurs. We would’ve interrogated some of them, but they scuttled their vessel… We managed to get hold of their flag though.”

A collective gasp went up through the conference room as the alien captain displayed the flag they’d captured to the camera, Schwarze leaned forward in slight awe. The flag in question was a purple-ish blue, with an elongated hexagon in the center. The hexagon bore the Onorussian Coat of Arms. The flag was Onorussian, meaning the scuttled ship had likely been Onorussian as well…

”Whoever they were, they did a lot of damage to our hull. We’re stopping to repair the damage, hopefully we’ll be on our way again tomorrow.” The Captain continued, Schwarze noted that he was a unicorn with white fur and a red mane, though the footage was too grainy to make out any other details. ”Things are certainly getting strange around here…” The screen went blank again, the technician quickly hit play, everyone in the room wanted to know more about the mystery ship at this point.

The next log came on, though this time it appeared to have been taken from the bridge of the ship. The footage showed that the ship was deep in a fog bank, but it was still possible to make out the outline of a massive ship in the background.

”Captain’s log… We’ve been using the fog of the sea around us to hide our movements, it seems that there are more of these unknown ships here than we thought.” The captain said before turning the camera to view the ship in question, it looked to be a Nimitz Class Carrier. ”We haven’t gotten close enough for them to see us, our mages are working double time to hide us from their sensors.” The stallion turned the camera back towards him. ”We haven’t been able to reach command, the stars are all wrong, and we’re running low on supplies… Something's very wrong here.” The screen went dark.

“That’s the last one we’ve decoded for now.” The technician announced as the lights came back up, Schwarze and the others turned back towards the table and one another. Some of those in the room wore uniforms of generals, and now that the lights were up, the thestral could see the familiar scowling old face of Vladimir Putin at the head of the table. He had his fingers steepled while his intense eyes roved over the room.

“Gentlemen, there can be no denying it further.” Putin said in his usual rough voice, his accent haunting each syllable of his sentence. “This vessel comes from Zeta-Zero-One, we’ve been hoping that isn’t the case, but our scientists have confirmed Discord’s initial conclusion.” There was hushed mumbling around the table. “We all know that this puts us in a dangerous position. If we continue to use Zeta-Zero-One to go between Equus and Terra, we risk opening a rift between our worlds.”

“If we stop using Zeta-Zero-One, we will lose contact with our forces on the other side! Humanity will be left in the cold all over again! All those lives we lost will have been for nothing!” A griffon general said gruffly while pounding the table, Putin shot him a quick glare.

“I agree. We cannot afford to stop using portals between Terra and Equus at this time, not until we have figured a way to colonize our solar system.” Putin said while looking at the group of ponies, humans, changelings, griffons, and other assorted races. “However, we cannot ignore Zeta-Zero-One as a threat.”

“Director Putin, I appologize, but I haven’t been fully read in on ‘Zeta-Zero-One’.” A diamond dog wearing a suit said while sniffing the air, his paws were crossed across his chest. Putin nodded quietly and looked at the table.

“Zeta-Zero-One is the dimension we draw arcane energy from to power our portals between Equus and Terra.” Putin explained while leaning against the table. “As such, occasionally small rifts open, allowing objects from our world to pass through into theirs, and visa versa.” The older man looked at the table with an intense expression. “The problem is that Zeta-Zero-One is home to an Equestria equally advanced to our own. Unlike us, there is only one human there. Unlike the Imperator, he sided with Celestia. We know he’s lead missions that wiped out the entire changeling species in his dimension. Not to mention missions that put their Discord out of comission for good.”

“So the fear is that since we have Changelings among us, he will go to war? I’m sure he’d be understanding.” The diamond dog said, Putin shook his head.

“It’s not just the Changelings. If he were to find out we work with Discord regularly…” Putin trailed off and leaned back in his chair. “It would be the bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.” The diamond dog nodded his head and looked to the dark screen. “Now, can we discuss what happened in the logs?”

“It seems the ship was operating within our waters for some time, but there’s no mention of any portal phenomenon…” A scientist said with an intrigued expression. “Somehow the transition to our dimension was seamless.” The other scientists in the room all gained rather concerned expression. “It may not be a matter of if a rift opens, but where and when…”

“That’s not acceptable.” Putin said firmly. “If a rift is inevitable, we must know when and where so we can evacuate any civilians!”

“Mister Director!” A voice called out over the chaos, it was an accented voice that forced everyone in the room to quiet down. Schwarze, Putin and the others turned to see a grey unicorn sitting in a wheelchair and wearing a pair of round black sunglasses. One of his hooves was covered by a black leather sleeve and his blonde mane was parted to the right. His name was Doctor Merkwürdigliebe, a unicorn raised by Thestrals. He specialized in ‘Dark Arcane Science’, especially portals.

“Yes, Doctor?” Putin said as he looked to the unicorn, the unicorn’s horn glowed as he used his magic to push himself along.

“If we could construct a platform of sorts, using the orb recovered by our teams in the Farlands, we could theoretically force the rift to open wherever we choose!” Doctor Merkwürdigliebe announced, Putin raised an eyebrow at him.

“But is it possible to even consider constructing such a thing?” One of the generals asked.

“The technology required is easily within the means of even the smallest Thermo-Arcane power… It requires only the will to do so.” Doctor Merkwürdigliebe stated, Schwarze quietly adjusted his files and flipped through them. “Because of it’s simplicity, this machine is terrifying? Yes? Simple to understand? Especially if our friends in Zeta-Zero-One should decide to do the same thing?”

“What do you recommend, herr Doctor?” Schwarze asked, the unicorn turned to look at him.

“We must construct this device and ensure we are prepared! That, combined with a sense of bold curiosity for what lies ahead! Ahaaaa!” As if on its own, the Doctor’s gloved hoof lept into a Celestial Salute. He quickly beat it back down to his wheelchair and ended up sitting on it. “As I was saying! With the device, we will be able to not only determine when the rift may open, but also choose our battlefield!”

“Well then… I shall want proposals from all department heads by the end of the day.” Putin said firmly as he stood from his chair. “We have to get ahead of this, gentlemen.” There were various nods and grunts from the others in the room as they too stood up and began filing out. Doctor Merkwürdigliebe seemed to linger for a couple minutes before he too rolled himself through the door. That left only Schwarze and Putin. “Agent Schwarze, I’m putting you in charge of Interdimensional Operations for the time being… Zeta-Zero-One isn’t our only concern at this point.”

“Let me guess… The Crystal Empire is our other concern?” Schwarze asked, Putin nodded. “Understood, sir. I’ll keep you informed.”

“See that you do.” Putin said in a serious voice, the two of them gathered up their files and exited the conference room.

[♠]

Altair quietly stood on the beach of Mizuki Atoll, the waves rolling against the sand quietly while a wind blew gently in from the sea. He wore only his undershirt, fatigue pants, and boots. A navy blue strip of fabric was tied around his forehead, catching his sweat. Clenched in his hands was a stick of bamboo that had been shaped to match the size and weight of a sword. His mother had sent it to him with express instructions to practice, as she would be coming to test him soon enough. Altair had spent every free moment that he had to himself training with the bamboo, each movement could’ve been lethal with a real blade.

His muscles had become intensely defined and sculpted, sweat formed on his brow with each move he made, all the while the sun shined down on him. Further up the beach, his comrades watched with quiet interest. Some had started taking bets on who could possibly defeat Altair in combat, Finn had even spent some time fashioning swords out of the bamboo that grew around the island. Despite this, none of the other Fallschirmjager had worked up the courage to face Altair in sword combat. At least, all except one.

Major Adler looked over at Finn and cleared his throat, silently he held out his hand. Finn looked uncertain, but he wordlessly gave his commander one of the bamboo training swords. Adler removed his fatigue jacket and handed it to Finn before he strolled out onto the beach, the sound of his boots crunching the sand seemed to catch Altair’s attention as he lowered the training sword and looked for the source. He saw the Major approaching with a training sword, as well as the crowd in the treeline.

“Corporal.” The Major said, he stopped ten feet in front of Altair with his sword in one hand. “All the boys have seen you training, but none of them have seen you actually fight an opponent.”

“Major, if you are here to challenge me, I cannot accept… You are my commanding officer.” Altair replied as he lowered the training sword, Adler smirked and crossed his arms quietly.

“I don’t see any insignia on my collar now, Corporal. Do you?” Adler asked, Altair noticed that the major wasn’t wearing his insignia or fatigue jacket. “I’ve been thinking of adding a sword training regimen to our daily routine, think of this as aiding your Commanding Officer in research. For the good of the unit.”

“Very well… For the good of the unit, I accept your challenge.” Altair replied as he adjusted his stance and gripped his sword with both hands. “You should know, I have been training since I was thirteen. I will not go easy on you.”

“I didn’t expect you too.” Adler replied as he too gripped his sword with both hands and took up his own stance, Altair recognized it almost instantly.

“Du warst im Nachtkorps?” Altair asked quietly, Major Adler nodded while he continued to grip his sword. Altair adjusted his stance once again. “This shall be interesting indeed.” Altair lunged forward, swinging the blade towards the Major’s head. Adler raised his own training sword, there was a loud thud as both sticks of bamboo clattered together. The two of them traded blows over and over again, though Adler found himself on the defensive more and more. The Corporal hadn’t been kidding, he really was proving tough to beat.

For Altair, it was all a matter of keeping Adler on the defensive. He had worked hard to put endurance on his side, matching that with his strength and his ability to see the minute muscle movements that telegraphed an opponent’s move, he had become deadly with even a training blade. Finn and Static watched with the rest of the unit as the two swordsmen dueled on the beach, it was like watching two wolves fighting over a kill. Eventually Altair caught on to a pattern of Adler’s movements, every third move the major left his gun exposed, if only for a moment. Altair planned his next move in his head, and when the third move came around, he put his plan into motion. One hand let go of his sword, clenched into a fist, and flew into the Major’s gut.

Adler staggered back, clutching his gut. Altair capitalized on his moment of weakness by raising his training sword and bring it down, he stopped an inch from Adler’s neck and tapped him with it.

“Victory is mine.” Altair said simply before lowering his sword, he took a step forward and offered the Major his hand. “Are you okay, sir?” Adler accepted his hand and used it to help him stand up to his full height. “It wasn’t my intention to cause you any real harm, sir. Though I fear I may have cracked a rib or two.”

“Are you kidding?” Adler said with a chuckle while he rubbed his side. “I haven’t had a bout like that in years, I think I’ll add that to our training regimen after all. Maybe even submit a suggestion to have it instated across the board for special ops units.” Altair sighed in relief, he had worried that his duel with the Major would’ve ended with him in the brig. “I’ve noticed how much you’ve been training, Corporal. Got me thinking I should shake the rust off my own skills.” The two of them began walking back towards the group. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“My Mother is coming to administer a test to me…” Altair admitted as they walked along. “I’ve worked hard since I was thirteen to follow her example, I want to be in the Nachtkorps like my Father and Mom.” Adler hummed in thought while he rubbed his chin. “What do you think, sir?”

“Not my place to say, Corporal… But your sword skill is rather incredible for a seventeen year old.” Adler said with a nod.

“I just turned eighteen, sir.” Altair corrected the Major.

“Really? We’ve been stationed on this island two years?” Adler asked, Altair nodded simply. “Well, I really need to pay more attention. Why didn’t any of you guys say something? You must be awfully bored.”

“We are, sir. We just didn’t want you to think we were upset with you.” Altair replied simply, Adler smiled for a moment before he shook his head.

“Well, regardless of that. I’m going to put in for us to be transferred to the mainland.” Adler announced simply. “That way you boys will get a chance to see your families for more than a couple weeks at a time.”

“I’ll keep this between us until you’re sure you can pull it off, sir.” Altair said in a reserved tone, Adler smirked and put a hand on the Corporal’s shoulder. He hoped it came off as ‘fatherly’, though in actuality it was because his ribs really felt like they had taken some damage and he needed a little help standing.

“I know you will, Corporal.” The Major said simply, he grimaced a couple seconds later. “Say, you think you could call a jeep to take me to the infirmary. You hit like a mule, boy.”

“Of course, sir.” Altair said with another nod, by then they were approaching the group on the beach. “Wonder who won the bet.” Adler shrugged, there was a new bit of understanding between the two of them. Altair felt like he could trust his Commander completely now, something he hadn’t been able to do before. He knew that they were equally matched for strength and skill, if they ever were forced into battle he knew he could rely on the Major to have his back. That was more than most people could say…

Author's Note

How's it going my fellow lovely dovelies? Good, I hope. Here's another chapter for you all. Now, I've been thinking, and it seems to me that I'm setting up the next story pretty much on schedule here. So, just be ready to see this one marked as complete. I'll likely leave a teaser in the last chapter, but for now I'm still here. I've been a little busy taking care of something, something that has four legs, soft fur, and loves belly rubs.

His name's Tucus.

Anyway, it's him that's been keeping me so busy lately, but thankfully he's starting to get used to his new house.

As always, here's the clip of the day. It isn't really much of a video, but it is what kinda helped me come up with what's in this chapter, and that's generally what I pick. I'm thinking of making it a 'Song of the Day' since those seem to be more common inspirations than videos...