Ancient Starship ‘Destiny’, Mission Clock at 0:40
Archer

“Brody, what just happened?” Young asked.

The longer-haired man threw his hands up in defeat. “Not a clue. The communications array looks like it’s still working.”

I finally decided to bring up an important thought. “What if that ship that was destroyed wasn’t the only one with jamming equipment?”

The humans around the bridge all seemed to perk up at that and turn to Colonel Young. “The girl could be onto something”, Rush said. “What do we do?”

As I glanced out the view screens that lined the front of the bridge, I noticed something… Endeavor was moving “I think something is up.” I said as I pointed at the cruiser.

Young turned to watch as Endeavor began banking right, passing over the long hull of the Destiny. “You’re probably right. Turn us-”

BFFT!

One of the monitors at the back of the bridge suddenly exploded in a hail of sparks, and outside I noticed that the shields began to flare under streaks of yellow pulses. “We’re taking fire!” Rush called out as he slid into the seat at his station. “It’s coming from the aft quarter.”

“Turn us around, bring the weapons online!” Young called out as he slid back into his chair.

As Destiny began to turn away from the planet to face the attacking ships, the comms crackled to life once more. “Destiny, this is Endeavor. Do you read?”

Young quickly hit one of the buttons built into the armrest of his chair. “We’re here, go ahead.”

“Listen, those ships are back and they’re sending us some friends”, Amore said. “Can you guys handle those fighters long enough for us to engage the big ones?”

“We’ll see what we can do, Destiny out”, Young hit the same button once more before pointing at Eli. “Target the gliders as soon as they come in range.”

“Gliders?” Eli asked, looking a bit confused.

“The fighters, Eli, just focus on those fighters”, Young said as he sat back in the chair. “How are the shields looking?”

“Holding at about seventy percent”, Rush called out.

“Colonel, once we start firing I wouldn’t expect them to stay there.”

“We’re well aware, Mr. Brody”, Rush replied.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Young shake his head. “Just get me those weapons!”

After a few more seconds Destiny finished it’s maneuver and everyone on the bridge could see the four pyramid-shaped ships firing bolts of yellow energy at us and the Endeavor. In return, the cruiser was already making use of its point-defense guns, sending dozens of high-explosive rounds towards all four of the opposing ships, with the occasional trail of a missile as it left a launcher that was otherwise unseen.

But in a surprising turn, the guns of Endeavor suddenly stopped firing and the nose of the cruiser dipped slightly. “What are they doing?” Young asked.

I heard Rush groan and turned to him. “Care to share with the rest of the class, Rush?”

“It appears that Endeavor has been boarded”, The scientist replied. “I’ve got sensors back and I’m seeing a cargo ship locked onto one of the airlocks. I can only assume that they’ve managed to cut Endeavor’s power.”

“How many of your friends are on that thing?” Young asked me.

I turned to the Colonel and shook my head. “Besides me? Just Amore, Blueblood and our AI. They won’t be able to hold Endeavor alone.”

“Then we can’t let the Lucian Alliance take that ship…” Young said as he got up from his chair. “Rush, you have the bridge.”

As I followed the Colonel back out into the hallway, he fished out his radio and clicked it on. “Lieutenant Scott, I need you and Sergeant Greer to meet me at the shuttle.”

“Copy that sir, we’re on our way.”

So these humans have a smaller ship at their disposal… “I take it that you’re planning something Colonel?”

As we came upon an elevator, Young hit the control panel and nodded. “You could say that.”

***

Five Minutes Later

I have to admit, these people continue to surprise me. On one hand, they have access to a method to get aboard Endeavor. On the other, a squad of five heavily armed and armored soldiers were right alongside the two soldiers that Young had summoned, and the leader of said squad brought all of the equipment that the Colonel would need for this little excursion. But as the shuttle shook and locked onto the bridge airlock, the low hum of the engines died and was replaced by the sounds of rifles and pistols being primed to fire. I wasn’t the first off the craft, that duty fell to Colonel Young. As the final airlock door slid open and the group filed onto Endeavor’s bridge, it was already apparent that we had arrived just in time. Amore was fighting with the helm controls, while Blueblood was at the rear of the bridge, trying hopelessly to patch a blown console back together.

“Princess, Archer has returned”, Grey’s voice rang out across the bridge.

The pink unicorn seemed relieved as she turned and made her way over to the group of soldiers and myself. “I take it that you all figured out that we’ve got a problem?”

Colonel Young nodded. “You’ve got a Lucian Alliance transport locked onto an airlock towards the rear of the ship, and that same ship probably brought along some unwanted guests.”

Amore nodded and led us all to the holotable that sat in the middle of the room. “You’ve hit the nail on the head Colonel. Internal sensors have counted thirty unwelcome jerks, likely responsible for our loss of helm and weapons control. Of course as you’re aware the Lucian Alliance ships stopped firing on both Destiny and Endeavor, so I’m inclined to believe that they may be attempting to board your ship as well.”

“Destiny’s proximity sensors would’ve gone off if something locked onto the hull and was trying to cut through, so I doubt it”, Young retorted. “Endeavor is the more important target because of the danger it represents to the Lucian Alliance ships. But if this ship is disabled, or otherwise under Alliance control-”

“Then they can just go to town on Earth”, Blueblood said as he joined us. “Long story short we need to get these guys off the ship, otherwise we’re in for a bad time.”

As I studied the red dots milling about the rear of the ship on the holographic display, an idea came to mind. “They’re all in the engineering compartment, right? Well couldn’t we vent it into space?”

“We could, if we still had control of that section of the ship”, Grey said as his avatar popped into existence over the table. “I’m still attempting to regain access to the systems in the engineering compartment, but it is almost as if the systems down there simply aren’t present. With that in mind I believe that our enemies may have disconnected the main data bus to the bridge. The only other option in our case would be localized control.”

“But if somepony goes in and vents the atmosphere, they won’t be able to get out”, Blueblood pointed out. “How exactly do we expect to pull this off?”

“Are you forgetting that my armor is vacuum rated?” I asked.

Blueblood was silent for a moment before he seemed to come up with another problem. “It’s still you against thirty. Even you can’t work and fight at the same time Archer.”

“Then might I point out a solution?” Grey asked.

“Please, feel free to share”, Blueblood admitted.

The diagram of the ship disappeared, and live footage from the armory replaced it. On the screen was a dark-blue pony, already half-naked as he pulled on a tech suit. “It appears that Commander Dusk was transported aboard by some sort of teleportation device. As I speak he’s equipping the armor that was brought aboard for him.”

“Can you get a hold of him?” Amore asked.

“I’m sorry Princess, but the security camera is the only thing in the aft sections that I have control of”, the AI said. “At best I can monitor his progress.”

“Amore, can you teleport me back there?”

Amore looked at me and nodded. “I can, but I get the feeling that I’ll burn myself out doing it.”

“Then do it”, I spat, scowling under my visor. As Amore’s horn began to crackle, I turned to Young. “Take over if she hits the floor.”

I saw Young nod before everything disappeared in a flash of light. In the instant it took for the light to fade I felt my boots thud down against the deck plates, and view screens were replaced by racks of rifles and bins of ammunition.

“Archer?” I turned around and saw Dusk stepping off the armor bay with helmet in his hand. “What the hell is going on?”

“We’ve been boarded”, I said, brushing past Dusk and picking up a battle rifle off of the rack. “Thirty Lucian Alliance soldiers have taken control of the engineering section. I need your help so I can vent the section’s atmosphere.”

“Let's back up for a minute and forget about the whole ‘we’ve been boarded’ thing. Unless I’m mistaken I outrank-”

“You were officially declared dead ten hours after the Havoc went off”, I spat, marching over and getting right in Dusk’s face. “So as far as I’m concerned, your word means jackshit. Now are you going to help me or not?”

Dusk shrugged and pulled his helmet on. “I don’t think your father would forgive me if he found out I let you fly solo with this crazy plan.” I could imagine that he was wearing that same cocky grin under that helmet by this point. “Count me in.”

***

Aboard the HMS Endeavor
Dusk

The armory was on the main access corridor that lead to the engineering section, easily about one thousand feet from the bulkhead. But as we were going, I wasn’t thinking about the ships floating in the void, or the fact that we were likely going to get into a firefight in the engineering spaces surrounded by all sorts of sensitive equipment. No, I was thinking about a mint-green mare that I had left behind. “Archer… Is Dart all right?”

Archer stopped in the middle of her march and turned to face me. “Other than slowly blowing up like a balloon, she’s fine. Already has a name for the kid picked out.”

Once I processed Archer’s last sentence I realized exactly what she meant by ‘blowing up like a balloon’. “She’s pregnant?” I asked.

Archer was already in mid-turn when I put my question forward. “Of course she is. You knew about it and put it in your will… Didn’t you?”

Thinking back to the half-hour I had spent with Osman before leaving for Canterlot, I shook my head. “Well, it’s news to me. Hell, I didn’t even write a will. I did record something with Serin but that was it.”

“Then it must have been the Fragment…” Archer muttered.

“Fragment? What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Amore’s research into the paradox Dusk”, Archer replied. “Look, we can talk more about it later. But the short version is that you’ve got a daughter coming.”

As Archer turned and started walking again, I had to force my feet to move. After going over what the young mare had just told me, they felt heavy and stiff. I even felt my cheek get a bit wet and my eyes got cloudy, but I quickly forced my emotions back down and capped them off. Right now, I’ve got a job to do, and none of what Archer just told me will matter if I’m dead.

As the bulkhead at the end of the hall slid open, Archer quickly shouldered her rifle and pointed at one side of the door. As I slid up against the wall and clicked off the safety on my pistol, I saw four red dots on my motion tracker. “I’ve got contacts”, Archer replied. “Eyes on four soldiers at ground level, at least three up in the catwalks.”

I looked over at Archer and nodded. “Do you have a plan?” I asked.

“There’s a large armored hatch where the third reactor should be. We’re going to seal the compartment, shut off the life support and gravity, then pop that thing open.” She explained. “If everything falls together as I’m hoping, those soldiers will get sucked out into space and anyone who doesn’t will suffocate.”

I slowly nodded. “Sounds rather brutal.”

Archer shrugged. “It’s either that or break something important in a firefight.”

As the two of us stepped out of cover I could see the genius to Archer’s plan. There’s less conflict, less risk of a stray bullet hitting one of the reactors, and we eliminate the hostiles aboard the cruiser. Ahead of us was the main engineering control console, which had been opened up. Even from twenty feet I could see that one massive cable had been unplugged. Beyond that… Well, that’s where the Lucian Alliance soldiers that had spotted us were standing.

BRRRANG!

Archer’s rifle quickly spat three rounds at the soldier standing on the left, and he quickly collapsed to the deck. “Keep me covered!” Archer yelled as she slid down to her knees and stopped at the cable.

I figured that the soldiers on the ground would have started firing, but they instead took cover down in a maintenance trench. Up above us the three soldiers began shooting, and I swung my pistol skywards at the first one that I saw.

BANG!

It took one round from my Magnum to cut a swath through the soldier’s skull, and he instantly slumped forward over the catwalk’s railing. “Just how long is this going to take?” I asked as I swung my pistol in the direction of the two soldiers that were scrambling away from their comrade. “Less than a minute!” Archer yelled as she got out from under the console. She pressed a key and I felt my feet leave the floor. “That’s the gravity… Life support is shut down… And our entrance is sealed. Cargo door is ten seconds from opening!”

I quickly brought up the control screen to my armor and activated the magnetic soles to my boots… But instead of being pulled down, I kept floating. “Archer, why aren’t my boots locking down?”

As the air began to rush out of the large room, I saw Archer float past me. “I don’t know, mine aren’t either!”

I started getting pulled forward and saw the three soldiers on the floor. I realized what we were heading to. “Is your suit sealed?” I asked.

“Is yours?” Archer retorted, likely realizing what I was getting at.

Once the planet beneath us became visible through the open hatch, I nodded. “Then hold on to your teeth!”

I can’t speak for Archer, but I certainly accelerated out the hatch into the vacuum of space. Tumbling in the zero gravity, I counted a dozen bodies of freezing soldiers, in addition to three hulks of burning black and yellow metal and the Destiny, which was pumping round after round of yellow energy into the final Lucian Alliance ship. Suddenly, my radio burst to life. “Dusk, this is Amore. Where the hell are you? We’re not seeing any lifesigns in the engineering section.”

“Uh… I went for a walk?” I said, trying to sound nonchalant as I finally spotted Archer. “Look, I’ll call you back.” With a flick of the wrist I felt the boosters built into my armor fire, pushing me towards Archer.

I didn’t so much push as I did slam into the armored mare in a zero-g tackle. “Can you watch it?” Archer called over my radio.

“And let you fumble around in zero gravity towards an impending doom? Not a chance!” I retorted. “Now, do you have any ideas on how to get out of this wonderful problem?”

“Well, we can survive a crash landing from up here, can’t we?” Archer asked.

“Of course, but only if we had something to put between us and the atmosphere”, I pointed out. “What else do you have in that noggin of yours?”

“Nothing that could get us out of this one”, Archer replied. “I never dealt with anything quite like this during my training.”

“So we’re probably-” As I opened my mouth there was a blinding flash of light, followed immediately by the feeling of smacking into metal deck plates. “-screwed?” We were aboard a ship, that much was clear. But as I got up and hauled Archer to her feet, I realized that it wasn’t any ship that I recognized.

“You must be this ‘Dusk’ character I’ve been hearing about.” I turned around and faced the rest of what was clearly the bridge of a starship, and found myself standing half a head over an older bald man with his hand outstretched. “I’m Colonel Caldwell, commander of the Daedalus.”

I tugged my helmet off and grabbed the human’s hand. “So if you’re here… You got the distress call from Homeworld Command?”

“No, but we did pick up a massive pulse of static over our comms”, Caldwell replied. “I take it that we can thank your friends for the smoke signal?”

Archer pulled her own helmet off and nodded. “The transit from the void was probably responsible.”

“What’s the void?” Another human asked from her seat at one of the two forward consoles.

Archer seemed to mull over her thoughts for a moment before she stopped bouncing her head from side to side. “I’ll just give you a short version. We punched a hole straight into your universe at the edge of the system.”

“Colonel, it looks like the last Lucian ship is bugging out”, the same human called from her post. “They’re moving away from the Ancient ship, off into deep space.”

Caldwell nodded and returned to his chair. “Captain Meyers, please make that ship go away.”

I turned to look out the front view screen in time to see two bright blue beams arc out from the side of the ship and slam into the Lucian Alliance ship. The first beam caught against the shields, while the second smashed through them and cut through the hull. A third shot hit home, and the entire vessel erupted in a fiery explosion. “Looks like that’s the last of them, sir. I’ve got no other contacts on sensors”, the Captain stated.

“So we’re all set then”, I observed, turning to face the Colonel. “Earth has been saved, you’ve got a long-lost expedition and a new ship, and I doubt that the Lucian Alliance will be trying something that bold anytime soon.”

Caldwell nodded. “While that may be true, I get the feeling that this day isn’t over yet.”

Listening to Caldwell I couldn’t help but think that he was right… We’ve dealt with one problem, and now we’re on to the next one.

Author's Note

So I'm releasing this chapter a bit early, but we're still moving along! We're slowly working our way to the mid-season finale, and if all goes well it should be out in time for Valentine's day. Next time we'll delve into some politics, but nothing too fancy...

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Anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Until next time gang!
-Striker