To the Stars, and Beyond

Chapter Two

“Well, while that was fast, you could’ve done better.” Said the salespony. Record turned in his seat and saw the salespony grinning at him.

“How could I have gone any faster than that?”

“Well, ya’ see that big red button that says boost? I think that right there is your answer.” A loud clunk is heard as Record attempted to facehoof through his helmet.

“Now that you are out of the station, let's get out of the system, first, select which system you want to jump to, in example, as far from here as possible!”

“Alright, farthest populated sector chosen.”

“Good, now just flip that yellow switch and we are a go!”

Record flipped the switch and a voice was heard. “Frame-Shift-Drive charging.” The engines somehow seemed to get louder, until they reached a peak. A tone came in through his helmet, “Please align with escape vector.” A light blue circle also appeared on the ships heads-up-display (HUD).

“Bah,” Record scolded himself, starting to pull back on the stick slightly, aiming for the center of the circle. “Like an amateur.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself kid.” said the salespony as the tone came through again, “3, 2, 1,” There was a sound of thunder. The digital speedometer kept jumping back and forth between 2000c and 8000c, and the ship was shaking violently. Looking out the window, one could see various stars passing by stuck in place as their light could not reach us fast enough. It dawned on Record that, ponies, had become the fastest things in the Universe. They passed various nebulae, their swirling clouds and psychedelic colors mesmerizing, before falling out of the line of sight. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

They could not admire this natural beauty for long though, for they were soon thrown forcefully back into “low gear” frame shift, still traveling faster in light, but slow enough to see where they were going. Record set a course for the nearest starport and turned the ship around, setting the speed to a calm cruise. He tried to break the uneasy silence that had filled the small cabin.

“So what do you plan to do after I drop you off here?” Record asked.

The salespony thought for a moment. “Hmm, I don’t know, what I really want to do is to settle down somewhere nice. Maybe I’ll return to planetary life, maybe I’ll just keep, going, ya know? Just wherever fate takes me.”

Record merely nodded, for he knew not what to say. The rest of the voyage remained unfortunately, very quiet, aside from the occasional blip on the map, ship passing by, or cruise excursion advertisement appearing on the HUD screen. The ship eventually started slowing down on its own as they neared the station. The ship dropped out of lightspeed and immediately a message tone sounded off, “Ship scan detected.”

“This can’t be good.” Said the salespony grimly looking out the front window of the cockpit.

“This isn’t protocol is it?” Record asked.

“Absolutely not. Something is happening in there. Something bad.”

A hail came in from the station, “Who are you, what are your intentions here?” Asked a very distressed sounding, gruff voice.

“This is Commander Romeo Echo Charlie. I am just here to refuel, then maybe pick up a mission, then I will be on my way.” Some chatter that sounded like arguing was heard, then a loud bang followed by what sounded like a blaster shot.

A new calm, smooth voice came on, a very stark contrast to whoever was on the comms earlier. “Sorry about that, this station is under some, uh, new management. Come on in, your landing pad will be number… One! Enjoy your visit Commander.”

“T-thank you.” Record replied in a shaky voice, pushing forward on the throttle flying slowly through the airlock and going to the back of the docking area, where a golden hologram glowed the number 01. He made touchdown with little difficulty, as the ship was surprisingly easy to maneuver, and quickly retreated into the hangar area underneath.

The salespony spoke first after the engines were powered down. “I think, we have have made an error in which station we chose.”

“Yeah, my sentiments exactly.”

“Well, it can’t be all that bad, I suppose I should get out of your mane now.” Record took off his helmet and rose from the pilot’s seat to follow him out of the ship, but was stopped when the salespony embraced him.

“Thank you, Record, you saved my life.”

“Yeah uh, no worries.” he patted his back, trying to console the grown stallion.

He released him from his bear hug and made his way down the ramp with Record following suit. As much as Record hated the thought of leaving the ship by itself, he simply HAD to get a new flight suit, it was too tight for him to bear any longer. They went through the corridors of the station and found our way to the main shopping strip, where much to his annoyance, he embraced Record once more before he started to walk away.

“Wait!” Record shouted, “I never caught your name.”

“I never threw it, kid.” He said as he continued walking, chuckling softly.

Record just stood there for a bit, watching him as he went, before he regained his senses, and started making his way to a suitable shop to replace the flight suit.

He later found himself in front of a store with a flashing neon sign that read: Commander’s Emporium: A Federation Store.

“Well, not very subtle is it?” He thought to himself, as he managed to make his way through a particularly large mass of ponies, griffons and deer alike, and started looking for a flight suit that actually fit. He eventually found a basic one that finally fit him and catered to what he needed. He traded in his old one and saved himself a few bits. After that he started to make his way back to the ship, but was stopped as he heard somepony start to call out his name,

“Hey Record! Remember me?” He spun around ninety degrees and turned his head to see that none other than the first
pony he ever talked to in space. Lunar Sky was trotting briskly over to meet him.

“Oh hey, what a coincidence we both went to the same place huh?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, say is this the way you were going?”

“Uh yeah, I was just going back to my ship, did you want to see-Wah!” he was cut off a she pulled him around a corner and pinned him against a wall, covering his mouth with her hoof.

“We need to get out of here, fast, do you understand?” Record nodded. “Good, now, let me explain, Pirates have taken over the main controls of this station. As we speak thousands, possibly millions of pirates are on their way here, to murder and pillage as they please.” She removed her hoof from his mouth.

“So, let’s go then?” he suggested

“That’s the main problem here, they shut the main doors to the station, no-one is getting in or out until the cavalry arrives.”

“What do you suggest we do then?”

“Ugh, lemme think here.” She turned and sat against the wall next to him, holder her head with her hooves as she
thought. He stayed quiet as she did so. Muted, he was starting to think himself, all those hours of researching station plans and schematics coming back in an instant as a blur in his mind.

“I’ve got it.” She stated, having a eureka moment. “We could hack the hangar elevator and take an auxiliary exit and skedaddle. How’s that sound?”

“Would that even work, think of all the firewalls you have to bypass, all those security codes, it would take forever!”

“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? She said giving me a sly grin. Record just groaned as he got up and motioned for her to follow him back to the hangar.

“Glad you’re with me on this, but we gotta keep low, there are armed guards patrolling the corridors now, making sure those who leave their ships don’t get to return to them.”

“Got it, low, slow, and quiet, right?”

“You catch on quick, I like that.” he grinned at her and started making his way through the winding corridors with her following close behind. All of a sudden he heard her stop walking, he looked back to see her looking down a hallway they passed, her ears twitching intently. Her head snapped toward him and she mouthed the word ‘guard’. Record looked at the floor, thinking of a plan before shrugging and moving to the corner of the intersection of hallways, pressing himself to the wall and waiting. The guard soon came to the intersection looking to the hallway opposite of the duo and then looked at their hallway, where his eyes went wide.

“Peek-a-boo!” was the last thing he heard before he received a swift punch between the eyes, effectively knocking him out.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Lunar half whispered, half yelled, still staring at the peacefully passed out pony pirate.

“I went to a public high school.” Record muttered making his way past her. She quickly trotted to his side, her head looking around wildly, before pulling them into a corridor and throwing a small metal disc to the ground, from which a hologram lit up. The only problem was that they could clearly see through it. Lunar seemed to notice his doubts, and most likely very frightened face.

“It’s a lot more convincing from the other side, trust me.” Lunar whispered. Record stayed still, not believing this for one second. But to his and Lunar’s relief the guard walked on by as if they weren’t there. As soon as the coast was clear, she retrieved her hologram maker and motioned him ahead of her again to lead the way. After a few more close calls they reached the hangar and she started toying with a control panel on the floor.

“Ah, the majestic Imperial Eagle. It’s kinda rare to see ‘em around these parts.” she remarked looking at the ship

“What?” Record asked. “This is just a normal Eagle.”

“Kid, I’ve been a commander longer than you’ve probably been alive. I know an Imperial Eagle when I see one.”

“And just how exactly can you tell?”

“Well, for starters, there’s a big ass spoiler with engine pods on the back, there’s extra engine pods on the wings, and the olive drab paint isn’t the original color, in fact it’s chipping off enough that you can see the original white and chrome. Any more questions?”

“Huh, I didn’t notice that wing before. But I did feel that something was different about the paint.”

“Yeah, the paint also isn’t in the right shade. Hey do you have a toolbox? If so go grab it, just using my hooves and wings isn’t going to be enough.” Record was in awe. She told him all of this without even taking more than a five second look at the ship, as well as working on hacking the system to let them use the auxiliary exit. She sometimes would make small noises of confusion while sticking her tongue out in concentration, occasionally asking him to levitate her a tool.

“Finally! That was slightly easier than I thought. Go and start the ship, because in order to get this elevator moving I need to be out here.”

“Affirmative, right away ma’am.” He remarked sarcastically, giving a mock salute.

She giggles softly before saying “Just get going.”

But before he can even get to the ramp, she stops him. “Oh wait, you’re a unicorn, you can do it. Just connect that blue wire to the yellow one.”

“Oh yeah, Even I forgot about that.”

“Who’s a silly pony, you are!” She says in a way one would say to a pet.

“Please don’t.” he implores her, with his face heating up giving away that there’s definitely a blush plastered across his cheeks.

“Aww, is somepony blushing? That’s adorable!” He just sighs and gives her a small glare. “Okay okay. I’ll stop.” She steps past, sticking her tongue out at him as she goes up the ramp into the ship. He can’t help but shake his head and smile as he follows her, taking his place at the controls and putting his helmet back on.

“Welcome and thank you for flying Shatter airlines. I, Record J. Shatter, will be your pilot today. Please fasten your seatbelts, this may prove to be a bumpy flight.”

“You sure you know how to fly this thing?” asked an unfamiliar masculine voice. Record turned the seat around in fear, feeling they may have been compromised. But all that greeted his gaze was Lunar Sky, still wearing her bomber coat, but now with a respirator strapped to her muzzle.

“What?” She asked, “I can’t stand helmets, and flight suits are too revealing for me.”

“Your entire lower half is showing.” Record deadpanned. He could see in her eyes that the gears were turning, but after a few moments, all that came out was,

“Shutup.”

“Sure thing” he replied, pressing the ignition button, the engines roaring to life once more.

“Someone really cared about this ship, the exhaust system doesn’t sound original.” Said Lunar, finally taking her seat. Record remained silent, still being focused on powering on all the necessary systems. Once they were all powered, he closed his eyes, channeling all his focus into his magic. He could see. Not with his own eyes, but with a sort of ‘third eye’. His view traveled outside of the ship, if he turned it around he could see himself and Lunar in the cabin

He found the circuit box. “Here goes nothing.” he thought to himself, and connected the two wires. The power went out and the hangar platform buckled slightly. He opened his actual eyes, and looked back to Lunar, confused.

“Okay, so I reeeealllly didn’t want the pirates to have this station, so I set up a station-wide power outage. The oxygen is still on, but everything else is offline for the time being, including the hydraulics for this hangar. You should be able to use your landing thrusters to push us down and out the exit. You have fifteen minutes before the backup generators come online.” Record gave a nod of compliance.

Doing as she said, he set the landing thrusters to a slow burn. The platform groaned, but started to give way, moving downward slowly. This went on for a few minutes, with him having to give a few small corrections to keep the platform from grinding on the sides of the chasm. Eventually the platform stopped moving, coming to a stop with a thud. Ahead of us was a ship sized corridor leading to empty space. he flipped a switch and a familiar tone chimed in, “Landing gear raised.”

“Lets go!” Came a determined voice from behind him.

“With pleasure.” he replied coolly, looking at the controls in front of me. Within seconds of each other he set the main engines to full and with a grin, pressed the big red button.

Inside the station, Many civilians were holding on to each other to keep from floating off towards the ceiling. If they were to look out the window, they would see what looked like a small comet going past, A fiery red trail blazing behind a dark green object that was slowly fading to a gleaming white as pieces of paint were being sheared off and falling away or being melted away altogether by heat.