Beyond The Void

Chapters

Chapter 1: Darker Stars
Chapter 2: First Encounter
Chapter 3: A Threat Worse Than War

Chapter 1: Darker Stars

The Spirit of Harmony. 1,500 years ago, the great spirit was but a seed of pure magic, planted by the Pillars of Old Equestria on the eve of their final battle against the Pony of Shadows.

From this seed sprung the Tree of Harmony, and from the Tree sprouted the Elements: holy artifacts that could banish evil from the stars. Through these Elements, Princesses Celestia and Luna kept the Equis System safe from invasion against countless foes.

But Harmony's true power would not be seen for a Millennium more.

Twilight Sparkle: the Princess of Friendship and Heir to the Element of Magic. While Equestrians may have touched the stars before, it was Twilight who united them. Yakyakistan, The Dragon Worlds, The Changeling Hive, The Crystal Empire, and many others forged what would be called the Friendship Alliance.

From Twilight, the Tree of Harmony grew in strength, it's holy spirit reaching out to those that embodied it's defining traits. Until...500 years after Twilight Sparkle was declared ruler of The Equestrian Empire and unspoken leader of the Friendship Alliance, it migrated from it's home world to the edge of the galaxy and transformed once more...into a wormhole.

Gateway of Harmony: 502 years AU(after unity)

Brighter Tomorrow tried his best to stop smiling, but he just couldn't help it.

Three weeks ago, he was just beaten out of the captain's chair of The Envoy by his older brother Warm Welcome. As disappointed as he was, he nonetheless received the right to command Second Contact into the alien galaxy.

Three weeks later, and Brighter Tomorrow is on his way to meet with none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, and he could only of one reason: it was time.

The automatic door opened on it's own, beckoning Brighter Tomorrow into the General's Quarters. General Star Gazer would undoubtedly have debriefed Brighter Tomorrow herself, but Princess Twilight appeared to be just as excited about establishing long-lasting relations with another galaxy as Bright himself.

Brighter Tomorrow stepped into the quarters...and grew concerned.

Star Gazer and Princess Twilight both wore what Bright could only describe as haunted expressions. Star Gazer hesitating slightly before returning Bright's salute, and Twilight looking over the stallion with an analyzing eye.

What she saw was a cloud white Pegasus with a light yellow mane and tail, bright blue eyes, a captain's vest with three service medals, and a Cutie Mark depicting a sun shining upon a village.

Twilight's worry began to grow, but she shoved it aside and addressed Bright with a professional voice. "Captain Brighter Tomorrow: accredited with thirteen flight missions across five different vessels. Ten of which were uneventful, three of which were interrupted by bandits that you managed to fight off...one of which ended with you detaining one of the bandits and ultimately lead to the capture of the rogue Dragon Blaze and the Diamond Dogs he had been forcing to do his bidding...you are noted as pleading for the liberation force to be merciful to the Diamond Dogs in spite of their crimes and having fed and cared for your prisoner in spite of him killing your second in command during the initial attack."

"...that is correct ma'am-er Your Highness." Brighter Tomorrow.

Twilight's expression softened a little. "Just Twilight is fine. I was wondering if you could tell me the story of your Cutie Mark."

The request took Bright off guard. "M-my um my mark? Well, it started in my home, the Cloudsdale Nebula. My brother and I had become lost during a tour of weather factory, and some jerk had told my brother that stupid story about Pegasi murdering foals that can't fly in order to grind into rainbows...I love my brother, but he can be way too trusting."

"Anyway, I managed to calm him down and convince that the story was that, a story, and I found a spot in the factory that looked familiar and managed to find our way back to the tour group. That's when I realized that my purpose was to help others get over their fears and misery." Bright concluded.

"And you are willing to show mercy to creatures who hurt the ones closest to you." Twilight added.

That sentence sent a chill down Bright's spine, and he suddenly remembered what he believed to be his purpose here. "Has...has something happened to The Envoy?"

Twilight gestured to a seat opposite her and Bright took it. The Princess then opened a file of what Bright recognized as satellite photos. "When we sent an exploratory vessel into a foreign galaxy, we had no idea what to expect. The Envoy was equipped with standard defensive capabilities, but primarily served to research and document from afar. What it documented...was a galaxy at war."

That singular word froze Bright's heart. Ponies were no strangers to war, but to think that an entire galaxy could swept up in such violence was unthinkable.

Twilight showed Bright some of the pictures. The first was a clear image, it showed large green apes with axes and ramshackle firearms charging a line of...Bright didn't know what they were, but they defended themselves with laser rifles.

The second showed what appeared to be metal bipedal skeletons shooting lightning at more bipedal beings similar to the ones that fought the green apes, but they wore different armor with pointed helmets and fired very strange weapons.

The third picture was the most troubling. Large, Minotaur shaped beings with blue armor facing...a blur. A blur that could only exist if the image was distorted, which was only possible through magic. But while Equestrian magic was known to scramble photography, it always looked like a blanket was wrapped around reality. This looked like reality had been cut open by a chainsaw, which painted a very frightening picture as to the nature of this magic.

Bright handed the photos back to Twilight, who spoke to him. "I have already shared this with the leaders of the Alliance. Initially, we were going to extract The Envoy. And leave things alone, but two days ago...we lost contact."

"...He's...he's dead?" Bright asked in barely a whisper.

"We don't know. What we do know is that his very first report wasn't about the galaxy's natives. Some unforeseen magical phenomenon infected every and Unicorn, Kirin, and Changeling aboard The Envoy...those that didn't die were driven insane and attacked the crew." Twilight stated.

"Wu-what could cause this?" Bright asked. Trying to imagine something so horrible.

"The only thing I can of is Chaos Magic, like Discord, but this is far more sinister. Nevertheless, we're not leaving our Ponies behind. We are currently refitting The Liberator with modern weapons and shielding, and rounding up volunteers who are willing to take the risk, but their isn't a single Pony currently willing to go on such a dangerous mission." Twilight explained.

Bright didn't need to be told why that was a bad thing. Dragons and Griffins may be good in a fight, but unless a respected officer tells them ahead of time, they don't really know when to stop. And it's a safe bet that at least one of these armies is just trying to survive without being enslaved, and other armies are probably just mostly slaves.

"If you're asking if I still want to be in charge of Second Contact, the answer is yes." Bright declared.

6 Days Later

The Liberator, the eldest Equestrian warship still intact. It was first commanded by Flash Magnus during the Dragon Wars, and had been pulled out of retirement three times...now four.

Bright mauled over the ship's history in his mind while he made his way to the bridge. It had been 500 years since the last time The Liberator was deployed during the Changeling invasion of Canterlot. It had since been repurposed as a museum. Now, it was being outfitted with the latest weapons created by the more aggressive races in the Alliance.

This would be the first time any of these weapons would be used in combat, as most of them were the result of Dragons trying to make blowing up asteroids more exciting. But some of those asteroids had been shielded when they exploded so...

Brighter Tomorrow shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't want to think about fighting, he'd leave that to his second in command while he figured how to stop the fighting.

This got his mind stuck on another unpleasant subject. Sub-Commander Arizona was one of the most well trained fighters in the Alliance's military and practically threw herself at the chance to prove herself in a real fight, there was just one problem Bright couldn't make peace with.

A Minotaur...it had to be a Minotaur. Bright tried his best not to profile creatures based on their species, but for all the exceptions to the norm of Ponies, Griffins, Dragons, and other races, he had neither met nor heard of a single Minotaur that wasn't wholly devoted to cementing themself as the most obnoxious creature in existence.

It was wrong, it was rude, and Bright promised to apologize to miss Arizona if she, by some miracle, proved him wrong.

Brighter Tomorrow finally made his way to the elevator leading to the bridge. After stating his destination and feeling the surge of gravity as he ascended, Bright pulled out a Tablet stating the ship's statistics, armaments and crewmembers.

The Liberator was abnormally large, primarily because of the large amount of empty space reserved for refugees in the event of planetary evacuation. The Dragons took full advantage of the ship's size and equipped it with a Worldbreaker Cannon: a large laser that could drill into a planet's core and had a built-in railgun beneath it. The railgun fired projectiles forged from the same rock that Queen Chrysalis had forged her throne from, allowing them to absorb any shields that could've protected the target from the laser.

As if a Cannon that turned a large ship into a floating tank wasn't enough, The Liberator also housed a missile fabricator and one hundred missile ports. As well as numerous smaller lasers across the ship's broadsides.

The ship's crew were just as aggressive as it's weapons. Griffins and Hippogriffs made up the majority of the personnel, followed by Dragons and Diamond Dog mercenaries, and of course...Minotaurs, over a hundred Minotaurs.

The doors to the elevator opened and Bright stepped out. Sub-Commander Arizona was right there with her back to him.

Bright cleared his throat. Please make me apologize. Please make me apologize.

The Minotaur turned and smiled. "Well howdy there Cap'n. Ready ta get this show on the road?" She asked with a salute

...did not call the bridge crew to attention. Was not at attention when she saluted. And clearly thinks this is some sort of game...well, at least she's wearing a top.

Bright returned the salute with a tired expression. "Sub-Commander Arizona I presume?"

"Yep. But you can call me Ari. Only my pop uses my full name. Anyway, the crew's ready to go when you are." Ari stated.

A quick glance behind the Minotaur showed that the Griffins and Hippogriffs manning the bridge had all snapped to attention while the two other Minotaurs, presumably security, were snickering at them for doing what they were supposed to. "...I can see that. As you were."

The bridge crew resumed their posts while Brighter Tomorrow took his seat in the Captain's Chair. "Helmsman, detach us."

"Aye aye Captain." Responded a Hippogriff who proceeded to detach The Liberator from the port in orbit around the Gateway.

Bright activated his private communications link."This is Captain Brighter Tomorrow requesting permission to begin Second Contact."

"This is Twilight Sparkle to Captain Brighter Tomorrow. Permission granted, good luck out there." Bright smiled in spite of himself. For all the tension and horror of the situation, it couldn't take away from how he's waited for this.

"...alright, take us in."

Author's Note

And so it begins. To clarify, Equestria did not go from interstellar to intergalactic in a millennium and a half. If you want a prologue chapter into further depth, I'll write it.

Arizona is based off the character of the same name from Them's Fighting Herds.

The Liberator looks like a Galleon, but without a flat top. And the Worldbreaker is half the ship's length plus and an extra eighth. The railgun's barrel is exactly one fifth the diameter of the laser.

Chapter 2: First Encounter

...Seriously, what is taking so long?" Arizona complained...again.

"I already told you, the Gateway is-" "More of a slingshot then a tellyporter, I get it." Arizona interrupted, blissfully unaware of Bright's building annoyance.

"But how much longer are we gonna be shooting through nothing before we see this new galaxy? Our own engines would've been faster than that gate." Bright considered ignoring the Minotaur, but then realized that if could bore her, she might leave him alone.

"As a matter of fact, no. They would not. Our engines are only capable of traveling 1,000 light years per hour. Satellite images have confirmed that the galaxy in question is 100,000 light years in diameter, meaning it would take over 4 days to travel from end to end. Opposed to that, the average distance between galaxies is 9,900,000 light years long, which would take us 4 years to cross. Luckily, the Gateway will see us to our destination in less than an hour." Brighter Tomorrow looked to see that, surprisingly, Arizona was still next to him and still awake.

"Okay, but...ain't it been an hour already?" On that note, Brighter Tomorrow snapped.

IT'S BEEN TWELVE MINUTES!!!

Ari was somehow shocked by the outburst, as if she genuinely had no idea how badly she was getting on Bright's nerves. "...Ooookaaay. Well, if you're not gonna need me for awhile, I'm gonna make sure my gear's all workin right. No sense gettin into a firefight with faulty guns after all."

Bright breathed a sight of relief when she was out of earshot, one that he immediately felt guilty for.

Looking back, he wondered how she really annoyed him and how much of that came from him assuming that she was going to annoy him. She may have been a bit on the ditsy side, but as far as Minotaurs go, she was...nice.

Hoping to find some good points about her, he went over her file again. He had initially dismissed the need after learning she was a Minotaur. But now, he was hoping to find something that would make him feel less, or more, like a jerk.

Sub-Commander Arizona

Age: 23

Experience: 4 years

Missions: 34

Highest Honor: Wings of Mercy

That got his attention, the Wings of Mercy was a medal given to soldiers that had convinced their enemies turn from the path of evil and join in the galaxy's unity.

Scrolling down for the details, Bright discovered that Ari had been deployed in battle against the forces of the Diamond Dog warlord Cujo.

Diamond Dogs turning to villainy wasn't anything new, but it was a known fact that the majority of their followers followed out of fear rather than greed.

Further examination revealed that Arizona's commanding officer, a Minotaur named Montana had been abusing his prisoners, beating on them while other Minotaurs restrained them.

Ari learned of this and fought Montana. Breaking off one of his horns, and reporting him to his superiors.

Arizona was quoted as saying. "Everycritter has certain rights that you just don't mess with. If you're fighten someone, and they give up, that's it. Fight's over. Anything more is just bullyin."

Below the quote was picture of the Minotaur. She wasn't much different. Save for the rank on her shoulder, the two combat shoutguns she held(two?), and her mammaries were a cup smaller...and a long cut from a knife halved one of the white spots on her arm, but she still wore that careless smile she had when they first met.

Bright breathed an exhausted sigh. Now he needed to apologize. He activated the ship wide comms. "Sub-Commander Arizona, please report to the bridge."

Bright began to formulate the apology in his mind...before realizing that there was something on the horizon.

The other galaxy!? But it's only been ten more minutes. Bright thought to himself, fearing that his apology would have to wait as the light of a million suns rapidly grew.

Ari took five minutes to return. In that time, the galaxy grew close enough for the crew to make out individual stars.

Bright glanced at Ari. Thinking to make his apology while they still had time, when an alarm went off. "Our speed is beginning to decrease sir. ETA is three minutes."

"As soon as we stop, I want to examine which part of the galaxy we've arrived in vs where The Envoy was last reported." Bright asked the Hippogriff that had spoken up.

She nodded while Arizona spoke up. "Wait, we ain't gonna end up where The Envoy is?"

"The Gateway is an extension of the Spirit of Harmony. If we end up where The Envoy is, then our only job is to figure out what happened, rescue any survivors, and get out. But if we end up somewhere else, it probably means the Spirit of Harmony wants us to do more than just help our own."

"Well in that case, we might wanna start preppin weapons. Odds are we're gonna be savin someone from a fight." Ari adviced.

"That's fair. Load up the missile ports, but don't arm them. We don't want to appear as a threat." Bright ordered.

"We'll be entering the galaxy in 3...2...1." Declared an Ensign.

Stars began to streak by them as they entered the edge of a tendril of the galaxy. It was over as soon as it began as they left one tendril and sped to the next.

"Ensign, what's our speed?" Brighter Tomorrow asked. Realizing that they were traveling much slower than their top speed.

"200 light years per hour and dropping." The Hippogriff replied. Looking to Bright for further orders.

"Let's see where we end up. I trust the Spirit with my soul." Bright stated.

Some of the crew traded looks at that, but didn't say anything. Bright made a mental note to keep his faith to himself from now on.

The Liberator finally dropped below lightspeed between galatic tendrils where there were only 5 stars within 100 light years...and Bright immediately saw their mission.

A fleet of ships, the largest of which was a half kilometer longer than The Liberator but only a third as wide, was under attack by swarm of smaller vessels.

The larger vessels were fighting for their lives, grouping together to try and cover each other's gaps while the smaller vessels picked apart those too slow to join the main group like wolves hunting deer.

Fighters poured forth from the wolves to slip into the gaps of the herd while the larger vessels appeared to be receiving boarding craft from the stragglers that now floated like dead fish.

"Uh...s-sir?" Asked a very shocked ensign.

"Scan them, try to hack into their communications. We need to find out what's going on." Bright ordered.

"What's going on!? They're critters in trouble! That's what's going on!!" Arizona shouted.

"We don't know who's fighting for what. The attacking ships could be a resistance movement striking back against the area's lording tyrants. We can't start a war based on an assumption." Brighter Tomorrow reasoned.

Ari was about to argue when the ensign spoke up. "Sir! I'm detecting three different species amongst those vessels. It looks the attacking ships have taken prisoners from the crippled ships. They're...they're suffering."

That was all Bright needed. "Even if they're fighting for vengeance, we can't allow them to be cruel. Sub-Commander Arizona. Put together rescue teams. We'll break their shields and get you aboard."

"Yes sir!" Ari shouted with a salute before dashing off to get ready.

"Ensign! Prep the Worldbreaker's railgun. I want those shields down now." Bright ordered.

The White Maw

Bail Sharr grit his teeth so hard that his gums bled. He had only just concluded the latest Red Tithe when these thrice damned xenos sprang from the void in a manner similar to his own chapter.

Yet, the Reaper Prime could no longer see the Drukhari Raiders as a primary threat even as they tore the White Maw's escort ships apart. No, his scowl was directed at a new threat.

The alien vessel continue to observe the desperate fight, every shot fired in their struggle to survive adding to the invaders knowledge of how humanity fights while every fatal blow dealt by the Dark Eldar exposed their weaknesses.

The ship was built like a Battleship, though only the size of Sharr's own Tyrant-Class Cruiser, but the Reaper Prime could only believe it to be a scout ship...why else would it not have an escort.

"They are not our concern." Sharr did nothing to inform Khauri that he had heard him, yet the Librarian knew. "I sense a great deal of concern and curiosity from that vessel. Whatever foul creatures look upon us, they would be easy prey but for our current predicament...which is what should occupy your thoughts."

Sharr continued scowling at the alien ship. "It is in the mortals' hands whether or not if the Xenos get aboard our ship. Until then, there is nothing we ca-"

The Reaper Prime stopped short as the massive cannon atop the alien craft moved to aim at one of the Drukhari vessels. The secondary gun fired a solid projectile towards the ship. It crashed into it's void shield...and absorbed it.

The two Astartes continued to observe as what appeared to be boarding pods sped towards the vulnerable ship as other raiding crafts broke off to engage a new foe. Now it was their turn to observe strengths and weaknesses.

The Liberator

Non-magical teleportation was a tricky thing. It was easy for something to go wrong and have your molecules scattered to the winds.

For a long time, everycreature preferred dropships for their statistically superior performance. You were less likely to get shot down by anti aircraft fire than you were to get killed by a malfunctioning teleporter.

All this changed when a Hippogriff scientist named Stargate came up with the idea to use a medium. At first, using a teleporter that could only teleport you through a stationary gateway was seen as redundant. But then, after proving that using a medium all but wiped out the likelihood of a malfunction, Stargate convinced a group of volunteers to use his gate while launching receivers for the teleportation device at flak cannons.

The majority of the receivers were destroyed...but nobody died because the receivers only activated once they had landed, teleporting the volunteers from the ship in orbit to the ground in an instant without any danger.

The only issue...was the waiting.

Ari and her Minotaur squad groaned in annoyance as the receiver they were waiting on was blown out of the sky...again.

That was four times her team had been forced to wait for their teleporter to lock on to another receiver's signal so they could wait for that one to land. Meanwhile, the telltale zapping noise of other teams being teleported in just served to remind Ari that she was missing the action.

They better leave some for me. She thought to herself as she looked her team over again. There were two Griffins with her, and the other seven were all Minotaurs.

The Griffins would go first because they each wore standard issue Alliance armor with personal shield generators that could shield each other as well as themselves, in case they had to protect someone without a shield.

They also carried Cloudsdale made Lightning Rifles which, being Pony made, only had a stun setting...unless you shot'em twice.

Ari didn't like hiding behind shields and armor. No Minotaur did. That's why she and the others of her kind either wore a tank top under their ammo belts of shotgun shells, or just the fur they were born with.

The other Minotaurs all carried Assault Auto 6 gauge combat shotguns with Frag-6 explosive shells, while Ari favored her daddy's twin slamfires. One loaded with buckshot, another with slugs.

She had finished her inspection, for the fifth time, when the teleporter finally opened up a wormhole.

She was right behind the Griffins with her slug loaded slamfire over their heads. The minute the world, or actually her body, finished putting itself back together, she saw a whole squad of scrawny spiky critters shooting what looked like shards of glowing glass at the Griffins.

She fired a slug into the first one's chest, and then racked the slide and shot another one in the head.

The thing about shotgun slugs is even though they can't penetrate armor like a rifle bullet, they hit like a hammer. Which left the first hostile on his knees trying to stop coughing, and the second taking a nap.

Ari was genuinely impressed that form fitting armor held up against an inch of lead 23 millimeters in diameter, but they were aliens after all.

The Griffins weapons worked out just as well, balls of concentrated lightning smashed into the targets and sent them crumbling to the ground. The Minotaurs behind them didn't even fire a shot.

The team moved forward, their objective clear. Find the prisoners and get them out. The teleporter receivers were all aimed near where the life signs of the other aliens were located, so they shouldn't be too far away.

Ari pulled two more slugs from an ammo belt slung across her chest as she moved, certain that she'd need to fire more than eight shots.

Gunfire followed by screaming was heard up ahead. Another team was in trouble.

Ari's team sped towards the sight...and what they saw unnerved them.

A team of Diamond Dogs laid dying with vicious flesh wounds and hamstringing cuts into their muscles beside the dead Hippogriffs that served as their shieldbearers.

The culprits were different from the soldiers that Ari had fought earlier. They appeared to be female and seemed to share the Minotaurs opinion on armor.

But that wasn't what bothered Ari and her team, it was the fact they were deliberately striking to maim and torture...and they were enjoying it.

The creatures noticed them and sprang forward with unnatural speed. The Griffins were reeling in shock, and Ari didn't have time to switch to buckshot. Luckily, the other Minotaurs had more than just slack jawed faces of horror to express their disgust.

Ari still slamfired her slug rounds just on principle while the unarmored saditsts were blasted to pulp by Frag-6s.

"Arizona, we are sustaining heavy fire from the enemy fleet. How should we respond." Brighter Tomorrow's voice came from the Minotaur's Comm-link.

"With deadly force sir. These things are monsters and they love it." Ari said as she pressed on.

The Liberator

"With deadly force sir. These things are monsters and they love it." Bright noted the disgust in Ari's voice and became concerned for the prisoners.

"Switch to warheads and prep the Worldbreaker." Bright commanded. The Liberator had been defending itself with EMP missiles up to this point, but in the next minute, the enemy ships would start to pay for their cruelty with more than just inconvenience.

In the time since the rescue operation began, the ships with prisoners had fled barring the one with the rescue team, which had been immobilized via tractor beam and EMPs.

Meanwhile half of the enemy, which Bright now considered to be slavers, had continued their assault on the other faction, and the largest ship from the prisoner-seeking faction had been attempting to break the defending fleet's formation to attack it's flagship. Bright could only assume that there was a large number of creatures on that vessel, and these villains wanted them for prisoners.

If Bright didn't do something, the enemy was going to take it's prize, and they were too far to prevent the ship from fleeing once it claimed it's prisoners.

Bright refused to let it get that far. "As soon as the Worldbreaker has a clear shot, take out the enemy's flagship."

"Affirmative." Replied the Ensign who aimed the massive gun accordingly.

Unfortunately, the enemy ship caught wind of their intentions and gunned it's engines forward surrounding itself with the defending fleet's escort.

"Sir, the Worldbreaker is primed and ready. How do we proceed?" Asked the Ensign.

"Contact the other fleet and try to get them to move their ships out of-" Bright broke off when he noticed one of the defending escort ships repositioning itself.

The ship in question was badly damaged, and smaller slaver ships were already launching boarding craft at it. But unbeknownst to the Equestrian onlookers, the ship's Captain had decided to die in service to his Emperor and not the amusement of deranged torturers.

Bright let his jaw fall slack as the injured ship gunned it's engines and launched itself like a spear into the large slaver vessel. Destroying itself on the enemy's shields, but pushing out of the way of it's allies.

"F-FIRE!!!" Bright shouted in spite of his shock, determined to make the sacrifice count for more than just defiance in the face of despair.

Another lump of stone flew from the railgun a split second before the Worldbreaker roared. A massive beam of plasma 100 meters in diameter lighting it's way through the darkness to pierce evil's heart.

The energy sapping rock struck the slaver ship's shield and absorbed it. It was then disintegrated along a large portion of the ship, including it's power source.

Both the ship's power source and the stone that consumed the energy of it's shields proved themselves volatile and exploded, creating a chain reaction that reduced the large into floating scrap.

Upon seeing this, the slaver fleet fled. Abandoning those ships too damaged to keep up and thus, dissuading any doubt left that they weren't the bad guys.

Bright contacted Ari. "Sub-Commander Arizona, the enemy fleet has fled. How goes the rescue op?"

"...We...we got'em sir...we saved what's left." Ari's voice more than made up for her lack of words. Bright had braced for a Minotaur's ego to accent her victory, but her usual pep was gone. She sounded...haunted.

"Are there any POWs coming with you?" Bright asked.

"No sir! Not a damn one of 'em." The statement by what Bright mistook for static, but then realized that Ari had spat in disgust.

The White Maw

Sharr continued to look upon the destruction of the Drukhari Cruiser that had sought to claim the Tithe for itself. As much as it disgusted him, he was to acknowledge that it would've to keep the Tithe, or even survive, without the intervention of this new threat...but what was their purpose here?

He received when a burst of static violated the white noise of his ship's bridge. The static was followed by words of an Alien tongue before a robotic voice translated them into Imperial Gothic.

"This is Captain Brighter Tomorrow of the EFA Battleship Liberator to unidentified alien fleet. We have rescued a number of prisoners from the enemy ship and wish return them to you. Please respond."

Sharr said nothing as Khauri once more joined him. "There was no attempt at deception, and I do not sense any form of malice from them. It is possible that they are simply that foolish."

Sharr closed his eyes in silent contemplation before opening them into the same scowl. "If that is true, then they will not live to learn from their mistakes."

Author's Note

White Maw is the flagship of the 3rd Company, which is the company responsible for gathering new serfs and Aspirants via the Red Tithes.

In both books, Red Tithe and Outer Dark, the 3rd Company is only comprised of 73 Astartes, two predators, three Dreadnoughts, 4 Scouts and 4 Terminators. They are not meant to be on the front lines of larger conflicts, and are usually sent away to ensure that a small portion of the Chapter survives in the event that the rest are wiped out.

Just making sure no one jumps down my throat for a single Tyrant-Class Cruiser and a couple of Escorts being caught by themselves. Don't worry...the bigger ships are coming.

And just to give everyone a feel for how powerful a Space Marine is here, I am following the canon of the two Carcharodon books. In the first one, an Adeptus Arbites unloads her Vox Legi pump action shotgun into a Night Lord who stands there and tanks it for a laugh...it left visible dents.

In the second book, a Genestealer Cult ambushes Khauri and some Carcharodon red shirts with autoguns and a single split a Marine's helmet open...I'm not going that far because even I know that's bullshit, but I am saying that a Minotaur's 6 gauge shotgun will leave large dents in their armor, and break their helmets in one shot.

Also, a lightning rifle will conduct from the armor to the Marine's nervous system, just saying it now. Space Marines are still better fighters however, and advanced weapons only make up for so much.

Chapter 3: A Threat Worse Than War

Silence filled the Thunderhawk as the Carcharadons went to meet these Alien interlopers face to face. It wasn't necessary for the rescue, the menials and crewmen of the Escort vessels had already been transferred to new ships, but the Reaper Prime and his Honor Guard needed to know what new threat these aliens posed.

Strike leader Kordi was silent, like the rest of his kin, but internally, he wrestled with confusion as to why they would humor the Xenos like this when they would soon be destroyed.

To ensure their destruction. Kordi gave but the slightest twitch when Khauri whispered into his mind, and he thanked the Forgotten One that it went unnoticed.

If the Xenos escape before our reinforcements destroy them, they will know better than to offer us parley a second time. So we will accept their offer to meet with their Commanding Officer...and kill him when the Nicor arrives. The Librarian explained. Kordi said nothing in response, for nothing needed to be said. Khauri saw his understanding as clearly as he had seen the Strike Leader's doubt.

The Librarian's unspoken words were the first and only words passed between the Space Marines before their Thunderhawk completed it's journey. The Astartes dropship entered the alien ship's docking bay and powered down, lowering it's ramp to allow the transhuman warriors to disembark.

Per protocol, Kordi's Strike Team entered the enemy's domain first. They did so Bolters up, prepared for anything...except what they found.

The enemy Honor Guard he had expected was too far away to be effective. In their place, he was met with a large eyed female Xeno that sized him up with an impressed whistle. "Wow, you're a a bigg'un, ain'chya? Were those little'uns I rescued yer kids or somethin'?"

...No threats present, you're clear. Kordi voxed to the Reaper Prime while trying to pierce the veil of absurdity that prevented him from understanding his present situation.

"...uum, are you the Commanding Officer?" Asked a male voice, directing Kordi's attention to his mother on a beach.

The Tactical Marine blinked away the unwelcome memory from a life no longer his own, shaking his head so faintly that his helmet didn't move. When his senses returned to him, he found himself staring at a small winged equine with a white coat and light yellow hair upon it's head and tail.

"No. I am." Answered the voice of Bail Sharr.

Kordi stepped back and allowed the Reaper Prime and The Librarian to meet with the Xenos...cursing the returning sound of waves upon a beach.

Bail Sharr kept his helmet mag locked at his hip, allowing the Xenos to see his pale face. He could see the sudden unease of the creature as plain as a single star in the void, but there was a mixture of other emotions as well, many of which could not be easily identified. "I am Bail Sharr. Captain of the Carcharodons Astra's 3rd Company. Identify yourself."

The equine spoke in it's alien tongue. Some unseen device translating it's words into Imperial Gothic. "I am Captain Brighter Tomorrow of the EFA Heavy Battleship Liberator. Commander of the second intergalactic exploratory mission. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Bail Sharr acquired three vital pieces of information from the foolish Xeno. First, this vessel, which was equal in size to a Tyrant-Class Cruiser, was classified as a Heavy Battleship, likely making it the most powerful vessel this new enemy could deploy. Second, this new Xenos species had crossed the void between galaxies, just like the Tyranids, though it was doubtful that they came from the same galaxy. But the third was the most troubling.

"Second? Meaning there are others of your kind in our galaxy." Sharr questioned.

The Alien's expressions told the story long before it's words did. The vessel was lost. "We...lost contact with the Envoy. Our mission is to retrieve it, and then lend a hoof wherever it's needed."

Sharr thought he misheard the alien. "Meaning to your allies?"

Now it was the alien that was confused. "No, to anycreature. Like you." It explained.

"We do not accept aid from aliens. Now leave." Sharr demanded.

"Now just hold on a minute." The bipedal bovine creature interjected. "If it weren't for us, yer friends would've been done for. The least you could do is say 'thank you'."

"You preserved our servants. It was their duty to fight and die for us as it is our duty to fight and die for the Imperium." Sharr stated.

The bovine's expression became wrathful, and she appeared ready to attack the Reaper Prime when the equine addressed her. "Stand down Sub-Commander, I'll handle this." The creature held her tongue but turned her head between the two Captains numerous times in a silent plea to unleash her fury before yielding at last.

Sharr waited with slight curiosity to see how the alien would 'handle' him. "Before we lost contact, the Envoy sent us images of your galaxy. Every single one of them was a different battlefield. We don't know what you're fighting for, but from what Ari has told me of the prisoners she rescued, your desperate, struggling for survival, and those slavers aren't the worst threat. We just want to help you."

Sharr turned his attention to Khauri. The Librarian had been probing the alien's mind this entire time. He knew beyond doubt that these creatures were lying, playing some unseen angle, he only needed the Librarian to confirm the urgency of the situation.

Khauri nodded his head twice and Sharr had to do a double take. It told the truth?

"Lies." Sharr stated, seeking to gain greater insight into these creatures. "You wish to gain our trust so you can conquer us without firing a shot. Just like the Tau."

The Xenos became Horrified at the mention of the Tau. It's expression stating that a cause it very much believed in had been misused in a blasphemous manner. "What!? NO!! The Equestrian Friendship Alliance was founded on Unity across the stars. A united galaxy is a prosperous galaxy. We see that you're suffering and we want to help you, that's all. If you can't trust us, then allow us to earn your trust."

Sharr turned again to Khauri, and again he confirmed it's words as truth. This alien was no deceiver, and it had no intention of conquering the Imperium.

...It was something worse.

Few remain who remember the exact reason the Emperor demanded the extinction of all alien life. It was not because they were all monsters, it was not because all that offered friendship and compliance were deceitful, it was because humans who allied themselves with Xenos turned from their own race.

During the Dark Age of Technology, when Free Will was a right held sacred by all of humanity and allying with the Alien was far from unheard of. A great many humans became more involved with their alien allies than with their own race. and when the Dark Age of Technology burned in fires of the Age Of Strife, these human/alien alliances would not lend aid to their kinsmen...because their allies needed it.

In this dark age where war is everywhere, more and more reports of cooperation between Imperial forces and Xenos scum have reached the Red Wake's ears, and he has ordered that any who are seen commiting such heresy is to be destroyed with extreme prejudice. This was why. If these aliens were permitted to spread their corruption to the wider Imperium, none could say how many would become tainted by the notion that these Xenos could protect them more than the Imperium.

"I am only going to say this once. Get out of our galaxy. And don't come back." Sharr snarled.

While the equine's eyes told Sharr that he believed the Carcharodon still found him deceitful, the bovine's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "ya know, when we landed in the middle of yer liddle tussle with them crazy slavers, we didn't start shootin' immediately cause we didn't know which one of yall was the bad guys...didn't occur ta me that yall might both be the bad guys."

"Calm down Ari, they didn't mean it li-Reaper Prime, the Nicor has dropped out of Warp.' The mortal Captain of the White Maw informed him.

While the bovine alien tried to convince her foolish Captain to share her distrust,Bail Sharr wordlessly donned his helmet and spoke a single command into his vox. "Korro, strike!"

The aliens had recieved word from their bridge crew that a second, larger, Carcharodons ship had appeared when they suddenly lost contact. They were still trying to reconnect with their bridge crew when Sharr drew his Bolt Pistol and shot the bovine.

The Bolt exploded harmlessly on a Void Shield that emanated from the equine's uniform, alerting them to the ambush. The equine stared numbly in a futile attempt to comprehend the situation while the bovine shouted words that her translator saw fit to ignore while she reached for a weapon on her back.

Sharr was sprinting towards his prey before Reaper was off his back, determined to vanquish his foes.

Equestrian Artificial Shields were an impressive feat of science by all accounts, but they had been made to accept passage from anything under the speed of sound, in order to allow the shield to envelope allies and civilians. This was done under the belief that the technology would never be used in anything more than a gunfight...it's not like the designers imagined nigh indestructible super soldiers with a fetish for chainsaws after all.

Bail Sharr moved fast, but not fast enough for the shield to deflect his attack.

Arizona had retrieved her slug-loaded slam-fire shotgun, but was unable to aim and fire before she had to duck a decapitating blow from Reaper. The large Chainax howled it's frustrations at being denied it's bloody prize, further adding to the aliens' confusion.

Brighter Tomorrow fell to the floor, slamming his hooves to his sensitive ears in a vain attempt to block out the horrible noise.

Bail made to swing again, but was thrown off target when Ari shot him in the stomach, below his breastplate. For all the power of a 6 gauge slug, and the choice to avoid the thicker armor. It was still only just enough to punch through the artificial muscle fibers protecting Bail Sharr's stomach. The slug was left half embedded in the Astartes with the other half held in place by the muscle fibers. Enough to stagger a mortal, but the Reaper Prime barely flinched.

Ari racked the slide, but had to throw her gun up to block a bisecting blow. Reaper quickly began chewing it's way through the Minotaur's shotgun, leaving her wide eyed but not helpless. Ari twisted her gun, Minotaur might equaling Space Marine strength, and spin kicked her opponent in the head.

The Carcharodon staggered, but he didn't go down. Ari would've followed up, but she was suddenly reminded of Brighter Tomorrow's shield when it was suddenly alight with exploding Bolts.

Arizona traced the gunfire to the enemy's aircraft, mounted with several weapons, and surveyed what else had transpired in the docking bay.

Her Minotaurs didn't go down easy, but while their AA-6s could put noticable holes in ceramite, the Tactical Marines made more accurate shots faster. leaving 5 dead Minotaurs for 1 dead Void Brother and two others sustaining injuries. The two other Minotaurs were now using the cover of their Griffin allies, who were laying down suppressive fire with their lightning guns, which were surprisingly effective...almost like the suits of armor were wired directly into the wearer's nervous system.

Khauri used his gifts to shield his Void Brothers when he saw what the griffin weapons were capable of, but was too far to shield Bail Sharr when the griffins noticed him.

The Reaper Prime deflected the first ball of lightning shot at him, Reaper's leather wrapped handle protecting him from conduction, but a second blast struck him dead on along with three FRAG-6s to the chest and shoulder.

Khauri brought the full power of the Warp to bare against his foes. A tidal wave of psychic energy sweeping the group of Minotaurs and Griffins off their feet and drowning them in water that wasn't there.

The Liberator's automated defenses detected the use of hostile magic and added an anti magical dust to the docking bay's ventilation. The dust was made from the same stone as the Worldbreaker's Railgun projectiles and absorbed the magical energy suffocating the EFA security. Unfortunately, the Tactical Marines gave them no time to recover and charged them with screaming chainswords.

As this occured, the Astartes rendered unconscious by the lightning guns began to recover, their enhanced bodies being pumped with combat stimulants to return them to battle as soon as possible.

"...Please tell me you called for reinforcements." Ari breathed out as she took in the deteriorating situation around her. She had spent the last ten seconds since being suppressed by the enemy gunship unloading the buckshot from her second slamfire and replacing them with slugs, but it was now painfully obvious that fighting this battle any longer would be a death sentence.

"...uh...I..ah..." Brighter Tomorrow looked like he'd been shell-shocked. He had seen combat before, but nothing this brutal.

"SNAP OUT OF IT PONY BOY!!! YER SUPPOSED TA BE THE SMART ONE REMEMBER!! NOW I CAN'T FIGHT THIS BATTLE BY MYSELF AND THOSE MINOTAURS AIN'T GONNA LAST MUCH LONGER!!!" No sooner than Arizona had stated this fact did the last Minotaur die, a chainsword piercing his stomach and cutting him nearly in half. The only survivor was a single Griffin that had lost it's courage and fled. Ari couldn't blame him. There wasn't anything he could do.

The Griffin flew to the docking bay's elevator and shut the door, fleeing to another part of the ship...then they were alone.

Brighter Tomorrow had finally made the call for reinforcements, but the words sounded a galaxy away as Ari watched the Carcharodons turn in unison towards them. They didn't bother shooting, and they didn't seem to be in a hurry, they just walked towards the frightened Pony and unsettled Minotaur with slight swaying of their shoulders that reminded Ari of fish swimming towards her...or rather, sharks.

Ari took a small step back, knowing that leveling her gun would trigger a charge, but not knowing what else to do. But then, an idea came to her.

With no time to clue him in, Arizona stooped down and grabbed her Captain like a puppy and turned and ran. She heard the thudding footfalls of the unnaturally fast behemoths giving chase, but she was closer to her target.

She skidded to a halt next to the only Space Marine still unconscious and put the barrel of her gun against the Reaper Prime's head. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!"

The Space Marines stopped like a bus, planting their feet onto the deck so hard it pushed up the plating, and then they waited, silent as the grave.

Ari waited until her heart was quiet enough for her to hear her voice without screaming before she spoke again. "...Get back in yer ship...an' get out."

"...No." Spoke their second in command. Ari never heard Khauri's name, but knew that he was important due to his armor being a different color. "I'll blow yer boss' brains out if you mess with me." Ari threatened.

"I am aware. I am also aware that you intend to send him back to the White Maw in an automated shuttle as you make your escape...But you are not going to escape." Khauri promised.

"Oh yeah, says who?" Ari shouted.

"The Reaper Prime." Ari briefly recalled that being the title their Captain gave earlier before she found herself falling to the floor. Damn it! He woke up!

Ari's next sight was Bail Sharr's boot raised to crush her skull, but a white blur flew into the Space Marine's face with enough force to throw him back. The other Astartes started firing on Brighter Tomorrow, only to find his shield just as functional in flight.

The Pegasus dove at Bail Sharr again, the Carcharodon made to retrieve Reaper, but thought better of it. For all the weapon's power, it's weight slowed him down considerably, hence why the bovine alien had been able to dodge his attacks earlier. So Sharr chose instead to wait and grab the Xeno from the sky to rip him in half.

He was distracted by a most unwelcome sound, hostile reinforcements had engaged his Void Brothers. The bird-like creatures from before...and something else. This new Xenos race was reptilian in appearance and wore formidable armor, but what allowed them to turn the tide of battle was their chosen weapons: Plasma guns.

Bail Sharr suffered a second strike from the alien captain as he turned to retrieve Reaper...but a cloven hoof stood upon his weapon.

Ari fired a slug right into the Space Marine's face, shattering his helmet and cutting his forehead, and then fired another into his armored kneecap. Sharr would've pressed the attack, but Khauri came to his side to shield him. "We have to go. Now!"

The remaining Carcharodons fled into their ship, unable to retrieve the dead and wounded, and disembarked from the Liberator.

"Get the wounded to medical! And tell the bridge-crew to get us ou-" Brighter Tomorrow could say no more as their ship trembled under fire.

Author's Note

And so Equestria is introduced to the Emperor's Angels of Death. There is quite a bit to unpack here, especially if any of yall haven't read the Carcharodons books. If you haven't, but you plan to do so in the near future, your spoiler alert is here.

First off, Kordi. If you haven't read the books, you'll be forgiven for not understanding that 'mother on the beach' bit. We learn in Red Tithe that Kordi is one of the rare examples of Astartes that remember pieces of their past lives. Kordi occasionally see this image of his faceless mother standing on a beach calling out to him. It is that he could focus on this memory and recall more, but instead, he chooses to ignore it, claiming that it is longer his life and that life belongs to the Nomad Predation Fleet.

Later in the book, a Cultist suicide bomber sees Kordi buried alive in a mine shaft, and the memories that have pleaded for him to return to humanity now call for him to stop fighting and rest(in peace) Being a badass Carcharodon, Kordi rejects the peaceful end and claws his way out of the Earth to join the book's final battle against the Night Lords. There a single nod to this in the sequel book Outer Dark, but he shrugs it off without effort...so what brought out of him now?

Well, a good number of individuals brought it to my attention that even the non-magical Equestrians would be susceptible to Chaos Corruption if they A: fell into a Warpstorm or B: got too close to a Chaos Lord/Daemon Prince. I concede to that point, but it also gave me the idea that Harmony could function the same way, and rather than creating an OC CSM(whic I might still do) I decided to demonstrate this natural aura of Harmony on a canonical character whose entire schtick is resisting the light in a way that works (suck it, Kylo Ren)

Second thing to unpack: the Emperor's no alien policy.

Any time someone tries to justify the hatred of Xenos without using the word HERESY!!!, it always starts a fight. So, I'm gonna give my real head-canon as this is just a plot-point.

I'm one of those guys that believe the Emperor anticipated/caused the Horus Heresy as there are just too many things that don't make sense (being so harsh to Lorgar's religion while deliberately creating the Mechanicum Cult) and the way I see it, if Big E had suffered the Alien to live, while he would've been allowed to count the Interex and Diasporex among his followers, he would've lost a lot more. many Xeno hating planets would've purged instead of conquered, and a much larger portion of the Imperium would've turned to Chaos...at least that's my take on it.

Third: Khauri

Those who haven't read the books don't know what's wrong here, but I nerfed that Librarian hard for plot convenience and I am sorry. In Red Tithe Khauri(known then as Mika) is a young Psyker who is pursued by the Night Lords and Carcharodons alike for his power...power that we see unleashed in it's fullest in the climax to Outer Dark when he slows down time and, I'm not joking' boops a Genestealer Patriarch to make it explode. (insert TTS jokes here) So yeah, feel free to flay me in the comments for not letting him go ham in this chapter.

I think that's everything. If you have a question, post it below. In the meantime, I have finally returned to my Trade School, and also have recently acquired the Night Lords Omnibus. So along with not having much time for writing, I'd like to spend a good portion of that free time reading. (I would've never guessed that Chaos Space Marines could be capable of brotherly humor, but this book is genuinely funny at times)

So I'm not gonna promise any weekly updates, and I don't know I'll update next either. Until then, I'll see you all next time.