Location: Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville
Date: May 19, 2509
Time: 5:30 am
POV: Twilight Sparkle
I woke up before the sun rose, fixed my bed, put on my Hostile Environment Suit, and went out for a jog.

It has been six days since I the Commander gave me some shore leave following nine months of continuous service. While I had originally planned to tell everyone what had happened during my exile in the first week of my two week vacation, I quickly learned that it would not be possible.

Even if I wanted to, I found myself so busy with reuniting with my parents, reconciling with my sister-in-law Cadance, and attending Pinkie Pie's 'Welcome back from your space adventure' party that I had found little time to talk with my friends about my adventures aboard the Eternal Phoenix.

As I jogged around Ponyville, my thoughts lingered on my friends and how they would react to what I've seen, did, and said over the past nine months. And there was still the offer that the Commander gave me...

Location: Captain's Quarters, Eternal Phoenix
Date: May 12, 2509
Time: 1702 Hours
POV: Twilight Sparkle
"After your shore leave, I want you to take my place as commanding officer of Talon Squadron." Commander Bradley said as we entered his quarters. "You see... I'm dying."

"With all due respect sir..." I said before taking a deep breath. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN BY 'YOU'RE DYING'?!"

"I have cancer." He replied calmly, as if he was not in pain or injured in any way.

I was shocked, even with all their technology and science, the Terrans have never been able to effectively battle many forms of cancer.

"How long do you have?" I asked as tears began to form in my eyes.

"Seven months." He replied as he pulled out a beer from his mini-fridge and opened it. "Doctor said I'd probably not make it to see next year."

As he downed the beer, I sat down on a chair and began to think... What now? Bradley has been by my side every since he found me in Saddle Arabia all those months ago, teaching me, guiding me, picking me up whenever I fell, what would I do without his guidance?

"You know what? Fuck it." I was pulled from my thoughts by the Commander tossing the half-empty bottle of beer at the wall. "If I'm going down... I'm not going down drunk."

"Commander?" I asked as I looked up at him, his eyes burning with some kind of determination.

"I'm gonna give you a choice." He said as stared at the shattered glass on the floor. "You can choose to stay with your friends, live your life in peace and happiness, or you can take my place as the leader of Talon Squadron."

Location: Bridge, ???
Date: May 15, ???
Time: 1200 Hours (??? Standard Time)
POV: ???
"Geshtam jump complete sir!" My second-in-command, Lieutenant Klein, reported as my ship, the Gelvades-class Battlecarrier Interstellar Dragon exited warp at the edge of a star system.

Moments later, the fifteen other ships that comprised battlefleet Mythic warped in behind us.

The fleet consisted of my ship, two Destoria-class Heavy Cruisers, five Kelkapia-class High Speed Cruisers, and eight Kripitera-class Destroyers.

"Any word from high command?" I asked Klein as we moved towards one of the system's planets.

It has been two weeks since we lost all contact with the rest of the Empire following what seemed like a normal jump. We've been wandering aimlessly in hopes of encountering a friendly nation or fleet.

"None sir." Klein replied before proximity alarms began blaring, indicating an unknown presence was detected on radar.

"What is it?" I asked before an explosion rocked my ship.

"We're under attack!" The radar operator Roth replied before several starfighters of unknown design and origin flew past us, coming from the starboard side.

"Activate the Geshtam Wall and ready the weapon decks!" I ordered before my ship was enveloped in a space-time bubble and the two retractable ventral weapon decks rotated to reveal six turrets and thirty-two point defense guns. "Signal the fleet to follow our lead."

"Zah Belk! (Yes Sir!)" Communications officer Vogel replied as the fighters came around for another pass, but this time we were ready.

"All ships, open fire!" I shouted before the entire fleet began to fire upon the starfighters, tearing them to pieces with highly accurate beams of powerful positron energy. "Now that's been taken care of, let's-"

"Sir, I'm reading a massive unidentified object approaching us from the starboard bow!" Roth interrupted before a volley of missiles impacted the Geshtam Wall.

"On screen and magnify!" I ordered before the main screen flared to life, revealing a massive hammerhead-shaped vessel more than twice the size of a Zoelguut-class Dreadnought approaching us from a nearby moon. "What the fuck is that thing?!"

"Unknown sir, but it has locked onto us and begun charging its weapons!" Roth answered moments before the massive ship fired multiple energy weapons and missiles at the fleet.

"Kelkapia three and Kiripitera eight have been hit!" Vogel reported as the two damaged ships fell back, moving to the rear of the fleet in order to assess the damage and begin battlefield repairs.

"Have all ships swarm that thing and destroy it!" I said before the fleet broke ranks and charged the super dreadnought. "Show them the might of the Imperial Navy!"

Location: Bridge, Might Of Korhal
Date: May 15, 2509
Time: 1208 Hours (Korhal Standard Time)
POV: Commodore Vladimir Nomisk
"The enemy fleet have broken formation!" I heard one of the radar operators report as the enemy fleet charged towards my ship, the Might of Korhal.

"Destroy them!" I ordered as we fired all thirty-two of our multi-purpose laser cannons, only for the enemy ships to shrug off the attacks with little-to-no damage. "What?!"

"Our energy weapons appear to be ineffective sir!" The weapons operator reported as the hostile ships returned fire.

"Damage report, we've got hull breaches on multiple decks!" I heard someone report as the entire ship shook from the force of several explosions.

"Close the bulkheads around the damaged areas!" I ordered before more explosions tore through my ship. "What happened to our shields?!"

"The shields have been knocked offline!" Was the reply as the crew scrambled to mitigate the damage we received. "We've lost engine output!"

"Who are these guys?!" I thought before I realized that the ship was lost. "All hands abandon-"

Location: Bridge, Interstellar Dragon
Date: May 15, ???
Time: 1213 Hours (??? Standard Time)
POV: ???
Even though sound could not travel through space due to the lack of air, it felt like I could still hear the explosion caused by the destruction of the enemy ship. As we searched the debris for any survivors, I received the damage reports from the two ships that were hit earlier in the battle.

"Kiriptera eight's secondary gun was damaged." I said as I read through the report. "What about Kelkapia three?"

"Kelkapia three was hit pretty bad sir." Klein replied as the fleet returned to formation. "She's barely spaceworthy in her current state."

"I see, have all ships prepare to Geshtam Jump to the nearest system." I told Klein as I stared at the wreckage of the enemy ship. "Once we arrive, have the crew of the damaged ships begin repairs."

"Yes, Admiral Winter." Klein said before relaying my orders to the entire fleet.

Location: Bridge, Eternal Phoenix
Date: May 16, 2509
Time: 1212 Hours
POV: Marcus Bradley
I stared at the hologram of the wrecked battlecruiser Might Of Korhal, the flagship of the Dominion, with shock and awe.

The MOK was the most technologically advanced battlecruiser in Dominion service, boasting advanced energy shields and the most powerful ship-to-ship weapons ever developed.

Yet, even with its advanced tech and elite crew, it stood no chance when faced with the overwhelming firepower of the enemy.

"What happened?" I asked Emperor Valerian Mengsk through our secure communications channel.

"An unknown force attacked and destroyed the Korhal near the Rakis System." Mengsk answered. "The system itself is right on the border between us and the Zerg, yet Zagara denies that the swarm had anything to do with the attack."

"This doesn't look like a Zerg attack." I said as I inspected the hologram. "The ship was destroyed with energy weapons, as evidenced by the scorch marks all over the hull and the lack of that distinct acid they use for anti-ship purposes."

"I see... So was this a Protoss strike? Maybe from the Tal'darim fleet?" Mengsk asked, probably already having been told a similar assessment.

"Could be, but it seems very unlikely." I answered as I had the map of the Koprulu Sector brought up. "The main Tal'darim fleet was last seen near Aiur, which is on the other side of the sector, meaning that if they were the ones who attacked the Korhal, they would have been seen in Dominion space much sooner."

"So who do you think did this?" Mengsk asked as he began to run out of patience.

"If the reports are to be believed, the culprits seem to possess a fleet of small vessels armed with powerful energy-based weapons." I replied, mentioning the reports the ship's survivors gave. "I believe a new faction has entered the scene, one not of Terran, Protoss, or Zerg origin."

"If what you say is true, then we'll be unable to protect the entire Dominion." Mengsk said as he brought up the map of Dominion space, which took up one-third of the entire Koprulu sector. "We're still recovering from the End War, and even at our height, our fleet was too small to protect every system in the Dominion."

"Then send us." I said, much to Mengsk's surprise. "Talon Squadron will find and neutralize the threat, by any means necessary."

"If you can, I will see to it that you and your crew will be well paid." Mengsk said before closing the channel.

"Turn the ship around, set a course to Equestria!" I ordered before leaving the bridge and heading to my quarters. "I'm sorry Lieutenant, but we'll need you for this."

Location: Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville
Date: May 19, 2509
Time: 8:32 am
POV: Twilight Sparkle
"Is everyone okay? Can I continue on with my story?" I asked my friends as we sat down, to which they nodded yes. "As the dropship took off, I found myself subjected to several blood tests to ensure that I didn't carry anything harmful-"

"Lieutenant? Are you there?" My radio interrupted with the Commander on the other side.

"Please excuse me." I told my friends a before answering my radio. "Lieutenant Sparkle here."

"Sorry to ruin your vacation, but something's come up, we need you back on the Phoenix." The Commander said as the distinct roar of a dropship’s engines passed over the library. “And yes, before you ask, your friends can come along.”

“Sure, just give us thirty minutes to prepare.” I said before closing the channel. “Wanna join me in a space adventure?”

Location: Edge of Town, Ponyville
Date: May 19, 2509
Time: 9:21 am
POV: Spike the Dragon
As we waited for Rarity to finish dragging her bags to the dropship, Twilight gave all of us some rules.

Pinkie Pie was told not to throw a party for everyone on the ship, since there were around five thousand crewmembers serving on the ship along with their families and some pets.

Rainbow Dash was warned to not boast about her flying skills because most of the crew onboard knew how to effectively fly the various vehicles stored in the ship's hangars, ranging from dropships like the one we were boarding to starfighters and gunships.

Applejack was told to not compete with any of the crew in any sort of competition, mostly for her own safety due to the fact that almost all the people serving onboard the Phoenix were augmented with technological enhancements to a certain degree.

When Rarity finally arrived, she was told to not complain about the look of the ship and her crew. When she protested, she was reminded it was essentially a military vessel and function took priority over form when in combat.

Fluttershy was given no rules regarding the ship and its crew, probably because she would avoid everyone onboard like they had the plague, however, she was told not bring aboard any animals to prevent the introduction of invasive species to other planets.

As for me, I was just told to stay out of the way of everyone and to not touch anything without permission.

"Are we all good to go?" Asked the Marine who helped us load out things into the 'dropship'.

"That should be it." Twilight said after checking with all of us if we were ready to go. "Let's go!"

"Alright, strap in." The pilot said over the intercom as the loading ramp closed and the dropship took off.

As Equestria tried to keep us from achieving orbit, the ship shook furiously, leaving Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity on the verge of throwing up while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were excitedly talking with the the pilot and the two Marines, respectively.

While all that was happening, I just was glad to be by Twilight's side once more. While she hasn't told us much of her past adventure aboard the Phoenix, I knew she had seen and done things that the old Twilight would have never done, just to live to see another day.

Now she won't have to face the dangers of the universe on her own, because now she has her friends by her side...

Author's Note

Best video I can find on YouTube of the Gelvades-class using its retractable weapon decks in combat: