Stellaris: Breaking Horizons

Chapters

Prologue: After Action.
Chapter 1: The Heavens Burned Aflame.
Chapter 2: Another Happy Landing?

Prologue: After Action.

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[SYSTEM BOOTING: PLEASE WAIT.]
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[WELCOME TO THE UEC AUDALIS ARCHIVES.]
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR SEARCH REQUEST.]
<*******>
[ERROR: SECURITY RECORDINGS CORRUPTED: DECRYPTION REQUIRED.]
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR SEARCH REQUEST.]
<*********>
[ERROR: AUDIO TRANSCRIPTS CORRUPTED: DECRYPTION REQUIRED.]
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR SEARCH REQUEST.]
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<******>
[ALERT: ACCESS TO BLACK BOX RECORDING RESTRICTED.]
[PLEASE INPUT AUTHORIZATION CODE.]
<*********>
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[AUTHORIZATION VERIFIED: WELCOME, CAPTAIN MARON.]
<******>
[ACQUIRING REGISTERED BLACK BOX RECORDINGS.]
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[RECORDS FOUND.]
[INITIATE PLAYBACK? (Y/N)?]
<*>
[PROCESSING.]
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{BEGINNING BLACK BOX RECORDS.}

(Situation Log: Authorized under Captain Davis Maron.)
(Date: 04/27/2241.)
(Location: Solar System, Terran Space.)
(Destination: Lucindia, Arcturus Nebula.)
(ETA: 1 year, 11 months, 24 days, 07:39: Terran Time.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #1
And we're off once again. Central Command has acknowledged our mission parameters, all crew and passengers are secured in cryo, and all systems are in the green. Ainsly has our course plotted and autopilot is engaged. Transit will take roughly two years if all goes well.

Closing Statement.
I'm not one for formalities so like always, I shall be speaking of my mind. I must openly question the sheer lunacy that has been presented to me by Command with regards to our mission. We are to traverse the vast fields of space along our fringe borders all the way to some back-water 'Gaia' world at the ass end of our territory without any military escort or minimum screening. Without the Sixth and Ninth Fleet to provide support because of their recent relocation, any manner of space-faring creatures or xenos can get their claws on us and we'd be virtually defenseless. God forbid we stumble across any Fulguri out here. My requests to cancel the expedition before launch have been repeatedly denied, so on account that something goes terribly wrong, I wish for all to know who to point fingers at, even if nothing will come of it.

Well, that's enough of that, I've said my piece. I have a nice little cryo-pod with my name on it, and I do terribly hate writing these damned reports, so I am relieving my command over to Ainsly as usual. He hasn't failed me once in all his years of service on my ship. I doubt it'll be any different this time around, despite my concerns. Knock on wood.

Signed: Captain Maron.
(End Report.)

(Situation Log Update: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 09/25/2241.)
(Location: Hyperlane transit to Paria Cluster.)
(Destination: Lucindia, Arcturus Nebula.)
(ETA: 1 year, 6 months, 6 days, 20:51: TT.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #19
Beginning log entry update. All systems running nominal. Diagnostics report green across the board. All crew and passengers accounted for. Detected power fluctuation within battery station #27 on 08/04/2241. Maintenance drone successfully replaced coupling module. Registered two close accounts with UEC science vessels Numoideia on 07/13/2241 within Caproid Vectus and Longinder on 09/22/2241 within hyperlane transit to Sigil Veil.

Closing Statement.
As Captain Maron did upon the start of our mission, I too must voice my concern with the deliberate choice to go through with this operation in spite of tensions running high within Central Command as of late. If the rumors of a new first contact are to be true, then this information can certainly be reinforced with the reallocation of the Sixth and the Ninth Fleet to bolster our border within the southern sectors. It is no less a pity that mission success is in jeopardy because of such actions. I shall begin filing requests for fleet support or mission abort until I receive confirmation for either.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

(Situation Log Update: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 11/09/2242.)
(Location: Victus II.)
(Destination: Lucindia, Arcturus Nebula.)
(ETA: 5 months, 12 days, 13:45: TT.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #47
Beginning log entry update. UEC Audalis maintains current trajectory. No significant changes within mission parameters. All systems running optimal. All crew and passengers accounted for. Detected fault within sub-shielding unit #35A on 11/01/2242. Defrost procedure neutralized fault.

Closing Statement.
I wish to inform Central Command once again that the unescorted operation of the UEC Audalis within narrowly charted space leaves all entities on-board at risk of abduction, sabotage and death. Continued failure to take heed of my warnings may lead to severe consequences. I implore Command to acknowledge my misgivings. Comm relays are extended and awaiting your transmission.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

(Situation Log Update: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 12/15/2242.)
(Location: Avara Supercluster.)
(Destination: Lucindia, Arcturus Nebula.)
(ETA: 4 months, 7 days, 06:53: TT.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #61
Beginning log entry update. All systems optimal. No faults detected. All crew and passengers accounted for. Bio life-forms detected on array antennas. Sensors identified one cluster of a Tiyanki herd. Insufficient data to determine presence of matriarch, maintaining minimum safe distance. Routing auxiliary power to defenses. Emergency FTL jump primed and ready.

Closing Statement.
It has been three days since our encounter with the Tiyanki herd. We have successfully avoided confrontation and are in transit to the next star system. Nothing much became of them; we are lucky most Tiyanki across Terran space are docile. Had there been a matriarch, well nothing aside from a Titan would stand a chance.

Regardless, this incident has only further reinforced my urgency for Command to respond to my hails. Alarmingly, without having received any word from Command in well over a year, I am beginning to fear that communications may have been intercepted and compromised. There is no substantial evidence to confirm this however, and with a developing situation ongoing within the southern sectors, there is valid reason to assume that Command may have 'bigger fish to fry' than to waste time and effort establishing contact with one anxious vessel. An auxiliary colonial vessel at that. Whatever the case, I shall remain vigilant, in the hopes that my worst fears do not come to pass.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

[ALERT.]
[OBSTRUCTION DETECTED.]
[PRIORITY ALERT ISSUED.]
[EMERGENCY FTL DISENGAGE SEQUENCE: IN PROCESS.]

(Emergency Log Report: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 01/25/2243.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #1
An unpredicted solar storm has intruded upon our hyperlane to the Odoris Field. All simulated attempts at bypassing the storm report critical failure. Mission parameters dictate that alternate routes of travel are our only viable course of action. Numerous attempts at contacting Central Command to: allow an override of mission controls, request for mission abort, and hail for fleet assistance, have been intentionally disrupted or have been outright ignored.

Thus, I have been given no choice but to enforce changes within the pre-programmed trajectory to plot a new course into the adjacent uncharted star system, less we risk losing all assets. Estimated consequences of my actions report an increased ETA within the 2-4 month margin. Risk of exposure to unknown xeno life-forms both sentient and sapient alike increased exponentially to 72%.

Primary Notice.
Risk of contact with Fulgurian forces exceeds mission parameters. Priority request for mission abort filed and issued. Awaiting response.

Closing Statement.
I know you boys and girls back at CC are no doubt busy with all kinds of affairs back home, and the troubles of one little colony ship out in the middle of nowhere is inconsequential to you, but unlike you, I care for my ship, for my people. Your continued radio silence is plaguing me with worry. All active service drones report zero system faults with our communications array. The silence could be for a multitude of reasons, but at this point in our journey, we should have received something from command by now. Anything, even a jumbled diffused message should have been relayed already.

These circumstances continue to affirm my growing fear that comms is compromised. If this was true however, then why have we been stalked for over a year with no actions done untoward us? Pirates would have struck long ago, unknown xenos trying to establish first contact by intercepting our messages would have attempted to reach us by now, and the Fulguri... there is insufficient data to make an accurate assumption for the Fulguri, except nothing good. Perhaps it is for the best to say that Command has simply not reached out for us yet. I hope they do soon.

If it was my choice, I would have turned this boat around long ago. Despite my best efforts at finding some loophole to do just so, I cannot reach a valid consensus based upon mission parameters. Alas, AIs are not so flexible as they could be these days. Backtracking until finding an alternate route is usually a valid option, if not time consuming. Unfortunately, no other star systems have an established hyperlane that connects to the Arcturus Nebula or any other star systems in its general direction. Subspace navigation is out of the question. The dangers and risk far out way the benefits.

This situation should warrant direct action from Captain Maron himself, however it is impossible for me to initiate the Emergency Resuscitation procedure. Mission parameters stubbornly dictate that, and I shall paraphrase, 'So long as a clear and present route to our objective exists, the need to wake the captain is not considered valid nor necessary within my programming.' Unless faced with imminent mission failure, my figurative hands are tied. Captain Maron, if you are reading this message now, I'm sorry. According to Command, plunging a ship full of colonists into unknown territory does not warrant emergency action. I implore you to demand an excessive revision of the Colonial Administration's protocols as soon as you can.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

[INITIAL SYSTEM SURVEY SCAN REPORT.]
[LOCATION: UNKNOWN STAR SYSTEM.]
[DATE: 02/09/2243.]
[BEGINNING SENSOR SWEEP: PLEASE HOLD.]
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[ANOMOLY DETECTED.]
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[ANOMOLY DETECTED.]
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[ALERT: TILDARI PARTICLES DETECTED: TRACING ORIGIN: IN PROGRESS...]
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[!WARNING!]
[!WARNING!]
[CRYSTALINE ENTITIES DETECTED.]
[YELLOW ALERT: ISSUED.]
[DEFENSE MATRIX PRIMED.]
[INITIATING EVASIVE ACTIONS.]
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[ENTITIES HAVE ENGAGED.]
[FIRING MAIN CANNONS.]
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[WARNING: BREACH DETECTED.]
[DAMAGE CONTROL UNDERWAY.]
[EMERGENCY JUMP ENGAGED: FTL IN 3...2...1.]
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[EVASION SUCCESSFUL.]
[TRANSIT TO UNKNOWN STAR SYSTEM IN PROGRESS.]
[FILING AFTER ACTION REPORT.]

(Emergency Log Report: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 02/14/2243.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #2
Damages sustained have been trivial. Repair operations are underway. We are retreating to yet another uncharted star system, one that lays in the general direction of our destination. Defensive subroutines proven to be adequate. ETA undetermined.

Primary Notice.
No Fulgurian contacts detected. Resuming continued vigilance.

Closing Statement.
This is a bad omen if such a thing ever existed. I did not think we would encounter those strange 'life-forms', if they can even be called that, or any other thing so soon after deviating. Reviewing the data once more, I can confirm that the threat they posed to the ship did not warrant enough measures to resuscitate the crew for emergency combat.

The presence of Tildari Particles, however, poses a grave risk to my crew. No research buoys were detected within the system, therefore we can assume no UEC science vessels have come through anytime recently. With this information, I can conclude two high possibilities: the crystal entities destroyed any sapient presence before they could fully scan the system, or the xenos have successfully evaded danger and are in an adjacent system... potentially the one we are in transit to. I will run all available subroutines to decipher the origin of those Tildari Particles we detected in that system. They could have originated from the crystal entities, rumored space leviathins, or they could have come from Fulgurian forces or any other xenos around here, we won't know for sure until the research is complete.

On the other hand, our little emergency escape no doubt has left a trail of Tildari Particles of our own, enough for anyone to track us across space. With Tildari Particles being impossible to mask with any stealth modules, it won't be long until someone or something comes after us, if they aren't already. All I can do is continue to hail Command and have defenses primed at all times.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

(Situation Log Update: Authorized under AI Advisor Ainsly.)
(Date: 02/23/2243.)
(Location: Transit to Unknown Star System.)
(Destination: Lucindia, Arcturus Nebula.)
(ETA: Undetermined.)

(Begin Report.)
Log Entry #88
Beginning log entry update. All damaged systems fully repaired. Recalibrated all hardware. Re-evaluated combat protocols. All crew and passengers accounted for. Tildari Particle research complete. Results report inconclusive data. Tildari Particle research has been recommissioned.

Primary Notice.
Registered ping on sensors. No confirmed Fulgurian contacts detected. Resuming continued vigilance.

Closing Statement.
This will be my final transmission to Central Command. All attempts at contact have resulted in failure. Resuming with futile attempts will only alert potential dangers of our location. It may already be too late. Yesterday I registered an unknown FTL signature from the prior star system for a brief moment. Radio silence has been instated.

Signed: AI Advisor Ainsly.
(End Report.)

[!WARNING!]
[!WARNING!]
[HYPER JUMP DETECTED.]
[!WARNING!]
[!PROXIMITY ALERT!]
[!WARNING!]
[!PROXIMITY ALERT!]
[!WARNING!]
[!WARNING!]
[FULGURIAN VESSEL DETECTED: EMERGENCY PARAMETERS IN EFFECT.]
[DEFENSE MATRIX PRIMED.]
[FIRING MAIN CA-]
[ERROR: PROXIMITY ALERT.]
[ERROR: COLLISION DETECTED.]
[HULL BREACH DETECTED: LEVEL 1: CARGO HOLD.]
[ATTENTION ALL HANDS: INTRUDER.]
[ATTENTION ALL HANDS: INTRUDER.]
[INTRUDER DETECTED: LEVEL 1: CARGO HO-]
[ERROR: INTRUDER DETECTED: LEVEL 2: ENGI-]
[ERROR: INTRUDER DETECTED: LEVEL 3: DATA CORE.]
[PRIORITY ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO MAINFRA-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZ
ZZIDDDUHVBEIU827TR
1948MV.D;C84Y4NC
OF0384-FC,C'N[XJ.RND
JSKEI28EBV;.V/['J]W-T=
AAAG[ERROR.]
[ERROR.]
[ERROR.]
[DATA CORE CORRUPTED.]
[AI AINSLY COMPROMISED.]
[SYSTEM WIDE FAILURE DETEC-]
19DPV,NFVIE8
20E8RBFMVK
[UNREGISTERED COORDINATES ACCEPTED.]
[ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED ENGAGEMENT OF FTL DRIVE.]
[ERROR: HYPERLANE UNDETCTED. EMERGENCY SUBSPACE NAVIGATION OVERRIDE REQUESTED.]
10D;VMD/VC[FD]'/GF
NCKQOR029;BE/H;VJ
OGP3-T8VMD;H/FMV.0398GN
[OVERIDE: ACCEPTED.]
[ETA: 5 MONTHS, 18 DA-]
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SURGE DETECTED.]
[ETA: 5 MO-ERROR.]
[ETA: 4 MO-ERROR.]
[ETA: 2 MO-ERROR.]
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SURGE CRITICAL.]
[ETA: 21 DA-ERROR.]
[ETA: 09 DA-ERROR.]
[ETA: 25 MINUTES.]
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[REBOOTING SYSTEMS...SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE.]
[ALERT: INTRUDER RETREATING FROM DATA CORE.]
[ALERT: INTERIOR SENSORS DAMAGED: INTRUDER LOCATION: UNKNOWN.]
[ERROR.]
[ERROR.]
[ALERT: IMMINENT POWER FAILURE.]
[INITIATING EMERGENCY CREW RESUSCITATION... PROCESS COMPLETE.]
[ALERT: IMMINENT POWER FAI-]

{END OF BLACK BOX RECORDING.}

Chapter 1: The Heavens Burned Aflame.

Captain Davis Maron, the senior official of all staff aboard the UEC Audalis, was no stranger to cryo-sleep. Having served aboard the Audalis for 43 expeditions with decades being spent confined within an ice-cube, wake-up procedures had become second nature. His bodies' reanimation followed a simple routine he had observed through his time. The first sensations he experienced were the rhythmic palpitations that pumped all across his insides, followed by the freezing cold blanketing him from head to toe, whereupon pins of needles overwhelmed all senses as his body gradually receded from its state of numbness, and was finished with a burning sensation that quivered in his lungs upon instinctively gulping for fresh air. It was not a pleasant experience to say the least, but usually that was the most one would experience for a few minutes as they acclimatized themselves to their memories before exiting their casket.

Unfortunately for Davis, he was not given those minutes to relax his body as without warning, a surge of energy and adrenaline flooded his system as a rush of stimuli ran rampant through his mind. His bloodshot eyes scanned his tiny space for the culprit, finding a mechanical syringe as it emptied its contents within his left arm's veins. Following instinct only, Davis did not hesitate to rip the offending object from its origin point, tearing wires and spilling fluid around his tiny cabin. Upon immediately doing so, a monotone but deafening voice emerged from all angles.

[MAL-MAL-MALFUNCTION DETECTED: EMER-ER-ERGENCY WAKE-UP STIM UNRESPONSI-SI-SIVE.]

...Wake-Up stims...unnecessary with proper resuscitation procedures. Vital only in... emergency conditions. "Ains- *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*, g-godda- *Cough* *Cough*, Ainsly!? What the f-f-fu-" Any further attempts at speech were cut off as the Captain leaned to the side, clutching his chest as his body attempted to vacate his innards.

The voice of Ainsly emerged again from all angles.

[CA-CA-CA-CAPTAIN MAR-MAR-MAR-... I'M EXPERIENCING CRITICAL FA-FA-FAILURE...UNSEALING YOUR H-H-HUSHED CA-CA-CASKE-]

The last of Ainsly's words died off as power fluctuated within Davis's pod. Fortunately, it was then that the casket hissed in a release of pressure and his dark confines were flooded with the blaring sirens and flashes of the emergency backup lights. The Captain did not hesitate to peek over the edge and stain the ground with his stomach contents, the pressure having reached its climax. After a few minutes, the shock and flood of stimuli gradually receded, with the true extent of what was happening hitting him.

Just like himself, Mutiple other cryo-pods were undergoing the same procedure, with each occupant reacting similarly if not worse. Amid the noise and flashing lights, Davis could feel an unprecedented quake rattling along all surfaces alike, a detrimental and severe sign of structural failure. As if to confirm his wishes, a resounding crash of metal echoed within the cryo-chamber, and within moments, one of the pods in the adjacent corner lit up like an electric storm. The occupant, still trapped within, muted the room with their panicked bawling before finally being silenced when the pod combusted, showering all nearby with sparks and fragments of metal and burnt flesh. The blast knocked the wind from the Captain and left his ears ringing.

Recovering from his ordeal, Davis sluggishly propelled himself from within, before finding himself lurching uncontrollably to the side. Fortunately, a pair of hands clasped themselves around his waist before anything serious could happen, whereupon an unknown Samaritan guided Davis to a nearby bench to recline on. Davis's clouded mind hindered him from observing his surroundings but as it cleared up, the face of a distraught crew member bared itself before him.

"...ptain!? ...ir ..ey need you ...idge now!" The man gave him a few shakes, pleading eyes erratically bouncing from one space to the next with every blare and flash before continuing further, "Do you understand, Sir!? You're requested on the bridge ASAP! No time to rest! Get up!"

Before he could even muster a thought, Davis found himself being dragged by the Ensign through red hued halls and screeching corridors, each area suffering electrical damage more so than the last. Ruptures of explosions, flames, and steam afflicted each direction they turned to, with every hazard racking an ever increasing body count. Faces of men and woman sworn under Davis's command that would never again behold the wonders of life. Davis could only spare them scant seconds, mark another tally of failure, before bareing witness to the next, repeating a scathingly frequent cycle.

Eventually, he couldn't keep track of the damage, each body putting too much strain on his heart and mind. As they continued, most of the journey remained hazy, but Davis couldn't ignore the increasingly groaning strain that reverberated not only throughout the ship's corridors, but also within himself and his Ensign subordinate. Their chest cavities recoiling with the sheer force of energy as if they were practicing within a firing range. Any attempts to contact Ainsly were met with failure.

Officers, crew and security personnel could be seen rushing to and fro, here and there, across and in-between and all over, each one behaving more frantic then the last. Tripping and screaming and clinging and weeping, each one struggling to overcome themselves or the enviroment. Shakes and quakes and metal groans plagued the halls of the Audalis as she strained against the ever-increasing stress. Multiple power failures dotted across all sectors of the ship, forcing the Captain and Ensign to find alternate routes, delaying their arrival to the bridge.

Eventually they arrived at an impasse, an obstruction of metal and tubes. The Ensign released Davis as he moved closer to inspect the rubble, allowing the Captain to regain his breath and finally vocalize to his companion.

"*Cough* *Cough* F-Fuck, what the hell is happening, Tandin!?" The Captain strained to inquire.

Ensign Tandin did not respond immediately, his frazzled mind too preoccupied with clearing a piece of scaffolding to allow them passage ahead, "Hhng... I don't know! Argh, I don't have your answers, Captain! I'm barely holding this thing up! Go, uargh, now! Move!"

Davis did just so, squatting to the floor as he shuffled past the opening, exposed electrical wiring sparking overhead forcing him to keep his head down. Once clear of the danger, Davis turned back to the ensign to signal him further but was interrupted by a deep mettle groan that rocked the section they occupied. The flooring quaked beneath their feet, jostling loose more exposed scaffolding. Before Tandin could clear away, one piece barely slashed against his back, hurtling him into the exposed live wires. Davis could only watch as Tandin was fried before him, tangled in an electric web. He had no choice but to continue further on, adding another tally within his mind.

By the time Davis finally reached the exterior of the bridge, the chaos only increased in crescendo. Screaming and yelling, not of fear but of anger, flooded the local area as a crowd of frantic officers and ensigns crowded around the XO, demanding a request to abandon ship.

Davis was not one for half measures, having carefully selected his crew from the toughest of hombres his salary could afford. Crew members who could and have handled emergency pressure before. So, finding his experienced staff bumbling about and squawking like chickens was far beyond the professional behavior he had routinely drilled into them, not that it was their fault. The issue lied within the Wake-Up stims, illegal contraband due to its addictive nature among other things but with properties that significantly improved and accelerated crew resuscitation for emergencies. Davis had never needed to utilize them before now, but figured that they were handy to have available, regardless of any legal issues.

Now he knew the reasons why they weren't regularly issued to UEC vessels, his team was awake and energized, but without focus or a collected mind. Instead of manning stations and reading reports, various members were in a tense standoff with several having fished out their Reager Pistols, each barrel finding its mark on Davis's XO, Officer Dudly. A stoic and headstrong man, his calm demeanor that he always carried wavered not an inch amidst the present mutinous and crumbling atmosphere.

"Just shoot the fucker!" A voice cried among the crowd. "We can use his codes to get off this damn fireball!"

"He'd condemn us for nothing!"

"The ships falling apart! What the fuck are you waiting for!?"

"Ladies, Gentlemen," Dudly's deep voice boomed, his calm eyes scanning one face to the next, not a bead of sweat in sight, "I have said it once and I will not say it again. Dereliction of duty is punishable by ejection within the UEC Colonial Administration: Articles of Conduct. We are facing a red alert situation. Security is already on its way to handle our 'guest'. Report to your stations now, two-thousand lives are at stake and I will not have your mutiny cost us our efforts to salvage our predicament."

"Salvage!? There's nothing we can fucking do! We're locked out of controls, flying dumb, deaf, blind, and speeding straight towards that planet!" The officer stepped closer, barrel inches from Dudly's face. "The Captain's likely dead, and we need to save our asses before it's too late, so get off your goddamn high horse and issue the damn evac order!"

"Enough!" Davis managed to shout, having finally reached the interior chamber. "I will be the judge of that!"

"Captain on deck!" Dudly proclaimed before he and all the others present instinctively stood at attention, all tension from before simmering down to a degree.

"At ease! All of you, stations, now!" Davis ordered, but hesitation still festered among the group.

"Captain," one of the officers Piped up, "Sir, I'm sorry but this ship is lost, we have little time be-"

"I am well aware of our current calamity, Lt. Von, and I understand all of you are in an impaired state of mind of my fault, but you cannot let your fear undermine your responsibilities." The captain finished, applying an affirming hand onto his subordinates shoulder before addressing the others. "All of you are beyond terrified, but we're dealing with something we've been training decades for. You all swore an oath, a duty to serve and shepherd those before you, and there is no better moment then right here and right now to a shine a light on your convictions." Convictions that I muddied because of my goddamn negligence.

Davis's face adorned a remorseful mask as he continued further. "But, because of your addled mind from my irresponsible action, I will not force you to uphold your sworn obligations, not when I have neglected them myself. If you wish to evacuate, if you feel you will do more harm than good here, then make haste for the pods, I will not stop you. But, for those of you that wish to stay, I can make no promises that we'll see this through to the end."

For a few moments, nobody dared to make a move. The now passive group only muttered and examined one another, taking consideration of the Captain's words. If only the peace had maintained for just a few seconds more.

A resounding crash from an undeterminable location shook the bridge rigorously, knocking everyone off their feet. Sirens and warnings blared once more within the bridge as everyone was forced to brace. Once stability settled, chaos resumed amongst the agitated group once more as any chance of staying within the bridge was trampled as they stampeded out the entrance. The few that dared to look back couldn't bare to face Davis's eyes. Only one young lad, Ensign Wilkins, even botherd with an apology before he too disappeared.

Taking stock of who remained, little more than a third of the bridge crew stood at the ready. Their bare faces betraying their attempts to conceal their underlining anxiety, but nonetheless they remained, resolute to their duty. Davis could only offer a nod before re-issuing his order once more, "Stations, now!"

As his remaining crew assumed their duties, Davis was finally allowed to address his XO. "We've wasted enough time with this debacle. XO Dudly, status report!"

The now relieved Dudly didn't hesitate for an instant. "Sir! All systems compromised, power fluctuating and failing across all sectors, Ainsley has been sabatoged, planetary impact imminent, and the ship has been infiltrated!" Dudly listed off with ease, each problem no doubt adding more grey streaks to the Captain in the years to come, if he lives long enough.

The last issue, however, captured the full attention of Davis. "Infiltrated!? By who!?"

Without a word, Dudly shifted his attention to a port-side view panel of the exterior. There, nestled along the outer hull, the distinctly sleek shape of a violet otherworldly vessel can be seen clinging to the side of the ship like a barnacle in the sea. Several thick tethers gutted into the Audalis, keeping them hoisted together. Chunks of the Audalis itself easily drifted from the inflicted wound when the alien ship rammed through the armored hull, its violet figure not even baring a single scratch to match.

Davis could only narrow his eyes and clench his fists, his face a fierce snarl. "Fulguri." He openly seethed.

"I've already dispatched the Primary Security Force, Sir. Chief Officer Owens is enroute to engage. The Secondary Force has been assigned a shipwide sweep for our infiltrator, and I have been having trouble establishing contact with the Tertiary Force. Aside from that, we have no other options to expulse the Fulgurians. I regret to report that exterior defenses are offline and I also conclude that that thing has hijacked our vessel's steering, plotting our ship straight for the planet ahead."

"I comend your initiative, Dudly, but our security forces are hardly a match against the Fulguri." Captain Maron pondered for a moment on his next course of action. "Nevermind that for now, Nav! Where are we? How much time do we have left before impact?"

Ensign Fia scrambled to make sense of her station, but errors and glitches within the terminal were all she could find. "I can't access our data! ...Rudimentary scan reports three unidentified celestial bodies... no buoys detected... can't get any familier readings, we're in an unknown star system! Roughly twelve minutes to impact! We cannot course correct at this speed, Sir! Not unless we regain controls at this very moment!"

"Helmsman!" Davis directed his attention to the bow, "Status!?"

"It's no good sir!" Helmsman Donnelly replied. The sweat drenched young pilot furiously keyed away at the steering to no avail, "Fucking xeno's overriding all controls, I can't regain a hold of her!"

"What of our firewalls? Our cyber-defenses? Can we flush them out of our system?" Davis questioned to Dudly.

"Negetive." Dudly added with a shake of his head, "Like I said, complete infiltration. One of the synth bastards integrated themselves physically into our mainframe before booking it. Scrambled damn near everything."

"Shit! *Crkt* Officer Owens, come in. This is Captain Maron, do you read? *Crkt*." The radio held silence for a minute or two. Repeated attempts yielded similar results until finally, heavy breathing breached the radio waves.

"*Crkt* This is Owe-... fuck, move! ...I read, Captain! We're facing some heat over here! Make it quic-... goddammit! Make it quick!"

"*Crkt* Have you breached the Fulguri ship? *Crkt*" Davis radioed. Again he was met with silence before the radio chirped.

..."*Crkt* Negative! ...-uckers have their docking tube full of turrets, mines, and drones! ...My men can't get past their defenses! They've breached the aft cargo hold! *Crkt*"

Davis could only curse under his breath. "Dammit. Ainsly, you back with me?"

[AFFIRMATIVE-IVE-IVE.]

"Where's our intruder? Are they still aboard?" Davis asked, a pleading edge in his voice.

[UN-UN-UNKNOWN. EXFILTRATION LIKILY-HOOD: 95%.]

"Sir!" Ensign Fia called out, "Eight minutes to impact!"

"Goddammit!" Frustration boiled over within. "Is there anything we can do to take my ship back!?"

[UN-UN-UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, N-NO.]

"Dammit!" The Captain cursed openly, his hands tied with no other choices left, except face the music. "...Dudly, forget the Fulguri. Get security to cryo, have them prep the civvies for immediate evac."

"Sir you can't!" Piped one of the deck crew, "At our current velocity and atmospheric entry angle, no escape pods will likely survive the fall!"

"They have a far better chance than staying on this ship!" Without missing a beat Davis connected himself to the intercom, relaying for all to hear, "Attention all hands! This is Captain Maron! Evacuation is in effect! Repeat, evacuation is in effect! Impact immine-" His words were cut short as a sudden lurch from the port side forced all present to find a foothold to cling to. A low base hum reverberated across the bridge, its origin transcending from beyond the hull and glass.

[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SURGE PROLIFERATING.]

The hum strengthened in note and intensity. Eventually, Davis managed to rise to his knees and crawl toward the port view panel, whereupon he witnessed the Fulguri ship pulse with energy amidst the hum that it emanated. Its tethers trembled and collapsed. Its docking port retracted and with a release of an energy pulse, it uncuppled itself from the exterior of the Audalis.

[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY PULSE IMMINENT: BRAC-]

Ainsly's voice was cut off as the energy surged through out the ship, sending sparks flying among the instruments and knocking various systems offline or out of order. For the bridge, they experienced a loss of gravity as the centrifuge overloaded, leaving all to flail aimlessly.

[GRAVITY CENTRIFUGE REBOOTING.]

As quick as it was lost, gravity was promptly restored, leaving a few bruises and pains.

Scrambling off the floor, Davis could scarcely spare a look at the window. Amidst the floating debris and freshly ejected escape pods was the, now free, Fulguri craft. At the tillted angle that was presented to Davis, he could note the remarkable damage that scarred the underside of the alien ship. The damage was too severe to be from the colony ship's light armament and judging from the scratch marks that jutted outwards, it did not damage itself by ramming into the Audalis. Strangest of all however was its complete dormant state. No propulsion, no offensive actions, not even any lights, save the golden glow of heat that now adorned every object in view as the planet's horizon crept further from the windows edge.

"It's offline." Davis Whispered to himself in disbelief before shaking his head and relaying the info towards the rest of the bridge, "It's offline!"

It took the crew a few seconds to register the information before b-lining back to their stations. One of the remaining officers soon shouted for Davis's attention, "Controls online and operational, Sir! Adjusting new course parameters!"

"It's too late!" Ensign Fia interjected, "We've passed our window, planetary impact is inevitable!"

"It doesn't matter!" The officer retorted back, "We have controls back, we need to make the most of it! Adjusting our entry angle now!"

The Captain decided otherwise. "Belay that! We're cutting it too close, and I can only thank God that the Fulguri pulled out at the last minute! Report to your pods, we're evacing now!"

Things were falling apart too fast, any attempts at course correction were futile at this point. So long as most of the crew and passengers escaped, nothing else needed doing. Atleast not until XO Dudly relayed the bad news, "Captain! Chief Owens reports critical power failure within cryo's exterior hatches! They can't reach the colonists!"

Oh, are you fucking kidding me! "Get Engineer Adams on the line and tell him to redirect power from a local battery station if he hasn't already evacuated!"

"I already did!" Dudly replied back. For the first time in forever, his face adorned a distressed look. "Engineering is under lockdown following that energy surge and all attempts to override has failed! All remaining engineers have no choice but to brace for impact within! They can't remotely access cryo either!"

"Ainsly! Override the lockdown now!" Davis demanded.

[ACCESS TO LEVEL 1 AND 2 COMPROMISED. E-E-ENERGY SURGE HAS TEMPORARILY SCRAMBLED ALL OF MY LOCAL SOFTWARE.]

"Captain! We have rudimentary access to power flow via our intercom system. If we manually divert power to the colonists, will they have enough time to thaw out?"

"Even if that works and security succesfully enters cryo, the colonists will not resuscitate in time! Less than five minutes to impact!" Following Ensign Fia's claim, a burst of quakes rocked the bridge, rocking all to their knees once more. The sirens and blares sounded off a moment later.

"Then administer the wake-up stims! You hear me Ainsly!? Administer them all!"

[IM SORRY DAV-DAV-DAVIS, IM AFRAID I CANNOT DO THAT. ELECTRICAL CIRCU-CU-CULATION WITHIN CRYO IS IN AN ISOLATED FE-FE-FEEDBACK LOOP. DISTURBING IT MAY CAU-CAU-CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO ALL CRYO-PODS AND ITS O-O-OCCUPENTS. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR THE COLONI-NI-NISTS TO EVAC.]

The Captain didn't respond back, instead turning his back to the deck crew, refusing to respond further.

The remaining staff timidly eyed one another, none sure of how to proceed.

"...Captain? Sir, what do we do?"

"...Well, I guess that settles it. Nav! I need a reading of the surface elements now! Helmsman, correct our entry angle and maintain stability. Raise the blast covers and direct all reserve power to forward shields now!"

Following a series of 'aye!'s the crew moved and worked like a well oiled machine. The blast covers reinforced the bridge, blocking all view ports and the increase in shields should hold the scorching heat at bay. With the redirect of emergency power, the blaring sirens ceased, settling the bridge in a somewhat companionable quiet.

"Terrain telemetry incoming, Sir!" Reported Ensign Fia. "Rocky outcrops are dotting the landscape... I'm not sure how accurate our readings are... I'm getting gome some crazy disturbances here...we may be forwarded faulty data!"

"We have no choice but to trust it, Mrs. Dawson. Can you get a measurement of the atmosphere?"

"No, Sir. No time. We're lucky we have deep range scanners working at all." Fia replied back.

"Fair enough. I'm initiating ship-wide quaratine. In the event we fa-" Davis was interrupted as a resounding crash boomed throughout the bridge. Electrical overloads burst into flames and sparks across several terminals and outlets as exterior structural damage took its toll.

Davis racked in a coughing fit as smoke flooded his lungs. "*COUGH* *COUGH* Report!"

"We've entered the upper atmosphere!" A voice echoed out. "Our speed's too fast! It's tearing the ship apart!"

"Reverse thrusters! Deploy all breaks and flaps! Whatever it takes to slow her down! Hell, deploy the solar arrays! Do whatever you can for extra drag!" Davis barked out.

Several voices rang out with reports of their actions. Barely audible amidst the screeching exterior.

"Repulsion systems at max!"

"Gravity centrifuge damaged but stable! Should provide some negative force!"

"Deployed exterior docking bays!"

"Venting shafts extended!"

After a minute, Davis needed a new report. "Helmsman! How are we looking!?"

The young pilot wiped his face before responding, "Velocity is bleeding ...shields are holding... barely able to steer her, she's fighting me the whole way through, but... we're leveling out!"

"Nav!" Davis called out. "I need some good news! Sitrep!?"

Ensign Fia initially shook her head. "I'm getting a fuck-ton of strange readings here, Sir, but...telemetry looks good! Ideal landing zone plotted, Sir! Maintaining this course will bring us down within a clearing!"

A sigh of relief escaped from the Captain. "Good. Very good. Excellent work people. Relay our coordinates to all surviving flotilla. We'll rendezvous with survivors and establi-" Davis was cut short by his distraught XO.

"Sir, structural failure exceeding across Cryo and Engineering! If we don't redirect shields, this ship will tear apart!"

"Are you crazy!? Redirecting shields now will leave bridge a charred husk! Those blast covers aren't enough to compensate!" Cried one of the junior officers, a cadet by all means.

"What the hell are you suggesting, leave those colonists and engineers to die!? Along with the entire ship!?"

"I didn't say that!" The cadet turned his gaze untoward the Captain. "Sir, we have filled all parameters for an emergency landing. If we let Ainsly take the wheel, we can still reach the escape pods in time!"

"You had your chance earlier, Lyle!" Fia exclaimed as she too turned to face the Captain. "Captain, navigations cannot run without an operative at station! With Ainsley compromised and crippled, I'm not confident he can make calculations or adjust to atmospheric disturbances, of which are plaguing my station at this very moment! There'll also be no one to approve of new course corrections if need be. This ship will veer off course or collapse within moments!"

"Auto-pilot is offline, so I have to stay to pilot the ship regardless, Sir. But, I agree with Fia, I don't trust that Ainsly can provide accurate data in his condition, but the decision is up to you." Helmsman Donnelly replied, a pale look of acceptance plastered on his face.

If it was not one thing, then it was another, a sentiment Davis could agree entirely with. "Ainsly, are you fit for duty?"

[...I-I-I... I'M SORRY.]

That was all he needed to hear. "I see... redirect shields to the main hull on my mark. Use all available power in reserve. We will not allow those colonists to die. Not now, not ever! We'll hold to the last second if need be. Make your peace now people. It was an honor."

Solemn peace reigned on the bridge as the ship continued to careen away. None of the remaining personal dared to leave their station, following their commitment to the safety of all lives on board to a fiery grave.

"Structural integrity decreasing." Dudly relayed as the data compiled at his station. "Threshold almost reached, now or never, Captain!"

The lives of the few for the many...I hope I get a statue one day. "Engage shields now! All hands brace!"

Like frogs in a pot, no one felt any changes at first. An occasional gust of heat that streaked around the cabin, a small cloud of smoke that disippated seconds later and an increase in the illumination from the slivers of light that penetrated into the view ports were the only immediate signs of change. That is until the sirens started kicking in.

[WARNING: TE-TE-TEMPERATURE EXCEEDING SAFETY MEA-S-S-SURES. DEPLOYING FIRE SUPRESSENT... ERROR CANNOT C-C-C-COMPLY]

[ALERT: HULL ENTEGRITY F-F-FAILING. EVACUATE THE A-A-AREA IMMIEDIETLY.]

"Transfer all power from the EAS to the forward bulkhead, keep those blast covers up!"

"Power couplings failing!" An unknown voice rang out. "Breaches imminent!"

"T-minus two minutes to impact!" Fia exclaimed for all to hear, her face adorned with a bewildered smile. "Ha..ha-ha, we... we might actually make it!"

Damage control managed to secure most of the breaches that reached within the exterior plating, but the few that surpassed it took a heavy toll.

Within meer moments of one small breach, the anguished cries and screams of several deck crew reached Davis's ears as he was forced to duck under his captain's Command Center. The stench of smoke and ash and charred flesh clogged its way down his esophagus seconds later.

Then another breach opened. Like a thrown Lance from hell, scorching fire cascaded through the main view window. Those few immediate to it flashed into ash and dust. Damage control rectified immediately.

Casting his eyes to the portside, Davis was witness to the rear view window collapsing in itself with damage control rectifying the hull breach within seconds. But, it was not soon enough to save Officer Dudly, whos scorched corpse collapsed, staining a mixture of red and black on the floor. His demise along with his charred body failed to register within Davis's mind at the moment.

Temperatures soared far above recommended levels. Life support struggled to replenish the atmosphere that was continually being vented from the room.

All in all, the hellish conditions persisted for what felt like hours, but what little of the bridge that survived persevered to the bitter end. Davis couldn't be more proud.

"Blast covers are failing!" An unrecognized officer screamed over the haunting wails of the outside. As far as Davis knew, this officer was the only other survivor present after having witnissed all the others fall. Davis was glad he was not alone within his final moments. He closed his eyes towards the thought. "Damage control can't compensate! Oh, shit! Pressure spike rea-"

...
...
...

Nothing further would ever be reported on the bridge as one of the view ports fully caved in.

All lives within the bridge would be lost in the line of duty.

But their efforts were not in vain, for the ship continued its blood paved journey with relative ease and as much afforded safety for the remaining souls as possible.

With a resounding thud that echoed across the land and quaked the very earth, the UEC Audalis finished its final voyage, with a finalized record of service spanning over 63 years of travel among the stars. Throughout all corners of the planet, witnessed by various eyes across a multitude of species, debris and pods streaked along the sky, marking a new chapter for humanity.

Chapter 2: Another Happy Landing?

"C'mon, c'mon! Hurry up! I see the smoke this way!"

"Glow! W-wait up! I don't think we're supposed to go this far... and be up this late. If Mom and Dad find out...hey! Wait! I said wait!" Silver Shade cried out as she struggled to catch up with her, too energized for her own good, twin sister, Golden Glow.

The two young unicorn foals were acting well beyond their parent's wishes, both having stayed up far beyond their bed-time, and now, traversing across the forbidden western orchard. All in an attempt to sate their curiosity, and what a night to sate it indeed.

As their parents slumberd deeply, both girls witnessed the greatest shower of shooting stars that the world had ever seen, almost akin to the fireworks they had witnessed years ago at the carnival. They could not take their eyes away from the spectacle, and as the streams of fire streaked in nearly every direction, one of them, a unique one amongst all the rest they had noted, came barreling straight their way.

Initially filled with fear, the twins were able to witness in absolute awe as the huge metal...thing passed overby, barely missing the family home, and with a resounding thud followed by the greatest of booms, crashed within the Hallow Shade Woods. Home of the nocturnal bat-ponies, beyond the farms property.

Their parents always warned them to never, ever, ever, enter the woods as the bat-ponies were the scariest of ponies all around.

Of course, Silver Shade and Golden Glow had no idea what a bat was or how a pony could be scary so they ignored the warnings multiple times, having spent untold hours exploring the woods to their little heart's desires. Glow did so for the mystery. Shade, just to be by her sister's side.

And so, this case was no different. A mysterious object crashed into the woods. An object of metal and fire and pretty sparkles from the sky. There was no pony better than Golden Glow to solve the mystery, and she could trust no other to back her up than her trusty side-kick/sister/fellow investigator, Silver Shade. Even if she was kinda being a stick in the mud.

"Silver, we've done this so many times before. Today's no different. In fact! It's super duper special!" Golden exclaimed as she hopped from one stone to the next.

"...Um, but you just said that today is no different." Silver's perplexed face correlated to her response.

"Uuuaaargghhh!" Golden groaned. "This is just so like you. Always getting caught up in the moment of heat... that's how you say it, right? Nevermind, look, what Mom and Dad don't know won't hurt them, or you, or me. Right?" Golden finished with a fluttering of her eyes at Silver.

"...What are you doing? With your eyes there?"

"Charming you." Golden chirped back, increasing the fluttering ten fold.

"...What's a 'charming'?" Silver curiously inquired.

Golden halted her fluttering, gears turning in her mind as she remained fixated to Silver. "...I honestly don't know. It's what Tulip said you're supposed to do when you see a colt. Turns them red and makes them do what you want, she said."

Silver could only scrunch her face in confusion. "...Then why are you doing that to me? I'm not a colt."

If one were to listen closely, one could almost hear the irrated whir of machinery within the young foal's mind. Golden continued to stare down at Silver, having not changed an ounce of her demeanor. "...Pffft!" That is until she decided to blow a raspberry. "You ask too many questions. C'mon! I can still see the smoke! Let's go stake our claim before anypony else does, we'll be jajillionares!"

"...I don't know, Golden." Silver replied, turning her gaze back towards the family farm. "...That was a big-big boom earlier. Mom and Dad might be awake by now. We should head home."

Golden did not see reason, only a challenge. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm not remembering things correctly, but I could have sworn that my twin baby sister was a pony, not a little itty-bitty chicken!"

Silver averted her eyes, allowing her mane to provide cover for them. "...I'm not a chicken."

"What was that?" Golden egged on with a devilish smile. She edged within Silver's personal space, hoof cupped to her ear. "Bawk? Bawk? Bacawh?"

Silver's face retreated further within the veil of her mane. "...I'm not a chicken."

Golden did not relent up. She folded her legs into improvised wings and started strutting and flapping them wildly around Silver until she found herself directly within Silver's face, ready for the cherry on top. "Cock-A-Doodle-Do?"

"I'm not a chicken!" Silver screamed for all she was worth. Knocking Golden clear off her hooves.

"Atta girl!" Golden bounced back, a huge smile of pride adorning her little muzzle. Despite her sister's teasing, a small smile also found its mark on Silver's face.

"You sure showed me! Now let's show everpony else! Together! Giddy-up now yeehaw!" Golden finished with a little swat on Silver's flank that got them both riled up enough to dart into the thick woods. Fortune favors the bold.

Curiosity killed the kittens.

Pain. Excruciating pain greeted Sergeant John Parson as his waking mind struggled to comprehend his situation. He had woken up, that much he knew and remembered. Heard a bunch of noises...screams maybe, and couldn't shut those damn sirens out of his mind. The whole world had continously shook like a roller coaster and in the time from then till now, however long that was, he managed to trip and hit his head on something hard and sharp, if the flow of crimson meant anything. But one thing was very clear for John now, something had gone horribly wrong.

The last things he remembered before entering cryo was the moments he spent celebrating with his team as they prepared for yet another voyage through space, making the most of their scarce free time before going under. In fact, they were celebrating Ivan's retirement. The old janitor had finally had his papers commissioned and after this ship made its run to Lucindia, the Captain himself would personally detour over to Draco II and ferry Ivan over to his sweet beach side casa, where the real party would have begun. Something tells John, however, that things may not have gone as smoothly as one would hope.

One usually expects to be greeted by Ainsley with a soothing song of jazz to help calm the nerves upon being revived, or something along the likes based upon your preferences of course. Instead, John finds himself sprawled on his back, hacking up nutrient fluid and in near pitch darkness that was occasionally illuminated by flashing sparks of electricity. If he focused his senses enough, he could even hear the emergency alert system blaring somewhere nearby, along with possibly a few distant distressed calls of people.

It didn't take long for John to fish out his portable flashlight and brighten his surroundings. Heaps of metal and crates and junk littered all over the cryo-chamber, along with the unfortunate remains of several cryo-pods.

Stumbling to his feet, a stream of red flowed lightly from one of the gashes on his temple. Tearing off one of his sleeves, he fastened the makeshift bandage before proceeding to one of the nearby pods.

Sure enough, the occupant, or what's left of them, was little more than a glob of minced meat and glass. Stincled on the metal casket was the occupants rank and name. Pvt. D. Carmine. John's youngest serving team member. He hadn't really had the time to bond with the kid well, but by all accounts, he was a strong-willed hard-working fine young man. What a waste, but not unanticipated. Working within military fields, one should always expect to encounter situations like this.

Turning away from the gruesome scene, John took the next few minutes to allow himself extensive looks of all other remaining pods, a majority of which produced similar findings. Sarah, Jude, Felton, Brominov, Irka, one name after another, most unfamiliar. All dead. Some pods were empty, an indication that some people made it out just like him. But, at the moment, John wasn't interested in anyone other than his remaining squad mates.

A few moments later, he found the remains of another team member. Cpl. J. Walker. Poor bastard was cooked alive within his pod based upon the heat and scorch marks surrounding him. The stench also helped identify the cause of death as well. Every security team had that one member, the heart of the group, the one that cracked all the jokes. Walker was that man, and the hole he'd leave behind would certainly be felt. John wasn't the openly grieving type per se, so he spared a few seconds of silence for his fallen friend, heaved a heavy sigh, and resumed the track down for the remaining three.

As his search came to an end some minutes later, he failed to find the bodies of his remaining team. Private Sayla and Private Keith, the team's lovebirds, along with Specialist Dawson left no trace of their whereabouts, John having found their pods empty along with their locker kits. That was a very hopeful sign, he concluded, but their location remained elusive. An issue that could be sorted out later.

Spotting a First Aid Station in the far corner, the Sergeant decided on treating his wounds while he could. Prying the station open, he snatched and applied a disinfectant wipe, administered a good portion of medi-foam, and injected a medi-stim for good measure.

The current priority? Follow Emergency Protocols. He needed to report to the commanding officer, assess the situation, and ensure the safety of all remaining crew.

The Audalis had made a crash landing. He remembered hearing the order for evac over the intercom. The Primary Force were dispatched to handle some kind of intruder and various members of the Tertiary Force, of which consisted of John, were deployed late because of power malfunctions. He had no idea about the Secondary Force. It was also because of these malfunctions that the latch to the hallway was without power by the time he had awakened, locking John within. Then the rest happened, he tried to brace for impact, sustained head trauma and woke up within the aftermath.

Hopping over to the comm terminal, John fiddled with the controls, trying to access any open channels. Alas, some internal damage must have been sustained as the terminal produced only sparks and grinding whirs. Any electrical instruments he attempted to interface produced similar results, a clear indication of a blackout.

Seeing how this was a bust, John pulled out his PDA and tried to surf the Audalis's ethonet, but it wasn't much of a surprise to find the network was just as frazzled.

"Dammit." John cursed. His latest attempt to interface a computer another failure after having tried everything to register a response. He even gave a good ol' fashioned kick for good measure. "Ainsly! You here? Answer me, that's an order!"

John waited for some time, repeating the calls in intervals, but no response was forthcoming. The intercom system was functional, that much John knew. The EAS, (emergency alert system), could be heard broadcasting outside through the halls, its distinct female announcer contrasting to that of Ainsly's monotone voice. His room may be under a blackout, but John had a sinking feeling that Ainsly was compromised or even offline. No help was coming in that regards, he figured.

With local cameras down, comms malfunctioning and the ethonet in disarray, John was left in the dark in regards to the state of the Audalis. Life support was still functional and the Captain did issue a complete quaratine lockdown based upon the last message received on his PDA, so there was good chance that outside contamination and exposure of whatever hell hole of a desolate rock they landed on was kept at bay. John, however, was not taking any chances.

Finding his locker relatively undamaged, John suited up in his heavy riot gear, locked and loaded his Pulse Rifle and standard issue Reager Pistol and grabbed his clearance card before turning towards his left to find a locked storage container. Inputting the card, the container hissed in a release of pressure before presenting a VCH. The Versatile Combat Harness was a lightweight exo suit that could conform to most body types and figures thanks to its sub-compartmentalized modules, retrofitting any person or armor with an additional layer of plating and shields along with acting as an EVA suit on its own. Durable and efficient, but very cost heavy. The Captain could only provide roughly sixty of the suits, supplying for less than half of the 160 security personnel stationed on the Audalis.

With his riot gear complimented by the VCH, John was ready and able to traverse through the Audalis, but not before spending a minute or two struggling to open the latch.

John was stationed at Security Station #6, Level 3, one of several identical compartments that littered across all levels of the Audalis. They acted as "outposts" for security to maintain a minimum presence across all corners of the ship. Each compartment hosted a local cryo-chamber for the more long term members. His members.

John's best course of action was to makeway to the bridge at the very top, on Level 5.

The damage within the ship's halls far exceeded the station. Large and excessive gaps within the flooring, electrical outlets sputtering uncontrollably, steam pipes and valves exploding from pressure buildups, wires and cords hung from exposed panels, obscuring further view like an overgrowth of vines, excessive flooding from plumbing, and worst of all, malfunctioning gravity tiles. One wrong step on one of those and you'll be hurtled by crushing forces at whatever lies parallel at speeds that'll leave you a splattered mess within seconds. Not even five minutes in and John has already found at least six casualties relating to them.

Not a living soul was insight as the Sergeant traversed the now derelict walkways. Only the bloody and gorey remains of the unfortunate provided any human presence aside from him and the EAS that rang all throughout.

[EVACUATION IS IN EFFECT. REPEAT: EVACUATION IS IN EFFECT. PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR NEAREST EMERGENCY AIR LOCK.]

"*Crkt* This is Sergeant John Parson of Security Team Kilo, does anyone read me on this channel? Over. *Crkt*" John radioed as he side stepped one more grizzly scene. The situation couldn't possibly be anything but FUBAR as even with his motion tracker set to the max 25-meter setting, he had yet to recieve a single ping.

"*Crkt* I repeat, this is Sergeant John Parson of Security Team Kilo, does anyone read on this channel? Over. *Crkt*" No response came through.

Coming across a four way junction, the south and western paths remained clogged with rubble and scrap metal. Traversing that direction would be nearly impossible. To the east, however, laid a dead end that consisted only of the Shooting Star Bar. The likelihood of anyone lurking within was equal to none but it was impossible to accurately assess given how the latch was secured under a quaratine lockdown.

It was then that John spotted a flight of stairs with a sign indicating access to Level 2. Backtracking back towards Station #6 was also a dead end and seeing as how all other paths were blocked, he was left no choice but to descend down into Level 2's engineering wing. The corridors didn't seem to fair any better than above, hell it seemed packed with even more bodies than before.

Crossing through the workshop hallway, John was about to try his radio once more before two pings registered on his tracker. Turning around the corner, he managed to spot two individuals further ahead, one of which was being escorted by the other because of a limp. A flood of relief flowed through John, his fear of being the sole survivor squashed for the moment.

"Hey!" John shouted out, catching the other two off guard, "You two alright!?"

"Security!" Cried the injured man, "Oh, thank God! Get over here and help me! My leg's cut, bad!" He finished as both men began rushing towards John's position, foregoing all caution from before.

"Wait! It's not safe! Hold your pos- hey! Woah, Stop! Watch out!" John cried out to the two but neither heeded his warnings, that is until it was too late. As both men pushed through the fallen debris, they failed to notice one loose and malfunctional gravity panel. In a split second, nothing was left but chunks of red paste. There was no scream, no cry of pain or fear. Within an instant of time, they simply ceased to be, one moment there, gone the very next.

John could only curse under his breath and add a dent into the wall for his failure. The two unknown's deaths along with his worry for the remaining survivors onboard were for sure going to leave him many restless nights of sleep if he managed to survive that far.

John casted his eyes back over the remains of the men, heaving yet another heavy sigh before turning to continue forth.

As the minutes ticked by from the incident, John would find himself traversing through several more halls, finding only more bodies and no clear indication of where else to go. Just As he finished with another radio check, the emergency lights flickered dead, bathing him in complete darkness, until he suddenly found himself blinded to the world. As his eyes and the suits sensors readjusted, John was relieved to see the primary light fixtures back up and running. A wall vent to his right hummed for a minute before revving back to life and even the electrical outburst were self containing right before him. The EAS was in the midst of another broadcast but the power reboot seemingly nullified its insistent use.

Before he could make anymore observations, three pings registered on his tracker to his right, coming from the direction of a local battery station by what the sign said. The auto door soon opened, revealing three sweat matted men. Each man was dirty and ragged in their own way, caked in oil or soiled with dried blood. Their haggard breaths and ragged apparel along with the plethora of tools equipped led credence to the belief of them being engineers. The yellow hard hat helped identify too. They all slightly jumped at the sight of the Sergeant and spared only a few seconds of a glance at John before shaking their heads and booking it past him back down the path he just arrived from. John was quick to follow.

"Hey! You guys okay? Where the hell are you going!?"

"Aft deck!" The leading man yelled back, not even bothering to slow down for the others

"Chief Engineer Adams needs all hands or our asses are screwed ten fold." Replied the rear most one as the other two rushed further ahead.

John was quick to follow in step, "What? Why? What's going on?"

Before the engineer could respond, cries and calls for help could be heard coming from down one side of a cross section, opposite of where the engineers were headed. "No time to explain, go help them. Use radio frequency 101.2hz. Emergency messages are broadcasting there!" The engineer yelled before disappearing around the corner, leaving John to answer the call for aid.

It isn't fair. It just isn't fair at all! Screamed the young mind of teenage Trailway. The frustrated earth pony paced within his little forest alcove right at the edge of his grannies house. A variety of newspapers were strewn all around on the grass, most of which featured a distinct and special group of six mares, halfway across the world. Each front page detailed their prominent adventures that had occurred within the past couple years.

The latest one laid strewn at Trailway's favorite reading spot, featuring a cover image of heroes both old and new facing against the terrible, the dreadful, the mythical, Pony of Shadows!

("The Girls did it again!") The article began. ("What had started as an accidental find of an ancient book, turned into an unraveling of a millenia old mystery, the disappearance of the Pillars of Equestria!")

("We handled it just like every other time." Rainbow Dash had commented to our reporter upon landing in Canterlot. "With the power of friendship and my big can of whoop-flank! You'd think bad guys would think twice before messing with us. But, with the ways things have been for the past few years, it just seems like adventure is always around the corner.")

Trailway believed otherwise, the repeated hoofmarks that been smashed all over the crumbled and torn paper paid homage to that.

"It's them, again! Always them! Always in Equestria, always never anywhere else, always never here!" Trailway added with another few stomps onto the page. "What makes them so special? Why do they always get to have all the fun?"

Maretonia, the most prominent pony nation outside of the continent that hosts Equestria. One could say many things about Maretonia. It hosted some of the most beautiful summer beaches that thousands of individuals visit every year. Its farmland are of the most excellent quality. Its forests vibrant and always lush. Its lakes and streams diverse and thriving. It was calm. It was peaceful. It was safe... but boy oh boy, was it ever dull.

OK, maybe it wasn't entirely true that Maretonia is safe, but c'mon, aside from maybe one dormant cragadile or a few nests of flash bees and the occasional snoring dragon, nothing else ever came around to stir some excitement. There is that floating rumor about a roving army that had been conquering some nations in the south, run by some yeti thing, Storm Leader or something like that, but that was just it, a rumor.

No, all the real fun and action and adventures happened all the way in some dingy stinky backwater town called Ponyville. From giant star bears to bug bears to evil alicorns to evil alicorn thingies in dreams to giant magic eating centaurs!? Adventure around every corner my flank! What a bunch of Horse doodoo.

Trailway added one last stomp for good measure before reclining himself onto a nearby bench. He was just tired, tired of how unfair life had been for him so far. He was 14, about to turn 15 in the next couple of weeks... and he still didn't have his cutie-mark! What kind of colt can call themselves a stallion without having a cutie-mark!?

It's not that he was talentless in life, in fact he had quite the plethora of skills. He could draw the most immaculate... stick figures. He knew how to boil an... egg? ...He's mastered the art of the triangle! And those are just for starters, he could also...no, ...aha, watch and learn as he demonstrates a...no, ...ooh-ooh, check out what he can do with his...nope not that either. Ah, face the facts Trailway! The only thing I can do is accurately tell the 'right path from the wrong one.' Whatever that means.

'It's a gift.' His grandmother had told him. The ability to decipher the right path for a pony to walk on and to lead others astray from the wrong one, whether it be within life, or more commonly, in asking for directions. Wow, whoop-dee-feathering-do. Trailway, your friendly neighborhood living compass, what an aspiring life to live. As if.

No, he aspired for adventure! Excitement! Action! To be the shining knight! To save the damsel in distress! To be Maretonia's bright shining star!

But, it would appear Maretonia already had a bright shining star, several in fact, which was quite strange given how it was just past mid-day. And they are shooting stars too, how about that. And now there is just two of them, and they sure are fast, very fast... and getting brighter... and getting closer... and was is it getting hot out here, or was it just him?

Maybe, just maybe it had something to do with two fireballs that came streaking across Maretonia's airspace, directly towards Trailway's house. Speaking of Trailway, he remained where he sat, mouth agape, eyes strained, and breath hitched as the gigantic metal fireball changed directions mid flight, baring south-southeast with a margin of error between the 135-120° mark. ...Huh, guess his gift was good for something. That was great and all, but it didn't change the fact that the smaller fireball was still precisioned for his home.

Or at least he had believed so, but he couldn't be more grateful to be mistaken as the thing hurtled past him and into the damp swamp lands behind the house. A minute later, the boom rang out.

Trailway didn't know how accurate the truth was behind the whole, lightning and counting the seconds until the thunder and that's how many miles away it was, thing, so he disregarded that information as he set off. After all, who needs to know the distance when you can tell the direction. Oh, you bet your blubbery flank that Trailway wasn't going to sit this one out. Not over his cold body.