In the 41st Millennium, the Milky Way unknowingly prospers above the brink of annihilation.

The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man and Equus is soon to be beset on all sides by hostile aliens and threatened from within by traitors and heretics.

It exists at the onset of an age of endless war, in which enlightenment is challenged by superstition, rhetoric, and blind prayer. To live in such times is to be one amongst untold billions, existing in the most paradoxical regime imaginable; practicing harmony and waging war in equal measure.

Among the architects of the Imperium's fading golden age are the Auric Rogue Traders; immortal human champions chosen since the Imperium's beginning to walk the thorny path to prosper all of humanity and their allied races. They, along with the Emperor of Mankind, the Solarch of Ponykind, and their Primarchs, will be the capstone that holds the Imperium aloft before the terror.

There will soon be no time for peace. No respite, no forgiveness.

In the grim darkness of the far future, there can be no victor.

The digital bell rang out a series of tones; the shift was over. Tired, turquoise eyes looked up from a black screen with an endless series of green lettering on display. The infinite details of Sector Mage Ocean's Manufactorum seemed almost burned into Sunny Starscout's vision. She rubbed at her eyes with a light vermillion forelimb. She rolled her neck, shivering slightly as she felt the popping.

Next, she stretched her back, feeling the fabric of her sea-blue jumpsuit on her back and the roots of her limbs. The uniform was decorated with a few shiny pins, alongside the department's shoulder badge. It consisted of a circle, with a big, capital imperial "I" with an Administratum lower-case "a" inside of it. Of course, because it's Sunny's department, it was accompanied by a happy dolphin leaping over the "I", which was wearing a hooded robe. They're really getting their money with the name "Sector Mage Ocean"... even if the name "Mage Ocean" actually referred to a Hassian Draconic Techpriest, not a dolphin...

Sunny shook her head and flicked some of her purple mane.

She looked around and saw the other workstations, with a few ponies hurriedly packing their bags to enjoy their weekend. They each wore the same uniform she did, but perhaps not the same buttons and pins. She saw, with a lowered brow, that some elected to stay for overtime. She sighed; it was none of her business. She then allowed herself a small smile.

Getting up from her chair, she nosed her work satchel over her shoulder; a sea-green messenger bag also with eccentric patches and stickers on it. She looked around the room, a great open office, tables, and data terminals arrayed almost as if they were benches in a chapel. The gothic archways that lined the room also didn't help matters. A great big church to the god of paperwork. The thought made Sunny scoff. Then her face fell since the Mage Ocean Officeplex consisted of many such office chambers. The Administratum Center was series of Data-Churches in a Cathedral of Bureaucracy.

Does that make her a worshipper, then?

Her thoughts were shaken out of her head by a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, then relaxed. The wrinkled hand belonged to one Helix Silico, her direct supervisor. He smiled, stretching his bushy mustache. He looked at her with kind, yellow eyes. He asked, with that admittedly sweet, aged voice, "How are you holding up, Sunny?"

She managed a small smile, and she managed to offer a simple, "I'm fine," in return. Her voice was dry, her tone dry. She turned away. Helix grimaced.

"Hey," he offered. "Me and a few other ponies, we... we got together to get something for you."

Helix then put something on Sunny's table. She froze, then looked at what it was that was being offered by Helix and her coworkers.

It was a... ticket? As Sunny looked at it, the bright, upbeat tones and the promotional lettering became clearer. Neon lights and signs... palm trees, a body of water... this couldn't be.

An all-expenses paid vacation voucher to Maretime Sector. The bearer was entitled to an entire month of all play, no work. Guaranteed prizes, guaranteed laughs, and a guaranteed good time.

"I..." Sunny began, not knowing if she should accept, or reject the offered prize. Her thoughts were interrupted by Helix wrapping his arms around Sunny in a hug.

"Take it. Take a load off," coaxed Helix. "Do it for us. Do it... for yourself."

She saw all the smiles directed her way... she returned the hug. She sniffed. What should she... say? Sunny took a moment to think, and then she remembered.

"Thank you, Helix."

She looked around. There were so many smiling faces around her. So many steadfast, compassionate eyes looking into hers.

"Thank you, everypony," Sunny choked out.

Letting go, Helix pointed at the console with an old finger, and reminded, "Go ahead and punch out, Sunny. Have fun now."

Nodding, Sunny agreed, saying, "I will. Thank you again."

She swiped a card into the side of the work terminal, punching it out for the last time.

Hassian Trains are legendary for their efficiency... or so Sunny Starscout was constantly told.

She paced along the kilometer-long platform, awaiting the transport that would take her to Maretime Sector, R&R-23. "Rest and Relaxation," Sunny mused to herself. She stood on the uppermost level of the platform, #4 of Station 32. The crowd at this immense platform was made up of a colorful tapestry, but not a throng large enough to keep Sunny from pacing around, her hooves clapping on the metallic surface. The air was choked by the sheer mass of people, the work of a long day still clinging to their clothes. Clerks and Managers from Data Forges, Doctors and Nurses from the Wellness Barracks, or Technicians and Tech-Acolytes from the Manufactorums. Each served their role in the great mosaic of Hassia, a kinetic structure without beginning or end. All centered around the Imperial Aquila, a twin-headed Bird, harmoniously bonded with the Alicorn, a reminder of ancient alliances and forever promises made and kept.

The Imperium of Man and Equus.

Sunny looked around to the interior of this section of the hive. A lesson from long ago rang out in her memory. The voice was... calm. Sure. Caring.

"Hassia Prime, our home, is a hive city. That means we all get to live in a big tower city, with cities built on top of other cities. If you look outside, you can see what I mean."

To Sunny's left and right, It was an endless looping expanse of metal, a gargantuan hollow tube, the interior of which was covered in windows. The hollow sector was also filled with tall, pointed buildings that stretched both from the floor of this section and hung from the ceiling. She never understood those who would willingly live and work in the ceiling. The empty space above Sunny's head could comfortably fit an Emperor-class battleship or two. The last time Sunny could remember such a thing happening was as a filly, and the sector smelled of burnt fuel for weeks afterwards after the cruiser passed through during the Navy parade.

This impossibly vast, ancient interior of the middle hive was home to countless billions of souls, and yet... there was still room enough on this endless expanse of plasteel for glowing billboards, green gardens, and an indoor park that ran underneath the old archway that held the railway line up. Many bridges spanned the gap, allowing traversal for walking and government vehicles, mostly transports. In the ceiling, great big fans spun lazily. Sunny recalled fondly running through the pine trees and the grass in the great parks below.

These plants were painstakingly imported across vast distances... all the way from Holy Equestria, so the stories go. Some days, the ventilation system would be on the fritz, which would cause a thick fog to envelop the whole of the hab. Sunny could then and go traipsing through the indoor forest, yet see neither the gray walls nor the ceiling. It was easy, then, to pretend that she was not indoors at all, but in a strange reality, where the forest goes on forever, with endless gray skies.

Behind and in front of Sunny, there ran the interior walls of the city. They were not just structure supports, these walls also contained additional living spaces, as well as places for work. There were, thankfully, a few places around here that a pony like Sunny could go. A few fast food joints, like the ever colorful Burger Tank, Star Cakes, or Pizza King, are fine places for something cheap and/or greasy. If Sunny was thirsty, she could go to a watering hole like "The Portly Carcharodon", home to a rather cute mascot of a horrifying alien abomination native to the oceans of this world.

Sunny... might've had a plushy of that Xenos beast as a filly.

Of course, there were other places of recreation to be had in these sectors of the hive, but all would pale in comparison to the state-run Maretime Sector. Another small factoid ran through Sunny's mind as she awaited the train. A gentle, rumbly voice sounded in Sunny's memory.

"The reason it is called the Maretime Sector is that one day, in an age long past, the Rogue Trader and the Princesses returned from another one of their adventures, with a ship full of plunder and a crew ready to spend it. That adventure had been especially taxing on the Rogue Trader, but not his faithful Princesses. That's why the Rogue Trader ordered an extended leave for the Princesses of Hassia, calling it 'getting to spending some quality mare time with each other.' They took over the entire recreational district with their mare time, spending freely and celebrating their great success. That is why it is now called 'Maretime Sector.' One day, we'll go there, sweet Sunny."

Sunny shook her head. The train had still not arrived at her station. So much for that diversion. It was then that she heard something to her right. Something... familiar. It was a chant; a speech. Sunny lightly pushed past a few ponies and saw the source of the commotion. A crowd had gathered, a beachfront to the waves of emotion that stormed from only a few, well-armed and armored individuals. They were reciting scriptural passages, laden with fanatical hopes and dreams.

It was the missionaries. Sunny blinked. They were usually gathered around the temples, the churches, and the food banks. What were they doing here, and why were they... fired up?

Before now, she never would've thought to see a missionary carry a flamethrower. The human carrying the flamer was tall, covered in black and silver armor that clasped her figure very tightly. Her white, straight hair hung low. Sunny's eyebrows rose, and her eyes widened.

This was not a member of the Missionarius Galaxia. This was a full-on Sister of Battle. Sunny saw her fiery brown eyes as they swept across the gathering crowd. She stood in front of a throng of likewise-dressed warriors. She could even see the Battle Sister's nametag, which simply read "Argenta".

She shouted, in a voice loud, and pious. She spoke of doom, of darkness, of the coming storm of Chaos. Wicked creatures made of thoughts that lived beyond dreams wanted to devour our souls and send us to oblivion. How fire and faith will at last destroy the enemy. Sunny had heard it all before, on the near-endless chatter that made up the new doctrine of Hassia. Quietly, Sunny asked herself, "Where's the joy...? The... glad tidings? The... warmth?"

She looked at the flamer that the woman warrior carried on her hip, nozzle pointed down. It was painted black, and carried many purity seals.

"Well," she mused... "There it is, I guess..."

The Battle Sister carried on, but Sunny's ears twitched to hear an anticipated rumbling. The loud laboring of immortal machines, wearing down mortal cogs.

The train approached. It was a metal, round-faced leviathan, held up by the equally-large series of aqueduct-like structures that arched and snaked through the middle of the Hive complex. It ran for miles, forever ferrying passengers and cargo. The train and its carriages was four stories tall, twenty meters wide... and covered in faded chalk drawings. It made Sunny smile. This massive, serpentine machine, a titan among trains... and it was regularly defaced by young fillies and colts, boys and girls. They would often draw smiley faces, happy messages, or quick drawings on the sides of the otherwise black, monolithic machines.

The nose of the train itself was decorated by the Hassia Mechanicus Skull, a brass and red-painted emblem that consisted of a Dragon's skull, half of it cybernetic. It was surrounded by a bisected cog, mirroring the colors of the skull. Finally, the train's front was decorated by stenciled, cephalopod tentacles that wrapped around the front of the train, as if the Mechanicus skull itself was holding on for dear life. The reason, Sunny knew, for this was quite simple.

These were the Kraken Trains.

As the great engine rumbled and slowed towards Sunny's platform, she could almost feel with her bones the acoustic effort of the mighty machine's brakes, and the subtle apprehension of the hive sector itself as it held up the weight. Finally, with a sound that Sunny supposed must sound like ground quakes, the Kraken finally slowed to a stop, and the brakes snapped and hissed. The doors of all four stories of the train swung open with clacking noises, allowing the passengers to disembark onto the levels of the platform.

As Sunny waited for the crowd to get off the train, she scraped at her neck with a hoof. She winced and paused, and looked critically at her left forelimb. She saw the signs of neglect; dings and scratches.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Going to need to fix that."

She smiled. They would have actual hooficures at Maretime Sector... and spas. Sunny had never been, but they sounded... nice. She shook her head, for the crowd on the platform moved to embark onto the Kraken. The doors of the train did not object to their entry; the cogitators sensed the tickets in their possession. An invisible set of eyes above the door frame. Still, a yellow-armored Enforcer watched the doors from his post inside the train, a hand on a shock maul. His visored face scanned for any wrongdoing.

Thankfully, he would remain standing... almost bored. Sunny mused. Surely, for an Enforcer, or even an Arbites, a boring day was better than an exciting one? She blinked as she moved with the crowd. Many feet and hooves marched inside. Almost... almost... she reached over the slight gap into the train itself. Her ticket was genuine—no sound was made by the silent watcher above the door.

Now to find her seat... but Sunny's eyes wandered across an open, dark-carpeted floor, tables and chairs... neon signs... a bar, with something hot and cheap-smelling now wafting to greet her. Sunny realized with a start as she walked around the perimeter of the car that this was a recreation car.

The vacation had already started. With a smile, Sunny hatched a new, albeit mild scheme. She would grab a drink, then make her way out of this small, mobile nightclub and into one of the side compartments. She could see hallways that lead into these compartments at both ends of this area. Sunny made her way over to the bar, eyes wandering over the strange bottles of strong drink that was on offer.

...Maybe nothing too strong right now.

Sunny met the green eyes of the woman tending the bar. She folded her cream-furred sleeves on the counter, and showed off her dark head of hair, which was closely cut. She smiled back at Sunny.

"Howdy do? Headed to Mare Sector?" The woman called out, her voice quiet against the booming, gothic synth music of the club.

Nodding, Sunny replied. "Yes, I'd actually like an Electric Hiveberry Swirl, miss..."

The woman pressed some keys on a console, while she said back, with a laugh, and a critical eye, "Miss, hah! I'm Tea Nixen. Need a pick-me-up after your shift at the Data Centers, Sunny Starscout?"

How'd Tea know...? Oh. Sunny was still wearing her work jumpsuit, with the buttons, and her name printed on it. Maybe she shouldn't have come straight here after punching out... instead of dwelling on that, Sunny decided to remind herself of her fiscal responsibilities.

"How much?" Sunny asked, mentally preparing to withdraw her payment card.

Tea shook her head. "Nothing," she explained. "It's for free."

The offer made Sunny pause. She tilted her head, narrowed an eye, and then reiterated Tea's words. "Free?"

Tea nodded her head. The machine behind her whirred and worked. She explained, with a wink. "Already factored into your ticket."

Sunny was just left to say, "Oh."

With a smirk, Tea further explained, "You'll find that all food and drink here and in Maretime itself will cost nothing with your ticket. A lot of other things, too."

Finally, the drink dispenser finished with a popping sound. The finished drink came in a paper cup, topped with a lid, with a slight tab for opening.

"Please enjoy your stay, Sunny," offered Tea. Sunny took the cup with a nod and a smile, then offered a thank you in return, before turning away to find herself a nice, empty compartment.

She marched away from the booming music, which had transitioned into bassy synthwave accompanied by chanting, and looked at the doors of the compartments. She looked left, right, left, and right again. Finally, an empty spot. She nosed the door open and found a rather plush set of benches, above which was a rack for storage. On the ceiling, a soft pink light shone. Sunny tried not to think about what that could mean as she took a seat. She sighed, finally able to be off her hooves, and on her side. She would put her bag above in a bit.

First, Sunny pulled out her data tile and set it on the window sill, where it buzzed as it made contact with the hidden capacitor. Sunny rolled her neck again and decided now to toss her messenger bag up on the rack. Having done that, she allowed herself to relax, and take a few good sips of her drink. She pushed down the tab of the cup lid and gently raised the cup to her dry lips. The taste of the borderline magical mixes of Equestrian berries grown on a single bush species, known as "Hiveberries", tickled Sunny's tongue as she sipped, and she shivered as the "electric" part of the "Electric Hiveberry Swirl" immediately started to kick in.

Old wisdom sounded through Sunny's head. It really was true when ponies said, "The Imperium would collapse overnight if nobody could get their instant shot of energy from neurostimms."

Instantly, the weariness that dragged down Sunny Starscout's frame lifted, and she found herself giggling as the mix hit just right. With that jolt of energy, Sunny picked up the thin data tile, and opened it to read her work vox chat, where she had shared the message,

Sunny_Starscout_041827: I am officially on my way to Maretime Sector! Thank you all for this amazing opportunity! Love you!

She had also added as many emoticons of smiles and hearts as necessary... that is to say, Sunny added a whole lot. She saw a few replies in the chat,

OV_Helix_Silico_473838: We love you, too, Sunny! Hope you have a great time!

Pearl_Biter_726267: I'll be counting the days until I can go, too! Have fun, Sunny!

Kingfisher_Orange_781910: I remember when I was there! You'll have to tell me all about it so we can know what's new! Have fun, now!

There were more like this, and each message pushed Sunny's smile up her face. Her reading was interrupted by the slight lurching of the train. It had finally begun to move again. Sunny knew that there were at least a dozen stops before now and Maretime, so she settled herself in for a nice, long ride. The longest she ever been on, and all alone, too!

Sunny sipped on more of her drink, and then set it down.

Slowly, Sunny unzipped and reached into her workwear, and pulled out a stiff photo. It was of her and two other ponies. They stood on both sides of Sunny, and they all shared warm smiles. Tenderly, Sunny ran a hoof over the two synthetic diamonds that were embedded underneath the photograph.

"We finally made it, gang," she said, quietly. Sadly. Sunny hugged the studded photo close to herself. "We're all going to Maretime, like you always said we would." She sniffed, and put her photo back away, close to her heart.

She breathed away her phantoms, and sipped away the last of her Electric Hiveberry Swirl. She put the empty cup and the data tile back on the shelf. Sunny jumped a little when a knock came at her door. It opened slightly, and Sunny saw blue pony eyes peer in.

"May I?" The colt outside said. She nodded, and he opened the door to the compartment. Waltzing up, he settled down on the bench opposite of where Sunny was sitting and relaxed with a big sigh. It was then that Sunny could get a better look at this strange new arrival.

He wore an old, black Stetson, impaled by his pale horn, as well as a black jacket with white patterning on it. She noticed a cutie mark of a colorful assortment of bubbles. She took a moment to remind herself of her own, a few pink stars with a blue trail.

She really should get out of this jumpsuit. Maybe this cowpoke could point her to a new outfit in Maretime.

"Name's Tabby Baker," he said. Something about his gravelly voice... seemed off to Sunny. She couldn't quite place it, yet...

"Right," he continued, not bothering to let Sunny answer for herself. "Never talk to strangers, right?"

Sunny shrugged. She heard the rolling of the wheels below her. More signs lazily passed by. Propaganda and advertisements. Sometimes both.

"You haven't tried anything weird... yet," she asserted.

"Yet, huh?" The strange stallion Tabby remarked, with a laugh. "Heh. Your parents raised one smart cookie with you."

This made Sunny's hairs on the back of her neck stand. Had he been watching her?

"Yes..." she agreed. There was something about the way he spoke, the... almost ancient-sounding tone and candor... wait, that's it! Sunny looked over Tabby again. She saw no weapons, at least. His physical self looked to be about Sunny's age, but his voice made him sound at least twice that.

"Ah, Maretime Sector. My favorite place in this whole void-damned galaxy."

It couldn't have been anything else. This "Tabby Baker" character had to have undergone partial rejuvenat treatment! A proper suite of biochemical agents and therapy would set Sunny back decades in terms of both age and money. However, in the seedier places of the hive, a cheaper, riskier cocktail of such reagents can be... acquired. That must be why Tabby Baker looked young but sounded old... because he was!

Sunny couldn't let him know she figured him out, though, so she'd play along in this conversation.

"Yeah... this is my first time visiting," she admitted.

Tabby then just grinned, and said, with a wag of his eyebrows, "Yeah, I can tell. Not many ponies, humans, what-the-hell-have-you bother showing up to Maretime in their work jumpers... Sunny."

That... was true enough. Sunny fidgeted in her clothes.

"Ah, but who am I to tease a poor girl, huh?" Tabby teased. His eyes searched around, and a smile graced his face. He laughed an old man laugh. "Ah, tell you what... I've been to Maretime more times than even I can count. What'd ya say to me being your welcoming tour guide, huh? I'll show you all over that crown jewel... Maretime really is the crown jewel of Hassia. I'll get you places most bitches don't know about..."

Tabby cleared his throat when Sunny's face scrunched up. "Excuse me." He chuckled, and put on a disarming grin.

That left Sunny to think about Tabby's offer. She might be lost all alone in a place like Maretime, and Tabby? Well, she might not be able to trust him, but he sure sounded confident about his dealings there. Speaking of which, Tabby pulled out a bottle of something foul-smelling, and made a quick chug.

Sunny sighed. "Fine," she said in assent. "But no... no, no funny business."

Tabby put away his bottle, and grinned wider, saying, "Maretime would be nothing without funny business... but I getcha. Nothing too exciting for your first swim, right?"

First...?

"What makes you think I'll be coming to Maretime often?" Sunny asked. She peered to see the lights outside. "It's not like I'll be swimming in money after this."

"Well..." Tabby wondered aloud. He scratched his chin with a hoof, and a wondering set of eyes. "I got a good feeling about you, baby. Like you'd take over Maretime with your good looks alone."

Laying on a bit thick, aren't you, buddy? That's what Sunny considered saying. However, after some thought, she decided instead to say, "You... really think so? It's not exactly all fun and games for me..." More of the city passed by, with various spires and towers on display for all to see. She even spied an arcade fly by, like the ones she visited as a filly. Those were simpler times. These places were always called something like "Sanctum of Diversions". It was an overly mystical-sounding name for what was a glorified warehouse of glowing interactive cogitator cabinets, throwing ball galleries, and creaky, scratchy pinball machines. Each of them had their sounds, colors, promises of fun, promises of glory, and promises of tickets for the Vault of Spoils. It was always a good day when Sunny spent an ungodly amount of tickets for something grand.

Sunny reflected, "Wow, I miss the old games."

Sunny finally looked back to see Tabby raising his eyebrows, and softening his eyes. He finally said, "Well, new adventures await, Sunny."

The way in which he said that... Sunny couldn't help but laugh. She cut herself off, trying not to offend her new friend she was still wary of, but managed to say, "Adventures... hm."

The Kraken rolled onwards to Maretime Sector.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy.

I'll probably redo the cover art one day. For now, it's just something courtesy of Microsoft Designer.

Support me on Ko-fi, if you like. I... hope it works. I've never used something like this before.