FTL: Wings of the Federation

Chapters

Chapter 1 - A Rough Patch
Chapter 2 - Pit Stop
Chapter 3 - Old Friends, Old Enemies
Chapter 4 - Flashback
Chapter 5 - Flashback: the Second

Chapter 1 - A Rough Patch

The ship rocked and shuddered. A constant barrage of asteroids and beam fire from the opposing Rebel ship was taking its toll on the HMS Lunar Wrath. Captain Ditzella “Derpy” Doo shouted to her daughter over the ship’s intercom, “Dinky! We have a hull breach in Sector B! Patch that, quick!”

A hiss of static responded to Derpy. The reply sounded dim and distant, “Where in Sector B?”

“The restrooms!”

“At least we won’t have to empty the waste tanks.”

“Not the time for jokes!”

“Relax Mom, I’m on it. And stop yelling before you make yourself hoarse.” With that, Dinky galloped away from her console and out of the weapons systems to patch the hull breach. Doors between the metallic corridors hissed open as Dinky rushed her way through the ship.

As the door to the restrooms slid open, the decompression and lack of oxygen was painfully noticeable, hitting Dinky like a hammer. Anything loose was being sucked violently towards a hole in the wall which lead to the airless void of space. The hole itself wasn't very large, perhaps a hoof's width or two across, but Dinky knew of smaller problems that had bested better ships before.

The unicorn entered the maintenance closet attached to the restrooms in search of Quikpatch. Quikpatch, a semi-organic, magically enhanced substance made of millions of tiny nanobots, was used to patch hull breaches in a pinch. Mass-produced by the Engi, it is a sticky salve that holds together with incredible force. Using an applicator, it could be quickly applied to seal a breach of any size, assuming enough Quikpatch is available. It was no permanent solution, but it worked well enough to get to a repair port without dying of asphyxiation.

“Where where where where where…” Dinky muttered as she tossed the maintenance room into a mess, pulling items haphazardly off of shelves in a desperate search for the patching substance. Despite her frantic searching, Dinky found none. Groaning in frustration, she kicked over a nearby box, scattering its contents across the mess that already covered the floor. It was then that something caught Dinky’s eye. Levitating the object to her face, she grinned. It wasn't Quikpatch by a long shot, but it would have to do for now. Besides, they always said it could fix anything.

“Oh, Mom is so gonna kill me for this,” she said, still smiling. She got to work.

____________

The gray pegasus on the bridge sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. How could things have gotten this bad? she wondered. Now was not the time to dwell, she realized, when she looked up and frantically began maneuvering the craft to avoid the next oncoming asteroid large enough to pose a threat to their shields; a difficult task considering the half functioning bridge and controls. Clear for the time being, she hailed the third and last member of their crew, Engineer First Class Carrot Top. “How are the shields coming along, Carrot?”

“I’m working on—” Derpy heard a loud zap followed by a shout from Carrot Top’s end. “—it. Don’t worry, I can fix this.” Carrot Top finished.

“Well, fix it faster. I think the Rebels almost have the next barrage charged. We can’t take much more and I can’t keep—” Derpy made a sudden dip to the ship’s course, narrowly avoiding another asteroid and causing Carrot to stumble. “Keep this up much longer.”

“Almost got it, Cap. Just gotta put this wire there, that one here, and—shoot, was it the red one or the blue one that goes there?”

“Carrot!”

“Oh! Silly me, it’s the orange one that goes there. That one goes here. Connect the blue ones back aaaannd…” With a resounding whoop, the shields came back online not a moment too soon, as the next barrage from the Rebels stuck and was deflected or absorbed by the shield.

“Oh Carrot, I could kiss you right now!” Derpy shouted.

“Didn’t know you were into that sort of thing, Mom,” Dinky called over the intercom.

The breach in the restrooms was now patched, according to the sensors on Derpy’s console. In response to her daughter's comment, Derpy’s face went as red as the light that was now indicating that the engine room was currently aflame. Derpy shouted, “Fire! Fire in the engine room! Door controls are nonfunctional, I can’t vent it. Dinky, Carrot, get on it!”

The shield control room and restrooms were respectively where Carrot and Dinky were before Derpy reported the fire. Shield control consisted of the portion of the ship known as Sector C, while Sector B held the restroom, among other things, and was directly adjacent to Sector C. Their destination, the engine room, was tucked between Sectors B and C in the back of the spacecraft. Dinky Doo and Carrot Top rushed through the triangularly-shaped ship to the engine room, hooves clanging on the metal floors and grates. Carrot Top stuck to following the narrow halls through the vessel, while Dinky cut through the cafeteria. The unicorn saved a few precious seconds of her journey by leaping from table to table, rather than going around them. The Lunar Wrath was a very small ship, not meant to be staffed by more than nine or ten ponies. This being the case, travel between different rooms was usually short, especially when running at full gallop.

We're always running around like ants, Dinky mused as she leapt from the final table and hit the ground running, skidding through the doorway as it opened. We need more ponies on this ship. We're horribly understaffed. Turning left, Dinky ran towards the junction ahead. The blur of yellow she saw indicated that Carrot Top had arrived as well.

The two ponies entered the engine room, grabbing a fire extinguisher off the wall on the way. They then proceeded to douse the flame-covered room.

“It’s hotter than Celestia’s rage in here,” Carrot Top huffed as she put out a small fire on the right side of the room. The yellow-orange glow of the fire that reflected off the metallic surfaces of the room and engine would have been quite pretty to watch had it not been so unconditionally dangerous. Several of these metallic surfaces were red hot from constant exposure to the fire, as wires hanging from the walls sparked, their rubber coating having become melted slag on the floor.

The ship swooped left as Derpy managed to avoid an asteroid and two of the three lasers that attempted to penetrate the shields. The third was absorbed harmlessly.

Meanwhile, Dinky and Carrot were making headway, putting out fires with their extinguishers while working their way closer and closer to the engine. The ordinarily blue core inside one of the engine's glass-encased pistons was glowing red and pumping at a speed that certainly wasn't normal, while a number of the large engine's other pistons seemed to be struggling to pump at their usual rate. Finally, with all the fires under control, the purple unicorn and yellow earth pony looked at the red-hot piston. They then locked gazes before simultaneously nodding. Aiming their extinguishers at the offending piston, they unleashed the foamy fire suppressant. It sizzled and smoked, the red glow of the piston's core eventually beginning to lessen and finally die down entirely.

“Rerouting power from that portion of the engine until we can get that fixed,” Carrot Top said, more to herself than Dinky, as she tapped a few keys on the somewhat charred control panel. The offending piston stopped moving. "You know, we wouldn't have nearly as many problems if we didn't have such an outdated engine," the earth pony sighed.

Shaking her head, Carrot Top turned to Dinky, saying, “Well that went—” before being cut off by a spray of fire suppressant to the face. She blinked several times, the blank look on her face contorting into one of anger. She shouted at the now-grinning Dinky, “What was that for?”

“Your hair was orange. I thought it was on fire.”

“My hair is always orange.”

“Which is why I thought it was on fire. You look pretty steamed, though, it's a good thing I sprayed you before you started another blaze.” It was taking all of Dinky's restraint to not burst out laughing at the foam-covered mare, but a snort of laughter led to a fit of giggles before she fell to the floor laughing.

Carrot Top grumbled, dragging a hoof across her foamed face to wipe the mess away, before she flicked it at Dinky. The unicorn's face was now just as covered with foam as Carrot Top’s. They both stared at each other for a moment, and before long, the two of them were rolling on the floor in fits of hysterical laughter.

The intercom in the engine room crackled as Derpy’s voice spoke, “Looks like you got the fires under control. Good. Now one of you start fixing that thing and the other get to work on the guns. We may be able to move, but we couldn't hurt a fly like this.”

Their laughter finally died down to chuckles until it altogether stopped. Dinky got up off the floor, wiping the foam off her face, saying, “I’ll handle the guns, they’re my specialty. Can you handle this, Carrot?”

Carrot Top rose as well. “Relax. I’m an engineer, practically born for this.”

“So that’s what those carrots on your flank mean. Always thought they symbolized… gardening, or something silly like that.”

Carrot Top glared hotly at Dinky. Giggling, Dinky asked, “Do I need to spray you again?”

Carrot Top snatched a fire extinguisher off the floor and pointed the nozzle at Dinky, spraying Dinky with a salvo of foam. Dinky ran out of the room laughing, trailing the white foam behind her. When Dinky was gone, Carrot Top dropped the extinguisher and got to work on the engine, pulling tools out of her singed blue overalls.

____________

Dinky trotted into the weapons control room. Examining the screens that depicted each weapon, its current charge status, and state of repair, she nodded to herself. The ship still shuddered every now and then, but the shields were taking the brunt of the damage very effectively. All she needed to do was get the weapons up and running, Dinky could then set them to Autofire and assist Carrot Top with the engine repairs. Finally, they could make a jump to the next FTL beacon and escape the death trap they were currently ensnared in. With any luck a repair station would be nearby after the jump, as they could do with some major hull repairs. Dinky did not think her mother would like how she handled the bathroom breach, but her temporary solution was still holding, plus she reinforced it with a bit of magic just to be safe, so all was well for the time being.

Dinky set to work, rewiring and patching cables, swapping parts, and getting everything in working order. It took a little while, and it wasn’t pretty by a long shot, but it worked. Dinky called the engine room over the intercom, “How’s it look in there, Carrot?”

Carrot Top responded, “I’m about halfway done. Do you have any clue how much damage a direct hit by an Artemis missile and a fire can do to an engine? Well, let me tell you. A lot.”

“I’m just about set in here. Still have to program the targeting, run some calibrations, and put it on Autofire. I’ll be down to help soon.”

“I’ll take any help I can get. I’d like to get out of this place soon. Really not fond of, you know, getting smashed to bits by giant rocks.”

“I know what you mean. This place really... rocks your socks off, eh Carrot?”

Dinky got no response.

“Carrot? Carrot Top? Carrot, what happened?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing happened. I just refuse to acknowledge that comment.”

“I... you... Geez, Carrot, you almost gave me a heart attack. I see you’re not interested in my specific brand of witty humor right now. I need to call Mom and see what Rebel systems she wants me to target. Be down in a few.”

Dinky switched comm channels from the engine room to the bridge. “Mom, weapons are up and ready. Targets?”

Derpy’s voice was full of a strange malice reserved explicitly for when her daughter was in danger as she said, “One missile at the shields, and sustained laser fire on the oxygen production. Rerouting power from the med bay to the lasers, I want them firing at one hundred and ten percent capacity, minimum. Understood?” Derpy's tone of voice frightened Dinky.

Dinky hesitated. She wasn't used to hearing such unabashed hatred from her mother. Usually, she preferred simply annihilating opponents as opposed to slowly suffocating them. It was pointlessly cruel otherwise. “Yes, Mom.” Dinky wasn't sure what possessed her mother to go to these levels, but she did as she was told. An order is an order, especially when the captain is your mother.

Queuing the targets, Dinky ran several accuracy calibrations while the weapons charged. Under prime conditions, Dinky could aim something as bulky and inaccurate as a ship's missile launcher to hit a target square on from three miles off, but current conditions could hardly be considered “prime.” The ship’s Autofire systems weren't nearly as accurate as a well-trained pony manning the station, but it beat not having anything shooting at all if left unstaffed.

Dinky set the weapons to charge above their usual capacity with the rerouted energy from the med bay. Overcharging weapons was exceptionally dangerous, and if not done properly could cause serious consequences. The extra power gave the lasers more bang for their buck, but at the risk of having them backfire or simply explode.

Calibrations run, power routed, targets selected and weapons charging, there was nothing more Dinky could do. She made her way back to the engine room to assist Carrot Top with the engine repairs. As Dinky entered the engine room, Carrot Top poked her grease- and oil-stained head out of a maintenance hatch, a bundle of cables hanging from her mouth.

“Cn thh hanth ee thath renth?” Carrot said with a mouthful of cables.

“Can I… what?”

Carrot Top spat out the cables. “Hand me that wrench,” she repeated.

Dinky levitated a wrench from a nearby toolbox into Carrot’s jaw. “Thanfs,” she said, wrench clenched in her teeth. She ducked back into the hatch and began tightening bolts. Dinky grabbed the toolbox and hopped into the hatch with Carrot. As they were working, the Lunar Wrath shot off her first return-fire on the Rebel ship.

“Looks like the missile hit the target. Enemy shields are damaged, but still functioning. One laser hit and was deflected,” Derpy reported over the intercom.

Together, Carrot and Dinky finished the remaining work record time. Dinky clambered out of the hatch and, grunting with the effort, helped Carrot do the same.

“Feels like somepony needs to lay off the carrot cake,” Dinky said as Carrot finally stood up, now out of the hatch.

“Also sounds like somepony needs to lay off the rude comments.”

“‘Rude?’ I’m insulted. My comments are nothing short of clever and situationally suitable,” Dinky retorted.

“Clever? You just used a fat joke. That’s not clever, that’s foalish.”

Dinky stuck her tongue out at Carrot as the intercom buzzed again, “I can’t keep looking at the readouts and piloting. Dinky, get back on the weapons. Carrot, I want you to give me a constant stream of info from the sensors,” Derpy ordered.

“On it, Cap,” Carrot Top responded.

“Yes, Mom,” Dinky said.

Carrot Top ran to the bridge to the sensor readout console while Dinky went back to the weapons control room.

Derpy spoke first, “Carrot Top. Report.”

“Enemy ship is a standard Rebel scout. Sensors picking up four life forms of average equine stature. Shields seem damaged but under repair. The asteroids are doing nothing to them.”

“Firing next volley!” Dinky called.

“Wait for it…” Carrot said. “Wait for it… and the missile is a hit! Enemy shields down. Lasers one, two and three are… all direct hits! I can—oh, dear,” Carrot Top sounded frightened of something.

“What happened, Carrot? Report!”

“All three lasers hit the Rebel O2 room. The room itself tore completely off their ship, venting somepony into space with it. I can see him now, on—on the cameras. Dear Celestia, he’s just writhing in agony and…"

“At ease, Carrot. Report on the rest of the ship.”

“Oh, um,” Carrot cleared her throat. “Right. I’m seeing a hull breach caused by stray asteroids now that the shields are down. Also looks like they sealed off the torn section of the ship. Two life forms in the shield systems, presumably doing repairs, and a third on the helm. The Rebels just fired off their next shots!”

Derpy mentally calculated the distance between the two ships, in relation to their current heading and the missile and laser velocities. She had to time this right. Mumbling to herself, she counted down, “Three… two… one… NOW!”

The ship rolled a full three hundred and sixty degrees. The artificial gravity and centripetal force were enough to not cause everypony to fly towards the ceiling, but the maneuver was still sudden enough to knock both Dinky and Carrot off their hooves. Derpy was buckled into her chair, and so was unaffected. All four enemy projectiles missed.

“I always knew Peppy had good advice!” Derpy cheered.

“Who’s Peppy?” Dinky asked.

“Long story. I’ll tell you another day. Are their shields still down, Carrot?”

“Yes Captain, still down.” Something blipped on Carrot’s console. “Cap, they’re prepping for an FTL jump!”

“Dinky, fire two lasers at their engine. They won’t get away that easily.”

“Charged. Firing.”

“Both direct hits, Cap.” Carrot chimed in.

“Good. And now we wait.”

“Wait? Why would we wait, Captain? Why not take them before their—” another beep on Carrot’s console. “…shields are back up. Like that.”

“Relax Carrot. That just makes it easier for us.”

“For us to…?”

“Just watch the life forms. Tell me how they’re reacting.”

“Well, the two who repaired the shields are moving to the med bay now. Moving very sluggishly. Getting slower. Slower… one stopped. Now reading only two life forms on the ship. The second stopped at the med bay doors. One life form.”

A blinking notification caught Derpy’s attention on the bridge: it was an incoming transmission request. Curiosity piqued, she accepted. A video feed of the last remaining crew member of the Rebel ship was broadcast to all video monitors across the Lunar Wrath. An orange coated unicorn with a red mane and tail greeted the viewers. He wore an olive colored hat, jacket and pair of pants, all embossed with the Rebel logo: the head of a menacing looking pony with a goatee, two different wings sprouting from either side of the head from which two different horns grew. The unicorn was clearly in pain, and coughing quite a bit.

“Federation,” he spoke, noting the dark blue hat with the Society of the Silver Moon's insignia which Derpy wore.

“Rebellion scum,” Derpy retorted.

“You don’t understand the—” he had a coughing fit. When he regained control of himself, he continued. “—the significance of the data you have stolen. The entire Rebel fleet has your jump signature; they will be on your tail every moment of your soon to be shortened lives. If you value your lives, you may still save yourselves yet. Delete the data. Change ships. Join the Rebellion.” He was wheezing at this point, struggling to keep himself propped on the console and within view of the camera.

“I don’t understand how you got the data, and at this rate I never will. I know you think that the Rebellion is correct. I know it. You just refuse to betray your leaders; I admire that. The Rebellion would benefit greatly from your talents. Look deeply and tell me that you do not believe in the cause of the Rebellion.”

Derpy considered this. Could he be trying to talk his way to safety? Did he think they would bring him on their ship, perhaps out of pity? “The only thing I believe,” Derpy finally said, “is that you aren’t dying quick enough. I have the decency to wait until my foes are vanquished before I take my winnings, unlike the Rebels who tear their spoils of war from their still breathing victims. I have vital data to get to the higher-ups of the Skylar Federation, and I’ll need every little bit of help I can get. Starting with stripping your ship.”

The Rebel captain sighed. “These ponies—my crew—had family, you know. Two stallions, one mare. I knew the mare’s family personally. Sunlight, her name was. Wonderful husband and two beautiful children. Husband didn't much care for the war, but understood the Rebellion’s point of view. I respected him for that. If only you could understand like he could.” He had another coughing fit, much longer than his previous one.

Derpy spoke up, “I have family too. Dinky, my daughter. She serves on this ship; the one you almost destroyed." Derpy punctuated with a stomp of her hoof. "I protect my family and serve a cause I believe in.” she paused before asking, “What is your name, captain?”

The stallion barked a harsh laugh. “Ha! Call me ‘captain’ of my dying ship and dead crew. Captain always goes down with the ship, no? Very well. I am Refugio Razor, captain of the once beautiful Tulip; named after my long-deceased wife. Perhaps I shall meet her in the afterlife. I support the Rebellion until death do us part, as it very soon will. And yourself?”

“I am Ditzella Doo, captain of the HMS Lunar Wrath. I support the Federation until I deliver this data and longer still. Not even death could part me from my mission.”

Refugio struggled a smile. “I applaud your courage and bravery, Ditzella. Know that I hold no grudge, and were I in your position would do no different than you have done.”

Derpy tilted her head in confusion. “No grudge? I’m surprised. Every other Rebel I’ve come across had nothing but vengeance on their minds. Why the change of heart?”

Throughout the conversation, he had noticeably more and more difficulty holding himself up. Now he slumped back onto the chair in front of the console. The oxygen deprivation was taking a serious toll on him. He didn't have long.

“On my home planet, we believe that in forgiving those who have wronged us, we are held to be better than them. We carry the souls of those whom we have done wrong by throughout our lives as a weight. Upon death, we must ascend a great mountain burdened with this weight; the more weight, the longer the trip. Only by reaching the peak will one truly ascend to the afterlife.” He paused, catching his breath with what little air remained. “A great insult among my culture is, ‘may you have one more soul to carry.’ In forgiving our enemies, we believe to increase their own burdens.

“I was never one for petty insults, though. May you serve your cause better than I have served mine. On behalf of me, my crew, and our families… we forgive you.” His head drooped to his chest.

Derpy didn’t move for several minutes. Tiny asteroids pelted the shield like rain on an umbrella. Still, Derpy sat motionless, her head hung low. Dinky turned off the intercoms, shut off the video transmission, and began walking to the engine room, considering the exchange that had just occurred. A door in front of her opened and she saw Carrot Top.

They were silent for a while. Dinky finally asked, “So, how do you feel about that?”

Carrot Top hesitated. Dinky could understand, she didn’t quite know how to feel herself.

“I think you should get your mother to her bed. She’s had a long day. I’ll salvage what I can from their ship.”

“We're in the middle of an asteroid field, Carrot,” Dinky responded.

"Then get your mother to bed, get back to the pilot's seat, and tow their ship—and ours, for that matter—out of it. Then I can get to work while you comfort your mother."

"Still, Carrot, going alone?"

“And what are they going to do? Come back and try to eat me? Space zombies, now that’s something I’d rather not see. Just trust me on this, your mother needs you.”

Dinky nodded. “Just be careful. Grab a radio and call if anything goes wrong.”

They parted ways. Carrot headed to the equipment lockers to get the zero-gravity and space-walk equipment, while Dinky went to the bridge.

Author's Note

Alrighty, a long overdue pre-reader scrubbing has been preformed on this chapter. It should now be on par with the quality of the other chapters.

Thanks once again to TimeBaby for pre-reading and editing!

And an additional thank you to Grif for post-reading and editing!

Chapter 2 - Pit Stop

The door to the bridge opened. There, Dinky saw her mother still sitting strapped in her chair. Derpy’s head was hung low, as though she were ashamed. Dinky approached her mom, and wrapped her in a hug. In a delayed reaction, Derpy limply returned the gesture. They stayed like that for several moments. Out of the front view port, Dinky saw Carrot dock the shuttle at the Rebel ship and hop out into what was once the oxygen room, propelled and directed by small jets in her environment-suit. Carrot toggled her magnetic boots, rooting her to the floor with no fear of drifting off, yet still allowing her to walk without much impedance. Forcing open the door leading to the rest of the ship, Carrot disappeared inside.

Dinky sighed, and hugged her mother tighter. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Mom. He was just trying to get to you.”

“Luna buck me to the moon if he didn’t. I’m just thinking…” she trailed off.

“Thinking?”

“How terrible of a mother I am. I put you in situations almost daily where none of us might make it back, and I think ‘what would happen if I lost Dinky, but I don’t die myself?’ I would be just so… I—I don’t even know what to say anymore. Just, I don’t think I should keep putting you through this. I mean—”

“Mom. Stop. You are not the one putting me through this. I volunteered to come. I mean, hey, you didn’t even want me to come in the first place! If anything, it’s my own fault.”

“But I allowed you to come! 'If anything,' that makes it worse. I can’t go on, thinking about how much danger I’m putting you through. Between being concerned with you, and everything that… that Rebel, Razor, said before, I can’t help but think that we’re doing more harm than good. Or, at the very least, I am.”

“You did not do anything wrong by ending that life. You know the goals of the Rebellion: chaos. Their long term goal is literally to prevent peace, and you know that. Anybody who supports that can’t possibly be a life worth keeping in this universe."

"And if I lose a life that was worth keeping, most notably you, in the process of stopping the chaos?"

"A sacrifice well worth it."

"How can you possibly say that? How, when you know what's at stake?"

"Because stopping the Rebellion is a cause worth dying for. Look, you've had a long couple of weeks, Mom. Let's get you to your bed, we can discuss semantics when we're all sitting at the bar on the next station." Dinky unbuckled her mother and helped her to stand.

Derpy, who was nearly in tears at this point, gave a ghost of a smile as they began walking to the sleeping quarters. "Like I'd ever let you drink."

Dinky smiled back, already knowing how this would end. "Why not? I'm old enough."

"'Old' enough does not mean the same as 'mature' enough. No alcohol for you, young lady."

"Awwww," Dinky responded, good-humoredly.

At last Derpy and Dinky arrived at the sleeping quarters. Along the left and right walls were a total of ten identical bunks, five on each wall. A small footlocker sat at the end of each cot, with a tiny shared metal end table separating them from each other. The decor was spartan at best, but the beds themselves were actually quite comfortable. Dinky led her mom to her bunk. She knew, despite the beds' identical appearances, which was her mom's thanks to the pictures that faced it.

First was a collage of numerous small shots of Dinky throughout her life. Newborn, foalhood, fillyhood, getting her cutie mark, her teenage years, graduating the Society of the Silver Moon military academy, and finally into the mare she had become. Whenever Derpy showed pictures of Dinky to any guests they ever had, Derpy would always say, much to Dinky's chagrin, how "if nothing else, her special talent would have been smiling."

Next was a picture from a couple of months before Derpy and Carrot joined the Society of the Silver Moon's military, years ago. It showed a young Dinky, her cutie mark of a small cluster of stars showing prominently, standing on Carrot Top's back, her right foreleg extended in an "onwards to victory!" sort of pose. Carrot Top herself, meanwhile, was in mid-gallop running towards the camera. Both were laughing.

Lastly, and always the most painful to look at, was a picture of Derpy's late husband. The stallion in the picture gave the sad, almost knowing grin that he always wore in life.

Derpy clambered onto the bed, and when she was comfortably positioned, Dinky sat on the floor next to her, resting her head on the end of the bed. They stayed like that for a while, mother and daughter enjoying both the company and quiet of the other. Nothing needed to be said; they had each other, and that was enough for now.

About an hour later, the door opened, and Carrot Top trotted quietly in. She smiled at the sight of both Derpy and Dinky asleep. They deserved some rest. Unfortunately, Carrot Top had no idea how to pilot the ship, so one of them needed to wake up. Falling asleep for an extended period of time this close to an FTL beacon while they were being tailed was not a very clever move. Carrot Top gingerly prodded Dinky awake. Dinky mumbled incoherently about "space zombies" before adjusting her neck and falling asleep again.

This prompted Carrot's usually stoic facade to break slightly. With a small grin, she whispered into Dinky's ear, "Diiiiinky Dooooo, I am Professor Zomboss, here to eat your braiiinnnnssssss!"

"Mmnh, no, don't..." Dinky mumbled before trailing off.

If scare tactics wouldn't wake her, Carrot decided to try something more sinister. And, frankly, annoying.

Leaning as close as she possibly could, she whispered into Dinky's ear once again, "Psst. Dinky. Dinky. Hey, Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky." Carrot punctuated each word with a gentle poke of increasing force.

This incessant manner of alarm finally roused the unicorn from her sleep. Dinky gave Carrot an annoyed glare, as the yellow earth pony continued to poke away, unhindered by her target's awakening. Having had enough, Dinky swatted Carrot's next poke attempt away.

Dinky had a crick in her neck and her back ached from falling asleep in such an odd position, but otherwise all was well. If anything, she felt good. That was the most time both she and her mother had spent together in the two or so weeks since they had been on the run from the Rebels. Carrot Top pointed to Dinky, to herself, then to the door. She then pointed at Derpy, still sleeping, and put her hoof to her mouth in the universal gesture of "quiet." Dinky nodded. They silently left the sleeping quarters, leaving Derpy to rest.

When they were well out of range, Carrot Top turned to Dinky as they made their way to the bridge, "I picked up a decent haul from the ship. Nothing too major, but enough to make a good amount of credits."

Dinky spoke, "Why can't we just use bits? I like bits. Credits are stupid."

"Hey, I'm not the economist who made the system. Don't yell at me."

"I'm not yelling, I'm saying it's stupid. Using bits makes much more sense."

"I'm sure other recently-accepted-into-galactic-society races thought that their respective economic systems were better, too. Probably because it was what they grew up with. And, hey, we can still use bits, same way other races can use their own currency. We just need to be aware of the conversion ratios."

"But I hate conversion ratios!"

"You only hate them because you failed economics in school, Dinky."

Dinky grumbled incoherently in response. They entered the bridge, and Dinky sat down in the pilot's seat. She turned her head to Carrot, "Hey, Carr, check the next jump beacons for any repair stations."

Carrot approached a console to the left. After a few button presses, she found what she was looking for.

"Our luck is improving! Got one right on the next jump. I'll set the destination, you just make sure we don't explode or something."

"If we explode, it won't be my piloting that causes it, it will be your sloppy repair job on that engine," Dinky joked.

"You're forgetting that you helped with the engine, too, so it will still technically be your fault if we explode."

"Bah. Set the destination already, I'm getting bored of space. I need to get some real food and see some ponies who don't want to kill us at first glance."

Carrot Top tapped away at her console, setting the destination, as Dinky prepped for the jump. "Destination is set, FTL drive charged, and we're ready for the jump," Dinky said. "I just hope my patchwork in the bathroom holds up."

"Why wouldn't it? You used Quikpatch, didn't you?" Carrot asked. "That stuff has been proven to withstand FTL jumps."

"Nope, we didn't have any, so I had to work with something else," Dinky responded.

"Something...else?"

Dinky said, offhandedly, "Eh, it's nothing really. Just some duct tape, is all. Should be fine."

"YOU USED WHA-"

They broke light speed. All other noises were drowned out in the din of the whirring FTL drive. Dinky made a few minor adjustments, ensuring a safe exit, as Carrot Top passed out. Out of the view port, Dinky saw streaks of bright lights fly across the view port, the wonders of space flying past in an instant.

As the FTL drive began to decelerate, the ship came into place very much intact. The streaks of light eventually became the telltale pinpoints of far off stars again. Not too far off, Dinky could make out the station where they could get their repairs orbiting a small moon. The planet below was a yellowish brown ball; arid and nigh-uninhabitable, orbiting a red dwarf sun. It was not the planet which interested her, though. It was the blocky form of the station.

Theta Seven was an oddly shaped station, with numerous square protrusions sprouting from the center of the cuboid construct.

Dinky flipped a switch, changing power to the engine from the long-range FTL drive to the short-range impulse drive, and piloted the ship on a course to the station. The radio crackled to life. "Unidentified vessel on approach vector, please present a valid identification."

Dinky responded as Carrot regained consciousness and got back on her hooves, "Weapons Officer First Class/Co-pilot Dinky Doo, of the HMS Lunar Wrath, identification number one-U-N-four-zero-zero-zero-eight-one-three, military vessel second class, in service of the Society of the Silver Moon, subset of the Federation. Requesting permission to dock at a repair bay."

"One moment..." the voice on the other end went quiet, as they heard a few clicks, followed by a beep. It spoke again, "Request granted. Dock at bay 4B."

"I'll take it from here," a voice said from the doorway, causing both Dinky and Carrot to jump. Turning, they saw Derpy, her hair a frazzled mess, and her feathers slightly unkempt. Ruffling her wings to straighten the stray feathers, Derpy yawned, then smiled. She put on her hat, which proudly displayed the Society of the Silver Moon's Captain crest and effectively covered her unkempt mane.

"Well, good morning, sleepy head. Sleep well?" Dinky asked.

"Mornin', Cap." Carrot offered.

"Not really sure this could be considered 'morning'," Derpy responded, gesturing at the digital output of the Galactic Standard Time clock. She continued, "But I'll take it. I slept better than I have in weeks, anyway. And I see you found us a station to get some repairs done, too. Good. I think we can all do with some R and R."

"But, Captain," Carrot spoke, "If we stay too long, the Rebels are bound to catch up to us. We may have bought a little time taking out that scout," Derpy winced at the reminder. Carrot went on, "but only that: a little time. Once they trace our jump path, they'll tear this station apart looking for us. Not to mention either taking or destroying the Wrath here if they catch us without her." Carrot gave two hearty smacks on a wall of the ship to emphasize her point and the ship in question, leaving a metallic ringing in the air.

Derpy sighed, wondering if they'd ever be free of this curse. "We'll either leave as soon as the ship is fixed, or figure something else out," Derpy said.

"If you say so, Cap."

"I could use a good drink, anyway." Derpy finished. Dinky's face brightened—

"None for you," Derpy said, with finality.

—and dimmed again, defeated. Dinky hopped out of the chair as Derpy took over the ship's controls, pulling the ship around the station and into the designated repair bay. Levitation beams locked the Wrath into place, while the airlock in the bay closed, sealing the ship inside as oxygen flooded the room. A red light in the hangar changed to green several minutes later, indicating that the three of them could safely exit without suffocating.

They exited the airlock of the Wrath and approached the doors that lead to the rest of the station. A bald, brown stallion with a goatee entered through the doors in question and approached the three of them. On his flank was a picture of a wrench superimposed over a caricature of a spaceship. He addressed the three of them "Which one of ya's the captain?"

"That would be me," Derpy said. She continued, cutting the stallion off before he could speak again, "I'll need a complete overhaul on the hull. I want every scratch and ding out as well as possible, and all breeches or structural weaknesses patched with the highest quality materials you have. I'll also need complete rewiring of any damaged interior systems."

The stallion nodded, and approached the ship, giving it a cursory glance. He gave a low whistle. "Looks like she hasn't seen a solid repair job in several months, at least."

"Two weeks and four days, to be exact," Dinky added. The stallion gave another whistle.

"What did ya do to this poor thing? Looks like it's flown through Tartarus and back. Twice. Just a quick glance tells me it could run you fourteen to sixteen hundred creds, easily. And this isn't including the inside."

Carrot Top cringed at the ludicrously high price, even knowing that it could have been worse. "Do it," Derpy said.

The stallion shrugged. "Well alright then, it's yer credits. This poor girl could use some good ol' tender lovin' care anyhow. I'll take good care of her, but it might be a few hours."

"Get it done quick and I'll pay double. But don't do a sloppy job." Carrot cringed harder, while Dinky glanced doubtfully at her mother, saying nothing. That was more than twice the credits worth of salvage Carrot had scavenged from the Rebel ship, and that was an above average haul.

The stallion looked at Derpy in wonder. He never overcharged for repairs, despite the fact that he could easily get so much as triple his usual rates and still get good business while underselling the scant few competitors.

"Consider it done."

Derpy nodded, satisfied. She walked to the door, into the station proper. Dinky and Carrot exchanged a nervous glance before hurriedly trotting after her.

Author's Note

My complete and undying gratitude goes out to TimeBaby for so graciously donating his time to fixing my terrible mess. Thank you, TimeBaby, for putting up with me. I can only hope you will continue to be this willing and helpful further down the road.

I also give the same compliments to Grif for the very same reasons! Many thanks, my friend.

And I thank the rest of you for reading this. Hope you enjoyed it!

Chapter 3 - Old Friends, Old Enemies

The station, Theta Seven, might have been somewhat out of the way of the usual interstellar FTL traffic and trade routes, and slightly smaller than average at that, but it certainly didn't lack for crowds. Shops vied for the attention of numerous passersby with a plethora of brightly colored signs, sparkly lights, and loud salesponies. Trinkets, food, clothing, ship parts and technologies old and new alike, were all for sale, and for a reasonable price.

"Mom," Dinky began. "Me and Carrot are going to find someplace to get some food. You coming with us?"

"I think I'll take a walk around a bit. I'll catch up to you later. Just order me a sandwich to go if I don't find you."

Carrot Top shrugged, "Suit yourself, Cap. Catch you later." Carrot and Dinky wandered into the throngs of passing ponies, where Derpy lost sight of them. Casually trotting through the station, Derpy took in the scenes of something that seemed to her like she had experienced it a lifetime and a half ago.

Civilian life.

Derpy was still admiring the scenes with an eager longing when she heard somepony shout, “Oh, no way… Derpy! Derpy Hooves! Get your bubbly flank over here!” Turning to the source of the disturbance, Derpy saw a mint green unicorn mare approaching her at full gallop. Derpy stared in equal parts confusion and amazement at both the pony she was seeing and the acrobatics she was performing. The mare vaulted over tables and benches with her left foreleg, much to the chagrin of the ponies seated at them, and leaped at Derpy. Several seconds later the two collided, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Oh my Celestia, Derpy, I can't believe it's really you!" Lyra shouted, crushing Derpy in a tight hug. Lyra disentangled herself from Derpy, stood up, and helped Derpy to do the same.

"Lyra… Lyra Heartstrings, you old son of a horse! Long time, no see," Derpy said, leaning forward to give Lyra a proper hug now that they weren't sprawled on the floor. Releasing her from the hug, Derpy noticed something on Lyra’s left forehoof. A thick, silvery glove thing, it appeared. Derpy pointed at it, asking, "What is that?"

"Oh, this?" Lyra beamed proudly, holding up the hoof in question. "This," she said, "is the Hydraulic Automated Nonmagical Displacer, or HAND for short. It—"

"It took her four days to come up with an acronym for that thing that fit the word 'hand'," a cream colored earth pony mare stated with a snicker as she approached Derpy and Lyra.

"It did not take me four days! Only, like, a couple of hours," Lyra responded lamely.

"Yes. A couple of hours spread across four days. Sometimes I think it took you longer to make the acronym than it did the HAND itself." Bon Bon replied.

"What?" Lyra asked. "I spent months on this design! I still need to work out a few kinks, too."

"I’ll bet you can use it to work out a few kinks of your own, if you catch my drift."

Derpy put her hoof to her mouth and snickered at Bon Bon's comment. Lyra raised the HAND to Bon Bon’s face as the middlemost of five thin, claw-like appendages on the glove popped out and pointed at Bon Bon. Lyra stood in that position with a defiant look on her face. Derpy, not knowing the meaning behind the gesture, inquired, "Um, is something supposed to happen, or…?"

Lyra opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Bon Bon, who had heard this explanation on a number of occasions. "It’s a gesture she learned from a couple of griffins. A rude gesture. It basically boils down to, 'go buck yourself'." Bon Bon shook her head with a smile before starting to walk, saying, "let's get back to the shop. I'm sure there are a couple of ponies lined up and waiting."

"Oh!" Derpy exclaimed. "I didn't know you two had a shop here. Judging by your cutie mark, I'm guessing it's a sweets shop of some sort? My name is Ditzy, by the way. Ditzy Doo."

"I'm Bon Bon. Pleasure to meet you, Ditzy. And yes, it is a sweets shop. Well... my half, anyway."

"Your half? You have the other half then, Lyra?" Derpy asked, turning to the unicorn.

"Yep. I sell all sorts of techno-nicknacks and devices. Much I make myself, like the HAND here." Lyra punctuated her point by wiggling the fingers on the HAND.

They worked their way through a small crowd centered around a traveling performer doing a complicated balancing routine. The performer was balancing with one leg a beach ball, all the while spinning three plates on sticks on his face and juggling.

Lyra, Bon Bon and Derpy approached a shop labeled "Sweet Machines" in glowing neon tubes after clearing the crowd. Half of the counter, under a neon sign of Bon Bon's cutie mark, was beige in color. Behind the glass were racks of various sweets, pastries and delicacies. The other half of the counter was steel gray, and under a sign of Lyra's cutie mark. Where Bon Bon's side held varying desserts, Lyra's held numerous little gadgets and gizmos. Both sides had several ponies waiting in lines or browsing through the electronic catalogs of their inventories.

"Sorry about the wait, folks! We're here, I was just catching up with an old friend of mine," Lyra said as she vaulted over the counter, using the HAND to assist her.

"Couldn't you, for once, go behind the counter like a normal pony?" Bon Bon asked as she pushed open the chest-high swinging doors separating the store from the crowd.

"Nope. Much more fun this way," Lyra replied. Derpy followed Bon Bon behind the counter and watched as she and Lyra conducted their business. Derpy helped wherever she could, handing Lyra this, Bon Bon that, or packaging a customer's items.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, the crowd was dispersed, all having been attended to.

"Seems like you get a decent bit of business," Derpy said.

"Yeah. You'd be surprised, actually. We mostly get ponies around here, but I know Lyra has dealt with an Engi or two, and I've had a Coltan customer myself once," Bon Bon stated.

"A Coltan? This deep into Equestrian space?" Derpy questioned.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Bon Bon answered. "He seemed like a sort of... religious emissary, but he was interested in Equestrian cuisine as well. He mentioned wanting to spread the Coltan ideals of peace and tolerance to Equis, to reach as many ponies as possible."

"I really don't think the pony home world needs any help with ideals of peace and tolerance. That is practically what we were raised on, anyway," Lyra interjected.

"Tell that to the green glowy guy, not me," Bon Bon said.

"Why do they glow, anyway?" Derpy asked. She had never personally met a Coltan, but had seen several throughout her travels in Equestrian space. Their telltale green glow gave them away easily.

Lyra plopped into a chair and leaned back, resting her hind legs on the counter. Levitating several small tools, she idly tinkered with the HAND while saying, "I think it's something to do with magical ley lines on their home planet. The lines were stronger than usual, and so it sort of affected the Coltans' evolutionary biology. Their symbiotic relationship with the ley lines on their home planet allows them to naturally and unconsciously tap into any such lines across the galaxy. I've read some reports of a few more powerful Coltans being able to reach these fault lines through temporal rifts. Sometimes they're even powerful enough to power electronics, but most of the time it simply enhances their personal magical abilities and makes them terrible at covert ops."

"Wow. You sure know a lot about the Coltans," Derpy said.

"Yeah, I did some research on them a while ago. Their unique abilities gave me an idea for a device. It would have been a working horn for non-unicorns to wear, tapping into these magical lines like the Coltans do naturally to power it. At first I was going to try for simple levitation and move up from there, but it didn't go so well."

"What happened?"

"The first seventeen prototypes failed. Explosively so. I gave up after I got tired of magically regrowing my hair."

Derpy giggled. Turning to Bon Bon, she asked, "Do things usually explode around her?"

Bon Bon sighed, and shook her head with a smile. "You have no idea."

"Well, I—" Derpy began before being cut off by her growling stomach. She gave a sheepish grin and said, "Sorry, it's been awhile since I've had anything good to eat. I haven't had a chance to get anything fresh since—" Derpy cut herself off, not wanting to drag Lyra and Bon Bon into the mess she was caught up in. "Never mind." Derpy gazed longingly through the glass of the shelves at the various fresh sweets. "Anyway," she said. "Would it be too much trouble to ask for something to eat? How much for a—"

"Nonsense!" Bon Bon exclaimed. "Any friend of Lyra's is a friend of mine. No charge. You just tell me what suits your fancy."

"Well... if it's not too much trouble, a blueberry muffin?" Derpy said hopefully.

"Just one?" Bon Bon asked with a knowing smile.

"Err," Derpy stammered.

"Oh, for the love of..." Lyra exclaimed. "Spit it out, girl! Tell the nice mare what you want. She won't bite. Well, maybe not you, anyway." Lyra wiggled her eyebrows at Bon Bon, who once again sighed.

"I'm going to bake you a fresh batch of muffins," Bon Bon said to Derpy, ignoring Lyra's continued eyebrow wiggling, "and whatever you don't eat, you can take back to your ship with you. I won't take 'no' for an answer." Bon Bon nodded before trotting into the kitchen in the back. Lyra and Derpy sat for a moment, listening to the clanking of the various baking utensils being utilized by Bon Bon. When she was sure Bon Bon wouldn't be coming out anytime soon, Lyra took her hind legs off the counter, straightened herself in her chair, and leaned towards Derpy. Quietly, she asked, "'Haven't eaten anything fresh since...' Since when, Derpy? Why?"

"Nothing," Derpy said quickly, "it's nothing. Definitely not something I want to drag you or Bon Bon into. I regret ever letting that slip out."

"What's done is done, Derps. So tell me, what's wrong?"

Derpy sighed. "I never could keep a secret from you, Lyra. I got on the bad side of the wrong people."

"Who? You haven't been to the Rockquine home worlds recently, have you? I know they get angry really easily. One time, I—"

"The Rebels," Derpy said simply.

"—what?"

"The Rebels."

Lyra was silent for a moment. Finally, she cheered, "Way to go, Derpy! Score one more for the Federation. What'd you do, harass one of their cargo ships? Maybe fire a missile or two at one of their moon bases?" She nudged Derpy with her elbow.

"I should probably start at the beginning, shouldn't I?" Derpy asked.

"Might be best," Lyra answered.

Derpy took a deep breath, then let it out. "OK," she began, "It all started about two weeks ago..."

Author's Note

I know chapters are getting shorter, but I'm leading up to something, so it should all be good.

Thanks once again to TimeBaby and Grif for prereading and editing!

And thank YOU for reading! Hope you enjoyed.

Chapter 4 - Flashback

Derpy, Carrot and Dinky were at the United Equestrian Spaceport, on a rather forgotten, out-of-the-way colony on the outskirts of Equestrian space. They had just gotten back from a routine patrol of the system several hours ago. Ever since the first conflict with the Rebels, both the Society of the Silver Moon and the Shining Liberators of the Sun had sent large increases in ships to defensive positions around Equestrian space. Their ship, the Lunar Wrath, was undergoing some minor repairs, having run into a couple of stray asteroids during their patrol.

Now, this was fairly unusual. Not impossible, but unusual. They wrote it off, just wanting to get back for off time. They had been doing the same patrol route for the past several months, and nothing ever happened. The routine had dulled their senses, and they more often than not, they were simply going through the motions. It was good pay, and the job was —at the time— blindingly simple.

They were on their way out of the station to explore the colony when a PA speaker buzzed to life, a mare's voice announcing, "Will the captain and crew of the vessel 'Lunar Wrath' please report to your ship, immediately."

"Huh," Derpy pondered, "I wonder what all that's about. We should probably go see." Carrot Top shrugged while Dinky nodded in response. Derpy sighed, and led the way back to their ship. Entering the hangar where the Wrath was docked greeted them with a sight that was out of the ordinary.

A grid of red lasers were scouring the hull of their ship centimeter-by-centimeter. Ponies armored and armed in standard Federation gear stood to the side, weapons at the ready. A tall and lanky purple Pegasus stallion turned to face the three of them as they approached. On his head he wore a hat which bore the symbol of the Society of the Silver Moon, along with four stars. Derpy, Carrot and Dinky saluted. Derpy spoke first, "General McHoover, sir! I never would have expected to see you out on the Fringes. What are you doing here?"

"Your job, apparently," he said gruffly.

"Sir?" she replied, confused.

"Come," he said simply as he walked to a corner of the hangar where several more ponies and one pony-like colony of nanobots, an Engi, were investigating what looked like a hunk of metal no larger than a basketball. Derpy gingerly stepped around a pool of blood in her path, saying nothing. The General got the Engi's attention, and lead it apart from the ponies working on the ball of scrap on the workbench. The General asked the Engi, "So what's the verdict on it?"

The Engi's blue glowing eyes flickered, the mechanical equivalent of a blink. The Engi said in its inflectionless voice, "It is as feared, General. Probability of Rebellion origin: 100%."

"What is of Rebellion origin?" Derpy asked.

"The stealth probe that had burrowed its way into your ship's hull. It spontaneously activated while repair crews were working on your ship; one crew member was shot before security took out the drone. Where were you patrolling?" the General asked.

Derpy looked taken aback by this. She said, "The asteroid field orbiting the gas giant at the edge of the system," she said. "We felt several vibrations in the ship but merely assumed them to be stray asteroids."

The General nodded, saying more to himself than them, "Yes, I suppose a large enough asteroid would be an excellent outpost in foreign territory, provided the settlement be given proper shielding. We can't just let this go, we need to act."

"Probability of Rebel suspicion upon detecting investigatory fleets reads at 97%," the Engi added.

"Thank you, captain obvious. I don't know where we'd be without your helpful input," the General replied sarcastically.

The Engi blinked, saying nothing. The General sighed, asking the Engi, "OK then, mister robot, what—"

"We are neither 'mister' nor 'robot.' We are a colony. This specific colony is referred to by the designation 'Notch'."

Through his now-grinding teeth, the General asked, "OK, Notch, what course of action would you suggest we take at this particular moment?"

"Wait until this vessel's next regularly scheduled patrol of the area, then investigate with the vessel in question. Rebel suspicion levels from this course of action are estimated at 17%, plus or minus 2.476."

The General pondered this before responding, "That does seem like the best choice. Captain," he turned to Derpy, "when is your next patrol?"

"Thirty six local hours, sir."

"Good enough. When you pass the asteroid field, I want you to perform a full scan of the area. Report anything on our encrypted channels, immediately."

"Yes, General," Derpy saluted again.

____________

They were approaching the asteroid field. Derpy could see it up ahead, endlessly drifting, caught in the pull of the large gas giant they encircled. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but looks could be deceiving, Derpy thought. She announced over the intercom to Dinky and Carrot, "We're approaching the field now. Stay alert. Carrot, start the scanning process."

"Yes, Captain." Carrot Top initiated the scan of the asteroid field, carefully watching the readouts. Several hours passed with no traces; this slow and tedious process would have been much faster if they had higher functioning sensors. High quality sensors such as those are not standard issue for most Federation ships, and though they could purchase them, it seemed entirely unnecessary. Then, a small ghost of a blip appeared on the radar. It could have been nothing more than a large rock, but asteroids didn't tend to give off electromagnetic signatures, as this one seemed to. Carrot Top paused the scan, saying to Derpy over the intercom, "Captain, I think I found something."

"Report."

"Got a small blip. Barely anything, really, but it's got some EM signatures to it. Could be a listening outpost."

"Log the location and scan the rest of the field. There could be more," Derpy replied.

"Understood," Carrot said as she resumed the scan.

Another couple of hours of uninterrupted scanning revealed no more traces. Carrot Top spoke up, with a sigh of relief, "Finally finished. Only that one reading I mentioned before, Captain. Nothing else came up."

"Good," Derpy replied. "Send the location back to the colony. Remember to use the encrypted channel the General mentioned."

Carrot did just that. "Message sent, Captain," she said.

Over the intercom, Dinky yawned loudly before saying, "Now that we're done staring at rocks, can we go? I'm getting really really bored. This took about five times longer than our usual route."

"Hush up, Dinky," Derpy said, good-humoredly, "we're leaving. Then we can all take a nice break and let the Society deal with this little problem. Carrot, queue up the FTL jump back to the colony. Let's get out of here."

"Ready for jump, Cap."

____________

The streaks of light slowed and eventually stopped. What the three of them saw as they exited FTL speed sent chills down their spines. Numerous ships marked with the Rebel emblem were orbiting the planet. Several of the larger cruisers were firing ship-to-ground projectiles on some of the larger settlements, while smaller Rebel ships battled it out with the scant few vessels on orbital defense.

Looking out the view port of her station in the weapons system, Dinky noted professionally, "We're so boned." She called her mother over the intercom, "Uh, Mom? I think maybe we should leave. Like, now."

"No. We need to help with the evacuation," Derpy replied.

"Evacuation, my flank! That place is lost. Look at it," Dinky pointed out.

"It looks like the colony we usually dock at hasn't been hit yet. We can still get some civilians." Derpy flicked a few switches, while checking several instrument panels. Looking out the window, she made sure their path to the planet was open. Dinky spoke up, "Look at all the Rebels around the place. We'll get torn to shreds before we make it halfway to the mesosphere!"

Derpy ignored Dinky, mumbling, "Need to time this just right..."

"Time what right? Mom?" The ship was filled with a familiar whirring noise. Carrot Top asked, "Captain, are you doing what I think you're doing?"

"Yep."

"You realize this is against at least seventeen regulations, Captain?"

"Yep."

"Have any doubts about this?" Carrot asked.

"Of course," Derpy affirmed. "And you?"

"Obviously," Carrot responded. It finally dawned on Dinky what her mother was about to do. She asked, "Please tell me you're not. We'll shoot straight into the planet!"

"Brace yourself, Dinky. Faster Than Light jump in three... two... one." Derpy triggered the FTL before immediately shutting it off. Not only were FTL jumps without a guidance beacon dangerous, but the distance they were jumping was far too short to make it even remotely safe to consider.

A loud explosion reverberated throughout the ship as the Lunar Wrath shot through the atmosphere of the planet like a bullet through sheet metal. Their shields were instantly overloaded, and one of their laser weapons tore off the ship. Derpy pulled up hard, trying to level the ship with the ground that was suddenly not ten meters from the view ports of the ship.

Derpy reacted on pure instinct as they rapidly approached the settlement, sharply turning left, right, and left again to avoid oncoming buildings. They flew through the streets at a blazing speed, hovering about three meters above the carriages and cowering ponies below. Derpy weaved her way through the streets, until she reached a long, straight path between the buildings. Derpy directed the ship down this path as she pulled it up above street level. She circled overhead several times, losing momentum. When the ship had finally slowed enough, Derpy pulled around the settlement and hastily docked in an empty bay, of which there were a lot.

The levitation beams, registering a ship now docked, locked the Wrath into place. A bridge automatically extended and connected to the Wrath's airlock. Already, there were pleas to be let in and a hammering of hooves on the door. Derpy hastily called Carrot and Dinky over the intercom, saying, "Meet in the lockers. We're going to need the riot gear."

____________

Geared up in bullet proof, laser resistant, well padded armor, and armed with pepper spray and riot shields, Derpy, Carrot and Dinky stood by the airlock door as the pleas and hammering continued. Dinky shook her head, asking no one in particular, "So, now what?"

Carrot shrugged. "Hey, wasn't my idea."

Derpy walked between Carrot and Dinky, and approached the door. She knocked loudly on it three times before shouting, "Everypony shut the hay up, or nopony gets in. That is an order!" The cries on the other side eventually ceased to a murmuring, while the banging stopped. Derpy nodded, surprised that it actually worked. She continued, "Before I let anyone in, has anypony seen General McHoover? Tall purple Pegasus, Society of the Silver Moon hat with four stars on it? This is official Federation business."

A stallion's voice spoke up, "I—I was one of the ones examining the Rebel probe your ship had lodged in it, in the hangar. The last I saw, the General was attempting to contact Equis for reinforcements. I don't think it went well."

"I didn't see any other ships docked in any of the bays. What happened?" Derpy asked.

"A lot of ponies just up and ran at the first sign of the Rebellion, either with their ship or somepony else's. The General's ship was stolen," the stallion replied.

"Go find the General, now. Nopony gets in until I hear him."

A fading clatter of hooves marked the exit of the stallion Derpy was talking to. Several minutes had gone by with nothing but nervous murmuring on the other side of the airlock. Finally, numerous rushing pairs of hooves approached. Derpy, Carrot and Dinky heard the General making his way to the airlock, shouting, "Get out of the way, you blasted sheep! This is a vital military matter." Three quick knocks sounded on the other side of the airlock. They heard the General ask, "Captain, are you in there?"

"Yes, General," Derpy replied.

"How in Tartarus did you pass that Rebel blockade over the planet?" the General asked.

"FTL jumped, sir," Derpy answered.

"FTL jumped a distance that short past a fleet of Rebels invading a backwater planet like this? That takes balls, Captain. Or maybe stupidity. Whichever it was, you did a damn good job so far, let's see if it keeps up." The General turned around, addressing the ponies on his side of the airlock. "I want all of you idiots to back at least ten meters away. This airlock is going to open, and only me, my six soldiers, and these two others with me are going inside. Anyone who tries to rush gets shot." A frightened mutter emanated from the crowd, before a number of slow moving hooves backed away. The General said, "Good," the General said. "Captain, you may open the airlock."

"Yes, General." Derpy keyed a few buttons of a panel on the right wall, and the airlock hissed open. A seething crowd of at least forty ponies were crammed in the narrow corridor that lead to and from the spaceport. Several looked as though they were considering running, but thought better of it. The General, six armed and armored soldiers, the stallion Derpy talked to before and the Engi they talked to the previous day entered the airlock.

"Close it, Captain," The General ordered. Derpy did just that.

"Captain," the General spoke, turning to Derpy, "Yours is the last ship in this city, and we have a job to do. I hacked into the Rebel's communications, and found the ship of theirs that is leading this assault. We are going to board it, and find whatever information we can regarding the Rebellion and its plans. Harassment and assaults on supply ships are one thing, but a full-scale invasion force like this is entirely different. We need to find out what they're up to. Think you and your crew are up for the challenge?"

"We'll do whatever you need from us, General," Derpy said. Dinky nodded. Carrot stood with a stoic face that would make major league poker players jealous. This seemed to satisfy the General. He asked, "How do you plan on getting out of here, Captain? The same way you came in?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll trust you not to ram into any of the Rebel ships in our way, though at the very least that would take one of them out with us," the General noted.

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon, General," Derpy responded. The General laughed, saying, "I like your style, Captain. Take us up."

"Yes, sir!" Derpy saluted. Dinky and Carrot followed suit.

____________

One FTL jump past a deadly blockade of enemy ships later, and all of them were in their positions. The six soldiers were waiting outside the airlock for deployment, Derpy and the General were on the bridge, with Derpy piloting the still undetected Lunar Wrath towards the largest vessel in the Rebel fleet. This, the General had said, was the ship that was in command of the invasion. Carrot was in charge of the shields, and Dinky the weapons, while the Engi was drawn to the engine room like a moth to fire. Finally, the stallion from before, whose name was Hitscan, reported readouts from the sensors.

Those who were not already outfitted for combat, that being the General and Hitscan, supplied themselves from the Wrath's armory. The Engi elected to follow unarmed, despite the General's protests. Hitscan looked as though he were about to soil himself, but did his best to keep his cool.

As the General and Hitscan, now outfitted, returned to the bridge, Derpy asked the General, "Where should board, sir?"

"The airlock," the General replied, as he fussed with a fetlock-mounted computer on his foreleg.

"But, sir," Derpy asked, "wouldn't it be sealed?"

The General tapped the computer on his leg once more with finality, before saying, "Not anymore. Pull us beside them and connect the airlocks."

Derpy gently guided the Wrath alongside the Rebel ship, surprised that they had yet to be discovered. She maneuvered the Wrath and connected her airlock to the Rebel ship's, creating an airtight passage between the two vessels.

"Grab your gear and call your crew, tell them to do the same. We're boarding that ship," The General said.

"Uh, no offense, General," Derpy protested. "I am a pilot, not a combatant. I'm more in tuned for avoiding Partymis missiles with the Wrath than dodging blaster fire."

"Like it or not, Captain, you and your crew are coming with us. We're short-staffed enough as it is. I assume you've all passed basic training?" The General asked.

"Of course, General. We all have. But—"

"Then you have more than enough combat experience. You will be borrowing the sidearms of my men, for I noticed that your ship is quite poorly equipped, with no actual weapons to speak of," The General commented.

"Sir, if—"

"Never mind for now, it is too late to remedy that. Call your crew and tell them to meet at the airlock." With that, the General entered the airlock, not looking back at Derpy.

Derpy stared at the door the General exited through. She was not happy with his forcing her inexperienced crew into a full-frontal assault like this. To be honest, she was more than a little scared, and not just for her own well being. The General was not only forcing her into this deadly situation, but her daughter as well, not to mention her fillyhood friend.

Derpy sighed, and pushed these fears as far back in her mind as possible. She was not about to refuse a direct order, especially considering what was at stake. Derpy triggered the intercom to transmit to the weapons and shield control rooms,"Dinky, Carrot, meet in the airlock. Dinky, grab a few riot shields on your way. We've just been volunteered to join the boarding party."

Author's Note

At long last, the elusive Chapter 4 is finally completed! Sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoy it! But at least I can count to three, unlike some video game company heads I can think of...

Don't think the next chapter will take even half as long as this one did. It's already typed up and sent to the ever-wonderful TimeBaby for his magical editorial eyes to pry apart my silly mistakes. Expect it sometime soon.

And as a side note, I commissioned a cover from a close friend of mine! He showed me the progress, and I like it so far. Can't wait to show you guys, too. And thanks for telling me why you don't like the story, guy-who-thumbed-down.

Chapter 5 - Flashback: the Second

Derpy cinched the final belt of her riot gear tight. Neither her, Carrot Top, nor Dinky had actually removed the armor they had equipped from before they encountered the General, though. At the time, they had rushed to put their armor on; they didn't know what would be coming next. Now, with proper time to gather themselves, Derpy had set about readjusting her armor as comfortably as possible.

Satisfied, she exited the bridge and turned towards the shield control room. This, Derpy thought, was news that need to be told face-to-face, not over an intercom.

Carrot Top looked up as the doors to shield control hissed open. Standing before her was a less than happy Derpy.

"Captain?" Carrot questioned.

"The General," Derpy practically spit the last word, "has just volunteered us for his boarding party. We're going, like it or not."

Carrot paused. "But Captain, we've no weapons aboard. Does he expect us to go hoof-to-hoof against the Rebels?"

"He is so graciously lending us the sidearms of his troops," Derpy replied with heavy sarcasm. "But I absolutely refuse to let my daughter take part in this killing. We'll give her a few riot shields to carry. We're likely going to be under fire, anyway, so having some cover will come in handy."

"Good," Carrot replied. "Dinky's a sweet girl. We shouldn't be forced to taint her with something like this."

"I agree. I still have to tell her, though. Go to the equipment lockers, get everything ready, and adjust your armor if you need to. I'm going to go get Dinky."

"Yes, Captain," Carrot replied.

Leaving through opposite doors, they went to do as they had agreed.

The door to weapons control opened as Derpy approached them. Entering the room, Derpy saw Dinky sitting in a wheeled chair in the center of the room, using her magic to spin the chair.

Dinky, noticing her mother, used her magic to abruptly stop the chair's spinning, sending her to the floor in a heap.

When Dinky stopped seeing comical little stars orbiting her head, she looked up at her mother and asked, "What's up, Mom? You don't look too happy about something."

"The General recruited us for his boarding party against the Rebels. You, me and Carrot are all going to be joining his assault on the cruiser that we're currently attached to."

"Uh. Wow. That's... a big bomb to drop. You—you're not kidding, are you?" Dinky asked, hesitantly.

Derpy sighed. "I wish I was. I really, really wish I was. But the General is understaffed, and needs all the help he can get with this raid. We're going into a live combat situation, and there's not a bucking thing I can do about it," she seethed. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself before continuing, "Something big is happening. The General intends to find out what, and he needs our help."

"I'm scared, Mom."

"I'd call you stupid if you weren't. The General can blow it out his flank if he thinks I'm going to let you fire a gun, though. Think you can levitate a few riot shields?" Derpy asked.

Dinky nodded. She didn't know what else to say.

"Alright. Let's go to the lockers, grab what we need, and head to the airlock. Think you're ready, Dinky?"

"No."

"Me neither."

____________

Derpy, Carrot and Dinky entered the connected airlocks of the Wrath and the Rebel command ship. Derpy observed their so-called "boarding party."

First, she noted the six well armed and armored, combat-trained soldiers of the Society of the Silver Moon branch of the Federation. Though more at home sticking to shadows and performing covert operations, the SSM soldiers were no strangers to open offensives. These particular six had experience in just such a scenario.

Hitscan, the cowering mechanic, was decked out in a set of the Lunar Wrath's spare riot armor, and doing his best to not think about the pistol he was holding, praying to the goddesses that he wouldn't need to use it.

The General himself was similarly equipped in the Wrath's riot armor, and wielding his unique MagiPistol. Said pistol was specially designed, and packed more of a wallop than the run-of-the-mill, mass produced versions, at the cost of overheating more often. Though, due to the General's disciplined marksmanship, that was never a problem.

Notch, the naked and defenseless Engi, opted to follow at the back of the offensive push with Hitscan, both being completely out of their element.

Lastly, herself, Dinky and Carrot were wearing the Wrath's remaining three suits of riot gear. Derpy and Carrot were carrying the sidearms of the soldiers that did not require them, as the soldiers had the full-sized rifle versions. Meanwhile, in place of a laser pistol, Dinky levitated four full-body riot shields, forming a moving wall of cover.

The party stood in the connected airlocks of the Rebel command vessel and their own ship, the Lunar Wrath. They had sealed the airlock to their ship was sealed to prevent any intrusions while they were away. The Rebel ship's airlock was likewise sealed.

The six soldiers stood in a V formation, with the General making the bottom point of the V. Dinky stood in the middle of the V, levitating the riot shields, with Derpy and Carrot wielding their pistols on either side of her, behind the makeshift wall. Finally, Notch and Hitscan stood behind the General, away from the action of the front lines.

"On your go, sir," one of the soldiers spoke.

"On the count of three. One... two... three," the General said as the airlock into the Rebel ship hissed open at a tap of his fetlock-computer.

The twelve of them moved in unbreaking formation. A Pegasus mare spoke up as the party entered the ship, "What is the—" before she was cut off by the sound of the General's pistol firing. The mare doubled back and fell to the floor, her face a hissing, scorched mess. "Take no prisoners, leave none standing," the General ordered.

The group moved through the halls, led by the General's directions. They picked off the few stragglers who didn't get out of the way in time. Any who did manage to escape into cubbyholes or side rooms were promptly pursued and quickly ended by one of the soldiers. Derpy and Carrot refused to attack the fleeing ponies. The party's armor and shield wall protected them from the few and far between crew members who attempted to fight back.

Hitscan was on the brink of tears at this point, having not fired a single shot. Carrot looked as stoic as ever, while Dinky concentrated on keeping the shield wall up, attempting to ignore the methodical slaughter they wrought. Derpy's mind was in overdrive, her over-protective maternal instincts driving her to immediately fire upon any that posed a threat to her daughter.

Several tense minutes of no disruptions found them, still in formation, in front of a larger door. "This is the bridge," the General stated. "My guess is that the little resistance we faced thus far have retreated to here. The few that managed to evade us have likely informed their superiors of the situation. That is, of course, providing they haven't already noticed through any cameras they may have. I believe they know our intentions and will, at all costs, protect the information we seek. Prepare for a fight." With another tap of his fetlock-computer, the door opened.

Immediately, they were bombarded by a number of laser projectiles. The doorway, being just a bit wider than the shield wall Dinky was still holding, funneled all their assailants' attacks through the opening, and into the shields, rather than the ponies behind it. "Advance!" the General shouted.

Dinky moved slowly, eyes darting every which way, attempting to head off any projectiles that the more wily of attackers tried to get past the wall by maneuvering a shield in their paths. The V formation contracted slightly to fit through the aperture of the doorway before reforming to its former size.

Their attackers had the advantage of high ground, as the twelve Federation members were forced to climb a ramp to reach the bridge proper. Dinky began to sweat, the magical strain of not only holding and maneuvering multiple objects, but also keeping them in place as enemy projectiles pummeled them was taking its toll on her.

Derpy chanced a glance upwards. The high ceiling was domed, creating a space that would have been open and welcoming, had their greeting party not been outright hostile. In the air, Derpy spotted a Pegasus taking aim at their group with a large rifle. "Above!" Derpy shouted as she brought her pistol to bear.

Both Pegasi fired.

Derpy's projectile struck home, burning a hole straight through the Rebel Pegasus' wing. The Pegasus, a large stallion, screamed as he plummeted. He landed on another Rebel, crippling them as well.

At the same time, another scream sounded behind her. "The General's been hit!" one of the soldiers shouted. Derpy reacted instantly, shouting, "Reverse formation, protect the General!" Nobody argued. The V shape inverted, creating an upside-down U around the General.

"Dinky," Derpy said, "stand by the General. Cover him with the shields." Dinky nodded, saying nothing. Unwilling to leave her mother unprotected, Dinky continued levitating two shields on the front lines, one in front of her mother, another in front of Carrot. With the other two shields, she formed a shell around herself and the General.

Looking down at the General, Dinky noticed how grievous his wound actually was. His unprotected neck was directly hit by the Pegasus sniper, and she could see the the bare muscles exposed to the air as blood pooled around him. If he managed to live through the wound, it would doubtlessly become infected.

Still, through his pain, the General worked on his fetlock-computer. "Here," he said through grit teeth, "take this." Using his wing, the General handed Dinky his MagiPistol. She took it by the mouthgrip, confused. "Use it!" the General demanded. Dinky nodded, unable to do otherwise.

Unused to firing weapons from the mouth, she twisted her head awkwardly, trying to get a feel for it while still levitating the four shields. Drawing a bead on the exposed head of a Rebel unicorn readying a shot, Dinky fired. The shot struck true, dissolving the unicorn's entire muzzle. She uttered a tortured cry, clutching her half-destroyed, mouthless face before falling over dead.

Dinky gave a small internal cheer as the shot struck home. Unpausing, she continued to fire at any targets which presented themselves. This was life and death, and a nanosecond could make the difference between the two. So she fired. And fired. And fired.

When the exchange of lead and laser finally ceased, two of the six Federation soldiers were dead, one was wounded, and Derpy was nursing a minor wound to her left foreleg. Three of the shields, still held in the heavily sweating unicorn's telekinetic grasp, were severely deformed from the amount of laser fire they'd absorbed.

The bridge was littered with bodies of ponies, among other things, of all shapes and sizes. Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi, and even a few Griffins and Diamond Dogs were scattered about. Some, in their death throes, collapsed across various consoles and terminals. Several were still moaning in agony.

The General, despite the protests of his soldiers, stood. One foreleg clutching his wound, he carefully trotted to a control panel among the numerous computers spread across the bridge. He pointed at two of the remaining soldiers and said, "Guard the door. I want no surprises."

Leaning heavily on one of the other soldiers while still clutching his wound, the General used his free foreleg to tap out a series of commands on the console. After a moment, he stomped his hoof in frustration, saying, "Damn the Rebellion! It's heavily encrypted. I'll have to download everything and decode it elsewhere."

The General carefully inserted the hoof which held his fetlock-computer into a slot. The console emitted various beeps and chitters as the download initiated.

Beneath their hooves, the ship seemed to rumble with the heavy steps of something large. The rhythmic thumping grew louder and heavier as its source approached. The soldiers standing guard at the door readied their weapons, unsure of what was to follow. They chanced a nervous glance to each other before returning their focus to the door.

The steps paused. Then, from the doorway they entered, they heard a deafening cry echo in the confines of the ship, "FEDERATION! GET OFFA MY SHIP!"

A plume of yellow flames roasted the two soldiers who were guarding the door. Their screams lasted less than a few seconds, such was the heat of the fire.

Through the door squeezed a red dragon a little bigger than an Equis manticore, Derpy observed casually. Then she did a double take. Dragon. Oh buck, she thought.

"Hold that thing back!" the General shouted. "If this download is interrupted, the data will be corrupt! We need this data."

"HA!" roared the dragon. "I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY AND STOP ME WITH THEM PUNY GUNS OF YOURS."

"Open fire!" the General called, foreleg still in the console.

"WITH PLEASURE," the dragon cried, expelling another breath of fire, causing all but the General and the soldier he was leaning on to scatter.

The smell of death and cooked meat permeated the air as the dragon's breath seared the corpses littering the room.

"To Tartarus with all of you!" Hitscan shouted as he made a break for the door, "I'm done with this crap!" Before he could cross the threshold of the door, however, the dragon flicked his tail, sending Hitscan flying back. He crashed into a computer monitor, leaving it a sparking scrap heap as he fell to the floor.

"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THAT EASY, PRINCESS-APPEASER."

"B-But I don't want to die!" Hitscan shouted, futilely.

"SHOULDA THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU WENT AGAINST THE REBELLION," the dragon responded. As he inhaled a deep breath, Dinky galloped over, four shields still in her telekinesis. Halting mid-gallop, she slid on her hooves, halting between the dragon and Hitscan. She brought the four shields in front of her and sobbing mechanic as the dragon finally exhaled, bathing Dinky's shield wall with fire.

A wave of heat rushed over Dinky as the flames traveled harmlessly around her shields. The dragon continued its assault, unabated. Dinky's shields began to glow increasingly red until, under the searing onslaught, they were dripping, and finally nothing but a ball of molten metal in her grasp. When their draconic assailant ceased his stream of fire, he stared confusedly at the unharmed ponies. Taking the lull in action as an opportunity, the unicorn fired her pistol, striking the dragon directly in the eye.

The red-scaled beast roared, spewing flames and what little breath he had left towards the ceiling, eyes clenched in pain. When he stopped to take another breath, Dinky slung the molten slag that was once four shields at the dragon's face. Though the heat of the slag itself did not affect the dragon, the quickly cooling metal would seal both its mouth and nose, hardening into a solid muzzle.

Derpy, seeing what her daughter was trying to do, flew over to the dragon, rapidly beating her wings to assist the metal in cooling. The dragon, more concerned with the incessantly flapping Pegasus around his head than his cooling mouth seal, swatted his arms in an attempt to smack his aerial combatant down.

Finally, noticing his inability to breathe, let alone open his mouth, the dragon clawed at his face, attempting to break the metallic seal. Realizing it could not free itself, it wanted to do the next best thing: take the dirty Federation ponies with it.

Lumbering towards the large glass window that made up the front of the ship, the suffocating dragon wound his arm back, before releasing it in an earth shattering—or rather, in this case, glass shattering—punch. The airtight seal of the room was punctured, as all the oxygen began to leave out of the hole in the glass. Unable to pull his arm out of the hole, the trapped monster thrashed about. His struggles only led to his arm being sucked out into space up to the elbow, and then shoulder. His thrashing only enlarged the hole further, until eventually, the dragon himself was ejected into space by the force and size of the hole.

Notch acted quickly. It had stood to the side as the dragon was struggling, waiting for the moment it would be lost to the empty space outside.

Being nothing more than a colony of nanobots, Notch altered its form into a sort of puddle. It extended its "puddle" form across the hole in the window, sealing the gap with its "body." Though a number of the nanobots that made up its form were sucked into space before it sealed the hole, it accomplished what it needed to. The room was once again airtight.

The computer the General had his hoof in beeped once, before a light turned green. Sighing, he grunted, "Download completed." He took his hoof out of the console.

"Captain," the General called weakly. Derpy landed from her flight and limped over to the General, who unbuckled the clasps around his fetlock-computer, and went to give it to Derpy. "Sir?" she asked.

"Take it... take it to the Princesses. Whatever it is, it's important. The Federation needs to know about this."

"But, General, I—" Derpy began to protest.

"No buts, Captain. Take it... I won't be able to do it myself."

"General, I really—"

"That is an ORDER, Captain. And likely the last one I'll ever give." The General forced the small computer into Derpy's hooves. He turned to walk away, managing one step, two, then three, before he collapsed. He never got back up.

Of the twelve that entered the Rebel ship five were dead, the Notch was currently keeping the air in the room, and two were wounded. Dinky was on the verge of magical exhaustion, and Hitscan had soiled himself.

Derpy trotted over to the hole in the glass that Notch was currently keeping sealed. She asked the rather spread out Engi, "Notch, right?"

"Correct," came the monotone voice. The two blue "eyes" it had in its equine form were centered in the flat mass that covered the hole. They stared at Derpy.

"How are you going to get out of there?" Derpy asked.

"We will not," Notch replied.

"But—we can't just leave you there!" Derpy cried.

"You will," Notch replied.

"Don't—don't be silly, Notch. Now isn't the time. We have to go!" Derpy protested.

"You will go. We will not. We give ourselves for the betterment of the Federation. Our body does not require oxygen; we will shut down until we are destroyed or rescued by chance. We let the void take us. The Machine Spirit protects," Notch said.

Derpy sniffled, holding back tears. "'M—Machine Spirit?' I didn't know the Engi had any gods."

Notch processed this information. It could have given Derpy an estimated percentile of Engi who worshiped the Machine Spirit and/or other gods. Instead, detecting this as something it defined as "a moment," a thing which organics cherished, Notch internally determined that said "moment" would be ruined by reciting figures such as those. Notch instead blinked, saying, "Some do. Now you must leave."

Derpy nodded, defeated. "Come on," she said, projecting her voice to get the others' attention. "Let's go." One of the remaining soldiers, a stallion, carried on his back the wounded soldier, a mare. Dinky struggled to take her eyes off the Engi, though it was not Notch she was seeing: it was the dragon she had slain, the one sucked into the void. Though long drifted out of sight, she ran the moment through her mind over and over. Outside the window, the battle between the Rebels and planetary defense raged on. One Rebel fighter exploded spectacularly, the resulting glare jarring Dinky out of her reflections.

Hitscan seemed thoroughly ashamed at his uselessness in the entire situation. "I never got any training. I'm a bucking mechanic," he muttered under his breath. Carrot was silent.

Dinky, Carrot, Hitscan and the two soldiers filed out of the door. Derpy hesitated, turning back to the Engi. "T—Thank you," she choked, before galloping out of the room.

Notch blinked.

____________

Everypony was gathered on the bridge. Derpy disconnected the airlocks, and pulled the Lunar Wrath away from the Rebel command ship and orbital war. Keeping as low a profile as possible, she headed to the FTL jump beacon. "Alright everypony, to your stations," she said. "You," Derpy pointed at the stallion soldier carrying the mare, "What's your name?"

"Hotshot, ma'am," he replied.

"Well, Hotshot, take your friend there to the med bay. Down the hall, around the left corner. Labeled with a big red plus sign, can't miss it."

"Shouldn't you go, too, ma'am?" he asked, nodding towards Derpy's injured leg.

"It can wait. I'll be fine."

The stallion shrugged—a difficult task, considering he had a full-grown pony on his back—and followed Derpy's directions. Hitscan went to the restrooms to clean himself up, while Carrot Top plotted their course on the FTL charts. Dinky went to the weapons systems. Triggering the intercoms, Derpy said, "Next Federation base is five jumps away. Prepare for jump."

They jumped, but their escape did not go unnoticed.

____________

On the Rebel command ship...

Notch internally calculated how long, traveling at the rate he measured them doing as they exited the bridge, minus several hooves per second for assurance, it would take the crew to reach the safety of the Lunar Wrath before it would surrender itself to the void. He believed in the Machine Spirit, but Notch still did not want to go to the void. Though Notch knew it was completely incorrect and unnecessary, the Engi reasoned with itself that it would remain as a sealant for the hole until the remaining Federation ponies were safely back aboard their own ship, for their own protection. It was pointless, Notch knew. This room, as with the rooms of all ships, was airtight. Yet Notch still hesitated to surrender itself to the darkness.

Nearby, undetected by Notch, a griffin shoved a rather heavy diamond dog corpse off of himself. "Pfft," snorted the griffin, looking at the dog, "I never liked you anyway." Looking at the carnage, the griffin said to himself, "Guess this makes me captain?" Limping heavily, he moved towards a communication console. In his periphery, he noticed on the radar that a ship had just FTL jumped. "Probably them," he correctly mused. Logging the unique jump signature of the ship he just detected, he began to transmit the signature to all Rebel ships within range, along with a voice message. "Attention all Rebel ships. The vessel with the following jump signature has the information. No expense is too great to stop them. Send this message across the fleet, and get that ship! The fate of the Rebellion is at stake!"

"System shutting down. The Machine Spirit protects..." Notch spoke. Releasing its hold from the hole, the vacuum of space once again began to reclaim the bridge as Notch's pool of nanobots were scattered into the void like a cloud of dust before the wind.

The griffin clutched the console in a death grip to avoid being forced into space. Using his claws, he climbed his way across the computers, digging his knife-like talons into the plastic and thin metal of the consoles for handholds, as the intense force continued to pull him. "I did not just go through all that shit to die by some stupid hole in a window," he grunted.

At last, the griffin climbed his way through the doors, sealing them. The intense force pulling him ceased, as the bridge closed off from the rest of the ship. The griffin made his way to the emergency shuttles, sighing, "They don't pay me enough to do this job."

Author's Note

I'm very proud of this chapter, and my magical friend, pre-reader and editor TimeBaby thinks this might be my best one yet.

Anyway, finally finished this chapter. Yaay~

Also my first update with the new cover! Here's to hoping it attracts a bit of attention.

Many thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!

P.S. - I knew I was forgetting something. This is moderately important, just to avoid confusion. I have changed the names of the factions the New Lunar Republic and Solar Empire. The New Lunar Republic is now the Society of the Silver Moon, while the Solar Empire has been changed to the Shining Liberators of the Sun. This is a purely cosmetic change and influences nothing.