Equine Wars - The Lunar Offensive

Equine Wars – Chapter 3 shanghaied

I awoke in a cold dark cell, a dim light above me and a sealed hatch. Next to it was a keypad with the standard zero to nine number layout and a small retelling screen above it with locked in red displayed out across it. Other than that the room remain barren and sparse. I must have sat there for at least an hour or so until the screen of the key pad flashed green and displayed the flashing text: Unlocked. Three beeps and then a large clunk followed, the door swung inward.

Two ponies entered, the blue one with the eye patch that knocked me out and an another gray pony. I could see the blue pony clearly now. In addition to the patch on his left eye, his right leg was artificial. It was a thin metallic gray peace with a hinge where the knee would have been located and a small motor connected to the outside of it. Two small wires ran the up the length of the leg, from the motor to where the leg had been severed. The weirs where plugged into two small holes in the base of the stump. He also had a crew cut mane and a scare running the length of his left cheek. He walked in first, as he stepped into the dim light I could just barely make out the four leaf clover on his flank. Following behind him was the other, the gray coated pony. A long dark blue mane hanging down almost covering his eyes. His flank was adorned with an old flintlock pistol.

“Let’s go captain wants to see yah.” The blue pony ordered in a flat tone.

“What’s going on and where the Tartarus am I?”

The blue pony raised his voice in a more violent manner. “I said let’s go!”

My captures seemed serious, and I was sure that the blue one would love to buck my face in so I decided to comply. I walked in between the two passing them and entering the hallway. The two ponies stepped out, the gray one leading me down the hall and the blue one giving me a shove in the direction of the gray one I began to walk. Of the both of them I favored the gray one the most, so I decided to probe him for answers.

“So what’s your name?” I asked as polity as one could have asked their captures.

Turning his slightly to view me with his peripheral vision he replied. “Oh where are my manners, my name is Flin, Flin .T. Lock” He relied in a cheerful and surprising tone.

“And my oh so gleeful friend behind you is Lucky”

I looked back at Luck with a slight grin and in return he shot me a death glare.

“So what’s yours?”

“I'm Star Chase, but my friends just call me Chase.” I replied.

“Well Chase, if I can call you that I am glad to acquaint you.” He replied.

“As far as it goes you can.”

“So what is it that do Chase, for a living I mean?”

“Well I'm an air traffic controller.”

“Oh good, at least you’re not completely in experienced. See Lucky, I told you being nice wold get more info out of him.”

Lucky just rolled his eye.

“Uh, what do you mean experience and info?”

“Well Lucky wanted to torture you to find out as much as he could about you but I bet him twenty bits that I could just ask you.”

“Ok thanks for that guess, but what was that about my job?”

“Well I thought it was obvious, you know your way around ships right?”

“Um yah, a bit I guess.”

“Well I supposes Captain can explain much better.”

Luck interrupted behind me. “You've been shanghaied ya twit.”

“Dammit lucky, why do you always have to be so brash.”

The length of the conversation managed the duration to the walk. The escorting ponies stopped at a door. Flin pressed a button on the wall next to the door causing it to slide open to the left with a swoosh. The sight of a large bridge filed with about a half dozen ponies ether sitting at control panels or standing over the holographic star map centered in the room. In the mist of the hustle of the bridge was a single chair larger than the others. It was located in the center more near the front of front of the room.

The chair spun around to face my direction, in it sat Red with is head resting on his bandaged arm. With a grin he spoke,

“So good of yah to join us, I hope my boys didn’t ruff you up too much.”

“Well I've had better service in a drunk tank.”

“Ha ha ha I like you, you’re funny.”

“So now the ice has been broken, why am I here?”

“I need a good navigator and scene I happened to save your life and Tinker is dead, you will have to do.”

“Wait, that pegasus was your navigator?”

“Unfortunate yes, he was.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you need me?”

“I figured that you’re still in my debit.”

“But I save your life to, where even.”

“Granted you did, but we are far from that. You sir are now a fugitive of the solar empire, you witnessed an execution of a pirate in possession of contraband. Due to propaganda, the Solar Guard wouldn't want any unnecessary witnesses to smear the spotless image of the empire. And harboring a fugitive is punishable of the offender and there immediate friend and family.”

“A fugitive harboring a fugitive?”

“Poetic isn’t it?”

“And if I refuse, what happens then?”

“I drop you off at the nearest authoritative Solar outpost and they put a bullet in your head. I’m sorry if it sounds harsh and completely inhospitable, but it is the reality of the situation. And you can't go back to Equestria, they will be searching high and low for you.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Doesn’t have to be”

The room became silent as if the rest of the crew was waiting for my response.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Good, welcome aboard.”