Chapters The U.S.S. Voyager, the first ship of the brand new Intrepid class, the most advanced science vessel in the fleet, was commissioned in 2371. She is able to fly at a sustained speed of Warp 9.5. But now, even this isn't enough!
Lost in the Delta Quadrant, 70.000 light years away from earth, the crew is on desperate search for a way home.
Ensign Harry Kim was sitting on the captain's chair in the middle of the command center of the Voyager. He was only sitting on this chair during his night shifts, but was enjoying every moment of it. Nothing really important happened when he was in command, but he had no problem with it. The most dangerous situation this night was an asteroid passing the ship at a distance of 1.000.000.000 kilometers and this was the way he wanted things to be.
"Icheb to bridge, I have found a strange gravimetric anomaly on the long range sensors. Could we change our course to gather more data?"
Harry considered it. Captain Janeway always says that their major mission is exploration. And a short science task would be a welcome change from the fighting.
"Kim here, of course we can. Submit the new course to the navigation console."
"Thank you"
The next two hours passed without any event and Harry's shift was coming to an end.
"Icheb to bridge, could we drop out of Warp to make a full scan of the anomaly?"
Janeways words came back to his mind.
"Sure"
He ended the communication and turned to the ensign at the navigation console.
"Helm, drop to impulse speed"
"Ensign, we are in visual range of the anomaly"
"Put it on screen"
The center of the large monitor turned from black to green and blue, showing a small planet, orbited by an even smaller moon.
"Bring us into a high orbit. Full sensor scan. You have the bridge"
"Report" she said, still sleepy due to the early hour.
"We are in standard orbit above a M-Class planet. There are unusual high amounts of Graviton particles between the planet and the star. We are running a full scan of the system." an ensign reported.
"Any signs of a civilisation?"
"No warp signatures in the orbit. Energy fluctuations on the surface are affecting the sensors, but we found several structures on the surface which could be settlements"
"On screen" the automatic response came out of her mouth before her brain processed the information. In her years as a Starfleet officer she learned to do some things while being technically asleep and this was one example.
The large screen showed a small village, twice as large as the Voyager itself, but Kathryn didn't care a lot. She could hear the black coffee calling her name, making her want to leave the bridge immediately.
"Consistence of the atmosphere?"
"68% nitrogen, 27% oxygen, 4% carbon dioxide, 1% others. Captain, there are also some unusual readings on the sensors."
"Could you be more specific, Ensign?"
"If the data is we gathered is correct, the star is orbiting the planet."
"Has Starfleet ever encountered a similar star system?"
"No"
"So we are the first humans who see this phenomenon. Continue the system scan. I hope we can sent them a interesting post card from this part of the milky way this month."
As she finished her questioning she went to her ready room to finally get a cup of steaming hot coffee. Even if not being as good as Neelix' self made coffee, the replicated brew was better than nothing. A nice cup of tea would maybe taste better, but wouldn't wake her up.
It was already afternoon, and Twilight knew her time management failed. She hoped that she would have succeeded before lunch but some compilations with the mana crystals powering the device made her schedule useless. Now finally, after four months of hard work, dozens of experiments, hundreds of books she read and eighteen not successful attempts she knew she get everything alright.
Yesterdays experiment went well and she was ready to present Equestrias first wireless communication system.
Getting things working in my basement was one thing, but outside, in the wildness of Sweet Apple Acres... What if I fail? Celestia will send me back to magic kindergarten! I made a large show out of nothing, just like Trixie. Everypony will make fun of me. I will never be able to leave the library. That's not important, because I will be in magic kindergarten...
The solar goddess gave the lavender unicorn a reassuring smile, who looked around. All of her friends were behind her, besides Spike, who was at the other station. Somepony must sent a reply to prove that it works and since he was her number one assistant he was the first choice. They agreed on a short beep.
Fluttershy looked a bit misplaced next to all the technology and Rainbow Dash was bored. It was just some boring experiment for her. Rarity was wearing a perfect poker face, hiding any kind of Emotion, Pinkie was being Pinkie and bouncing around. Applejack herself was looking suspiciously at the strange machine in front of her barn.
The large crowd around them made her even more nervous. It seemed that everypony from Ponyville was up to figure out which purpose the two large needle shaped towers on the North and South field serve.
Quick, figure something out, everypony is waiting!
She pressed the button and everypony stopped talking, waiting for something spectacular to happen
"Hi there...It's me, Twilight, can you understand me?"
Why did I said my name? Spike knows who I am! Come on Spike, answer! It has to work! I know I made a mistake somewhere Wait, is this...?
She quickly turned up the volume of the speakers and felt all tension fall of from her, as she heard the repetitive beeping, transmitted wireless from the other side of Applejack's farm.
The silence was broken by an explosion behind her. Pinkie had fired her party cannon to celebrate Twilight's success. The spectators slowly realised what happened and joined the cheer.
They were all drowned out by the speakers, as they suddenly came back to live.
"My name is Captain Kathryn Janeway from the Federation starship Voyager. How may I help you?"
The intense signal caused an overload of the arcane circuit, sparks flew through the air.
Starship? This is not possible! The stars are too far away to travel between them and even when there really was a starship somewhere, who is she? Who is this Janeway?
"Any response?"
"No Captain"
"Send it again"
Lieutenant Commander Tuvok followed the orders.
"No response"
"Try again, all frequencies"
"Captain, I highly doubt that a third try will be more successful. We most likely picked up a local transmission."
"Maybe, but it could also be a distress call. I will make sure and go down to the surface. Mr. Paris, I need a pilot for the Delta Flyer. Meet me in the shuttle bay in half an hour."
"Yes ma'am"
"Captain, I must object that you are probably about to break the prime directive. There are no signs that a warp-capable species is resident on this planet. We shouldn't interfere in their businesses."
"Your concern is noted, Mr. Tuvok But they made the first step by hailing us. It would be impolite to ignore their call. If we could help them we could make some friends in this sector. Because neither the Borg nor the Hirogen can be considered our best friends. Besides, the high concentration of Graviton Particles is not normal. So whoever is responsible for this must possess technology far more advanced than ours. This means we do not violate the prime directive."
"That is right, but..."
"No buts Tuvok, I've made my decision. Tom, bring Seven with you. I think she could be very useful."
"Sure"
Captain Janeway left the bridge and sat down in her ready room. If nothing goes wrong, she would have ten minutes to enjoy her replicated Columbian brew. Whoever was down at the surface, she was determined to find out if they need assistance and help them if this was the case.
"Mr. Paris, could you fly a bit softer?"
"I am trying my best, Captain, but there are massive graviton anomalies up here."
"How far to the estimated origin of the transmission?"
"12.000 kilometers, but I am unable to extrapolate the exact origin. I can only isolate it to a 200 square kilometer area." the former Borg drone replied from the copilot chair.
"Entering the thermosphere, switching to atmospheric thrusters. Hold onto something." the pilot announced. Seconds later the shuttlecraft reared up, jolting the three humans inside.
"700 kilometers. And I'm picking up hundreds of lifesigns on cloud level. I suggest an evasive course to avoid bird strike." Seven did not know how lucky this suggestion was. Else there would have been an accident, involving the Delta Flyer hitting a few Pegasi.
"Seven, could you check the sensors? I have some strange readings over here."
After typing on her console, she reported to the Captain:
"The concentration of Tetryon particle traces is over sixty times higher than usual. And all the Gravitatic anomalies..."
"Maybe we witness a planetar war. Like the third world war."
"I hope we're not, but you may have a point. Transfer energy to the shield systems. If we are targeted by anything, immediately activate them."
"Yes Captain.... a Gravity Fluctuation is approaching from 345.85, Mark 1!"
"Evasive maneuvers!"
"Too late. We stopped moving ma'am. A sort of tractor beam has locked onto us and we are being forced to the surface."
"Shields! Reverse course! Divert emergency power to the engines!"
"No effect!" Paris screamed over the howling of the aggregates.
"Quit it. There is no sense in destroying the Flyer. Let's see where our host will take us."
With a constant speed of Mach 0.5 the white ship was drained towards the castle on a mountainside.
"Captain, if we would launch a photon torpedo it would be dragged down the tractor beam..."
"No Seven, we won't launch torpedoes unless they attack us. Maybe that's just their way to say 'hello'. But charge the weapons. Just in case..."
"Captain, look!" Tom shouted.
A tower appeared in the trajectory of the shuttlecraft, becoming larger and larger. Meanwhile Princess Luna was disturbed by a humming noise. She opened her eyes to see who dared to interrupt her raising the moon. As she noticed a light grey object approaching her position very fast she didn't hesitate and jumped down her balcony, saving her life.
“Mr. Paris, was that a horse?”
“I don’t know, we’re too fast!”
The Flyer nearly became Toms tomb as it strove the marble tower, starting to hurtle immediately. The designer did his best to stabilize his work, because neither dying nor building the third Delta Flyer was something he was excited about. As he noticed that he couldn’t do anything to prevent their crash landing, he launched an emergency beacon. At least the Voyager would know where to find their corpses.
He would never see B'Elanna again!
Before he was able to spare another thought about the Klingon Chief Engineer, his love, something stopped the breakaway of the second Delta Flyer and slowed it down a bit. With only 150 meters per second it hit the ground, knocking the crew out instantly, digging its nose into the dirt and cutting a swath through the rows of apple trees.
Princess Celestia looked at the silver object in front of her.
It was nearly triangular shaped, with a large black mirror at the front. As she spotted it the first time she thought it was a shooting star, but after hitting Canterlot and slinging through the air towards Sweet Apple Acres the solar goddess knew that this particular something was not a shooting star.
Could this really be a starship, piloted by an unknown species? And, when having the ability to travel the stars, why did it crash onto Applejack's farmland?
Slowly a large crowd of onlookers approached the impact site. Luckily they assumed the communication they heard was a bad joke from Twilight and left after nothing else happened.
After Twilight assured, that she really had no idea what would happen the co-ruler of Equestria spent some time trying to understand how her student's apparatus worked. After half an hour she came to the conclusion that the call must have been authentic. But still, was such a small ship able to travel the stars?
Celestia glanced over to the Elements of Harmony. Their faces showed surprise and fear, as it was not an everyday event that something caused a loud sound and a fiery trace in the sky.
Applejack was a bit perplexed why everything had to happen on her farm.
"Commander, we are picking up a distress call from an emergency beacon on the surface. The transponder code matches the signature of the Delta Flyer." The Vulcan tactical officer reported.
"Hail them."
"No response."
"Launch a type 4 probe to find out what happened. And prepare a rescue team to go down with another shuttle."
"Probe launched, we are receiving the telemetry. It was caught in a Gravitatic Anomaly and disabled."
"Could we get sufficient data?"
"Yes, I was able to locate the Flyer. It went down on a plain nearly in the middle of the approximate area of the transmission. And I found residua of Tetryon particles."
"They shot down the Captain. So I guess sending another shuttle would be suicidal."
"Most likely, Commander." the second officer replied.
"Prepare the Voyager to enter the atmosphere. We will need every bit of firepower we have."
"Commander don't you think this might be a little bit rushed? And besides, we still have hull breaches at decks 6-10."
Chakotay remembered his order to break free from the tractor beam, which locked on the Voyager. They were successful, but the damage to the hull was large. Without an intact hull they could not enter the atmosphere.
"You have a point Tuvok. Chakotay to Engineering."
"Torres here"
"How are the repairs going?"
"We started only five minutes ago."
"We need to enter the atmosphere. The captain has been shot down and we need to rescue her. How long B'Elanna?"
"Two days. Minimum. Things look bad there. The whole hull is deformed. Fixing this will take its time."
"Can't you simply contain the hull breaches?"
"No, at least if you want to make an atmospheric flight. The front section is bent by five degrees and our engines are in a bad shape as you ordered to run them at 145% power .And I don't want to start about the damage to the EPS-conduits. To make it short, we would most likely just fall down."
"Can't you hurry up a bit?"
"I'm doing my best, but don't expect miracles."
Could this day get any worse? Chakotay thought.
Author's Note
Sorry for the lack of Ponies in this chapter. There will be plenty in the next ones.
What happened?
Where am I?
Why is my body hurting that much?
I must be in Sickbay..
"Computer, activate EMH."
"Computer?"
Janeway overcame her tiredness and opened her eyes. Instead of being in sickbay as she expected she was in a dark room. After adjusting to the light level she realized that she was in the Delta Flyer, or what was left of it. All consoles were destroyed, flames were blazing out of the transporter.
Great, the new Delta Flyer wasn't even three months on duty and now it's nothing more than a pile of scrap. What for?
I gave rushed orders, that's the reason.
I tried to make friends and risked the life of my crew.
Why am I making the wrong decisions all the time?
Since we were thrown to the Delta Quadrant I made only a handful right decisions, but countless wrong ones.
Hell, we should have used the Caretaker's array and destroyed it with a delay detonator in the Tricobalt device. Why didn't I think about it before blowing up the entire Phalanx?
My wrong decision caused the death of dozens of crewmen.
How many?
I... I am not even sure, just too many!
She looked over to Seven and Tom, who were unconscious and laying at the rest of their stations. The front window was splintered but not broken, showing a green hill and some horses. After turning away to grab a fire extinguisher the Captain of the Voyager paused.
Were these horses pink and blue?
She went back to the cracked windshield and took a closer look at the strangely colored equines.
Is the one in the middle wearing a crown?
Wait, it has wings, and a horn. What's going on? Am I dead?
The smell of smoke turned her attention back to the transporter. Using two extinguishers she stopped the fire. The noise she made in the process woke up the others. Besides her messy hair, Seven looked like freshly out of her alcove while the pilot had a bleeding nose and his uniform was burned, just as his hair.
"Captain, did you see this?" Tom asked and pointed out of the window.
"Yes Mr. Paris. I’m glad I am not the only one able to see them."
"Why were you concerned about it Captain?"
"Because Unicorns and Pegasi are just fairy tales you tell six year old children, Seven. Or at least I thought so until now."
"It seems that your bedtime stories have their real counterpart in the Delta Quadrant."
"But the sensors showed Tetryon emissions and massive gravimetric anomalies. Creating them is far beyond our capabilities..."
"Captain, I don't want to interrupt you, but the EPS-conduits are leaking. We have to get out of here, NOW!"
"Can't we seal it somehow?" Kathryn asked desperately.
"Not without an EV-suit and there is a plasma leak between us and the suits." To underline his words blue smoke streamed out of the rear section of the shuttlecraft.
"Do we have any Phasers here?"
"No Captain, but I doubt that we will need them. If they wanted to kill us they would have done it already" Seven of Nine replied.
Hopefully this won't be another wrong decision.
"Alright, let's get out of here"
Reluctantly she grabbed a first-aid kit and turned around.
"Ahm, Mr. Paris, how are we supposed to get out of here?"
"While building the second Flyer I added several extras, like an emergency exit. Wait a second..."
The Lieutenant arched over his console, grabbed two levers at the lower edge of the windscreen and slid them towards the middle of it. With a clicking the black pane unfastened from its frame. Tom kicked the window out of it completely.
"After you Captain."
Captain Kathryn Janeway crawled out of the silver starship and stood up from the muddy ground. She realized that she was standing on an acre, surrounded by dozens of horses in all colors. They were smaller than the horses she had back home in Bloomington and had larger eyes.
"Computer, end program" she mumbled but nothing happened besides Tom and Seven crawling out of the wreckage and looking around.
One horse was eye-catching. It was larger than Janeway and nearly had the size of a Hirogen. It was a pegasus-unicorn-hybrid, having both, a horn and wings. It was white-coated with a mane going from green to violet, which seemed to be flowing in a permanent breeze. As it noticed Janeway's attention it stepped out of the crowd surrounding the impact site and said something.
Sadly the universal translator in her communicator wasn't as good like the one aboard Voyager, so it took a few sentences until Kathryn was able to understand it.
"... do you even speak our language?" a feminine voice finished.
"No, but I have a device allowing me to speak with you. My name is Kathryn Janeway and this are Lieutenant Tom Paris and Seven of Nine."
"I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. I welcome you in the name of our nation and in the name of my sister, Princess Luna."
Seven was right, they show no hostility. Relax Kathryn, it's nothing more than a normal first contact
"I am very sorry for crashing on your planet. After receiving your transmission I decided that it would be the best to check if everything is alright. We were caught in an anomaly and lost control."
"I saw what happened to you and I am the one who must apologize. My sister didn't intend to take your ship down as she raised the Moon"
What?
Raise the moon?
Most likely a wrong translation.
"I am sorry but my translator is not working correctly. Could you please repeat your last sentence, Princess?"
"What do you mean by raising the Moon?"
"My sister and I are not only the sovereigns of Equestria, we are also caretakers. We use our Alicorn Magic to guide the Sun and the Moon."
Caretakers, as in 'The Caretaker'?
Could this be real?
Wait, Magic?
What is that supposed to mean?
"What exactly is your Alicorn Magic, Princess?" The confused Captain of the U.S.S. Voyager asked.
"I am able to influence the trajectory of the Sun while my sister, Princess Luna, is able to do the same with the Moon"
"But how do you manage to move them? What is your Magic?"
"Is there no Magic on your planet, Captain?" Celestia asked.
I must be dreaming.
"No. My species has encountered thousands of other sapient species, but none of them used Magic. Back on my home planet magic is nothing more than a myth."
"I think we should continue our conversation with a little more privacy." Celesia suggested as if she could read her mind.
"I have nothing to object."
"Now since you are not familiar with Magic, I will show you something"
These were the last words the humans heard before being covered in a golden light.
As the golden light faded away, the crew of the Delta Flyer found themselves in a small oval room. A large wooden table was in the middle of it, surrounded by twelve blankets on the Granite floor. The Marble walls were decorated with paintings of villages and landscapes.
"Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I willl return shortly" the ruler announced and left the room.
"Captain, what was that?" Tom asked.
"Well, that's a good question..." Janeway began, but she was interrupted by Seven.
"From my point of view it is pretty clear. We crashed onto a planet and interfered with a pre-warp civilization."
"But Seven, this is completely different to anything we have ever experienced before. This civilization isn't even humanoid, but has transporter technology on our level. It took humanity nearly one hundred years after the launch of the Phoenix to develop it and there is no industry here. In some aspects they are more advanced than a warp-civilization" Janeway replied.
"So what do you suggest, Captain?" Seven asked.
"I think it will be the best if we handle this like a normal first contact."
"What do you think about the magic they mentioned, Captain?" The helmsman asked.
"A good question Mr. Paris. I personally think that they are using some natural anomalies to their advantage. They can't explain the phenomenon so they call it magic."
"The emperor of this culture seemed to know what she was doing. I don’t think they are using anomalies. More likely she has gathered technology allowing her to rule this land."
"We will see about that Seven. Just try to avoid giving them a casus belli."
"I will."
"Captain, one more thing. The Flyer is leaking plasma on a field surrounded by natives. It wouldn't leave a good impression if somebody got injured."
"You're right, I almost forgot about this."
The door swung open and the host returned, accompanied by another Alicorn.
"This" Celestia pointed at her company "is my sister Luna, Princess of the Night."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess. My name is Kathryn Janeway" The captain of the Voyager said. "To my right is my helmsman Tom Paris and to my left Seven of Nine, chief of Astrometry."
"Astronomy, an interesting subject. Studying the stars of my night must be fascinating."
"It is, Princess" Seven replied.
"Basically our society is triune. There are the Earth Ponies, who take care of the agriculture, the Pegasi, who are responsible for the weather and the Unicorns who support the other tribes with their magic."
"What is magic? What can they do with it?" Seven asked.
"Mostly their magic is limited to telekinesis, but some can teleport or create shields. My student Twilight is even able to cast metamorphic spells."
"What are your roles, Princesses?" Seven asked.
"We are responsible for day and night on this planet."
"I see... How long are you doing this?"
"Your crew member is very curious, Captain."
"Is there anything wrong about my behavior?" Seven asked as she found herself in the center of the attention.
"But of course not. Curiosity if a far too rare trait. To answer the question, we are fulfilling our duties since nearly 2000 years."
"I’m sorry, but what do you mean by controlling day and night, Princess?" Tom wanted to know.
"I am guiding the sun on its way through the sky and my sister does the same with the moon. I can tell from your questions that your world is very different from Equestria. Please tell me more about it, Captain."
"Our planet is called Earth and is the third in a system of eight planets. It is orbited by a single moon, which we colonized 200 years ago. But not all of my crew are humans, as we call ourselves. Earth is part of a federation of many planets, spread over a large part of the galaxy."
"How far is Earth away from here?" Luna questioned.
"Over 35.000 light years from here."
"And what are you doing so far away from your home, Captain?"
"We were dragged into the Delta Quadrant six years ago and we are looking for a way home, Princess." Janeway replied politely, ignoring the sharp undertone in Luna's question.
"Delta Quadrant?"
"This is how we call this part of the galaxy, Princess."
"You must tell me more about your journey among the stars." Luna demanded.
"I would like to, Princess Luna, but there are two things I have to talk about before. The first thing is our shuttle."
"What is the problem, Captain?" Celestia asked.
"It took heavy damage as we crashed and is leaking toxic substances."
"I will take care of it. What is the second topic?"
"We need to use your communication systems to contact our ship before they jump to conclusions."
"Your ship? Didn't it crash onto Sweet Apple Acres?"
"No Princess, we crashed with a shuttlecraft. The Voyager is still orbiting the planet." The captain explained.
"We would like to see your ship"
"I can show you around once we contacted them." Janeway offered.
"Captain, I might be able to link our Communicators with their array to reach the Voyager. The array should enhance the communicators and the atmospheric interferences shouldn't be a problem then." the former Borg drone suggested.
"If that is okay for you, Princess?"
"This will be no problem, but my student Twilight knows more about it than I. She built the transmitter on her own and if you need assistance you will have to ask her."
"Then what are we waiting for? Captain, I may need your Tricorder." As Seven received the device from the first-aid kit she was covered in a golden light, which faded away within a second.
She reappeared in front of a large antenna with a console attached to it. The communication array was located on a field, in
Seven also scanned the Equines surrounding her only to find out that there was a female next to her. The Tricorder showed no hint of magic or any technology to emulate it. After finishing her scan she noticed a lavender Unicorn working next to the disabled device.
"Good evening. My name is Twilight Sparkle and you must be a survivor of the accident over there."
"That assumption is correct."
"Is it true that you came from space?"
"Yes"
"What's your name?"
"Seven of Nine"
"Where are you from?"
"I live aboard the U.S.S Voyager, the starship currently orbiting this planet."
"What is the purposes of your visit, Miss Nine?"
"Just call me Seven, and I am here to reestablish communication with the Voyager. Miss Sparkle, could I have some tools?"
"Simply Twilight and I'm sorry but I didn't use any tools. I used my magic to place all parts and solder them. But I can do that again."
After Seven told Twilight which wires she had to connect with her communicator she used her Tricorder to calibrate the Starfleet emblem with its new antenna.
During the calibration the Unicorn kept her eyes locked on the blonde woman.
"Is there something wrong?" Seven asked as she noticed her spectator.
"No, I was just wondering how life aboard a spaceship must be like."
"It is pleasant. I am mostly busy with astrometrical studies."
"That sounds interesting, could you tell me more?"
"I can tell you later, but I have to talk with my ship first."
"I understand."
"Seven to Voyager"
"Chakotay here. Are you alright, Seven?"
"Yes"
"What happened to you?"
"We were caught in an anomaly and lost control. Then we were found by the locals."
"Are you imprisoned?"
"No, they offered their hospitality and also allowed us to use their communication technology."
"Can I speak with the Captain?"
"She is currently in conference with the local ruler."
"So we don't need to come and safe you?"
"No"
"Tuvok will be glad to hear this. He didn't like the idea of an atmospheric assault."
"The captain already guessed you would prepare something like this. The only thing we need is a shuttle to pick us up."
"Hold on a second... Are you sure ensign? So close?"
"Dammit, Seven bad news. We have something very large at the sensors, pretty close. It's on an interception course to our position. You know what this means. Maybe you have to stay at the surface longer, your old friends are paying us a visit."
"I understand. I will tell Captain Janeway. Seven out."Meanwhile high above Equestria
"Commander, we have a large object on the sensors. They are coming."
"Finally! Prepare to attack, pattern Alpha six. Get us into position! Arm the torpedos. Be ready to strike fast."
"But Commander, they have much more firepower than we do."
"They won't even know what happened to them. We will surprise them and before understanding the situation they will be dead."
"Aye Sir"
"All hands to battle stations! It begins!"
The white Equine transported them back to the impact site and created a spherical force field around the Flyer. The golden glow drew the attention of the local population which crowded Sweet Apple Acres. They were staring at the humanoid next to their princess with a mixture of fear and curiosity as Celestia was removing the plasma.
She was slowly clearing the shield from the toxic substance, transporting it to a 'safe' place as she used to say. Even when being a princess the Alicorn started small talk with Tom. The Lieutenant wasn't used to talk to nobility and felt uncertain at first but that feeling faded away quickly. After fifteen minutes of casual conversation and occasional assurance of locals, that he wasn't a threat, Celestia asked him about his family.
"Well, I haven't seen my parents for more than seven years."
"Why?" The ruler asked.
"First I have been imprisoned for fighting for freedom and then I got stuck in the other end of the galaxy."
"I thought your species is part of a federation of peaceful coexistence."
"Is space dangerous?"
Just as Celestia asked this question a grey shimmer appeared in the crowd. Within a second dozens of ponies were gone.
Author's Note
Hiya guys, this is Blue Fire's editor speaking.
Sorry for the long delay, but i was kinda busy the last few weeks. Expect more frequent updates from now on.
"You better offer me a good explanation for this!"
Tom Paris looked around, but he couldn't move. A pillar of golden light was surrounding and disabling him. In front of him he could see the ruler of the planet, furiously glancing at him. If not the fact that he could not move he would have backed off like most of the remaining natives did. Tom wasn't sure if they feared him or their raging princess more.
"I...I have no idea what happened here." The helmsman stammered.
"So the disappearance of my subjects just happened on its own."
"Why should I or one of my comrades kidnap your people?"
"You tell me." The whole audience was silently following the royal trial.
"We have no reason to commit such an act of barbarity."
"Maybe your crew thinks you are held as a hostage and decided to abduct my beloved subjects for an exchange."
"That is absolute pointless, they could have locked directly on us and we would be out of your hair, excuse me, your mane within a second, Princess."
"You just admitted that you know what happened here. You exactly knew which technology was used to bring misfortune over Equestria."
"With due respect, your Majesty, there are over one thousand civilizations with access to Transporter technology, and there are many more out there we do not know. Prove my guilt in this case and I will take any punishment, but I swear that my people are not involved in this incident."
Tom could feel the stun being removed, but he was still in the golden pillar and he was not curious about the things which would happen to him if he would touch it.
The white Alicorn lit up her horn and, within a second, her sister, Captain Janeway, Seven of Nine and Twilight Sparkle appeared out of nowhere, looking equally confused. The solar goddess turned directly to Kathryn.
"Captain, there has been an incident. Dozens of my subjects were kidnapped with the usage of advanced technology, as your helmsman stated. He also claimed that your species is innocent. I would like to believe you, but the evidence is against you.
"Princess Celestia, why are you letting them get away with this?"
"Patience, my subjects. The humans have the right to prove their innocence. But if they are unable to they will remain imprisoned in the Canterlot dungeons."
"May I ask my crewmen a few questions first?" Janeway asked, confused by the situation.
"You may. But I warn you, no false play and no tricks."
"I promise."
"Lieutenant, what did you see here?"
"A grey shimmer appeared in the crowd, just like a transporter. Then they were dematerialized."
"Anything else?"
"No Captain."
"Seven, did you get the uplink to the Voyager online?"
"Yes Captain."
"Janeway to Voyager."
"Chakotay here. I am glad to hear you. Are you alright?" The Commander's voice sounded strange due to massive interference.
"More or less."
"What’s the problem, Captain?"
"Someone beamed out a couple of locals and we are sued to be responsible. But they gave us a week to prove that we have nothing to do with this incident. The condition is that we leave one behind, as a precaution."
"You cannot accept these conditions Kathryn!" The first officer complained.
"I already did. The locals are peaceful besides this misunderstanding and I have a plan how to solve this problem quickly. But first I need to know, did you observe something unusual?"
"A squadron of cloaked ships just destroyed a convoy with tricobalt weapons, told us that we witnessed a secret naval operation and that we shouldn't investigate further, else we will be terminated."
"They just fired, without warning and they didn’t care about collateral damage?" Janeway interrupted.
"Yes. After their onslaught they left the orbit with warp five towards a star system 8.4 light years away after the last ship's core went critical. We scanned the debris and found no survivors. There is nothing left where anybody could have survived. So what's your plan?"
"Land the Voyager at a remote location and let the local rulers search the ship. This shouldn't take long."
"That sounds reasonable. Any ideas for a landing site?"
"No, but I'll ask the rulers..." The captain was cut off by sirens in the background.
"What’s going on, Chakotay?"
"The internal sensors have detected a hostile boarding party close to Main Engineering. We will take care of them. Chakotay out."
"Princess, is this acceptable for you?"
"I am not sure if this isn’t a trick to free your crew."
"Your magic is far more advanced than our technology. Your sister accidentally crashed our shuttle, which is capable of the thousandfold light speed. I think resistance would be futile." This statement gained Janeway a sceptical and also a little offended view from Seven of Nine.
"I really hope you are right, for your own wellbeing. As for the location I already have an idea." Celestia summoned a golden light, surrounding the group and enlightened the nightly Acre.
"Citizens, do not panic and stay calm. We will sort this case out quickly."
The light became brighter and the rural environment was replaced by the ruins of an old castle in the middle of a large forest. Celestia launched an orb of light, pushing the darkness out of the remains of the stronghold.
"Captain, before you say anything, I want to apologize for my behavior. I do not believe that you are responsible for this incident, not anymore. Your arguments were logical and convincing. You have no reason to harm us. But I needed to show strength in front of my subjects. In past crises we failed and only my student Twilight Sparkle and her friends saved Equestria. You do not need to bring down your ship to prove anything."
"I accept your apology, Princess."
"Please tell me, is our magic really this advanced, Captain?"
"It definitely is unlike everything we have ever encountered before, so I cannot answer this question. I would need to run a few tests."
"I know you have no reason to help Equestria, but could you please bring my subjects back?"
"Chakotay to away team."
"Janeway here. What happened up there?"
"A small infiltration team jammed our scanners and docked their ship stareboard. They had a fusion charge with them but we could neutralize them quickly. Tuvok got a graze hit but he is already back on his feet.
"This won't be necessary. All accusations against us were dropped. We are free to go."
"I am glad to hear this, Captain."
"There is still one problem remaining. What shall we do about the local situation?"
"I am not sure Kathryn. There is too much to take into account. But we cannot simply use the Prime Directive as an ‘out of jail’ card."
"What do you mean, Chakotay?"
"The Prime Directive states that we must not interfere with local conflicts. But this time it is different. The authorities of this sector are nothing better than common pirates. I checked our sensor logs. We didn't detect any military valuable cargo aboard the convoy, neither contraband. Hence, the freighters weren't even armed."
"This doesn't make sense after all. Why would they attack this convoy when it had no military purpose?"
"Maybe there is a blockade of a system and they are trying to cut out food and supplies?"
"But why should this be a secret operation then?"
"I don't know. All I know is that we are not longer outsiders in this conflict. We were attacked without a reason or a warning. Out of nowhere a boarding party appeared and tried to plant a bomb next our warp core. If they hadn't triggered the intruder alert we would all be dead by now"
"I need to think about it. Stay on yellow alert meanwhile. And prepare a shuttle to get us off this planet. Janeway out."
"Will you help Equestria, Captain?" Celestia asked as Kathryn turned back to her. Her voice didn't sound very royal or powerful.
"May I talk to my crew first?"
"Of course."
The Captain took her communicator into her hand and pressed a tiny button at the backside of it.
"Why did you deactivated the universal translator, Captain?" Seven wanted to know.
"They don't need to understand everything we say, especially about them."
"I see." The former Borg drone answered and the other humans turned their translators off, too.
"So Captain, what will we do?"
"As Chakotay already stated, we can use the Prime Directive as an 'out of jail' card. Or we can try to solve this conflict. Apparently we are in the middle of a warzone and we could offer our services as a mediator."
"What do you suggest? Shall we go to the system the stealth ships went to and say that we want to solve a conflict we have no idea about? I think we both know that this won't work. So shall we put a few torpedoes in them and force them into something?"
"I see your point but there is no need to exaggerate."
"I am not exaggerating, I am trying to be realistic."
"Anyways, we cannot simply leave this behind, Captain. Innocent people are dying here!" Tom objected.
"I know and I don't like that either. But as Seven already said, we are short on options. We should see if we can find anything useful in the databases of the ship in our hangar bay or from a merchant around here."
"Do you really think there is a merchant in the middle of a warzone? ….Ok, if they are like the Ferengi, most likely." The helmsman answered his own question.
"Depending on what we find out we will decide what we can do in this conflict." Janeway decided.
"Captain, may I ask for a favor in the meantime?"
"Of course, Seven." The Captain reassured her even if she was surprised about her requesting something.
"I want to stay here and figure out what their magic is."
"Scientific curiosity is not what I what I would expect from you. And no matter how much I appreciate this idea I fear I have to decline your wish. It would be too much interference."
"According to my calculations it won't be."
"Would you explain this a little further?"
"There is a 87.3 percent possibility that the local 'magic' is more advanced than our technology or even the Borg. And as far I could understand the paintings in the conference room we have been earlier they have even some experience in space travel."
"Ok Seven, I will ask the Princesses if they don't mind a human here, but are you sure you can handle being alone?"
"I was Borg, I will adapt."
"I have no worries about your abilities to handle new situations but I have doubts about your social skills."
"I do not intend to participate in any social events. I will run a few test and then return to the Voyager."
"I guess I am fighting at a lost post. Are you absolutely sure about this Seven?"
"I am, Captain."
"Which instruments do you need for your research?"
"A medical and a radiation tricorder, datapads, a subspace scanner, a copy of the Borg database stored in my Alcoven and a device from the Doctor to regenerate."
"Seven grew up, Captain. It seems that she becomes more and more human. Curiosity isn't a typical Borg trait after all." Tom joked
"Do not interpret my search for perfection as curiosity. Knowledge is a part of perfection so I can reassure you that my motivation is completely Borg-nature." The former drone corrected harshly.
"Well then..." Janeway turned her translator back on, and so did the crew. Seven only then noticed the fascinated views from the Equines. Of course they never heard anyone talking in English so this reaction was rather predictable.
"Princess, we came to a conclusion. We will help you, but I cannot promise you anything. We have a track but it can turn out that we can bring back your subjects."
"This is more than my sister and I hoped for. I cannot tell you how thankful we are."
"There is one thing left I want to talk about."
"Go on, Captain."
"Seven of Nine asked for permission to stay here and study your magic. We need more data to understand it, but we also need to know if it is any reason to kidnap one of your kind."
"I am happy to hear that you are interested in magic and I just know where you can do your research. My student Twilight will help you as far as she can."
"I... But how can I help them? There are others who could do this better than me..." Celestia's student stuttered.
"Twilight, you are the Element of Magic. I cannot think of anypony more qualified." The solar goddess answered calming.
She also acknowledged that the blue coated princess was more sceptical about the humans than her sister was. She had to talk to Luna later to investigate another thesis.
While her Captain called for a shuttle to pick them up and bring down the requested equipment Seven already planned her experiments. Magic does not exist so there must be another explanation for the phenomenons, right?
Author's Note
IT LIVES! HAHA!
Editor's note: Have fun in Poland, dude. Bring something.
