Chapter Two: Second Contact

F T L***VALIANT *STARChapter Two: Second Contact

The ship jolted one final time as it reached the beacon. Alan smiled to himself, setting a course for the impulse engines to follow. The system was conveniently hidden behind a particularly dense asteroid field, which probably explained why they'd existed for so long without being discovered by rogue pirates or rebel forces. He was looking forward to letting fresh air into the ship and venting the stale, moisture-less air that had become the norm.

Their trip from the newly-christened Federation sector hadn't been too trying, especially as the two sectors were adjacent. They'd easily navigated between beacons, devastating any pirates stupid enough to try and hinder them. Now they were coasting towards the system they'd selected by using their impulse engines to save fuel rods. He'd realised early on that he could fire both laser arrays quite easily if he rerouted power away from the medical bay and the engines, seeing as Emily provided enough power to give basic evasion. Still, he'd feel much better with enough power to run all of his systems at once.

The two Mantis boarders had been dropped off at a deep space beacon, one that he wholly intended to visit again. There were some pretty ore-rich asteroids that he could mine, if he managed to get his hands on a scrap recovery arm again. Hell, he was even considering flying the shuttle out, but they'd run out of time. Unfortunately, they'd come to the subject of payment rather more quickly than he would have liked. The Mantis had insisted on a bonus for aiding them in the destruction of the rebel flagship, a bonus that he was unable to provide. He'd had to drain the oxygen from their room until they frantically agreed to leave with their lives and the pre-arranged sum of scrap. Alan shuddered, remembering some of the threats they'd made over the ship's intercom. He certainly hoped they wouldn't encounter each other again.

"Captain, how long until we reach the planet? How exactly are we going to get down to the planet, as well? We've already been down and breathed the atmosphere, so we don't need to send the shuttle down again. We could land the Valiant Star in that fie-"

"Thank you, Sara. Emily and I will take the shuttle down and check the area out. If it's all clear, we'll signal you and you can guide the ship down. You and Liu are probably better off on the ship for this, anyway. I don't mind those horses poking around, but bringing down the Star first might not be such a good idea. Yeah, we'll check it out first." Alan sighed. Sara was eager, but he didn't want to run the risk that Sara might scare the horses into doing something stupid. Emily was a much calmer, collected individual and would be better suited for making second contact with the horses. "Emily, meet me down in the shuttle bay. The navigation computer has the route plugged in, but the autopilot is dead. I'll keep an eye on the navigation through my SFD." Emily quickly acknowledged his request, barely audible over the cooling FTL drives.

Alan headed out of the cockpit, heading over to the nearest access ladder. This one was the one he'd used earlier to access the mess, but he wasn't going up this time. The ladder linked the three decks of the ship; the essential battle deck, the crew deck that contained living quarters, the mess and other facilities, and the utility deck which contained the water processing plant, the weapons lock-up, the gravitomagnetic generation system and the shuttle bay. As he descended into the guts of the ship, he let out a small sigh. Perhaps making second contact with a species wasn't as good an idea as he'd originally thought. It was supposed to be a holiday, after all.

Alan shrugged as he stepped into the weapons lock-up, looking around at the supplies on the walls. Ceramic body armour, medical kits, pump-action shotguns, chunky plasma pistols, hefty laser rifles... he selected the body armour without a second thought. He didn't want to go down in his Federation ship uniform purely because he'd be defenceless. Also, the black body armour did look imposing without being threatening. If those horses were sentient, they'd be pretty stupid to attack him. He grabbed a shotgun as an afterthought, setting it aside as he donned the black clothing. The shotgun was the only non-lethal weapon in the armoury, safe to use against civilians if it was equipped with softer rubber pellets. "Emily, are you on your way down yet?"

Rather than speaking over the ship's intercom as he expected, she spoke from down the corridor. "Already here captain. I strongly doubt that level of weaponry will be required for a peaceful mission. I'm fairly sure you chose the shotgun as usual. You're very predictable, captain."

Alan deadpanned at the wall, trying to figure out how Emily had guessed his choice of equipment. "You're... right, I guess. I'll leave the shotgun behind for this one." He smiled wolfishly, sliding a handgun into a shoulder holster. Emily may be a pacifist, but he wasn't taking any chances. He stepped through the automatic doors, walking down the dimly-lit corridor towards the shuttle bay and stepping inside, smiling warmly at Emily. She was the only member of the crew he always got on with. He and Liu sometimes fell out over engineering matters, and Sara occasionally threatened to lock down the shields until he let her visit a space station for 'a change of scene'.

"Captain, I suggest we take some of the spare SFD headsets in case we need to communicate with the natives. We can't rely on them being as docile as last time, especially if those settlements were as widespread as the scanners detected. Then again, the scanners are on the blink. Remember, it thought those horses had six legs!" They shared a brief chuckle, remembering their first encounter with those weird little ponies.

The views through the set of external display screens shifted slowly, indicating that the ship was rotating. They must be on approach in that case. "Ship, how long until the... ship... is in position to launch the shuttle?" As always, the computer remained silent, sending the information to his SFD. He glanced down. Two hours. He could wait that long.

*  *  *

Meanwhile, on the planet below the Valiant Star, Twilight Sparkle was preparing to close the library for the night. The package had arrived early in the morning, along with several stone-faced Royal Guards. They'd handed the package over to Twilight and had taken up positions around the library. To the best of her knowledge, they were still there. 'Well, it is late. Maybe I should get some sleep too, so I'm ready to continue in the morning!' A sudden knock on the door snapped Twilight out of her reverie. "Twilight? Is... is the library still open?"

With a sigh, the unicorn opened the door. 'I guess the sleep can wait until later...' As the door opened, Twilight's jaw dropped. Raindrops was stood on her doorstep with two spears pointed at her head. "W-what are you doing? Raindrops is my friend!"

The guards reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Standing orders, Miss Sparkle. Would you like us to remove her from the property?"

"What? No! Raindrops, come in!" The jasmine-coloured mare trotted in, sighing with relief. "Are you ok? You haven't visited the library in a while, and I certainly wasn't expecting you at this time!"

"Oh, sorry Twilight... I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" Raindrops trotted inside with a sigh. Twilight moved towards her, ready to offer her friend a hug. "It's just... well, my life's really gone downhill and I don't know where else to go."

Twilight looked at her with concern, face etched with worry. Raindrops wasn't lying. She'd spent the last few weeks confiding in Twilight, making up reasons to visit her. Sometimes she'd say that she'd found a book in the street, or that Twilight had dropped something. With every day came another problem, and Raindrops was slowly growing more depressed. She'd first lost her job in the removals business, which was swiftly followed by her coltfriend dumping her for another mare. She'd become distracted and had lost her newest job in the weather team. Following that... incident, she'd tried to make it big at the Wonderbolt Academy. Twilight sighed as she remembered the discussion she'd had with Rainbow Dash about Raindrop's performance.

"What's happened today, Rainy? Do, uh, do you want a drink?" The pegasus nodded quietly, lost in her own thoughts. Twilight trotted into the kitchen, setting some colourful mugs aside to make tea. She smiled at the 'World's Greatest Librarian' mug Spike had bought her, before placing it back in its size-coordinated position. "Do you want to talk about it? I'm happy to listen, as always!"

"Thanks Twilight. I... it's just, I've kinda been sleeping rough for the last few nights. I got kicked out of my flat, and the landlord kept all my stuff as payment..." Raindrops lowered herself onto the floor, sighing with a dreary sadness. If Twilight didn't know better, she would have said Raindrops was a post-Sombra Crystal Pony, or at least a very depressed one.

Twilight froze, mind filled with shock. "R-Raindrops! Why didn't you say something? We have a spare bedroom here if you need it, and I'm sure I can find you some work to help you get back on your hooves." However, the unicorn was still mentally reeling. 'Sleeping rough? I don't even remember the last time somepony here was forced onto the streets...'

"It's... it's nothing, Twilight. Thanks for being here for me, though. You know if I had a real problem, I'd come and let you know..." Raindrops smiled sadly, trying to convince Twilight that she was ok. It failed spectacularly.

"Oh no Rainy, you're not getting out of this that easily. You don't get much more serious than sleeping rough! Please, promise me you'll spend a night or two here until you get something arranged, ok? We have plenty of space, and it's not a problem, I swear! We will have something to eat in a little while, ok? And then I'll get the spare bedroom set up for you." Raindrops nodded slowly, watching Twilight pour the tea.

"Are you sure, Twilight? I know you're probably busy with whatever warrants all those guards outside. Why are they out there, anyway? is it something important?" She gasped, looking at Twilight with much more interest. "I-is it to do with the crashed spaceship?" A faint glimmer of excitement entered Raindrop's eyes, making Twilight smile.

'I guess it would be ok to show her some of the parts. Celestia has always maintained that friendship is the most important duty of mine, and this might cheer Raindrops up! I'm sure a small peek won't do any damage,' Twilight thought, stirring the freshly-poured tea. "Actually, it is! Princess Celestia asked me to study some fragments of the spaceship, and I have them upstairs. Would... would you like to take a look?"

Raindrops' eyes widened and she nodded her head enthusiastically. "Really? I mean, that'd be awesome! Thanks Twilight!" Raindrops rushed forwards, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight's neck in a joyful hug. The librarian smiled, rubbing a hoof on Raindrops' shoulder reassuringly.

"Shall we take our drinks up and have a look? You like ancient history, right? You might be able to help me with the translation!" Raindrops nodded again, looking thoughtful. "You ok Rainy? Have... have you had enough to eat the past few nights?" The pegasus nodded, trotting eagerly towards the staircase. "Hmm, well... you're spending the night here anyway. I won't take no for an answer! We can have an all-night study session!"

"Yeah, that sounds fun! I doubt the language will be Nordic in nature, but I can take a look anyway!" Raindrops grinned, racing up the stairs. Twilight smiled to herself, glad to have cheered Raindrops up somewhat. She knew from her experiences in Canterlot what it was like to feel alone and unwanted, and having a friend close by made all the difference in the world. The two mares spent the next half-hour creating a study space in Twilight's bedroom, filling the space with a multitude of objects. Books, snacks, blankets, pillows, more books and even a desk or two were crammed into the room by the two excited mares. For a brief, memorable period of time, they were both fillies again, creating a fort to keep out the disturbances of the world.

Twilight stepped proudly into the space, looking around. They had everything they'd need for a comprehensive, efficient and fun study session! "So, shall we get started?" Raindrops nodded eagerly, trotting over to the small bed that had been created for her. As Twilight began writing down the various symbols on the metal slab, Raindrops crawled under her warm blanket with a book on ancient cultures of the North. This would keep her entertained for a few hours, at the very least!

*  *  *

Alan sat in the shuttle bay, looking thoroughly bored. Emily was stood nearby, placing supplies into the small shuttle. The small ship's four impulse drives and multitude of directional rockets sat motionless, paling in comparison to the Valiant Star's own engines. The entire craft only made up about a tenth of the ship's size, and usually served as a reconnaissance ship, despite its role as a 'lifeboat'. Alan smirked. He'd rather die aboard his ship than spend months floating in that cramped, lifeless room. The set of external display screens were now beginning to show pictures of the planet, zooming in on possible areas of interest. Small settlements, medieval townships... these creatures were nowhere near the space stage yet.

"Ship, how long until we're ready to drop?" Alan asked, rotating his shoulder in its socket. He'd been having shooting pains in that arm for a few days now. 'Maybe a few hours in the medbay might be warranted,' he thought idly, waiting for the computer to finish its calculations. A few seconds later, his SFD flashed again. Five minutes. He decided it'd probably be a good time to get into the shuttle, allowing time for fitting oxygen masks and setting up the ship's onboard navigation. He certainly wasn't flying the shuttle manually, that was for sure.

"Emily, let's get strapped in. Got all the supplies on board yet?" he asked, looking over at her. The Zoltan smiled, nodding in confirmation. Behind her, a few bottles of oxygen had been rested against the ship's hull, along with masks.

"Just in case the scanners were lying about breathable atmosphere, and in case the shuttle burns up on entry," she stated matter-of-factly, wedging them into the cargo bay. Alan smiled grimly as he walked over, clambering through the cramped cargo room to access the pilot's chair. Systems lit up with a warm, blue glow as he sat down, their screens displaying hundreds of lines of information. Emily eventually slid into the chair next to him, clipping on her five-point harness. "Excited, captain? Maybe these creatures are truly sentient, and we'll have discovered a new race to introduce to the Federation!"

"You're beginning to sound like Sara there, Emily. Calm down. It's just a quick stop-off to replace the ship's oxygen and to grab some real sunlight!" He sat back, sighing. Two minutes.

*  *  *

Twilight sighed with frustration, slamming her book shut. None of the languages they'd examined bore any resemblance to the mysterious text before them, so it would be nigh-on impossible to translate. As she levitated another book onto her desk, she began to ponder the origin of the spaceship. It certainly wasn't of Equestrian origin, or even from their planet. The metal the symbols were etched into was of a composition she'd never even learnt about, let alone seen. "Any luck?" she muttered, turning to look at Raindrops.

"Nope. I don't even think they're a picture-based language, because that doesn't look anything like anything I know..." Raindrops said resignedly, looking up at Twilight from her small mound of pillows and blankets. A small smile crossed Twilight's lips. They'd spent the first twenty minutes joking around and relaxing before hitting the books. She didn't even know what time it was, but Spike was fast asleep - surprise, surprise - and even Raindrops was beginning to look drowsy.

"You can go to sleep if you want, Rainy! I probably won't sleep tonight anyway, I've got to find something to report to the Princess by tomorrow. Anyway, we have as long as we need to look at it! It's not like the aliens are gonna drop out of space again, is it?" Twilight giggled, turning back to her book.

*  *  *

Alan and Emily sat in the cockpit of the shuttle, watching various messages scroll across the HUD on the windows in front of them. Unlike the Valiant Star itself, this ship had transparent 'glass' windows made from aluminium silicate. They were still several inches thick, but they would provide an excellent view of the descent. He began to feel the tingle of adrenaline entering his system as the sixty second countdown ticked away on the screen. He loved atmospheric entries. "All systems are clear my side. Engines warming up and are ready to slow descent. How are your systems?"

"All systems are looking clear, captain. It's a standard launch. I highly doubt anything will go amiss during this mission," Emily said reassuringly, tightening her five-point harness. Her lime-green glow filled the cockpit with a soft light, blending with the cool blue light from the display screens. "Ten seconds."

"Sara, keep the Star in position above the planet until we contact you again. We'll make contact with the species first, make sure they're still docile, and then we'll see about de-orbiting the Star," Alan said, adjusting his SFD earpiece with a hand. A soft hiss indicated the detachment of the shuttle, accompanied by a weak shudder. They were away. The second the shuttle left the Valiant Star, Alan began to feel sick. 'Oh please God no...' he thought desperately, looking around for something to vomit in. For a space captain, he couldn't handle zero gravity if he tried.

Sara sighed over the intercom. "Ok captain, just make sure you don't scare them too much. We'll see you in a few hours then, I guess..." Alan paid little attention as Emily replied for him. 'Come on, not now! Happy thoughts, healthy thoughts,' he tried to convince himself, clearing his mind. The sickness subsided after a few minutes and he was able to focus on the view outside.

"Really something, right? We don't find many green planets these days..." Emily whispered, looking at the expanse of emerald-green land and glittering sea below them. A few of the consoles before them displayed suggested landing sites, all of which were near small settlements. He chose one at random, sitting back to enjoy the descent.

"It certainly is. Some of these settlements look pretty developed, surprisingly..." The two discussed their opinions of the planet and its inhabitants as the shuttle continued on its planned path, carving a flaming trail through the clear night sky.

*  *  *

Twilight blinked irately, trying to clear her vision as she continued to read through a passage on ancient Zebrican glyphs. They bore some resemblance to the mysterious symbols on the spaceship fragment, but not nearly similar enough to be the base language, or some derivative thereof. It would be much easier if she could shift the lights flickering in the corner of her eye though. 'Stupid lights. Maybe I should sleep for a while now...'

She turned around, ear twitching. It sounded like some ponies were having a party outside. 'What kind of ponies have a party in the street at this time of the night? Maybe it's Pinkie Pie again... she thought irately, sliding the curtains open with her magic to take a look. "W-wha?"

The street was slowly filling up with ponies, all looking up into the sky nervously. A few guards were amongst the crowd but they didn't appear to be doing anything. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a party. Even Pinkie's unmistakable pink curls were visible in the throng of ponies. A small pit of dread settled in Twilight's stomach, accompanied by the tentative tingle of excitement. Were the aliens coming back? "Raindrops, wake up!"

Raindrops' eyes shot open, darting around the room before settling on Twilight. "H-huh? What's going on? D-did you find something out?" She sleepily clambered out from the blankets, stretching out and yawning.

"Something's going on outside! Come on, we're going out to have a look as well!" Twilight said excitedly, grabbing her saddlebags and scarf from her desk. The scarf had been a gift from Rarity to keep her warm in the coming Autumn months, and she'd happily accepted it. After all, it did match her mane perfectly and was as comfortable as possible. Rarity's skill was only matched by her generosity and concern for her friends.

A few moments later, the two mares trotted down the thick oak stairs that were so familiar to Twilight. A few guards were stood nervously in the middle of the room, waiting for Twilight to approach them. "Terribly sorry ma'am, but there's a... um... slight situation outside."

"What kind of situation?" Twilight replied, looking nervously at the two guards. This was certainly beyond their level of training, and it reflected on their faces.

"Well, we received reports from Canterlot that a... meteor?" The soldier turned to his comrade, engaging in a few seconds of hurried discussion. They both paused thereafter, looking at Twilight with concern, before going back to their hushed whispers. "Yes, a meteor was reported coming this way. Princess Luna confirmed it herself, but it disappeared shortly thereafter. We just got word that it's visible again, coming this way. It's moving a lot slower than reported but it's still of concern. We need you and the fragment to come with us, Miss Sparkle.

Twilight glanced up and out of the window, murmuring, "I don't think that's a meteor..."

*  *  *

"Okay, let's see... guidance thrusters warming up, thrust nozzles are on swivel, landing vectors established... looks like we've got a crowd waiting for us. Fuckin' brilliant. Well, this is what we were expecting, so I guess there's no harm done. We'll go down, talk with them a bit, see if they've got anything worth discussing. Emily, swap us over to VTOL if you'd be so kind!" Alan sat back in his seat and watched the town on the ship's scanners. The Valiant Star was providing a satellite view, and the shuttle's cameras were displaying live images of the town as it approached.

A series of small jolts shook the shuttle as the guidance thrusters began to perfect their course, preparing for the moment when the glide wings would retract and the four thrust nozzles underneath the shuttle would slow them down, bring the ship into a safe landing position and drop them safely onto terra firma. The shuttle could take off and land vertically as he chose, or use the glide wings to belly-slide if the situation arose. "Ok captain, we're about one minute away from landing. The town should be directly underneath us now."

Alan nodded in approval, disengaging the harness holding him in position. Emily tutted with disapproval as he clambered over his chair and into the cargo hold. "What? I might as well get ready to disembark when we land so we don't get set upon by crazy horses."

A loud whine signalled the rotation of the landing thrusters, accompanied by a soft thump as they ignited. "Thirty seconds, captain. Looks like the ponies are clustering around the landing zone, just like last time. I'll try not to flatten any of them with the landing jets. That might annoy them slightly."

"Only slightly, Emily. Well, this is it! Second contact with a race of wierd equines that somehow managed to find an Engi ship. And I believe they have wings, too. This is going to be so fun," he said sarcastically, mentally considering how much better Sara was suited to this. A true Federation supporter who loved nothing more than to educate new races on the wonders of Federation membership. He smiled wryly, donning an oxygen mask. Emily did the same, clipping hers into the ship's generator while Alan connected his to an oxygen bottle. It was a formality for any planet that the scanners hadn't mapped fully, just in case there were local factors that affected atmospheric quality. Their first landing site had been over fifty miles away, in any case.

"Ten seconds," she said with a hint of excitement barely noticeable through the oxygen mask. Alan walked over to the ship's doors, trying his utmost to be the imposing, strictly formal character the Federation manual suggested. He sniggered. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Three, two, one..." The only indication that they'd landed was the soft shake of the floor beneath him. A textbook landing. "The equines are still holding their distance," Emily confirmed, flicking off a series of switches to make sure the reactor shut off and the thrusters cooled down quickly.

"Alright, open the doors and wish me luck. If these equines have razor-sharp... tails, make sure you find a nice coffin for me." Emily laughed, still snickering as she hit the button to open the doors.

The reinforced metal bulkheads slid open, letting alien air into the ship for the second time. It'd take a few minutes for the ship's scanners to determine the chemical and biological composition of the air, but he wasn't willing to wait. He had an audience to address.