Into the Black Novel Preview · 3:41am Jul 15th, 2018
For those of you that thought this wasn't actually happening, here's a little preview for you. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1(?): The Girl in the Cryopod
For four hundred years the ship drifted, long forgotten to the ebb and flow of time. Its people, long dead from a terrible affliction despite their fervent attempts to seek a remedy. Only the mummified remains of its crew occupied the vessel, until one day that peace was disrupted.
From the starboard side, a sudden noise echoed out. It was a clinking, banging sound that originated from the ship's emergency airlock. It continued for several seconds until a little light above flashed with an alien yellow symbol.
Then, the airlock door hissed and slid open, allowing three figures entry. It was impossible to tell anything about the beings other than their height and relative body shape through the dull orange suits. Two were average height, the shorter being slightly broader, while the third was exceptionally tall, nearly seven feet in height.
“How's it looking in there?” came a voice from within the helmets of the figures.
“Looks like the power's still at functioning capacity,” said the average one in an upbeat masculine voice.
“That means better loot,” the tall one said, her voice a gruff feminine.
“It also means the automated defences are active,” the broad one said, his voice, smooth and refined.
“Yeah, well, I can take care of those easily enough,” said the tall one.
“Stow it,” ordered the voice over the comms. “I would prefer if you take care of it before they're aware we're here.”
“Roger that,” the average one said. “Raak, take point. Debby, keep an eye out for a usable terminal.”
The broad one, identified as Raak, stepped forward, rifle at the ready as the tall one, Debby followed close behind with a pistol in one hand and a portable scanning device in the other. The average one brought up the rear, shotgun raised.
As they moved through the vessel, Debby pointed the scanning device at various objects and pulled a trigger, marking them for retrieval.
“This looks like a T-class science ship,” Debby stated. “So... take a left down this corridor.”
Raak stopped and peeked around the corner. Seeing no threats, he lead the team down the hall.
“Next door on the right,” Debby said.
Raak took position to one side and Curt took up the other while Debby got to work on the control panel.
“Can you get it?” Curt asked.
“Can you stand there pointing your gun at the walls?” Debby replied, sarcastically. “Got it.”
The door parted, sliding into the bulkhead. Raak once again took point, scanning the room for threats. It looked to be a security station. Three monitors sat against the far wall, still alight with alien writing, while a cabinet sat embedded in the wall to their left, likely a weapons locker. Other than that, only a pair of corpses occupied the room.
“Clear,” he called back to his comrades.
Debby and Curt entered the room, the former making for the right console, being the only one without a body in front.
“Alright, give me a minute,” Debby said before she went to work.
Debby's fingers flashed across the control panel, working at lightning speed. The alien text scrolled across the screen far faster than Curt could decipher what little he knew. Raak could read it if he so chose, but it held little interest for him.
The systems on these ancient vessels were impressive, but after hundreds of years without sapient input, their security decayed to laughable levels. That was good, though, for as much as she brags, Debby was no hacker. She knew some tricks but she was a tech expert.
Despite not being her forte, Debby managed to find the security protocols and disable them.
“Security's down, working on atmosphere.”
“Alright, we'll start looking around,” Curt said. “Let us know when we can breathe without dying.”
“Have fun.”
While Curt and Raak went off to scout out the ship, Debby got to work disabling the security protocols on the atmosphere replicators in the labs. The systems weren't too difficult to beat, but the replicators were only intended to fill the labs, not the whole ship.
“Alright,” Debby said over the comms. “We should be good in five. I'm going to head down a level and see if I can find Engineering.”
“Have fun looking for your toys,” Curt replied from within her helmet. “I'll be in the labs checking out what freaky experiments these guys were working on. Might be something valuable. You want me to keep an eye out for anything, Seth?”
“You know what I like,” replied Seth, the only member of their crew that wasn't on the ship. “Something for my collection.”
“Roger that.”
Captain Seth Williams sat at the helm of the Sleipnir, a Jurra class medium exploration vessel modified to serve multiple roles. Whether they were hired for construction, surveying, exploration, private security, or salvage, the Sleipnir could handle it. Its large cargo bay can hold plenty of freight or materials, and can even be quickly modified to house passengers of hold short range fighter craft. While its capacity was less than a dedicated cargo hauler, its six particle cannons and forward mounted mass driver cannon allowed it to operate in more dangerous space than most.
While his crew explored the derelict, Seth busied himself registering the find and logging the location, as well as keeping an eye on the sensors for any possible pirate or Dratali ships.
“Rachel, you almost ready?” Seth asked into the ship's communication system.
“Affirmative, Captain Seth Williams, Rachel is in position to begin transfer of marked salvage,” came a mechanical, feminine voice
“Once the atmosphere is green, go ahead and start.”
“Affirmative.”
With that done, Seth turned his attention to the communication panel.
“Call Jorge Edmond.”
Seth leaned back, folding his hands against his chest as he waited for a response. It didn't take long for the screen to flash and a middle aged bald man.
“Seth,” the man greeted joyfully. “How're the kids?”
“Playing in a derelict,” Seth replied. “Which is actually why I called. You remember that generous loan you gave me?” Hank grunted, half humorously, half irritated. “Well, I believe I can repay you... By giving you the opportunity to buy a Grey ship we found before putting it up for auction.”
Jorge's eyes widened. “What kind?”
“T-class science.”
Jorge whistled. “Let's work out a deal.”
Raak bowed his head in a moment of silence as he entered the dormitories. Here, like most Grey ships, were the majority of the dead. It was one of the great mysteries of the universe; what killed them? Why did it seem as if nearly an entire race just laid down, never to get up again?
Raak shook his head. That was a matter for scholars, not soldiers. As there was no one to fight, however, his task was to take a tally of the bodies so they could be delivered to a research facility. He had to admit, though, he was a little curious.
“Forgive our trespass and ignorance of your customs,” Raak spoke out. “I ask you to let us take these empty vessels, so we may one day learn of the tragedy that took your people. Perhaps then, you can truly rest peacefully.”
With a sigh, Raak resigned himself to his duty.
With a quiet hiss, the door to the labs opened. Whistling a merry tune, Curt entered, scanner at the ready.
“Oh, nice,” the man whispered to himself, tagging a device on the nearest table. “A Grey splicer. That'll fetch a nice price.”
Science laboratories like this were always valuable, more so than even engineering. Plus, they always had cool toys that Curt always wanted, but could never afford. Now, they found one and he could get a few for free.
“Sweet!” he exclaimed as he spotted one of said toys. “Hey, Seth, they got a couple Grey multitools. You want one?”
“Hey, I want one!” Debby's voice came.
“But, I'm captain,” Seth replied. “You can get the next one.”
“Sorry, Deb,” Curt said, teasingly. “Looks like you're out of luck.”
He laughed to himself as he grabbed three of the tools and scanned the fourth for pickup. If he was going to get the ornery bird a gift, he was allowed to mess with her a bit.
“Whatever,” Debby said, irritated. “Airs good to breathe, now. I'm going to engineering.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
“Bite me.”
“You know she's going to kick your ass, again,” Seth stated.
Curt pressed a few buttons on his wrist, and with a metallic clink, his helmet slid back, revealing a young, clean-shaven man with short blond hair and green eyes.
“Yeah, but it's worth it,” the man said with a smile.
“Well, at least the rest of us will enjoy it,” Seth said. “Rachel's on her way, so get to marking.”
Curt got back to work, marking equipment and other valuables. As he worked, his eyes landed on a little, light blue crystal.
“Hey, Seth, I found a data crystal,” he informed his boss. “It'd make a nice addition to your collection.”
“Thanks, that's perfect.”
Every job he finds particularly interesting or important, Seth takes a memento to commemorate the occasion. His collection wasn't very big, the crystal making nine, but it was fun for the captain. This crystal would probably rank up there with the gem he took from the staff of a Dratali adept he killed during the invasion of Kura'ta and the medal of courage he received for aiding the APS Valkyrie when it was attacked near Neptune.
Curt had thought of doing something similar, but collecting for sake of collecting was never his thing. He liked getting new stuff, but for the most part only if it's useful.
His thoughts were interrupted by the clicking of a dozen feet.
Curt turned to the entrance and smiled. “Hey, bug girl.”
Three figures entered the labs, each just over four feet in height covered in wood-brown chitin, and scurrying on four thick, beetle-like legs. The lead clicked its mandibles, as if in greeting. It brought its left 'hand' to its right wrist, its digits moving quickly over a device mounted thereon.
“Rachel greets you, Curtis,” came the mechanical, yet feminine voice.
“You don’t happen to remember where the main computer is on this particular class of ship, do you?” Curt asked.
“Unfortunately, that information was stored in the neurological centre of one of Rachel which was jettisoned during our escape from Tallow Bay Station.”
“Ah, right,” Curt said with a slight wince. “Well, you remember what it looks like?”
“No, but Rachel does have knowledge of the O-Class mainframe and the fact that there is an eighty-seven percent aesthetic similarity. You will be informed if the location if a similar computer is discovered.”
“Thanks.”
Curt set about continuing through the labs, scanning devices he knew to be valuable and looking for any computers.
These labs were partially modular. Several rooms were the same among all T-Class science ships, but most differed from ship to ship. It was because of this, when he entered a large, cold room lined with tubes, he nearly dropped from the surprise.
“Cap! Sweet payday, you won’t believe what I just found!” Curt practically screamed into the comm.
“What did you find?” Seth asked.
“We got a cryo lab!” Curt cheered.
“Caching, thank you, Lady Luck,” Debby joined in his cheer.
“Do any of them have bodies?” Raak asked.
“I’ll be checking in just a bit,” Curt answered.
“Perhaps Captain Seth would allow Rachel funds to experiment with new castes?” Rachel asked.
“If we can sell all the pods, you can do whatever comes to your minds, Rachel,” Seth said with a laugh.
“As soon as I find the control console, I’ll start getting them ready to load up,” Curt said. “I’ll let you know how many bodies we have. Go ahead and start getting cold storage ready for them.”
Curt moved between the rows with a skip in his step. Grey cryo pods were the single most desired piece of Gray tech in the galaxy. One could find a dozen Gray ships and never see a single one, yet they found one on the first and only Gray ship they’ve encountered.
Curt quickly got to work, logging how many pods there were, and how many had bodies, amusing himself trying to identify when and where they were from. Like most recorded cases, while a few were from other races, most were human.
There was some old guy in a Roman toga, a middle-aged woman in a dress right out of the 1940s, a young woman from the late middle ages.
The last one had him pause. Something seemed different about that one. He moved closer to examine her. She was certainly rather attractive, with smooth, creamy skin, and long, dark hair, all slightly illuminated by the machine.
That was when it clicked. There was a faint light coming from within the pod.
“Hey, Cap.”
“What’s wrong, Curt?” Seth’s voice came over the comms.
“Has anyone ever found one of the pods still powered?” Seth asked.
“No, they’ve all been drifting for hundreds of years,” Seth replied. “Even Grey tech can’t keep something like cryopods powered that long.”
“Okay, because one of the pods is glowing.”
For several seconds, there was nothing but silence.
“What do you mean ‘glowing’?” Seth asked.
“I mean, it’s glowing. It has power,” Curt clarified, a sudden thought coming to him. “Could... Could she still be alive?”
“Debby,” Seth began.
“I started moving when he said ‘glowing’,” she replied. “I’m almost there.”
A loud hiss startled Curt, a blast of steam hitting him.
“Uh, hurry, I think it’s doing something,” he said, panic rising.
“What’s going on?!” Debby demanded.
Curt watched as the front of the cryopod slid up.
Instinct drove him to dart forward, catching the figure in the mist as it fell.
Debby, panting from her sprint, rounded the corner to the sight of Curt holding a young woman, panic written all over his face.
He looked up at her and stammered, “Sh-she’s alive.”
As you can see, there are quite a few differences between this and 'A Mare's Tale'. The most glaring being the fact that Curt and company aren't military and the fact that Aidan was replaced by a hive-minded bug lady. The former was done to better fit the direction this will be going and the later was to prevent any possible legal issues, as Aiden is the guy that did the cover art. Obviously, including a character based on an existing person is a bad idea.
Anyway, this was going to be the first chapter, and may still be, but I'm going to be including quite a bit more befor this to better establish the crew before this.
So, I've seen someone else do this and I'm still quite curious how well it works out. But first I have to ask (mainly because I have not been reading your blogs and I am sorry for that)
But, are you re-writing your story on fimfic to work as your own novel, independent from Friendship is Magic?
Looks really good!
Can't wait!
You know, you could just ask Aiden if he’ll let you use him as a character for your novel, you don’t really have to replace him with a giant bug.
Let us know when you publish. I want a copy.
4901349
The problem with that is that it would require a lawyer and release forms and whatnot, and it's just more hassle than it's worth. Besides, Rachel offers some very unique possibilities.
4901302
Yes, and no. I'm completely reworking it from the ground up. The setting and characters are the same (sans Twilight and Aiden), even the war between the Alliance and the Dratali, but that's about the only similarities it will really have. Even Twilight's replacement will be quite a bit different. She'll have the same scholarly mind and powerful magic, but she's also from 13th century Earth where she had to hide from witch hunters.
4901454
In other words, she'll be human instead of a pony?
Looks almost like into the black cross bred with Firefly.
I'm in. Want a copy.
Hmm. I'm curious about how Technia would be portrayed in the book.
4901520
Not exactly. She'll have a few similarities, but she's a whole different character.
4901534
Kinda, but these guys are going to be operating within the law. Maybe skirting a grey area here and there, but that's about it.
4901570
She wouldn't really have a place in this version, sorry.
4901584
, but she's also from 13th century Earth where she had to hide from witch hunters
So she's a non-human from human earth being chased by witch hunters, or?
4901585
Seems more like human from a time on Earth when magic was a viable force to wield, like Merlin and Camelot.
4901585
4901806
More like a human from a time when she was hunted for being an abomination and whore of Satan.
4901854
Those two things aren't mutually exclusive, though.
4901993
Well, Merlin, in the stories was a loved and respected member of King Arthur's court. It's just how he was viewed that doesn't make a good example.
4902013
I merely meant him as an example of an Earth magic-user, not a measure of how such a person was viewed. There was nothing to determine how the girl in the pod was viewed during the time she entered it, but the information she could use magic was supplied in a later comment.
Edit: Whoops, missed the part about witch hunters. Reading responses at like 2am makes one less observant. Still, I hadn't meant Merlin to be an example of a mage's station in life, merely a representation of a human from Earth able to use magic.
Addendum: If this small debate hasn't made it obvious, I'm clearly interested in this story.
4902018
I can tell
4902026
Have fun, good luck, and don't overwork yourself. Not only is that not fun, you'd end up with many sad people. This would then prompt Pinkie to show up with her Party Cannon and try to turn the frowns upside-down. I'm all for happy and fun, but I'm not sure I want it at terminal velocity at point blank range.
You're the second author I know of who's doing this - de-MLP-ifying their story and turning it into a novel. I've got to admit, I don't know how I feel about all of this. From a writer's perspective, you want to avoid just writing the same story over again, but I can understand wanting to get something published, without having to give all your monies to Hasbro. I guess, if I have a question for you it's this.
Since good stories are built upon and driven by their characters, how do you feel knowing that you can write essentially the same/ a very similar story without Twilight?
4903197
Well, it would be hard to write a similar story, which is why I'm not. I'm taking the base concept of "A fantasy character in a sci-fi world" and some of the same characters (though even some of them are different) and writing a completely different story with them.
'A Mare's Tale' relies rather heavily on the main protagonist being a previously established character trying to find a way home. In this, there is no home to go back to because her home is a thousand years in the past. Instead, we have a character trying to make the most out of her lot in life.
There are some other major differences, but I don't want to spoil anything.
I can see why including a real person in a novel would be an issue, but there's nothing wrong as far as I'm aware with including a character based on a real person.
Should this come out in physical book (not just ebook) <$80. I will purchase. I paid $70 for the hardcover of Project:Sunflower. And have committed to the hardcover of What I Am.
Lookin forward to it.
4990073
We'll have to see. I'm going to try to find a publisher, if I can, but that's quite a ways in the future.
4990112
There's another sci-fi author on fimfic further on in that process.
Knight Breeze.
He wrote one of the other stories I mentioned. Might be able to help.
4990145
I think knight breeze self published. That's cool and all, but I want my book to be able to be put on sale at bookstores and in libraries.
I know that isn't necessarily going to happen, and if it doesn't I'll self publish. Still, I'd like to try.
4990145
Well it looks like I'm late to the party but when you do publish make a post and I'll buy a copy.
5365114
It'll be a while, yet. Life has made getting much done on it difficult, and seeing as I'm planning on publishing it, I won't accept the same level of quality that I do here. Quality takes time.
5365207
Completely understandable. I was just checking to see if you were still kicking after so long. When I first read your story a few years back it was on my old account which I'd lost the password for. After I got this account I tried to go through and refollow all the authors who's writing I liked but I ended up missing most of them. I saw this story again and decided to read it again and see what else you'd worked on and saw this post. So anyway long story short your a good author and I'll keep an eye out for your work for as long as it takes for you to deem it ready for release.
5365477
Well, I do have a couple stories ongoing on the site, too. If you want more of my stuff, check them out.