• Published 19th Sep 2012
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Homeworld: Equestria - hiigaran



Finding himself in an uncharted system, the Captain of a military vessel ends up on a strange planet

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12: Integration

“Today, our proud race finds itself shrouded in darkness. A darkness the people of Hiigara have not seen since the days of Kharak. Today marks the day our beloved leader, an icon, and symbol for our race, fell to the brutality of the Turanic Raiders. As kiith S’jet’s Kiith-sa, Fleet Command, and Hiigara’s Sa of Sas, Karan S’jet was perceived as our immortal beacon of hope for many generations. It is my sad duty to report that her guiding light has been extinguished.

Today, we set aside a moment in time to broadcast this message to all ships and installations spread across the galaxy. To waste any time in doing so would be an insult to her memory. To her life.

Karan S’jet was … an exceptional being. One of Kharak’s leading neuroscientists, it was she who bridged the gap between flesh and machine, knowing full well her work risked permanent connection to the mothership that led us back home. To Hiigara. Six months of isolation had left her body weak by the end of the ordeal, yet she endured, and against odds, survived extraction from the mothership’s core. The strength of her mind was matched only by the love for her people, and was rightly chosen as the leader of our military, Fleet Command, and as head of our government, the Sa of Sas. Huur S’jet would have been proud of his daught—”

Captain Soban muted the broadcast in his office. He had been pacing around frantically in solitude for several minutes, unsure of what to make of the events that had transpired. Where did those Raiders come from? How did they know about the meeting? This was clearly no rabble of mindless barbarians, so were they after Sajuuk for its power, or did they want the cores? Is Harmony in danger? Did the Captain make the wrong decision by returning to orbit above Equestria? Are they now in danger too?

He let out a shaky sigh. As much as the fiery desire for revenge ravaged through his blood, he could not ignore the one he respected above all others, and her final orders: Complete the mission. Not that he knew which clan of Raiders to pursue, anyway.

Soban took several deep breaths before peeking out of his office and into the bridge. Harmony’s officers had gathered around the main display, which played a live recording of a Hiigaran official who recited the same hastily written eulogy the Captain had listened to. Scanning the multicoloured crowd, he immediately saw Firelance, Nova, and Zenith, the former sandwiched between the others. Midnight Oil stood at attention by himself in the corner, a barely noticeable quiver on his lips. Twilight and her five friends, having arrived aboard just prior to the speech, sat at the centre of the crowd, their glistening eyes fixated on the feed.

The air hung thick with gloom. Though none of the crew had even seen the face of Hiigara’s most revered leader, the blow to morale was apparent, and the loss of several hundred other lives aboard Sajuuk had a much larger impact than the estimated four-figure death toll of the aggressors from Kadesh. It was rather ironic, the Captain noted, that this time it was he who was more composed than his crew, offering a stark contrast to the aftermath of Harmony’s first battle.

Soban stood at the doorway, unbeknownst to the occupants of the bridge, as he listened to the remainder of the broadcast. He shook his head at the rather lacklustre speech that did not do Karan’s life justice, but remained until the broadcast had concluded, and the crowd on the bridge had dispersed back to their posts. Despite everything, now was not the time to stand around idly.

Harmony remained unusually silent, and there was no exception as Soban escorted the bearers of the Elements to the construction bay, where Spanner awaited their arrival. “Hey, Captain”—he forced a smile—“I suppose you’ll want to get this over with as soon as possible, huh? We can’t exactly build anything with these five cores taking up all the space.”

The Captain nodded. “Which one is the loyalty core?”

“Right this way.” The greasy griffon lead the way to the other side of the construction bay, up several flights of stairs to the walkway that allowed passage to the entrance of the core.

Rainbow Dash looked down, and inspected the core. “Heh, it’s uhh … it’s a lot bigger than it looked when I first saw it.”

Applejack put a hoof around the pegasus. “S’alright, Rainbow. Ah’d be scared too.”

“I never said I was!” Rainbow shot a glare at her friend, a slight crack in her voice.

“Whenever you’re ready”—Spanner gestured towards the core entrance—“you may enter. Once inside, just stand in the marked area, and the machinery will do the rest. You may feel a slight stinging sensation along your scalp upon initial contact, but it will disappear after successful integration.”

Rainbow looked back at the others. “You—You mean you guys aren’t gonna be in there with me?”

“Nope. Once you are inside, the core goes into a sort of lockdown, which can only be undone when you disconnect,” Spanner explained.

Placing a tentative hoof on the walkway, Rainbow moved forward. Alright, Dash. You can do this. Just think of it as … impressing all of Cloudsdale. In front of the Wonderbolts. Yeah! No, wait … that’s not—

“Is something wrong, Rainbow?” Twilight prodded the pegasus, who had remained frozen with one of her hooves off the ground.

Rainbow shifted her eyes back and forth, resuming her approach towards the core hatch. “Uhh, no, I’m good. Just … thought I left the stove on at home. Heh.”

Eventually, Rainbow Dash had entered, taking a small elevator to the centre of the ancient device. Her surroundings were dark, and the walls, lined with strange components and circuitry, made the strangest sounds, alternating between hums, pulses, and groans.

“I guess this would be a bad time to tell everypony I have a tiny little problem with small spaces,” Rainbow muttered to herself, as she found a decently sized circular room with a hovering doughnut-shaped console in the centre. Guess that’s where I’m supposed to stand.

Flying over the console, several small objects around her had come to life as soon as she landed. Rainbow squeaked, as some of these objects attached themselves to her forehooves, while another lowered onto her head.

“Ouch! What the hay was—oh dear Celestia, I’m blind! I’m BLIN— … whoah.”

Rainbow’s vision had darkened, as her body and mind had adjusted to the strange new sensations that flowed over her and through her mind. No longer seeing the dim cavern in which she stood in, Rainbow Dash had images, hundreds of thousands of them, flashing, fading and zooming around her, and an eerie wave of serenity washed over her.

“Dash? Dash, can you hear us?” Soban’s voice met Rainbow’s ears from … somewhere.

“Uhh, yeah. Can you hear me?”

“Hello?” Dammit, how do I get this feathering thing to work?

“Rainbow Dash! Mind your language!” Rarity shouted.

Whoah, they heard that?

“Yes, we can hear your thoughts, remember?” Soban replied. “You should be able to control that, from what I’m told. Or at least, in due time. Apparently, it takes a little while for all the information on how to use the core to be downloaded into your mind and processed. Now tell us what you see.”

“I … kinda see everything. Like, everypony on Harmony, the moon, a—ooh, I can see my house from here! Cool, I can zoom in and look inside one of the windows I left open, too. I can even—oh horseapples, my stove really is on. Oh, wow, this is just awesome! I can see the surface of the sun! Twilight, you’re going to get a kick out of this!”

“Alright, I’m going to leave you to it, Rainbow,” Soban said, turning to the others. “Well since you are all here, does anypony else want to try their cores? Might as well get it out of the way now.”

Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically, prompting the group to move to the core adjacent to the loyalty core.

“Let’s see”—Spanner ran a talon down a nearby monitor—“this one is the kindness core. That would be … Fluttershy, no?”

“Eep!” the timid mare hid behind Applejack.

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash’s voice echoed around them. “It only looks scary. Once you’re in, it’s like … hay, I can’t describe it. But I promise it’s fine. I’ll bet you could check up on that manticore with the broken leg in the Everfree Forest if you want.”

Fluttershy straightened up. “Well, I have been meaning to check up on her.” Looking towards her core, she paused. “So I just enter?”

“And take the elevator down,” Rainbow advised. “Then keep going, and you’ll find a big room. Just stand inside the floating ring in the middle of the room, and that’s it. Oh, you might go blind for like three seconds, but you’ll be fine after that.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “B—blind?”

“Ahh, forget I said that. Just trust me on this.”

Step by cautious step, Fluttershy eventually made it inside her core, as anxious and nervous as Rainbow Dash had been, letting out a squeak as she too, had her mind melded with machine.

“Whoah. I’m guessing you’re in, Fluttershy. I can … feel you nearby. You okay there?”

“I—I think so. So this is what you can see. So much. So big. I thought the moon was much smaller than— … oh. Oh, gross, I can see into the … umm … the toilets.”

“Fluttershy!” Rarity admonished. “I expected better from you of all ponies!”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I can’t stop the images. So many images!”

Rainbow snickered. “I kinda noticed that as well. You sorta learn to block it out after a few minutes.”

“Okay, let’s speed things up a bit”—Soban looked at Spanner—“Next core?”

“Lemme check … Laughter core.”

Soban pointed at the grinning ball of bouncy pink fluff. “Pinkie, you know what to do.”

Oh buck no.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight stared in confusion at the kindness core.

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have—but I didn’t want—I meant—oh stupid, stupid Fluttershy!”

To Fluttershy’s relief, Pinkie didn’t hear a word, as she had already disappeared in a silent cloud and blur. Finding herself deep within her core, Pinkie’s booming voice took Soban and his company by surprise.

“WOOHOO, YEAH! Testing, one-two-three! Everypony hearing me?”

“Yes Pinkie!” Soban shouted over the ear-splitting voice. “Loud and … very loud.”

“You were right, Dashie! You really can see everything! Like, everything everything! Atoms, elements, molecules, compounds, DNA, proteins, cells, skin, a horn and—oh hi, Twilight! I seeeeee yoooooou! Betcha can’t see meeeeee! Oh, oh wait, Applejack, you got something on your face. Yeah, to the left. No, no, your other left. Yes, just a little higher. Almost. Almost. Yep, you got it! Oh, I know! Rainbow Dash! Read my mind. What colour am I thinking of?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Pink?”

“Yay, you got it! What about … now?”

“Pink.”

“Ooh, you’re good! How about—”

“It’s pink! It’s always pink!”

“Hey! How come you get to see into the future, and I can’t? Well I guess I have my good ol’ Pinkie sense. And how come you got a headache, Flutters?”

“Pinkie! Give it a rest!” Rainbow shouted. “Rarity? AJ? You ladies wanna … hehe, jump in and go for a ride?”

Applejack and Rarity eventually settled into their respective cores, exchanging comments about the new sensations and capabilities bestowed upon them, while Rarity reeled in disgust at some of the crude thoughts that drifted through the farm pony’s mind. Rainbow Dash had come down with a particularly nasty case of the giggles when Fluttershy had let slip a thought regarding the ‘hot flank’ of one of the crew members in engineering.

Twilight remained with Soban and Spanner. “Well that takes care of them. Now what about me?”

“That’s going to be the tricky part. We still haven’t made any progress on finding the sixth core. I mean, not exactly a lot of intel to go on. Those two keepers we defeated simply said they were the ‘guardians of the sixth’, and they were from Khorsabad, but that’s pretty much it, and the most I’ve been able to gather about Khorsabad’s location is that it’s a place found only by those who have seen it.”

“Does everything have to be so cryptic?” Twilight huffed.

“You’re asking me? I’ve put up with this ancient garbage well before I found your world, and it got old and frustrating real quick.” Rolling his eyes, he sighed. “Okay, I’ll give your friends a few minutes to get accustomed to their cores, and then they can disconnect.”


“Alright, there we go”—Soban knelt beside Rainbow Dash with her mane held back in his hands, the latter having spent the past few minutes throwing up into a bucket—“let it all out.”

“Why”—Rainbow shuddered—“isn’t anypony else feeling si—hrrk!”

“We’re all on the verge of it, dear,” Rarity assured, taking particular care to remain well clear of the reeking container her friend was hugging. “I doubt it was a pleasant experience for any of us to disconnect from our cores.”

“Ooh! You had waffles for breakfast, huh?” Pinkie pointed at the bucket’s contents. The mere comment sent Rarity over the edge, and galloping away to the nearest restroom.

Soban shot a look sideways at the least affected of the five. “You’re not helping, Pinkie.”

“That’s … okay. I—I think I’ll be fine,” Rainbow panted, wiping her mouth. “Ugh, I’m not looking forward to doing that again.”

“Yeesh”—Twilight reeled—“that looked nasty. At least I’ll know what to expect.”

“Yay. Lucky you,” Rainbow replied flatly, spitting into the bucket.

“Alright, come on, we should get some fluids in you. All of you. Got some cups of tea with your names on them.”

“Does it have to be tea?” Applejack asked.

“Dried lime tea, specifically. Boil some water with crushed, dried limes, and they will settle your stomach in an instant. It’s a common Hiigaran remedy even Karan took while—” Soban cut himself off, a wave of anger washing over him. Unclenching his fist, he sighed. “Let’s wait for Rarity, then head to the mess deck.”


“This stuff tastes funny”—Applejack gave the foreign liquid another quick sip—“though not in a bad way, mind. Not what ah’d expect from tea. Ah’m a coffee gal m’self, though. Coupl’a short blacks in th’ mornin’ would get me clearin’ out them apple trees, lickety split!”

“Bleh”—Pinkie made a disgusted gesture with her hoof and mouth—“I don’t like coffee. It’s so bitter, no matter how much sugar I add, so I just avoid it like the cutie pox.”

“Funny. I always assumed you were on a permanent caffeine high, or something,” Soban stated.

“Why would you think that?” Pinkie tilted her head to a rather unnatural angle.

“Well for starters, explain to me how you managed to hang yourself from the hot water pipe on the ceiling, when you were sitting at the table with your tea just a few seconds ago,” Soban commented casually, no longer surprised by the energetic entity’s antics, given the immunity his mind had developed against her over time. An immunity, it seems, the others shared.

“I’unno, but it’s warm up here!” she wiggled, looking strangely like an oversized, bright-pink bat.

Before the Captain could respond, he felt a slap on his back, as the fiery-maned pegasus took a seat beside him. “’Sup Mel. How’s— …” Firelance stared up at Pinkie.

Pinkie stared back, a vacant expression on her face.

“So how’s that core thing coming along?” he continued, wisely opting to ignore Pinkie and her cotton candy mane, which cascaded down and brushed along some of the seated individuals as she swung herself to and fro.

“Looks to be a success”—Soban took a sip of his own tea—“though I didn’t expect everypony to end up trying it all at once. At least we got that out of the way. Well, apart from Twilight, but there’s no reason why she can’t give it a go later on. The Elements might not work if she uses the wrong core, but she can still use the other functions of the cores. There were a few uhh, side effects, though. Let’s just say the cleaning crew still haven’t finished scrubbing down Rainbow Dash’s core after her nauseating experience.”

“Eww.”

“Yep. In any case, Zenith should be around with a few reports we generated on the cores while they were occupied. Medical reports, analysis on core-ship interaction. All that.”

“Really? Sounds interesting. Well, uhh, excuse me, I gotta go meet up with Nova”—Firelance fumbled to get up—“See ya.”

Soban grabbed his mate by the foreleg, hiding a smirk from the fidgety pegasus who showed the slightest hint of nervousness. “Sit your ass down, you’re not going anywhere. I’m going to need your help soon, with calibrating the double-clockspeed capacitance-adjustment relay,” he lied.

“Is that even a real thing?” Twilight eyed the Captain.

“Of course!” Soban lied again. “I don’t expect you to know every single little component, Twilight. After all, the—oh hey Zenith. Take a seat beside Firelance. Got anything interesting?”

Zenith parked herself beside Firelance, who fidgeted once more. “A few things, yes. Systems across Harmony showed rather peculiar responses to the hyperspace cores. It’s as if the cores have somehow wormed their way into everything. The interesting part? We haven’t even connected the cores to the ship! Furthermore—you okay, Firelance? You look like you have fleas, or something.”

Soban waved a hand dismissively, suppressing the urge to laugh at his friend’s nervousness. “Ahh, he’s fine. You were saying?”

Zenith cleared her throat. “Ahh yes. Furthermore, I’ve detected an energy field after examining the cores with the construction crew. We haven’t analysed the data yet, so we cannot determine what this energy may be, other than that it is safe. However, we did note the field was uneven, and there appears to be a force generated by this field. It’s minute, but I noticed it when engineering reported our manoeuvring thrusters kept firing in short bursts to sustain orbit. I’d be willing to bet if the cores weren’t secured, they’d be flying about in the construction bay. I should have a more detailed report in a few hours, but until then, I’m on break.”

Soban clapped his hands together. “Great! You can stay with us, then.”

Zenith shrugged. “Alright. Didn’t have anything planned, anyway. So, I’m guessing these must be the Elements of Harmony, correct? I only got a glimpse of you six together back aboard Manaan.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Why is it nopony instantly recognises us? Does the whole Nightmare Moon and Discord thing count for nothing? And we did kinda play a part in stopping the changeling invasion.”

“Rainbow dear, if you ever bother to listen to what Princess Celestia says to us”—Rarity rolled her eyes—“you would know she prefers if we weren’t publicised. Mostly because she thinks the unnecessary attention would disrupt our day-to-day lives. Personally, I wouldn’t mind. In fact, I’d love the recognition, but I know some of us would find it bothersome. So I suppose only those who bear witness to the Elements would know of us.”

Rainbow folded her forelegs. “Hmph!”

“Ignore her, darling,” Rarity addressed Zenith. “Rainbow Dash can be quite brash, at times. The name’s Rarity.”

“Rar—Rarity?” Zenith put a hoof to her chin. “The same Rarity who designs clothing?”

“The very same! Am I speaking with another satisfied customer?”

“I’d say so, yes. I’m quite a fan of your winter collection.”

“Oh, I can see you and I are going to get along just fine!”

“Hooo boy, two gals about to get into a fashion discussion, an’ Rarity’s one’a them. Brace yerselves!” Applejack stuck her tongue out at the white unicorn.

“Hush, you! Perhaps you might finally learn a thing or two about presentation and grace,” Rarity scoffed, returning her gaze upon Zenith, and gasping at her mane. “Oh my, I just had a wonderful idea! Forgive me if I sound forward, but if I paid you handsomely, would you mind if I highlight your mane some time? I’m not a mane stylist per se, but I have always wanted to expand my repertoire. After all, clothing should complement its wearer, and vice versa. Sadly, theoretical studies only get you so far with practice, and my friends are either unwilling, or their manes aren’t suited to it. Yours, however …”

“I’ve never understood why you mares feel the need to style yourselves so much. Zenith’s mane looks great the way it is,” Firelance blurted, realising moments later how his comment sounded, judging by the considerable altitude gained by Zenith’s eyebrow. “Uhh, I mean, ahh, think about it. All this stuff you do to yourselves just makes you something you aren’t, right? Why waste so much time worrying about how you look?” Crisis averted.

Rarity shook her head in disappointment. “Typical stallions. There are plenty of reasons for us to do all this ‘stuff’, as you so crudely put it, but I suppose with that mentality, I still doubt you’d understand.”

“Can’t say I disagree with him m’self,” Applejack cut in. “Waste’a time in mah opinion. Ya just have to do it again the next day, anyway. And fer what?”

“You have to brush your teeth the next morning and night as well. Is that considered a waste of time, too?” Rarity paused, a small frown creeping in on her expression. “You—you do brush your teeth twice a day, don’t you?”

“Mostly.”

“I’ll pretend that was a simple yes.”

“Well this conversation took a sharp feminine turn”—Soban moved to get up—“so I guess this is as good a time as any for me to finish some paperwork and take a quick nap. Let me know when the reports come in, Zenith.”

“Wait”—Firelance stopped the Captain—“what about that help you wanted with that double-clockspeed capacitance-adjustment relay?”

“What double-clockspeed capacitance-adjustment relay?” Soban smirked, whistling as he walked off.


“Captain? Captain, wake up!” Zenith’s voice persisted over the comms in the Captain’s quarters.

“Wha—? I’m up, I’m up. What is it? You got those reports ready?”

“Almost, but we have a more urgent matter on our hooves here. How soon can you get to the bridge?”

“Already getting dressed. What’s wrong?”

“Better I show you, instead. Just get up here ASAP.”

Wasting no time, Captain Soban donned his uniform once more, and set out towards the bridge at a brisk pace, tucking his shirt in, and aligning everything as he hurried along.

“Alright Zenith, I’m here. What’s going on?”

“We just noticed something on sensors,” Zenith explained. “There appears to be a small object sticking out of the ship, close to engineering.”

“Well? What is it?”

“I’m not sure. It’s in an area our external cameras can only get a partial visual of. I see engines, so maybe it’s some large missile from the Raider battle that wedged itself into the hull and failed to detonate.”

Soban leaned forward at Zenith’s closest screen. “That’s not a missile …”

Sure enough, in a small area between the reinforced armour of the engineering section, and the side entrances to Harmony’s hangar, a grey, tiger-striped object protruded from the hull like a parasite that had managed to partially burrow into its host. No more than ten metres in width and height, the blocky object showed no signs of life, save for a faded glow from its four large engines.

“Place the ship under lockdown. NOW!”

Moments after the Captain had issued the order, a low, buzzing alarm echoed throughout the vessel, as the floors shook with the slamming of doors and the sealing of compartments.

Zenith looked up, finalising the last of the lockdown procedures. “What’s going on, sir?”

“That’s a Turanic Raider corvette. The type designed to infiltrate. Zenith, find the closest Elements of Harmony bearer, and unlock a path to construction. Tell the bearer to contact me once integrated. I’ll need their eyes. Then find security group Alpha and tell them to meet me at the armoury. Unlock each section for us as we move, and lock them behind us. Got all that?”

“Contact bearer, find security Alpha, provide access to all of you. Got it.”


“I apologise, but exactly how were we meant to know what your ship looks like? At least, in such intricate detail, that we would notice something so small?”

“Forget it, Rarity. Can you see them?” Soban called out, while he and his team geared up. “Their body shapes would be similar to my own.”

“Should be simple enough … Ah yes, three of them. They’re hiding in section thirty-nine, four decks below your current position. You might want to be careful, though. They appear to be heavily armed.”

“Thanks Rarity, but we can take them without any problems. We have every advantage possible. Corona, you’re in charge of shielding us. Doughnut Joe, you’re on demolitions. Gail, take a pulsar rifle.”

“Aye,” the bulky griffon responded, slinging a rifle onto her side. “Alright, laddies, let’s go huntin’!”

“ Remember, we shoot to disable and disarm, not kill. I plan on interrogating this filth. Now move! Zenith, start unlocking sections!”


Rarity continued to oversee the security team’s movements. “You’re at the final door now, Captain. Watch yourself.”

“Will do, Rarity. Zenith, on my mark, open the door. Joe, the moment that door starts opening, get a stun grenade in there. Corona, set up a shield in the doorway, but leave openings for Gail and I to shoot from. Ready? Two to either side of the door, move it! Zenith, open the door in three … two … one …”

A hoof-sized cylindrical object was thrown into the room, making a ‘clink’ each time it bounced along the floor. Several shouts were drowned out as the device detonated. A brief display of brilliant, electric-blue lights lit up the rooms, as a pair of rifles rained down and burned clean through the legs of the three intruders. A split second later, they screamed in agony, collapsing on the floor with fist-sized, cauterised wounds through their legs.

“Drop your shield, Corona!” Soban yelled, dashing straight into the room after Corona complied. Side-kicking the nearest target in the face before he could reach his weapon, Soban pushed the fallen weapons away. Ignoring the second Raider who had already been knocked unconscious, the Captain focused his attention on the last trespasser, who remained flat on his back in silent agony.

The Captain knelt down above the Raider. “What are you doing aboard my ship?” he hissed, grabbing his victim by the armour, and pulling him up. “Speak!”

“Kraav no wos, dol—”

“Galactic Common, you vermin!” Soban hammered his fist into the Raider’s face. “I don’t want to hear that language of yours! I repeat, what are you doing aboard my ship?”

“You fled. We were … caught in your hyperspace wake,” the Raider’s voice strained.

“So you decided to try doing as much damage as you could before you would get killed? How did you know of our meeting with Sajuuk?”

“We. Were. Paid,” he wheezed.

“Paid by whom, huh? Paid by whom?”

“Nol ruusval maldo—”

“A name!” the Captain dealt another blow to the now-bleeding face of his prisoner.

“Nol ruusval Turan gav!”

Inhaling deeply, Soban released the man, letting him drop to the floor with a loud clang. He turned to his comrades. “All of you, outside. I don’t want any of you to witness this. Rarity? I know you’re still listening in. Cancel the lockdown and disconnect from the core.”

Neither Rarity, nor Soban’s companions needed to be asked a second time. As the three hurried out in single file, the Captain turned once again upon the single conscious being ahead of him. His gaze pierced the eyes of the fearful soldier, and once again, he spoke calmly. “Your kind destroyed our most valuable ship, killed both my commanding officer as well as Hiigara’s leader, and took another few hundred lives in the process”—Soban hovered his boot just above the Raider’s wound—“so here’s what’s going to happen. You will give me that name, and I will see to it your death is painless. Resist, and I will get … creative.”

The only reply the Captain received was a large glob of spit to the face. Wiping his cheek slowly, Soban applied pressure to the wound, eliciting a shriek from the Raider. The Captain paused momentarily to deliver another kick to the face of one of the other Raiders, as he noticed him coming to. “Disgusting pirate. Now, then. That name. I want. That. Name! Or perhaps I should use that creativity of mine, hmm?”

“Do your worst. We’ll see to it your friends’ world shall burn!”


Though the thick metal walls between Soban and his security detail muffled most of the noise, the others could still hear cracked screams and sobs for a good half hour, before several minutes of silence fell.

Finally, the doors opened. Soban emerged, a look of disbelief upon his pale face.

Mustering up some courage, Corona opened her mouth. “Captain? What happened?”

Soban merely looked at the unicorn and shook his head. “I’m going to need a few minutes alone. You’re all dismissed.”