//------------------------------// // The Longest Day, Part II // Story: Scrawled on the Back of a Sea Chart // by MrAskAPirate //------------------------------// “We’ve also finished replacing the primary phaser coil and rerouted weapon power through the secondary EPS manifold,” Twilight finished as he turned the PADD over to Sunset. “We’ll still need to repair all the burnt-out relays when we have a chance, but for now all combat systems are up and running.” “Not bad for only seven hours of in-flight repair time,” Sunset said with a smile. “Remind me to tell Flash he might’ve missed his calling as an engineer.” Twilight smirked. “He’s just trying to keep up with Applejack. She had the shields back online and deflector control operational in less than two hours.” She shook her head in amazement. “Of all the things she took away from her brief time as a Borg drone, her efficiency and work ethic are truly remarkable.” Sunset tilted her head. “I dunno; I get the impression she taught the Borg a thing or two about hard work, to be honest.” The two women shared a short laugh, and Twilight took advantage of the lighter atmosphere to slip into one of the chairs facing Sunset’s desk. “So… do you want to talk about it?” “Talk about what?” Sunset asked right back on the tail end of her chuckle. “Sunset,” Twilight warned. It only took a few moments of her science officer’s disapproving glare to break Sunset’s forced smile into benign frown as her ears drooped to the sides of her head. “It hasn’t even been four months,” she began solemnly. “Four months later and I came within a hair’s breadth of losing another ship. Some captains have commanded the same ship for over a decade, and I almost lose two in four months!” She shook her head in disbelief. “How can I be so spectacularly bad at this?” “You’re not,” Twilight answered. “Sunset, at the Vega colony you-” “Vega was a fluke, and you know it,” Sunset cut her off, standing so she could pace back and forth. “You were there, Twilight; you know better than almost anyone how completely screwed we were. We still don’t know exactly what happened to the Borg invasion fleet in orbit, but it had nothing to with me or anyone else on the Canterlot.” She grimaced. “We got lucky, and as arrogant and full of myself as I was, I actually fooled myself into believing otherwise. I let everyone shower me with praise that I didn’t deserve. I let it go to my head, and now here I am in charge of the lives of almost a hundred and fifty people, just one slip up away from getting them and you and all of our friends killed.” Sunset continued to pace for a moment before coming to a stop in front of the ready room’s window. “I just… I don’t think I’m as ready for command as I thought I was.” Twilight regarded her captain and friend for a moment longer, her gaze intent but patient. “Are you done?” Her voice was flat and sardonic, and she didn’t wait even a moment for Sunset to reply. “Good. There are a dozen reasons why you’re wrong, but we don’t have all day so I’m only going to focus on two. The first is that you seem to be forgetting that Fleet Admiral Celestia herself was the one who advocated for your field promotion. Do you really think someone who has been a part of Starfleet since the earliest days of the Federation would put someone in command of a starship if she thought for an instant that that person couldn’t handle it? “Secondly,” Twilight kept right on going, stepping over Sunset’s protests before she had even opened her mouth, “Vega was a completely hopeless situation. When that Transwarp conduit appeared and the first wave of Borg ships came pouring out, you know what my first thought was?” Sunset remained silent, choosing only to shake her head. “Nothing,” Twilight said with a tiny, awkward laugh. “I’m ashamed to admit it, but watching that lead cube bearing down on us, I... I froze. I was terrified and confused; I almost didn’t even believe what I was seeing.” Twilight shook her head as Sunset turned around to face her as she listened. “Then the first wave of plasma torpedoes hit us. Captain Easy Glider went down, and… and I honestly thought that was it. I thought I was going to die that day, or worse, end up assimilated. I was ready to give up. “But you didn’t,” Twilight said, her grim expression lifting as she likewise lifted her gaze to meet Sunset’s. “You did exactly what we were trained to do, without hesitation. You saw what needed to be done and took command of a ship full of untested, uncertain cadets. You held us together when we were ready to fall apart. You gave us direction and focus, and most importantly, you made us believe that we would not only survive, but that we could make a difference. We saved the lives of over two thousand people, Sunset, and you were the one who made it possible.” She smiled warmly. “Not bad for your first day on the job.” Sunset allowed herself a sad smile. “How long have you been practicing that speech?” “Since the day Celestia gave you command of the Canterlot,” Twilight replied without hesitation, though she added a wince at the end. “I’m kinda surprised I got through it without my notecards. Was it too clichéd? Too overdramatic?” Sunset laughed and shook her head. “It was perfect as always, Twilight... thank you.” Twilight smiled, but before either of them could say anything more, a soft chime rang through the office. “Rarity to Sunset,” a smooth voice slid through the comm system, “Your presence is requested on the bridge; we are approaching the designated coordinates.” “Acknowledged; I’m on my way.” Sunset nodded to Twilight and the two of them made the short walk out onto the bridge. She met Rarity’s gaze as the violet-haired woman rose from the captain’s chair, making it available for its rightful occupant. “Glad to see you back on your feet, Rarity. How are you feeling?” “Nothing a little trip to the spa won’t fix, darling,” Rarity smiled as she sat at command station to Sunset’s right. “I’m dreadfully sorry for not returning to duty sooner; Fluttershy absolutely insisted that I stay in sickbay where she could keep an eye on me, and you know how she gets sometimes when it comes to proper medical care.” Sunset agreed with a nod and took her seat. “What’s our ETA?” “We’re about a minute out,” Rainbow said. “You’re not gonna believe this, but there’s a whole star system here.” Sunset’s brow furrowed. “I thought these coordinates were in the middle of nowhere?” “They are!” Rainbow insisted. “I mean, there’s nothing on any of our charts, but-” she punched in a series of commands and brought up the unmistakable visual of a nearby star. “Boom. Have a solar system.” “Stellar Cartography confirms there is no known system at these coordinates,” Twilight added, “but I’m showing a main sequence G-type star with eleven planets.” “But how is that possible?” Flash asked. “We’re in the middle of the Beta quadrant; not some unexplored fringe of known space. How could a system this big go uncharted for centuries?” “Perhaps it was intentional,” Rarity chimed in, drawing the rest of the bridge crew’s attention. “Well consider what we know: the ship that rescued us sent us here. Whoever they are, they’re obviously aware that this system exists. Perhaps they’re a xenophobic species that took steps to conceal their existence.” “You think they somehow hid an entire star system?” Rainbow arched an eyebrow. “For, like, the three or four hundred years that over a dozen species have been traveling through this area of space?” “Possibly longer,” Rarity nodded. “It’s not as though it would be without precedent. The Aldeans hid their planet for thousands of years until they had a need to contact the outside world.” “Are any of the planets in this system inhabited?” Sunset asked, but Twilight was already shaking her head. “Three small class Y planetoids close to the star, and one slightly larger N-class. The rest are a mix of gas giants and assorted small moons. No indigenous... life.” “Twilight?” Sunset asked, having picked up her science officer’s hesitation. “What do you see?” “I’m… not sure,” she replied slowly. “The scan data we’re collecting on one of the moons orbiting the largest gas giant just seems… familiar. I’ve seen this before...” She tapped a few more keys, her eyes widening. “Sunset, this is… this is Equestria’s moon!” “What?” Sunset frowned. “What do you mean?” “Uh, last I checked Equestria wasn’t missing its moon,” Rainbow Dash snerked. “Pretty sure someone woulda noticed.” “No, no,” Twilight waved Rainbow’s response off, “I mean… the overall size and surface features don’t match, but some of the data--the density, the internal composition, the geologic instability ratings--they’re identical to what we have on file for Equestria’s moon.” She looked up and met her captain’s gaze. “Something’s not right.” “Agreed,” Sunset said with a nod. “Helm, drop out of warp and take us in. Standard orbit around the moon in question.” “Aye, Captain.” “Yellow alert,” Sunset added, screens all over the bridge popping up with the increased readiness status as Flash keyed in the proper command. “Let’s see if we can avoid any more surprises.” “Doubt it,” Rainbow mumbled under her breath. A few moments later, the Harmony glided into a graceful, slow curve above a large grey planetary body. “Full scan,” Sunset ordered, “and full report on any anomalous readings. If there’s so much as a rock that looks like it doesn’t belong, I want it documented.” A faint beeping emerged from Twilight console. “Captain, we’re receiving another text-only message; same carrier wave as before. This one looks like it’s… transporter coordinates.” She narrowed her eyes at the readout. “They’re for a location inside the moon.” “Focus scan on that location,” Rarity said, tapping a few controls on her own display. “Some kind of subterranean structure? Any residual radiation that might indicate a concealed power source?” “I’m reading nothing but solid, low-density rock,” Twilight shook her head. “If there’s a facility here, then whatever is concealing it goes way beyond basic cloaking technology.” Sunset stared at the moon through the viewscreen, taking a deep breath before standing and striding to the aft turbolift doors. “Rarity, you have the bridge. Twilight, Flash; with me.” “You’re going down there?” Rarity’s ears perked up as she stood. “Cryptic as they are, I don’t think our new friends would bother bringing us all the way here just to have us beam to our deaths,” Sunset called back over her shoulder as Flash and Twilight moved to join her in the turbolift. She turned and locked eyes with Rarity. “Maintain position for now, we’ll keep in contact. Deck six.” Rarity opened her mouth to protest, but the turbolift doors whisked shut at Sunset’s last command, leaving the pale-skinned woman to sigh and place one hand on her hip. A small, dark cavern deep beneath the surface of the strange moon was suddenly filled with a bright, blue-white glow as three transporter beams deposited Sunset and her away team within it. The light faded, and Twilight immediately slipped her tricorder from the holster on her belt. Flash would have done the same with the phaser strapped to his hip had Sunset not stopped him with an outstretched hand. “Let’s not shoot the people who saved our lives, okay?” Sunset chided him. “At least not until we know what they want from us.” Flash nodded, turning to take stock of the cavern, though a cursory glance told them it was less a ‘cavern’ and more of a tunnel. “Whatever shields this place is limiting my tricorder’s range,” Twilight said. “The walls and floors have signs of being worked by phaser drills, or something similar. This obviously isn’t a natural cave system, and it looks like it’s seen recent use.” “I figure the lights are a good indicator of that too,” Flash added. Twilight looked up from her tricorder, for the first time noticing the glowing nodes mounted along the walls every ten meters that provided more than enough light to see by. Various cables and conduits--some appearing quite worn, while others looked to have been recently installed or repaired--ran the length of the corridor’s ceiling and walls as well. “Oh,” Twilight said. “Right.” Sunset did her best to hide a grin as she started down the tunnel. “C’mon, it looks like there’s a side passage ahead.” The three made their way to the side passage, following it a short distance until coming to a large metallic door with an electronic keypad set into the wall nearby. Sunset pressed the central button on the keypad, and as the door slid aside, she heard the surprised gasps of her friends as her own eyes widened. Before them lay a docking bay of staggering size. Dozens of support hangars, ranging from those for shuttlecraft and small fighters on up to some big enough to accommodate the largest Federation starships--indeed, she recognized that more than a few of the occupied bays held the distinct shapes of Starfleet vessels--and beyond. In the middle sat one bay larger than all the others, and within it hovered the unmistakable black hull of the ship that had come to their rescue. The large, curved wall to their right featured several sets of reinforced doors, many wider and taller than the ones on Earth’s own orbital spacedock. “This is… this is incredible!” Twilight said as the three walked slowly out onto the wide platform before them, coming to stop at it’s railed edge. “It looks like almost the entire interior of the moon has been hollowed out and… and turned into a shipyard!” Sunset agreed with Twilight’s assessment, nodding as she noted the dozens or perhaps hundreds of repair crews that appeared to be naught but ants, scurrying and crawling over damaged hulls as the bright glow and showering sparks of plasma welders did their work. Smaller transport pods weaved through any available space, transporting more crews or supplies between what Sunset could only guess was a fleet of no less than fifty ships. “How could we not have detected all this from orbit?” Flash shook his head in disbelief. “What kind of technology could have kept an entire shipyard hidden from the sensors of a cutting-edge science vessel like the Harmony?” “None but the very finest, Lieutenant Sentry.” Sunset, Twilight, and Flash whipped around at the icy-smooth voice, following it up to its apparent source: a tall, imposing woman standing on a catwalk some twenty meters above them. She wore a sharp-cut, midnight blue uniform, and looked down upon the three of them with piercing teal gaze that radiated an air of authority. Her soft blue skin and the pointed, furred ears that rose from the top of her head marked her as Equestrian, but what truly drew Sunset’s attention more than anything else was the woman’s voluminous, flowing hair. A scant few shades lighter than her uniform, the hair danced and flowed in the air around her, ebbing and flowing as if caught in an unseen ocean current. It also sparkled with a light all its own, giving it an appearance not unlike a clear night sky. “It…it can’t be,” Twilight murmured, her voice small and weak as she stared at the woman with wide eyes. “She’s not… she’s…” “What?” Flash whispered, though his voice was tinged with an urgent sense of confusion. “You two both look like you’ve seen a ghost; does somebody want to clue me in?” Despite her every instinct screaming out with an answer she knew in her heart was true, the logical part of Sunset’s mind fought a losing battle of denial. Every reason why not, every other explanation, every rationalization was swept away as she matched stares with a woman that had seemingly stepped straight out of Equestrian mythology. Even so, the only words she could think to say were the obvious ones. “Who are you?” Sunset spoke. “What is this place?” “Greetings, Sunset Shimmer,” she said as she unfolded a set of feathered wings from her back and spread them wide in grandiose fashion. “I have been looking forward to meeting you. I am Commodore Luna.” A cold ghost of a smile appeared on the woman’s lips. “Welcome to Section 31.”