//------------------------------// // Odd Introductions // Story: Cosmic Lotus // by Goldfur //------------------------------// Wandering and Starry regaled Boyce and the chakats with stories of their herd-brother, Flix, while Eon continued to enjoy his lava spa. They wandered around the area, watching the bubbling pools and occasional steaming plumes from geysers. The alicorns maintained passive shields to protect them all from any potential hazards, but they were not needed until they returned to the lava pit. Eon grumbled a bit about having to leave what was considered a luxurious bath for dragons, but he was mollified a little when Starry promised to teleport him back there for another soak at a later date. Now that she had a fix on the area, it was well within her range. As the dracopony climbed out of the pit, some lava clung to his form and started to cool and harden. Eon absorbed the heat of the molten rock so that it cooled much more quickly than it otherwise would have, and then he tilted his muzzle to the sky and let out an enormous belch of flame that lasted several seconds. He finished with a sigh, then crouched down, drawing in on himself before rearing up with widespread wings and flexing his mighty muscles. All the lava that had hardened on him abruptly shattered and flew off his coat, leaving it fresh and clean. The non-Equians could only marvel at how this actually worked. “Ah! Refreshed inside and out!” Eon said with satisfaction. “I’ve worked up an appetite though. Who else is hungry?” “We’re due back home soon so that we can get ready for the Prime Minister’s reception,” Boyce replied. “You can get a snack, but I suggest you leave room for the banquet that they have planned for you after the ceremony.” “Sounds good to me. Will they serve up some fresh gems at the feast?” Boyce blinked in confusion. “Gems? I don’t follow.” Wandering enlightened the human. “Dragons eat gemstones. Not only do they find them tasty, but they’re also a necessary part of their diet.” “Y’know – I’m getting a little tired of being boggled,” Boyce said with an air of resignation. Garrek asked, “How can you afford a diet like that? Gemstones are rare and expensive.” “Not on Equus,” Starry assured the foxtaur. “At least, not the common, imperfect ones. Dragons can get by for a long time on just quartz if necessary.” Eon stuck his tongue out in distaste. “Sure, and you ponies can get by on eating swamp grass too, but neither of us is going to do that.” Everyone chuckled at that, and Starry said, “Don’t fret, Eon – Destined brought a fresh supply for you to season your meals. I’ll fetch it from the Lotus before we leave.” “Thanks, Star,” Eon said with a grin. “You have no problem teleporting up to your ship in orbit?” Goldfur asked curiously. Starry shook her head. “There’s a mana beacon that we can home in on. That’s how our herd-brother, Destined, can find us from thousands of light-years away.” “You haven’t met hir yet, but we have a teleporter in the family by the name of Chakat Swiftwalk. Shi works for the Star Corps like I do, and has ’ported a few hundred light-years at most, but that’s only because shi hasn’t found hir limit yet if there is one. Shi can’t teleport to a moving ship either without some sort of fix. I’m wondering if shi and you ponies employ the same technique to teleport, and if shi can use your mana-beacons to get a fix.” “Something else for us to discover someday,” Wandering said. “But speaking of which, does anyone want to teleport back to the house?” “I’ll take that offer,” Eon replied. “I’ll go back with Eon,” Ixia said. “Garrek and I could use the extra time to help get the cubs ready for the event, and it will be interesting to compare the experience to Swiftwalk’s,” Goldfur pointed out. Wandering gave Starry a querying look. “Do you want to go or shall I?” “You can travel back with Boyce. I know that you enjoy seeing the scenery more than I do. My preferred views are astronomical.” “Okay, I’ll see you back at the house then.” Starry gathered her passengers around, and with a flash of her magic, they were gone. Wandering looked at Boyce. “Can we take a different route back?” The human grinned. “Let’s go ahead and do that.” The alicorn and human chatted some more while they took the scenic route home, but the subject had returned to Wandering’s herd-brother once more by the time they arrived. When Starry encountered them entering the house, she raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “Are you still talking about Flix? I think you’re tempting fate by talking about him so much.” “Why do you say that, Starry?” Boyce asked curiously. “He’s the star pupil of Discord, the Lord of Chaos. If he could turn up at exactly the wrong time, it would cause maximum chaos, and thus suit him perfectly.” Boyce chuckled. “So you think he’s kind of like Beetlejuice? Say his name three times and he’ll appear?” Wandering laughed. “Flix isn’t quite that bad. Just saying ‘Flix’ three times won’t do anything.” Starry glared at her mate. “Wander – stop it.” The stallion gave her a mischievous grin, and then very deliberately said, “Flix!” A bright flash of light filled the room, and when it cleared, a large, cast-iron bathtub on legs occupied the middle of the floor, overflowing with bubbles. The top half of the aforementioned chimera had some suds on his head, dripping onto his shoulders as he glared at the trio. He waved a back-scrubber at them accusingly. “Don’t you know it’s inconsiderate to interrupt a guy’s bath time?!” Wandering was chagrined. He should have known better. Starry face-hoofed. “Boyce – meet my elder brother, Flix.” As the human was about to reply though, a snorkel suddenly rose from the suds on the other side from Flix, followed quickly by its wearer, a rather startled orange changeling. “What about you?” Flix asked his confused bath-mate. “Don’t you think it’s rude, interrupting our buggy-bath?” “Oh – and his special somepony, Orlonda,” Starry added with a roll of her eyes. Flix’s sour expression abruptly changed back to his normal impish grin. “Not just a special somepony anymore, Star. Meet your new sister-in-law!” he announced, giving Orlonda a hug. “Sister-in-law?! You finally did it?” Starry asked incredulously. “Eh! Celestia finally got one up on me, and Orlonda proposed as a result. The Princess married us yesterday. We’re on our honeymoon.” “Should I ask what she was doing with that snorkel?” Boyce quietly asked in a bemused tone. “Nope. Don’t make the situation crazier than it already is,” Wandering advised. Flix snapped his talons and the bathtub disappeared in a flash of magic, leaving both chimera and changeling completely dry. “Well, at least I don’t have to figure out how to get a tub out of the room,” Goldfur said from the doorway where shi had been observing the meeting along with several others attracted to the commotion. Starry had stepped up to give Orlonda a congratulatory hug and Flix a kiss on the cheek. “Let me introduce to you Chakat Goldfur, our host and head of the family.” As the chakat came forward to exchange handshakes with them, shi said, “Nominal head, actually. Everyone else decided that I was it by default.” “Sorry to hear that,” Flix said. “That means you have to be the no-fun party-pooper.” Goldfur smirked. “Occasionally, yes. I like to think that I’m not a complete stick-in-the-mud.” Flix raised his draconic arm, two talons ready to click. “Perhaps you need a bit of a change?” Starry dived onto Flix’s arm, dragging it down. “Flix! No! We don’t have time for your shenanigans right now. We all have to go to an official function, and we need to make a good impression. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” The chimera looked over to Orlonda and nodded. “How does a tour of Chakona sound like, hon?” “Sounds fun,” she replied. “Umm, you’re going to stand out like a sore thumb… or hoof… whatever,” Goldfur pointed out. Orlonda’s magic fire burned, and moments later she was now a female cat morph – a nude one. Flix freed his arm and snapped his talons, and was replaced with an equally nude male cat morph. He hooked his arm with Orlonda’s and gave the watchers a cheery wave. “Catch ya later!” With a wave of his paw, the pair seemed to turn sideways to all three dimensions and slipped out of view. “How did they know how to imitate cat morphs?” Boyce asked. “Those were Abyssinians, actually – an Equian species,” Wandering informed him. “I’m more concerned about them going out in public naked. Abyssinians normally wear clothes.” “On this world, clothing is optional, although most tend to wear clothes anyway, even if just for fashion. But it still doesn’t explain how they knew that Abyssinians resemble a species found on Chakona.” “Probably because Flix was doing his usual job of messing with our heads,” Starry replied. “You don’t think they were really in the tub when Wandering summoned Flix, do you?” “You have a point,” Boyce admitted. “Take nothing for granted with him, right?” “Right. And be prepared to roll with it when he inevitably does something to you.” “As long as he doesn’t mess with the ceremony today, I’ll live with it.” Starry silently prayed that Flix had not heard that. The Equians all boarded Boyce’s skiff for the flight to Amistad. The Admiral was back in uniform as this was to be a formal event, and his passengers had followed suit. The journey to Chakona’s capital city was swift and brief, but Boyce slowed down upon approaching its boundaries so that the Equians could get a good look at the sprawling metropolis from a great height. Amistad had grown up around a bay but did not resemble any normal Equian city. It was a fusion of high technology and natural beauty so that it was often hard to tell where structures began and forest left off. Boyce did his best to play tour guide, pointing out how trees and shrubs were integrated with the buildings to eliminate heat island problems and provide both aesthetic and practical benefits. Even the tallest of structures had rooftop gardens, and all the roads were-tree-lined. There were not any skyscrapers though, which surprised the visitors. “There’s a rigid height limit to all structures on Chakona,” Boyce explained when queried. “Where greater density is absolutely required, you will find that there are significant underground facilities. On the whole, though, the Chakonan charter mandates environmental considerations for everything, and gigantic buildings simply aren’t conducive to that kind of thing. This world was settled and developed with a very specific philosophy in mind, and you find similar designs around the planet.” The human pointed out the various major sights of the city before he turned east and flew over the mountain ridge that bordered the sprawling metropolis on that side. A large open area was crisscrossed by roads linking pads of various sizes and shapes, some of which were occupied by vessels that the Equians realized must be spacecraft. “As I am not permitted to land in Amistad itself except in an emergency, we’ll be landing at the spaceport,” Boyce told them as he lost altitude. “This area is in the rain-shadow of the mountains and was mostly open plains which made it easy to develop into the combination airport and spaceport for Amistad. Pardon me for a moment while I talk to Air Traffic Control.” While the approach to the spaceport was largely coordinated by computer-controlled systems, there were still some obligations that the pilots had to deal with personally. With those out of the way, Boyce navigated his skiff to a landing pad suited to his type of vessel. Very quickly, they were on the ground and ready to disembark. As the door to the skiff opened, Starry said, “I may be wrong, but this seems an awfully long way from the city itself. How are we to get there quickly? If I understand the local time correctly, we don’t have much of an opportunity to get there and prepare ourselves for the official greeting. Are we supposed to teleport there?” Boyce grinned and replied, “While it’s true that we’re quite a distance from the city, that’s not a problem. Once we’re in the spaceport, you’ll see.” The group was met at the base of the pad by a fully automated electric people-mover. Boyce encouraged everyone to board and then touched a button on the control pad. The doors closed and the vehicle took off. With computer-controlled speed and precision, they wove quickly and safely between the landing pads and headed for the huge structure that was the spaceport. The Equians got to admire the various craft as they passed by them, noting that this section was devoted to small spacecraft like Boyce’s skiff, while further away they could see what were obviously aircraft either parked or taxiing through the airfield. As they watched though, a deep rumbling noise drew their attention to the far side of the complex where a large space freighter was coming down for a landing. The people-mover drew into the building complex and its passengers got out. It was a parking bay for several of those vehicles, and as such was quite busy. The Equians drew a lot of stares of curiosity from the various people there. In spite of the diversity of species that this planet was home to, nothing like the ponies, dragon, and changeling had ever been seen before. They just smiled and waved as Boyce herded them in the direction of his goal. First, they had to pass through Security though, and the Admiral had to show the special permit for his guests to allow them to proceed further. With his rank, this was accomplished very swiftly, and the group proceeded to the next section which turned out to be a transportation hub. Boyce handed out smart-cards to each in the group which they put into their packs. They then passed into the station without even having to pause as the systems identified that they had a valid travel card and opened the gate for them. “We’re in luck,” Boyce said as he looked up at an information sign. “The train that is scheduled to go into Amistad is right on time.” He pointed to a platform. “We will wait there for it.” They trouped over to the platform and Wandering looked around curiously. “There are rails next to the other platform, but none here. Why is that?” “Maglev,” the Admiral explained. “The ultra-high speed train network passes through the spaceport, and that will take us into the city in minutes.” “What’s maglev?” “Magnetic levitation. You don’t have that kind of train on Equus?” “No, only conventional high-speed rail. This will be fascinating to see.” Wandering did not have to wait too long before the train arrived, easing into the station with a quiet hum. It was sleek and beautiful, and the Equians eagerly boarded it after the doors opened and several passengers got off. “Next stop – Amistad Central Station,” came a voice over the public address system. The doors closed and the train accelerated smoothly and swiftly out of the station. The motion was so free from jerks and noise that they hardly noticed the movement, but soon the landscape was hurtling past them. Then they abruptly plunged into a tunnel and all that could be seen outside was the flickering of the passing lamps that illuminated the shaft. “We’re now travelling through the Mount Catspaw tunnel, right through the whole mountain range. No need to go around or over it, so it’s a very fast direct connection to the spaceport,” Boyce explained. Sooner than they expected, the maglev train was out of the tunnel and hurtling through the outer suburbs on its elevated track. The Equians watched as first residential areas interspersed with parkland passed by, and then the first offices and commercial areas flashed by. Mere minutes passed before the train started to decelerate as they entered what obviously had to be the central city area. The maglev pulled into Amistad Central Station with all of the Equians wishing that the journey had taken a bit longer so that they could have experienced more. “This is where we get off,” Boyce advised. As they followed him onto the platform, he pointed out various features of the facility. “Over on the next platforms are the regular trains that service the city and suburbs. There are also tram platforms for the local services, along with connecting bus services. If you want to go anywhere in Amistad or Flinders Continent, this is your starting point.” “So, which one do we take?” Ixia asked. “None of them,” Boyce answered with a smile. The station is directly adjacent to the Government Centre, and unless you’re feeling lazy and wish to take a ride there, I suggest that we walk and you can play tourist.” Wandering was surprised. “Won’t the Prime Minister be expecting something more formal than the five of us just strolling up to the Capitol Building?” “Chakonans, and especially chakats, are a pretty easy-going people. As this is a welcoming ceremony and not a high-level diplomatic mission, we figured you would prefer this low-key arrival. Ironically, it’s faster than being picked up by a limousine at the spaceport.” “Works for me,” Eon said. “I can do my job without clashing with the local security people.” Boyce nodded. “I noticed that you’ve been quietly observing things since we landed.” “Yeah. Not that I expect anything hostile, but you never can tell what the public will do, especially with something unusual like us.” “I heard that you turned down a request for a bout with Lieutenant Baneth.” The dracopony nodded. “The Lieutenant was too keen to prove herself to me. Someone would have gotten hurt, and that would not have been me. Wandering may have restrained himself, but I’m slated to succeed Warmaster Blue Streak, and I don’t take it easy on anyone who challenges me. If she had asked to train with me, that would have been a different matter, but she wanted a formal fight.” “You’re that confident that you could beat her?” Boyce asked with an arch of an eyebrow. “Baneth is strong, skilled, and smart, but she’s still outclassed. House Path trains the finest warriors on Equus, and the Warmaster is another level above the best of them. I struggle to lay a claw on my father, Blue Streak, during our training bouts, and most of the time I only can do so when he wants me to so that I can practice other moves.” “Thank you for not harming my Bravo Team leader,” the Admiral said gratefully. “I hope you give the same consideration to the citizens here that may inadvertently cause your group problems?” Eon gave him a toothy grin. “Just part of the job, Boyce.” The human decided to leave it at that. By this time he had led them out of the station and onto a concourse that led them in the direction of several impressive buildings that were slightly uphill from them. To the sides were two creeks which bordered the paved area and stands of trees on the other side. Further along, Boyce pointed out the Department of the Environment building on the right and the Department of the Interior on the left. Then they came upon two large statues of humans – a man and a woman. At the base of each was a name – Ka’Turna and Cha’Turna. Wandering stopped to look at the statues more closely, then turned to Boyce and asked, “Why do two humans have such significant statues? I look around me and I see over half the people here are chakats, and the other half mostly morph species. There are very few humans at all.” “That’s because these two humans are of particular significance to the chakat race. Charles and Katherine Turner were the genetic scientists who perfected the taur form, and chakats in particular. The whole race and its variants owe their existence to these two. The two moons of this planet were named after them.” “I can see why chakats would revere them.” “It’s also a good reminder that despite their differences in physiology, every Terran species is a child of humanity in some way. While no world is perfect, the chakats have worked hard to make this the most diverse and inclusive society to be found in the entire Federation. That’s one reason why you will fit in so easily among them, and why Chakona is so grateful to you for giving them hope that their world will survive the threat of the Swarm.” “That’s kind of a huge responsibility, Boyce. We’re not omnipotent, despite our magic.” “No one expects more than you can give, Wandering, but what you have done already far exceeds what we have been able to accomplish for the past couple of decades. Hope is a powerful thing.” “Then let’s hope that we can do more,” Wandering said as he resumed walking. They approached the Capitol Building which was flanked by the Superior Court and an administration building. Mounting the steps, they crossed the forecourt and into the airy foyer. Boyce approached a reception desk with the group in tow, and a chakat seated there observed the group with an expert eye. “Admiral Kline and the envoys from Equus, I presume,” shi queried as they arrived at hir desk. “That is correct,” Boyce replied. “One moment, please. The Prime Minister is expecting you.” Shi touched a button on the comm in front of hir and said, “The delegation has arrived, Shir.” “Excellent. I will be out momentarily,” came the voice from the comm. The receptionist held out a hand to indicate a lounge area. “Please wait over there. The Prime Minister will be with you very shortly.” “Thank you,” Wandering said. The receptionist broke hir cool professional demeanor to give him a genuine smile. “And may I say welcome to Chakona. I hope I get to see more of you in the coming days.” “Just wait until my crew comes down for some R&R!” the stallion replied with a grin. As promised, the Prime Minister did not keep them long. Flanked by a male fox morph and a skunktaur in female mode, the pale yellow chakat with dappled spots on hir arms and back approached the group with a huge welcoming smile. “Hello, I am Chakat Sunflare, Prime Minister of Chakona, and I am enormously pleased to meet you. You must be Captain Wandering Path.” Shi held out a hand to the stallion, having evidently been informed as to who led the group. The alicorn put his hoof in hir hand and they shook firmly. “A pleasure to meet you, Shir Sunflare,” Wandering replied with the correct honorific. “Let me introduce my companions.” He named the others and gave Sunflare a brief idea of their roles on the ship. “Excellent! This is Zuni, my personal aide,” Sunflare said as shi indicated the skunktaur, “And this is Andre Wyld, who is coordinating the reception for you and your crew. If you would like to accompany me to my office, we can discuss that some more.” The group followed Sunflare deeper into the building until they reached hir office flanked by two security guards. They nodded at hir and the others as they entered the spacious room. The chakat took hir place behind the large desk as shi invited everyone to be seated. Couches suited to the taurform were equally comfortable for all of the Lotus crew, while Boyce took a conventional chair. Sunflare smiled warmly. “First, before the official ceremony, let me welcome you to our world. I hear that you have travelled here the hard way.” Wandering grinned and replied, “Well, I would not say hard, but it certainly was the long way. After experiencing FTL drive on the Admiral’s ship, I can definitely say that I prefer the shorter travel time.” The chakat chuckled. “I have no doubt about that. Nevertheless, what you lack in warp drive, you more than compensate with your other capabilities, although even now I have a difficult time accepting that magic is a real thing. Still, if it saves our world from the Swarm, I will be a ready convert.” “It’s still early times yet, Shir Sunflare,” Wandering replied seriously. “We have only just started to learn about your enemy, and magic is not omnipotent.” “I am a realist, Captain – I am aware that there is still a lot more to discover, but with your aid, I believe that Chakona, and indeed the Federation, have hope at last. Crowds are already starting to make their way to the concourse for the official welcoming ceremony because they want to see for themselves the people who may be our home’s salvation. I hope that you’re prepared to meet them all.” Starry laughed. “I hope they are prepared to meet us! Aside from we four, the crew has not breathed the air of a planet in over a decade. I know that many are just itching to get shore leave after so long.” The chakat chuckled. “Believe me, I know how important it is to have a holiday. Zuni has made arrangements to supply all of your crew with documents in order for them to enjoy our hospitality while on Chakona. We’ll leave that until after the ceremony and banquet though. Andre will be more than happy to make tourist arrangements for your crew after that.” “That’s very good of you, and I’m sure that my crew will be very grateful. In the meantime though, what arrangements have been made?” Wandering asked. “You came here via the concourse rather than PTV?” Wandering looked at Boyce questioningly. “A PTV is a Personal Transport Vehicle – a ground car,” Boyce clarified. Wandering nodded in understanding. “We walked from the station.” “Then you are familiar with the steps out the front and the wide paved area at the top of them. That will be the stage for you and your crew from which you will be able to see the people and address them. How do you plan to bring them all down? Do you require a special permit for a shuttle?” Wandering shook his head. “Starry and I can teleport everyone down. Just tell me when to have them there and we will go back to the Cosmic Lotus and bring them down.” “The ceremony has been scheduled to start at 1100 C.U.T., so if you can have everyone there five minutes beforehand, that would be ideal.” “We can do that. What happens next?” “After some speeches, we will all come back inside and go to the functions room. A feast has been prepared for you all, and I assure you that we got a list of your various diets from Doctor Saarath, so everything should be suitable for your consumption. There will be various dignitaries and important people there to dine with you, not to mention some very eager scientists who are more than a little interested in meeting with new species. Don’t feel that you are under obligation to do anything for them though because this will be purely a social event. What you choose to do afterwards is up to you, however.” “And after the banquet?” “Accommodation has been arranged at a fine hotel for all of you. Actually, we booked its entire facilities for you to use all at our expense for the duration of your stay on Chakona. I believe you will be leaving in about two weeks to meet with the Federation Council?” “Yes. As ambassadors for Equus, we will need to be present when our world leaders address the Council.” “I hope you will enjoy our hospitality until then, and I trust that your crew will not abuse that hospitality,” Sunflare said with a firm smile. Wandering understood the gentle warning and smiled reassuringly. “I will make a point of asking them to show consideration for their hosts, but they are a good crew, and I believe you will not have any problems with them.” Starry privately thought that if there were going to be any problems, it was not going to be any of the Lotus’s crew, but a certain older brother of hers. Faust only knew what he was up to right at this moment. Starry and Wandering materialized on the bridge of the Cosmic Lotus. Unsurprisingly, they found Commander Bluequill on duty there, although all by himself. The monitor screen showed a skeletal structure surrounding the ship, and with the ship effectively docked for repairs and maintenance, there was next to nothing for him to do, let alone any additional crew. “Is everyone ready to teleport down to the ground, Commander?” Wandering asked. “For the most part, yes. They are eager to get shore leave at last. You may wish to talk to Radiance Point though.” Wandering rolled his eyes. If anypony was likely to knock back a chance to breathe the fresh air of open skies, it was going to be Point. The alicorn intended to leave just a few changeling crewmembers on board to assist with the renovations because, unlike the other species on the staff, their kind was quite at home in the enclosed environment of the starship. Radiance Point was in a league of his own though. “Have the crew line up in the common room. Starry can start teleporting them down while I have a word with our overenthusiastic engineer.” “Aye, sir. You can tell my right hoof stallion that I can keep an eye on things in his absence.” Starry and Wandering had already started heading for the door, but the stallion came to an abrupt halt. “I beg your pardon, Commander? Did you not understand my orders? All non-essential crew are to come down with us for the reception.” “Sir – someone in command needs to stay on board,” the griffon replied firmly. “We’re effectively in dry-dock for a while. Command staff don’t need to be on board.” “I respectfully disagree, Captain.” “This is not a military ship, Bluequill. We can and will leave some responsible crewmembers here, but it doesn’t need to be command staff.” “Maybe not need, but I would prefer it if we did,” the griffon stubbornly replied. Wandering frowned. Bluequill was not totally in the wrong, but the alicorn knew that the griffon needed to get into open skies again for his own mental wellbeing. However, he reckoned that he might have a way to get around the problem. “I’ll come back once we’ve teleported everyone down.” He then turned and left. Wandering headed for Engineering. Inevitably, that was where he would find Radiance Point. Sure enough, the unicorn was there, poring over a schematic with one of the starwalker foxtaurs. The space-faring morph was barely bigger than the pony shi was consulting with, but Wandering knew that what shi lacked in stature, shi more than made up for by hir adaptations to an extremely hostile environment. Shi belonged in space, while he was only a visitor. He cleared his throat to get their attention. Point turned and his expression brightened upon seeing the alicorn. “Captain! Did you know that the starwalkers have plans to adapt our old solar sail mounts to attach a barge docking ring? With a barge fitted with warp drive, Cosmic Lotus can travel light years in days!” “Yes, I knew that, Point. I would never have given them permission to modify the Lotus so radically if I didn’t know exactly what they had planned.” “Oh.” The unicorn’s face fell momentarily before he brightened again. “This is going to be fascinating stuff. I’ve been working with Voyager here on the retrofit.” Wandering gave an acknowledging nod to the starwalker before saying to Radiance Point, “You are supposed to be accompanying your sister down to Amistad for the welcoming ceremony, remember?” Point waved a hoof dismissively. “Sunrise Flight can go without me. She needs to be able to fly under an open sky for the first time. I need to be here.” Wandering sighed. “I have an equally stubborn griffon up on the bridge. One of you has to go. Frankly, it should be him, and seeing as you have command rank too, that eliminates his argument for staying. So I’m letting you stay, but with the proviso that you give me daily updates. And you will take at least a day before we leave Chakona to take your sister somewhere nice, and just be siblings without responsibilities for once.” “You’ve got a deal, Captain,” Point replied with a grin. “Good. Carry on.” Wandering headed for the common room where he found that Starry had already managed to teleport two-thirds of the crew down. He teleported a couple of groups down to join the others gathered in the foyer of the Capitol Building before he returned to the bridge. “All done, sir?” Bluequill enquired. “Not quite,” Wandering replied, putting a hoof on the griffon’s arm. “You’re relieved.” He then teleported them both down to the planet. Bluequill’s surprise was rapidly turning to mild anger before Wandering said, “I have left Radiance Point in charge. Your second-in-command fulfils your obligations, so are you now going to defy my orders?” The griffon’s beak hung open, but no words came out. Eventually, he shook his head and replied, “No, sir.” Wandering grinned. “Cheer up, Commander! We’re going to a celebration, not a funeral.” The griffon humphed, but he did not protest further. The alicorn stallion then sought out Andre Wyld whom he found looking worriedly out the glass frontage of the foyer. Wandering could see people of many different species gathering, and the spacious concourse looked to be at least three-quarters full already. Sunflare had been correct in saying that the Cosmic Lotus crew had stoked a lot of excitement among the citizenry. He wondered what was bothering the fox morph though. “What’s wrong, Mister Wyld?” The fox pointed, and the alicorn now noticed dark clouds on the western horizon. “There’s a storm coming in, and the weather bureau says it’s headed straight for us. The ceremony is going to be a washout.” “Don’t you have weather control to take care of that?” Wandering asked. Wyld looked at the stallion with surprise. “You can control the weather?” “Well, specially trained pegasi do. Equestria schedules the amount of rain and where it falls. Weather teams for all cities and towns ensure that gardens get their water and sunshine while outdoor events always have fair weather.” The fox just stared at him incredulously. “You want us to try to do something about this?” Wandering asked. “I… suppose so. Can you?” “We can try. Don’t want to disappoint all those people out there.” Wandering turned around to face his crew. Attention all pegasi! Who among you have had any weather control experience?” Only three hooves went up. Wandering pointed at one. “Blue Skies – didn’t you use to work at the Weather Factory?” “Yes, Captain,” the mare replied. “Right – you’re the team leader. The other two are your seconds. Now listen up! We have a storm approaching that will ruin the ceremonies, so we need to do something about it because the Chakonans can’t.” Blue Skies said, “Sir, we can’t control a storm that size!” “I don’t expect you to do so. I want you to try to divert it or split it – anything to ensure that we stay dry.” “We don’t have enough pegasi to do the job though!” the mare objected. “Get the griffons to help you,” Wandering replied. Bluequill spoke up. “You know that griffons can’t do weather magic, sir.” Wandering grinned. “No, but if you can sit on clouds, then you can also push them while the pegasi handle the magic. All changelings take pegasus form and do the same. Any further objections?” While the pegasi and griffons still looked doubtful, there were no further protests. “Okay, let’s get going!” Wyld said, “Could you use the road entrance? We don’t want to give the crowd the wrong impression.” “No problem. This way, everyone!” The road entrance was on the opposite end of the foyer on the east side of the Capitol Building. Every winged crewperson headed for those doors including Starry and Wandering. Once outside, the alicorn stallion let Blue Skies take the lead, and they took off. Without a doubt, many in the crowd would still see them depart, but that would be less disturbing than taking off right in front of them. They rapidly gained altitude, most of them enjoying the chance to really stretch their wings for the first time in years, and they headed west. When Blue Skies judged that they had reached the optimum point in front of the storm, she started giving directions to the team. She sent groups of griffons or changelings along with one pegasus or alicorn to strategic points. With her weather sense and experience, she judged where their efforts could be put to the best use. Then she prayed to Faust that she did not screw this up before ordering everyone to commence operations. Blue Skies took it upon herself to make the first and most important step. She shifted a wind to slice into the oncoming storm front, parting it so that two teams could enter and begin diverting each half to the side. The griffons and changelings pushed while the pegasi did their best to buck them to make them dump their load of rainwater out at sea. As the wedge grew larger, more teams followed suit, expanding on the efforts of the first. Wandering and Starry each headed a team, putting their not inconsiderable alicorn power behind their efforts. While they had the same capabilities as pegasi, neither had any experience at this task, so they were glad to have the direction of Blue Skies. There was not a hope that the motley crew that Wandering had thrown together could stop the storm, but they were throwing their best efforts into diverting it. When the first rays of sunshine broke through, there were cheers before they redoubled their efforts. Slowly the storm front split in two, one sliding north and the other south, leaving a narrow corridor that pointed directly at the city. When it became apparent that they could do no more before they were over Amistad, Blue Skies pulled back the teams and then had every pegasus and alicorn put their full effort into creating a jet-stream to keep the storm clouds divided. That done, the pegasus mare turned to Wandering with a smile of satisfaction on her face. “I hope that will do, Captain?” “Well done, Blue Skies. Let’s all go back down and reap the rewards of our efforts today.” They all fell into line with Starry and Wandering flanking the mare as they headed for the Capitol Building. Wyld had procured some binoculars and had been watching constantly in stupefaction as the storm front had parted before the Equians. When it became obvious that they were going to come in for a landing in front of the concourse, he hurriedly turned to start urging the rest of the Equians out to meet them. The crowd noticed and hushed as they laid eyes on the strange new beings closely for the first time as they lined up in front of the steps. Sunflare followed them out and made hir way to the podium that had been set up for the occasion. As the flying Equians arrived, silhouetted against the sun that shone between the storm clouds as if it had always been rehearsed that way, shi spoke up. “Citizens of Chakona, it delights me to introduce to you Captain Wandering Path and the crew of the Cosmic Lotus!” # # # # # # # # #