Hayden felt the faint thumps against the hull as a few griffons managed to latch themselves on, and had to resist the urge to rush back and try to fight off boarders. She doubted even the most determined Stonebeaks would manage to get into the hull anywhere but the parts of it they’d damaged, particularly since the cargo areas had already been structural weaknesses. They couldn’t just seal off the airlocks and hope for the best, not when all their powder and munitions were stored inside. If some clever bird found a way to make sparks in the powder magazine, that would be it for the Excellus.
But Hayden didn’t go back to join the fight. I was never meant to be an officer. I’m not sure I can handle this. But maybe if none of the ponies under her saw her confusion, they would think she had a plan and be inspired to competence themselves. It was worth the attempt, anyway.
“Helm, go to emergency speed,” Skylark ordered, his voice a sudden, commanding bark. “Make for the city. Forty-five degrees up angle.”
“Forty-five degrees…” Hayden muttered to herself, turning back to the map table. What was Skylark doing? Even if she didn’t understand it, she found herself grateful she’d brought an actual airship captain to do most of this, instead of trying to do the job herself. This was an established doctrine of war here in Equestria, not some novelty a stranger could puzzle out in a day.
There were more thumps as more birds landed—or smacked into the armor, more often than not. They weren’t fleeing the birds, they were headed straight for them.
“Starboard guns report boarders! They can’t get the doors closed!” shouted Snow Feather, looking up from his radio.
“Bring the reserve from port,” Hayden answered without thinking. “If they’re closed, the enemy will probably focus on the weakness they found. Let’s make sure they can’t use it.”
She could hear the sound of shouting from down the hall, very dim against the roaring air and the engines. Hayden made her way to the front, choosing one of the side sections of the window and cycling through cameras until she found one pointed at the starboard loading bay. There were frequent flashes from inside, as rushing waves of birds went tumbling back out into the void. She hadn’t figured out yet how to switch this view to interior cameras, but she didn’t see any pony corpses flung out along with the birds.
That’s right Blackwings. Keep it up.
“The bay still isn’t closing!” Hayden called, unable to keep the nervousness from her voice. “Why isn’t the door closing?”
“There are… some red lights here, general,” said another officer from behind her. The one operating the internal systems, including the doors. “Says there’s a… I can’t read this. But it’s bright red, maybe you should look.”
“If the Equestrian fleet doesn’t cover our approach, we’ll have to head back to Icefalls,” Skylark said. “Those birds are angry after what we just did. A very serious defeat… seven carriers destroyed. They cannot be replaced. We have destroyed the wealth of a city today, even if most of the soldiers escaped…” He trailed off then, the implication obvious. But we probably killed most of the soldiers too.
Hayden glided over to the other side of the room, inspecting the screen that her officer couldn’t read. “Critical mechanical failure—cargo doors obstructed. Please remove the obstruction before closing.”
They were going so fast now that any birds who got in their way were dents in the armor and then red smears—but some were clearly still hanging on. Hayden marveled at their strength, watching the group as they battled near the open cargo doorway. The Excellus shuddered suddenly, and a grinding sound shook the whole thing. A few moments later, one of the cannons came tumbling out into the void—more than a ton of steel that took many of the birds with it as it went. The ship rocked, briefly rising as the weight was removed, but soon enough it had already started to correct.
The rest of the birds finally let go, vanishing into the blue, and the door closed. Hayden could see enormous damage near the edge, and wasn’t surprised to hear Snow Feather’s voice calling again a moment later. “Airlock won’t open! The crew is trapped!”
“The doors are damaged—airlock is broken. We’re low enough it should open for them if we stop.”
“I’m getting more warnings,” said the officer who had been working the doors. “Something orange here. I don’t know what it means, but it’s getting brighter.”
Hayden hurried back over, eyes widening as she skimmed it. It was a “drive heat” warning. She translated it for the captain. “Excellus is exceeding safety tolerances. Reduce speed or damage will occur.”
“Back to cruising speed,” Skylark said, without hesitation. “The rest of the flock is getting out of our way. Let’s just see if they follow.”
They weren’t, as it turned out. Hayden switched the cameras around to the back, so she could see the flock of birds regrouping. They were pulling back from the city, with birds returning to their ships. A large group had gathered near the ground as well, surrounding the broken wreckage of the carriers they had shot down without burning.
“Equestrian fleet signals we’re okay to approach,” said the communications officer—who had been doing nothing but watching the windows until that point. He had only one thing to control, a large signal light on the outside. Hayden could see the flashing signals, but not understand the code.
“Acknowledge. Ask for dock space. We need to do some repairs.” And by we I mean I, if we’re bloody lucky. The Excellus was more advanced than anything Hayden had ever known. It was entirely possible that repairs of any kind would be beyond them. Not even Avalon seemed to completely understand the technology, which he had inherited more than anything.
They left the Grand Fleet behind, losing speed as they approached the haggard Equestrian fleet. Many of the ships here were a similar size to theirs, impressive hulks with primitive sails and many, many ponies aboard. Some of them had metal armor on the outside of their hulls, though many didn’t. Maybe this airship thing isn’t as old as I thought it was. They didn’t look like purpose-built craft—they looked like ships that could be plopped back into the ocean and sail away without trouble.
Through the screens outside, Hayden could see the relieved faces of pony soldiers, which watched the glittering Excellus with appreciation and awe. “Captain Skylark,” Hayden said. Her voice was clear now, and loud enough that everyone on the bridge would hear. They were meant to. “When we dock, inform the stallions they are under strict orders to permit no one aboard except Princess Luna, their commanding officer. We are Luna’s flagship, the Excellus, and we will take no inspection and no soldiers.
Skylark nodded, though his expression became grim. “Princess Celestia might be down there. Maybe not on the dock, but…I’m sure she has conflicting orders. There might be ponies waiting for us to land so they can arrest us.”
“If Celestia arrives…” Hayden shrugged one shoulder. “We can’t fight the tide. But we can fight servants. Tell any who try to board that the princesses should resolve conflicting orders, and that ours are to resist all boarding with lethal force. We request supplies and a planning officer with which to conference. We wish to assist in the defense of Seaddle, but we are not joining the fleet or submitting to their authority. We will not be requisitioned or impounded.”
“They’ll want your writ of authority,” Skylark said, without malice. “Proving an order like that.”
Hayden shrugged. “Point them towards the carriers we shot down. That’s our writ.”
As they descended towards the city, a dozen pegasi in golden armor began surrounding the ship. Hayden couldn’t imagine what they must be thinking, or what they planned on doing with their lances if the Excellus decided to resist. This was not the sort of friendly escort that might be granted to an allied ship prepared to dock. It was, rather, one given to an enemy landing in parlay.
She got a good look at the docks a moment later—the tallest buildings in the city, made from a single crystal spire with thin struts spreading from it at the top. It looked centuries ahead of any other structure in the city. Even the little huts and supply warehouses attached to it seemed like primitive tumors grafted onto the work of a greater civilization.
“Captain, who built these docks?” Hayden asked, sitting down on her haunches near the screen to wait as they were brought in for a landing.
“Crystal Empire,” Skylark answered, once he’d finished giving his last wave of instructions to the helmsman. “Same ponies who invented the lift crystals. Word is they kept the airships to themselves for… nopony even knows how long. But the north was cold even for them, and it’s easier to grow down here. They needed a way to trade with the rest of Equestria. Seaddle was their port. That’s probably why the Stonebeaks wanted it—it’s the largest strategic target in northern Equestria. It’s one of a few places we can grow new lift-crystals. That’s why they haven’t bombed the city. They don’t know where our spellworks is. If they knew, they’d be burning the rest before we even got here.”
“Where… where are they? This… Crystal Empire. I’ve been hearing about them for a year now. But everyone seems convinced that they’re gone. What could happen to someone that much more advanced?”
Skylark remained silent, contemplative. The Excellus banked up against the wooden walls of the dock, then fell still. Not completely silent though, since unlike the Equestrian ships the engines had to work to keep them airborne.
“Airlocks are open!” called the officer from behind her. “It worked!”
“We might not be able to open starboard guns again while we’re moving,” Hayden muttered. “But I’ll see what I can do. Get Honed Edge down there and tell him to bring the tools.”
Skylark finally looked up. “I don’t know if I’m the pony to tell, General. I was never much for history. I can tell you about the battles, though. One of their own… one of their greatest magical inventors… well, he went bad. He went too far into magic we weren’t meant to have, lost his mind. Sombra. He’s the reason we don’t do much with crystal magic anymore. Aside from… all the crystal ponies being gone. The war happened a long time before I was born. It’s the reason the Stonebeaks have so much. Sombra used them, and they used Equestria turning against itself. Structures like this are all that’s left of the Crystal Empire now. Its ponies were wiped out—enslaved by Sombra, or vanished when he destroyed their castle.”
He sighed. “If you’re looking for a miraculous way to end the war, General, you wouldn’t be the first. But I’m afraid you’ll be as doomed as the others who tried. Their great magic is gone, their armies have been broken in pieces. We’re alone.”
Hayden wasn’t sure why she was asking. Probably something to do with inherited memories. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this story—but it might be that Skylark didn’t know. He claimed not to, and she had no reason not to trust him. “I… I understand.” She rose, pressing a hoof to the general transmission button again. “Ponies of the Excellus—you have done tremendous service today. I wish I had the time to give you the rest you deserve. But Seaddle is under siege. Nopony will be going ashore. Rest, but stay prepared to return to duty stations at any moment. We do not know when the Stonebeaks will attack.”
Or, more realistically, when our own side will attack. But she didn’t say that. They had enough enemies without Hayden creating more. “I’ll be with the starboard guns,” she said, turning to leave. “Call me as soon as we get that officer, or the Equestrians get violent. You have leave to resist them with any necessary force, and to cast off immediately, if that happens.”
She left. Hopefully she would have the time to fix the cargo doors before it came time for violence.