Eve Equestria
02
Now you tell me...
Rarity sat in her clone vat, looking at her new hoof, an unpleasant frown on her face.
She knew she'd just died.
There was no denying that.
BUCK that had hurt. Hard vacuum of space, and then the momentary agony before being vaporised.
Yet here she was, once again in one piece.
Jafrak's voice came over a nearby speaker. "You can get out of that vat now. There's a washroom just through the door straight ahead. That vat goo can get sticky if you don't wash it off fast enough."
Rarity would have said something in retort, but it was basically a moot point as the only thing to escape her mouth at that point was bubbles.
She hit the button before her, clearly labeled 'Vat Exit'. The liquid drained before the vat itself opened up. The goo covered Rarity bolted for the shower.
...
An hour later, Rarity exited the washroom, clean, dry, and best of all, properly groomed. There had even been a very nice makeup kit available, built right into the wall of the washroom.
And a nice full length mirror. Couldn't complain about that.
"Jafrak, you and I need to have a rather in-depth discussion concerning exactly what just happened out there." She spoke to nopony, or rather, nobody in particular.
Yet Jafrak replied. "That can be arranged. Just head out from the clone lab and take the transport back to your quarters. Just tell the computer where you want to go, and then we can talk."
"Face to face I hope." Rarity growled. She wanted to just strangle that man. Not kill him, just give him a nice healthy throttling. Healthy for Rarity's piece of mind, not for Jafrak himself.
Exiting the lab, she found the transport waiting for her. It reminded her so much of the train between Ponyville and Canterlot, yet it was round, like a tube rather than square. But that mattered not one bit as the Unicorn stepped into the vehicle. "Rarity's Quarters." She spoke out loud, and then the door slid shut and she was on her way.
...
Jafrak was not present when Rarity entered her quarters. Her plain, boring, not magnificent quarters at all.
She wished she could do something about how drab this place looked, with its metal walls and ceiling. The artificial lighting was at least not overly bright. The floor was covered by some rubbery material that prevented her from slipping. For that she was thankful.
Rarity climbed up onto the sofa and reached a hoof out to the holographic console and tapped it. "Jafrak, are you there? I do hope we can have a civilized conversation concerning what just happened to me."
Jafrak's face appeared on the flat holo-screen. "Why hello to you too Rarity. I guess I could have explained things better to you before sending you out there like that, but I got the feeling you were not about to actually listen to anything I had to say."
Rarity hung her head a little. "I guess you are correct. Now, how am I not dead?"
"Simple. Your consciousness was transfered into a new clone body. In essence, you are immortal. Should you die, you'll just wake up in a brand new cloned body. Mind and soul fully transfered and ready to go." Jafrak explained. "Now, I know it wasn't fair of me to do what I did, knowing you would most likely not stand a chance against those pirates in that ship. Well, it was fit with the bare basic civilian technology."
"Civilian technology? Wait." Rarity's eyes went wide. "Do you mean to tell me that civilians can buy these ships and weapons?"
"Yes, they can, though you would be surprised how many civilians actually do NOT travel through space. So, let me just start with a basic education."
Rarity nodded and waved a hoof in a 'go on' gesture. Jafrak chuckled and started his story.
"A few thousand years ago, give or take. I think it was a Tuesday. Humanity, my species, had only been among the stars for a few centuries. Our planet's resources had been bled dry, as well as most of the resources from our home star system. We'd just discovered faster than light travel, which, believe me, was the one that that might have given us a chance to live."
"Then we discovered the wormhole. Humanity called it the Eve Gate, and it was nothing like what we had ever seen before. The massive wormhole allowed humanity to travel from our own galaxy to this one. For a time, it was good. We had virtually unlimited resources available to us."
Jafrak paused to sip at something through a straw from a metallic bottle. "And then the shit hit the fan. The Eve Gate collapsed, trapping our ancestors here on this side of the wormhole. Civilization basically collapsed, as we were almost solely relying on the factories back on Earth, our home world, to make everything for us on this side."
"Yea, we were pretty screwed, scattered among the stars on this side. Most of us died, yet..." He grinned. "You'll find out that humans are rather tenacious bastards. Kinda like cockroaches."
"Eew."
"Shush you. Civilizations were formed, spanning the stars in the center of the galaxy. Rather, four great civilizations. The Caldari, the Gallente, the Minmitar, and finally the Amarr. I’m a bit out of touch with the higher security regions of space, just so you know. I prefer it out here where there’s no law other than what the big ass corporations and their alliances state. Even then, screw them. I got myself a nice little private spot here in wormhole space after all.”
“Wormhole space?” Rarity frowned a little.
“Yea. We’re not really in the same space as the rest of the galaxy here. Still, some people still manage to find their way in here from time to time, like those two pirates who popped you.”
“Such crude terminology.” Rarity huffed.
“Now now Rarity. I sent you out there to teach you a valuable lesson. Do you understand?”
“I... I think so. So, please, go on.”
Jafrak nodded. “Now, you see, the four great civilizations finally reached out to touch the stars once again, and from there grew conflict, as well as alliances. Corporations, small and large, took up the mantles of space explorer, mercenary, merchants, miners, and much more.”
“But at the same time, many corporations formed alliances with other corporations, and it grew from there, allowing them to fly out into space where there is no law, and plant their flags.”
“Now there are super massive structures floating in space. We call them Citadels. We’re in one right now. I mined all the minerals needed, and developed all the other components needed to deploy the citadel’s construction system. This is only an Astrahus class Citadel, the smallest one available, but it has a forty three kilometer long axis”
“That aside, wars have broken out and billions have died. Heroes have come and gone. Our history is thousands of years long, so don’t ask me for more than a recap.”
He tapped his chin. “Well, let’s get to some more technical information. You handled yourself really poorly out there, just so you know. Guess your skills are rather lacking. So let’s see about changing that.”
A small hole opened up on the table and a tube with a needle slid into Rarity’s view. “Take that, and inset it into the middle of the five implants on your back.”
“What is this?” Rarity levitated the object and carefully looked it over. All metal and glass, from the looks of it, yet within, Rarity could see a clear liquid that almost had an oily, or maybe metallic sheen to it.
“That is a skill injector, developed for Alphas, like yourself. You’ll learn more about the different clone classifications later. Just stick that into the jack on your back and it will inject nanites into you. From there, you can use them to improve your rather sore skills. Trust me, it will make quite a difference. I’m also sending you some skill data to inject.”
“Now you tell me.” Rarity fumed ever so slightly.
Normally, Rarity would be against sticking needles into her own body, but apparently this would help her stay alive. Longer, hopefully. She did as told, and felt whatever was in that thing flow into her body. It had not even hurt, most likely because of the implants on her back.
A few more small cylinders popped up onto her table. “These are skill ‘books’. You inject them exactly the same as how you did the previous one. I am providing you with what we call core skills. You were somewhat lacking before, because I wasn’t even sure you’d handle the capsuleer tech at all. Now that I know you can, we can get you better prepared for the stars.”
Rarity grumbled, and injected tube after tube into her back. “I don’t feel any different. Why am I not gaining any knowledge?”
“You have the skills, but you need to apply the nanites to build the pathways in your brain to make use of the knowledge. You can naturally do this over time, but the skill injector is the fast way to get it done. Don’t worry, your brain is still your brain.”
“If you say so.” Rarity frowned as she injected another tube. “How many do I have to inject? This can’t be good for my flanks.”
“Totally non-fattening. Look at me, I’m a scrawny ass fellow after all.”
Rarity snorted indignantly. “Yes, well, once I am done here, then what?”
“Then we get to the good part. Not the fun part, that’ll happen when you go back out there to go get me that mineral.”
“And risk getting blown up again? I would rather not.”
Jafrak offered a friendly smile. “This time, you will be prepared.”
With the last injection, Jafrak nodded. “Now, the tablet on your coffee table. Pick it up and access the skill network for yourself. You choose what skills you want to work on improving. Some will take minutes, while at more complex levels, they can take days, or even months to improve noticeably. Here’s a list of the skills for you.”
On the holo screen, the a rather lengthy list of skills popped up. “Now, set them on your tablet’s interface in that order.”
Rarity nodded, and followed the instructions. It took her a few minutes longer than intended, seeing as her hoof was not as precise as a human’s fingers, before she wanted to throw the damn thing across the room.
Jafrak watched Rarity for a minute, then chuckled. “I think we should get you a tablet pen. Let me just fabricate one for you and send it on over.”
Within a matter of seconds, the pen popped up through the little hole in the table. Once she grabbed the pen in her magic, she used it to get through the list in under a minute. “Much better, thank you ever so kindly Jafrak.”
All she got was a nod in acknowledgement. “Now that you have the skills in order, do you see that icon on the bottom? Tap that and accept.”
Rarity tapped the icon as indicated, and then tapped the verification con that popped up.
She instantly felt a rush through her head, but unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Within a moment, fresh new knowledge filled her head, yet it did not diminish who she was at all.
“Goodness.” Her eyes were wide in surprise.
“I think she liked it.” Jafrak laughed. “So, do you think you’re ready to try again?”
Rarity frowned. “I do so would prefer not to actually have to kill any... anyone.”
“That’s easy. When you take out their ships. you’ll see their pods getting ejected. Just don’t blow those up and you’re all fine.”
“Really?” Rarity looked relieved. “So all I need to do is disable their ships. Thank you for letting me know that.” She then grinned, narrowing her eyes. “Time to get a little payback.”
...
Rarity was laughing as she opened fire on the pair of pirates after they’d actually had the nerve to return and try to kill her again.
She was flying the exact same ship, with the same equipment as last time. This time, she took out the first ship with a few blasts from her laser and drone combined. She watched the capsule turn and warp off before turning her attention to the second ship.
“Now, remember the last time we met? You sure did a number on me, that was for sure.” Rarity grinned as this time, her armor repair system had actually kept up with the incoming damage. She knew how to manage the repair system so it would actually focus on where her ship was taking the hits, rather than just trying to manage the whole hull all at once.
Her Acolyte drone had taken a few hits and was trailing smoke, but it had held up much better than last time.
Laser fire was far more accurate than before, allowing her to be able to actually pinpoint weaknesses in the pirate’s ship. With a few final combined blasts of laser and drone fire, the enemy ship blossomed into a brilliant plume of flames and shrapnel.
She watched that pod make its escape as well.
“Well, I pulled through that skirmish with considerable skill, didn’t I Jafrak?”
“You sure did. Now, if you were to face off against someone with my skill... You wouldn't last ten seconds.”
Rarity frowned. “In ships, perhaps. But I am willing to bet you are not about to show your face to me again in person, are you?”
Jafrak cringed. “Fuck no. Not when you’d be able to kill me with a though. I have some rather expensive implants in my head, and I am not at all interested in loosing them.”
The mare smiled smugly. She’d won her first space battle. Oh the stories she would have by the time she got home.
Jafrak chuckled lightly. “Now that you have brought me that ore, I’ll leave it up to you if you want to go out again or see about getting some sleep.” Yea, he liked this alien. Hopefully she would embrace the Capsuleer life. She may have quite some talent for it, after all.
“Oh yes, I have forwarded you a payment.” Jafrak remembered. “It’s not a whole lot, but it should help.”
Rarity searched on the tablet, using the pen gripped in her magic, and located her digital wallet. “Five Hundred Thousand Isk? Goodness, that certainly sounds like a lot of money. Just how rich are you?”
“Hmm, I’ve got somewhere in the tens of billions.” Jafrak shrugged. “I could outright buy myself a Hel super-carrier, and even get it fully fitted out... But then I’d not know what to do with the damn thing. I prefer cruiser class ships. Speaking of which, your next job. You’ll make the same amount as last time, but I’m willing to throw in a frigate for you to play around with, as well as some weapons and other systems.”
Rarity blinked. “Do I have to complete this job first?”
“Nah, trust me when I say you will be wanting this new ship for this job. Remember those pirates you tangles with earlier? Well, I’ve tracked them back to their little hideout.” Jafrak grinned. “I don’t like them having a foothold in MY wormhole. I could go out there and take them out in no time, but damnit, I want to finish this cruiser I’ve been working on for a client.”
“I... see. You want me to blow up their base? It isn’t a citadel like yours, is it?” Rarity was worried.
“What? No. My probes detected nothing more than a small space hab and a dock for their ships. There’s just the two of them after all. If you can take out their little base, then they might just decide to leave this wormhole. Feel free to take out their ships as well. I’ll pay you a little extra bounty for each one you pop. Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to kill them.”
The mare sighed. “Very well. So, what is this ship you are offering me for this job?”
Jafrak grinned. “Go out to your launch deck and take a look at her ship hanger listing.”
Rarity did just that. “Punisher. Oddly a rather apt name considering the job you have in mind for me.” She grinned. “And to be honest, I think I will quite enjoy metting out some justice to those ruffians.”
“Again.” She had the ship towed out so she could get a good look at the much larger vessel. “Oh my.”
Her grin grew into a rather pleased, and almost frightening smile. “Oh my indeed.”
...
Rarity undocked in her ever so lovely ship, one she named Rarity One. Why? She had just felt like it. The Corvette that sat in her hangar, well, it was just a little thing compared to this big beauty.
The Punisher was indeed a sleek, beautiful ship, tapered to a slender, rounded nose, leading all the way back to a pair of downward angled wings. She’d selected beam lasers, mainly for the range and punch the date indicated they possessed. Afterburners for that excellent increase in speed, a more advanced armor repairer, as well as systems to help resist incoming damage.
A few other systems to help with keeping the ship from running out of energy too fast as well were added, when she realized the drain on the capacitor was rather unpleasant.
As she pulled away from the simply massive structure, Jafrak contacted her.
“I’ve already sent you the location for their little outpost. Good hunting Rarity One.”
“Rarity one, confirmed, I have the co-ordinates. Aligning to target and initiating warp.” With a mental signal, her ship jumped into warp, and she was off.
As she flew at speeds even faster than her corvette was capable of, Rarity smiled. The feeling was unlike anything she could have imagined. Flying made her feel free. Was this how Rainbow, Fluttershy and even Twilight felt thanks to their wings? She’d never been too fond of flying, considering her own experiences with failed attempts in the past, but now, now she felt she was flying under her own power. Well, not really, but she could actually FEEL it now.
As she emerged from warp, her sensors pinged, indicating she’d arrived.
A small series of buildings floated in space, and she could make out three ships. Two of them were identical to the ones she’d dealt with previously, but the third was a rather blocky, yellow thing with what looked like a pair of arms sticking out the front, with a trio of boxes on each one.
“What sort of ship is that?” Rarity asked, and the data appeared in her vision. “Venture, a mining ship?” She smirked. “Say Jafrak?”
“Yes Rarity?”
“You said there’s only the two pirates, right?”
Jafrak nodded. “And it looks like they have a mining frigate. If you can capture that, then you can claim it for your own. Try not to blow it up and make sure you log the location so you don’t forget where it’s parked. You can come back later in your capsule and dock with it.”
“Lovely. Mind you, I do not know if I’m really up to getting all filthy by mining.”
“You’re not doing the mining by hand, or I guess I can say by hoof?”
Rarity nodded as she accelerated toward her target, even as the pair of smaller ships undocked and made their way toward her. “Yes, by hoof. I guess it is most likely fitted with the same sort of mining tools that the Impairor was fitted with?”
“Most likely better ones. We’ll deal with that when we get to it. For now, have yourself some fun.”
Rarity gleefully locked her targets well before they could get even close to her, and opened fire. Multiple beams of purple energy flew forward, and instantly the first vessel bloomed into flames and wreckage.
The unicorn licked her lips as she turned the turrets onto the second ship, and released a second barrage of beautiful lasers. That ship too exploded.
“This ship is far more powerful than the Impairor. I dare say I like it.” She turned the targeting systems onto the structures, careful not to hit the Venture. Sure, it was not the most elegant looking ship, but hey, if it allowed her to mine valuable minerals and ores that she could either make use of herself or just sell to Jafrak, then she wasn’t going to complain.
A few shots from her weapon systems, and the structures exploded one by one.
The pair of pods chose not to risk getting blown from the stars and warped out.
Rarity didn’t care about that. She had pulled off this little job without a hitch, or even receiving a dent in the rather paltry shields of the Rarity One.
“So, how do I go about taking that ship again?” She asked Jafrak.
“Tell you what, this will be a one time thing. Hold position and I’ll come out and pick it up for you, then transfer it to your hangar once we dock.”
“Sounds lovely. How long till you get here?”
Jafrak laughed. “Well, considering I need to get all the way from the factory here to my own hangar, then I need to undock, align to your location... The ship I’ll be bringing also takes a while to spool up the warp drives, so... half an hour, give or take?”
“Goodness, what are you bringing? I was here in under ten minutes.”
“You’ll see when I get there. Over and out.”
“Rarity One out.”
...
Rarity watched as a massive ship dropped out of warp. She set her sensors on it and gasped. it was nearly a kilomiter and a half in length. Flat, square, but with curved angles, and many large pods on top with a bridge toward the rear.
She read the data. “Orca. Well, that certainly is a huge ship. I would never have imagined that anything that large could possibly fly.”
“You’ve not seen large till you’ve seen your first titan.” Jafrak snickered as he slowly pulled the colossal ship closer to the yellow ship floating in space. “Now, I just have to tractor it into one of the docks, and then I gotta spin this thing around before trouble arrives.”
“You’re expecting trouble?”
“Always.”
“Dear me.” Rarity gulped nervously. She watched as the small yellow ship was swallowed by the much larger red and dark gray one. “Do you want me to stay here?”
“Nah, I’m good... or rather, maybe not. I’m detecting something on long range sensors. Damnit. Looks like those two had something else hidden in this area.”
Rarity activated her own long range sensors. “What are those? Condors? Like the bird?”
“They’re frigate class, just like yours. They’re specially built with missile systems.” Jafrak was laughing. “Oh yea, let them come. They’re in for a surprise should they attempt to attack this beast.”
“I don’t see any weapons on your ship, then again with how huge it is, I guess spotting them would be difficult.”
“Nah. There’s no guns on this baby.”
Rarity was starting to loose confidence. “No guns? But how can you defend yourself?”
“Drones. This baby is loaded with more drones than you can believe.”
Rarity was about to comment when the pair of ships dropped out of warp. They almost looked like they were about to approach, but then turned around and warped off.
Jafrak was laughing. “Yea, they knew better than to push their luck. This may be an industrial command ship, but she’s more than capable of taking a lot of punishment, as well as dishing it out.”
Rarity could believe it. Something that large? If it were to land on Ponyville, then the whole town would have been flattened. “So, um, back to the Citadel?”
“Back to the Citadel. I get the feeling those two may come back in something with more firepower next time. And here I was hoping they’d just leave.” He started aligning the Orca back toward his massive space station. “Rarity, feel free to go on ahead. I’ll be turning this fat ass around for a while.”
Rarity nodded. “Alright Jafrak. Be safe, alright?”
“Don’t you worry about me. I should be fine. If anything happens, I’ll contact you.”
The unicorn smiled. She felt a sort of odd fondness for this strange human creature. She spun her ship around, and in seconds, was warping back to the citadel.
To Be Continued...