//------------------------------// // Log 2 // Story: Beyond Forsaken Skies // by Shadow Watcher //------------------------------// Beyond Forsaken Skies 2 Log 2 It had been far easier to repair the shuttle’s ignition thrusters than she’d anticipated. Flying it to where her fighter had crashed had been another matter. The controls were sluggish from lack of use, not to mention the system parts that needed repairing. She quickly found it tended to list to the right. But after an hour of careful flying, she made it back to her crash site. And currently had both ships gutted. The technologies were slightly different, but it really wasn’t too hard to get them to play nice. The only thing that stunk was the no choice of an easy fix on the warp drive. She hadn’t found any of the rare minerals she needed for it, and she doubted there were any on this barren rock. Hopefully there were other worlds in this system. As far as she could tell, it had to be an uninhabited system. If there had been a station or settlement, someone would have come check on her crash. But if the shuttle had been here as long as she thought....odds were slim anyone else with spaceflight was around. She made a few more adjustments, turned, and kicked the final hatch closed, just barely hearing a thing in the thin atmosphere. Moment of truth. There was a faint hiss as the hatch sealed her in. The seat molded itself around her body, letting her sit in some comfort. She tapped out a few commands, and the ship jolted as it launched. She performed s few simple turns and maneuvers, found the controls much better than before, then turned her sights upward. The ship burst forward and upward as she ignited the boosters. The atmosphere thinned out completely in just a few seconds giving way to the full vacuum of space. Letting the boosters go idle, she slowly eased the engines back until the ship was just floating. No warnings popped up, all systems were green (the ones that mattered most anyway). After some final checks, she leaned back to see just what kind of system she had woken up in. She stared. She didn’t know for how long, but she sat in that cockpit, staring. Drifting. She was fortunate. The planet now below her was not the only one of this system. There were two others. Well. One and a half. The next planet in line was intact, but scans showed signs of turmoil. She would need to investigate further. But the planet farthest off.... The planet was in...tatters. A good chunk, almost half by the looks, had been blown out, creating a huge field of debris. And while she was too far to be sure...she swore she could see a few hulls floating listlessly amongst it. She looked away with a heavy sigh. So. This was the result, was it? Certainly explained why she had crashed. But looking at the carnage before her gave her no indication of how long she had been out. It wasn’t that she had no memories. She remembered plenty. Equestria. An apple orchard. Pink, purple, cyan, white, yellow. And it all meant so much to her. But her memories of just before waking up in that cockpit? Hazy. Blurry. A blinding light. Panic. And that was all. There wasn’t anything else. But reminiscing could wait; she still had one planet to exploit (which she didn’t feel too bad about, since scans showed it was another near-lifeless world) some very much needed minerals and other resources. Maybe then she could bring herself to see the carnage up close. She tore her gaze back onto her controls and screens. If she’d done her math right, she should just have enough impulse fuel to get her to the closer planet. And if not...at least it wouldn’t take her nearly as long at regular propulsion. Without impulse, if she started now she’d get there in three days. Impulse could get her there in less than ten minutes. Even a small amount of impulse would give her a powerful burst of propulsion. Propulsion was everything out here. That was how space was: once you got going, you only stopped by manually slowing your vessel, hitting an object, or by a strong gravitational pull. Though that last one really only affected trajectory. Even then, it had to be a very strong gravitational force (such as a star or large enough planetoids). All of which was also moving. The area between seemed pretty clear, but it was best to use some caution. She reignited her thrusters, getting the shuttle up to speed with the boosters, then she pushed and held the impulse ignition. Watching the small countdown, she felt her seat slide down a bit, slight bracing her. No leaning forward. Sluggish movement. Held in place from the sheer g-forces holding her down. Fuel gauge was good, steadily going down, but at this rate, she’d be dropping out with some fuel to spare. A blip on her radar caught her eye, and she braced just in time as the ship dropped from impulse. She grabbed the controls, barely veering off and slowing to avoid the massive object quickly approaching ahead. She pulled the ship back. A derelict freighter, the hull heavily damaged in places, drifted quietly in her path. Light still shone from the hangars; perhaps someone was still alive? She idly tapped a hoof on the armrest. She still had plenty of fuel for the impulse engine. And there was a good chance she could find more aboard. Plus whatever cargo had survived. The pros easily won out. She pulled her shuttle around, making a slow, cautious approach, feeling the slight jolt as the controls were taken from her by the auto-docking system.