Star Trek Online: Sacrifice - Part I

by Admiral Wyatt Stone


Chapter 6: Runnin', Shootin' and Breakin' Free!

"Well you know what they say, Lieutenant, be careful what you wish for, you may get it."

Will.

If you're gonna do something, you'd better have the will to do it. Are you strong enough to go on when the world hits you with everything it has? Are you still willing to keep going when you lose everything? Even if you'll end up dying?

I had to stay strong for the people of the Wasteland, I kept myself up even after seeing the raiders at Twilight's library, the horrors at the town of Arbu, even when Canterlot was destroyed, I kept going, as did my friends. Sure, we'd need a break once in a while, but we fought to the end.

I knew a friend who was willing to follow me till death, he was one I knew closely, and it hurt me when he was killed by the hellhounds after the Goddess was destroyed. I believed he would've kept going despite our current losses, he would help ensure that I stopped J'ula and her crusade against the Multiverse. All of my friends would've been willing to follow me on my mission, and thinking about it made me wish they were here.

But I didn't know that while I was aboard the Lukara during my mission, I'd encounter some familiar faces...

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As the holographic Exocomp drones closed in on my position, they fired several Phaser beams at me, all of them hitting only a small bubble that was my shield.

"Good Littlepip, now, use your shockwave!" Rarity said as I complied and focused my magic, the shield shot out towards the Exocomps and anyone that was too close to me, the drones smoking for a few seconds before exploding.

Rarity gave a clap of her hooves as she spoke. "Excellent job, Littlepip!" She stopped applauding as she walked over to me, steadying myself after pulling off the shield shockwave. "I believe you're more than ready to put that skill to use should you need it!"

"Yeah, thanks for your help, Rarity." I said with a gleeful smile before my friend spoke to the computer.

"Computer, end program." The room then shifted from the beautiful landscape of the Mars colony to the basic black and yellow room that was the holodeck. The two of us then walked out the door, making our way to the transporter room as we chatted a bit.

The training in the holodeck was easier than I expected, Rarity showed me how the spell works and then let me try it out. The first two times got me a shield that flickered the bit, but the third time worked like a charm. After giving it a few more tries I tested it in simulated combat, the first enemy was a single exocomp, then it was a Gorn officer that kept ramming me to test the shield's physical strength, and of course, five drones that fired everything they could, two of them kept ramming my shield until they exploded, leaving the three for me to finish off.

As we walked to the transporter room, Rarity asked me with a hint of worry, "So, you have all the equipment you'll need, right?"

"Yeah, and if I need anything else, we can-" I stopped as I saw Applejack and the six students I met in the shuttlebay, racing through the hallway we were in.

As they drew close to us, Rarity stopped them and asked Applejack, "Applejack, what are you doing with our students?"

"After they heard we were headed into battle with J'ula, they wanted to help, so Twilight asked me to lead them to the Aquarius and teach them to fly it." The orange mare said to us as the students stood close to her.

"I understand we're new to this ship, but we feel useless just sitting around while you guys are saving the day." Sandbar defended as Rarity replied.

"Alright, but be careful, we can't afford to lose you all." The students saluted as Applejack spoke up again.

"Now if y'all excuse me, I've got a ship to help fly!" She then turned and continued running down the hallway, the students following after her. We kept trotting as well, the door to Transporter Room 3 appearing in my sights.

I heard a ping from the ship's speakers as Twilight's voice spoke through them. "Attention all hands, we're dropping out of warp and into the Ganalda System, brace yourselves."

I felt the hall vibrate as the Harmony dropped out of warp, heading into battle against the fleet of J'ula. I pulled out my visor and spoke into it. "Bring up a visual of the Harmony's fore viewer." The device complied as I slid them onto my head, I could see the Klingon defense fleet over Ganalda IV, a large starbase stationed over the planet. In front of them was J'ula's fleet, firing on the allied Klingon ships. The Harmony closed in a little bit further before firing at one of the Mo'kai battle cruisers, a Sech class.

Rarity and I entered the transporter room as we saw Na'Zev and two other security officers, a small box containing supplies sitting next to them. "Oh hey, you need something?"

"I should ask you the same question." Na'Zev said before pointing to the crate. "We've gathered some additional gear you'll need for the mission, several Emergency Transport Units, a few phaser pistols, some stealth modules, and medical supplies." As I levitated the supplies and equipment into my saddlebags, Na'Zev continued. "You'll need the transporters for the prisoners, they've been modified to go through the shields and back to the Harmony. And in case you find anyone over there who'll help, hand them the spare phaser." I nodded as I stood onto the transporter pad, waiting for the signal.

I looked back to my visor, the Harmony was activating its shield drain, hitting the surface of the ship a second later. After about seven seconds the shields flickered, leaving the ship exposed to torpedoes and boarding parties.

"They're shields are down." I said as Na'Zev turned to the transporter officer.

"Now!" The officer complied swiftly as he tapped his console, a blue field of energy appearing around me.

Before my vision was filled with blue, I heard Rarity say something aloud. "Be Careful!"

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My vision shifted from blue to a hallway of the Lukara, thankfully, with no one in it. I quickly activated my MG Stealthbuck II and began to make my way through the hallway and to the brig.

I was thankful that the ship didn't activate the intruder alarm, J'ula and her crew must've been so busy dealing with the two-fronted battle outside that they didn't check for an intruder alert.

As I made my way through the ship, I passed by several Mo'kai warriors walking to their stations, not noticing the cloaked pony traversing through their ships halls.

Pulling out my earbloom, I tuned my Pipleg to the frequency J'ula was still using. Miraculously, it wasn't changed. I heard the Klingon captain speak to her soldiers.

"Good, ensure the deck is secure. Squad 29, report!"

"All is clear, no hostilities ahead or behind us. We'll head to the prison wa-" I heard a deep, familiar voice I hadn't heard since I left Maripony. I couldn't believe my ears as I heard it. The voice started to grunt as I heard a soft, nonstop whine ringing through my earbloom, it was annoying, but not strong enough to hurt. The grunting turned into screaming as the pain was too much for my old friend.

"....Steelhooves?" I muttered quietly under my breath. How was he here? How did he end up serving J'ula aboard her ship?! I remembered something from the audio log I listened to. "Though I could find one like him and send him back to his grave he has important qualities I require from him. I've placed a device on him that will ensure his obedience,"

J'ula, you bitch.

I heard the Lukara's captain speak through my earbloom as the whining stopped, Steelhooves ceasing his screams right after. "No, you have your orders, make your way to Engineering and ensure no assault teams attempt to attack!"

"U-Understood, my Lady." Steelhooves grunted aloud as he took a breath.

I took my earbloom out and took a look at my Pipleg's map, and was shocked by the sight. Steelhooves' team was nearby, and heading this way! I looked through the hall, trying to find a hiding spot, and found a small space near the left end of the hallway. I raced to it, setting myself up in the space as Steelhooves and his three Klingon escorts walked into view, turning to the right and walking through the hall. When I saw his helmet, I saw a small black device in the shape of a triangle with a glowing red circle attached to his head. That must've been the device that was controlling him!

I carefully pulled out Little Macintosh and my two phasers as I aimed towards the Klingons, moving my weapons close to them as to ensure their deaths. All three fired simultaneously, vaporizing two of them and the third falling to the ground. Steelhooves turned his head around.

I'd been so focused on saving Steelhooves that I forgot about my Stealthbuck, which burnt out the moment I shot the Klingon guards. I was in full view of Steelhooves now.

"Littlepip?!" Steelhooves said, turning to face me, arming his weapons as he readied himself.

Without thinking, I ran out of the space and to the right, missiles from Steelhooves' guns hitting the wall a second later. Rather than tear a hole in the wall, there was only a dent in it. I put my guns back as I took a breather.

"I didn't know I would have to fight you!" My old friend said as he ran after me, stopping as he reached the spot I hid at. I ran at him, lifting him up and turning him around in my magic. As another Klingon soldier ran into view from my previous path, I threw Steelhooves at him, knocking the warrior out of the way and unconscious. I then ran up to the Applejack's Ranger and stood over him, trying to pull the device off of him.

"Stop!" He yelled in my face before kicking me, knocking me onto my back. He stood over me, his weapons pointed at me as he spoke. "Don't remove it, it will kill me!"

I took the advantage and grabbed him in my magic, throwing him over me as I stood up. As he hit the wall, I could hear more Klingons coming my way.

I started to think quickly, the device would kill him if I tried to pull it off, so how would I....

The broadcaster, of course! It could jam the connection and give me a chance to remove it and save my friend! As Steelhooves started to get up, I ran up to my old friend, the warriors of House Mo'kai ganging up behind me.

"Hold on!" I said as I pulled out the old broadcaster, turning it on as it screeched into my ears. Steelhooves and I screamed in pain, as did the Klingon pursuers, taking my chance, I ripped the little device off of Steelhooves' helmet, turning off the broadcaster as I wiped the blood from my eyes.

"The device! It's set to explode!" Steelhooves warned me as I turned to the Klingons, who were just getting up from the ground. I threw the device at them, then deployed a shield around me and Steelhooves as the device exploded in a ball of energy seconds later.

As it shrunk away, the Klingons were gone, vaporized by the explosion. I dropped the shield as I turned to Steelhooves, who was still trying to get up. "Are you okay?"

My old friend nodded as he spoke. "That... was a hell of a thing you pulled there, Pip." As he stood up again, I stared at him, remembering what happened at Maripony, I hugged his metal suit tightly, sobbing.

"Y-You have no idea how much I've missed you!" I said through my tears as Steelhooves held one of his arms over my back.

"I understand I've been gone, but you have to go, do what you came here to do, and get off this ship." He said as I broke the hug, wiping my tears away.

"Right, but one thing, h-how'd you get here?" I asked the Applejack's Ranger.

"That bitch grave-robbed my resting place and took my body. with some surgical work and cloning from a source I don't know of, J'ula brought me here to serve in her fleet. But thanks to you, she's lost a valuable asset."

"And I've got my friend back." I said before pulling out a ETU and holding it up to Steelhooves. "Use this to head back to my ship, when I get back, we need to talk."

"Got it. Be careful, Littlepip." I said as I placed the device on him, his form being surrounded by a wave of blue energy before fading away. I then took a deep breath as I took out a power pack, hooked it up to the MG Stealthbuck, and put it into my Pipleg as I ran for the brig.

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I made it to the brig after two minutes, the intruder klaxon went off shortly after I started making my way there. J'ula knew I was here now, and she would have every warrior on the ship ready for a fight.

As I entered the room, I saw at least 12 cells, 6 on the left and another 6 on the right. I saw a single rotating security camera above the room. Finding a place out of the camera's field of view, I caught the camera in my magic and crushed it, removing the eyes J'ula had in this room.

I looked to the closest cell on the left side, there were two people inside, one was a female Federation officer and the other was a male Cardassian soldier. As they saw me, they walked up to the door.

"I assume this is a prison break?" The Cardassian said as I deactivated the force field.

"Totally." I replied as I handed them each an ETU, the two putting them on as the Starfleet officer spoke.

"Thank you, we owe you our lives." I nodded as the two were beamed away to the Harmony, allowing me to access the next cell. It was a Gorn officer and a Xindi Reptilian soldier. I deactivated the cell force field and handed them each a ETU, both of them putting them on as the Gorn spoke.

"I am grateful for your rescue, now I shall honor my people once again!" He disappeared as he finished his sentence, the Xindi vanishing in a field of blue with him.

As I started to walk towards the third cell, I looked towards the right. Three of the cells were empty, in one cell there were two people, a humanoid dressed in soldier attire I hadn't seen, the other in white armor and with a helmet on, both with their weapons on their backs.

I looked to the third cell, and was shocked to see three alicorns, one blue, one purple, and one green, all with rings around their horns. They all looked to me and then to each other as I stood. I shook my head as I made my way to the door. "Well, finally, we can get out of this cage!" The green one said with glee in her voice.

"Calm down, Helios, we'll all be out once our friend here opens the doors." The blue one said to Helios the green alicorn as the force field dropped.

"Are you an agent of the Goddess?" The purple one asked.

"No, but I'm here to get you out." I handed them each an ETU as I continued. "These will take you to the Harmony, my captain's ship. You'll be safe there."

"Thank you, we are in your debt, little pony." The purple one said as she and her sisters faded in blue fields of magic.

As I trotted over to the fourth cell, I heard a voice. "Littlepip! You're here to help?!" I stopped as I looked into the cell, seven ponies were inside, one was a white unicorn with black and red hair with cards for a cutie mark, along with robotic legs. Another was a stallion with a blue mane and tail and the male symbol and over a dozen dots for a cutie mark. There was also a filly next to him, she had a green coat and a blue mane and tail, I was surprised to see she was wearing a stable outfit, the number "99" sewn onto the collar of the uniform. One of the captives was a purple alicorn, with a large gatling gun next to her. Another pony was a grey pegasus with a purple mane and tail. Her cutie mark was similar to Calamity's, a dashite. Another was a pure white pony with a white hair and tail, she walked around like an animal exploring new territory. The last occupant was a mare with a cream colored coat with red stripes on her. She was also wearing a set of armor covered in spikes! She also had a red mane and tail, the latter of which was covered in barbed wire.

As I recovered from hearing my name from somepony I didn't know, I asked her, "How do you know my name?"

"You don't remember me? We met at Tenpony Tower, remember?" As she mentioned that place I thought back, then thinking back to the memories I had removed...

"Oh! Yeah, your name's Blackjack, right?" I said to the unicorn as I tried to deactivate the force field.

"Yep, me and P-21, Morning Glory, Rampage, Lacunae and Scotch Tape were captured by that crazy bipedal lady running this ship earlier, and we've been here for almost a week!" Blackjack said as the force field deactivated.

As I pulled out the ETUs and handed each of them one, Blackjack tilted her head as she asked, "Wait, you're going to fight her alone?"

"No, I'm getting you out of here and then gathering some data from one of the computers, then I'll get off this ship." I said to Blackjack as her pegasus friend spoke up.

"Not without help, you aren't!" Morning Glory said as I held the ETUs in my magic, stunned.

"You want to help me?" I said to the two ponies.

"Yeah, help the others out of here and we'll assist you." Blackjack said as I put two of the ETUs away.

"You will need my assistance as well." The purple alicorn named Lacunae said as she walked over to me. "I can hold a stronger shield than the rest of us, so I'm going with you. No exceptions."

I nodded as I put a third ETU into my saddlebags. "Count me in too! I've always wondered what their blood looks like!" Rampage said as she snarled.

As I put a fourth ETU into my saddlebags, P-21 spoke up. "I'll go with my daughter, she and Boo need to be away from this place." He said as Scotch Tape held him tight. I nodded and handed them the two ETUs I had out, pulling out a third and put it onto the white pony named Boo. She was a little shy at first, but she didn't try to pull it off after I put it on.

"These'll take you to my ship, the Harmony. The crew'll help you out while we're gone." I said as they put on the devices, blue fields of energy manifesting around the two.

"Blackjack, you all be carefu-" P-21 tried to say as he disappeared from sight with his daughter and Boo.

I looked to the last two cells, there were two groups of Hur'q in the cages, which all started hitting the force field as I approached. Okay, freeing them last is the best idea.

I went over to the right cell and freed the rest of the captives, the second occupied cell on the right side held a human in an orange suit, along with a droid that looked a bit like a trash can.

As I opened the cell, I handed the human an ETU and placed another on the droid. As the droid was surrounded by a field of blue energy, I heard the human say, "Don't worry, R5, I'll be there in a second." The droid beeped a few times as it disappeared.

"Thank you for saving us, name's Wedge Antilles. The Klingons captured my ship and my two friends from an Imperial base during a rescue mission, I believe we're heading to your ship, yes?" I nodded as he placed his ETU onto his chest, a blue field surrounding him a second later. "I'll see you on the ship." He said as he vanished with the blue energy field.

As I handed the other two captives an ETU and they put it on as they started to beam out.

"Thanks, we both owe you one!" The person in white armor said as he vanished.

As I looked at the last cell on the right, it was filled with, guess what? More Hur'q. I looked to the others as Lacunae spoke. "I can levitate you all off the ground as you open the cells, then when we're clear, we can make our way to the place you need to go." I nodded as I went to each of the cages and tapped each of the cell consoles. Before they could ask what I was doing, I left the panels alone once the word "open" appeared on each of them.

"Oh, I see what you're doing." Morning Glory said as we were lifted into the air by Lacunae, her shield surrounding us as we reached the ceiling.

I heard several more Klingons heading our way as I tapped each of the panels with my magic, opening the cells and letting the Hur'q roam free. The Klingons arrived a few seconds later and were torn apart by the army of hungry Hur'q that were heading out the door.

"Welp, we just gave them hell." I said as I watched them all leave, heading to various parts of the Lukara to wreak havoc around the ship.