//------------------------------// // 33: The Beginning And The End (Part 1) // Story: Homeworld: Equestria - The Silent Hunters // by hiigaran //------------------------------// Recovering from the sight of Kharak’s surface, Lightning Dust anchored Er Khar Lamaat between two support structures on one of the larger pieces of debris orbiting the dead planet. A relic of the Hiigaran’s exile era, the debris once belonged to a monumental scaffold used to construct the first mothership of the Kushan race. Following its destruction at the hands of the Taiidan one hundred and twenty-three years ago, the remnants managed to maintain in a decayed orbit. “Position steady. Setting minimum power,” Lightning announced. “We should be hidden here. Sensors don’t look like they’ll be of much use, though. Aside from a narrow field of vision to the planet, any scans elsewhere will have reduced effectiveness.” “Fortunately, I know my way around the area,” Khamari commented. “The scaffold used to maintain a geostationary orbit. After the attempted genocide, the debris shifted lower and developed an elliptical orbit. What do sensors show about our orbit? Shape, and speed.” Lightning opened a new screen at her station, and read aloud part of a list. “Stable enough, with a nine-four minute orbital period, and a velocity just over seven kilometres per second. Periapsis of three hundred and eighty-one kilometres altitude, and apoapsis of five hundred and twelve.” “Good. There’s a Raider garrison in geostationary orbit directly above the research base. Should be a Rancor with a full strike-craft complement, a few Vindicators, and several Dagger escorts. They’ll be about a hundred times further away from the planet than we are, but we still have to consider the risk of getting caught on their sensors. To mitigate this, we’ll need to head to the surface at our periapsis, in the shortest time possible.” “Hmm,” Glare mused. “I’m guessing it would also be a good idea to factor in our orbital period and the planet’s rotation?” “Indeed. Our target can be found on a small part of the planet that survived the atmospheric deprivation strike, north of a landmark known as the Kashar Plateau. If we time our periapsis to put us on a descent path that keeps the base below the horizon, we can land a gunship at the edge of their ground sensor range on the southern side of the plateau.” “What’s the risk of detection during re-entry?” “By the garrison? Negligible. Ground sensors? They use short-range, high-frequency waves as part of a ground defence network, supplemented by slightly longer range, low-frequency waves that only work with line of sight. If we stay far enough away initially, then remain below the horizon afterwards, we’ll be fine.” “And how far to the base once we’re boots on ground?” “I don’t have an exact distance off the top of my head, but I’d say twenty to thirty kilometres.” “Seems doable,” the unicorn concluded. “It will be difficult. Temperatures during the day are lethal, especially at this time of the year, and you can expect below freezing temperatures at night. If we assume our safe operating times are between sunset and two hours after sunrise, that gives us a roughly twelve hour window to complete our objectives and get out. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck for another twelve hours before we can move out.” Glare frowned, performing some mental arithmetic. “That complicates things. Say I push it and do up to thirty teleportations at two hundred metres each go. We’d still be looking at about an eight hour trek to the base. We’d never get back in time.” “Someone might need to stay aboard the gunship and wait for a signal to extract us,” Shadow suggested. “We’ve got Lightning, Sparky, and myself for pilots.” Glare weighed her options. Shadow’s talents would be far too valuable to leave behind, but holding Sparky back would deprive the group of a heavy weapons unit. There was only one logical choice. “Lightning. The gunship is yours.” Lightning nodded. “You say the word, and I’ll ram the gunship right through the base to pick you up.” “Hopefully we won’t need that dramatic of an exit. Alright, this plan is starting to come together. Lightning, can you check how long until we have a periapsis that allows for an evening arrival?” A swipe at some screens, and a momentary glance later, the pegasus replied, “Nine hours, and six minutes.” “Thank you. Sparky, if you could take first watch on the bridge, I’ll need Lightning to make sure the gunship is in working order. Swift, Shift, take our equipment to the ship and get it secured. Assist Lightning with anything else she might need. Once you’re finished, I suggest we all take a proper night’s sleep, and be ready to launch immediately.” Obsidian waited for the alarm on his VMUI to sound, after waking half an hour from launch. Peering over the bed, he reached for the device left on the floor, and checked the time, noting only a couple of minutes left. Disabling the alarm, he took a deep breath, stretched, and rolled over on the compact mattress to Glare. Giving the unicorn a gentle nudge, Obsidian whispered, “Hey. Glare. It’s time.” With an incoherent grunt, Glare waited for the changeling to move out of the way, before crawling out of the bed. While the pair donned their pressure suits, Obsidian watched Glare move, as if each step pained her. “You alright?” he asked. “Just scared. This is nothing like our past missions. If we mess this up, it could cost us the lives of everyone back home.” Obsidian draped a wing over Glare’s barrel and allowed her to lean into him. “Don’t let it cloud your thoughts. There’s only one thing we need to focus on, alright?” Glare nodded silently. “Good. I’ll make sure the others are awake, then meet you on the gunship.” The pair left the quarters and split off. As Glare headed for the bridge, she could hear Obsidian behind her knocking on the first set of quarters. Arriving, she found Lightning Dust swivelling back and forth in her seat. “Good evening, Lightning. How were things?” “Nothing significant. Picked up a couple of garbled contacts on the passives, but they were nowhere near us. We’ll be coming up on our approach vectors soon.” “Do what you need to do on the bridge, then shut the ship down completely.” “We’ll need power to disengage the couplings on the gunship. You fine with me setting a timer for an automated shutdown sequence?” “I’m okay with it if you’re okay with it.” “In that case …” Lightning trailed off, as she went to work with the ship’s systems. “Done. Timer set for fifteen minutes. Let’s go.” Without waiting for a reply, Lightning left the bridge first, with Glare in tow. The unicorn took a final worried glance at the bridge, before catching up with the pegasus. “Hey, I hope you weren’t offended by my decision to keep you behind.” “What? No, I wasn’t offended at all. Maybe a little disappointed. Was looking forward to sticking a hoof so far up a Raider’s flank that they’d taste grass, but I get it. Of the three pilots, I’d make the most sense to keep behind. I’m guessing Sparky is your heavy weapons guy, and Shadow? Well, from what I heard about her, she’d be a greater asset to you than I would be.” “Don’t say that. What you did at Argon-Six—” “Yeah, yeah, I’m twice the flyer Rainbow Dash is, without the starving ego. I know my strengths. They just won’t be relevant when you assault the base.” Arriving at the hangar bay, the pair passed through the airlock attached to their gunship. Confirming everyone else was aboard, Lightning latched the exit, hearing the faint clunk of the airlock’s walkway retracting outside. Securing herself in the pilot’s seat, she proceeded with her pre-start check-lists. Behind her, the others attempted to resolve the issue of seating eight passengers in four seats. Eventually they agreed each seat occupant would hold another in their lap, while securing their harnesses over both. Sparky paired off with Shadow, Khamari sat with Bon Bon, Swift and Shift took a third seat, and Obsidian held Glare in the final seat. Finishing her pre-start procedures, Lightning made a quick announcement. “Alright, fillies and gentlegarans, please observe the no smoking sign, fasten your seat belts, and in the event of cabin decompression … tough luck. As soon as we launch, I’m doing a three-G retro, until we’re falling directly down, so have fun. Just be glad that’s all these engines can do. Otherwise, you’d be feeling nine-G in my interceptor.” Starting the gunship’s engines, Lighting confirmed drives one through six were functioning correctly, and finished her post-start checks. Satisfied, she disengaged the docking clamps, and the vessel shook. “Couplings free,” the pegasus proclaimed, firing thrusters and heading for the Lamaat’s exit. “Last of the sensor data indicates no contacts in the area. Everypony ready back there?” Reluctantly, Glare answered, “As we’ll ever be.” “We’re clear of the Lamaat, and the debris.” Turning the gunship in the direction opposite to their orbital path, she added, “Retrograde burn in three … two … one …” The ship immediately pressed everyone into their seats, subjecting each occupant to three times their weight. Those holding others in their laps struggled to breathe, as the vessel lowered its orbit. Watching the flight-path marker on her external cameras nudge closer to her intended destination, Lightning cut the engines. Firing manoeuvring thrusters, she aligned the gunship tail-first, and to everyone’s relief, announced, “Burn complete. Estimating arrival in twelve minutes.” Expecting a number closer to an hour, Glare was surprised. “That’s quick.” Lightning grinned, turning her head back toward the unicorn. “Little trick of mine. It’s … experimental.” Glare gave the pegasus an uncertain look. “Experimental? I don’t like the sound of that.” “Relax. It’s mostly a vertical drop. Four minutes of which is us going as fast as one point seven five klicks a second, with our engines maintaining that speed limit. One minute extra for a three-G deceleration. The rest is level flight just above the ground, until we reach our destination. This approach should work in theory.” Glare’s expression only intensified. “You’ve never done this before?” “Well, not in a gunship. I’ve run the numbers, and adjusted for the larger mass and surface area of this ship. We’ll be fine.” “Forgive me for abstaining my vote of confidence. We’re not going to burn up with your faster re-entry, are we?” “In what possible outcome in your mind did you expect me to answer that question with a ‘yes’? I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought we’d burn up. Yeah, it’s faster, but only because we have a much shorter distance to cover, compared to a standard re-entry, despite having only a quarter of the speed. Speaking of, we should start to feel the effects of atmosphere shortly.” As the atmosphere thickened, the gunship started bumping around lightly, subjected to turbulence as it fell backwards through the sky. Bumps quickly turned to shudders, and shudders to jolts. Reaching Lightning’s maximum specified speed, she initiated a one-G burn to maintain velocity. Suddenly, Swift’s eyes widened, and the pegasus whipped his head around. “Shift? What the—” “I swear, it’s just the vibration!” Shift quickly replied. Seizing an opportunity, Obsidian ribbed the pair. “Having fun, you two?” “Shut up, Obsidian.” With air density increasing, Lightning eased off on the engines slightly, as aerodynamic drag provided greater assistance in preserving the rate of descent. Upon passing one hundred and fifty kilometres altitude, the pegasus increased engine power to three-G for the final minute, pressing everyone back into their seats, while the rear camera displayed the distant ground, which approached at an alarming rate. Lightning’s passengers showed various levels of concern or fear, as they watched the feed. Though the sun was setting over this part of the planet, larger geographic features soon became visible, with ever-increasing detail, until even the sand dunes could be seen. Even with the size of objects in the camera increasing, the gunship managed to slow to a hover no more than a hundred metres from the ground, while Glare, Swift, and Shift recoiled at the potential collision. Lightning however, pumped a hoof in the air and celebrated. “HA! Told you it would work!” Breathing a sigh of relief, Glare took a moment to recover. “Sorry I doubted you.” “You’re not the first, and assuming we survive this little field trip, you won’t be the last, either.” Adjusting her course, Lightning flew off at high speed toward their landing zone, maintaining a hundred metres of elevation with ventral thrusters. “At full burn, I can get us up to one point three klicks a second. Drag is a little higher than expected, so let’s set the ETA at nine minutes.” Showing no mercy, Obsidian spoke up again. “Sure we can’t go any faster? I don’t think poor Shift can hold—” “Oh, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Shift barked. “More than you know.” Thundering across the boundless desert, Lightning spied the front of a distant sandstorm off the port side, only just illuminated by the last rays of lights that fell below the horizon. Concerned at its rapid approach, she performed a quick calculation and determined their destination should just pass the storm, though her estimates and assumptions provided results that were dubious at best. “Hey, Khamari? You think that sandstorm over there might be a problem?” “If we’re caught in it outside this ship? Likely fatal. Kharak’s sandstorms can easily sandblast the paint off vehicles. I don’t think I need to describe what it would do to flesh after it wears through a pressure suit.” “Well, we’re coming up on the final two minutes. If we slow at one-G, we’ll stop in a hundred and fifty klicks, so hopefully we’ll miss it completely. I could be wrong though. Either way, decelerating … now.” This time, the seat occupants pushed part of their weight into those on their laps, squeezing them between themselves, and their harnesses. As they slowed, the terrain no longer passed by in a blurry, undulating manner, and instead, the finer details of rocky flats and rippling dunes could be made out. Sighting the silhouette of a large landmark over the horizon, Lightning confirmed her position and raised her voice. “There it is. Coming up on the Kashar Plateau.” Slowing further, she altered course slightly. As the plateau drew nearer, Lightning started a gradual descent, spying a suitable landing spot at its base. Flipping switches for landing lights, she aimed the bright spotlights at a mostly flat slab of rock, extended landing skids, and floated directly down in a perfect landing. Without waiting for Lightning, everyone undid their harnesses and rose. Gathering their equipment, they each loaded up with as much as they could carry. Portable oxygen concentrators attached where a pressure suit’s oxygen tank would go, along with one or two weapons per member, depending on their individual roles. Additional ammunition, demolitions, medical supplies, rations, and survival kits were stuffed into any bag that had room. Once finished, Glare approached Lightning. “Thanks for doing your part. We’ll report every two hours.” “No sweat. Give those Raiders my regards.” Nodding, Glare turned back to the others, catching sight of Khamari still in his usual attire. “Didn't you say temperatures would be below freezing out there?” “I have sufficient thermal gear below this," the Gaalsien assured Glare. “I’m also more used to colder climates.” “Alright, you know the place best. Everyone else ready? Let’s go.” Lighting up her horn, Glare and the others disappeared, leaving Lightning alone. Appearing on top of the plateau, the group already felt the drop in temperature, as they surveyed their surroundings. Littered across the plateau were countless vehicles from an old battlefield, each half-buried under sand carried by the wind. The vehicles ranged from a few metres, to over a hundred metres in length, and at the far end to the group’s right, stood two massive aircraft with diamond shaped wings, spanning the width of the plateau. Shaking off a quick shiver, Glare asked, “Any idea what happened here, Khamari?” “The black and red vehicles were Gaalsien. The yellow ones were Coalition. This place was a strategic point for those Coalition aircraft.” Obsidian eyed one of the smaller black vehicles. “That one looks familiar.” Looking in Obsidian’s direction, Glare replied, “Wouldn’t be surprised if we saw it in the museum on Hiigara.” “No, I don’t think it’s that.” Flying toward the wreck, Obsidian landed by the vehicle’s side. The twin forward barrels, the vertically elevated cockpit, and three domed cylinders across its body jogged his memory. “Yeah, we’ve all seen these before,” he stated, after flying back to the others. Shift raised an eyebrow. “We?” “Remember that vehicle on the streets on Enigma Tango? Before the skyway?” “There were Gaalsien on that planet?” Glare asked, looking back at Khamari. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Unfortunately, the Gaalsien played a significant role in developing the controller technology. Enigma Tango was the first planet outside Raider territory we used to test the weapon on.” “That planet was far from any known Raider territory,” the unicorn commented. “Seems like an odd planet choice.” “I think you know the second reason that planet was chosen.” “Ahh. The ADWs. Hold on, let’s teleport further ahead.” In a flash, the group disappeared, materialising over two hundred metres away. Confirming everyone was present, Glare continued. “So, what we saw in orbit … That’s what we’d expect the death of a planet to look like?” “I’m afraid so. An entire planet’s surface charred, glassed, and vaporised. Kharak escaped plenty of damage, but it was still more than enough to wipe out all life.” Glare did not reply. Instead, she picked up the pace. Trailing behind the others out of earshot, Shadow and Bon Bon took advantage of their time to catch up. “I have to ask,” the zebra started. “Why Bon Bon of all names?” Bon Bon shrugged. “After standing down from the Nightcasters, I was only given a few days to come up with a new name. Bon Bon was the best I could come up with. Of all the names I had, I narrowed it down to either that, or Sugar Sweet.” “You’re definitely no Sugar Sweet. Even Sweetie Drops is a bit much.” “Well you’re no Shadow either, Mbèmbé. Remember the airship? Might have been overkill to explode into flames and incinerate the whole thing.” “As I recall, it was you who had blown our cover, not I. Had to make sure no one would follow us—” “—while I jumped overboard with the intel, into a free-fall, with no unicorn or pegasus backup, or a parachute.” “I thought I did a decent job of catching you and arresting our fall.” “I knew you would. Would have been nice if you got to me sooner, though. Saving me at the last second like that did wonders for my blood pressure. Still, good to know we got a trotting flamethrower for this op.” “I wish I could say that was still possible. That airship op drained me permanently.” “You mean you can no longer—” “Oh, I still can. Just not to that extent.” “Hey!” Glare shouted at the head of the group. “We’re moving up again. You two ready back there?” “Go ahead,” Bon Bon shouted back. Feeling the sand shift under their weight as they teleported out, the eight pressed on. In mere seconds, they felt a mild rumble beneath them, intensifying rapidly. Shift looked around and asked the obvious. “Uhh, fellas? Anyone else feel that?” Glare looked to Khamari for answers. “Earthquake?” “No. Kharak hasn’t had tectonic activity for a long time.” Before Khamari could say any more, an eruption of sand cascaded upon the group, as a large beast clawed its way out. Towering over him at four times his height, with claws on its front paws as big as he was, stood a brown-furred beast of snarling rage. “What the buck is that?” Bon Bon shouted. Obsidian recognised the animal immediately. “Kudaark! Get clear!” The creature snorted, its snout spines bristling. Khamari dived near Glare as she raised her shield, in time for several large bony spikes to eject from the snout. Colliding with the golden barrier, the shield failed, only just managing to protect its occupants. Khamari quickly rose. “Eyes first, legs second!” he shouted, raising his pulsar rifle. The rest followed, firing spears of blue from their weapons, and melting a cavity into where an eye once was. Recoiling in pain, the Kudaark buried its head and flung a large mass of sand at the group. Glare leaped out of the way, as large claws swiped in her general direction. Swift and Shift took flight, shooting at the beast’s toughened hide from flanking positions, before it decided to burrow back underground. Firing a couple of rounds at its rump before it disappeared under the sand, the twins landed. “Everypony okay?” Shaking sand off herself, Glare replied, “Yeah, I’m fine.” “As am I. We should leave at once,” Khamari suggested. “Kudaarks aren’t known to be forgiving. It will be back.” Glare nodded. “You had me at ‘leave’.” In a flash, the group jumped up another couple hundred metres and resumed their trek across the desert. She faced Khamari once more. “I thought you said all life on Kharak was wiped out from the ADWs.” “Apparently not. I was just as surprised as you were to encounter a Kudaark.” “You think other creatures could have survived?” “Doubtful, but these last few minutes did prove me wrong. Kudaarks might have survived because they spend much of their time underground. Plus, Kharak did not get fully bombarded with ADWs. They might have just hibernated until post-bombardment temperatures and oxygen distribution stabilised. Whatever the case, there are certain things I hope had perished in the bombardment.” Curious, Obsidian moved closer to Khamari. “Such as?” “The Khaaneph.” “What do those creatures look like?” “Me.” “Huh?” “They are Kushan, but stripped of all morality. Khaaneph was a term used by the Gaalsien to describe … well, madmen. The ‘Godless’. They believe in nothing. No gods, no laws, no kiithid.” “Sounds like Raiders to me.” “You could make comparisons, but even Raiders have standards. Yes, both would raid for resources in ways considered savage, and both would be considered extreme scavengers. Though you could say both would find a way to re-purpose every scrap of metal, or bring up every captured child as a warrior, the Khaaneph took things much further. Every corpse on the battlefield was a source of food. Every comrade was just another resource to further fuel ones selfish desires. Raiders still work as a team. Khaaneph would just as quickly kill their teammates, if the individual stood to gain from it.” “So, a lack of honour,” Obsidian stated simply. “I suppose. It’s an eye-opening insight into what a group of beings would look like with pure objectivity.” “That seems like a stretch,” Glare argued. “Mutual cooperation is the reason our races have become what they are today. It seems objectively better than … that.” Khamari bowed his head. “And I agree completely. However, consider your life span, and what you could do with your strength, intelligence, and abilities. What could you gain by being selfish, and what could you gain by being selfless?” “Assuming no repercussions, sure, but all actions have consequences,” Glare countered. “That’s a naive answer,” the Gaalsien stated. “How often are school bullies reprimanded? Or upper management of large businesses? What about corrupt politicians? Some leaders in the galaxy would gladly sell out entire planets, just to be set for life.” Glare hummed. “Well, we do have our own problems in Equestria, but it seems they aren’t as bad as other parts of the galaxy.” “Be thankful your problems pale in comparison to other places.” “Uhh,” Obsidian started. “Aren’t we on this planet because others saw fit to make it our problem?” “You make a good point,” Khamari agreed. Checking the time on his wristwatch, he looked toward the horizon. “Might want to press forward with more haste. Glare, do you have strength to move us again?” “I should.” Looking back at the group, the unicorn raised her voice. “Everyone ready to jump ahead again? Here we go …” The group continued their trek through the darkness, broken only by their rifle torches, or the occasional golden flash from Glare. As hours passed, they continued leaping forward, eventually approaching the peak of a large sand dune, just as the horizon betrayed the faintest hint of orange from the approaching sun. Nestled in a distant shallow valley, three buildings stood out, with lighting from masts and windows of varying intensities. Two of the semi-spherical structures stood at half the size of the third, with crude roads connecting the buildings to each other, and several isolated columns surrounding them. Glare zoomed in on the targets through her CNS. “What are we dealing with, Khamari?” Looking down the scope of his rifle, the Gaalsien adjusted the magnification to survey the area. “The main structure is the research base itself. The closer, smaller structure, is a power station. I’d recommend destroying that before focusing on the research base, as it would deactivate many of the automated systems we’re likely to face in the base, as well as the base’s communications array. We probably don't want reinforcements called.” “Is that what I see on top of the third structure?” “No, the array would be on the research base. Those on the third building are the sensors that coordinate the turret emplacements surrounding the base. Those free-standing columns littered around. Unless you want this to be a one-way trip, we’ll need to destroy that, too.” “Alright, we have updated objectives then. The base is our primary target, while the power station and turret control building are secondary,” Glare announced. “Unless anypony objects, we should split up. One group will take the power station offline. As soon as the power is out, the main group will begin the assault on the base. Khamari? Do you have a preference on which group to go with?” “Probably better I assist with the power station. I should be able to blend in with others.” “Then take Obsidian and Shadow with you. Everyone else will be part of group two or three. We’ll hit the base at opposite ends as soon as the power is out. Once we go loud, we go hard. Unless anyone has anything to add, let’s move, before the light gives our approach away.”