Kepler stood at the bow of the Tyr, his errant thoughts calmed by the waves while his ship sailed through the water and the decking gently rocked under his hooves. The crew was hard at work ensuring the newly christened flagship was operating at full capacity as they continued to steam over the rolling seas, the troop transports following close behind them while the fleet moved ever closer to its target. The stallion had his eyes closed and his wings spread to allow the midafternoon sunlight to warm his wing membranes which rippled in the wind created by the ship’s motion. While he was paying attention to his companion, in the event something came up that required his immediate intervention, the majority of his mind was happy to remain blank, as he inhaled the salty mist that was pushed upward by the bow cutting through the waves. It had been so long since he had felt the ocean breeze against his skin and the shifting of a ship under his body. During the time he had been working on the shore overseeing the deconstruction of the Bismarck, there had been moments when the wind would carry salty scents inland from the ocean, yet it just couldn’t compare to the unique feeling of a ship on the open sea and the specific conditions it created for her crew.
Kepler’s companion was the changeling mare that had been present on the bridge during their departure from Gryphonstone, her silent presence registering in the stallion’s mind even as he did his best to lose himself in the sensations of the ocean. She had yet to speak unless being used by her Queen to communicate, which both comforted and unnerved Kepler. He felt better because no reports meant that the ship was working properly and nothing needed his attention, and yet he couldn’t help the small shiver that ran up his spine every time the mare appeared seemingly out of thin air without making a sound.
Kepler wasn’t sure how long he stood on the bow soaking up the sun’s rays, but he was abruptly jarred from his reverie when he felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder. His eyes snapped open, and he jumped as he spun his head around to face the changeling, who had somehow managed to walk up and touch him without making any noise whatsoever. Kepler knew how loud his own hooves sounded against the metal plating of the deck, so the fact that even his superior hearing hadn’t detected her approach only reinforced the idea that he needed to be careful around the silent mare.
The mare waited for a second as Kepler got over his surprise before turning towards the stern and pointing with her hoof at a point between the Tyr and the closest starboard troop transport. Kepler had to squint as his gaze followed the direction of the changeling beside him, only for his eyes to widen as he saw what was currently approaching from the Southeast.
“Narr, Von allen idiotischen…” Kepler mumbled under his breath when he was able to make out the singular form flying past the transport towards the Tyr. He turned towards the mare beside him as he pumped his wings in preparation for take-off. “Inform the crew that I will be leaving the ship for a short time. Have a few officers standing by at the stern for my return, and ensure one of them brings a set of irons with them.”
His body lifted off the decking before streaking out over the water towards the approaching gryphon, a choice set of scathing insults running through his mind as he confirmed that he hadn’t been seeing things. Flying towards him with uneven and sluggish wingbeats, her beak hanging open and her legs dangling below her body in exhaustion, was an unarmored, salt-crusted Gloria.
Kepler approached the flailing hen, biting back the rather insensitive verbiage he had been ready to yell, as it was blatantly obvious to even his inexperienced eyes that the young female was barely able to stay airborne, let alone focus on anything said to her. So, he chose to guide her towards the stern of the Tyr, his presence seemingly barely registering to the bleary-eyed gryphon other than to get her moving in the right direction. Kepler stayed close to Gloria until they came in for a landing on the open decking, whereupon she promptly folded like a house of cards and flopped onto her stomach without making any attempt to steady herself.
Kepler landed seconds later, although he was politely pushed to the side as an Oberarzt, who had been waiting for their arrival, rushed forward to check over Gloria. Kepler knew better than to get in the way of a physician going over a patient, so he turned his attention to the other two crewmembers who had been standing by.
One was a large gryphon tercel, his impressive bulk barely contained within the Feldgendarmerie uniform that stretched and pulled ever so slightly as he moved. The military police officer had the irons Kepler requested held under one wing, his cold gaze openly glaring at Gloria with disdain, over Kepler’s shoulder. His beak was twisted down into a frightening sneer, and Kepler was reminded of the singular time he had met a member of the Feldgendarmerie back in his homeland. He hadn’t even been in trouble and the huge man had still looked at him like he was about to break Kepler in half. With that memory in mind, Kepler made a note to make sure he didn’t give the gryphon before him any reason to turn that sneer in his direction.
The second crewmember before him was the changeling mare from before, who he still didn’t know the name of. Her eyes had shifted to those of her Queen, and there seemed to be an almost gleeful expression on the drone’s face as Chrysalis shifted her attention from Kepler to Gloria and back again.
“Well, isn’t this a surprising turn of events,” the Queen chuckled darkly as she hid her muzzle behind a hoof. “Oh the King is going to have a fit when he finds out that one of his soldiers has deserted her post and gone chasing after her lover instead of following his direct orders.” Kepler felt a shiver run up his spine as Chrysalis turned her attention to him. “It seems you have made quite the impression on the young hen, wouldn’t you say?”
Kepler ignored the jab and turned to the Feldgendarmerie. “Don’t bother with the cuffs just yet. She’s barely conscious and won’t be able to put up any resistance. Once the doctor has had a chance to look her over, bring her to the brig and secure her for questioning later. Right now, we have more important things to worry about than a lone deserter.”
The tercel saluted and moved past Kepler to pick up Gloria by the scruff of her neck, much to the Oberarzt’s displeasure, before tossing the unconscious hen over his shoulders and carrying her away. The doctor followed behind while voicing his consternation at his patient’s treatment, although the larger military police didn’t seem to care, as the duo moved below decks and out of earshot.
Kepler sighed as he turned his attention to Chrysalis, who had a smirk on her face that would have sent lesser men running in fear. He knew it was just an attempt at getting under his skin, so he did his best to hide the hairs standing on end at the back of his neck. “I take it that you have informed the King of what has happened?” It wasn’t really a question since he knew the answer already, but he had a feeling that the Queen wasn’t going to say anything on the subject unless he played her game.
“Skybeak is currently unavailable because of various matters of state that have taken up his time.” Chrysalis’ smile grew wider as Kepler’s eyebrow rose in surprise. “What? Did you think I would ruin the little romance blooming on this ship just so the hen can get shipped off to somewhere dark and dreary, never to be seen again? What kind of heartless monster do you think I am?”
“I would have presumed you were invested in this alliance for the sake of your people, not to use us for your own amusement whenever it suits your fancy,” Kepler retorted. “Protocol dictates that this should be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible, or else there will be much more at stake than Gloria’s future. What good will come of not telling the King of her desertion when you know that is what would be required of me?”
The changeling rolled her eyes with a long-suffering sigh. “You really are a stickler for the rules, I’ll give you that much. However, there is one thing you are blatantly overlooking, my little pony friend. That hen did what is considered unthinkable in Gryphon culture, given their code of honor and how rigidly they adhere to that foolish notion. Desertion is tantamount to high treason in every way save for one; When it comes to how it is punished. While she will live to tell the tale, she will never hold a regular job, she cannot own land under her own name, and, most importantly, she will be stripped of something that every creature with wings holds sacred.”
Kepler’s eyes widened in shock. “You mean they would…” he trailed off as Chrysalis nodded. “But that’s barbaric! How can they justify taking her ability to fly?”
“Was it really so different in your homeland?” the changeling countered. “What would have become of anyone who deserted their post, regardless of the reason?”
Kepler fell silent as he thought about it. Sure, Gloria would lose her flight, but at least she’d still be alive. He’d heard horror stories about soldiers that had deserted for one reason or another, only to find themselves at the end of the Schutzstaffel’s rifles, or worse. The SS wasn’t afraid to use unorthodox methods in their punishments, and if half of the things Kepler had heard were true, he was glad he was somewhere they could never reach. He had enough problems as it was without the terror of being hunted by them running through his veins.
“Alright, you’ve made your point,” he replied after a momentary pause. “But you still haven’t answered my question. Why do you care about her?”
“Because as much as I like stirring the pot, I don’t want you to make a mistake that you will never be able to fix.” The changeling looked almost sheepish for a moment, although it could have just been Kepler’s imagination. “You are a vital part of this mission’s success, so if anything were to jeopardize your ability to command effectively, then this entire alliance would be for nothing. You need to be able to focus on the mission, and if you are constantly worried about your female friend’s wellbeing, then there is a chance you could make a mistake, one that we cannot afford to let happen.”
Kepler was puzzled, given this was far from the behavior that the Queen usually presented. Abruptly, his attention was drawn to the fact that the drone’s eyes were no longer those of the Queen, but instead the soft blue haze of the mare before him.
The drone smiled slightly as his own eyes widened in realization. “Took you long enough.” Her real voice was soft and smooth, the dual tone of her kind’s speech barely noticeable as Kepler backed up in shock. “My Queen had to return to her duties while you were reminiscing, but I felt that I had to say something for myself when you kept talking afterwards.”
Her smile faded as she continued. “I meant what I said before, about you needing to be at your best for this mission. You have feelings for that hen, don’t bother lying about it because I can sense it, but you’ve buried it so far down in your heart that you are becoming more like a construct than a living being. That kind of bottling up will eventually lead to self-destruction, and with a war ahead of us we need you to be focused. My Queen will not report the hen’s desertion to King Skybeak, given what we all know would happen to her if she was brought back to face judgement for her crimes. It will be up to you to decide on what to do with her, but take it from a creature that literally survives off love, you won’t last long in this world if you don’t let someone into your heart. War is a cruel and dark thing, and it is very easy to get lost in it if you don’t have a light to guide you.”
Kepler stood there, shocked, as the mare turned and walked away, her final words being tossed over her shoulder as she stopped just short of the fourth primary turret. “Oh, and just to let you know, there’s a ship on the horizon. From what my hive-mate can tell me it looks like an Equestrian border patrol. Might want to get back to the bridge before the crew starts to panic.”
That got Kepler’s attention, and he made his way back through the ship’s interior with all possible haste after pushing past the changeling mare to get into the ship’s superstructure. Calls were sounding over the intercom, telling the crew to report to their battle stations and prepare for a possible enemy engagement.
Kepler blitzed up the flight shaft and the stairs to the bridge just as Korvettenkapitän Whiteclaw bellowed out, “Where is the Kapitän?!”
Kepler skidded to a halt just short of his chair in the center of the bridge, Whiteclaw spinning around from looking out the port windows with a telescoping spyglass upon his entrance. “Ah, good, you made it, sir. We have what looks like an Equestrian border patrol approaching from the West. She appears to be alone, roughly a frigate in size, and armed with a small collection of spell cannons along her port and starboard.”
“What’s the threat level against the fleet?” Kepler asked, his mind awash with the possible scenarios that could come about from this engagement.
“Not much of anything against the Tyr, sir,” Whiteclaw replied, “However, I can’t say the same for the transports. Those cannons could easily tear them apart if they felt inclined to use them, although the greater threat is if they send word back to the mainland about us before we can stop them. Our communications systems are magically boosted, but still mechanical in nature. The Equestrians use purely magical means to communicate long distances, and we don’t have a way to jam that type of transmission.”
“Then we need to take them out before they report our presence to their home port,” Kepler concluded. “If they get wise to our presence, there won’t be anything we can do to stop them from sending everything they have at us. This mission hinges on our presence remaining secret until we get within striking range of Manehattan. We can’t let anything jeopardize that secrecy.”
“Then, are we going to sink the ship, sir?” Whiteclaw’s talons tightened around his spyglass in excitement as Kepler nodded.
“Tell the firing crews to load high explosive shells. Armor piercing won’t be of any use against a ship of that size. We’ll need to make the first shots count and sink them before they realize what is happening. If we don’t, our mission could fail before it even begins.”
“Aye, sir.” Whiteclaw snapped a salute before turning to the communications officers. “You heard him, let the weapons crews know we need those cannons ready, and we need them ready now.”
The chatter of the various crew members echoed around the room as commands were passed around various parts of the ship. All the while, the two forward turrets were slowly turning to face their oncoming enemy, as the ship accelerated to combat speed. The Tyr slowly pulled ahead of the formation, her guns coming to bear on the smaller vessel while her crew waited in anticipation for the first shots to be fired.
Captain Emerald Seas was confused as she lowered her spyglass. Her wings twitched with uncertainty against her flanks as the strange ship began to pull ahead of the large airship formation. She hadn’t seen any colors flying from the fleet, and her intuition was warning her that there was something wrong with what was happening in front of her. She had never seen a ship that big before and she had been sailing for several years even before she joined the Navy. The E.R.N. Tiderunner was a fine ship in her own right, but against something of that sheer size, she was unsure if any of her crew could even reach the larger ship’s decking, save for the pegasi.
Emerald raised her spyglass once again as she noticed movement on the metal monster’s deck. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw what appeared to be massive cannons rotating atop turrets to face her ship. The glass of the extendable spyglass shattered against the decking as she took to the air, her wings carrying her as fast as they possibly could towards the bridge. There was a sound not unlike thunder only a hundred times louder, when the enormous cannons ejected fire and plumes of black smoke, the shockwave from the explosions almost forcing Emerald into the side of the hull before she could correct her flight path. Columns of water erupted from several points around the Tiderunner, the seas surrounding the much smaller vessel rocking violently and soaking the other ponies on deck. Cries of terror and confusion sounded off from everypony present, but Emerald paid them no mind. Her only priority was to get back to the bridge and send out a distress call to the mainland.
Again, the mighty vessel’s cannons cracked the very air with their ferocity, the columns of water barely missing the Tiderunner signaling the frigate’s approaching demise. Emerald forewent the door and crashed through the window of the bridge, her coat leaving trails of red as her barrel and forelegs were cut by the glass. She snatched up the communication crystal that was resting on its pedestal next to her chair and tapped out the required activation pattern with her hoof. Her body shook, and she couldn’t feel the cuts that littered her body. The only thing that mattered was warning her home about the disaster that was coming its way.
Finally, the crystal lit up with a bright, blue light, and Emerald screamed at the top of her lungs to be heard over the echoing crack of the mystery ship’s cannons firing once again. “This is Captain Emerald Seas of the E.R.N. Tiderunner. We are under attack by an unknown ship leading a fleet of airships across the Sparkling Sea. Bearing West by Northwest, just north of Baltimare, we are outgunned and request immediate assistance.”
“This is Joint Base Mareweather, responding. What kind of ship are you facing, Captain?” The crystal didn’t allow for visual communication, but Emerald could tell that the mare on the other end was broadcasting her words because she could hear an echo of her own voice as she spoke.
“It’s huge, at least two, no, two and a half hoofball fields end to end. It’s comprised mostly of metal and has several enormous –” At that moment, one of the shells from the attacking ship finally hit true, the resulting explosion ripping the smaller vessel to splinters as everypony aboard was either cut to pieces by the flying shrapnel or vaporized outright in the fireball.
The communication crystal was able to pass on a split second of the horrendous sound before being shattered by the shockwave that carried it clear of the decimated ship, leaving the ponies on the other end crying out for a response even when they knew that there was no way anypony could hear them. Word was immediately passed up the chain of command that there had been an attack against a border patrol. The attackers were unknown, and a huge unknown ship was leading them across the Sparkling Sea. A messenger pegasus was immediately sent to inform the Princesses in Canterlot of what had happened, however, by the time the messenger had completed his two day journey, it would be too late to stop the disaster that was about to befall the Equestrian coast.