//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Second Best // Story: The Unknown Daughter's Reunion:Part 1 // by Disembodied_Pony //------------------------------// The meeting with her advisors, was causing her mood and expression to begin to sag. When it began, she was chipper and ready to hop onto a ship and pop over to Equus in a day. A regular occurrence in her kingdom....everywhere else. In this situation however, it was turning out to be an impossibility. "...this unknown, was the deciding factor as to why the survey ship was automated, unponied, and built without the inclusion of jump engines. Us having no idea how to expect stronger magic fields would impact the technology. Resulting in the ship having to travel there the old fashioned way with conventional FTL engines. The time spent waiting for the slow transit, outweighed the cost in time for having to replace a lost ship, and then wait again for an imposed slow second journey." "There was just so much on the line to risk loosing the ship, should the unknown have unintended side effects with the technology's Mere Presence. For all we know, a field like that could work like a unicorn shoving their horn into the fold actuator, and casting a spell. The result being: the ship doing anything from partially de-phasing, to coming apart randomly and exploding, or possibly, teleporting to any random place in the galaxy...which is a terrifying thought for anypony to be in, let alone your eminence!" "I, I can't risk such an outcome. It's not worth it, nothing is. *sigh* I-If this means my position is at an end....I, I'll understand, your highness.." his ears wilting and him sagging into the chair with a defeated posture. Sighing sadly, Moon replied "No no Steady Wing. You points are all valid. I remember my first time passing through the jump gates... I had to wait two years for my first jump." Thinking back "All the testing I had to participate in to measure the effect my alicorn magic would have to it...to this day, I still have to self-impose a no-casting rule while they are activated" she chuckled. "Technology can do amazing things, but it does not take kindly to stray energy." "As is with casting, Any unicorn worth their salt knows to not pour energy into a spell or an array with nowhere for it to go." She finished "Thank you, your highness" Steady Wing, feeling better that he hadn't just committed career-seppuku. "What we Can do right now, is place a jump gate safely outside the field's perimeter. Allowing a ship without jump engines to arrive there instantaneously, pass through the field with conventional engines, and sail to Equus in a little over a week. Essentially putting Equus, less than two weeks away. Though.... It'll be a few months wait before the gate comes online...but once it does..." Steady offered Digressing further, he continued; "When we know more, me might be able to at least put a couple of gates inside the field, removing the travel time inside the field as well. Right now however, the field's perimeter is... not understood, transitional, a high-density flux, from what I can make from the data collected so far. Like the surface of a bubble, though it doesn't pop." the wheels in his head beginning to turn "As a matter of fact, the wait for the gate to come online will give us time to study it a bit more. And I'll sleep a bit easier knowing more about it." Steady Wing rambled Shadow Blade, of the ceremonial guard, chimed in "Yes, though I hear that you'll be having your hooves full in the mean time. Something about a space luxury liner?" He grinned. "Wh.. Well....Yes, though I wouldn't go quite that far as to call it -That-." Steady Wing stumbled over his words, feeling a bit exposed having his dream project called out. "Oh sure, sure" The earth pony waved Wing's defense away. He could see the other stallion practically drooling at the mere mention of his project. "Hmhmhmm. Work hard and play hard, Wing? Though I'd be lying if I said I was not curious as to what you'll surprise us with" Moon good naturedly poked him. Sturdy Wing immediately jumping in "Ooh, You're gonna love it, your highness. Just love it! It's gonna ha-" Cutting himself off as to not scuttle his reveal before it even happened. "You'll see! *giggle*" He was giddy, Oh he just wanted to rear up and kick his front legs with glee. The others in the room chucking at the stallion's enthusiasm. Lightning Bolt, a pegasus from the Energy Harvesting division chimed in "Whatever he's got up his fetlocks, We'll be able to cover. Between the collection arrays, and the stock pile we keep on hoof, it'll be more than enough to cover as much as a fleet of ships, and a half dozen gates. Presuming they're entirely replicated from energy." He said without even disguising his pride. In the empire, energy was anything but a scarce commodity. As for a couple generations now, solar collection arrays were continuously being erected, harvesting the energy from natural fusion reactors: suns. At a considerable distance from, they converted wide spectrum light, and some heat, into exploitable energy. Stored in a stabilized & locked crystalline form; Physically transportable, to be unlocked and used elsewhere, whether it be aboard a ship, shipyard, at home on Earth, or on any colonies. At this, Moon sat back and beamed with a pride of her own for her ponies. Every once in a while, she was taken aback by what her ponies had achieved. What they had accomplished with the comparatively meager means they inherited from the 'ones lost'. Ah, She remembered what the world was like back then... resources always scarce due to their nature... But now, it's so very different. In so many ways, reversed........ Shaking her head to clear her nostalgia, she found she was being address by Coral Cove, whom oversaw the materials production & shipyards/drydocks. "Ah, wonderful Cove. However, will this not interrupt deliveries to other divisions already awaiting supplies?" She replied "While it would otherwise, Lightning Bolt assured us, already scheduled in fact, increased energy provisions. So, we'll be operating at 300% typical output for the next couple of months." Cove responded, all the while Bolt continued to smile proudly. He loved being on top of his game. "As soon as we get the materials requests for whatever they're building, it'll be on the way to them immediately. Or, in the case of the ship building, straight to the drydocks." Cove continued. "Woohoo! Erm, uh, sorry" Steady Wing apologized, Laughter filling the room at his outburst. "Well, then, if there is nothing more to add?" Moon prompted "I hereby order this meeting adjourned. Be well, and my thoughts be with you, my little ponies" Moon concluded. With that everypony got up and hurriedly headed out of the conference room. Their hearts and minds set on the task at hoof, energized by the endeavor. With a contented sigh, Moon thought; 'I still haven't come to a consensus on what I'm going to do. My little ponies have me beat of that one. Perhaps the wait will do me favor, in that I won't rush into this haphazardly?' If only the universe were so simple, that I could just rush in and everything still work out perfectly.' with a rueful chuckle 'If it were ever that simple, I'd have never existed, likely having been born an unremarkable birth, and having a normal life. And this world... the mind reels' She pondered. That if the universe was that way instead, how entirely different would the they have been, would they even still had the same forms? Could they have been ponies instead, or something even more different? 'No, I'm not going down that rabbit hole again. I've been down it too many time before, and I don't have the time for it again right now. I have an important task ahead. One that I can not bungle.' Pulling her thoughts back to the present and future, she rolled the options around in her mind once more as she returned to the throne room, the day returning to it's usual exercise of rule.