//------------------------------// // Dust Motes // Story: Eden Fire // by Sharman Pierce //------------------------------// The dust-mare held her hoof against her cheek in mock shock. “Why, Captain Gideon,” she said mockingly. Captain Gideon held his signature flat stare on this old tie to his past. He didn’t yield a smidgimeter despite the unusual situation. The ghost, Lilith, took a step closer. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?” “I would hardly call our old association friendship. When I left your… pleasant… company, I did so with the implicit assumption that I would spend the rest of my days without ever having to breathe your air again. Truly, I am incredibly disappointed.” Lilith laughed. It was a pleasant veneer to her razor personality. “Gideon, we worked so well together. It saddens me to hear you say such things. Didn’t we chase the mysteries of Man together?” Captain Gideon’s level stare morphed into a scowl. “I did so because I was younger and blinded by my own inexperience. I assumed you were someone other than what you really are: a viper. That was why I tolerated your companionship as long as I did.” “And what? You suddenly lost the zeal for the unknown when we parted? Bold words coming from someone who built a ship on Man’s secrets.” “At least I did not abandon my name for one of Man’s dead and forgotten ones. Not even my obsession goes that deep,” the captain said sharply. Lilith smiled. “Admit it. You have a taste for what Man had to offer.” “What do you want, Lilith?” “The usual. A nice house, a pleasant life, a few foals, and answers to things so fantastical they were assumed to be legend.” She turned her gaze to the box. “You want those answers too. Otherwise, you would not have taken the box. We are two kindred spirits even after all this time.” Captain Gideon didn’t answer for a long time. Cold Snap looked back at his friend. Nebula just shrugged and kept trying to keep his breath under control. “Five years. I ended our cooperation five years ago. At first, I worked with you because it appeared we had similar goals. We both wanted to know the extent of Man’s involvement in our past and to see if what he accomplished could be brought to the world today. “As time passed, either those interests diverged, or I grew more mature to see things in a different light. I sought man’s scientific achievements and thought to apply it somehow. Were it not for a war, I would be choosing another path than a warship. You, however, sought their more esoteric knowledge.” Lilith shook her head. “And you know why. Why introduce the masses to technology beyond their understanding when you can fundamentally change the way they live their lives? Not that I condemn your accomplishments. You have obviously found sources I never imagined. It is not enough though.” “And what is? Is this life not filled with wonder and beauty as it is?” “I did not say it wasn’t. I say that it can be better though. Haven’t you read of man’s history? He accomplished grand things. Built cultures and empires unlike any we have seen. They set the stage for everything we could dream of. Compared to them, we may as well be savages playing in the forests,” Lilith said primly. “I’ve found the noble savage to be of far better company than most civilized types. Your view of their past is gilded. You only see their glories. Those empires were built on blood and chains. Their cultures celebrated the worst excesses an individual can partake of,” Captain Gideon said. This whole conversation had Cold Snap reeling as revelation led to revelation. These two knew each other somehow, and they had obviously not parted on good terms. What shocked him even more though was this casual discussion of Man. To these two, Man wasn’t a myth, he was a very real figure in the long past. He had history and culture, everything that any nation would have today. So just how much did Captain Gideon know about this? Raising an eyebrow, Lilith seemed to ponder the captain’s words. “So what? A group has a battle here and there and they are evil for it? We are no worse.” Look at the war that you are so helpfully participating in.” Captain Gideon shot out of his chair, his claws piercing whatever lay beneath them. “You know nothing of battlefields. What you call a pitched battle, they would consider a disagreement. Only when the bodies lie thick enough to walk without ever touching ground dothey call it a battle. Their history is written in blood.” Lilith advanced on Captain Gideon with equal defiance. “And yet you helpfully participate in war?” “My ship has singly turned the tide of this war. Their recruits wait because no supplies come in. Their warships sink in the dead of night. Their transports founder while the land battles rage. I have shaved years off this war.” No one spoke. Snap didn’t think anyone breathed. Lilith might have breathed, but seeing she was as close as he ever would see to a ghost, she didn’t count. Then the silence was cut by a low chuckle. Lilith laughed. It was a corrupted, dark laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. “Oh captain, my captain. Ever the altruistic one I see. Perhaps I can convince you to be so considerate to my needs?” “What do you want, Lilith?” Captain Gideon said without a trace of compassion. The ghost mare tapped her chin. “There is one thing…” “Other than the box,” he cut her off. Her eyes widened. “You mean to say you’re trying to deny what I’ve rightfully stolen?” “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.” “No law I’m familiar with nor care about. It’s plain to me that you will not willingly aid me, but perhaps you can find it in your heart to aid others.” “You lost any chance at my help when your mercenaries attacked my ship.” She held a hoof out. “Not my decision. I was not informed of the attack until much later. There have been, shall we say, changes in my command structure since the incident.” Captain Gideon’s face lost about one percent of its scowl and replaced it with curiosity. “I see. And these ‘others’ will somehow aid you?” The ghostly, dusty form of Captain Gideon’s old...acquaintance?...flashed a small smile of bemusement.Who was she? Friend? Employer? Lover?! Snap shook his head. Whatever she was, she seemed confident about something and was waiting for the captain to come aboard. She shook her head. “Believe it or not, this comes from a place of benevolence.” He scoffed. “The only place you would find ‘benevolence’ is in a dictionary.” Of all the things the griffon had said, that seemed to rile Lilith the most. She glared, grit her teeth, and gave Captain Gideon as fierce a glare as he’d ever given. “Benefiting me and benefiting others is not mutually exclusive. If you want to stop this war and put a stop to more in the future, then you might want to consider helping me.” She turned away from the captain and began pacing his stateroom. She studied his tools along the walls, the pistol and saber he had hung from his coat rack, and his decorations and attention to detail. Cold Snap had to guess on the other things as she moved out of his field of view. At times he could only see a leg or tail. Mr. Horn awkwardly shuffled to watch his employer and apparently praying she forgot he existed. Captain Gideon was the calm in the storm and studied the mare just as she did the same to him. “You are isolated from this war. Victor doesn’t matter to you,” he said. Snap saw a leg turn as if Lilith faced the captain. “Correct. I don’t care who the winner is. And I suspect you care less about winners and losers than you do about stopping the carnage.” Captain Gideon nodded affirmingly. “I avoid taking life unnecessarily.” “On that, we are agreed. Oh, don’t look surprised, Mr. Horn. I find death to be a waste.” Captain Gideon reclaimed his seat and laced his claws together. “So you want this box. Why?” “I care not for the box. I want what’s inside it.” “So,” Captain Gideon said as he leaned back in his chair. “You did have time to make up a copy of everything in the box. Grimlock’s map and the box itself. You couldn’t simply copy the most important thing: that jeweled trinket.” Lilith returned to view. She passed through Mr. Horn, her spell warping the image around his body. The hippogriff fluffed his feathers defensively and shuddered. Lilith did not notice. “In things like this, everything is important, but yes. I want that ‘trinket’ as you call it.” The captain considered her statement thoughtfully. His eyes danced between Lilith and what Cold Snap recognized as his journal on Man. Finally, he unlaced his claws and tapped on the journal as if deep in thought. Cold Snap wasn’t very familiar with much of what was going on. He could make good guesses. The captain’s old relationship and current rivalry with Lilith revolved around Man. Both of them were experts on the subject, but they seemed to have knowledge on Man’s past that the other didn’t. What did Man have to do with the present? Here, Snap couldn’t even guess. Somehow, Man’s past was still very much important here. “You want to follow Grimlock’s tracks? To find out what he stumbled onto?” Captain Gideon said. Lilith snorted derisively. “Grimlock was a complete fool. No idea what he found. He was looking for some relic or thing to give him an edge in his thirst for power. I am not a fool.” “Greed and pride are two deadly sins. You are the master on both,” Captain Gideon prodded. That caught Lilith off guard for some reason, but she got herself back into the verbal duel. Her tone softened. She focused into the distance as if the griffon wasn’t actually there. When she spoke, her voice had become calm, wistful even. “Captain, I want you to imagine something. You’ve created this ship’s legend for years. You made it the most dangerous weapon in a useless war. Now, suppose that your efforts bear fruit. The minotaur aggressions end, and the Atoli tribes expand their influence across the Zebrican coast. What next?” “Next?” Captain Gideon had a quirk to his eye that said he followed her logic, but not her conclusion. “Yes. Next. This war ends, but what happens in ten years? Fifty? What if the Mare in the Moon returns? Sun and stars above forbid that Princess Celestia has a few too many bad days and mobilizes her nation. Will you become an army in the shadows again, or will you be too old to play this game? What if someone other than us learns of Man and replicates everything they knew?” The captain stared at his journal, undoubtedly thinking of all the secrets inside and wondering which inside would fulfill his warning of blessings and swords. He did not make any secret to Cold Snap in their conversations that he thought Man a very complicated creature, but that they were not something to be admired for everything. “Lilith, not all war is useless. When an army marches on your homeland, are you wrong to defend it? If another is suffering under cruelty, is it contemptible to bring them relief? Justified war is one thing that will be our constant companion until the final trumpet.” The mare lifted a spectral leg and rubbed her cheek in thought. “Captain, perhaps I should make myself clearer. All war is useless when you can simply remove the cause for war. What if that army never comes? What if cruelty isn’t even a memory?” “You’re talking in riddles and nonsense. I can’t help but notice that you haven’t told me what this has to do with the artifact.” “And I can’t help but notice that you haven’t shown me the artifact either. I know you have it. You’ve let me see the box. Perhaps I should make sure you haven’t damaged it?” Laying a talon on the box, Captain Gideon scowled. “I have it, and it is undamaged. What else would you need to know?” Still rubbing her cheek, Lilith raised an eyebrow. “If that were the case, you would not be so defensive about it. You would also not be engaging me in philosophical debate and instead trying to learn everything I knew about it. That’s what you would have done long ago.” “I’ve grown since then. I can’t say I’m intrigued by whatever kingdom you think you’ve discovered.” Lilith said nothing for a while. Finally, she approached the captain’s desk and set a hoof on the box. It mushed into the wood a little, but the effect was there. “What they, what Man found, is something much greater than a kingdom. They believed they had the secret to evil.” “An ominous accomplishment. Not sure I would be proud of it.” She pressed harder onto the box, and the dusty hoof mushed over the surface even more. “No, we view evil and good as permanent. They didn’t. Something caused evil.” She leaned closer, until she was nearly touching him. “And they believed there was a way to end it. Don’t you see? That’s what this ‘trinket’ is about. Find the answer, and this war, all wars, end! No more armies. No more guards. It will be like a garden.” Captain Gideon leaned away from the slightly deranged mare. “What you’re talking about is impossible. And even if it weren’t, who would decide this new right and wrong, you?” Lilith shook her head. “Not me, Gideon. There will be no more evil, as Man predicted. I intend to see their greatest vision come to fruition.” “So,” she purred, “Can I count on your help for the greatest feat man ever envisioned? All I need is one thing.” She jerked her leg, as if sending the box into Captain Gideon’s chest. He threw his claws against it to stop the projectile, but her spectral form never budged it. Instead, Captain Gideon sent the box thumping to the carpet. The latch broke loose, and it landed on its side, spilling its contents like a broken ship. The glowing artifact pulsed balefully as the entire room fell into stunned silence. None moved for a moment, so changed had the room been in that one act of trickery. Lilith was the first to break the stillness. Slowly, reverently, she knelt to study the artifact. Cold Snap gasped too and felt a cold sweat as he saw that damnable thing again, but rather than fall back into the pit Nebula had dragged him from, he steeled himself and focused on the here and now. Whatever happened on this voyage hinged on the next few minutes. Then the captain moved. With his secret out, he no longer moved like the predator Snap had seen displayed in battle. Now, he moved like a refined gentlestallion recovering his windblown hat. He collected all of the pieces and put them back in the mostly-undamaged box despite Lilith’s meager protests. Another round of silence fell on the room. The captain gently pushed his potted rose aside and placed the box in a more protected spot. “How?” Lilith breathed. “Simple. I took it by force,” Captain Gideon deadpanned. She pointed to the artifact. Slowly, she got her surprise under control, and with her imperious attitude regaining its former appearance, she continued. “Not how you got it. How did you convince somepony to take that parasite? You surprise me. I never expected you to be so cold.” Now, the entire tone of the conversation shifted. “What?” Nothing could quite hide Captain Gideon’s shock. He looked at the box as if it were a snake or hot coal. He retained enough control to not drop his aloof mask. Lilith laughed mirthlessly. “You didn’t know? Then whoever found out has the most abominable luck.” Tendons bulged on the captain’s claw. Placing his claw on the box and taking care to not rough up the wood, he said almost pensively: “You claim to need me, but I haven’t seen any claim that I need you. So, what might prevent me from staying my course and seeing this to the end without you?” “What? Aim to become the one who accomplishes what he condemned moments ago?” “Answer the question, wench.” Lilith shook her head dismissively. “You are free to try, old friend. I can tell you that it will fail.” “I do not fail easily.” “And I know what the box says.” The two eccentric characters stared each other down, and neither was willing to cede this match. Captain Gideon tapped his ragged journal in thought. Lilith polished her hoof in mock boredom. Cold Snap could barely breath as he watched the silent battle. “Someone smart would throw you and this ruby off the ship and never look back,” Captain Gideon said. Lilith flicked her mane, an act that sent dust flying away only to rejoin her a moment later. “And doom whoever is tied to that thing? Your decision. You’re wondering how I can tell? It required blood magic. Man’s magic comes from blood. In fact, this is where the first sacrifice was held. If you’re fine with the symbiote dying, then by all means.” Nevermind what Nebula said. That thing was going to kill him. A thrill of fear quickened Snap’s ragged breath. He was in far far over his head and drowning. Captain Gideon ran has claws through his already ruffled head feathers. “Very well. Then you know our destination?” Snap should have expected her affirmative nod. “I will meet you there captain. I know you won’t cross me.” The gray griffon frowned. “You have that much faith in my word?” She shook her head. “Not a bit. I just don’t know where you would get a Man’s blood. Not just any blood will do.” “And you know such a thing?” he asked doubtingly. Lilith smiled her cold smile. “Trust me, Captain. I have the situation well in hand.” Without another word, the gem faded and Lilith’s form dissolved into a thin layer on the carpet. Captain scowled at the pile. “She did that on purpose. Mr. Horn, fetch a broom and throw this over the side.” Pain shot up Cold Snap’s rump. Nebula had his tail clamped between his teeth and trying to drag him away from the door. Snap swatted away his friend and darted down the corridor. They had just cleared the corner when the captain’s door opened. They took the stairs down as fast as possible and then took a hallway that led somewhere into the mechanical section of the ship. Once they thought they had run far enough, they collapsed against the wall and tried to catch their breath. Nebula managed to get it back first. “What in the Sun Princess’s name was that?” Snap shook his head and gulped down air like a drowning pony. “I wish I knew. Actually. Never mind. I really don’t want to know.” He looked around at the ship, this incredible, impossible ship. Thoughts formed and collided with each other inside his head. “Sorry. I have no idea.” His friend looked at him like he’d sprouted wings. “Who on this entire world would have the slightest idea what this was about? We’re in over our heads.” “Not arguing that,” Snap agreed. One of those collided thoughts stuck around longer than the others. “Captain Gideon.” Nebula grunted. “So? What about him?” “He’s known everything. Maybe not everything everything, but more than he’s told any of us. He never would tell us. What else does he know? Does it concern us?” Shrugging, Nebula stared at a rivet across the hallway. “No idea on any of that, but I agree.” “Neb, I’m tired of this. I’m tired of someone else deciding things for me. As deep in as I am, I’ll take whatever advantage I can. So, want to help me see what else the good captain knows and isn’t telling?” Nebula waved his hooves quickly. “Hold up. You mean to tell me that you’re willing to spy on the captain, the sole authority that could feed us to the sharks, and you want ME to go along with it? He grinned. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t ask.”