//------------------------------// // 25. Luna plays Dead Space... (Total Eclipse of Their Hearts!Luna vs Dead Space) // Story: Short Shorts // by Coranth //------------------------------// As she watched David's car leave - for he was heading to work for the day - Princess Luna pouted, her lower lip trembling, her eyes misty. Then, a moment later she snapped out of it and went back into her beloved's house. "'Tis... 'Tis fine!" She sniffed. "Our beloved told us that He wouldst be attending his place of work today. Now let's see..." Making her way into the living room, Luna eyed the Playstation 3 David had thoughtfully set up for her and - as she seated herself before the huge widescreen television, closing the curtains with her magic - she perused the games which David had selected for her. "Hmm... now which one shall we play...?" pondered she. Unfortunately, David had been running a bit late this morning. Unfortunately, in his haste to leave he'd simply pulled a random selection of games from the shelf. And unfortunately... Luna picked from that random selection a game that, well... she really shouldn't have. "'Dead... Space...?'" read Luna as she peered at the cover. "What is this... 'Dead Space'?" Intrigued, with her magic she placed the DVD into the console, then reset the machine and waited for the disc to load. When the game began with a computerized message, Luna leaned forward slightly. STATUS UPDATE... USG KELLION EN ROUTE TO AEGIS SYSTEM PRIMARY MISSION ASSETS... ...ISAAC CLARKE - ENGINEERING AND SHIP SYSTEMS SPECIALIST... ...KENDRA DANIELS - COMPUTER SPECIALIST... ...ZACH HAMMOND - CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER... DIRECTIVE A: LOCATE MINING VESSEL USG ISHIMURA... DIRECTIVE B: DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR COMMUNICATIONS BLACKOUT... TIME TO CONTACT: 3 MINUTES... ''Shield' System'? What is this 'USG Kellion'? And a machinist, a female who fixes devices such as this 'Playstation' and a Guardspony?' thought Luna, intrigued. 'A Mining Vessel? How can a seafaring ship be used for mining ore; unless it be used to haul cargo...' A moment later, the cryptic message vanished into static; then the static resolved itself into the face of a clearly distressed human female. A frown creased Luna's muzzle as she looked on. "Isaac, it's me. I wish I could talk to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. I wish I could just talk to someone. It's all falling apart here. I can't believe what's happening... It's strange... such a little thing..." 'Who is this woman?' thought Luna. 'For what is she apologizing? And... she is lonely?' A moment later - when the woman's message dissolved into static and the view pulled back to reveal the deck of the USG Kellion - Luna's eyes visibly widened as she beheld a number of humans; they all were travelling aboard a chariot the likes of which she'd never seen before and all wore some kind of sophisticated suit. With bated breath, the Princess of the Night continued to watch events unfold. "How many times have you watched that thing? Guess you really miss her. Don't worry, we're almost there. You'll be able to look her up once we're onboard. Sounds like you two have a lot of catching up to do." 'Thou must be the one called "Kendra,"' thought Luna; then her jaw dropped as the USG Kellion exited Hyperspace and for the first time she beheld the star-filled vista and the shattered moon of Aegis-7. 'This...' thought she, 'this is incredible...' "All right everyone, we're here. Synching our orbit now." '... Thee of darkened shade must be the Guardspony, the one called "Hammond," thought Luna, still in awe of what was on the screen before her. "All this trouble over that chunk of rock." "Deep space mining is a lucrative business, Ms. Daniels..." '"Deep space" mining?' thought Luna, somewhat overwhelmed. 'Then...' "...Aegis 7 is a gold mine, according to prospector's reports. Cobalt, Silicon, Osmium... Now, where is she? There she is. We have visual contact." For the first time, Luna beheld the sight of the USG Ishimura, and a gasp escaped her as once again her jaw lowered with her awe. 'That' thought she, 'is no seafaring vessel! Thee and the 'USG Kellion'... they art chariots that voyage through my stars!' Grinning, Luna clapped her hooves together with glee before returning her attention to the screen. "So that's the Ishimura? Impressive..." "The USG Ishimura. Biggest Planetcracker in her class. And it looks like they already popped the cork." "Why is it all dark? I don't see any running lights." "Corporal, take us in closer and hail them. And stay clear of the debris field. We're here to fix their ship, not the other way around." "USG Ishimura, this is the emergency maintenance team of the USG Kellion responding to your distress call. Come in Ishimura." "You're going to need to boost the signal if their power is low." "Yes, we know. Boost the signal. More." "Never heard of a total communications blackout on one of these things. You'd think with a thousand people on board, someone would pick up the phone--" 'A "thousand" humans,' thought Luna, awed, 'Thy star-faring chariot... why, it must be enormous - larger than even our Royal Palace...' Unintelligible Luna frowned. 'Something is amiss here...' thought she. "What is that?" "It's a busted array like we thought. Sounds like they're having problems with their encoder. You get us down there and Isaac and I can fix it. Forty-eight hours max." "Alright, you heard the lady. Take us in. Let's see what needs fixing." "Gravity tethers engaged. Automatic docking procedure is go." Suddenly, a frightened gasp escaped Luna as the USG Kellion was rocked by an explosion! "Oh, no..." she breathed, her heart beginning to pound. "What the hell?" "Sir! The autodock-" "What is it?" "We're off track! We're going to hit the hull!" Luna was riveted - her heart was thumping in her chest - she couldn't pull herself away; this was hoof-biting; she was on the edge of her seat... "Hit the blast shields! Their guidance tether is damaged! Switch to manual. NOW!" "Inside the magnetic field? Are you insane?! Abort!" "NO! We can make it inside! Corporal, I gave you an order!" "Argh, the field's too strong!" White light suddenly obscured Luna's view of the game and she cried out with terror - 'this game has not yet even begun and thee all have met thy end!' - as terrible grinding sounds reverberated throughout the Kellion before everything went black... Then... a light flickered as the ship's systems restarted and - as the Princess of the Night saw its occupants get to their feet and the blast shields retract - she breathed a huge sigh of relief! "Is everyone okay?" "What...? What the hell were you thinking?! Were you trying to get us killed?" "I just saved our asses, Ms. Daniels! If we had aborted at that speed and distance, we would have smashed right into the side of the Ishimura. Now settle down, and let's get to work. Corporal, report!" Luna kept watching, her heartbeat slowing down as the pilot - Corporal Chen - reported on the Kellion and Isaac donned his helmet. 'The machinist Isaac?' thought she. 'He is the one we shalt be playing as in this game? Intriguing, though his suit does seem somewhat more sophisticated than those worn by the others...' "I'm not getting any readings from the port booster and we've lost comms and autopilot. It'll take some time to fix." "All right, let's get some extra hands from the flight deck to help out." Luna kept watching as on-screen, Kendra turned around and walked up to Isaac. "Hold still, Isaac, I'm synching up everyone's RIGs with the ship... '"RIGs"' thought the Lunar Diarch. 'Pray tell, what are these "RIGs" she speakest of?' Then, Luna watched as Isaac's suit was activated, the spinal bar along his back lighting green. 'Ah' she realized, 'Tis part of his suit!' Okay, we're done. Clean bill of health for everyone." "All right. We've still got a job to do. We're moving out." A short time later... As the first Necromorph - a Slasher - decapitated Corporal Johnston, Luna cried out in horror, tears misting her eyes. Then... "Jesus! Open fire! Open fire!" "Kendra! Power!" ... Luna choked as a second Slasher entered the room in similar fashion to the first, and jumped on Corporal Chen. "Kendra...!" "Come on... come on. Got it!" "Isaac, get the hell out of there!" "The door's unlocked, run!" Near-sick with terror, Luna took control of Issac and made the Engineer run through the door; but even then it wasn't over - another scream was torn from the pony princesses throat as a Slasher began to chase him! On and on she made him run until at last he reached the first Elevator. A sigh of relief escaped Luna as the door slammed closed; a sigh that became a scream of terror as the Slasher forced the elevator door open and roared in Issac's face! Then, the poor princesses heart stilled as the elevator door slammed closed, tearing the Slasher's arms off. Pausing a moment, Luna gasped and clutched her chest! Never had she played a game like this! Never had she been so horrified in her life. It was horrible; it was gruesome, macabre, awful... and yet... and yet... She couldn't look away. She... she could not set it down! Steeling herself, the Princess of the Night picked up the Playstation 3 Controller and made to resume playing. Three hours later... "Huzzah!" the Moon Princess crowed as she blew the limbs off of yet another Necromorph, killing it. "Thy limbs are dismembered, foul thing! Fear the might of thy blessed Plasma Cutter! Behold the strength of thy Mighty Boot-Stomp! Away, away with thee, Tartarus-spawned legions!" This was the scene David came home to that night - Luna having a blast as she played this game that - David thought privately - she really ought not to be playing. 'Ah, shit...' thought he, 'Celestia's gonna kill me...'