//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: The Gates of Haydes // Story: Star Flight // by Dainbow Rash //------------------------------// "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate!" The Divine Comedy - Primus Galaxy, Starship Votum, Primus Year 269230769W Rainbow Dash walked down the halls of the Starship Votum in a slow trudge. Training had done a number on her legs, pain shot through her joints with every step she took, and she was sure she had completely lost the ability to flap her wings. The physical aspect of the regimen wasn’t the worst part, she actually enjoyed it from time to time. She was used to exerting herself physically, she could handle it all (with the exception of swimming.) The reason she was so exhausted was because she knew what waited for her in her dorm. There was an extensive intellectual training course paired with basic training, which meant written tests and mental challenges. This was not Rainbow Dash’s strong point, and she cringed when she thought of the pile of paperwork that awaited her in her 18th floor dorm. The last thing she wanted to do was exhaust her mind while resting her already exhausted body. She reached the circular door and placed her hoof on the scanner, it didn’t react. She took it off and placed it softly on once again, still nothing. She growled and punched the scanner much harder, once again there was no reaction. The scanner was faulty, it had to accommodate two sets of hooves to allow in, and sometimes it only worked for one. She groaned loudly and then knocked on the sleek, circular hatch that lead to the dorm. “Coming!” a muffled voice from inside called. The door slid open with a slight electrical whine. Inside the dim, messy dorm was Starflight, her friend and encourager. He was two ranks higher than her and therefore felt it was his duty to force her to do her homework. Starflight was recently moved to a First-lieutenant dorm, which was roughly twice the size of his old one. Instead of giving Rainbow Dash the standard cadet-dorm, she was moved in with Starflight, for what the Primus military called “enrichment.” “How was training?” he asked happily but gave a concerned frown when he saw the look of utter misery on Rainbow Dash’s face. “Not great, huh?” “They tied me up and threw me into a pool!” Rainbow Dash said, looking traumatized. “Ah, drown proofing day” Starflight said with a nostalgic smile. “How’d you do?” “They had to save me after I was stuck for 2 minutes trying to undo the first knot on my left hoof.” she said as she plopped herself down on a weathered couch. “I was losing consciousness.” Starflight looked concerned again. “You don’t do well in water, huh?” “I don’t do well in water! Huh!” Rainbow Dash retorted fiercly. “Ok! Ok, calm down.” he said, trotting in the direction of the kitchen. “I have a surprise for you, your favorite!” he said excitingly as he walked back with a tray covered by a shiny metal dome balanced on his tail. Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up. She got up off the couch and gave Starflight a confused look. “... Well? Open it!” he said, holding it out to her, grinning from ear to ear. Rainbow Dash placed both hooves around the dome and lifted, on the tray was a stack of papers. “Ta Da! Homework! Your favorite!” he chimed with a smile. Rainbow Dash gave a disgusted grimace and sat back down, folding her arms in indignation. She huffed and said under her breath in a sort of whine: “Homework is not my favorite.” “C’mon, Rainbow Dash! You and I both know you won’t do it unless I make you” he said, placing the tray on a nearby coffee table. Rainbow Dash’s expression was unchanging. “I’ll help you! Again...” Rainbow Dash threw herself onto the couch and laid on her belly. She put her hooves over her head as if she was protecting herself from a falling rock. She mumbled something unintelligible into the couch cushion. “Alright, sit up” he said, yanking her arm. “As your First Lieutenant I order you to sit up!” Rainbow Dash growled and sat up. She watched Starflight with her head down as he took out the first of many papers and began to read. “To prevent inter-species profiling, it is important to remember, while the law of the current planet/territory may not agree, Primus Executive Protocol calls for the indiscriminate treatment of all species and strains. Furthermore--” Starflight was interrupted when his Up-link vibrated. Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up at the distraction. Starflight sighed and looked at the screen, which displayed a message from Captain Acharis. meet in Control Room at 0900 Starflight sighed and looked at the time, which was also on the Up-link. He had five minutes. He sighed when he looked to Rainbow Dash, who was smiling deviously. “I have to go” he said. Looking at the paper in his hoof, he gave it to Rainbow Dash. “Finish this sheet before I come back, or I’ll make you swab the cafeteria bathroom... with a toothbrush... again.” “Not again!” Rainbow Dash whined in dismay. “Get to work... please?” He said, trying not to sound too harsh. He only wanted Rainbow Dash to do her best so they could get her on a mission already. He grinned and stood up. “You need to stop being so lazy! You don’t want this to be another Flight School, do you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Alright, alright! I don’t...” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Go see the Captain! I don’t want to see you get chewed out... again!” “I should have you demoted for that” He said playfully as he rubbed her mane with his front hoof, effectively messing it up. “Stay out of trouble, Dashie” Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Her face burned red with anger. She was prepared to shout but, Starflight was already out the door. Starflight knew she hated that nickname. “Jerk...” Rainbow Dash whispered under her breath. - The control room was filled with the voices of ponies and the clicking of keyboards. Messages were received multiple times per second, and the computers that received them made a sound as they did so, filling the room with digital blips and bleeps. Screens were brought up and closed at rapid rates, constantly changing the room’s lighting. Starflight found himself here for, what seemed to him like, the 100th this week. Almost every time he came up to the control room he was given a message to relay to various floors and ponies, or something equally monotonous. He expected this time to be exactly the same. “Permission to enter, Captain” He spoke from the doorway. “Permission granted” Captain Acharis spoke in the same cultivated, yet monotone voice. She sounded as though she took very little interest in her job, which Starflight had no trouble believing. Starflight walked in to the control room as the Captain turned to him. She was standing on the raised platform in the middle of the room, overlooking the goings-on of the Starship Votum. She walked down the ramp that led to the platform and towards Starflight. “I have a new mission for you, First-lieutenant Starflight” She began after they exchanged salutes. “I expect you to begin tomorrow” Starflight’s ears perked up at this. “Yes, ma’am” he said, gesturing for the Captain to continue. “Ever since the incident in Equestria, we have been studying ponies and locations affected by the spacetime rifts.” she explained. “As you know, broken spacetime is poorly understood by even our most sophisticated scientists, however, we’ve made some progress in learning their origins.” Starflight nodded, listening intently. “We have since found more rifts spread about the galaxy, varying in size and shape.” she continued. “We also think we may have a cause for at least a small number of the vortexes.” Starflight nodded once again. “Six years ago an experimental warp drive was tested on the Primus Star Colony, the Haydes. When turned on, the drive drained all the power from the station, including it’s emergency reserves. Rescue teams were sent, but there are still four MIA ponies from the ships crew. The survivors’ mental health has been continuously deteriorating since their return.” Acharis was getting to the mission, and Starflight began to get excited. “The ship has since been caught in the orbit of planet Aurum. This is where you come in.” Starflight corrected his posture and nodded once more. “I need you to fly to the Haydes, get to the engine room, and take the warp drive. Simple enough?” “Yes, ma’am.” He smiled at the Captain. She narrowed her eyes. “And take the cadet.” The Captain added. Starflight jerked suddenly at these words. “Seriously!?” he exclaimed, but upon seeing Acharis’ offended reaction he lowered his tone. “With all due respect, Captain, we don’t know what’s up there! Rainbow Dash has only been in training for three weeks!” Acharis stepped closer menacingly. It took all Starflight had to not back away. “The cadet has been exposed to a rift for longer than any of us has. The scientists believe she could theoretically have a stronger resistance to it’s effects. She could prove invaluable to the mission, take her with you, that’s an order.” The Captain finished resolutely. - Starflight thought Captain Acharis had lost it. Who knew what was waiting for them on that ship? It had been sitting in deep space for six years, something was bound to have inhabited it at some point. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was ecstatic to get a break from training and go on her first real mission. She jumped for joy and caught Starflight in a very tight grip, almost suffocating him. It was intended to be a hug. It didn’t feel like one. Starflight and Rainbow Dash were joined by three Second-lieutenants. By the time Starflight and Rainbow Dash reached the docking bay, the trio of colts was in a neat line in full Primus Military uniform; a solid black-leather jumpsuit under a black bulletproof vest and a combat boot on each hoof. Strapped to their front was a large laser gun. at least three times larger than the pistol Starflight had brought to Equestria. They saluted Starflight simultaneously. “Soldiers.” he began, returning the salute. “I’m sure you’re all aware of the objective. This is a very routine mission. So long as everypony knows their positions, we should be in and out.” Rainbow Dash had only rarely seen Starflight while on duty. He was like a completely different pony, he wasn’t the skinny colt that walked around with his head down, cracking stupid jokes at the wrong time. No, this Starflight was a proud, resolute stallion, and she admired that. “Now, soldiers,” Starflight continued. “You are free to board your ships. Dismissed” The colts dispersed and walked towards their respective ships. Starflight did the same with Rainbow Dash trotting close behind. The Docking Bay was colossal. Inside were many levels of docks for various sizes of ships, connected by a series of small elevators that lifted soldiers to the different floors quickly and efficiently. The front of the room revealed the reaches of space behind a transparent force-field that kept oxygen and gravity stabilized on the inside. Starflight found his personal Liberator class starship and opened the upward-sliding doors. It revealed a small cockpit with only a pilot and passenger seat. The pilot’s seat was filled with buttons, switches, screens, and a steering wheel. The passenger seat, where Rainbow Dash sat, was in front of more screens and gauges. Starflight looked to an excited, but nervous, Rainbow Dash in the passenger seat. She smiled at him, as if to reassure him. He seriously considered going against the Captain’s orders and telling her to stay. His gaze lingered on Rainbow Dash, who’s smile faded after a few seconds. Without a word he started the ship and lifted off. - Primus Galaxy, Star Colony Haydes, Primus Year 269230769W The insane speed of the Liberator was hard for even Rainbow Dash to grow accustomed to. Every time she took a ride with Starflight, she would clutch tightly to the sides of the cockpit in despair of crashing into something. She had broke the sound barrier before, but even that was a walk in the park compared to the warp-speeds of Primus ships. After the short but nerve-racking trip, the colony came into view. It was shaped like a short glass cylinder with an open center bridged by large tubes. The entire structure was tilted to the side like it had been hit by a large blast and hadn’t budged since. The Liberator zoomed closer and began to slow as it approached an open-air landing pad. The Second-lieutenants had already landed and were chatting amongst themselves on the pad. They stood at attention as Starflight landed and exited the ship with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash stood in awe at the black curtain of space. It was dotted with twinkling stars and dust clouds. The unstable gravity of the nearby colony combined with the incomprehensible vastness of the cosmos dizzied her. The nearest star was extremely bright and hot against her coat. She panned the view until her eyes rested upon a large golden sphere. “Whoa!” she said breathlessly. “Planet Aurum” Starflight appeared beside Rainbow Dash, his voice distorted by the oxygen mask, amplified by an earpiece that each of the crew members was wearing. “Considered to be a holy planet by a few nut jobs in the military.” he said with an ounce of cynicism in his voice. “It’s so... big!” she exclaimed. “Yeah, well it is a planet!” he said as he trotted towards the rest of the crew. Rainbow Dash scoffed at his sarcasm. She turned in his direction to respond with a snappy remark, but something else caught her eye. The Haydes was the largest Pony-made structure she had ever seen. It towered high above the landing pad, made of glass and steel. What appeared to be the mid-section from her vantage point was covered by a large, charred scar surrounded by broken glass suspended around the colony. “Quit Daydreaming, cadet!” Starflight said from the other side of the landing pad. The crew was already walking towards the entrance of the colony. Rainbow Dash hurried along with wobbly knees. The vest did not give her the same stabilization as a larger gravitational field, like the one on the Votum, would. She looked at the massive, arched entryway with the words “Welcome to the Haydes” in large, faded type. She caught up and trotted alongside Starflight. They entered the ship into an extensive room. It seemed to serve as a sort of garden for the ship’s crew. It was dimly lit and the plants were connected to the ship by glowing wires. Rainbow Dash looked towards the doorway. The same machines that created a force field around the docking bay of the Votum were there, but obviously no longer functional. They only sat there, sparking and giving a mechanical whir. Rainbow Dash looked back to the room they were in. The plants sat there, perfectly preserved. They seemed to be irrigated by a series of tubes and aqueducts, a few of which still had a stream of water lazily running through them, others were broken and completely dry. “This is the ship’s artificial life support system. It provided oxygen for the crew, they call it a biosphere. We of course have more advanced methods of ship-wide life support now.” Starflight explained as they entered the room. Rainbow Dash was starting to see Starflight as more and more of an egghead every day. She felt like she was on a school field trip rather than a military mission to a derelict space-craft. Rolling her eyes, she decided to take a look around the general area while staying in sight of the crew. She inspected more faded words on the walls, some she could make out, and some she could not. There was a number of tubes and mirrors scattered around the ship, she wondered what they were momentarily, but she dismissed the thought, the explanation was probably boring. The room continued unbroken from the same pattern for minutes, until something caught Rainbow Dash’s eye. There was a small lever with the the faded words Ventilation Shaft above it, on the wall. Rainbow Dash looked at it, and then up at the ceiling, where a large shaft ran across the top of the room. She looked back at Starflight, who was touching a plant, and probably still talking, and then back to the lever. She put her hoof to her chin and hummed. Turning away, a movement caught her eye. The lever, as if it had taken a life of it’s own, slowly started to move down. Rainbow Dash gasped and put her hooves up against it, attempting to stop it from switching. It was a futile effort, in a matter of seconds it reached it’s mark with a click. Rainbow Dash heard a clanging sound moving through the shaft. Starflight and the colts, hearing it too, looked in Rainbow Dash’s direction. She looked back at them and shrugged desperately. Rainbow Dash backed away quickly when the object fell out of the opening above her with a thump. Starflight and the Second-lieutenants trotted over in her direction to investigate. She looked closer, squinting to make out the form in front of her. Gasping, she jumped back when she saw what it was. The crumpled form in front of her was the bloody, mangled corpse of a pony. Rainbow Dash let out a scream of utter shock. When Starflight arrived by her side she quickly hid behind him. Speechless, she pointed a shaky hoof at the body. Starflight grabbed the newly replaced Primus Key out of his bag and shined it’s light at the form. “Oh my--” he said breathlessly. He gave an alerted glance to the rest of the crew, who looked on with surprise. He lowered himself down to the body and scanned it. A high, continuous beep accompanied the process, it ceased when it was done. He plugged it into the port on his Up-link and looked at the screen. Species: Pony Status: Deceased Cause of Death: Unknown “Hmm...” Starflight said staring thoughtfully at the bloody mess in front of him. The shaft above him was now surrounded with blood that floated silently in the air. He turned to a shaken Rainbow Dash. “What did you do?” he asked sternly. “I-I didn’t do anything... It just...” A still uneasy Rainbow Dash looked to Starflight pleadingly. “I don’t know. I-I tried to stop it but--” Starflight raised a hoof to stop the stuttering pegasus. “It’s ok...” he said. “I think we may have found 1/4 of our missing crew” He looked up at the opened shaft once again. - The 5 full-sized ponies crawled through the narrow shaft with Starflight at the front and Rainbow Dash at the back, avoiding the occasional piece of entrails or puddle of blood along the way. Rainbow Dash, who prided herself on remaining cool in tough situations, looked at the mess of pony in horror. She breathed heavily as she crawled, only finding comfort in the fact that anything that is up ahead would be experienced by Starflight and the Second-lieutenants first. She closed her eyes to keep herself from vomiting or having a panic attack. “We’ve reached the end of the shaft.” came Starflight’s distorted voice into Rainbow Dash’s earpiece. “There’s another vent here, let’s go through this one.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and waited for her turn to squeeze through the narrow vent. Starflight was first, he struggled and wiggled his way through the small space, kicking his hind legs. One of the Second-lieutenants was caught in the crossfire and kicked in the face. “My apologies, soldier” Starflight said, chuckling. Rainbow Dash gave a small smile. She found it funny, hearing Starflight’s voice while staring at his lower half kicking around the shaft awkwardly was, well... awkward. Looking back at the scattered pony remains, her smile faded. After making squeezing through, Starflight assisted the rest of the crew in escaping the small space. Rainbow Dash came out last, with a pop. The shaft led to a small, dimly-lit room with a circular table in the middle. The table was surrounded by chairs, some sitting upright, some on the ground, and some were missing altogether. The square doorway was charred and missing it’s door. A trail of dried blood led to the vent where it seemed to pool in a much more fresh puddle. Rainbow Dash looked down at herself. Her sky-blue coat was clean when she arrived, now it was stained with patches of another pony’s blood. She was once again horrified. “The pony probably crawled to the vent, already dying, and expired on top of it. Maybe she was dragged... and when the vent turned on... she was sucked into the shaft and landed in the biosphere.” Starflight theorized “The question is... what killed her?” The entire crew gave each other concerned looks. Starflight closed his eyes and thought. “What about that lever!? Why did it move!?” Rainbow Dash asked frantically. She thought back to the Shapeshifter, Maleficus Nil, who could posses and control inanimate objects. “It may have just been a faulty mechanism, this ship hasn’t had maintenance for six years.” Starflight explained. “Follow me” he ordered as he walked towards the doorway. Rainbow Dash followed, feeling more uneasy about the mission by the second. The crew turned on their own Key-lights as they entered a dark hallway. There was more glass and bits of machinery floating in mid-air “There must be a broken window somewhere...” said Starflight, observing the floating debris. He pointed his key towards an intersection in the hallway and gestured for the crew to follow him. Using his Primus Key to pierce the thick darkness, he found a fuse box on the wall of the upper-end of the intersection. “Does anybody here know how to repair a fusebox?” he asked, shining his light on the crew. “Umm... I do... sir” One of the soldiers spoke up. “What is your name, soldier?” Starflight asked, lowering his light. It occurred to him that he didn’t take the time to learn any of their names. “I am Second-lieutenant Trigger, sir” The the young, lean pony was white with a short, dark-brown mane. His cutie-mark was a small flame surrounded by a segmented circle. “Do you think you could find a way to turn the lights back on?” Starflight asked Trigger, gesturing towards the fuse box. “Piece of cake!” he said, happily trottingtowards the box. He took a look at it and hummed. “How does it look, soldier?” Starflight asked, slowly walking towards him. The rest of the crew followed closely. “It will take about ten minutes, but I can fix it.”Trigger said, through the Primus Key that was now in his mouth. he fiddled with the fuse box for a while. “At ease, soldiers, looks like this is going to take longer than I thought.” Starflight said, sitting down. The Second Lieutenants followed suit and began chatting. Rainbow Dash laid on her belly and put her hooves over her head. She closed her eyes. You can do this Rainbow Dash! She thought to herself. It was just a dead pony! You’ll be seeing a lot of those in your career. Just calm Down. Rainbow Dash’s heart slowed down. Yes, there will be plenty of dead ponies! Everywhere! It will be such a grand sight! A completely unwelcome voice entered her mind, and it wasn’t her own. She sat up quickly and shook her head. Starflight and the Second Lieutenants looked at her. “Is something wrong, Rainbow Dash?” Starflight was concerned, the poor cadet was too young for a mission of this caliber. “Uhh, no! No, everything is fine!” Rainbow Dash gave a desperate smile. Looking satisfied, Starflight eased up. “Ok then! But if you don’t feel good... tell me. I never thought it was a good idea to bring you anyway... no offense!” Starflight quickly threw his hooves directly in front of his face, preparing for Rainbow Dash’s reaction. She gave a simple stern look, which was enough to make Starflight back away. Just then, a loud metallic crackle was heard in a nearby room. Rainbow Dash gasped and the rest of the crew looked in the direction of the sound. Starflight sprung into action. “Somepony stay here with Trigger, Rainbow Dash and I will investigate. You--” he pointed to another Second Lieutenant, “Patrol this hallway, report anything you find.” “Yes sir” the entire crew said, and dispersed to their new posts. “Let’s go, Rainbow Dash” he said, walking towards the source of the sound. Rainbow Dash reluctantly followed. This end of the intersection had doors on either side of the hall and a window at the end. The window provided light as it looked out into the behemoth of a planet, Aurum. Rainbow Dash stared again. All of the fear slowly started to abate as she wondered at the majestic sight. Starflight glanced momentarily in her direction and then back to the door which was damaged and would take some force to open. Starflight turned around and bucked the door with his hind legs. It budged slightly, the sound of the kick brought Rainbow Dash out of her stupor. Rainbow Dash’s strong point was never in her hind legs, that was her friend, Applejack’s, domain. Rainbow Dash had always focused on working her wings, she prided herself in being “the fastest pony in Equestria,” but that was debatable. Working together, Starflight and Rainbow Dash got the door to collapse with a loud clang. “Thank you” Starflight said with a friendly smile. Peering into the room he saw a small space filled with broken computer screens. The glass from these screens floated silently in the still air of the ship. The thing that stood out the most, however, was a large rip in the side of the wall with burns around the edges. It still smoked and hissed, as if it was made very recently. Rainbow Dash gave Starflight another concerned look. Lowering his head, he slowly clopped through the doorway. Rainbow Dash followed cautiously. Inspecting the hole, Starflight scanned it with his key, receiving no abnormal results. He peeked through the large tear, seeing a faint green glow. “What do you think made this?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What could have made this?” She looked frantically at Starflight. “I don’t know, but something’s wrong...” He gulped as he turned and began scanning the whole room. The key picked up a signal, but before he could check it the lights flickered on with a low hum. A small, unnoticed hatch opened in the corner with a slide, Starflight inched cautiously towards it. ZAP! Starflight stopped in his tracks when he heard the sharp, electrical sound coming from the hallway. “Come in, First-lieutenant!” a distressed voice buzzed into Starflight’s earpiece. “What is it, Second-lieutenant?” Starflight was startled at the sudden contact. “It’s Trigger, sir!” The young colt’s voice was full of anxiety and fear. “He’s... dead.” “I’m on my way, check his vital signs again.” Starflight said urgently as he walked quickly out the door. The newly turned-on fluorescent lights eerily revealed a metallic grey interior. Rainbow Dash followed Starflight, wondering what was going on. She got her answer when she saw one of the colts standing over a crispy, sizzling Trigger. The living colt glanced worriedly at Starflight and Rainbow Dash. Upon catching a glimpse the body, Rainbow Dash floored herself and decided to listen to the conversation from a distance. “What happened, soldier?” Starflight asked calmly. “H-He was fixing the fuse box... a-and he looked at me with a weird expression on his face a bunch of times... but I didn’t think much of it.” The colt was terrified and Starflight could hear his voice shaking through the static. “Then he just... shoved his hoof into the fuse box and a bunch of sparks... they just... it just exploded!” “What do you mean? Why did he do that... was it an accident?” Starflight interrogated further. The Lieutenant’s voice became higher and quieter. “I don’t think so...” He put his head down. “What? What do you mean!?” The Second-lieutenant looked up sadly. “He said... before he did it he said... ‘goodbye, cruel universe!’ What does that mean!?” he asked wildly. Starflight became more confused every second. The larger colt arrived at the scene to offer help. “Did he have a history of depression? Could he have had a reason?” Starflight pushed. The Second-lieutenant began to cry. “No... sir, he was one of the happiest ponies I’ve ever known!” The colt buried his face in his hooves. “Pull yourself together, Lieutenant!” Starflight ordered, turning his attention to his Up-link. The colts watched as he fiddled with it for a moment before angrily unstrapping the small machine from his foreleg and throwing it on the ground. Rainbow Dash gave Starflight a concerned look. “Starflight? What’s wrong...?” Her voice was firm, she channeled bravery she didn’t know she still had. “We have orders from the Captain, we need to press on...” was his roundabout answer. “Yes sir.” The colts agreed steadfastly with their voices, but protested with their eyes. “So we’re just going to leave him here?” Rainbow Dash asked, astonished. “There was a passage in the other room, it looked like a maintenance hatch.” Starflight said as he strapped his Up-link back on, ignoring Rainbow Dash completely. “Let’s find out where it leads.” Starflight gestured in the direction of their destination. The colts lingered with Trigger for a second, giving him a final, respectful salute. Rainbow Dash stared, dumbfounded as the colts walked after Starflight, leaving their fallen friend behind.