//------------------------------// // Chapter I: Crash Landing // Story: Faster Than Light // by Jet Howitzer //------------------------------// “Orbital decay rate established.  Atmospheric insertion in eleven weeks, with an acceptable error margin of three days.” Abderus floated lazily inside the cockpit of the vessel.  He’d long since unhooked himself from the seat he’d been in, and now he was attempting to access the panel that hid his survival kit.  “Anyway to accelerate that rate?  I’m not the biggest fan of waiting.” “Yes.  Several timed pulses on the main engine could abbreviate the process by nine weeks.  More than that will endanger the survivability of impact.” Abderus rotated to look at the display that showed the planet.  “And you’re sure the planet has breathable atmosphere?” “Certainty is guaranteed within one part per million atmospheric composition.” “I’m guessing that’s a good thing?” “Your guess is an accurate one.  Human anatomy would be able to survive a much greater degree of atmospheric variance before lifespan would be endangered.” “Fantastic.  Now, assuming the atmospheric entry is flawless, and that everything goes just the way you’ve calculated, where are we going to land?  This thing doesn’t really have landing gear.”  Abderus yanked on the panel, his brow furrowing with the effort.  “Also, who the fuck designed this panel?” “In reverse order:  Grigori C. Kovachev.  An immigrant from Russia.  Aged thirty nine years.  Graduated from MIT, and then studied at the same institution for his doctorate.  Granted based on a thesis statement relating the rates of cosmic radiation expos--” Abderus waved a hand at the computer, his expression one of pained irritation.  “I don’t need a lecture, the question was rhetorical.” “Understood.”  A short period of silence followed.  “Current algorithms paint a prospective landing zone approximately thirty miles in diameter.”  The computer was silent for a moment as several graphs ran along the screen.  “No data available for terrain within locale.” “Oh.  Well, that’s just dandy.  Still nothing about landing gear.” “The craft has a three stage landing system designed by Neutrino to facilitate the easing of an uncontrolled landing.” “It’s a crash prevention system?  I’m putting my life in the hands of a crash prevention system for a ship that was never designed to enter atmosphere.”  Abderus fought with the panel for a moment longer before he let out a sigh.  “Why does that not inspire confidence?  And that’s another rhetorical question.” “The system has been utilized successfully one hundred and thirty five times.  With only two total failures over the thirty year period of usage.  It’s a system crafted by the now defunct NASA administration.”  Several quick images flashed across the screen, and Abderus took them in.  “However, for the system to be functional the reactor and FTL drives have to be jettisoned.” Abderus stopped fighting with the panel for a moment as he turned to look at what he had decided was the computer’s face.  It was little more than a camera that he thought would be better suited to a ship headed for Jupiter.  “In order to survive the landing I have to strand myself on the planet?”  He paused as he processed what he said.  “I mean, more so than before.  Not that I actually expected the planet to have functional helium-3 processors.  Or the tech needed to design and build a new Wright Flyer.” “Given known rates of advancement for humanity any society aged at least five hundred years from discovery of steam technology should be able to put organics into orbit.”  There was a long pause as the screen showed quick calculations.  “The system cannot account for the mass and size of the reactor and FTL drives.  There is no alternative.”  There was a long pause as Abderus continued his work on the panel.  “The system can be put into a stable orbit.  There is a program built into the ship that can allow for it to enter, and maintain, a stable planetary orbit for up to three hundred years.  After that the system will begin to decay due to lack of station keeping fuel.” “Fantastic.”  He finally pried open the panel, revealing a large duffel bag, along with several smaller containers.  “Again, fantastic.  What the hell do I need you to stay in orbit for three hundred years for?” “Insufficient data for response.” “Just...”  Abderus frowned at the computer.  “Stand-by mode until further notice.”  The screen slowly dimmed until it was replaced with a video feed coming from the outer hull.  It showed an, admittedly, breathtaking view of the planet several thousand miles below.  The gentle turn of the planet along its axis was just barely visible as the ship orbited.  Pushing off the wall, and leaving the bag and the containers behind, Abderus moved to the controls, adjusting the camera as much as he could.  The level of zoom offered was decent, but it did little to enlighten Abderus on the planet. Bored with the vista, after almost an hour of silent introspection, Abderus moved back to the survival kit.  “Three different changes of clothes.  A compass.  Sunglasses.  Oh, and they’re aviators.  How nice of them.  R...  Rope?”  Abderus shrugged softly, the gesture causing him to float away from the bag of goodies.  “Always need to have some rope, I suppose.  Might need to pull something.  Or hang from the ceiling while gunning down mobsters.”  When he finished pulling out all the clothes and related items, he found himself looking at the now empty bag.  “And now for the other containers.” The first one was a rather simple plastic container that held a knife, along with a sheathe.  The second container was harder to identify, but once he opened it he understood fully just what the engineers back on Earth had thought of the project.  With a grunt of exasperation, the pilot slammed shut the container, pushing the crowbar from his mind.  “I’m not a theoretical physicist.  Nor do I have a goatee.  Still, better to have it than not.  The odds are always stacked against the unwitting and unprepared.”  The final container held within it a hatchet and several pieces of flint.  “Hooray for the mother of all invention.  Fire should make life much easier.” The computer let out a single tone, alerting the pilot of some change that he had to be aware of.  “Warning, the first engine pulse will be in ten minutes.  In order to optimize planetary re entry the reactor and FTL drives will be jettisoned in exactly seven minutes.” “What if we wait?  What are the consequences?” “Extended wait in orbit coming to a period of no less than seventeen days, nine minutes, and twelve seconds.  With an acceptable accuracy margin of plus or minus two hours.” “Well, as I said, I hate waiting.  Let’s get this show on the road.” “Please be aware that the majority of computer processing systems are on the sections that will be jettisoned.  All final calculations will be done now, and programmed into the navigation systems.  Final navigation and re entry will be handled by human piloting.” “So, once I make the decision, I’ve got to stick to it?” “Affirmative.” The pilot glanced once more at the screen before he looked at the camera for the computer.  “Computer, do you have a name?” “Negative.  This unit has a serial number, but no official nomenclature.  There is a note in a sub folder, though.  Programmed in by a junior programmer, referring to me as being closest in appearance to a fictional computer system called the HAL 9000.  However, the comparison is inaccurate, since I am under no compulsion to hide the truth.” “I see.”  Abderus looked around the cabin for a moment before his gaze settled on the eye lens.  “Well... Hal, it’s been a pleasure.  Begin the processes needed to make sure things go smoothly.  The sooner I can get my feet on solid ground the happier I’ll be.  Floating in a tin can isn’t quite the way I want to go.” “Understood.  Final preparations in progress.” The planet loomed closer and closer as the days rolled by.  Abderus did what he could to use the limited computer power to begin mapping the rougher aspects of the planet.  He already had the continental layout down, along with general climates, but more than that would have to wait until he got closer still. Every so often Abderus would go over the calculations the computer had left him, and he ran through them all, trying to see if there was any flaw to them.  Not because he thought he was better than the computer, but because he was bored out of his mind. A gentle ping told Abderus that he needed to get some sleep, and he quickly dismissed it, wanting to watch the planet that would be his forced home turn slowly down beneath him.  “And here am I, floating in a most peculiar way.  The stars look very different today.  For, here I am, sitting in a tin can, far above the world.  This mystery planet is blue, and there’s nothing I can do.” The control stick jerked in Abderus’ sweating hands as he battled with the controls.  Two of the three emergency deceleration systems had failed.  The retro thrusters had worked for just a few minutes before they overheated due to the plasma barrier.  The air brakes had snapped off in the intense gale, and he was still going too fast to deploy the drag chutes.  Luckily, the craft was still aerodynamic enough for him to try to pilot it. Each buffett made the craft lurch and shake, and each one threw off the meticulous calculations of the computer’s long since programmed route.  Thankfully Abderus had paid enough attention during his classes back at university to recall what he knew about planetary mapping, a process normally done by a network of satellites.  During his last few orbits he had formed a rough idea of the layout of the planet, but more than that he couldn’t say without certainty. More than that, though, he had determined, with a fairly high degree of accuracy, just where he’d wind up ‘landing’ on the planet.  It was a valley, of sorts.  Ringed by quite a few mountains, with a single large one jutting up not far from his prospective, and ideal, landing zone.  As the craft shook more and more violently, Abderus’ mind raced faster and faster to cope with the influx of information.  There were no coherent thoughts as he battled with the craft, only action and reaction.  A game of chess with the ship as his opponent where the various control surfaces of the craft were the pieces. When, at last, the plasma finally dissipated from around the ship, Abderus let out his first word in weeks.  It wasn’t the most eloquent thing to say, but it did sum up his opinion on this latest development quite accurately.  It was, in fact, the first word spoken by a human within the planet’s atmosphere.  Abderus saw that he had just slightly misjudged the entry angle into the valley.  It was, quite literally, a matter of inches.  Seven of them, to be exact.  The right wing of the craft clipped the mountain, sending the craft into a nasty spin, and it was during this spin that the pilot blacked out just moments after his one word. “Shit.” And then, for not the last time, Abderus’ world vanished in a haze of pain, noise, and darkness. Twilight’s eyes widened as she watched the new astrological object orbit the planet.  Her telescope had become a near constant nighttime companion since she stumbled upon this new mystery.  While she had been the discoverer of many of Luna’s more subtle devices, this was one that the Lunar Princess refused to elaborate upon, only adding to the mare’s desire to learn more about it.  It’d been steadily growing closer, according to Twilight’s mathematics, and soon it’d form a blazing trail across the night sky as it finally burned up in the atmosphere. She had run the numbers countless times, often double and triple checking each and every step, making sure that she had everything planned out perfectly.  The telescope was aimed at the exact point where it’d start it’s trail of fiery light, and from there it’d become a visible feature of the night sky.  “Spike!  Come quick!  It’ll be starting any second now!”  The dragon was slow to respond, but he did eventually come out onto the balcony.  “It’ll start just past that mountain, and then soar across the entire sky before fading from sight.  It’ll be amazing!” “Yeah, it better be.  I’m giving up valuable sleeping time for this.” “Spike, what kind of attitude is that?  Even if it doesn’t happen, we still get to see an extra-equestrial object soar overhead.”  She paused for a moment as she glanced at the precisely calibrated clock.  “I mean, if not even Princess Luna is willing to talk about it, it has to be something good.” “Yeah, it’s probably some space alien here to eat our brains.” “Spike, space zombies aren’t real.” “You also said that there had to be a reasonable explanation for Pinkie Pie, and we all saw how that turned out.” “Spike this isn’t the sam--”  Twilight’s further words were drowned out in an echoing detonation of immense force and energy.  Without a thought, Twilight’s gaze turned to the great mountain that had once housed a sleeping dragon.  A huge fireball was hurtling towards that mountain, and waves of sound seemed to echo off of it.  The flames quickly faded away from the craft, but the sounds of explosions continued to echo throughout the small vale in which Ponyville was nestled.  The craft, whatever it was, then collided with the mountain, sending the now flaming hulk into the Everfree forest, a massive plume of dust and debris signaling it’s crash landing. “So, um...  That didn’t look like an asteroid, Twi.”  The mare didn’t respond, her mind was still trying to catch up with what she had just seen.  That thing, whatever it was, defied every bit of knowledge that Twilight possessed.  Right here, right now, Twilight was looking at what could possibly be the greatest discovery in all of written history.  The most important moment in not just her life, but in all of the planet’s history. “Spike, get the girls.  I’m going to see what I can discover on my own.  Once you have all of them, meet by Zecora’s house.”  With that said, the mare spread her wings and took to the skies, the giddiness of flight bringing a smile to her otherwise serious countenance.  Each beat of her wings brought her closer to the place where she felt she would finally answer the greatest question posed by philosophers. As she grew closer to the landing site she could smell the smoke and ash on the wind.  When she could see the initial point of impact she nearly fell from the sky as the shock of what she saw froze her in place.  Rather than a single crater, as she had expected, there was, instead, a massive furrow dug into the ground running more than a thousand feet.  She flew along its length, her eyes scanning the furrow for any signs of debris, or other pieces of potentially alien origin.  There was nothing to see, though, until she reached the head of the furrow, where, steaming and ablaze, sat a massive piece of steel gray metal, scorched along most of its length. The intellectual side of her demanded that she go down and begin her investigation right away, but the rational side of her mind erred on the side of caution, warning her that whatever this thing was, it could be dangerous beyond her wildest imaginings.  With no small amount of reluctance, she headed for Zecora’s home as fast as she could, the frantic pumping of her wings taking her there in minutes.  Gathered there were her closest friends.  “Girls, Zecora, Spike, I found the crash site.”  She pointed a hoof off towards the rising column of smoke.  “It’s just a short run that way, so let’s go!” “Whoa, hold on there, Twi.”  Applejack quickly moved in front of Twilight, keeping her from dashing off towards the crash.  “Spike wasn’t quite forthcoming with what happened, aside from some explosions, fireballs, and space zombies.  Mind explaining?” Twilight looked from the smoke to her friends and back again.  She let out a sigh as she calmed herself down.  “A couple weeks ago I spotted something in space.  Luna refused to explain what it was, and that just made me even more curious about it.  After observing and tracking it, I discovered that it would enter the atmosphere tonight.  Originally I had thought it would just be a shooting star, but, instead, it’s that.”  Her hoof pointed once more to the crash site.  “Whatever it is, it’s not natural, and I want to see what it is, since it might be a threat to Equestria.” The first sensation that returned to Abderus was one of immense pain.  That, and a dull flashing light accompanied by a slightly garbled sound.  His eyes cracked open to reveal the shattered interior of the ship, along with a chilling spike of a tree that jutted up into the craft.  The branch, or trunk, he couldn’t tell, ended just a foot away from his face, the sharpened point seemingly trying to reach out and stab him.  With a shaky hand the pilot reached out and pulled a leaf off of, what he could now tell, was  a branch.  “Oak?”  A sharp laugh escaped Abderus as he hit the quick release for his seat, his entire body throbbing with pain.  “I crash land on a planet that’s so far from home that I can’t even reasonably fathom the distance, and the first living thing I see is an oak tree.  This shouldn’t be as funny to me as it is.” Gently easing himself from his seat, the pilot gathered up the supplies he had stashed back behind the panel.  Every motion he made sent sharp reminders of his landing through his body, and several times he nearly blacked out.  When the panel came away, Abderus quickly pulled the duffel bag over his shoulder, the tools following just behind the bag.  Once he gathered up all of his things, precious few as they are, he stumbled over to the airlock that made up the majority of the back wall.  It took several long minutes for him to realize that the powered systems weren’t working, and that he’d have to open it manually. The various locking mechanisms took yet more time to open, and by the time the door was finally opened Abderus felt dizzy from the exertion.  The several foot drop to the ground threw the pilot into a state of limbo, his mind reeling from the intense pain shooting along every nerve of his body.  Even in his state of semi-consciousness he was still able to pick up on the sounds of multiple approaching... things.  He couldn’t even begin to fathom what it was that might be approaching him this far from home, and his only coherent thought was that he desperately, more than anything else, wanted to be home. For a moment Abderus struggled against his body, fighting to prop himself up against the still warm hull of his once proud vessel.  As he worked himself into the position he desired, the sounds grew ever closer, the alien sound of them shooting shivers up his spine.  Not a single sound seemed familiar, and the pilot strained to see if there was any rhythm or reason to the sounds.  Despite his efforts, though, Abderus failed to draw any conclusions from the sounds, other than that there was more than one thing approaching, and that if they followed the same gender rules as humans, all of the approaching creatures were female.  Or whatever passed for female here.  Or, perhaps, that was just wishful thinking on Abderus’ part. From the underbrush of the surrounding forest emerged seven creatures that Abderus immediately identified as horses.  The eighth was some lizard based biped.  Surely these were just... hunting creatures of some sort, sent out by the dominant species of the planet to scout out the crash.  Abderus’ eyes roamed along all the creatures until he found his gaze drawn to the one in the middle that was looking back at him.  It emitted a series of strange sounds and all the other horses, and the lizard, all looked at the pilot as well.  The others started making sounds as well, the blue colored one taking a tentative step towards Abderus. He had, stupidly, put his back to a wall, and now these creatures were advancing on him, their eyes sparkling with some sort of predatory intelligence.  Abderus could only grimace as the full irony of his situation sank in.  First contact made with carnivorous horses.  If there had ever been any doubt in his mind, this situation alone wiped it all away.  There was a god, and that god had the sickest sense of humor ever.  Abderus’ hand clenched around his knife as the creature grew closer still. Once the creature drew close enough, Abderus lunged out, his knife sinking into flesh with an ease that seemed to belie the damage dealt by the blow.  A shrill cry escaped the creature, and a set of appendages previously unnoticed snapped open, whipping forward and effectively ending Abderus’ first interaction with this new planet’s local fauna.  The world faded slowly to black as he could make out the frantic sounds coming from the creatures. “Sweet Celestia, it stabbed me!”  Dash’s eyes went wide as she recoiled from the wound, her wings still upright and curled a bit, ready to lash out at a moments notice.  All the others were still catching up with the rapid exchange, and by the time Dash made her exclamation they had only barely rationalized what had occurred.  Fluttershy was the first to move, and she quickly set about seeing to her friends injuries.  The knife had sunk all the way to the hilt, and Fluttershy was unsure of just how to go about approaching such a serious wound. Everyone but Twilight was urging Dash to get to the hospital as quickly as possible, and soon Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Zecora and Rarity were heading back through the forest towards the hospital.  Applejack and Twilight stood in silence for several minutes as they looked at the prone form slumped over against the wreckage.  Arrayed around him were a few mysterious containers, and Twilight quickly went about moving and inspecting them all, her curiosity overcoming her sense.  “Twi, don’t you think we should get this thing somewhere a bit more secure?  It just stabbed Dash, and it could do Celestia knows what else.” Twilight looked at the crashed vessel for a moment before she gave her head a quick shake.  “Yes, right, of course.  I’ve got a spare room in the library that we can use.  I’ll secure everything with some spells, and then we can put it in there to see what it’ll do.”  Twilight soon had all the alien’s possessions secured, and during that time Applejack had tied up the biped, securing it to her back “Shoot, this thing’s heavier than it looks.”  Twilight made a mental note of that, and within moments they were heading back through the forest, Twilight’s magic keeping the creatures at bay.  She had also placed a spell upon the wreckage, the magic working to keep it undisturbed from all forms of decay, natural or artificial. Spike kept shooting cautious glances at the unconscious form.  “Twilight, shouldn’t we tell the royal guard?  And Princess Celestia?  And Princess Luna?  I mean, this is kinda huge, don’t you think?  You were saying yourself that this was probably the most important thing to ever happen.  Ever.” “We will, Spike, once we have it somewhere where it won’t be able to hurt anypony else.  And...  After I run a few tests.” “No, Twi, Spike’s right.  No tests, no nothing.  Once you have it safely stowed away, you’re going to send a letter to the Princesses.  Heck, all three of them.  Four, if you want to send one to yourself as well.”  Twilight wanted to make some rebuttal to that, somehow claiming that doing so diminished her own royalty, but she couldn’t.  She didn’t want the crown she had sitting back at the library.  And now she was going to be forced to act as a diplomat between Equestria and this new alien. About half an hour later and the three of them, plus their unwitting cargo, arrived back at the library.  It only took Twilight a short while to prepare her spare room for the alien, and soon they were looking at the prone form in the room, watching in awe as its chest slowly rose and fell with its breaths.  “Twi, I don’t know much about biology, or any of that stuff, but if it has pointed teeth...” Twilight’s head snapped from watching the creature to looking at the orange pony beside her.  “It had pointed teeth?  Were they long, or short?  Serrated, or smooth edged?” She wanted to keep going, but Applejack raised a hoof.  “I didn’t get a good look at them, I just noticed that its teeth looked a bit pointy.  That means that it eats meat, right?” Twilight just nodded as she looked back at the creature, this newfound knowledge not making her feel any more secure.  “Spike, take a letter...”