“Good morning Captain Sparkle, it’s time to wake up. The current date is Tuesday, March 14th, 2126 CR. The current time is 7:30 AM Intergalactic Standard Time. Current destination is Janax Station.” Announced the pre-recorded voice on the alarm clock, before automatically turning off. In the bed next to the clock, a sandy brown unicorn stallion with a reddish orange mane and blue eyes stirred, before yawning deeply to himself, and sat up.
It took a few moments for Captain Echo Sparkle to fully wake up, before he climbed out of bed, and walked over to his closet. It was now day three of the E.S.C Twilight Sparkle’s voyage to the planet Janax, and things were normal. For Echo however, the voyage was anything but normal. This was his first voyage in command of the E.S.C Twilight Sparkle, one of the finest vessels in the Equestrian Navy.
Built in 2125, the E.S.C Twilight Sparkle was one of the newest ships in the fleet, and was the first stealth cruiser to be ever be commissioned for service in the Equestrian Fleet. The most prominent feature of the Twilight Sparkle was its Grushinko Mark IV Stealth Drive, which was the quietest engine ever to be used on a ship. The ship was also equipped with a Lehner V Visual Cloaking System, which could keep the ship invisible to cameras and eyes for up to five days in a row. The final unique system that was built into the ship was a set of Braeburn Industries Hydra 6 Heat Storage Cells. When activated, the Hydra6 cells would capture all the ship’s heat emissions and store them, effectively hiding the Twilight Sparkle from thermal sensors. When all three systems are activated in synch, the Twilight Sparkle is effectively impossible to detect, which made it ideal as a type of infiltration vessel.
It only took a few minutes for Echo to get cleaned up and dressed, and he made a quick stop to his desk, and picked up the phone. After quickly dialing a number, Echo listened to the phone rang for a few seconds, before one of the cooks finally answered.
“Kitchens.” He stated simply, a slightly unamused tone in his voice.
Echo chuckled, before clearing his throat. “C’mon Xavier, you should cheer up! Anyway, I’m calling to order my usual morning coffee.” exclaimed Echo, a cheerful tone in his voice.
The cook was silent for a moment, before coughing. “I’m sorry sir, the morning is a bad time for me. Anyway, your coffee is on it’s way.” Replied the cook, hanging up a few seconds later.
Echo placed the phone back onto the receiver, heard a small thump from behind the wall. He double tapped the wall, and pulled open a secret door. Taking the steaming cup of coffee that was inside, Echo couldn’t help but smile at the ingenious design of the ship’s food delivery systems. Taking a sip, Echo then closed the hidden compartment and exited his room, trudging slowly along to the elevator leading to the bridge.
§§§
“Captain on deck!” shouted one of the guards, as Echo stepped into the bridge, coffee in hoof. Every pony in the room turned to face Echo, and snapped to attention only for him to wave them off a few seconds later.
“At ease. Dragonfire, give me a status report.” Announced Echo, taking a seat on the rather large captain’s chair located in the dead center of the bridge.
The gray mare in question quickly pulled out a file from her station and flipped it open. “Everything is running normally Captain. If everything stays this way, we should be at Janax station within 2 hours.” She replied, quickly closing the file.
Echo nodded, turning his gaze to look out the windshield at the rapidly passing stars and planets. “That’s good. If your estimate is correct, Dragonfire, then we should be an hour ahead of schedule.” exclaimed Echo, taking a sip of his coffee. There were a few halfhearted cheers, but the bridge quickly descended into total silence.
The bridge remained quiet for a few minutes, before Redheart, the ship’s Chief Communications Officer called out. “Incoming high priority transmission from Princess Twilight Sparkle sir. Shall I put it on the holoscreen?” Echo took a sip from his coffee and nodded. Redheart returned the nod, and typed something into her computer console.
The large holopanel in the front of the bridge suddenly cleared and a video feed of the purple alicorn princess appeared on it. Every pony in the room including Echo saluted, before Echo cleared his throat. “What can I do for you, Princess Sparkle?” He announced, making sure to channel as much authority into his voice. Twilight frowned, shaking her head in disappointment.
“Echo, what have I told you? You don’t need to talk formally to me!” Twilight exclaimed, a slightly disappointed tone in her voice.
Echo shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee. “Sorry Twilight, it’s just habit now. I’m required to be formal to all ponies that have more power., and you of all ponies should know that.” Echo replied nonchalantly.
Twilight scoffed, quickly rolling her eyes. “Yeah, I know that Echo. However YOU of all ponies should know that I hate it when family does that. It just isn’t right!” She replied, a slightly annoyed tone in her voice.
Echo nodded, putting his coffee down on the arm of his chair. “Yes, I know Twilight. Anyway, what is it that you need?” He asked, his voice flat. Twilight straightened up, and cleared her throat.
“I need you to divert your ship towards Bardock Station. There’s been a development.” Twilight announced, a professional tone in her voice.
Echo frowned, quickly picking up his coffee cup. “What happened?” He asked, making sure to hide the surprise in his voice.
Twilight looked down at something off screen, before returning her gaze to the camera. “Yesterday, Bardock Station reported a group of unknown ships entering their system. Naval Command told them to watch the unknown ships, and deployed the E.B.C Manehatten to check out the situation. Then around midnight, I received a call from Admiral of the Navy, Coldlong, saying that Bardock Station abruptly cut communications. Since you’re the closest ship that we have to Bardock Station, I have to ask you to move in and investigate. The Manehatten should be there already, but they haven’t reported in yet.” reported Twilight, her voice flat.
Echo was silent for a few moments, before slowly nodding his head. “Of course Twilight, I’ll set course for Bardock now. I’ll report in when we’re there.” Echo replied, a slight hint of unease in his voice.
Twilight nodded, giving him a quick smile. “Thank you Echo, I hope you can get to the bottom of this. If you need any help, don’t be afraid to call in for support. I have elements of the 3rd Fleet standing by, ready to arrive within a day’s notice.” Twilight exclaimed, a joyous tone in her voice.
Echo nodded, returning the purple alicorn’s smile. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Echo out.” He stated, before nodding to Redheart. Redheart returned the nod and cut the video feed. The crew went silent as Twilight disappeared, before Echo stood up, and looked around the bridge. “You heard the Princess, set a course for Bardock. We got work to do.”