//------------------------------// // Chapter 64: Death // Story: Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis // by Jasper77W //------------------------------// "THEY'RE GETTING READY TO FIRE!!" Came the warning shout. Spitfire watched as the COLOSSUS's dark matter cannon charged up, glowing green particles swirling around the ship itself and causing an optical distortion. "Concentrate fire on their engines! Make sure they don't get away! Bring them down to earth!" She yelled, waving a hoof at the back of the COLOSSUS. "CYCLOPS- officer Soarin speaking, what's your status?" Soarin took over an officer's comms, radioing the CYCLOPS. "Ninety-eight percent to max firing strength!" Came Iris's reply. "THEY'RE FIRING!!!" "Iris! Aim it at the bloody COLOSSUS- NOW!! Iris? IRIS!!" Spitfire yelled, but there was no reply from the other side. She looked out the window- the CYCLOPS was still in the air, but why weren't they replying...? "Ma'am! Our comms are down!" "DAMNIT!" She cursed, thumping her hooves down on the railings. "INCOMING!!" "BRACE YOURSELVES!!" * Iris watched from the bridge of the CYCLOPS as the dark matter cannon charged up, Ally by his side. "Captain! They've hit our navigations and targeting! We can't target the COLOSSUS!" "Then target them manually! There isn't time!" Iris yelled back. "Navigations are completely down, sir! We can only travel forwards or backwards!" Iris was about to utter a curse, but really there was nothing for him to say. How the hell were they supposed to do this now? "What is the prism cannon pointed at right now, officer?" "Enemy attack ship SCOURGE, sir." Iris sighed. An attack ship like that wasn't worth taking down with a prism cannon of this calibre. There had to be a way of targeting the COLOSSUS before it fires... Then he remembered- back, all the way back- during the first Manehatten incident, when the science faction first invaded... The aftermath of the destroyed barricade... "ATTENTION ALL OFFICERS!" He opened up the CYCLOPS broadcast system. "IF YOU ARE A UNICORN, PLEASE ASSIST IN THE TARGETING OF THE COLOSSUS!! OUR NAVIGATIONS ARE DOWN, WE NEED ALL OF YOU!!" Some of the officers on the bridge turned heads to look at him as if he just came out of a mental hospital. He ignored them. "COME ON ALL UNICORNS!! ENGAGE LEVITATION SPELLS IN THREE..." Some of the officers were hesitant, but a few already had their horns glowing. "TWO!" The ones that weren't joining in were being ushered by those who can't and those who have already done so. It may seem ridiculous, but it was their only shot. "ONE! GO!" Suddenly the CYCLOPS was encased in multiple patches of different colors, glowing in the darkness of space. It shimmered under a rainbow colored levitation field, a product of a united will. Iris only had a few seconds to outlive his wonder and amazement at how well this had worked- but they had only taken care of the easy part. "ALRIGHT EVERYPONY!! BEAR LEFT TWENTY SEVEN DEGREES!!" Slowly but surely, the CYCLOPS started shifting- and the COLOSSUS was coming into the cross hairs... "Buck! THEY FIRED!!" "Wha-" Iris looked up just in time to see the burst of dark matter explode out from the cannon. "FIRE!!" He yelled without a second thought. But even he could see the aim was still a few degrees off as the prism beam rushed towards the dark matter beam. They had missed. Not on my watch, he thought. Suddenly his eyes widened and glowed a bright aqua color, the magical energy accumulated within that he hadn't used in so long creating a black hole near the edge of the prism beam. The gravitational pull from the temporary black hole curved the light around, redirecting it into the dark matter beam. Iris held his stare, waiting till all of the prism beam passed through before collapsing the black hole. He fell down, eyes bleeding from an overuse and his head almost fried from the amount of magical energy he had just managed to control with his earth pony brain. Around him, the unicorns dropped their spells and collapsed to the ground, exhausted. * Spitfire ducked down behind the control consoles before her, as did the other officers as everyone scrambled to hide under or behind something. She didn't see the dark matter cannon fire, but she did see her own shadow stretch out before her as the beam of green glowing dark matter shot towards the magic faction fleet. She looked to her side, watching as the huge column of doom plunged past outside. She felt a subtle gravitational change as the dark matter pulled the OASIS towards it. Then a beam of rainbow colored light smashed into the dark matter head-on, splitting the beam of dark green out across the battle in harmless little streams. Then the rainbow light washed over the beam as the dark matter's gravitational pull split it and sent it bouncing around inside itself. To Spitfire's eyes it was just a large shifting mass of rainbow colored light, which was growing brighter and brighter... Suddenly all the energy that was being bounced around exploded outwards in a flat plate-shaped shockwave, the blast traveling sideways like a blade and heading straight for the OASIS's bridge. "BUCK-" Spitfire managed to curse, holding her head down with her hooves and trying to keep as close to the console as possible. The shockwave hit the bridge, shattering the glass windshields and buckling the metal frames. Shattered glass clattered all over the place, shimmering in direct sunlight. Air started rushing out, sending Spitfire's mane whipping about her face. Then the emergency systems kicked in, metal walls springing out from the floors and sealing up the bridge. The loss of air pressure was immediately neutralized. "Gaaaaah..." She managed to let out a breath she didn't realized she had held. He mane was a mess, but that didn't matter now. Live projections of the battle outside flashed across the airlock walls, acting as the new windows. "We've lost sectors two, six, nine, fifteen and twenty three!!" Came the report. Spitfire looked at one of the screens- not surprising, because there was a deep vertical gash in the side of the ship from the shockwave. It was a lot of damage, but at least it was better than critical- which was what the dark matter beam on its own would've done without the prism beam's equalizing effect. "Incoming enemy fire!" Spitfire turned her attention to the enemy fleet. The prism beam had pushed the effects of the dark matter more back than forward, so the science faction ships took a heavier hit. One of their ships was going down, effectively halved. Several others had deep trenches carved into their sides just like the OASIS, flames flickering as air leaked from inside their hulls. A wave of laser cannon fire hit the OASIS, sending bits of hull flying out into space now that they lost their shields completely. The OASIS was almost completely defenseless. "Central AI mainframe has been hit! The system is shutting itself off!!" "Revert to manual control over the systems!" Spitfire commanded. "Keep us aloft!" "Reverting." One of the officers said, then her expression dimmed significantly. "What's wrong?" Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "We've lost a large amount of energy. I'm afraid we don't have much left to keep us where we are." "Can we make an emergency landing?" Spitfire inquired. "We can't even get out of orbit." The officer sighed. Spitfire was silent for a few seconds. That only left them one option... They could slam into the earth fighting, or slam into... Damnit. "Well, I guess we all knew we were going to die, right?" Spitfire chuckled, waving a hoof at her officers. "Let's at least be optimistic about it then. How much forward momentum do we have left?" "Seventy hundred and sixty two and dropping!" "Not much, but it's enough." Spitfire sighed. "You know the deal, officers. Any of you have any objections before I give the order for us to commit genocide?" "We followed you this far, ma'am. We're the ones that aren't willing to leave." Soarin was about to say something similar, but a mare officer stole his words from his mouth. He cast a respectful look her way. Spitfire nodded thankfully. "All forward engines." She gestured at the control consoles, and the officers returned to work. She sighed, slumping down on the ground. She's been standing for long enough- no reason to die tired. She turned on the comms, addressing the entire ship now. "Attention all staff, unfortunately we are approaching our final destination- but do remind me to buy y'all a drink in pony heaven, cause you all definitely deserve one. Cheers- for the last time, Captain Spitfire- signing off." She finished, and leant back on her arms. "I reckon we all deserve a rest, huh?" Soarin chuckled, sitting down next to her. "Yeah..." Spitfire replied, watching as explosions played across the OASIS's hull below. A section of the ship broke off and drifted somewhere else, but nothing mattered anymore. Without the dark-matter cannon, nothing could stop this ship from plowing into the COLOSSUS's side- and now matter how big that ship was, the OASIS was still a nuke to it. "Impact in ten seconds!" Came the yell. Not dull, not bored, not sad- not angry. The voice was excited, however grim at the same time. "Soarin?" "Hmmm?" "You still don't have a chance." Spitfire grinned playfully. "Six!" The final countdown. "Really?" Soarin raised an eyebrow at her. "That's the last thing you wanted to say?" "Four!" "Not the last thing I wanted to do though." Spitfire said as the COLOSSUS grew so close it seemed to be right in front of them. She leant to her side, planting a kiss on Soarin's cheek. She didn't see his reaction, but then again he was already blushing. And the last number of the countdown was never called out. * "Echo five, this is Echo one. We're pinned on the rooftop of Haven Central Hospital! Packages are safe, requesting a distraction." "Copy Echo one. En route." "Can you stop calling us packages?" The Doctor tilted his head to one side as Noteworthy hung up. "Nope." He replied, slinging the BASS cannon over his back. Then the building started shaking. "Strikers! Get down!" He made a quick motion with his hoof, then slid behind an air duct. The Strikers glided past overhead, sending a puff of dust and snow curling into the air. Noteworthy waited till they were out of sight. "Alright! We're clear!" He got out from cover, only to find the Doctor and Derpy with their eyes fixed at the sky. "What is it?" He asked, then looked up himself. "Oh, no..." There were two shapes in the blue sky above, barely visible. There were many others around the two, but clearly those two were the focus of the battle. And both were running into each other. Noteworthy watched the easily recognizable shape of the Magic Faction flag ship speed towards the much larger Science Faction space capital, a collision inevitable. Was Spitfire still on that ship? Clearly the OASIS was in bad shape, but... Then the two slammed into each other, flaming debris shooting through the COLOSSUS as the OASIS plowed into its side, making a gigantic hole in the middle. Large chunks of material blew across the space battle, slowly descending to earth like a meteor shower. The COLOSSUS itself hung in the air for several seconds, then collapsed in on itself as its own gravitational pull turned against it. Without the shields that kept it together, the moon sized space ship simply couldn't hold itself up anymore. The entire ship imploded, now nothing more than a mass of parts. There was no recognizable shape anymore. Slowly it started descending, a massive fireball slowly burning away. Noteworthy snapped out of his frozen stance, tearing his gaze away from the sky. "WE NEED TO GET OFF THE ROOF!!" He yelled at the Doctor and Derpy, then turned on his comms and set them to all channels. "All units inside dark matter zone buildings! Get out now! The COLOSSUS has been hit and is heading towards the west of Haven!" "Doctor? Why do we have to get off the roof?" Derpy looked up. "A ship the size of the COLOSSUS crashing down like that... It's bound to stir up some seismic activity." The Doctor said, keeping an eye on the COLOSSUS as it fell; bits and pieces breaking away from the mass. "Thank goodness it wasn't traveling very fast to begin with." "Come on. Get inside, we gotta get off this building." Noteworthy said. "Hey! Derpy, right? Go on ahead! Fly off this building!" "I'm not leaving the Doctor!" Derpy said stubbornly, her hooves falling still. "Go on, Derpy. The more we can save the better- you included." The Doctor said, following Noteworthy to the entrance. "Doctor!" Derpy frowned, but he had already left. She sighed, then flew off and circled around to follow the two around the outside. * "... The COLOSSUS has been hit and is heading towards the west of Haven!" "Crap..." Zealo muttered as he got the message through the comms. He and his assigned squad was right in the middle of Haven- almost right next to the buildings which got destroyed by dark matter. The buildings they were in right now were already destabilized by the blast, and an earthquake, no matter how minuscule; could quite possibly bring them all down. The Tunnels however, which were designed to withstand direct nuclear detonations; would hold. "Squad six! Retreat to the CMC tower ruins! We've got clear ground over there where nothing will fall on our heads, over." He said, tucking away his sniper rifle and already moving off. * The room fell silent as Rainbow walked in. "Spitfire's dead." Nopony spoke. There was only sighing. "What do we do now?" Silver slumped back in her chair, shoving away the holographic simulator she was working on. "Headless snakes don't bite." "We'll grow a bloody head." Rainbow growled, calling up AL. "AL, how're the mods coming along?" "I've analyzed Eclipse's abilities. The concept seems simple enough, but I do not understand where she could summon such vast amounts of magical energy to keep those augmentations operational constantly. In theory she should have to change batteries or whatever every five seconds." Came the reply. "Can we replicate the results enough for our own purpose?" Rainbow inquired. "Yes, we can. Although each conjuration will only last ten seconds." "More than enough unless we're building a bridge." "What are you doing?" Octavia asked slowly, uncertain of this conversation between Rainbow and AL. "Planning." Rainbow said simply. "We may have lost Spitfire, but that most definitely is not a reason to stop- and it also is most definitely not what she would've wanted." "So you have a plan?" "I do. And I've been working on it with AL for the past half an hour now." Rainbow replied, sighing. "And it's going to work." She turned away from the ponies at the table, shushing them before they could question her. "It's going to work. Because once we're done here, Spitfire's grave is going to be in the clouds where she always belonged- and she's going to overlook the Equestria that she always knew." Rainbow lowered her head, and Octavia caught the slight glimmering of a tear drop as it slid down her face. She hid it away though. "The Equestria that WE always knew." * Doctor Whooves and Noteworthy were on the seventh floor down when the tremors started. Only eight more to go. "Crap." Noteworthy looked up, bits of flaked paint peeling from the ceiling and raining down on them as the building shook. "Doctor..." Derpy warned, hovering just outside. Then there was a loud snap as something gave way, and the entire building started tilting towards Derpy. "Whoa!" The Doctor said, wobbling on his hooves as the ground tilted. "RUN FOR THE OTHER BUILDING!" Noteworthy pointed at the building they were falling towards. "That's a big jump." "That's the only jump." Noteworthy replied, and ran for it. He slammed his shoulder into the glass window, smashing through. He landed on his side in the other building, sliding a few meters back. But he made it. "And just when I need wings..." The Doctor muttered, and leapt after him. Whilst in the air, he couldn't help but send a downwards glance- oh boy, was this high. Then the streets below went away as he crashed forward onto the floor- at least he made it. "Come on! Run! RUN!" Noteworthy dragged him up, then started running down the room they just entered as the other building collapsed into this one behind them. Derpy swooped down and into the room last second, keeping ahead of the exploding rubble behind them. "Why'd you come inside!?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as they galloped through the building, Noteworthy blasting the walls apart with the bass cannon. "Don't look at me like I'm the only mad one here!" "Sorry." The Doctor couldn't help but put on that half smile. Yeah, they were mad. "Echo one, we're tracking your location. Pilot Lightning Dust is inbound for a pick up." "Copy five! Does she know what she's doing?" Noteworthy asked, sprinting forward and reducing the wall before him to dust with the bass cannon. He leapt through, the Doctor following close. Derpy zoomed through right by their tails. "Just jump out the window." Lightning Dust cut into the conversation, pulling up on her joystick and performing a one-eighty. She slid between two buildings, the Apollo spinning around and stopping right in the trio's path. The prism guns on the Apollo started firing, cutting down the windows and walls that were in their way. "Bloody hell!" Noteworthy ducked down, a prism beam burning past his head. "Hop aboard!" Lightning Dust yelled, and the three leapt. They landed with a loud clunk on the Apollo's hull, and she pulled away from the building just as it collapsed and fell into another. * Eclipse hovered through the streets, the science faction troops behind her stumbling as the earth shook. She ignored them completely. There was a loud whine of charging particles, and she held up a shield. A green blast of energy washed over it, sending a plume of smoke exploding outwards from the area around them. Snow particles were blown about by the explosion, forming white curtains. Eclipse dropped the shield, peering through the smoke. Sweetie Bot clunked into view, both her rail guns charged to a radioactive green. Eclipse narrowed her eyes, a glowing orange claw already forming around her hoof. Then Terra joined Sweetie Bot's side, his hooves crackling with blue magical energy. An incineration cannon formed around Eclipse's other hoof, and without warning she dashed towards the two. * "Your friends are in trouble. Val's second in command is leading the attack into Haven... You're one of the only ones that can help them." The alicorn said, watching the blue sphere hovering hundreds of miles away; her eyes glowing. Her guard said nothing. "Are you not going to help them?" "I am, your majesty." "Then you are dismissed." "One last thing, however..." The bat pony turned to look up at her superior. "...they are not my friends. They are highly valuable assets." The alicorn chuckled. "I'm sure they are." She smiled. "And I'll be joining you with the rest of us when the time is right." She said, and with a bright flash the bat pony disappeared. The alicorn smiled to herself, thinking about the last sentence the guard said. Then she noticed a flash nearby, and looked up. Something seemed to be missing from the space around her... She had been on the moon for so long now, that even if so much as a speck of dust was gone she'd notice. "Oh..." She grinned. That bat pony certainly could get a little devilish. * Eclipse was in the heat of battle against Terra and Sweetie Bot when a loud screeching filled the air. Her troops started looking unsettled, casting looks around them to check what the noise was. Even Terra and Sweetie Bot looked slightly lost, but they ignored it and attacked Eclipse. Eclipse blocked another green energy bolt, then fired off an incinerator towards Sweetie. Terra blocked it for her with a rock wall. She was about to dart forward and engage in melee combat when- An asteroid appeared out of nowhere in the sky above them, and everyone looked up as the area blackened with shadows. Below the asteroid, for just a second; they saw the shape of a bat pony- light reflecting off of the jagged edges of armor she was wearing. And she was the one holding up the space rock. Then the asteroid was thrown down into the earth. Eclipse ducked down and conjured up a shield. The huge space rock bounced off of it and rolled down the street, crushing a good fraction of the science faction troops. Eclipse deactivated the shield, looking up from the chaos. There was smoke all around her, ashes still falling from the asteroid impact. Buildings had been demolished and almost everything on the streets have been crushed completely. What the hell just happened...? Then there was a bright flash before her eyes, and for a second there was a bat pony in front of her. She was clad in a blue silver armor, nightmare armor. She had an eyepatch over her left eye, whilst the other was a dark reptilian green. Eclipse didn't have time to conjure up a shield, or conjure up anything that could help her. She could only take the hoof to the chin like any other normal pony. She stumbled back, wiping blood from her lips where she accidentally bit it. She glared at the bat pony, who stood there before a surprised Terra and Sweetie Bot. She returned the glare. The only pony that she was at the very least intimidated by, the only pony that had a chance of defeating her... Nightshade is back.