//------------------------------// // The Poet in Space // Story: Stranded in a Lost World // by Fedora //------------------------------// “Here you are, just as requested: a starship!” the Doctor announced, strolling out of the TARDIS and into a brightly lit white corridor. He felt the tug of artificial gravity, and took in a breath of canned atmosphere. From inside the TARDIS stepped an awestruck Lyra, who had requested the venture in the first place, and a somewhat unfazed Derpy. After battles with robots and a giant worm from the past, a spaceship could almost seem mundane. The Doctor hadn’t specified what kind of spaceship they had landed on, nor what made it specifically different from the spaceship they already occupied, the TARDIS. At the moment, the halls were empty and the ship was silent save for their own hoofsteps against a polished floor and the muffled rumble of engines. Derpy noticed that the engines in the background of this new spaceship sounded nothing at all like the TARDIS, though perhaps that was because the TARDIS was really more of a timeship than anything else. “So who’s ship is this?” Lyra asked, peering at a display inset in the wall, “Aliens?” The Doctor shook his head. “No, this is one of your ships,” he said, “A few centuries in your future, Equestria’s space exploration program develops technology allowing travel at speeds beyond light, making interstellar travel not only feasible, but a reality. If I’m correct, we should be sitting in spacedock right now, about a month before launch.” The Doctor smiled, and let the newest companion lead the way for the group to start exploring the inside of the ship. Lyra made her way to a corridor intersection marked with plating indicating which direction to go in to get to other parts of the ship, which was represented by a diagram on the side. The ship resembled something like a flying saucer, but with a large cylinder protruding from the back of this saucer before flaring out to a wider point at the very end. Lyra and Derpy marvelled at the labels on the map and directions plate, while the Doctor found himself looking out a thick window looking out into space. He leaned against the side of the wall and grinned; he liked looking into space whenever he got the chance. To see the stars seeming to streak by as they flew through the cosmos.... He blinked. The stars looked like they were streaking, which meant they were travelling at faster-than-light speeds in some kind of warp tunnel. Certainly they were not in spacedock. Derpy was the first to look away from the map, and also the first to notice the Doctor’s error. “We’re moving?” she blurted out, “I thought you said we were in spacedock!” “Well, nopony’s perfect,” the Doctor said, “Plus... space travel is cooler than standing still anyways. If you ask me, I think it’s fan-” “Fantastic,” Derpy and Lyra said in chorus, mocking the Doctor’s emphasis on the second syllable. A strange expression crossed the Doctor’s face, as he didn’t know whether to be irritated or amused. The corridor was quite suddenly plunged into a state of chaos as the lights flared red and klaxon alarms began to blare around them incessantly. Lyra and Derpy both clasped hooves to their ears at the loud noise, and before the Doctor could try to use his sonic screwdriver to silence the alarms a clicking sound could be heard behind his back, and he turned to see a amber-coated mare dressed in uniform holding them at the point of some futuristic gun. The alarms faded, and the lighting returned to normal. “Captain, this is Brimstone,” the mare said aloud to a pony who wasn’t present, “I’ve got three intruders on G deck, near the intersection with engineering. Two of them are mares wearing nothing but keys around their necks, and one is a stallion dressed in a leather coat.” She had been speaking into a communications unit on her uniform’s collar, and now addressed the group. “Highest rank among you- who is it?” The Doctor stepped forward. “State your name, rank, and intent!” she barked. “Name.... the Doctor,” he began, “Rank.... er.... Doctor. My intent? Fun I suppose.” “Are you playing games with me, sir?” said the mare, narrowing her eyes, “You’ve somehow intruded upon our test flight without boarding the ship conventionally, which to me suggests stowaway. As a stowaway, you’ll want to choose your next words very carefully.” “Alright then: take me to your leader!” the Doctor replied with an ever-growing smile. The Doctor, Lyra, and Derpy were all corralled into a cell inside of some sort of starship brig, with a glowing orange forcefield replacing the steel bars of years gone by. The mare who had found them, whose name and rank was apparently Lieutenant Commander Brimstone according to the communications they had overheard, and the ship’s Captain was en route to speak with them directly. They had been told to stay silent until the Captain arrived, but as brimstone had a habit of pacing the three time travelers whispered as she got farther away from them. “I don’t like this,” the Doctor whispered, “I know this ship class, it’s supposed to be crewed by nearly 400 ponies.” Brimstone neared them, and they remained silent for about a half minute until she gradually made her way toward the far side of the room again. “You said they were in space dock,” whispered Derpy, “And then we’re really flying through space. Did you get the year wrong?” The Doctor shook his head. “No, it’s six months exactly prior to her maiden voyage... she shouldn’t even be space-worthy at this point... mind you, all I’ve really heard about this ship in particular is that it launched June 6th 2894, none of the specifics of what happened.” “What year is it now?” Lyra asked. “December 2893, now stop talking,” Brimstone interjected, and this time stood rather close to the forcefield to dissuade them from resuming conversation. About ten minutes after this, the doors to the brig hissed and opened up to allow the Captain to enter. The Captain was a middle-aged mare with a darkish blue coat, though still clad in the same maroon uniform as the other officer who had apprehended the Doctor and co. She was followed by a tall-ish stallion with a lighter blue coat, also clad in the standard uniform and wearing insignia near his chest to signify that he was the ship’s First Officer. The Captain faced the Doctor from across the forcefield, and spoke first. “I will speak only to the leader of this group,” she said. The Doctor nodded, and stepped forward until he was less than an inch from the edge of the forcefield holding him captive. “Hello, I’m the Doctor,” he said with a toothy grin, “Pleased by your warm welcome, Captain.....?” “Captain Starstruck,” she replied, “What are you doing on my ship, and how did you get on board?” “Well, I’ll tell you, but you’ve got to promise not to laugh,” the Doctor coyly said. “Let’s hear your excuse.” “You see,” he began, “I’m an alien from another planet, and I’ve got a blue box called the TARDIS that resembles a police call box from Canterlot and other Equestrian cities around the 1930’s to the 60’s. I’m here by complete accident, since the ship moves primarily by phasing in and out of it’s current position, so if you’d just allow us to be on our way we can let you get back to-” “No,” the First Officer said, speaking up from behind the Captain, “According to interstellar law in this sector, all unauthorized ship-boarders -that includes accidents, by the way- must be either returned to their own system or face legal action at the planet of the boarded starship’s origin. Which do you prefer? I must warn you, we will have to make contact with your planet’s government to authorize your release before you are set free planetside should you return to your own system.” The Doctor shook his head. He had no way out of this, they would have to take them to Equestria first. “If I may ask, how long will it take to reach Equestria at our current speed?” he asked. “Forty-five minutes,” Captain Starstruck answered, “so sit tight down here until we dock. Brimstone- you watch them.” **** On the bridge of her ship, Captain Starstruck had her own problems to deal with that dwarfed the threat posed by intruders. They were nearing the Solar System, home to eight planets including planet Earth. The ship’s name was the Poet, an experimental design and first of the ship’s class. Though launch was still a month away it was crucial to perform a number of tests and shake-downs leading up to that date, and this was one such shake-down. The Poet had only six crewmembers aboard at the moment- two from command, one who doubled in navigations and tactical, one from the sciences, a communications officer, and the ship’s engineer. All other ship stations were currently being run on automation, which was proving to be a greater drain on ship systems than they had imagined and underlined the importance of a crew of 400 rather than six of the senior officers. Starstruck sat in her command chair, staring at a navigational course plotted by her first officer, due to Brimstone’s need in the brig. They were in the unfortunate position of having to replace the stone without having any backup available. This gemstone was something of a power converter in the engine room, allowing naturally occurring material in space to be converted into a usable type of matter. The stones rarely needed replacing normally, and the one they had installed during construction had ended up being flawed enough to warrant a replacement that the ship simply didn’t have. She had given the order to turn around and return to base after the ship had been stressed to FTL speed 7, which is when problems started presenting themselves. The Poet was on it’s way home at a measly FTL 2, as the Captain was worried to push faulty engines too hard. At that moment, red alert sirens began to blare once more and the brightly lit bridge module was plunged into a deep scarlet light. Starstruck gazed at the viewscreen, and her communications officer began to shout over the sirens. “Four pirate vessels of unknown origin are moving to intercept us,” he shouted, “and would somepony please shut that alarm off?!” The alarms quieted, but the bridge remained on red alert and cast in a reddish glow. The screen up front displayed an image of four starships that appeared to be salvaged and thrown together using the parts of several other decommissioned classes as well as alien technology. They were positioned just beyond the asteroid belt at this point, and were moving towards Mars and then the Earth. She ordered the ship to a halt, and requested to communicate with the pirates. “Cinder, put me through to whichever ship identifies as the leader. Do not let their scanners detect that we are short 394 crewmembers, whatever you do,” ordered Starstruck, “Let them know that we have little of value aboard worth raiding.” As the small dragon in charge of communications typed at his own console, Starstruck tapped a button on the side of her Captain’s chair, which put her through to the brig. “Brimstone, we’ve got a category 3 threat. You’re needed up here on the bridge immediately.” **** Derpy, Lyra, and the Doctor were left by Brimstone suddenly and without a word, shortly after the Red Alert alarms began to blare. Almost immediately after they were sure that the pony was not coming back, the Doctor set to work with the sonic screwdriver. He ran the glowing end along the length of the forcefield at the base near the floor, and then moved up the right side. Once completing the entire rectangular perimeter he was able to turn the field off with a flick of a switch on the device, granting them freedom from the prison cell. “Doctor, what’s going on?” Lyra cried over the sound of the alarms. The three had rounded a corner out of the brig by now and the two mares were galloping to keep up with the Doctor. “I dunno, some kind of serious emergency,” he yelled back, “Whatever it is, it’s none of our concern and we need to get back to the TARDIS now!” “Because we’re in trouble with them,” Derpy called up, “or because of the emergency that’s going on right now?” “Both!” **** “We have nothing of value to give you,” Starstruck repeated, this time directly to the voice of the pirate’s captain, “We are on an exploratory ship, not a freighter, and this is simply a systems test. It would be wise of you to retreat for today, as there is no profit here.” She waited silently, along with the other ponies on the bridge as they held their breaths for whatever the pirate’s response would be. Brimstone entered through an elevator shaft at the left side of the command center and made a beeline for her station at the tactical officer’s console. When the pirates responded, their captain didn’t seem at all fazed. “You are in no position to dictate our actions,” came the grizzled voice over ship-to-ship radio, “Drop shields and prepare to be boarded. If you don’t comply within thirty seconds we will destroy your vessel.” “Cut the channel,” Starstruck ordered, and the dragon Cinder pressed a button that ended the conversation between ships. Starstruck wheeled about in her chair, facing Brimstone at the tactical console. “I know we’re on mostly automation, but it it possible for us to get the first shot in? We need to make them think we’re armed and dangerous.” Brimstone shook her head. They didn’t even have torpedo tubes installed in the ship, and the energy beam defense systems had never been tested once. Without any fire control officers her accuracy would be severely hampered. Plus, using the beam weaponry on automation had never been done before, and she didn’t know what would happen. “I need a few shots, three at most,” the Captain said, “Can you at least give me that?” “I don’t know if it’s gonna work or if it’ll tear a hole out of the bottom of the saucer section,” she said honsetly, “but if it actually works....” “Captain!” interrupted Lt. Clover, the science officer, “They are loading torpedoes and obtaining a target lock on our engines!” “Brimstone, do it!” Starstruck barked, “and that’s an order! Fire at the most prominent vessels first!” Brimstone complied, aiming as best she could at her console and engaging the ship’s main guns. A streak of red shot out of the bottom of the Poet’s saucer and collided with the main hull of the lead Pirate vessel with force enough to tear a hole in their armor and cause debris from inside the ship to be sucked out into the vacuum of space. The second shot struck the same ship slightly higher, shredding apart a metallic dome and causing a thick cloud of chemical waste to spew into space. The affected ship’s lighting flickered once or twice and then was out, and it started to drift away from the others. The next pirate vessel responded by launching a volley of plasma torpedoes at the Poet, though without a proper target lock the spread was random. The first two zipped past the ship harmlessly, while the third scraped across the top of the saucer and tore part of the outer hull while leaving a burnt streak. The fourth torpedo was set for somewhere around the hangar area, and it was not going to miss. **** The Doctor paused for a moment when they came to an intersection, the same one they had encountered earlier in their travels. The sign showed that they had come from the direction of the hangar. At that moment, some sort of mechanism began to whir from within the walls and large bars began to protrude from the walls. Derpy backed away from one, worrying that it was some kind of trap like the spike pits from the Daring Do books. “Doctor, what’s happening?” she asked in a worried voice. That’s when they heard it; a deep rumbling from outside the ship that was getting louder with each passing second. The walls began to rattle, and the ship seemed to quake beneath their hooves. “Everypony grab onto something!” the Doctor yelled, and he lunged out to wrap his front hooves around a pole as Lyra and Derpy did the same. A loud explosion occurred not far from them, just down the hall in the direction they had been planning on going, and wall of fire rushed through the halls.The sides of that corridor were shredded to pieces, exposing machinery and more rooms on one side and open space on the other. Just as quickly as the fire had appeared it vanished entirely, leaving behind only blackened walls. A wind began to howl around the three time travellers as the atmosphere was sucked violently out through the hole in the hull caused by the explosion. Lyra felt herself lifted up and stretched thin; the wind was trying to sweep her away and into the blackness of space. She held on tightly, eyes watering in the rush of air. **** “Hull breach on G Deck!” Clover shouted, “We’re losing life support in the surrounding areas!” “Seal it off immediately,” Starstruck ordered, “Brimstone, return fire!” The Poet lashed out at the attacking pirate ship twice, striking at totally different area of the ship as the last one and raking the underbelly of the vessel with the first shot. Like the dome of the downed pirate vessel, something was struck by that shot that released material into space. The second shot collided with the aft end of the pirate ship, causing a substantial explosion of the engine systems and sending the ship spiraling out of control and into another one of the fleet’s ships. At this point, the lucky shots from the Poet had convinced the pirates not to mess with her, and so without another word the remaining ships sped off toward Mercury and away from the scene of the attack. **** Derpy, the Doctor, and Lyra all sat panting in the corridor, leaning up against a solid wall that had sprung out between them and the exposed hole in the side of the ship. While they collectively regained their breath and their wits, the Doctor realized that they were now cut off from reaching the hangar of the ship while this barrier was up, leaving them stuck and unable to reach the TARDIS at all. He swore quietly, and slammed a hoof against the sides of the barrier in frustration. “Doctor, what was that?” Lyra cried, “The side of the ship suddenly blew up right in front of us!” “Torpedo attack, I’d wager,” he said, “Only I see that the alarms have stopped wailing, so I suppose the ship scared us off or we scared the ship that attacked us away with some kind of counter attack.... listen, we can’t reach the TARDIS anymore.” “I kinda figured that,” Derpy said. “Yeah, only way now is to wait until they patch the hole up, which will happen in space dock, probably not before we’re shipped off planetside,” he admitted, “But first thing they’re gonna do is check on us, and if we’re not there then our chances of getting out of there and trying to find an alternate route to the hangar are quashed. Let’s double back.” **** “We’re off course by a lot, actually,” Brimstone said, “We’re somewhere between Mercury and the Sun. I’d recommend leaving as soon as possible, though, any closer and we’ll be sucked in by it’s gravitational pull.” “Noted,” Starstruck replied. She flicked a switch on her captain’s chair, which put her through to the ship’s engineer down in the engine department. “Commander Cortland,” said the Captain, “What’s your status?” She next received an earful from an irate sounding mare with a country drawl, yelling over the comm unit. “I’ll tell you what the status is, Captain!” she yelled, “Whatever in tarnation just happened caused our thrusters to misfire... badly! This place is a total wreck, and I haven’t even started tryin’ to pick up the pieces.” “Recommended action?” “Firstly,” Cortland’s voice replied, “Stop tryin’ to use our guns when there’s nopony to manage them properly! As soon as the first shot was fired systems started going up in sparks down here, and the ceiling caved in by the sublight drive. There’s a tangle ‘o wires hangin down not even a meter from the edge of that generator. Secondly, bring us back to starbase right away, before something else blows up in my face down here!” “Noted,” Starstruck replied. She looked to Brimstone, and motioned for her to follow Cortland’s instructions. A new course was set for Earth, and they took off. Not even seconds after the Poet was put into motion, it misfired. The ship shuddered and swerved uncontrollably to one side, bringing them dangerously close to the Sun. The sublight engines turned over, but were unable to keep them from sliding closer to the massive ball of burning gas. “Bring us up to maximum sublight speed!” Starstruck ordered, “We must break free!” The engines whined louder and higher this time, yet despite the ship’s increase in velocity it couldn’t move farther from the Sun. Facing the possibility of being dragged in and fried to a crisp if she did nothing, Starstruck gave the only other available order. “Jump to FTL!” ordered the Captain, “Cortland, I need FTL or we’re toast!” “I’M TRYING BUT SHE DOESN’T WANT TO GO!” a tinny voice shouted over the roar of the engines. The Poet lurched for a moment, and in the struggle it was oriented with its port side facing the Sun directly. The ship began to accelerate not away from the sun but around it, still unable to break away from the celestial object. “We’re at FTL 5!” Brimstone announced, “and rising!” “Captain!” Cortland cried, “The gemstones are fusing together down here! We’ll be dead in the water if we keep this up!” “I’d rather be drifting in open space than dragged into the Sun, we can be rescued if we’re in space,” Starstruck replied, “We need to break away!” “We’re at FTL 7 now!” The Poet left a trail of purplish energy behind it now, and the entire vessel shook from within. Walls rattled, and the engines groaned in protest. “FTL 8! That’s maximum safe speed!” The ship’s distance from the sun was beginning to increase, but it was still circling it. Around the ship itself space seemed to bend inwards on itself, and consoles let off pops of smoke. “FTL 9 AND RISING!” Brimstone shouted over the engine’s wailing, “9.3..... 9.4..... 9.5!” “SHE CAN’T TAKE THIS ABUSE CAPTAIN, SOMETHING’S GONNA GIVE AT ANY MOMENT!” Cortland’s voice yelled. “I KNOW!” Starstruck yelled back. “9.8.... 9.9.....” The Poet was thrown away from the Sun and a rippling vortex appeared around the vessel, throwing it around curves as it hurtled through an this strange void. Parts of the bridge consoles exploded with sparks, and lights were blown out. The main viewing screen cut out and cracked. Sections of the ceiling shattered and tubing was exposed and sliced open, filling the bridge with acrid smoke and plunging it into darkness.