//------------------------------// // Our Mare, Trixie // Story: Starring Trixie // by metroid_freak //------------------------------// Acting captain’s log, Stardate…damnit, I can never remember how this works. Meh, whatever. We’ve been at warp for two days now, on our way to Starbase 39. I’m pleased to report that both Trixie and I are doing just fine at the moment. The Ranger still needs a few repairs done as the facilities at Luna’s base weren’t exactly Starfleet standard. For now at least, we’re making pretty good time. We should be there… “Computer, end recording,” I exclaimed as I felt the ship drop out of warp. “Oh man, what now?” I grumbled as I quickly got up and headed for the bridge, running into Trixie en-route. “What’s going on?” the showmare asked as we entered the turbolift. “I don’t know. We just randomly dropped out of warp. I’m gonna check it out right away.” I replied as the turbolift doors opened, revealing the bridge. “Computer, why’d we drop out of warp?” I asked, taking my seat. “Plasma conduit 47 has ruptured. Containment field is holding.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “What does that mean?” Trixie asked. “Is that bad? It’s bad, isn’t it! Trixie knew it! We’re going to die out here and it’s all your fault!” “Easy, easy, lemon squeezy,” I interjected. “We just blew a gasket, that’s all. Nothing a few parts can’t fix. I’ll just find a place to grab some parts and do some work and we’ll be on our way before you know it.” “Trixie hopes so,” she grumbled, crossing her front legs as she sat pouting in the first officer’s chair. “Trixie has far too many fans out there for her to be stuck somewhere because your tin can is falling apart.” “Hey, here’s a question,” I replied abruptly. “Why are you sitting in the first officer’s chair?” “I…Trixie doesn’t see how that matters!” “It’s just that, I thought you didn’t like sitting close to me. Don’t tell me that’s changed,” I continued with a wry grin. “Wh...what are you implying?” “Hey look, I found something!” I exclaimed as I double-checked the navigation computer. “Ha! Check this out! There’s a small trade station really close by. Looks like they’ve got a repair service too. Perfect! Computer, set a course. Full impulse.” I looked over at the pouting mare. “Well? Pretty lucky, eh?” “Yes, how lucky can Trixie get? Now she gets to waste who knows how long slumming on some wreck in the middle of nowhere. She gets to go from a grubby little ship to a grubby little station. Trixie feels so lucky right now.” “Y’know, you keep calling everything ‘grubby’ and stuff. I’ll have you know that Starfleet ships are considered pretty shiny by most standards.” “Why do you keep ignoring everything Trixie says?” she demanded. “Because it’s irrelevant,” I replied calmly with a shrug. “You can bitch about how much your life sucks at the moment as much as you want but that doesn’t change that fact that we need to stop for supplies and repairs.” “B…but Trixie…” “Ska-da-boosh!” I exclaimed, cutting her off with a sharp wave of my hand. “Look, if you catch some awful disease that slowly liquefies your organs while we’re there, I’ll gladly listen to you whine until we both go out of our minds. For now, let’s just try to stay optimistic and get this over with so we can keep going, alright?” “Fine…” she grumbled. “Maybe you’re right.” *** “Trixie takes it back,” the showmare admonished as we neared the station. “You’re not right. In fact, Trixie can’t think of a single time in which you were right…about anything. Ever.” “Okay, so the place is a bit of a…” I scratched my head, trying to come up with an appropriate description for the looking station. “Dump?” Trixie finished for me. “Well, I was gonna say…actually, that sounds about right. Computer, take us in.” I exclaimed as I hailed the station. “This is Cole Stevens of the starship Ranger…” “We know who you are! We already scanned your ship!” a brutish voice replied as he appeared, a pudgy green face skewed somewhat by the screen’s static. “You may approach but not too fast! Nice an’ easy…” He grinned and disappeared. “You heard him,” I exclaimed with a shrug. “Computer…what he said.” “Specify.” “I dunno…fly casual,” I replied, slightly exasperated. “So…” Trixie began, no doubt wracking her brain for the perfect way to berate me for my rather lousy choice, necessity notwithstanding. “What you’re saying is that the only place in the universe we can stop at right now is this pit we’re flying to and if we don’t…we’ll blow up?” “That’s pretty much the long and short of it,” I replied with a shrug. “Trixie should’ve expected as much,” the showmare grumbled. I sighed. “Hey, not everyone can be an engineer.” Trixie ignored me. “Okay, fine. Let’s just get in and get out, okay?” “Fine,” Trixie replied in a tone that reeked of exasperation, complete with an eye-roll. “But if you don’t buy more Crispy Chex, Trixie will never forgive you!” “Far be it from me to deny an addict their fix,” I replied smugly, causing her to blush in embarrassment. “Relax; I’ll grab ya a box as soon as I can.” *** As I suspected from the very first moment I laid eyes on the station, locating a box of Crispy Chex was going to be the least of our worries. Once we arrived and berthed in the outer docking ring and opened the hatch, a musky and unpleasant odor hit us and I was fairly sure that the rest of the place would treat our olfactory sensors the same way. I was about to ask Trixie how she was until a light-blue barely-visible aura surrounded her. I had a hunch that I knew what she was up to; of course, the smug smile and lack of gagging or coughing on the foul air helped. “Magical air filter?” I asked as Trixie stuck her nose in the air. “Trixie is prepared for every situation!” she replied proudly. “What’s that?” she asked, changing gears quickly as I strapped an object around by waist, partially hidden by my light jacket. “It’s a phaser pistol, just in case we encounter someone…unpleasant,” I replied quietly, hoping she’d take the hint and shut up about it lest it be discovered by less-than-reputable folk. “Do…do you think that…” she gulped. “Will there be…people like that…here?” At least she had the presence of mind to switch to her inside voice. “If my suspicions are correct, we should watch our backs,” I cautioned. “Hey, you’re the one with the gun! You should be watching Trixie’s back!” she hissed. “How about we watch each other’s backs, okay?” “Fine!” “Oh, and one more thing,” I added, locking the ship down. “Don’t get separated. If you need to go somewhere, make sure you tell me so I can accompany you. Trust me on this one; we’re way better off if we stick together. Understand?” “Trixie understands,” she replied with a less-than-convincing sigh. We made our way deeper into the station as casually and as carefree as we could manage, deftly avoiding anyone who looked like bad news, and navigating the various, dingy shops and stalls that lined the station’s interior. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to find the parts I needed, and at a fairly reasonable price, though it would’ve been even less had the merchant not been a Ferengi, and cheaper still had I possessed a first-born child. I paid him quickly, anxious to leave and continue on towards our next destination. I shoved the conduits into my pack and turned to Trixie. You have got to be kidding me right now, I thought with a face-palm as I stared at empty space. How hard is it to stay put, especially when she bloody knows how dangerous this place is! For a fraction of a second, I considered leaving her to her own devices and continuing on, seeing as she hated my interference above all else. I rolled my eyes, realizing what I had to do. Ducking into the bustling crowd, I whipped out my little tricorder and did a quick scan. I sighed with relief as the machine located her a mere couple hundred meters away. Trying my best not to come off as rude and/or a threat, I gently pushed my way through the crowd, following the tricorder’s signal. Meanwhile… The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t need him to look after her, Trixie thought as she boldly and somewhat obtrusively made her own way through the throng. What nerve, thinking he can just tell Trixie what to do! I’ll show him that even in a dump like this, Trixie is more than capable of handling herself! Hmmph! “Oof!” she grunted as she absentmindedly walked into something. “Watch where you’re…going?” She looked up, ready to give whoever it was a Trixie-approved tongue-lashing…and stopped. The towering green-toned brute of an alien looked down at her with a rather perturbed expression. “Watch it, runt!” he growled, the exact reaction necessary to prompt a similar one from the blue showmare. “Runt? Do you have any idea of who you’re talking to?” Trixie demanded. “Um…no, actually,” the giant replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie and you would do well to remember that! Now get out of my way, oaf, or Trixie will make you!” “Oh, she will, will she?” the alien replied with a dark grin as he suddenly grabbed her, covering her muzzle as she squealed in protest. “You’ve got some spunk, runt! You’ll serve someone well!” Going white with fright, Trixie tried her magic but found it useless; the large hand covering her mouth was depriving her brain of much-needed oxygen, forcefully suppressing her ability to think straight, much less cast spells. She could do little save for black out as her captor shoved his way through the crowd and towards the docking ring. Oh man, why does that bloody mare have to make everything a Goddamn hurdle, I thought as I anxiously followed her signal. Panting from the effort of wading through a crowd of smelly and etiquette-retarded denizens in my quest to locate my bitch of a traveling partner. I wound up in the outer docking ring about a half hour later and frantically looked about as the reading disappeared. Wherever she was, it was out of the tricorder’s range. My mind raced with possibilities, the most likely of which was the uncomfortable notion that she’d simply been carried off. It was certainly plausible; a creature as ‘unique’ as herself could theoretically be worth her weight in gold-pressed latinum to… “Slavers…” I muttered, giving a nearby bulkhead a swift kick, an action I instantly regretted. Hopping about on one foot, I tried to figure out how to proceed. The galaxy was full of slaves and slave-owners (save for the Federation, of course) but none were more infamous or dangerous than the Orion Syndicate. Those fat green hobgoblins took a certain perverse pleasure in subjecting others to lives of servitude as they feasted, gambled, and fornicated upon the profits of their twisted enterprise. I had few options and the task of deciding which one best suited the situation at hand was hampered by a combination of anger and sympathy for my friend. I could only imagine the horrors her captives were putting her through. My hand involuntarily clenched into a fist and I grew steadfast. I had made a promise to keep her safe to the best of my abilities and no force was going to stop me. One trait that comes with living a life like mine is that one inevitably acquires what you would identify as ‘street smarts’. That being the case with me, I knew instinctively that the most accurate way of finding anyone (or anypony in this case) in a rat-infested Hellhole when technology was insufficient was by talking to people. And by ‘talking’, I mean speaking the language of credits, latinum, or a phaser pistol set on ‘liquefy’. Needless to say, I chose Option Number Three. Eyewitness accounts were usually the most accurate way to track something or someone down, especially given Trixie’s ‘unique’ traits. Thus, I began my (admittedly) frantic interrogations, learning little until I reached a small Tribble salesman near the edge of the market towards the docking ring, giving him an excellent view of anyone coming or going. The fact that he wasn’t busy and didn’t appear to be at any point during the day suggested that his bored, prying eyes might’ve caught sight of a small blue horned pony being carted away by the Jolly Green Asshole. At least, I hoped that was the case as I approached him and his table laden heavily with purring puffballs. “Can I help you?” he asked as I pretended to care about his merchandise. I watched him carefully out of the corner of my eye. I had never liked the Yridians; they had the dubious honor of being well-known as smugglers and information merchants. The bitter irony of that was that information profiteering walked hand-in-hand with the ability to be observant, leading me to believe that this ‘merchant’ had seen something pertaining to my situation. “Perhaps I can interest you in a Tvell Tribble? Finest in the Quadrant!” I rolled my eyes; everyone knew that the best Tribbles were the T’roll Tribbles bred on the Klingon homeworld of Quo’nos. “Look, I’m gonna cut to the chase,” I exclaimed, cutting off any chance of an extended sales pitch. “You look like an…observant fellow, am I right?” “Well, that depends…” he replied before leaning in closer. “…how observant are we talking about?” “I’m looking for someone,” I continued. “Well then, may I recommend the Orion Market over there?” the Yridian replied, gesturing over to the line of green-skinned women clad in garments that left little to the imagination by a large tent. “No, not that,” I exclaimed. “I need some information. I was wondering if you happened to see a big green guy carrying a small blue…” I paused, unsure of how to describe my friend in a way that the merchant might understand. “…a small blue creature with four legs and a horn on its head?” “Hmmm…” the Yridian mused, stroking his chin. “My memory’s gotten a little slow in my old age but the sale of a Tribble might give it a boost…” I sighed and dug out my wallet. As much as I wanted to force him to talk, I had to remember where I was. Starting a brawl right in the middle of a slaver-owned pit in front of every type of scourge the galaxy has ever known would’ve been an astronomically stupid thing to do. I had to be…tactful. “There,” I exclaimed impatiently, grabbing a nearby Tribble, which purred at the sudden contact. “Now how about you make with memory?” “Hmm, I’m afraid that’s still a little foggy,” the alien replied, closing his eyes and pretending to strain his so-called ‘brain’. “I’ve almost got it but I think if I sold just one more of these adorable little critters…” he drifted off, looking up at me with a crooked grin. “That’s all the cash I’ve got right now,” I replied, dangerously close to knocking him on his ass. “We had a deal.” “Your deal no longer interests me,” the Yridian said with a yawn, waving his hand dismissively. “Too bad for your little blue…ah, ah, ah hold on, wait a second!” he added suddenly, putting his hands up as I grabbed the back of his head and shoved my phaser into his face. “How ‘bout this deal?” I hissed, poking the side of his head with the phaser for good measure. Y’know, it always amazes me how quickly someone will answer any question so long as they’re staring down the barrel of the Universal Diplomat. It was difficult to make out over the stuttering but the hapless vendor managed to provide me with a name, the name of a well-known slave ship that made regular stops for supplies and…additional candidates. At this point, it is also important to note that as with many other cases involving a traumatic experience, the full seriousness of the situation takes a while to hit. It just creeps upon you until it damn near weighs you down and occupies your every thought. That’s exactly what was happening to me as I ran like a crazy person to the docked Ranger and dashed inside as soon as I’d released the security protocols. As soon as we were free from the docking ring, I made a sharp turn away from the station and called upon the computer. “Computer, can you access the shipping logs of the station?” I asked with a hint of panic even as I tried to calm down and keep a level head. I had a name but I needed to see the ship’s cargo logs if I was to be sure. After all it was an Orion station, so surely they could at least be honest with each other. “Stand by.” I waited nervously for the computer to answer. “All shipping logs are encrypted.” “Can you bypass the encryption?” “Affirmative. Caution; the encryption codes are based on an anti-hack feedback-based alert security system.” “Damnit, I’m a traveler, not tech support! What the Hell does that mean?” I demanded. “Bypassing the encryption could result in detection. It would allow the user to trace the bypass to its source.” Well, how about that? It was either break their code and risk exposure or not and risk never finding Trixie. It was an easy decision. “Computer…” I took a deep breath. “Access the shipping logs and cargo manifests.” As the computer beeped a response, I waited with baited breath, praying that the next sound I heard was the ship telling me that it had found the ship carrying Trixie, and not a Red Alert alarm. “Logs accessed.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Great. Display them on the main viewscreen.” I carefully but quickly studied them. Fortunately, most were just normal cargo vessels, which narrowed my search down, not to mention the fact that it wasn’t a very busy station (for obvious reason). “Wait a minute…” I added as one ship in particular caught my eye. “Computer, what is the location of the Briganhound?” “It is currently 27,000 kilometers from our current position.” “Can the long-range sensors detect the cargo of that ship?” “Affirmative. Scanning now.” “Well?” “There are 25 Orion life signs on board.” “Wait…only Orion life signs? No ponies?” “Affirmative.” “Great,” I muttered, rubbing my temples. Not only had I alerted the entire station by hacking them, I had no way of confirming whether or not that ship was in fact making off with my friend. Then it hit me like a tonne of bricks. “Computer, scan the ship one more time but this time, scan for Equestrian energy signatures.” I smiled; perhaps if we could isolate Trixie’s energy signature and track it, we could find her. “Acknowledged. Scanning now.” I anxiously drummed my fingers against my chair’s armrests. “Scan failed. Unable to detect trace radiation due to localized dampening field.” “Damnit!” I cursed, slamming an armrest as I tried to think of something else. Fortunately, my brain was running on adrenaline and panic-driven overdrive and I soon had another idea. “Computer, isolate the energy signature of the Alicorn Amulet.” “Acknowledged.” It was a long shot but maybe the Amulet contained enough power to be detectable through the dampening field. “Scan successful. Residual Amulet radiation detected.” Perfect, I thought. The ship was still in one piece so it was a safe bet that Trixie and the Amulet had been separated upon their capture. I was relieved to finally have a lead but as for actually rescuing her…well, that was another story. Even with the upgraded weapons bestowed by Mirror Universe Princess Luna, an Orion ship, even a transport frigate, made a tough target. Still, I was fairly sure that if I could catch them by surprise, I had a chance of damaging them enough to beam Trixie out. Fortunately for me, they didn’t know I’d caught on, which gave me the advantage. “Computer, lock in a pursuit course but leave some distance. I don’t want ‘em to think I’m following ‘em.” “Acknowledged.” *** A resounding crash derailed the Orion slave master’s train of thought once again as he struggled to finish his paperwork. He growled and slammed a fist against a bulkhead before getting up and opening the door to his ‘office’. “What is going on out there!?” he roared as a subordinate ran around the corner, panting nervously. “You!” the slave master grabbed the smaller pirate by his shirt. “I thought I told you to shut them up! They’re children! Surely you don’t expect me to believe that such small beings are giving you this much trouble!?” “It’s…not…the children!” the pirate gasped as the slave master’s grip tightened. “Then what is it?” the larger Orion growled. “It’s…the new arrival! She’s been very…uncooperative!” Another crash followed by a “Watch where you’re putting those disgusting paws of yours or the Great and Powerful Trixie will turn you inside out!” met them. The slave master released the smaller pirate and face-palmed. “Come with me!” he suddenly ordered, motioning for the subordinate to follow. “Let me show you how it’s done!” They made their way to the nearby cargo hold; theirs being a small ship, it wasn’t a far walk. Inside the dark and dingy cargo bay sat a large number of boxes and crates and beside them sat two large cages, one empty, and one holding eight small children of varying ages. They huddled together in fright as two hulking Orions fought tooth and claw with a stubborn flue four-legged creature with a sharp spike atop its head that simply refused to be encapsulated. “Trixie…said….NO!” the blue quadruped yelled as sparks flew from the spike and flew like magic missiles at her assailants, striking one in the seat of his pants, eliciting a howl of pain as he grabbed at the affected area. “You wanted a fight? Well then, Trixie will give you a f…” She froze as an energy bolt whizzed by the group of frightened children, barely missing them. A large pudgy green alien slowly approached them, tucking a weapon into his belt. The lull allowed her captors to re-assert their hold on her and she struggled vainly as they cuffed her neck with some kind of device. “You try that stunt one more time and the kids get it,” the large Orion said with a low growl. “Understand?” Defiant as she was, Trixie couldn’t allow her own recklessness to endanger the children. She nodded slowly and let out a surprised yelp as she was thrown unceremoniously into the cage. The cage door slammed even before she hit the cold metal floor and she shook her head and looked around at her surroundings. It was dingy, smelly, and practically radiated misery. It was difficult to make any details out in the dark and she couldn’t risk using magic to illuminate the room. For the time being, she could only sit and evaluate…and hope that somehow, Cole wasn’t far behind. Her attention soon turned to the children, still huddled together, unsure of what to make of their guest. She tried to recall what species they were, using the small scrap of knowledge Cole had managed to teach her. She did a mental count and came up with three humans, two Andorians, and three…the name eluded her so she gave up and laid down on the cold, unforgiving floor. Several hours went by, all quiet and devoid of movement. It was as if the little ones were frozen in time, although Trixie was sure that they were simply frozen in fear having borne witness to her ‘capabilities’ and were therefore too nervous to approach. “Um…hi…” a small voice reached out to her from the corner of the cage, emanating from somewhere within the huddled group. The voice was quiet and almost undetectable and Trixie’s ears perked up at the sound. She stood up and looked over towards the children, who shrank back away from her gaze. “Who said that?” she asked as gently as she could manage, given the circumstances. Nary was a peep heard in response, as if the speaker had lost their nerve. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” she assured them, taking a small step towards the pile of squirming, anxious bodies. “Now then…who said that?” she repeated, keeping her voice low so as not to rouse any guards. “I did,” the small voice replied as a young Andorian girl slowly emerged from behind the nervous wall. “Oh…hello,” Trixie whispered. This was something new to her, something she’d never dealt with before, and it wasn’t simply the fact that it was an alien with which she exchanged salutations. It was the fact that she found herself conversing with a child. Trixie wasn’t sure of how to proceed but something deep inside compelled to continue their discourse. “What’s your name?” the child asked innocently. Almost immediately, Trixie felt another sensation begin to well up inside her. It was a mix of sympathy and anger, directed at the ones who’d so mercilessly imprisoned them. The feelings were new and rather unsettling as Trixie did her best to manage the sudden rush of emotions. “My name is…Trixie.” “Oh. That’s a really pretty name…” the Andorian replied with a small smile as she twiddled her thumbs nervously. The showmare paused, taken aback by the young one’s display of such raw sincerity. Never had anyone sounded so…earnest to her before, and especially not towards her. It only increased the emotional influx within her, forcing the mare to redouble her efforts to keep her composure. “Th…thank you,” Trixie answered with a stammer. The child looked up at her expectantly, forcing Trixie to remember her manners. “What’s your name?” “Um…my name’s…Marensa.” “You have a beautiful name, Marensa,” Trixie replied, earning a small smile from the child. “Thanks…” the child blushed and turned away for a moment. “Marensa…” Trixie began, grabbing the child’s attention. “…may I ask what you’re doing here? Where are they taking us?” Above all, she hoped that the question wouldn’t offend or frighten them and felt a small pang of guilt for asking in the first place. “They took us…” Marensa answered hesitantly. “They said someone wanted us more than our parents…that they were gonna sell us…” Inside, Trixie seethed. What kind of monster would forcefully take such young and innocent beings away from the ones who loved and raised them? She found herself surrounded by the answer to her question and momentarily wondered how she could ‘remedy’ the situation. A sniffle from the child calmed her down and she stepped forward, nuzzling the child as Marensa instinctively wrapped her small arms about the showmare’s neck in an embrace. A loud bang against the cage startled them and they quickly separated and sat down. “Shut up in there!” someone shouted before stomping off. Exhausted and stressed, Trixie curled her body around the small Andorian, who rested her head on the mare’s stomach in response. Emboldened, the other children gathered around them and snuggled up together as best they could, each absorbing as much warmth as Trixie’s body could produce and within moments, all was quiet. *** I was having trouble staying awake as the Ranger followed the Orion ship, the Briganhound. They seemed pretty confident in their ability to hide the true contents of their vessel, a trait to which I attributed our easy pursuit. If they had any suspicions at all, they didn’t show it and fortunately, neither had the station. For all intents and purposes, we had gotten away scot-free. My sigh quickly turned into a yawn and I absentmindedly pet the Tribble sitting on my lap. As much as I despised his previous owner, I bore no such ill-will towards Gremlin himself. I still think it’s a cool name, by the way. I didn’t know much but I was aware of the Tribble’s voracious eating habits; having said that, I figured that as long as I kept his food intake under strict control, I wouldn’t end up with a Tribble plantation. I also vowed never to feed him after midnight…just in case. As I fought off the onslaught of fatigue, I ransacked my brain for a way to actually stop the Orion ship when we did finally meet, hopefully within the next few hours. I made a mental note of what myself and the Ranger could bring to the table. It wasn’t much but the computer seemed to think it was enough to at least disable and/or disarm it. Whilst downloading the shipping records, the computer had also retrieved some ship specifications, which luckily included the technical manual of the Briganhound. After some diehard sleuthing (and the computer’s help), I finally had a workable ‘strategy’. I use the term ‘strategy’ loosely here because it was more like ‘jump out in front of them, fire a few rounds, and hope we have enough punch to bust their weapon and shield subsystems’. If we could do that, I was sure that they’d let me transport Trixie to safety. They weren’t likely to chase us with no offensive or defensive capabilities so we’d use that opportunity to slip away, never to be seen by them again! It was the perfect plan! By the time I’d finished drawing it up, I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince; myself or the computer. I glanced at the time, although a huge yawn pretty much rendered the action moot. I needed to rest otherwise I’d be less than useless when the time came for me to be useful. I grabbed Gremlin, retreated to my quarters, and practically fell asleep the second I hit the pillow. *** Trixie awoke in a cold sweat, shivering as she regained her bearings. A quick look around confirmed that everything was as it had been several hours ago. She was still trapped in the metal cage and she was still surrounded by children. The only aspect of her situation that had changed was the temperature. It was freezing. All around her, the young ones shivered as well, her body heat no longer sufficient to keep them comfortable. A simple warming spell is all it would take but after the Orion captain’s earlier threat, Trixie understandably felt uneasy about using any magic at all in such close proximity to their captors. Still, she couldn’t just them freeze and the possibility of getting sick was an ever-present danger. Trixie knew what she had to do. Another quick scan of the room made her breathe a sigh of relief; no guards, at least none she could see. She took a deep breath and cast the spell, hoping that no one would see the gentle orange glow that covered the children. Her racing heart slowed as the glow began to dissipate and smiled, knowing that the spell would likely last the night. They looked much more comfortable, as if they were back in their homes in their own beds, wrapped up in layers of soft, welcoming sheets as their parents watched them lovingly from the doorways. All the while, Trixie wondered what that would be like. “AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” she suddenly screamed as the collar around her neck activated, sending volts of electricity throughout her body, wracking it with incredible pain. She fell to the cold floor and writhed in anguish as her screams roused the children, who stared at the horrific scene in front of them, unable to do anything. The showmare felt as if her blood was boiling as her nervous system begged for mercy under the onslaught of agony. And then it stopped, leaving her panting and sobbing on the cold floor as the Orion captain emerged from the shadows. He looked down at her and smiled, tossing and catching a small device in one of his stubby hands. “I warned you, you stupid animal,” he exclaimed with a proud smirk. “It’s called a ‘Hirogen Tamer’ and it activates whenever whatever’s wearing it tried to use kinetic energy stored in their bodies.” He opened the cage door and walked up to the shivering mare. “Now, that was a mild shock. Try that one more time and…well, I’ll let you find out.” Trixie’s eyes flew open in shock and she gasped for air as the Orion gave her a swift kick to the midsection before walking out of the cage. “Get everything ready for delivery. We’ll be arriving within the hour.” he ordered as he left the cargo hold. There was nothing Trixie could do save for cry and try to get her breathing back to normal. Pain…no, agony, shame, regret all swirled within her like a storm. And at the eyes of that storm…anger. Pure, unbridled fury welled up inside her. She had let them do that to her. If she’d only fought harder, she wouldn’t be in this mess. She could’ve handled them with ease. They got the jump on her; it was as simple as that. They got lucky. She should’ve fought harder, she should’ve fought better, she should’ve been stronger, she… …should’ve… …listened…. …to Cole… The pain of admitting it to herself approached the agony bestowed by the infernal contraption clasped around her neck. Cole had been right all along. He knew the galaxy better than she did, so why hadn’t she just listened to him? Instead of resting peacefully in her spacious bed aboard the Ranger, here she was shivering on a cold metal floor while her body was trying to die. Hell of a way to learn a lesson. Then she felt it. One at first, followed shortly by two and then many as the children made their way over to her as they gently rubbed her and ran their hands over her body, trying their best to warm her up. She blinked back tears as she realized it and slowly raised her head, coming face-to-face with Marensa. The young Andorian girl gave her a small, albeit caring smile and gently stroked her mane, massaging her neck and shoulders undoubtedly in an effort to alleviate some of the residual pain. “Thank you.” Marensa whispered, planting a soft kiss on Trixie’s nose. A tear fell from the mare’s eye, not of pain but of gratitude as she nuzzled the child. She felt their weight as they fell asleep one by one either against her on draped over her and after a few minutes, the cold began to fade into warmth once more. *** “Alright, computer, wake up, it’s go-time,” I exclaimed as I entered the bridge. It had been about six hours since my pursuit had begun and we were finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Any minute now, the Orion ship would stop at pre-arranged coordinates and wait for another ship to pick up their ‘goods’. Not if I could help it. We had dropped out of warp on the opposite side of the planet after making a teensy course adjustment right before warping after them, and ended up hiding within the planet’s ring system, which contained enough magnetic rocks to hide the Ranger from their sensors…at least that’s what I hoped. A quick study of their assigned route had allowed us to arrive first, get into position/hide, and simply wait for our prey to come to us. Unfortunately, the rings also interfered with my sensors so I had to position the ship so we could physically see them. Needless to say, I kept the viewscreen on high zoom. As we waited, I wondered what else the ship carried that would justify purposefully scrambling everyone’s sensors just for the sake of completing a transaction. I concluded that whatever they were hiding had to be of great monetary value or importance. We didn’t wait for long. Right on time, I thought as they arrived on the scene and came to a stop just beyond the asteroid belt. As much as I just wanted to run up and shoot the stupid thing, I had to be careful. I had to limit the amount of shots I fired, lest one of them go awry and inadvertently hurt Trixie. I didn’t need her falling prey to collateral damage. Not wanting to waste any more time, I grabbed the manual controls and slowly inched our way out of the rings, creeping up on the unsuspecting Orion ship. So far, so good, I thought, wiping sweat from my brow as I carefully maneuvered, keeping in mind that I had weapons to bring to bear. I angled the ship one last time as we got within 10 kilometers. “Computer, target their weapons and shields and fire on my mark. Three…two…one…let ‘em have it!” And thus began an orange light show as the piercing beams razed the enemy ship, courtesy of my two forward phaser banks. Immediately, they hit the gas and made a bid for freedom but as hard as they tried to shake us, Ranger followed close behind, pelting them with phaser fire. Unfortunately, I had been too caught up in the excitement to notice that we were doing a lot less damage to them than I thought, a little fact I realized after we left the disorienting field of the rings and our scanners came back online. While the initial salvo had done some damage, it wasn’t enough to put their weapons or shields out of commission. It was too late to turn back; I had made my bed and now found myself chained to it. There was nothing I could do but grit my teeth, hang on, and hammer the ‘Fire All Weapons’ button. Meanwhile… If it wasn’t the sudden tremor throughout the ship shook Trixie and the others awake, it was the frantic yelling and barking of orders that did. They watched as large green aliens ran back and forth as they fought back against their attacker, who according to some chatter, had managed to sneak up on them and take them completely by surprise. From what Trixie was able to gather, it had been a good plan but not good enough as they counter-attacked, sending whatever had attacked them into desperate evasive maneuvers, one of which happened to occur right outside a nearby window. Her eyes widened and her heart raced as she recognized the ship. She couldn’t believe it. Somehow, against the odds, he had found her. Not only had he found her but here he was risking everything to save her! She wiped a tear from her eye, vowed never to tell him about it, and took another, closer look around. She had to help him somehow. As far as she could tell, the fight wasn’t going well for her friend. She needed to even the odds somehow. She gulped when the realization hit. If she had any chance in Hell of assisting her friend, she needed her magic. She knew what would happen; the second she tried anything, the machine would detect it and overload her body with excruciating pain. It might even be fatal. She shook her head, trying to dismiss any and all doubt. It was worth a try, even more so if she succeeded. It was time to test her willpower and prove that she was worth the title of ‘Great and Powerful’. She began to concentrate, building as much magical energy as she could without setting off the machine. It had to be gradual or the machine would certainly activate. If that happened…Trixie forced herself to ignore that particular detail as she built up as much energy as she could. Finally, it was time. Focusing on the Amulet, she channeled her magic through it, feeding off the rapid and dramatic boost it granted her…and winced as she awaited the inevitable as she unleashed a stream of power. It hit her quickly and mercilessly. Searing pain shot through her once again as she struggled to stay on her hooves and direct the energy stream. She cried out in pain and anger as they white-blue beam made a mess of the cargo bay, setting consoles on fire and destroying equipment as the crew ducked for cover. All the while, the machine continued to punish her. Still, she persevered, even as the shock to her system threatened to shut her down completely and resign her to blackness. Through sheer determination and pride, she held on and fought off the clouding darkness as she displayed the force of her will. Finally, after one last scream of utter defiance, she pushed even harder and the device around her neck disintegrated. Her eyes glowed red and a crimson light encompassed her body as she slowly stepped out of the cage, much to the horror of her captors. The expression on her face turned into one of pure blood-lust as she spotted the captain cowering behind two of his subordinates. A shot from one of their hand weapons glanced off the energy surrounding her body and she grinned at them, taking another step closer. A sudden and rather violent tremor rocked the ship, sending everyone to the floor except for Trixie. As if momentarily shaken from her rampage, she whipped around to check on the children, thanking her lucky stars that they were unharmed, albeit shaken up. Remembering what she had to do, she took a step towards them, only to have them shrink away. Confused, she looked at them and at Marensa in particular. She could see it, the reason why they now shrunk away from her. It was fear. Her display of power and aggression had spooked them, turned her into a being just as savage as their captors. “Please…” she pleaded with them. “I’m not…that. I only want to help you. Please trust me…” There was a pause in the din as if the universe was waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next. She suddenly felt a small hand reach out and touch her cheek. She opened her eyes and met Marensa’s gaze. While clearly frightened, the child’s courage and faith in their friend overcame her doubts, a sign that became the warm gesture bestowed upon the showmare. “I trust you…Trixie.” Meanwhile… “Computer, gimme an update!” I shouted as we came about for another attack run. “The enemy ship’s shields have failed.” “Perfect! Hail them!” There was a beep as I waited for them to answer. I grinned as a large green face surrounded by fires and debris appeared on the viewscreen. “What do you want?” it demanded. “Trixie will take it from here!” another voice cut in as the Orion flew out of view, replaced by the visage of a familiar blue showmare. “About time! What took you so long?” she demanded. “Nice to see you too!” I replied excitedly, happy to see her safe…relatively speaking. “You look like you could use a lift!” “You think?” Trixie yelled. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’! Computer, beam Trixie directly to…” “Wait!” she interrupted. “There’s more! Please…we can’t leave them behind! Just do it!” I nodded. “Gotcha. Computer, isolate all life signs except the Orions and beam them directly to the mess hall.” “Acknowledged.” *** Acting captain’s log, supplementary. After rescuing the children and disabling the Orion ship, we hightailed it to Khallos IV, where we are currently working with the Federation office there to reunite the children with their parents. Fortunately, they all live fairly close by and now there’s only one child left, the young Andorian, Marensa. (End recording) Trixie and Marensa exchanged smiles as we sat in the office of the Federation office awaiting the arrival of her mother and father. I could tell that despite the success of our little ‘adventure’, it was still a bittersweet result. As usual, Trixie wasn’t hiding her true feelings nearly well enough. I could see the pain in her eyes at having to leave her new friend behind. I understood the reason very well; in a relatively short time, they had bonded through a terrible yet unforgettable experience and become very close as a result. Having to separate after finding such wonderful friends in each other...well, that had to be heart-wrenching. It wasn’t long before Marensa’s parents arrived and I must say a happier moment, I have yet to witness. The sheer joy radiating from them as they held their daughter again was indescribable and I felt extremely fortunate to be part of it, as did Trixie, if their goodbye was any indication. “Trixie…thank you so much for rescuing us,” the child murmured as she buried her face in the showmare’s mane. She sniffed and Trixie felt tears soak her mane. Smiling as best she could give the circumstances, the blue mare gently placed a hoof under Marensa’s chin and lifted it. “You were so brave, Marensa. The bravest girl I’ve ever seen!” The child blushed and looked at her feet with a small smile. “I’ll miss you.” “I’ll (sniff) miss you too, Trixie!” the child sobbed, wrapping her arms around Trixie’s neck. “I’ll miss you too, little one,” Trixie whispered, gently pulling back. “Now, why don’t you join your mommy and daddy? I’m sure they’d like to take you home.” Marensa wiped a tear from her eye and nodded, giving Trixie one last hug before re-joining her parents. As they slowly walked away hand-in-hand, the girl suddenly paused and looked back at us, waving with a huge smile on her face. “I love you, Trixie!” With that, they were gone. The showmare just stood there absolutely dumbfounded. I think it’s a pretty safe bet that she hadn’t heard those words for a long time. I could only imagine how she felt. “I love you too…little one.” I smiled from within the Federation office. Having already said my goodbyes and received a considerable amount of gratitude from Marensa’s parents, I was content to stand by and let Trixie have her moment. We left shortly after as the small station didn’t have the facilities necessary to repair my ship (again) so we had no choice but to press on for Starbase 39. I didn’t really mind, though. The battle with the Orions hadn’t been too hard on the ship thanks to the reinforced shield and weapons array and we were soon underway at high warp. Trixie had long since retired to her room, presumably to pass out, and I was getting close myself. “Computer, deactivate tomorrow’s alarm,” I exclaimed with a yawn as I entered my quarters. “I have a feeling that we could both seriously use some extra sleep.” “Acknowledged.” I was out like a light. *** “He’s quite the character, isn’t he?” Marensa’s mother chuckled as they relaxed on a large patio underneath the stars. “Yes, humans never cease to surprise me,” her husband replied, taking a sip of his drink. “It was the strangest thing,” her mother continued. “I mean, he goes through all that trouble and all he asks for in return is a box of Crispy Chex.” “They must not have it where he’s from,” her father concluded. “Maybe,” her mother mused. “Good thing it’s Marensa’s favorite, otherwise we wouldn’t have had a spare box for him and that would’ve been a shame.” “I agree,” her father added. “I agree.”