The Stars Beyond The Veil

by Charlemane


11 - Chapter Eleven: Space Cowboy

Chapter Eleven

Space Cowboy


“Control to Golden Dawn, please repeat your last transmission. Golden Dawn? Golden Dawn, respond. Cherry, could you check the signal? We’re having trouble getting through.”

“It’s not us sir, we’ve lost the signal completely! It’s like they’re just… gone! Oh my goddesses… they’re gone!”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY’RE GONE?”
- Age of Harmony Ends - 3333 E.C.


Despite the early hour, I felt energized. We had spent the night at a hotel near Junkyard’s office that Fritter scored at the last minute. Granted, it wasn’t the nicest place, here and there you could still see the telltale signs of age buried underneath layers of chipped paint, but it was a far cry above the dingy apartment that I had grown so used to over the years. Clean sheets, a warm bed, working showers, I could probably go on for ages about the differences, but for brevity I’ll just say this. It was... nice. I probably spent far too long that morning taking a hot shower before drying off and slipping back into my freshly laundered flight suit. I paid for everything, of course, but now that I had some bits to spare any preconceived notions of ‘it would cost too much’ seemed to melt away. I took a deep breath and felt a newfound energy pulsing through me—Opportunity. Today was going to be a big day; I could feel it. But while I wasn’t looking forward to the possible danger, I knew that I would at least have the guidance of someone who was a veteran at this sort of thing.

Officer Silvermane had insisted that this would be a milk run, just some unfortunate soul who strayed on the wrong side of the law. We had intel and we had a lead, all we really needed to do was show up. The thought of running back headlong into danger still didn’t appeal to me, but if it was going to help me get my wings back... maybe it would be worth it. I still wished I could take my friends with me, however.

Fritter and Joe stood with me on the dark curb just outside the hotel as we prepared to leave. In the dim light of the pre-dawn cycle, Joe passed me an apologetic look as he and Fritter stepped toward the taxi they had ordered a few minutes prior. Joe smiled sadly, his sympathetic eyes adding to the sinking feeling that was working its way through my chest.

“You’re… not coming. Are you.” It was more a statement than question, simply by looking at his eyes I already knew my answer.

Joe looked downcast. “I’m sorry Horizon, I really am, but I can’t help ya. I’ve a bar to run back home, and I’ve already been gone for too long as it is. I do hope you understand.”

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. My ears wilted as I understood what he was telling me, but I doubted that any puppy-eyes I could give him would change his mind. It had been nice to have their company when everything had gone to hell. Heck, just being at my trial certainly helped keep my nerves in check as I stood before the court. Still, I couldn’t blame him. He and Fritter had dropped everything in order to come help me out, and now that I was free, they had their own problems to sort out.

With a sad sigh, I nodded glumly and sighed, “I understand Joe, thank you for everything,” I said, meaning every word, “I don’t think I’d be where I am right now if you and Fritter didn’t come bail me out.” The truth was painful to admit. If things had gone only slightly differently...

Joe’s smile brightened a little, a small sparkle returning to his eyes. “Think nothin of it kiddo. I’d do the same for any of my friends. But do me a favor and try and keep your nose clean from now on, okay? I don’t wanna to have to fly halfway across the galaxy to pull your ass out of the fire again.”

I sniffed and laughed. “I’ll try not to,” I replied, feeling slightly better, “Though no promises, knowing my luck I’ll probably get dragged into something else within a week.”

“Good enough,” Joe chuckled as he glanced back at the taxi. “Now, you’d best get yourself going before your officer friend gets the wrong idea.” He turned and then stopped, looking as if he’d suddenly forgotten something. “Oh! and don’t forget about my whiskey,” he added quickly, thrusting a hoof into my chest for emphasis. “You can have a glass on the house once you bring it back, but make sure. You. Don’t. Forget. To. Bring it. Got that?”

A dull ache had started where he had been poking me, it would probably bruise later. I returned his smile the best I could, surprised at the sudden gesture. “I-I’ll remember,” I said uncertainly, slowly regaining my confidence, “I promise.”

“Good,” Joe said with a sharp nod, “I’ll see ya the next time ya drop in.” He turned and waved as he started trotting off toward the cab, “Take care Horizon.”

“You too Joe,” I sighed.

“Aw, look at him, I think the big lug likes you,” Fritter teased as he watched Joe get in the cab.

Inwardly, I groaned. “Gee, what gave you that impression?”

Fritter gave me a shit-eating smile. “Oh this and that,” he said, “on a more serious note, though, I need to get going too.”

“You too, huh?,” I asked, shoulders slumping.

A look of guilt crossed his face as Fritter coughed, glancing aside. “As much as I’d love to go chasing bad guys, Horizon, I need to get back to work,” he said, “The past few days haven’t done much to figure out our little mystery buck, and if I’m going to find you some answers, I need to get started on research.”

I nodded and sighed, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I guess I’m just not looking forward to doing this alone.”

Fritter placed a comforting hoof on my shoulder and gave me his best smile. “You’re not alone, Horizon, or at least not alone with ball-butt anyway,” he said, rolling his eyes. He brightened, “After all, you’ve got that sexy officer to keep you company! Remember?” The cheerful way he put that made me uncomfortable for some reason.

“Hardass isn’t my flavor, Fritter,” I replied evenly.

He shrugged it off, “Well, at least I tried. We’ll find you a nice mare someday, I promise.”

“We?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Fritter chuckled sheepishly, “Oh! uh, well, um, Joe and I might have a teensie bit of a bet to see who can hook you up first,” he explained. His voice hushed as he leaned closer to me, “but don’t tell him I said that cause you’re not supposed to know.” He winked.

“Says the information broker,” I said. “Sometimes I wonder how you stay in business.”

“Family recipe?” Fritter offered with a cheeky grin. Extending a leg, he pulled me into a hug, “Just stay safe out there, okay? And don’t let ball-butt push you around anymore. Who knows what’s he’s planning?”

The mere thought of Nightshade was enough to set me back on edge. Somewhere out there was a purple haired buck with a bad habit of dragging me into trouble. The fact that I was already headed in that direction wasn’t helping either. If I was a betting buck, I’d bet bits that he’d worm his way onto the job somehow. I don’t think anypony would bet against me either. “No kidding,” I sighed, “I’ll do my best Fritter. Just let me know if you find something okay?”

“I’ll keep in touch,” he replied with a smile. “Anyway! It’s time for me to split. The cab is on my dime and I’m getting charged by the minute. Stay safe!” He trotted over to the rent-a-cab, and with a last wave, hopped in with Joe. A steady thrum filled the air as the cab lifted off and turned to join the trickling flow of morning traffic high above. The taxi’s taillights faded into the distance while I watched from the curb.

“Praise Luna for you guys,” I said aloud. It wasn’t every day you met a pony ready and willing to help a total stranger, much less two. I felt lucky to be able to call them my friends, and luckier, still, to be alive.

By the time I met up with Officer Silvermane, the dawn cycle had kicked in. Light started flooding the streets as the artificial skyline brightened, and the lamps turned off one by one. I made the short trot to our rendezvous, and spotted her waiting for me just outside a small deli. She looked clean and pressed, her dark flight suit accentuating the white of her coat nicely with her cutie mark emblazoned on the suit’s flanks. Badge on batons, if anypony was born to be a police officer, you couldn’t have picked a better poster child. Between her hard demeanor and her piercing blue eyes, Silvermane struck a figure that would leave a lasting impression on anypony. She also looked slightly annoyed to my growing chagrin. My goodbyes had kept her waiting.

“There you are.” She said, finally noticing me. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to skip out.”

I stopped as I took up a position next to her and sat down on the curb. “What? I’m only five minutes late,” I replied innocently.

“Which puts us five minutes behind schedule.” She said as she smoothed an errant curl out of her mane.

“We have a long flight ahead of us, I doubt five minutes is going to put too much of a dent in our arrival. It’s not like we’re gonna miss a shuttle or anything.”

Silvermane frowned. “No, but we might lose the target if we don’t get going,” she replied flatly. “My intel is fresh, but only for the next few hours. The longer we wait, the less we’ll have to go on.”

“Right,” I said.

A thrum caught our attention, drawing our eyes skyward. “There’s our ride.” Silvermane said, looking at the rent-a-cab descending toward the curb. The black and yellow car came to a stop next to us, hovering a few inches above the ground while we both sidled into place. As I got situated, Silvermane’s WAND glowed and she rummaged through her suit’s storage and pulled out a bitstick.

“Dock alpha nine.” She told the cab, flashing the bitstick across the reader. It chirped an reply and then the cab started moving. I settled into my seat, watching the buildings go by at an unsettling speed while falling inline with the rest of the flow of traffic. Silvermane sat back down in the seat next to me and we waited, an awkward silence driving along between us until she finally decided to break the ice.

“So I spoke with your friend Nightshade,” she said.

And there he was. Half my brain went ‘cha-ching’ until I remembered that no one had bet against me. I squeezed my eyes shut as I suppressed a groan. “What about him?” I replied, pointedly staring out the window at the morning commute. Even this early in the morning the lanes were already getting packed. Thank Luna I wasn’t a commuter, if I had to do that every morning I’d go insane. Then again, with the way the station queues were structured maybe I already had.

“He seemed like an interesting buck,” Silvermane continued, determined to get a conversation out of me.

“That’s one way of putting it,” I sighed, pulling my attention away from the window.

Silvermane shifted in her seat, looking me up and down with one part interest and two parts skepticism. Whatever she was seeing she wasn’t happy with it. A frown pecked at the corners of her mouth every time looked at me. “Alright so spill, what’s your problem with him? You and your other friends always seem like you’re waiting for him to shoot you in the back.”

“It’s… complicated,” I said.

Silvermane’s frown deepened. “We’ve got a few minutes, explain.” It was more of an order than a request, something I was sure I would have to get used to if I was going to work with her for any length of time.

I struggled for a moment as I tried to sum up all the reasons why I hated Nightshade, trying to find some way to condense several weeks of less than subtle coercion into words. Failing that, I settled for the next best thing, “Let’s just say I owe him a few favors that he’s intent on collecting,” I said. “Half of that is why I ended up on that cargo ship a few weeks back.”

“So I’ve read in the report, did he hire you to go out there?” she asked.

“Sort of. He hired me for a salvage operation. Get in, grab what we came for, get out. As soon as we got there, he changed the job by telling me we had board the damn thing instead of just disassembling it, and the next thing I knew, we were onboard getting shot at by a bunch a terrorists and running for our lives. He never told me that we’d be having company. Hell, if I had known that, I would called the damn thing off then and there.” Not that he’d let me. I thought quietly.

“You’re being quite forward with this information,” Silvermane remarked, her head tilting slightly to one side.

“That’s because I’m still trying to find a way out of it, and on that note, any ideas you might contribute would be very gratefully accepted.” Her frown didn’t change so I kept going, “I don’t like Nightshade. I don’t like him because he’s dangerous. I know he’s dangerous. He gets into dangerous things, a lot, and I’ve seen it first hand. I crossed paths with him by chance, and then suddenly he’s calling the shots. He starts throwing around a bunch of crap about favors,” I had a hard time not spitting the word, “and the next thing I know he’s dragging me all around on his little errands. I swear if he’s not trying to force me into one thing, then he’s dragging me off to the next.”

Silvermane’s frown never faltered while she thought over what I was saying. “I think you’re judging him too hard,” she said.

I blinked, “What?”

She sighed, slumping back into her seat as she fixed me with a stare that felt like it was boring into me somehow. The ice blue of her irises made her look like some sort of predator—always sharp and focused, with just a hint of the intelligence behind them. “I did my research on you two. I found the report from the patrol that rescued you back on Winter’s Edge and did some study on my own. I know about your little adventure on the cargo ship, and how you managed to make it out. In fact, that’s half the reason why I invited you to come along for this trip. I know you had a bad experience, I get that, but I don’t think you’re right in blaming him for the consequences. The fact that he helped keep you alive in there says to me that he’s a lot more interested in your well-being than you give him credit for, and from what you’re telling me, and he is into these kinds of things all the time, then he’s probably good at it. Keeping a cool head under fire, that’s a quality that you don’t find in most ponies. That saves lives. I know from experience.”

At my own frown, she looked out the window at the passing buildings and sighed. “A while back I used to be part of a special forces unit attached to the enforcement arm. We had been dispatched to deal with a distribution center owned by a major drug cartel in the West End which we discovered was the central chokepoint for their logistics. Things were going pretty good. We had secured three of their warehouses in a single night without any problems, but, on our way out, we got cocky. We got a tip about a fourth warehouse, and jumped on it,” Silvermane sighed. “It was a trap. Three kill teams were waiting for us inside. They led us into an open area knowing we would have to check the crates, and then once we did, they sealed the exits behind us. We nearly lost the entire squad in the firefight. They would have gotten all of us if my squad leader hadn’t kept his head. We made it out, but only barely. Out of the Six of us that went in, only two of us left.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Officer Silvermane shook her head, “Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault. It’s a risk we all take as part of the job, or at least that’s how I cope with it.” She sighed, ”In the end we both got promoted, but, I haven’t worked with a fireteam ever since.”

I shifted my weight toward the door of the cab, placing more of my weight against the leg rest. “So… do you miss it?” I asked.

Silvermane looked thoughtful for a moment. “A little, but the freedom that came with the promotion has been pretty nice too. Even if it was the end of my career,” she said bitterly.

“That still doesn’t excuse Nightshade.”

She shrugged, “Maybe not, but if I were you, I would be grateful it was him and not somepony else. From what he told me, when he found you, you weren’t in any condition to defend yourself.”

Vaguely, I remembered the day in the alley, but only vaguely, I’m pretty sure the blunt trauma erased the rest. I frowned. I didn’t like it, but, maybe she had a point. “So, what did you and Nightshade talk about?” I asked cautiously.

“Just a few questions. He approached me about joining this bounty job. I nearly laughed him off until I learned a bit about his history.”

That got my attention. “He actually told you his history?” I said in disbelief.

Silvermane looked thoughtful. “Not specifically, he’s ex-military, I can tell you that much, although which military remains a big question. I know he’s a specialist—I’ve dealt with enough to know the type—He works as a freelance mercenary of some rapport in the Winter’s Edge sector and a few other places around the Rim.”

“How do you know he’s telling the truth?” I asked skeptically. She gave me an annoyed glare in return.

“I’m not stupid, Horizon. I contacted some of his previous employers and they all confirmed his story. Or at least the parts of it they knew.”

“So what, you just up and trust him now?”

“As far as I can drop him,” she said with a smile, “I know how to watch my back, don’t worry.”

“He’s worried about you, by the way,” Silvermane added. “He thinks he scared the shit out of you with the last job.”

I grunted. “That’s an understatement. First he drags me into a gang war, and then the very next thing we do is go-.”

“Wait…gang war?” she interrupted, eyes narrowing. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the bloody mess happening on Winter’s Edge, would it?”

I shrunk my seat, suddenly conscious of the scrutinizing glare she was giving me. “I think… it might have started it?” I said, self-consciously glancing away from her raised eyebrow. For a split-second I started seeing flashes of light and shuddered. “I’d rather not talk about it. It’s… still a bit of a sore spot for me.”

She didn’t push the point, but her skepticism was still palpable. “So... you’re okay with this?” she said, gesturing to the entire cab with a foreleg.

I took a deep breath. “If it’s to get my license back, I’ll do it,” I said. “After all, it’s just one pony right? I’d say Three-on-one is pretty good odds assuming Nightshade is coming with us. Like you said earlier, a milk run. After that, I have enough bits now to make it on my own if I need to. Maybe I’ll head back to the Rim and look for transport contracts or something. Now that I have my own ship, I’ve got tons of things I can do.”

This time it was her turn to flinch, “I hate to break it to you, but, it’s probably going to take a while to find my ship. We may end up chasing more than just one bounty.”

Internally I groaned, but then, really, was there any helping it? I set my jaw, “Then I’ll do whatever it takes, officer. I just want my freedom back.”

She considered that for a moment, and then smiled. “I can respect that,” she said, and then added, “call me Jess, by the way. The title gets annoying.”


We arrived at the hangars a few minutes later, and found Nightshade waiting patiently for us at the airlock. He grinned when he saw me, and I could have sworn I saw some mischievous glint in his eye once he saw who I had with me.

“So, off on another dangerous adventure, eh Horizon?” Nightshade said. His tone sounded as knowing as it was teeth-grindingly patronising. He nudged me with his elbow as we entered the airlock and started sealing up.

Grumbling, I put on my helmet. “I take it you’re coming too?” I said. It wasn’t a really question, I already knew the answer. Instead I passed a glance toward Jess, who pretended not to notice and busied herself with needlessly adjusting her helmet.

“As a matter of fact I am!” Nightshade said innocently, “By request, even. So it seems like we’ll be working together again.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

My helmet clicked into place, my ears popping as my suit pressurized. I sighed into the scrubber, the sound of which played back into my ears with a slight delay. “Just another day in paradise.” I muttered lamely. The chamber started venting, air flooding out with a loud whooshing sound that died in a whisper.

“Proxy check, one-two, one-two” Jess said over the S-Band.

“Clear,” I said.

“Also clear,” Nightshade responded. He looked at me from underneath his helmet. His eyes were hard to read, but I could have sworn I saw something in there. Was it pride? I shook my head.

“And clear,” Jess finally said. “Once the gate opens, just follow my lead and I’ll get us waved through.”

Waved through? I thought, somewhat confused. No one gets ‘waved through’.

The other side of the Airlock finally opened.

My confusion was replaced with surprise. As the blast door opened, I immediately noticed a thick blue line crossing the platform just beyond the airlock. We were in the priority docks, a section of the hangar that was reserved exclusively for very important clients and military personnel. It was a rare day that anypony was allowed to park here. The idea that a ship like the Scrap Bandit was parked in here somewhere made me snort.

“What’s the matter?” Jess asked, looking back from the doorway.

“Nothing,” I replied, smiling to myself.

After passing a small checkpoint, our trio made our way onto the main platforms. From our position on the main deck, I could see that the hangar was still as busy as ever. A neverending line of ships snaked its way through the hangar overhead, while on the nearby platforms, groups of ponies made their rounds, either servicing the ships, or boarding them.

Where we stood was a stark difference. In the secluded priority docks, ponies were few and far between. Aside from the occasional, passing military pony, the platform we were on was nearly empty. Sleek police cruisers were parked in neat rows, each bearing the black-on-white emblem of the Sandwich Corps painted on their hulls. As we made our way across the main platform, my eyes caught on a pair of Type Nines—large, battleship class police ships—docked side-by-side, while a small cadre of technicians fussed over them. Both ships looked like they had just seen action. One had its emblem blackened from weapons fire, while the other had some missile indents on its topside. I lingered for a moment, staring, until Nightshade nudged me back into motion. Tearing my eyes away from the ships, I started looking for the Bandit.

“So where’s my ship?” I asked over the S-Band.

“It should be down there,” Jess replied. She pointed to a smaller platform below us. Carefully approaching the edge, I peered over to get a better look. Three-quarters of the way down and toward the back, I spotted the Bandit, or at least what I thought was the Bandit. From a distance it looked different than I remembered. Cleaner? maybe?

“I had some of the technicians move it in here from the impound,” Jess continued. “They bitched about it, but they can’t exactly say no either,” Jess chuckled..

“In the priority docks?” I replied “Isn’t that expensive?”

The officer shrugged. “Not for us. We regulate the platforms. No sense in getting us stuck in a queue when we need to do our jobs. Call it a perk.” Her helmet bobbed in a self-satisfied nod.

Perk was an understatement. The queues could take hours depending on the flow of traffic. Undocking during peak hours took eons. Any pilot worth their salt would kill for such a timesaver.

As my gaze wandered back to the two battleships we had just passed, my curiosity got the better of me. “What’s with the Type Nines?” I asked, nudging my head back toward the damaged ships.

Jess’ helmet turned first toward me, and then behind me. After a moment, she shrugged her head. “They probably had a run in with some pirates or something. We’ve been having a little more trouble lately since the dogs started operating near the borders.” She said as she positioned herself for a jump to the next platform. I followed her onto the underside, stepping over the rounded edge and onto the transfer plate. Oh the joys of zero G!

“The Devil Dogs have been moving in?” Nightshade asked, interested.

“Yeah, and burning everything they come across,” Jess replied. She jumped, casually rocketing herself toward the platform where the bandit was docked. “We’ve been finding more and more wrecked ships near international space. We’ll drive them out eventually, but for now we’re just focused on keeping them out of the major space lanes. We’re doing our best to keep them on their toes, raiding known hideouts, and doubling patrols. It’s been working, but very slowly. The last thing we need is for them to get a foothold in the region; we have enough paperwork as it is.”

Nightshade went next, and I followed behind. As we crossed the empty expanse between the platforms, I couldn’t help but notice the slightly defensive posture Nightshade was holding. I chuckled.

“Still afraid of floating off Nightshade?” I joked, finally deciding to break the ice between us.

“Ha. Ha. Horizon,” he replied.

“You two went spacewalking without a maneuvering harness?” Jess asked, some concern etched into her voice.

“The Bandit doesn’t have them in stock,” I said. “Junkyard deemed it unimportant to my job.”

“Damn, and I thought my boss was cheap,” she muttered.

We landed topside. Bandit in sight, I suddenly noticed why it looked different from afar. Sitting awkwardly on its dorsal frame was a small energy turret, and a second on its underside. I gawked as new possibilities started flitting through my mind. Foremost being the pony responsible.

“Nightshade, what did you do to my ship?” I asked, pointing at my ship with indignation. If this had anything to do with future plans...

“I had it fixed,” Nightshade casually replied as he tried to trot past me. I caught him in the chest with my hoof and pointed at the turret.

“That is not a fix,” I said pointedly.

Nightshade rolled his eyes. “So I might have made a teensie lie about a few parts that were damaged in the fight,” he added sheepishly.

“And what else did you ‘fix’?”

“Oh, this and that.” he said, shrugging it off. Something in his tone made me want to kick him.

“If you two are finished yammering, I’ve got work to do. Hurry up and get inside so we can get moving.” Jess said over the radio.

I looked up to see the hatch on the Bandit close just as Jess disappeared inside. I kicked up a few moments later and landed next to it, opening the hatch back up before pulling myself inside. I yelped in pain as I banged my helmet against something solid and the radio blared static in my ears.

“What the-” I muttered, my ears still ringing from impact. I had smacked my head into a bulkhead that had been recently installed.

“That wasn’t there before…” I muttered, dumbfounded. Slowly, I looked around the rest of what I realized was a small chamber built into the back end of the passageway. It wasn’t spacious by any measure, but the tight confined space was instantly recognisable. I was in an airlock. The Bandit had a sun-damned airlock!

I stood there dumbfounded while Nightshade came in from behind me. “Nightshade, I don’t know what kind of shit you pulled-” I began, glancing in disbelief around the chamber.

“Yeah, yeah, thank me later.” He replied, closing the hatch behind him. The door sealed, and a small red light near the exit started flashing. Then, the chamber started flooding with air. For the first time ever I could hear inside the Scrap Bandit. The low thrum of the shipboard systems greeted me, as I stood in awe of the monumental makeover the ship had been given. There was air in the Bandit, that was new. A quick check of my WAND told me that the air was even breathable.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I muttered. An airlock? life support? what else did he have them fix? As it was now, my ship was more than merely functional, what else could their be? Ideas started flooding my head as I began thinking of all the things I could use it for.

Nightshade removed his helmet and flashed me a smile. “If I’m going to be flying around with you, I’m at least going to do it with, you know, basic amenities?” He pressed a hoof against the door control and it slid smoothly open. Casually trotted into the main access hallway, I was left standing in the airlock and staring at his backside.

As my eyes slid past him, I spotted Jess by the entrance to the pilot’s cabin reaching for the door control. Several things added up in my head in rapid succession: Air, cockpit, breach.

“WAIT!” I yelled as she keyed the door control. She looked back at me quizzically as the door opened and… nothing happened.

“What’s wrong?” Jess asked, her head canted to one side while her helmet floated beside her in her WAND’s levitation field.

“N-nothing.” I replied, dumbfounded. The cockpit had been fixed too. Hot damn.

“O-okay then,” she replied, looking slightly weirded out. As she stepped inside, the door slid shut behind her.

I gawked in awed silence. My ship actually worked! With a budding grin, I started off toward the pilot’s cabin, unused to the feel of gravity underneath my hooves. A giddy sensation built up inside my chest as I started fantasizing about all the new things I could do inside my ship. I reached the door to the cabin, keyed the control, and it opened smoothly.

Praise the moon. Praise Luna and her beautiful black-

Inside, I found Jess already seated in what looked like a brand new pilot’s chair. She had just finished locking herself in, and was busy adjusting the straps for comfort. I felt tears forming in my vision.

It’s beautiful...

“You know, this ship is a lot nicer than I thought it would be,” Jess said. “From the outside it looked like a real pile.”

I resisted the urge to snort. “She is a real pile,” I corrected her, struggling to contain my enthusiasm “or at least she was, I hardly even recognize her now.”

Jess considered that for a moment and then shook her head, returning to the controls and waving at me to come closer. “Whatever. Let me see that keyfob so we can get underway.” Rummaging through my suit storage, I floated the fob over to her with my WAND. She waved it over the main console, and then the ship’s systems started lighting up. Bouncing on the tips of my boots, I waited for the main computer to unlock. As soon as the interface node opened, I connected and ran a quick diagnostic. A list of the active and inactive systems soon popped up in my WAND’s readout and I greedily opened it up into it’s own window.

“Holy shit,” I mumbled, browsing over its contents.

They’d fixed everything! Well, mostly. I read through a list of errors that the systems were having. The Sparkle Drive was still miscalibrated, and the less critical systems were still reporting small fractures in their backup components. The shipboard computer was having a difficult time trying to get all the systems to work due to outdated drivers, and the system controlling the salvage drones was still offline, damaged beyond repair. Aside from that, however, everything appeared to be at least functional. The ship’s hull integrity was good, and the replacement systems were all working. I turned off the readout with a dumb grin plastered to my face.

It was my birthday, and all the guests had come bearing gifts. Speaking of...

I brought up a list of the shipboard systems, looking for new additions. The turrets were there, but were locked to manual. That I could understand. The Bandit didn’t have any targeting suite to speak of, having the turrets auto-acquire would probably lock on to every single ship we passed. Breezing past the turret support systems, I checked on the fixes. The life support system was reporting normal, and the newly installed artificial gravity was fine as well. I smiled, closing the readout for the last time. A fleck of white paper then caught my attention, peeking out from behind an open maintenance panel underneath the pilot’s chair. I plucked it out with my WAND and looked at it. It was a note.

To whom it may concern,
If you ever try fixing your ship with us again, I will personally disassemble this pile of shit and burn the pieces one by one in the burning embers of your very own effigy.
Sincerely,
O’Mare Stationside Refit and Repair

I laughed.

“This is Officer Jess Silvermane requesting docking leave through priority five,” Jess said from the chair. I quieted down while she waited for a response, also tuning into the ship’s C-Band channel.

“We got the word from the office, Jess. You’re good to go,” the tower said.

“Thank you tower,” she replied as she started working the controls. A deep and powerful rumble sounded as the main thrusters came online. Even from the pilot’s cabin the sound was deafening. A few moments later, the thrusters fired, shaking the ship as we started moving forward. Jess took the sudden movement with a practiced calm, guiding us up and around the line of ships headed toward the docking shield. Watching the the ships breeze by felt weird. Less than a month ago, I would have been stuck waiting in the queue sailing by the window. It felt like cheating. I loved it!

A loud ping made me jump, making me look around until it sounded again. I had never flown in the Scrap Bandit while it still had its atmosphere. Beeps assaulted my ears as several of the panels dutifully reported their various functions at the ready. I tracked the ping to a scanner on the control deck. The scanner was identifying the surrounding ships as we passed them, reporting them on the proximity monitor installed near the front.

The door to the cabin opened behind me, the sound of the engines growing significantly louder. I made a mental note to have it fixed later.

“Ugh… I can’t stand it down there!” Nightshade said, the door shutting behind him, “I think I liked this ship better before it made noise.”

“What, can’t stand a little atmosphere?” I chided.

“Not when it makes my ears ring. You try going down there,” he responded.

“We’ve got time, maybe I will!” Tour my ship? Hell yeah!

“Tch,” Nightshade rolled his eyes.

Jess cleared her throat from the chair, giving me an expectant look. Nightshade looked at her and then me, a little confused. I took the hint.

“I…um.” I began lamely, “I’m... sorry, by the way,” I said.

I’d never seen Nightshade surprised before. His eyebrows nearly shot off his face.

“Sorry?” He said, looking shocked. “Has hell frozen over? or did someone slip something into my drink?”

I grunted in annoyance. “I’ve... been a dick. With what we did to get my WAND and the whole cargo ship thing, it kinda freaked me out. So... sorry.”

His expression softened. “You talked?”

“On the way here, yeah.”

“I see.”

“I swear to Luna, if the next word out of your mouth is about a favor I’ll-”

He held up a hoof to silence me and shook his head. “No, no more favors. I’m just glad you’re talking to me again.”

The ship jolted as Jess made a sudden course correction. I looked up in time to see a platform nearly graze the com suite.

“Sorry!” Jess quickly said, flushing red.

We took a final turn leading out of the hangar, and before long we were burning toward the edge of the disruption field. Faintly, I could hear the Sparkle Drive charging, the whine of the drive steadily building over the thrum of the engines. I felt my breakfast churn in anticipation.

“We’re clear,” Jess said. “Let’s get to work.”

The Sparkle Drive activated.


The Unicorn Core Worlds. Halfway between the New Solar Republic and the Pegasus Conglomerate lay the cradle of civilization. History tells about the good ol’ days, back when ponies lived in peace and harmony, but don’t book a trip to Equestria Prime any time soon. The planet has seen better days, what with the boiling oceans and mile-thick glaciers covering its surface. The story of its fall is a legend, if only for the sheer scale of its stupidity. We had to abandon our homeworld, fleeing to the stars to escape destruction. Even now it sits empty, silently mocking us for the catastrophe that claimed it centuries ago. These days, it’s hard to believe we once thrived there.

Despite the loss of our heritage, however, the sector still thrived. Between the burgeoning mining industry, the massive trade sector, and the well-known fact that it hosted the universe’s most prominent corporations, the core worlds were easily the richest of the four empires. Tales of fortunes won and lost in the core were legendary, and for that matter greatly sensationalized. While not as industrious as the Rim Worlds, the Core made up for it in resources. Mineral rich Asteroid belts littered the star systems within the core worlds, providing ample opportunities for corporations to harness their natural resources, as well as serving as a prime source for construction materials.

It was on one of these mining colonies that our target had been recently spotted, a mediocre hacker by the name of Tripwire. According to the Bureau’s information, the buck had fled after a botching a job on a corporate mainframe in the heart of the Core. The rest of the details were lost in the dispatch. All we needed to know was that he was wanted by some group of suits, and that the PBJ had been asked to assist in the matter. That said, the whole situation seemed off to me, and over the seven-and-a-half hour flight to the UCW, my questions on the matter only grew, the largest being, ‘why bother?” Why would a corporation hire a foreign law enforcement agency to catch a two-bit criminal?

When I asked Jess about it, she dismissed it. According to her, it wasn’t the first time the PBJ had been subcontracted to apprehend a criminal. Apparently the practice was commonplace. The sandwich corps had a reputation for getting things done, especially when the local authorities don’t deem the matter worth investigating.

I then asked her if it was normal for a corporation to go to such extreme measures to catch somepony so… ordinary. To this, she merely shrugged and said, “I try not to think about it.”

The question bothered me for the rest of the trip.


The acrid smell of engine exhaust burned in my nose as the three of us disembarked the Scrap Bandit. After my experience on Winter’s edge, it was a smell I was used to.

The colony tower had balked at the idea of letting us in, but the warrant Jess sent them seemed to be proof enough of our business there. After getting our clearance sorted out, we had finally docked between a hauler and a mining barge within the maintenance hangar. We got the ship secured, and then, after a quick briefing in the airlock, we transferred from the hull of the Bandit to the nearby platforms. I jumped first, and learned something painfully interesting. Apparently, gravity worked different on unicorn colonies.

“Ow…” I moaned, having faceplanted into the platform as I unexpectedly entered its gravity field. It was like junior flight camp over again. Groaning, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and rubbed my now aching nose with a hoof, trying futilely to alleviate the throbbing pain radiating through my face.

“That was graceful,” Nightshade remarked with a smirk as he landed next to me. I shot him my best ‘screw you’ look in response as I stood up. Within moments, Jess landed less than a meter behind him, shaking out her mane as she removed her helmet and took a too long whiff of the rank air. Her face wrinkled.

“Ugh… I’ll never understand why these ponies keep air in the hangars,” Jess said, trying to wave away the smell with a hoof. “Don’t they know it’s dangerous?”

“You get used to it,” Nightshade piped in with a shrug. “I know in the EPR they feel it’s a bigger safety hazard to have ponies in a vacuum than it is to simply have a containment field. I think they figure with all the sharp equipment floating around it would be more of a risk to rupture the suit than to blow the whole bay open.”

“Trading liabilities, I guess,” I said uncertainly. The prospect of keeping so much air behind a shiny magic wall just didn’t sit right with me. “I still don’t like it though. It’s a huge risk.”

Nightshade shrugged it off. “Nah, there’s too many failsafes. The fields on most colonies usually have six to eight backups, and even those have failsafes. I’d say there’s a greater danger of the colony’s core exploding than there is of the fields going down.” Nightshade shrugged. “But I’ve seen stranger things happen, so who knows, maybe you’re right?”

“That’s not exactly comforting,” I said as I took another glance around the hangar. I turned to Jess, “So, where are we headed?” I asked.

Jess checked her WAND again, her eyes scanning some invisible document. “Last intel we had placed him in one of the pubs in the entertainment district. We all know what he looks like, so that will help, but at this point that’s all the information we’ve got to go on.”

“That’s it? What happened to the confident brief in the airlock?” I asked incredulously. The bureau had to have given us more information than just a photo and station.

“That information is seven hours old,” Nightshade responded. “Maybe more, we’ll be lucky if the buck is still even here.”

“He should be,” Jess said, “there’s some suspicion that he might be trying to meet with someone for help, but the odds are still pretty good that they haven’t arrived yet.”

I frowned, chewing my lip in thought. “So, what, we’re just going to go bar hopping until we find him?”

“You’ve got a problem with this?” Nightshade replied with a smirk.

I took a moment to think it over. Nope! No problems at all! After all that had happened, a few beers actually sounded pretty good.

“No alcohol, please, we’re here to work,” Jess said flatly.

Spoil sport. I thought.

“Oh, and one other thing. We need the target alive to get paid. So no lethal force, got it?” Jess said, though I could swear it was more directed toward Nightshade than it was toward me.

“Got it” we replied in unison.


We followed the station directories through the claustrophobic hallways between the maintenance hangar and the colony proper, and from there, it was only a short trot to the Entertainment district. Navigation was no problem. Large signs hung from the ceiling at each intersection, offering helpful directions to the major station servies in bold, white letters. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the section marked ‘ENTERTAINMENT’ was probably our best bet. It was even underlined for some reason, though judging by the way the paint was running, that was probably a recent addition.

As we got closer, ponies started filtering in from various other connections into the main corridor, joining our little parade toward the magical land of fun and alcohol. Most of them looked like they just got off work. Slightly disheveled ponies in jumpsuits and working clothes moved along in groups, chatting with their friends with a contagious, candid energy that seemed to spread throughout the groups as we moved along. Before long, the corridor opened, and we all emerged onto the spacious grand plaza that dominated the main floor of the Entertainment district.

The change in atmosphere was overwhelming. Bright, holographic signs lit up the entire floor, illuminating the throngs of shopping ponies while they advertised everything from weapons to the latest albums from PON-3 Entertainment. Commercials blared over the din of the noisy crowds, with some of the more persistent nodes pinging my WAND with inane ads every time I wandered too close. Normally the noise would have driven me crazy, but with the change in atmosphere came a change in headroom. The plaza had a much more comfortable ceiling, extending in a wide spacious dome over the central garden area, where some of the resident pegasi were happily stretching their wings and playing games with a few frisbees and catcher sticks. My eyes lingered on them, my wings twitching needily at the thought of joining them for an impromptu game of aerial lacrosse.

We stopped at a small garden near the center of the plaza which had a good view of the two major concourses branching off from the main room.. I took a long look down one of the massive hallways, admiring the sheer number of outlet stores lining the walls and floors. Like the main floor, the crowds in the concourse were pretty packed. The entire colony could have been out there and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. If there was one thing unicorns knew how to do right, it was shopping. Sadly, I had more important things to do.

“So how exactly are we supposed to find this buck in the middle of these crowds?” I asked Jess.

“We split up,” she replied as she scanned the crowds of ponies going about their business. “I’ll start searching here in the main plaza. I want the two of you to spread out into the neighboring hallways and report back if you find anything. Check stores, pubs, wherever you think he might be. If you spot him, don’t engage him, just let us know over the radio and we’ll take him together.”

“Right.”
“You got it.”

“Check-ins are every five minutes. Let’s go.”

I took the concourse on the left.

I spent what felt like an hour searching stores, pausing more than once to admire some of the tech shops I walked by while looking. It was hard to refrain from buying something. The shops advertised everything from the latest defense equipment to old, junk and semi-reliable, used hardware. I nearly dropped everything when I spotted one that specialized in WAND programs. The temptation of picking up an ad blocker was burning a mighty hole in my pocket, especially after the jingle for Snowdrop’s Snowcones started playing for the thirtieth time. Unfortunately, my section made little progress. Groups of ponies started blocking the major passageways as they either talked or waited for something else to pass and I found myself getting stuck in the line trying to avoid them. I edged my way around, squeezing inside shops while I tried to orient myself. It was like a maze, a breathing, shifting maze. I tried scanning faces, but it turned out to be pointless. Barely anyone matched the color olive I was looking for, and those few that did didn’t look even remotely similar. I even tried hovering to get a better view, but all that did was get me a swift reprimand by station security and directions back to the plaza for recreational flying. One apology and ‘I’ll-never-to-do-it-again’ later and they let me go. When I returned to my companions, they were in the midst of conversation.

“At least three look-a-likes by my count, but no positives,” Nightshade said, shaking his head. “If he’s smart he could probably just hide in the crowds.”

“Not likely,” Jess replied, tapping the device on her head. “I’ve got a facial recognizer built into my WAND, if he’s out here, I’ll pick him out in no time.”

“Sure, if he’s looking at you.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Jess replied primly, adding a little sway to her hips while she spun for effect. Nightshade just laughed.

“Flirting on the job? Nightshade?” I asked dryly as I walked up beside them.

Both heads turned toward me, one noticeably redder than the other. “We were just discussing what we’ve found,” Nightshade said coolly, “See anything?”

I shook my head. “Nothing, although the ads here are making me want a mute button.” That jingle…

Jess sighed. “Well, we’ve got a few more pubs to cover, after that we’ll have to either dive into the mainframe for leads or start looking at other options.”

Nightshade looked thoughtful. “I dunno,” he said, rubbing his chin, “I think I’ve got a good feeling about these pubs. I don’t think we’ll need to move on just yet.”

Jess looked back at him skeptically. “We’ve been through twelve already. If we end up waiting too long we’re going to lose him.”

“I know, I know, “ Nightshade said, “I’ve just got this hunch that the next one we’ll get lucky.” Nightshade grinned. I shivered.

“Something wrong?” Jess asked me while Nightshade went ahead.

I passed Nightshade’s retreating rump a final glance before saying. “the last time I saw that grin, we ended up shooting our way out of a gang den.”

Jess blinked and frowned. “Noted.”

The last pub we entered was a little more crowded than the others. A fragrant blend of smoker’s lung and alcohol problems hung in the air while we sorted through the various groups of ponies crowding around raised platforms where the dancers were making their rounds.

“Mark, target acquired.” Nightshade said, his voice coming in low over the S-Band. I looked at where he was standing in the corner and followed his gaze to a booth closer to the edge of the floor. Sure enough, there was the target. Tripwire sat by himself in the booth, the olive buck hunched over a drink he had barely touched while passing furtive glances across the floor. I caught the glint of a WAND in his sky-blue mane as he turned his head.

“Confirmed,” Jess said, raising her head so she could see better over the crowd, “Nice work. And nice hunch, too, you do that often?”

“From time to time,” Nightshade replied nonchalantly. “It’s just one of those things, you know?”

Jess shrugged. “Whatever, spread out. We’ll take him from all sides and then we should be home free. Horizon, you approach him from the left along the platforms and- Oh! Dammit!”

“Well, well, well.” A male voice said, loud enough to draw the attention of everypony in the room. The speaker was a light blue pegasus in a low-key military suit. His light brown manecut was parted keenly to the right and shone of what looked like engine grease. Who the buck uses engine grease anymore? “If it isn’t my good friend, Officer Silvermane.” He approached Jess with a wide, cock-sure grin that screamed asshole.

I chanced a glance over at our target. If he was nervous before, he was frozen now. He watched the exchange with rapt attention while rapidly flicking his eyes back over the crowd. I had to look away before he noticed me, and instead focused on Nightshade, who was chewing his lip while watching Jess and what looked like one of her colleagues.

Jess’s eye twitched involuntarily. “What are you doing here Slide?”

“What am I doing here?” Slide asked, pretending to be offended, “I am on assignment, dear Silvermane, what I want to know, is what do you think you are doing here? Little miss bounty hunter.”

I saw movement as Nightshade’s head suddenly turned.

“Trouble, two by the door,” he reported quietly. I looked toward the entrance to see two more pegasus stallions in the same uniform enter from the front of the bar, one smiling darkly while the other worked out a crick in his neck.

“I thought you were supposed to be on ice after that little accident you had with your ship back on Ceres.”

“I found a way to keep working,” she replied evenly, watching Slide with a guarded expression.

“Oh! you mean you friends here?” He said, pointing directly at me. Eyes turned. I felt the weight of several dozen ponies’ gaze fall on me as all conversation in the pub died. I glanced back at the two newcomers. They had definitely taken an interest in me. In fact one of them was heading my way. Buck.

“Make that three… no four,” Nightshade muttered over the radio. A third buck had entered the room by the back door, standing next to a rack large rack of alcohol perched on the bar counter. I couldn’t see number four. Nightshade had a better position than I did. Either way, we were surrounded.

“You see, Ice Queen, I heard about what happened with you and your little cruiser, and frankly, if I had my way you’d be off the force.” Slide said, prodding Jess in the chest. “But I don’t get my way, do I? After all, I don’t have the right connections.”

I started looking for Nightshade. The spot he had occupied before was now vacant, filled instead by a fourth and very confused looking thug in uniform. Glancing back at Jess and Slide, I noticed that Jess seemed to be turning a few shades darker.

“But, low and behold, here you are; daddy’s little filly, away on a ‘secret mission’ off the books. I guess dirt must run in the family.”

“I dare you to say that again,” Jess growled. Slide merely laughed.

“Maybe I will,” he challenged back as he leaned in closer.

A throat cleared next to me. I turned my head to come nose to nose with the last guard.

“Don’t. Try. Anything,” he said with a smug grin.

I didn’t need to.

“Well that was interesting,” Nightshade called out from the behind the bar counter. The thug standing next to it jumped. Nightshade smiled at him and then turned back to his audience. “WHO WANTS MARGARITAS?” Nightshade bucked the alcohol rack. With a loud crack, the rack upended, toppling onto the startled thug with a great crash.

My attention snapped back to the guard at my side, who looked back at me in alarm.

I was faster.

Ducking my head, I checked him with my neck and shoulder, tossing him off balance before spinning and kicking with everything I had. His head snapped backward as I connected with his jaw, smashing his head against a chair and bowling over the table behind him. My victory was short lived. Within moments the buck was back on his hooves and livid as well. He pawed the ground once and then charged, pumping his wings to gain momentum.

I backpedaled, and tripped on a fallen bowl. My wings snapped out to catch my fall, and instead caught a chair. I went down in a heap just as my attacker closed the distance, tackling me in the side with his full weight. I tried to get my bearings through the fresh haze of pain, only to get flung on my back by a boot to the face. The thug reared for the kill, and then took an ashtray square in the face. The pony screamed as he covered his eyes with his forelegs, stumbling backward while trying to the rub the powder out. Spotting a nearby pitcher of water, I grabbed it and smashed it as hard as I could against his head. He slumped to the floor, out cold.

I looked up in time to see Nightshade stomp on the bar counter again, knocking up another ash tray and then bucking it across the room with disturbing precision. He spared me a brief grin before leaping down onto the guard who had just pried himself out from under the smashed alcohol rack.

The rest of bar was pure chaos. The ponies who hadn’t already fled, had joined in the fight, while a scant few others just stood back in shock, unsure of what to do. What bar employees remained, cowered in whatever closed spaces they could find while the battle raged around them. Jess and Slide were grappling on the floor, toppling tables and smashing dinnerware while they snapped at each other. Wings beat the air as they fought for advantage, kicking and biting while they pulverized each other against the furniture.

I felt a breeze on my wings and ducked in time to see a chair swung by a unicorn smash against the head of a beefy earth pony, who shrugged it off and tackled the unicorn behind the bar.

“ARGH! YOU BITCH!” Slide screamed. He had doubled over on the floor curling in on his jewels while Jess pushed herself back on her hooves. Within moments she was on top of another guard.

Then I realized we were forgetting something. My eyes darted back toward the spot where Tripwire had been seated. The booth was empty.

Panicking, I started glancing around for him and two seconds later, I spotted him by the back door. Ever so carefully, the buck was edging toward the back entrance while quietly trying to slip out of the chaos. We locked eyes.

“Hey! He’s getting away!” I called over the radio. Tripwire bolted for the back door. Jess’s head snapped up from where she was wrestling another of Slide’s cronies to the ground.

“Get after him!” she cried, smashing a hoof into the guard’s face. The guard’s head cracked against the floor and he went limp.

I didn’t bother to wait. I shot toward the back entrance and passed Nightshade as he fought with the last guard. Instantly, Jess was next to me.

“Get up you idiots!” Slide roared from the floor, his voice cracking slightly, “Get them!”

Nightshade immediately jumped in their way. “Go! I’ll catch up!” He called out as he pawed the ground, dropping into a ready stance as the first of the thugs charged him.

We crashed out of the back door into the crowded concourse, throwing caution to the wind as we bowled over a group of pedestrians in our haste. Angry shouts followed us, mixed with surprise as a team of station security busted in the front door of the pub we had just left. I glanced back in time to see a guard tackle one of the thugs who had gotten through.

“Jess, we’re gonna be in some serious shit if security gets us.” I called into my radio.

Jess laughed, “Don’t worry! Technically, they’re on our side! Just stay focused on the target and we’ll still get paid.”

The security team started beating up the stallion.

“It’s not getting paid that I’m worried about,” I muttered.

The target turned as he tried to shake us, ducking into one of the corridors leading off of the main concourse. We cut altitude and skidded to a stop as we tried to change course, losing precious seconds as he disappeared around a corner and into a corridor with a ceiling too low to fly in.

“He’s heading for the mag rail!” Jess called, closing the distance at a gallop. I fell just a pace behind her. He was just ahead of us, and galloping hard. Ponies lept out of his way as he tore past, trying not to get caught by our small stampede.

I felt my heart beating inside my chest. I was used to exercise, but only as far as some light flying. As far as running went, I was an amateur at best. I watched Jess’ tail pull farther and farther ahead while my lungs started burning. Gritting my teeth, I charged on, struggling to keep up.

Suddenly, the corridor opened. We exited onto the second floor landing of the Freight hangar. Jess was instantly airborne and closing on Tripwire. In a desperate move, Tripwire turned suddenly and dropped, skidding across the floor as Jess shot past him. I charged ahead, compensated for the sudden change and tackled him.

My aim was off. I hit him just on the top of his withers. We both grunted from the impact and rolled, but he was ready for it. He bucked and I took a boot to the teeth, flinging me up and off him for several feet, my wings splaying out to try and catch my fall. On bounce two, I righted myself, looking up in time to see Jess already back on his feeling tail. I beat hard to catch up.

Jess was nearly on him, by the time he started running out of platform. I watched Jess reach around and pull out her stun rifle, levelling it at the buck as he skidded to a stop near the edge.

“Gotcha,” Jess panted over her radio.

He glanced back at us once, and then jumped.

“Dammit!” Jess called, flapping toward the edge. The second floor landing dropped away as we bolted after him, clearing the edge in time to see the buck land with a roll, knocking over a mother and two fillies in the process, before tearing off for a train just starting to depart.

“Fuck!” Jess growled, drawing an angry reply from the mother behind us.

We arrived just in time to see the doors on the mag rail close and our target waving a booted leg at us from inside, a cocky grin on his face. The train started to accelerate.

“Get on it!” Jess yelled. I jumped and two quick wingbeats later, landed with a thud on the top of one of the rear cars skidding as my boots scrabbled for purchase. Thinking fast, I activated the magnets and felt a painful jolt as my boots locked to the surface. I recovered in time to see the forcefield we were rapidly approaching.

“Helms!” I shouted. Ripping my helmet from my pack with my WAND, I smashed it onto my head, hearing a telltale click just before we passed the barrier. A ripple of energy passed through my body and then suddenly there was silence.

I plopped my flank to the deck for a moment, just to catch my breath.

“Fuckin a…” I said, taking a heaving gulp of my suit’s reserve air.

“You’re telling me,” Jess panted over the S-Band. I glanced back to see her standing on the car behind mine, her head lolling in zero g.

“I made it out. Where are you guys?” Nightshade called over the radio.

“Outside,” Jess responded, “The target boarded the freight rail between stations, we’re on the same one but he’s probably a few cars ahead of us.”

The silence lasted only for a moment as the signal weakened.

“Shit. Alright, I’ll see what I can do to monitor your progress from here then. Good luck out there.“

“Thanks… I guess,” I said, panting. “What now, Jess?”

I heard her swallow over the radio. “We need to get inside the train,” she said, finally getting some control over her breathing, “Maybe take him from both sides and work toward the center.”

I nodded, “I guess that makes sense. Which end do you want?”

“I’ll take the front and work my way back.” Jess said, “You start back here and move forward. We’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”

Jess trotted awkwardly past me, bouncing slightly with each step as she pulled herself across the hull of the train. I looked back a few more cars, noting how much closer to the end I was.

“What do I do if I see him?” I asked.

“Report contact and keep him busy until I can get into position. Sound good?” Jess replied.

I nodded. “Alright.” We went our separate ways. I started working my way to the end car while Jess headed toward the front. I felt a brief sense of deja vu, before pulling myself down on to the back platform of the rear car.

“Hopefully this goes better than the damn cargo ship.” I muttered.

I peered in through the window of the rear car.

Empty. Well that was a start. I keyed the door control and braced to the side of the doorway in case it blew out. A forcefield suddenly appeared around the platform, and with a burst of air, the door slid open. I lurched as gravity reasserted itself.

I looked at the forcefield and shook my head. “magic,” I scoffed. Glancing around the doorframe and satisfied that it was still empty, I pushed my way inside.

The rear passenger car was empty, as were the next two I passed through. More shuttle than train car, each car I passed was filled only with metal seats, and the occasional curious passenger. So far, Tripwire was nowhere to be seen.

“Jess, you still with me?” I called over the S-Band.

“Yeah, what’s up?” She replied.

“I’m a few cars in and I still haven’t found our friend yet.” One of the passengers looked up at me warily from a few seats up. Maybe it was the way I had been searching the previous car, or the fact that I still had my helmet on, but whatever it was, some kind of understanding seemed to dawn on him as he watched me. Very slowly, he curled up in his seat, making himself smaller.

I glanced at him feeling a pang of guilt. I knew what I looked like, standing in the hallway in full flight gear. The other passenger in the car seemed to take his cue, and shrunk back against the wall as I passed.

“That’s fine, just keep searching. I just reached the front car myself. If you see him try and keep his attention.”

“Right.”

A light blue pegasus next to me cleared her throat in frightened tones. “Um… excuse me? Sir?”

I turned my head to look at her. Even I could see the fear in her eyes.

“Yes?” I said over speaker as gently as possible. She flinched at the canned sound of my voice, though the slight signal distortion probably didn’t help any.

“Are you hear about the other stallion?” she asked gingerly.

“Let me guess, olive buck? Earth Pony?”

She nodded and then pointed to the door to the next car. “He’s in there.”

I glanced through the small window and into the next car. Sure enough, there he was. Tripwire stood near the front of the next car, partially obscured by the chairs inside. The passengers inside looked terrified.

I looked back at the blue mare. “Thanks.”

“Go get him.” She said, giving me a wisp of a smile. I nodded my thanks before turning my attention back to the window.

“Contact.” I said.

“Good! I’m four cars in, keep his attention until I can get into position,” Jess ordered.

I swallowed. “You got it.”

I flattened myself against the next door, peering into the next car and the passengers within. The olive buck was still standing, head on a swivel while the passengers cowered inside.

Why were they so scared?

Against my better judgement, I pushed in.

As the door opened, the olive stallion’s head snapped up, his eyes locking onto me as he raised his leg. I caught a glint of metal before diving for cover.

“JESS! HE’S GOT A GUN!” I cried as I ducked behind one of the metal seats. Two energy bolts scored the wall behind me as the buck fired, drawing screams from the other occupants of the car.

“Shit! Okay! I’m on my way! Just hang in there!” Jess replied over the S-Band.

I looked to the side and caught Tripwire’s reflection as he carefully backed into the aisle, pistol at the ready. I needed a weapon, and fast.

I tore through my suit storage, looking for something, anything, that might help.

Oh, hello…

I pulled out Fritter’s energy pistol with my WAND -- Well…my pistol, technically speaking. I was about to lean around and take a shot, until I had to check myself.

We needed him alive. It wouldn’t do me any good if I got killed, but then it wouldn’t do us any good if he ended up dead either. He was armed, and we needed him alive. Cursing, I set the pistol’s selector to stun. Peaking over the top of the chair, I quickly ducked back down as he fired again. The backside of the chair glowed red as the bolt hit. More screams followed; one of the passengers started crying.

I was stuck. There were other ponies in the car with me, and I couldn’t see around the chair to get a clear shot. If I tried to shoot blind, I’d risk hitting one of them. Thinking quickly, I started looking for alternatives. My eyes settled on a flat red box on the ceiling.

“Thank Luna,” I muttered and shot the fire control sensor.

A klaxon blared as the fire suppression system activated, pumping a thick cloud of suppressants into the air. I heard Tripwire swear, glancing back into the window’s reflection, I saw the buck coughing and backing toward the next car. I took the chance to lean around and fire.

I missed, twice. By shot three he was sprinting halfway through the next car. I cursed, advancing, and then paused to look at the other passengers.

The other passengers looked at me with wide eyes, some still coughing in the clearing smog.

“Get out of here! It’s safe in the back!” I called out to the passengers. They split with all speed. I continued forward.

By the next car, I had lost sight of him. I levitated my gun at the ready in front of my head, carefully advancing down the tight corridor but ready to drop into a row of chairs at any sudden movement. Frightened passengers shrunk away from me as I carefully made my way forward, fearful of the gun I held in the air next to me as I moved along. Eyes on swivels, I scanned the seats. Two ponies. Three. Faces looked up at me in terror and then quickly away.

“Tripwire!” I called out, looking around. “Look it doesn’t have to be this way, just come back with us and we can sort this all out!”

I spotted movement in the next car. Our eyes locked again and I darted forward. Taking cover by the doorframe while peeking in.

His flight had bought him some time, enough time to wiggle into one of the emergency space suits by the exit of the next car. He had just finished donning the helmet when I entered the car he was in. Quickly sliding behind a nearby trashcan, I ducked in time to dodge another blast from his pistol as he took up a new defensive position.

I did my best not to panic, breathing steadily to try to keep my nerves in check. Buy time, I reminded myself.

“Just relax, Tripwire.” I called from behind my hiding place, hoping using his name would help matters. Though with his helmet on, I really couldn’t tell what effect it was having at this point. “All we want to do is talk.”

“Bullshit! You’re working for those murderers you corporate shithead!” Two more bolts impacted my trashcan to accentuate his point.

“What? No. Look buddy, I’m just here because you went poking where you shouldn’t have.” I called back, still hiding behind the can, “Just give it up and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

I risked a quick glance over the edge of a seat, spotting Tripwire standing by the exit behind a row of chairs. The pistol he was using was strapped to his leg as he scanning the room in tandem with his eyes.

“Fuck you!” I ducked again in time for an energy bolt to sail just over my head.

“Have it your way!” I levitated my pistol and started firing over the seat blindly. I watched his reflection in one of the windows. From where I was sitting his position looked pretty bad. He had pinned himself between two chairs near the exit, and yet even there it looked like his cover was limited. He knew it too. The moment I stopped firing to let my pistol cool, he was off through the door to the next car. Cursing, I charged after him. Ducking, firing, moving between chairs, I didn’t need to hit him, I just needed to keep him distracted; or at least that’s what I kept telling myself. My aim sucked, but the pressure seemed to be working. Slowly but surely, I was pushing him back.

“Horizon!” Jess called over the radio. “I’m almost there! Keep him occupied just a little longer!”

“I’m working on it!” I called back, flinching as another bolt nearly grazed me. I leaned around the corner and returned fire, scoring the doorframe to the next car as he darted behind it. I grunted in irritation before sidling in after him.

The first thing I noticed about the new car was a distinct lack of chairs. A heavy maintenance cart sat square in the middle of the room surrounded by various other mining tools. Tripwire had just taken up a defensive position behind a girder in the corner. I’d pushed him into a utility car; We had to be close to the front by now.

Nightshade’s voice crackled over the radio, “Hey not to worry you or anything, but your officer buddy just left the hangar. I think he might be following you.”

I edged away from my hiding spot behind the maintenance cart only have a bolt of energy whiz by my head. I shrank back into my spot, cursing my poor choice of cover.

“Track him!” Jess called back, “If I know anything about that asshole, it’s that he’s going to cause trouble.”

“Way ahead of you,” Nightshade called back.

“Horizon, where are you?” Jess called

“In a utility car, just past the passenger section. I think I’m near the front, but I’m pinned down” I took a blind shot to keep him in place. “We’re in a bit of a stalemate, but I think he has the upper hoof for now.”

“Perfect. If I’m right I then I should- yes! I can see you. Where is he in the car?”

I risked another glance over the cart and saw Jess’ helm through the window to the next car. Tripwire was still tucked into his corner, tracking my position with his weapon. He couldn’t see her.

“To the left, just through the door. Hiding behind the girder.”

“Okay, say when.” Jess replied.

I stopped shooting, trying to pull as much of me out of harms way as I could. In the ensuing silence, Tripwire carefully edged his way out of hiding. I heard the clop of his boots on the ground and carefully peered around. His back was turned to the door.

“Now!” I yelled.

Rear door opened. Tripwire spun in place, raising his gun leg only to have it swatted away by Jess as she tackled him. The two of them dropped to the floor. But Jess’s attack was off. She struggled hard to pin the pony bumping and kicking under. I left cover, taking a strong stance over them and tracking my weapon uncertainly between the two. Jess was in my way, and they were moving too fast and too close for me to get a good shot. Tripwire snarled, trying to get the pistol on his leg to bear on Jess while Jess did her best to restrain the stronger Earth Pony.

“Uh guys?” Nightshade sounded worried.

“Kinda busy, Nightshade,” I said testily.

“Your police friend just powered weapons.”

“WHAT?” Jess and I yelled. Jess hesitated. A hoof to the face and she recoiled, followed by an awkward buck to her chest that sent her flying against the wall. As Tripwire rolled to his hooves he rounded on Jess, a smirk crossing his face. A blur of motion drew my eye to the window.

“Surprise!” Slide yelled, broadcasting over all channels. The mass of a police cruiser popped into view, casting an intense multicolored hue over the car as a ball of light formed in its belly gun.

“Get down!” I screamed. I ducked down behind the nearest object I could find, shielding my head. There was a flash of light, and then one hell of an impact. I could barely hear somepony scream over the sound of the following explosion.

The whiplash was immediate. I felt myself pulled in a direction that qualified as wrong as my helmet smashed against the girder I had jumped behind. Gravity failed next. An impact hit the air so hard I felt my body rattle. Legs beating furiously, I clumsily grabbed onto the nearest thing I could find and held on for dear life as the side of the car exploded.

Half blind and mostly deaf, I hung in space for a moment until I finally realized I was still holding on to the girder. My head throbbed, as my senses cleared and I recognized the crackle of the radio.

“That’s what you get for chasing my target! Bitch!” Slide laughed. Dizzy, I blinked, struggling to orient myself. The world outside was doing a slow tumble, rolling awkwardly from the force of the impact.

“You horsefucker!” Jess screamed over the radio. I spotted her at the opposite end of the blasted car, pinned behind a piece of collapsed wall, but alive.

Slide laughed as his shield absorbed a blast from a station defense turret. “Whoops! Looks like that’s my cue to leave! Good luck explaining all this to the boss at home, Ice Queen. I’m pinning this on you.”

“You fucking bastard!”

“Bye Now! HA! HA! HA-!” With a blinding flash, Slide’s police ship disappeared, several rounds from the defense turrets zipping through the sparkling afterglow.

“Dammit!” Jess screamed, slamming a hoof against the deck. I could hear her heaving breaths over the radio.

Pulling myself out of my stupor, pulled myself onto a floating piece of deck, and lifted my head around the still glowing wreckage.

The center of the car had been completely destroyed. What hadn’t blown out from the explosion or disintegrated in the turrets cone of fire spun wildly in space, pieces floating off into oblivion through one of the two massive holes blown through the sides of the car. My everything felt warm, no doubt left over from the energy discharge that had nearly fried the entire car. Just out of the line of fire, Tripwire hung limp in space, his body blackened and spewing massive blobs of blood from the gaping tears in his outfit. Twitching spastically, Tripwire’s body rotated. His dying eyes stared into mine, the frightened look on his face fading into a weak smile as he silently fell into the embrace of death.

I just stared, unable to come to process what I had just witnessed.

“I’m okay! I’m okay!” Jess called over the S-Band, prying herself out from some of the car’s wreckage. She saw Tripwire. “Oh, fuck me with the moon!”

Static blared as a Nightshade’s panicked voice rejoined the conversation, “I saw that from the fucking station! Are you two okay in there?”

I couldn’t say anything, still transfixed on the dead body floating in front of me.

Jess replied for me, “Yeah… we’re okay. Shaken, but okay. Tripwire is dead.”

“Damn. Well, at least you’re okay. The emergency response team is on its way now. I suggest you guys find someplace to tuck in while this whole thing blows over.”

“Not possible,” Jess muttered dejectedly, “The exits sealed in the explosion. We’re stuck in here until they arrive. Ugh… how am I going to explain this to the boss?” Jess moaned, cradling her helmet in her forelegs.

Shaking terribly, I tucked myself back into space behind the girder, intent to simply wait for whatever was going to happen next. For what it was worth, I didn’t want to move. I was struggling not to be sick. Considering what had just happened I was remarkably calm about the whole thing. With some dread I thought that maybe I was getting used to this sort of thing. A shiver went through my body. Mentally, I crossed out bounty hunter on my list of possible occupations.

Jess looked out through the breach. “Looks like our ride is here.” Sure enough, the dark compartment started flashing as the emergency responders came running.

It took me several minutes of waiting before I finally noticed the small notification blinking in my WAND.

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