//------------------------------// // A Name Like No Other // Story: Urohringr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// On the sixth day since setting out from Stratopolis, the Noble Jury had decelerated to a slow cruise. Since Props insisted that the crew rest the engines, Ebon suggested they pass the cooldown time by bringing the vessel low enough to cast fishing lines into the sea. If there was a chance of catching fresh meat, then they might be able to increase the volume of meals for an evening or two. Naturally, most ponies jumped upon this idea. Rainbow Dash gladly bowed out. So it was that by noon, the ship hovered a few naked feet above seal level with its hangar doors yawning halfway open. Ebon, Zaid, Eagle Eye, and Josho sat inside the ship's rear, their legs dangling as they dragged fishing lures through the calm waters right beneath them. Ebon's hunch proved right, and between the four of them they had already made seven meaty catches. "Way to go, sailboat," Josho said through a smirk. He had to talk above the sound of his rumbling stomach while he casted another line. "I'd kiss you if this damn hangar didn't stink so much." "I told Floydien. I told him." Ebon frowned as he held his fishing pole. "We should have chiseled ice out of the icebergs before we headed south. That way we could have resupplied the freezer unit and done something to better preserve caught fish, much less stave off the smell." "Well, at the rate at which we're crashing in on their parade, I'd say we'll be eating like kings soon," Zaid said. He turned to grin at the other stallions. "All in all, I'd say that things are going swimmingly." His eyes turned rounder above a maniacal grin. He took turns gawking at every stallion. "You really, really suck," Josho grumbled. "Yes." Eagle Eye muttered. "What the old stallion said." "Awwwwwwwww..." Zaid pouted. "Not you too." "Everything alright, EE?" Ebon asked. Ebon fought a burning, burning frown. "This... smells... horribly." "Grin and bear it, princess," Josho said while casting another line into the glossy sea. "Maybe you don't wanna get fat on your bones, but the rest of us do. So be a part of the team and ignore it." "I can't..." Eagle shuddered, his lavender muzzle turning green. "I can feel it getting into my pores." "Well, don't worry," Ebon said with a smile. "Just a few more catches, and then you can march inside to shower." "Yeah..." Zaid chuckled. "We'll all get into a circle and spit on you." "Ew!" Eagle blanched and nearly fell off the hangar door from writhing. "Ew ew ew ew! You guys are impossible!" "You know, for once..." Josho's muzzle curved. "I kind of liked that one." Zaid brightened. "You did?" "Move aside." Metal-laced limbs trotted forcibly between the four stallions. The ponies looked up, shuffling aside. "Excuse you, Roarke," Ebon griped. "Hmmmm... breeders going to breed..." Roarke kept her copper-lensed eyes locked on a glowing yellow device in her grasp. "Such a shame to interrupt your festivities, but I think it's finally catching up with me." "You don't say?" Josho droned without looking at her. "Because it was starting to smell good until you arrived." "Too bad nature decided to trade your humor for fat." "Works for me, lady." "Wait wait wait..." Ebon waved his hoof at the others and squinted up at Roarke. "What do you mean? What is catching up with you?" "It'll only matter to you in about a minute," Roarke said, operating a dial on the control. "Unless, of course, you want to be crushed to a pulp by reptilian metal. It makes very little difference to me." "Oh jeez!" Eagle flinched, scrambling with his fishing pole to move aside. "Oh jeez oh jeez oh jeez!" "Calm your crotch tits," Josho grunted, then turned to squint at the metal mare. "Isn't this being a bit optimistic? Especially for you?" "Could you flatulate a little louder? I can't hear you." "You supposedly left that thing floating on its own on the far west edge of the Stratopolitan cyclone." Josho's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think it even has the juice to respond to your signal?" "It's highly-advanced Lounge tech." "So?" "I augmented it." "Ah. So, I'm guessing it's swung by several merchant ships and murdered every respectful stallion on board." Ebon chuckled. "Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to program that into it," Roarke said. "Though, you're giving me plenty of reasons to do so now." "Just what kind of a transport is it, anyways?" Eagle Eye asked. "Ah..." Roarke lowered the control and pointed out the hangar's rear ship. "See for yourself." "Hmmm?" Zaid and the others stood up to look. Everypony squinted—save for Eagle Eye who merely blinked at the northwest horizon. "Hey... uhm..." The unicorn trotted backwards on jittery hooves. "Is it supposed to be coming in that fast?" "Mmmm... probably not." Deadpan, Roarke reached a hoof out and yanked at a lever. Whurrrrrr—CLAK! The hangar doors opened wider. With a shriek, Ebon nearly slipped down into the blurring waters below. Josho heaved him up while Zaid and Eagle Eye scrambled for a hoofhold. Many of them turned to glare at Roarke, but had very little chance when a spherical black body sailed in from outside. WHOOOSH! A tiny scale replica of the Lounge Ship came to a stop just inches from Roarke's muzzle. She stood her ground, exhaling calmly, her breath forming a foggy splotch of condensation against the thing's pearlescent black hull. "Well, a little tardy, but quite responsive." As she backtrotted, she pulled a knob on her control, forcing the thing to levitate forward on glowing amber engines until it settled to a stop, completely swallowed up by the hangar's interior with room to spare. Roarke turned a dial, and six spokes came out of the bottom of the ship, balancing itself neatly against the floor of the hangar. The orb was small—for sure—but it looked to have enough room to fit two adult ponies, maybe three. As Roarke turned a tiny lever on her control, this became obvious, for the opposite sides of the ship slid up and out like onion layers, revealing a dimly-lit interior with blinking consoles and a highly-advanced mana-powered forward display. "Reptiles built this thing?" Ebon remarked. "I didn't realize it could be so... erm... comfy-looking inside." "It was only ever meant to be piloted by one naga at a time," Roarke droned as she leaned in to inspect the interior. "Seeing as on their lonesome they're at peace with Quezaat, they can afford themselves some luxury." "Well, lucky you," Ebon said. Eagle Eye glanced inside. "Ooooh... I like the red velvet interior." "It's not red," Roarke said. "I had to acquire this ship from Vaughan from force." "Meaning...?" "I blew the lizard's brains out." "Oh, ick!" Eagle jumped back from the ship and grimaced. "That's it..." He marched furiously towards the stairwell. "I'm taking my shower!" "So, what's it name?" Zaid asked. "It does not have a name," Roarke said. "Pfft! Get out of town!" Zaid smirked. "It's gotta have a name!" "All this vessel provides is utility," Roarke said. "When the situation calls for more than two members of the Jury to split up and explore a region, we can once again rely on more than just Rainbow Dash to fly." "The cultist has a point," Josho droned. "It's bad buckin' luck to pilot something without a name." "Forgive me if I don't share your superstitious sentiment." "I know!" Zaid grinned wide. "Whizzball!" Roarke turned with folded ears, practically hissing at the stallion. "It... shall not... be called... Whizzball." "Don't be so silly! I mean look at it!" Zaid pointed. "It's a ball! And it whizzes!" "And you're a stallion and you leak. What's the point?" "I'd be insulting the grand history of aviation if I called it anything else!" Zaid smiled. "I'll be right back," Josho said, trotting off with a smirk. "Blondie and Dr. Bellesmith are going to want to see Whizzball now that it's in Floydien's hangar." "It is not Whizzball!" Roarke actually hollered. "Nancy Jane and Whizzball!" Zaid chanted, pumping a hoof in the air. "Together at last!" "Nnnnngh..." Roarke leaned into the cockpit seat, looking around. "Where's the self destruct mechanism...?"