//------------------------------// // CHAPTER 3 // Story: Those Who Live On // by SpartanD014 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 3 “That is a lot of data,” Tali observed, scrolling through hundreds upon thousands of folders, most of which were named as a random string of letters and numbers. Scrolling back up to the top, Tali examined the very first folder, very conveniently named: OPEN FIRST. “Well whoever created it was nice enough to give us some guidance,” Joker said, grinning. “Open it up.” Nodding, Tali pressed on the folder. All of the other folders disappeared, making way for several new ones. Tali once again pressed on the first one, this one titled ‘PROFILES’. When it opened, there were a number of text documents with very odd names, from ‘Twilight Sparkle’ to ‘Pinkie Pie’ to ‘Princess Celestia’. “What are those?” Kaidan asked. “Ice cream recipes?” “Let’s find out,” Tali said, pressing the first one. This one was simply labelled ‘Equis’, and when it opened the crew was met with the image of a planet. Next to it was a text box with several pieces of information in it. DESIGNATION: Equis CLASSIFICATION: Garden ORBITAL DISTANCE: 151,234,000km ORBITAL PERIOD: No data available KEPLERIAN RATIO: No data available RADIUS: 5,201km DAY LENGTH: 23 hours 52 minutes ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE: .09866 SURFACE TEMP: 21.3°C SURFACE GRAVITY: 9.501m/s^2 MASS: .92 Earth Masses SATELLITES: 1 (natural) SPECIES: Pony, Griffon, Zebra, Dragon, Diamond Dog, Changeling POPULATION: 90.8 million “Keelah…” was all Tali could think to say. All faces in the room turned to look at the horses – or ponies, as now seemed more accurate – with surprise. The six ponies all stared back, curious about why they had suddenly drawn so much attention. “I’m… gonna go make our guests comfortable,” Garrus said, approaching the ponies. “We’ll be in starboard observation if you need us.” As soon as he had left with the ponies, Tali finally went back to the folder, and clicked on the second document, this one titled ‘Twilight Sparkle’. When it opened, it revealed a page not unlike the previous one describing the planet. Only instead of a picture of a planet, it had a picture of a familiar purple pony, one of the ones who Garrus had just taken away. DESIGNATION: Twilight Sparkle SPECIES: Pony SUBSET: Alicorn AGE: No data available – likely early-to-mid twenties DATE OF BIRTH: No data available RESIDENCE: Ponyville OCCUPATION: Princess HEIGHT: 1.37 meters WEIGHT: No data available PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE: No data available “Keep up the good work, Tali,” Joker said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go see our guests. Gotta make sure they don’t rip out a bulkhead or anything… Let me know if you find something.” “Will do,” the quarian answered as the pilot began hobbling away down the CIC. He was followed by the remaining onlookers, James, Liara, and Javik, leaving her alone to read through the files. Going back to the folder, Tali opened yet another profile, this one named ‘PRINCESS CELESTIA’. DESIGNATION: Celestia SPECIES: Pony SUBSET: Alicorn AGE: No data available – likely upwards of three thousand years … Twilight Sparkle looked around the room that she and her friends had been brought to, taking in every last little detail. It was not particularly large, but the main feature of the room seemed to be the big picture window looking out over the Everfree Forest. In space, Twilight imagined that this functioned as an observation room. In the middle of the room were two couches, and all along the sides were bookcases filled with alien books. This had, at first, excited her, until she remembered that she could not read the written language of these aliens. It was unlikely that she ever would be able to, at least not without Legion to serve as a translator. Looking back to the door of the room, Twilight’s eyes fell upon the alien who had brought them here. It (or he, rather) was the same one who had watched them through the sniper rifle when they were still outside. Closer up, Twilight was able to see many more details. The ‘skin’ of the alien was not as much a skin as it was a carapace. It was a light beige color, and covered all of the face and some of the back of the neck. The rest of the neck was an off-white skin tone, with occasional dark spots running down it. His armor was a bright blue and silver, and came up beneath his neck in a wide oval. Over his left eye was a sort of visor with a semi-transparent blue eyepiece. He watched the ponies carefully, never taking his eyes off of them. Suddenly the door opened, and a second alien stepped through, this one considerably shorter than the first. Twilight recognized him as the first alien she had seen exit the ship thanks to his seemingly ever-present hat. His biology was vastly different to that of the larger alien, as he seemed to have true skin rather than a carapace. It was a pale color that seemed to persist all over his body, if his uncovered arms were any indication. On his face was a thin beard of brown hair that looped up the side of his face and to the top of his covered head. He looked at the ponies curiously for a moment, before turning to the first alien and exchanging a few words. “What do you think they’re talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked, sidling up next to Twilight. “It’s impossible to know,” she answered. “The only reason we could converse with Legion was because he developed a translator. We don’t even know if that’s possible for these aliens.” “Well I hope it is… Maybe they can explain the thing that attacked Las Pegasus.” Twilight nodded in agreement. That was one of the main reasons Celestia had asked her to investigate. If more of those giant metal insects were coming, they needed to know. “Yeah… maybe—“ It was then that the two noticed they were being watched. The two aliens were carefully staring at them, watching them as they conversed. It made sense to Twilight why they would be curious – if they had crash landed here, their arrival likely wasn’t on purpose. They probably were not expecting to find alien ponies. The door opened once again, and a third alien entered, this one drastically different from the first two. Twilight had only seen her once before, when she entered the ship. The first alien had passed Legion’s device to her, and she had gone to do something with it. Now that she was here, Twilight took the opportunity to examine her more closely. She was entirely covered from head to hoof in some kind of suit. It was quite elaborate, with decorated purple cloth adorning most of it. Her face was covered by a dark purple mask that only allowed the glowing of her eyes to escape. She turned to face the first two aliens, and they exchanged several words. She then held out her left arm and activated an omni-tool, a device which Twilight had become quite accustomed to during Legion’s stay. She seemed to show the first two aliens something before she turned to Twilight and approached her. She pressed several buttons on the omni-tool, then lowered it and knelt down to face Twilight. “Hello,” she said, startling the alicorn. “Can you understand me?” Twilight and her friends were too shocked to answer. She just stared back at the purple-masked alien, unmoving. “Uh… I don’t think it’s working,” the second alien – the one with the pale skin – said. “No, it is,” Twilight finally said softly. “Sorry, I just… wasn’t expecting that.” “It is understandable,” the alien nodded. “After all, it’s not every day that you meet an alien race. Or several, in your case. You are Twilight Sparkle?” “Yes,” Twilight answered, nodding. “But how did you know that?” “The OSD that you had with you had data on all of you,” the alien explained, looking around at the other ponies. “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tali’Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya, and—“ “Wait!” Twilight interrupted, holding up a hoof. “Tali’Zorah? The quarian?” “Yes, but how—“ “Then you know Legion!” the young princess exclaimed excitedly. “Whoa, okay, hold up,” the second alien interjected, approaching Twilight. “How do you know Legion?” “We owe him our lives,” Twilight began. “You may choose to sit down. It’s a long story.” Shrugging, Tali and the other two aliens took seats in front of Twilight. The alicorn cleared her throat, and began. “Close to eight months ago, during a celebration there was a… sighting… of a strange metal creature. Nopony had ever seen anything like it, so we panicked a little, and sent five hundred guards to protect the town that had spotted it. This forced him to spy on us behind the safety of his invisibility until he was able to determine how peaceful we were, and until he could learn our language. Finally, a few days after the initial sighting, he revealed himself to us again, though on a smaller scale. He revealed himself to just myself and my friends and requested an audience with Princess Celestia. “We took him to Canterlot, our capital, and he introduced himself as Legion the geth. He had come here by accident when the Mass Relay he was going through malfunctioned, and he could not go back because our Relay was out of element zero. We agreed to house him and help him look for the element so that he could return home. At the same time that all of this was happening, there was a strange disease in one of our frontier settlements. We had no idea what it was, but after a few days it would cause the sick pony to go comatose. Not long after that the sick pony would just… disappear. “We found out that they were being kidnapped by a species here on Equis called the changelings. They have the ability to assume the shape of a pony, allowing them to hide among us without us being any the wiser. They used this ability to sneak in to the settlement and kidnap the sick ponies. We did not know why they were kidnapping them, until Legion found something… “His omni-tool detected an IFF in the polar north of our planet. We went up there, and found a massive spaceship buried under the snow. According to Legion, it was a collector ship. A few days later, we found out that the changelings were working for the collectors, kidnapping ponies for them by distributing a nanovirus that the collectors themselves had developed. They were melting ponies down and using our magic to power a weapon of mass destruction. If it wasn’t for Legion, they’d have succeeded. But he stopped them, and saved us all. As I said, we owe him our lives.” “Well…” Tali began. “That is… very interesting. I was wondering why Legion wasn’t responding to the messages I was sending him, I suppose that that is why.” “Am I the only one curious about the collectors being here?” the first alien, the one with the carapace, asked. “I thought we blew them up.” “They had been here for three years by the time Legion showed up,” Twilight explained. “So where is Legion? Is he onboard?” The three aliens froze, and exchanged glances. Tali finally looked down at the floor, then back up at Twilight. “I…” she began. “Legion… told you about the Reapers, right?” “Yes.” “Then he must have stressed how dangerous they were…” Tali continued. “My people, the quarians, we… before the Reapers arrived, we waged war on the geth and drove them back to Rannoch, the homeworld. The geth knew that they could not win, so when the Reapers arrived and extended an offer, they accepted it. “The Reapers upgraded the geth and made them incredibly smart, smart enough to fend off our attack. Legion was opposed to the alliance, however, and worked with us to free the geth from Reaper control. After it was done, and the geth were free, he… he discovered that he could reupload the Reaper code. This would make the geth very smart, a true people, but they would retain their independence. We allowed him to do it. But the code could not simply be uploaded, it needed something to use as copying code. So Legion… he used himself.” “What are you saying?” Twilight asked, sorrow filling her voice. “Is he…?” “Dead. I am sorry.” Twilight’s face fell, and her head slowly lowered until she was looking at the ground. Hearing sniffles from behind her, she turned her head and found Fluttershy holding back tears. “He died a hero,” Tali added. “He gave the geth true understanding and reunited them with my people. He will be honored.” “Good…” Twilight whispered. Tali stood up and stepped back to rejoin the other two aliens. “We’ll… give you some time alone,” she said. “If you need anything, just ask for one of us. This is Joker, and this is Garrus.” The pale one and the tall one nodded their greetings, then turned and left the room with Tali right behind them. The door slid shut, and a familiar green rectangle appeared over it. Twilight let out a sigh, and turned to face her friends. Now that they were alone, Fluttershy stopped trying to contain her sadness and allowed her tears to flow freely. Twilight stepped up to her friend and took her in an embrace, sharing in her sorrow. The door slid shut, hiding the upset ponies from the eyes of Joker. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking down at the floor. “That… could have gone better,” Garrus observed. “Who’d have guessed that Legion had come here?” “I feel bad for them,” Joker said. “I mean, yeah, we all liked Legion, but they seem to have grown quite attached to him.” “I wish he were still here…” Tali added, nodding. “So, Tali, what else did you find?” Joker asked. “I didn’t get too far in,” the quarian admitted. “I finished reading through the profiles of all of the ponies Legion encountered, and that was when I found the translator files. I came down after that.” “Alright, go keep looking through it,” the pilot said. “By now the QEC should be recalibrated. I’m gonna go try it out.” “I’ll stay out here if they need anything,” Garrus said, leaning against the wall outside of the observation deck. Nodding, Tali and Joker stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the CIC. The small room made the short climb up, and when it opened the two split up, with Tali going back to the computer with the OSD and Joker heading for the war room where the QEC was kept. It was a short walk, and soon the pilot came up to the small room at the back of the war room. The circular hologram pad was glowing a light blue, though no images were appearing on it. Stepping up to a control panel, Joker pressed several buttons, looking for a connection. “Quantum entanglement communicator cannot achieve a connection,” the computer said in a soft female voice. Sighing, Joker shook his head, turned around, and exited the room. QEC’s operated by exploiting the natural ability of quantum-entangled particles to affect one another across vast distances. They did not rely on comm buoys, and if the range was limited, then no one had reached it yet. Therefore, the only reason Joker could come up with for them not achieving a connection was that the QEC on the other end was offline or damaged. Both possibilities were troubling, but there was nothing Joker could do about it from here. He was simply going to have to wait… Doctor David Foster walked through the featureless white hallways of his facility, datapad in hand. The sound of his shining black shoes hitting the tiled floor echoed down the hallway, alerting anyone in any of the joining rooms of his presence. This hallway was host to a dozen labs, each one fit to handle a specific field of science. From xenobiology, to sociology, to biochemical engineering, this facility was very well equipped. Foster’s boss had given him a massive budget, much larger than what the doctor had expected. His orders were clear, and the staff under his command knew them well: advance the cause of mankind through whatever means necessary. Reaching the end of the hallway, Foster came to a simple white sliding door with the logo of his employers on it. The door slid open at his presence, and the doctor entered into a small elevator. He pressed a button for the bottom floor of the large complex, and a moment later he felt a lurch as the elevator began its descent. As it made the short trip down, Foster raised his datapad up and began to read the new data that had come through. Their plan was working, and it was well on schedule to completion. The planting of the first few devices had been very simple, given the current state of the aliens they had infiltrated. It would be only a matter of time before they were ready for stage two. The elevator door silently slid open, revealing the much larger room beyond. Doctor Foster stepped out onto a small balcony overlooking the rest of the room. Below him were over a dozen techs going about their days, working on keeping their operation up and running. In the center of the room was a holotable depicting the planet where they had set up base. On the wall across from it was a large screen with a map of the supercontinent, and lines separating each individual country. A flashing dot on the screen showed their location, in the northeastern region of the continent. Two more flashing dots were present, though they were not supposed to be there. Walking down a short flight of stairs to the main floor, Foster stepped up to the screen and began to examine it. “Status,” he ordered to no one in particular. While most of the techs continued with their work, one stepped up next to the doctor, omni-tool active. “They both appeared just over an hour ago, sir,” he reported. “The first one broadcasted for thirty two minutes before it shut down, but we marked its location. The second one is still broadcasting.” “What are they?” “The first was fairly easy to find out. Newspapers all over the world are reporting of a ‘giant metal insect’ that attacked Equestria, and was later killed by a ‘red wave of energy’. The second, we have no idea. It crashed far into one of the most dangerous forests on this planet. But the signal it’s broadcasting is definitely Alliance.” “Hm… A red wave of energy…” Foster pondered the information, running through all of it in his head. A ‘giant metal insect’ sounded an awful lot like a Reaper. If they had found this world, then their plan just got a lot more complicated. But if the Reaper had been destroyed, perhaps their presence would remain undetected. “Find what information you can. I will contact my superiors and ask them about this ‘red wave of energy’.” “Yes, sir,” the tech said, nodding. He stepped away from Foster, leaving the doctor to stare at the map for a moment longer. Finally he shook his head and turned around to face a small door, beyond which was their QEC. His superiors were not going to be pleased… Princess Celestia sat in her office, staring down at the top of her rich oak desk. Placed on the top were the front pages of every major newspaper in Equestria, each one displaying the same story. EQUESTRIA ATTACKED! LAS PEGASUS SAVED BY THE MIGHT OF THE PRINCESSES! At seven-thirty this morning, the Canterlot Times received word from our representative at the castle that a massive military force was being assembled to lead a defensive against an attacker at Las Pegasus. Only a few minutes later, everypony in the city saw dozens of chariots leaving the castle, with the four princesses leading them. We tried to gain more information, but were blocked for the next half hour. Only when soldiers started to return did we finally find out what happened. Soldiers are describing it as a ‘giant metal insect’ that stood higher than the tallest skyscraper in Manehattan. It fired ‘beams of devastating magic’ from beneath it, destroying much of Las Pegasus before the princesses intervened. One soldier, a sergeant by the name of Iron Nails, said that they had received the call to fall back, when suddenly a red wave of energy passed over them. “It was like nothing I had ever seen,” says Nails. “Whatever magic the princesses used, it was very powerful. The metal thing just toppled over, lifeless. We sure are lucky they were there to help.” We here at the Canterlot Times are still looking into the issue, and will keep everypony in our fair city up to date. Our hearts go out to those affected by the attack, and we will be hosting a fundraiser to go towards the reconstruction of Las Pegasus. Sighing, Celestia stacked the newspapers and put them away, replacing them with a sheet of parchment. Already in a waste bin were dozens of crumpled up sheets of parchment, each one a failed attempt at writing what happened. The Canterlot Times had been fairly accurate, except for the part where they said she had been responsible for the machine’s death. Truthfully, she had no idea what happened. All she knew is that, if that wave hadn’t come when it did, they would have lost Las Pegasus. “Sister, do you need help?” a voice asked, startling Celestia from her focus on the parchment. She jolted upright, her eyes falling on her sister, standing in the doorway of her office. “Ah, Luna, I did not hear you enter,” the solar diarch said, smiling. “I would love some help. This is an… interesting issue. Ponies will want to know what that thing was and where it came from. If we tell them that we don’t know, that will do no more than incite panic.” “And if we tell them that it came from space and there is actually a thriving galactic community up there, that will incite panic as well,” Luna added. “It’s a lose-lose scenario. What did you have in mind?” “I’m trying to create a cover story, but I simply cannot think of anything that is believable,” Celestia said, frowning. “We are stuck between a rock and a hard place, here. How is Cadance doing?” “She is fine,” Luna reported, taking a seat in an extra chair. “She’s doing a very good job of keeping ponies calm for the meantime. Though if we wait much longer, ponies will get suspicious. We must tell them something.” Celestia nodded in agreement. “Have you heard from Twilight?” “Not yet,” Celestia answered, shaking her head. “I should not have sent her. At least, not alone with her friends. I should have sent a few squads of soldiers. We have no idea what she is going to find, what if it’s hostile?” “’Tia, you have never doubted your student in the past,” the princess of the night reminded her sister. “There is no reason to start now. She is a smart alicorn, and a powerful mage. She will be fine.” Celestia sighed, and nodded. “I know…” she said. “I know… It’s just…” “You care for her, this is understandable,” Luna finished. “But remember, she is no longer a young unicorn. She has had more run-ins with danger in her few years of living than most ponies will ever experience. She is capable, and she will be fine. Now, perhaps we should focus on the matter at hoof.” “Yes, you’re right,” Celestia agreed. “I was thinking—“ She was interrupted as a bright purple flash filled the room, and when it cleared a rolled-up scroll was sitting on her desk. Smiling, Celestia lifted it in her telekinesis and unfurled it, choosing to read it aloud so that Luna could hear. “Celestia, We have made an incredible discovery! The second construct that we saw was another ship, but it was not of the same make as the one that attacked Las Pegasus. And there is more: it is occupied. I have already initiated contact with them, and have found that they are not unlike us. They are very agreeable, friendly, and patient. I gave them the device Legion left with me; they identified it as an ‘OSD’ or ‘optical storage device’. On it was stored more information than in my old library! Most of it was on us, but a lot was on everything else that Legion learned about Equestria. Another thing, these aliens are familiar with Legion. He travelled with them, and fought alongside him. But… it is with a heavy heart that I must report his death. I am assured that Legion died a hero’s death: he made the geth a true people, and ended the war with their creators. As sad as I am that we will not see him again, I am at least comforted by this. Celestia, I have learned too much information to put into a single letter. I have attached my location to this scroll with a spell, simply activate it and you will know the location. Please come here at your earliest convenience. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle” Sighing heavily, Celestia put the letter down and rubbed her temples with her hooves. “Well at least she’s uninjured,” Luna observed. “Are you going to go?” Celestia waited for a moment before deciding on her answer. “No, there is too much for me to do here,” she decided. “I must remain and continue working on our address to the ponies of Equestria. Would you go in my stead?” “I will,” Luna answered, nodding. “I will return as soon as I can to help you. And if you need anything, just send a letter my way.” Nodding, Celestia watched as the scroll became enveloped in a light blue aura as Luna activated Twilight’s location spell. A moment later the scroll dropped back to her desk, Luna flared her horn, and then she was gone. Twilight sat in the observation room of the alien ship, looking over a letter she had just finished writing. It was not a particularly long letter, but the information contained within would likely never be seen by average ponies. Lighting her horn, Twilight struggled to remember the dragonflame transportation spell she had been taught. Celestia used it whenever communicating to her through Spike, and Twilight had decided to learn it just in case. She still let Spike do all of the messaging, but it was a good spell to have. Finally remembering the order of steps, Twilight focused on the scroll, then focused on its recipient: Princess Celestia. Tendrils of magic snaked out from her horn and engulfed the scroll. It was accompanied by a bright flash that disintegrated the scroll, and a moment later it flew out of the window in a stream of purple flame. Sitting back, Twilight looked around the room at the rest of her friends. A fourth alien had come in several minutes ago, introducing herself as Liara T’soni. She was currently talking with Fluttershy about the flora and fauna of their world, and drawing many comparisons between Equis and a planet known as Earth. A large, imposing alien known as Javik was standing in the corner, watching their every move with four distrustful eyes. She had at first been alarmed by his presence, due to his resemblance to the collectors that had attacked Equestria. A quick explanation from Liara about his kind and his past had cleared everything up, but Twilight did continue to feel a little uncomfortable. Rarity was bothering Tali over her suit, which apparently the fashionista mare found beautiful. Twilight had to admit that Rarity was correct; the patterns of her suit were very intricate and exquisite, and she was partial to the color as well. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were talking with another human calling himself Kaidan about food that was commonly eaten in the galactic community. Finally, Rainbow Dash and Joker were exchanging stories about flying. Rainbow Dash had been understandably excited when she learned that Joker was the pilot of the ship they were on, and had been shocked to learn about its capabilities. When not using the Mass Relay, the Normandy was able to use faster-than-light engines to achieve incredible speeds. If Dash was jealous, she was not showing it. Her face was lit up more than when she got a new Daring Do book. Suddenly a bright blue flash filled the room, and when it cleared Princess Luna was standing in the center. All eyes were on her, and the expressions of their new alien friends were ones of complete surprise. “What… I… What!?” Joker sputtered, struggling to speak. “What was that!?” “Er, Twilight, is everything okay?” Luna asked, staring at the human curiously. “Calm down, Joker,” Twilight urged calmly, looking to the pilot. “I asked her to come here.” “But how did she…?” Twilight’s mouth formed an ‘O’ as she remembered that the other species of the galaxy did not have magic like the ponies. Mentally reprimanding herself for not remembering earlier, Twilight sighed and prepared to explain. “Ponies have the ability to use a force known as ‘magic’,” she began. “It can be manipulated to do hundreds of things, from telekinesis, to transmutation, to teleportation, like you have just seen. Legion told us that you all didn’t have it, which honestly shocked me.” “Interesting,” Liara said, stepping forward. “Telekinesis, you say?” With that, the asari began glowing blue. She closed her eyes and her brow furrowed in concentration, and a moment later one of the books in the room was lifted into the air. It hovered for a few moments before Liara dropped it to the floor, panting. “But… Legion said you didn’t have magic!” Twilight cried. “How does he explain that?” “It’s not magic,” Kaidan said, standing up. “It’s called biotics. Did Legion explain what mass effect fields were?” “Yes,” Twilight answered. “He said it’s what the Mass Relays used to make your ships go incredibly fast. But how does that tie in to these ‘biotics’?” “Asari naturally have nodules of element zero in our bodies,” Liara continued. “We can use them to generate our own mass effect fields, which can be used for telekinesis. However, it is crude, and very draining.” “Incredible…” the young princess whispered to herself. “Another time, I’d love to compare our abilities so that we can see how biotics relates to our ‘magic’.” “In the meantime,” Luna interrupted. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Luna, raiser of the moon and diarch of Equestria. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.” “I am Liara T’soni of the asari,” Liara introduced, bowing her head. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” “I’m Kaidan, Alliance Military and Council Spectre,” said Kaidan, crossing his arms over his chest. “Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, admiral of the quarian fleet,” Tali said, nodding. “I’m Joker… I fly the ship…” All eyes now turned on Javik, who was looking at Princess Luna cautiously from his position in the corner. He stayed still for a moment before stepping forward. “I am Javik, the last voice of the protheans,” he said, before exiting the room. “Princess Luna,” Liara began. “You said that you were the ‘raiser of the moon’. What does that mean?” “Ah, yes,” Luna started, nodding. “Legion told us of the irregularities of this system. By ‘raiser of the moon’, I mean that literally. Every evening I bring the moon into the sky, and each morning I nudge it down. My sister does the same with the sun, only the other way around.” “So this system is… geocentric?” Kaidan asked, receiving a single nod from the princess of the night. “The only one, from what Legion tells us,” Twilight added. “I asked Luna here so that we could further negotiations. I may be a princess, but I don’t have quite as much authority as her.” “We would be pleased to negotiate with your—“ Liara was cut off as the door to the room opened, and another human – this one female – stood in the doorway. She looked around, appearing confused at the presence of another pony, until her eyes settled on Joker. “Joker,” she began. “The QEC is finally picking up a connection. It’s Admiral Hackett’s ship.” His face brightening, Joker began moving to the door. “Thanks, Traynor,” he said. As he reached the door, he turned to face the ponies. “Uh… Luna, you might want to come along for this.” Confused, the princess trotted out of the room, following the pilot down the hall and to the elevator. The door closed behind her, leaving the ponies alone with the three remaining aliens. Joker stepped into the war room with Specialist Traynor and Princess Luna in tow. He navigated across the room, stepping past technicians going about their duties, until he came to the small alcove dedicated to the QEC. Stepping up to the control panel, Joker pressed several buttons and sent a communication request to the communicator’s partner aboard the Admiral Hackett’s dreadnought. A moment later it was answered, and a hologram of the admiral himself stepped onto the pad. The battle had not been good for the admiral; even though his ship had arrived with the second wave escorting the Crucible, it had taken heavy fire. Soot on his face and uniform showed just how much damage the ship had taken, and the occasional flicker of the hologram told Joker that they were still experiencing malfunctions. “Mr. Moreau, is that you?” Hackett asked, disbelief in his voice. “We thought that the Normandy had been lost!” “Lost, sir, but not destroyed,” Joker answered, saluting. “Whatever the Crucible did, it knocked us out of FTL and deposited us on an uncharted world past an uncharted Relay. What’s the status of the fleet, sir?” “We’re still figuring that out ourselves,” the admiral began. “I’ve got about forty-five ships with me, mostly Alliance and turian, but a few asari and quarian. We just went past the Relay half an hour ago, it’s in bad shape. It’s intact, but the gyroscopic rings in the center are nowhere to be found. I’ve got scouts scouring the area looking for them.” “Our galaxy map showed that all of the Relays were offline,” Joker said. “We weren’t sure if it was an error on our end or if we were getting accurate readings.” “They’re accurate, lieutenant,” Hackett continued. “What remains of the fleet is trapped here in the Sol system until we can fix the Relay. We’re completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy. There are going to be a lot of confused people when this is over.” “We’ll get through this sir,” Joker said assuredly. “We got through the Reapers… right?” “All of the Reapers on Earth are dead,” the admiral reported. “As are all the ones in orbit. The Crucible worked.” “And… Shepard?” “I have a few ships searching what’s left of the Citadel, but a good chunk of it fell down to Earth after the Presidium exploded,” Hackett explained. “Right now I don’t have the resources or the manpower to search it. We need to focus on getting back in contact with the rest of the galaxy. FTL comm buoys are down too, QECs seem to be the only things working. What’s the status of the Normandy, Mr. Moreau?” “A few scrapes, sir,” Joker reported. “We only got power back recently. The extent of the damage is yet to be determined, but we’ve… hit a bit of a roadblock…” “Explain.” “I’m sending you a file over the QEC,” the pilot said, activating his omni-tool. “Run it when you get it.” “Receiving… a translator? What’s this for, Mr. Moreau?” Turning around, Joker motioned for the pony princess behind him to step forward. She did so cautiously, looking around with every step. Finally she came to stand next to Joker, and Admiral Hackett’s expression visibly changed. First was curiosity, then was complete unadulterated shock. “Flight lieutenant, what am I looking at?” he asked, his eyes wide. “Is the translator running, sir?” “Yes, but—“ “Hello, Admiral Hackett,” Luna said, surprising the man even further. “I am Princess Luna, diarch of Equestria and raiser of the moon. Your ship crashed on my world, and I welcome its crew.” “Mr. Moreau, is this real?” the admiral asked, not believing his own eyes. “Yes, sir,” the pilot answered. “And we’re not the first ones here. Remember Legion, that geth that Shepard allied himself with? He was here seven months ago, came here by accident after we blew up the collector base.” “I see…” Hackett said. “Send me all the data you have. I’ll need to speak with everyone else about this. We’ll stay in touch; as soon as our Relay is repaired, I’ll divert some of the fleet to you to repair yours. Hackett out.” The hologram of the admiral flickered away, and the blue light of the QEC darkened. Joker sighed, lifted his hat, and ran his fingers through his short brown hair. “I’m… not sure if that went well,” Luna said. “What do you think?” “Well he didn’t see you as a threat or anything, so that’s good,” Joker replied. “He just probably wasn’t expecting that. I know I wasn’t when Garrus came in with you…” He turned around and began walking out of the room. “It is understandable,” the princess said, following the human. “Much has happened this day that I did not expect. But, Mr. Moreau—“ “Please, just Joker is fine,” the pilot requested. “Joker, you are not the first run-in with aliens we have had today.” Joker’s eyes narrowed, and he turned to look at the princess as they stepped into the elevator. “What do you mean?” he asked. “A massive machine came here today and attacked one of our cities,” Luna began. “It was massive, larger than anything I’ve ever seen before. It laid waste to our city, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing thousands. It was killed by a red wave of energy, and shortly after was when we saw your ship coming down.” At this, Joker’s mind filled with worry. If it had been killed by the Crucible… “Can you describe it to me?” he asked as the elevator began its descent. “Very tall, easily two kilometers,” she continued. “Made of a dark metal color, it looked a bit like an insect, and it walked on five legs. It used red beams to destroy buildings, and our attacks were utterly ineffective.” “Princess…” Joker began as the elevator door opened. “That was a Reaper.” Luna froze, and her eyes went wide. Her pupils shrunk to small black dots in a sea of blue, and her head slowly turned to face the human. “That was what was attacking you?” she whispered, receiving a nod. “I… I can’t imagine that. We couldn’t even bring down one, how did you win?” “We almost didn’t,” Joker explained. “We found plans for a device that we called the Crucible. We have no idea who designed it, and until we used it we didn’t even know what it did. But… we managed to complete the device, and we managed to get it to the Citadel – a space station that was required to activate it. Commander Shepard, my CO, went aboard and activated it. It created a big red wave of energy that I guess killed all of the Reapers. It’s also what deposited us here…” “Legion told us of this ‘Shepard-Commander’,” Luna said, walking out of the elevator. “He spoke of him in very high regard. I hope he is okay.” “Yeah…” The two entered the starboard observation deck, finding that not much had changed in their absence. The Rarity pony was still bothering Tali over the intricacies of her suit, while Kaidan was still talking with the orange and pink ones about food. The only difference that he could observe was that Liara was now talking with Twilight in the corner of the room, while the lavender pony was busily taking notes on several pieces of parchment. All eyes looked up to Joker and Luna as they reentered, and everyone patiently watched them, waiting for one of them to say something. “I got into contact with Admiral Hackett and introduced him to the princess,” he reported, looking mainly at his crewmates. “The Crucible seems to have worked, and the Reapers are dead. However, the Mass Relays are all damaged pretty badly. The fleet in the Sol system is trying to repair the Charon Relay, but it’s slow going. Until they’re finished, we are to remain here.” “While I must confer with the other princesses about the finer details, we have no problems with you staying here,” Luna added. “Though this forest is… quite dangerous. The creatures seem to have been scared away for now, but they will return. You may want to move your ship.” “We don’t know if we can yet,” Tali said, stepping forward. “We’re still figuring out exactly what’s broken, but our engines took quite a beating. It should all be repairable with what we have onboard, but we may not be able to relocate just yet.” “We’ll figure it out,” Joker said assuredly. “Tali, can I talk with you for a minute outside?” Nodding, the quarian stepped past Joker and exited the observation room, with Joker right behind her. He closed to door, then leaned in and spoke quietly. “For now, do you think you can keep examining the OSD they had?” he asked. “Just in case Legion left any more information behind.” “Of course, but I’ve already gone through most of the actual information,” Tali answered. “There are over a thousand files, and most I can’t make heads or tails of. But Legion wouldn’t have put them on there if they weren’t important.” Nodding, Joker scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “I wish EDI were online…” he whispered. “She’d know what to do. She’d have us back up and running in minutes.” “She should be soon,” Tali assured him. “The reboot takes a long time because it has to manually restart every process associated with her. The processes then have to form all of their connections once again to create the true AI status. Once it’s all done, you just have to turn her back on. It won’t be much longer.” “Thanks…” Tali placed a comforting hand on Joker’s shoulder, before she turned around and stepped into the elevator. The door closed, and a moment later the green door hologram turned red as it began its climb. Sighing, Joker slowly spun around and began to head for the AI core. Princess Luna sat next to Twilight Sparkle and the alien referring to herself as Liara T’soni, listening intently to the story she was telling. “After our first ship had been completed, we sent it through the Mass Relay. When it came through to the other side, it discovered a massive construct, forty-four kilometers in length and capable of housing millions of people. We named it the Citadel, and settled down there, beginning our new role in the galaxy. Now, thousands of years later, eight other races call the Citadel their home. Of course there are more aliens in the galaxy, but they are not officially recognized as Citadel species.” “Why is that?” Twilight asked, writing down every word Liara said. “The main reason is that we do not agree with their methods,” Liara explained. “The vorcha are far too violent to be allowed on the Citadel, and the batarians engage in practices that, while not illegal, are highly frowned upon. Previously the krogan were too fragmented to properly make an appeal to join the Citadel, but that is likely going to change soon. And the quarians no longer have an embassy because of their creation of the geth, though now that there is peace, I suppose that both races will be getting one.” “Galactic civilization seems very different…” Luna observed. “Are you sure we will be welcomed?” “It’s difficult to say…” the asari began. “Technologically you are quite, well… primitive. The last time a primitive race was uplifted… results soured.” “What happened?” Twilight asked, the scholar in her jumping at the opportunity to learn more. “While scouting an uncharted Relay, a race known as the rachni was discovered,” Liara said. “They are extremely intelligent insects who telepathically serve a queen through a hive mind. They were immediately hostile to us, soon overpowering our exploration force. This eventually evolved into the rachni wars, which we nearly lost. To ensure victory, the salarians found a primitive race of warriors, the krogan, and uplifted them. “Their traditional weapons were replaced by our far more advanced ones, and they were given armor capable of sustaining heavy damage. The salarians unleashed them on the rachni with one order: kill. In return, the krogan would be made a part of the Citadel community. The krogan did their jobs perfectly, driving the rachni to near extinction. With the threat out of the way, we upheld our promise and allowed the krogan to join us. “But they were reckless. They began expanding to new worlds too quickly, even claiming for their own worlds that were already colonized. When we told them to stop, they did not. This created the krogan rebellions, which lasted decades. It only ended when the turians and the salarians unleashed a disease on the krogan known as the genophage. It affected their ability to reproduce, creating a genetic mutation that caused most krogan children to die, stillborn. It was a horrible decision, and for that reason, uplifting is… avoided.” “That is… monstrous!” Luna exclaimed. “And the other races of the Citadel just sat back and watched while this disease was deployed!?” “We had no choice,” Liara countered. “If it was not deployed, then they would have driven everyone else to extinction, making themselves the only spacefaring race in the galaxy. It can be seen as a war crime now, yes, but then… I can understand the decision. Either way, it does not matter. It was cured not long after the Reapers arrived.” “Good…” Twilight whispered, continuing to write. “Of course, the circumstances this time around are quite different,” Liara continued. “We do not need you to fight any wars, and your society already reflects many of the values that we hold dear: peace, harmony, cooperation…” Luna nodded, thinking over all that she had been told. The galactic community was quite old, and its history was rich. It was not as old as her, a fact which the princess found amusing, but it was old enough to make her think. While she had been a young mare of seven hundred ruling Equestria in its fledgling years, a galactic civilization had been developing right alongside it. And now their paths had crossed, and the ponies would hopefully get to join it. Standing up, Luna stretched her wings and stepped into the center of the room. “I must report to my sister,” she said. “She will be very excited at all that I have learned today.” With that, the princess of the night lit her horn, and disappeared in a flash of azure light. Joker sat cross-legged on the floor of the AI core, resting his head on his left fist. His eyes lazily passed over the room, occasionally flickering back to the maintenance console that displayed the status of the reboot. Right now it was at 99%, as it had been when he came in here fifteen minutes ago. Sighing, Joker was about to leave and come back later, when suddenly the display switched to show 100%, and it began flashing green. Quickly coming to his feet, Joker hobbled over to the console as quickly as he could, excited to speak to EDI once again. Even though she was an AI, he cared deeply for her. Others may have found it weird, but Shepard had been supportive from the first time the pilot mentioned it. Typing on the console, Joker sent away the status update screen and brought up the one for diagnostics. Everything seemed to be fine, so Joker moved his hand to the ‘ENTER’ key, pressed it, and waited as the AI core came back online. The large computers lining the walls of the room glowed blue, and a soft hum filled the room. “EDI?” the pilot asked, a smile on his lips. But there was no response. Looking down to the console curiously, Joker went back to the maintenance screen. A look of fear immediately crossed over his face as he saw the message flashing before him. ERROR: AI CORE WIPED. PROCESSES DISABLED. ENHANCED DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE OFFLINE. SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN. The lights on the computers that once housed EDI faded off, and the hum of the machinery disappeared. Joker stared at the flashing message, not feeling anything as his whole body went numb. The console wasn’t saying it, because to it, EDI was just software. But Joker knew what the error message meant. EDI was dead.