//------------------------------// // 18 - A Quiet Night // Story: Harmony Among The Stars // by tom117z //------------------------------// ES Harmony Telemetry Report, September 30th, 3382 AD, 2100 Hours Local Time. At 1716 hours local time the ES Harmony detected weapons fire in the planet’s lower atmosphere, all contact with shuttles one and two were lost at the same time. Weapons signature bear resemblance to the weapons fire from the Serenity, as such it must be concluded that the shots were fired by the starship designated Interceptor, which is of the same class as the Serenity. The ship was brought to Combat Alert status, but the Interceptor never arose from the planet. All efforts to contact the shuttles have failed. At 1830 hours Combat Alert was ceased, but a watch for the Interceptor emerging from the planet has begun full time. Should the Interceptor leave the planet orders are to engage and disable, boarding the ship thereafter. Efforts to contact the Princess and the away team is ongoing, and the option of sending a search and rescue team is being discussed. If we hear nothing, we’ll have to go looking. Planet’s Surface, Sha’Du Village The villagers looked up with fear and suspicion as the away team stepped into the Sha’Du village. The only thing that kept them from fleeing at the sight of new outsiders was the presence of their Elder, Teneer. The group was led by the Elder slowly and carefully towards the centre, everypony’s weapons holstered and trying to act as respectful as possible to the petrified natives. The young night sky twinkled above, and as they reached the centre Teneer gave a couple of hunters a nod, and the great central fire was brought to life as they rushed up into the air and smoke began to pile high into the sky. The crackling of the embers were the only audible sound as Teneer brought the group in front of the Elder’s hut, every single villager now crowding around the fire, both to keep away the cold of the night and looking for an explanation as to why these outsiders were present. Twilight plastered on her best diplomatic smile, thinking back to her early days when she brokered an historic deal with the buffalo tribes, using the memories of her actions then for guidance to the current situation she found herself in. “Teneer?” one of the oldest looking hunters spoke. “Why have you brought more outsiders to our home? Do you not remember the first?” “How can I not, when we deal with him every day?” Teneer shot back. “J’Poc is exactly why these outsiders are here.” The hunter snarled. “Are they his people? Come to bring us further into his destructive web?” “We don’t weave webs,” Xal muttered under his breath. The hunter’s eyes shot towards Xal. “It appears I was correct, that one is near identical to the monster that plagues us still.” Silver Wrench looked like he was about to speak up in Xal’s defence, but a look from both the sharin and Princess Twilight warned him against it. It was best to just let Teneer handle it until he said otherwise. Teneer shook his head. “You are not correct, I assure you. Reach out with your senses, all of you. Their emotions speak for themselves.” “They do not feel like he does, true,” the hunter conceded, before his gaze shifted to Twilight. “But I cannot even breach that one’s mind! It is like a shroud hiding the contents within from the world, why is she hiding from us?” Teneer turned to Twilight, giving her a nod. “I am not hiding anything, I am afraid that is just a product of my age,” the Princess spoke, the natives being taken aback by her regality. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, I mean none of you harm, I promise you.” “You are the leader?” the hunter asked. “Why have you come to our home? Haven’t we had enough trouble?!” “Enough,” Teneer said calmly, but threateningly. Twilight shot Teneer a look that made him wilt as if he were a child being scolded by his mother, the Princess then gave the hunter her signature smile. “What’s your name?” “Ronaar, hunter for this village.” “It’s a pleasure, Ronaar,” Twilight nodded her head in greeting. “Yes, I am the leader of my people. But I assure you that we have not come to cause any harm or grief to your village, quite the opposite in fact.” “She speaks the truth,” Teneer stated. Ronaar wore a sceptical look that was shared by his peers. “Then why would they come, Tenner? What is their purpose for intruding?” “They never intended to intrude, they were attacked,” Teneer stated. “You do not have to be old and wise to understand who by.” Muttering arose from the villagers, lightly spreading throughout their ranks. “If you claim J’Poc attacked his own kind, why?” “We are not of his kind,” Twilight stated. “He is as alien to us as he is to you.” Ronaar pointed the tip of his weapon accusingly in Xal’s direction. “And what of him? Do you claim he is not the same?” Teneer stood between the hunter and the group. “Ronaar…” “Let the creature speak!” Ronaar shouted. “Answer my question.” “I am of his kind, true,” Xal stated, ignoring the glares he was receiving from the hunter. “But I am not a creature as you describe, and we most certainly are not the same.” The villagers simply waited for the explanation to continue, and Xal provided. “These people here, three ponies along with a zebra and griffon, saved me. I was trapped, lost, and they allowed me among their people and invited me into their home. As for J’Poc, he is a criminal.” “A criminal?” “Yes, surely you’ve had some of your villages do bad things before?” Xal questioned. Ronaar slowly began to lower his weapon. “Some moons ago, one hunter killed another over a petty squabble. He was exiled for his actions.” Xal nodded. “J’Poc is like that, only worse. As that hunter was a criminal among your people he is a criminal among mine, and I intend to stop him at all costs.” Ronaar considered the sharin’s words, searching for deception in both his physical features and his emotions. “You appear to speak the truth, and these others are going to help you?” “They, Ronaar,” Teneer assured him. “They wish to end his threat.” “And what must we give in return?” “Nothing,” Princess Twilight said. “He may have something we want, he may not. Either way, we cannot leave him here to torment you so.” Previously anxious mutters turned excited, hope actually returning to the local villagers for the first time since J’Poc first arrived on their doorstep. Ronaar himself dared look hopeful, but he turned to the Elder with a desperate look on his face. “Teneer, assure me on your ancestors AND your honour as Elder that these people are to be trusted, please.” Teneer placed a hand on the hunter’s shoulder. “I swear, my friend. They can be trusted.” Finally, Ronaar relented. “Very well, Elder. I trust you.” Teneer nodded, and turned to address the rest of the villagers. “I know you’re all scared, I know J’Poc has taken much. He holds several of our people still as his slaves, but that is at an end. Tomorrow, with our friends, we shall drive him from our lands and take back our home!” Cheers erupted among the villagers as the away team looked on. “They have a flair for the dramatic, don’t they?” Iynx snarked. Princess Twilight shook her head, albeit with a small smirk. She turned to the rest of her group to talk to them directly. “Xal, Iynx, you are with me. The rest of you, relax for the night. We’ve got a long day ahead tomorrow.” A round of affirmatives came back, and as three of them moved off to find a cosy place near the fire the others were met by Teneer and Ronaar, who had just been talking. “Princess, I must apologise for the suspicion,” Ronaar bowed his head respectfully. “Teneer has just been informing me of what transpired, I’m sorry for the loss of some of your people.” Twilight held up a hoof. “There is no need to apologise, your suspicions were only natural after recent events. Now, myself along with Xal and Commander Iynx here would like to discuss our plans for tomorrow.” “Of course,” Teneer confirmed. “Ronaar will be joining as since he is chief hunter, follow me.” As Tenner led the group away into the Elder’s hut to discuss their plans, the two ponies and one zebra had settled down to one side of the fire. The natives were still giving them a wide berth, but they couldn’t really blame them. “I came out here to test drive a starship, now we’re saving a group of primitives,” Nimble Star stated to the other two, her were leaning against one another to his left. “I mean, does this not sound like a plot from one of those old science fiction shows?” Silver Wrench chuckled. “I must admit, everything that has happened to us does sound like a television series, doesn’t it?” “Ah, fiction and reality aren’t always so different,” Geneser stated. “The similarities aren’t so insignificant.” “What’s that meant to mean?” Nimble asked. “Probably something along the lines of the fiction of the past potentially being our future or something,” Silver Wrench shrugged, earning him an annoyed look from his marefriend. She sighed with a role of her eyes. “His explanation does fit… despite his way of saying it.” “You know you love me really,” he said with a smirk. Geneser hummed. “Sometimes, perhaps. Though your worlds earn you some slaps.” “She added that last bit for the rhyme, didn’t she?” Nimble deadpanned. “Yup,” Silver responded. “Does she ever not rhyme, I mean without tricking her into not rhyming?” “Not usually,” he shrugged, but a mischievous smirk formed on his muzzle. “With one exception, the other night I discovered that her bedroom vocabulary only seems to consist of ‘f-” A hoof colliding with the side of his head stopped him mid-sentence, but did send him into a storm of laughter at the beetroot red mare in his hooves. Nimble held up both his hooves, though couldn’t hide his own smirk. “Whatever you two get up to in your spare time is none of my business.” Despite Silver’s continued laughter, however, now it was Geneser’s turn to smirk. “Silver now may act all confident and dismissive,” she said. “But when I think back to those nights, I realise he was quite submissive.” Silver’s laughter halted as a blush replaced it, trying to ignore Nimble’s raised eyebrow. “So… who’s leading this relationship between you two exactly?” Geneser only gave a smug look as Silver’s eye twitched slightly. “Her… Definitely her,” he muttered, but Nimble heard it. Nimble Star snorted in amusement, but nothing else was said. The three just continued to look towards the fire until the others were all finished, Geneser and Silver snuggled against one another. Meanwhile, in the Elder’s hut the others were deep in discussion. Much to Ronaar and Teneer’s amazement, Twilight had used her magic to produce a lavender holographic map of the area. “This is where we are due to meet,” Teneer pointed at a section of the map not too far from the village. “Will J’Poc be there?” Iynx asked. “No,” Teneer responded. “Only the soulless ones, returning the old batch of slaves and receiving the next group.” “So he moves the slaves around in shifts?” Xal inquired. “The labourers mostly,” Ronaar stated. “And the women he has grown bored of, which is rare.” “So we spring the slaves during the transfer?” Iynx asked. “That’s the idea,” the Princess confirmed. “But we will have to act fast and make for J’Poc right after, once he finds out about our alliance the slaves at the Interceptor will be in the firing line. We need to take him out fast while surprise is still on our side.” “I’m glad we’ve got you with us, Princess,” Iynx stated. “Against that many drones and with so few phasers compared to spears… I’m happy to have an alicorn about.” “You’ve seen war, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Ronaar questioned. “Like you wouldn’t believe,” Twilight grimly responded. “We’ll get your people back, and stop J’Poc. I promise.”