//------------------------------// // 26 - Plans // Story: Harmony Among The Stars // by tom117z //------------------------------// Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Personal Log Supplemental, December 24th, 3382 AD. It would appear that we have found ourselves in the middle of a dire emergency. The gaecha, who have stalked us for so long, have finally taken action. On this day, Hearthswarming Eve, of all times… They have blocked out our ability to go to FTL, the ‘bubble’ can’t form around the ship successfully. Something that isn’t affecting the gaecha we’d have to assume, the device specifically targeting us. My little ponies are in great danger, and I fear there is no running this time. The moment we run, the gaecha will know they’ve been detected and be on us in an instant. If we continue forwards, we run right into their ambush. Either way, combat is inevitable. We are one ship, one badly damaged ship against four advance warships beyond our own technology. I still remember as clear as day how our previous encounter ended, the fire and the corpses of the crew littering the hallways. Too many never found, but rather vented into outer space to forever wander the void. So we cannot run, and must fight. But is this a fight we can ever hope to win? Is there even a chance? I have faced unspeakable odds before, many times spanning all the way back to the return of Princess Luna, then known as Nightmare Moon. But this… this is new. We are infants in a larger galaxy, we are playing the gaecha’s game. But, there is one thing… One little aspect that they have already displayed a weakness to. Another game, one where they are in our home turf rather than the other way around. I do wonder, if magic might be the key to our salvation? I am an alicorn princess, their lives are all in my hooves. And I shall not fail. ES Harmony, conference room Barely two hours had passed since the crisis had arisen, and the ship was still heading directly into the jaws of the beast. There were no secrets, the entire crew was fully aware of their predicament and possible impending doom. Nerves were high, morale was strained, but they continued on with their duties with the dedication expected of ESP Officers. As always, they made the Princess of Friendship very proud indeed. All of the senior staff were gathered. Iynx, Nimble Star, Geneser, Silver Wrench and Xal were looking up at the Princess expectantly, the alicorn in question standing before a monitor displaying an outline of the system and the four hostile starships within. “This is what we’re up against,” Twilight stated. “Four ships, the same four that attacked us all those months ago. They attempted to conceal themselves from our sensors, the same device that is affecting our FTL capability has also affected their cloaking devices, even if their own faster than light capabilities are intact.” “They’re devious, I’ll give them that,” Iynx stated. “Respectable warriors, too.” “Says the griffon,” Nimble Star jabbed. “But what about the probe idea?” “I say we go ahead with it,” Twilight stated. They planned to release a probe with all of the ship's data, including personal logs, to set course to Equus just in case they didn’t survive. “They don’t yet know we’ve spotted them?” Silver Wrench enquired. “As long as we don’t give any indication, they will remain docile for now,” the Princess answered. “But if we attempt to flee, they will surely know. Our only option is to continue on course.” “And what then?” Nimble Star asked. “Princess, we barely scratched them last time. We’ll do even less now, I’m sure.” “He’s right,” Commander Iynx added in, the griffon looking solemn. “I’ve run simulation after simulation, and all lead to the same resolution if it comes to direct conflict.” Iynx held up a small portable display in her talon, drawing attention to it before throwing it haphazardly onto the table. It was a series of statistics and diagrams, far too many showing the smouldering wreckage of the Harmony for the crew’s liking. The griffon huffed. “Direct assault leads to immediate disintegration via a volley of torpedoes. Flying into the atmosphere of the planet leads to us crashing landing and becoming stranded on a world we can’t breathe on. A strafing run to destroy the source of the disturbance to our FTL works, we could jump out before we are too badly damaged. However, we wouldn’t get far before they catch up and destroy us mid-FTL.” “To be trapped by those so full of sin…” Geneser shook her head. “Quite the conundrum we’ve found ourselves in.” While the talk continued, Xal remained silent throughout. He was intently studying some reading he had taken of the asteroid belt on the edge of the system, a quizzical expression on the sharin’s muzzle. “I could leave the ship, draw some of the fire,” the Princess noted. “With my magic I could maybe do something, but against a target that size and FOUR of them… On top of that, while their technology may be inefficient against magic and their shields may not stop a teleport inside, I don’t know if my teleport will be disrupted in any way in turn. I could emerge inside out for all I know.” “I can only see them sending one ship after you, the other three would still be on us,” Iynx pointed out. “If they send any ship after you at all. They might ignore you until the Harmony is gone.” “I’m not all powerful, I can’t fight four fully functional starships by myself,” Twilight stated factually, though a slightly devious, and quite dark smirk formed a moment later. “Though, I could do something with the sun.” “The sun?” “I’ve moved the sun back home in Celestia’s stead a few times, I know how to control a star,” Twilight stated. “But forming a bond with one takes time, and when Celestia took over as its caretaker the natural orbit of our world had already been disrupted. I doubt I could take over the orbits so quickly, it’d take a long time and lot of work to take control of the gravitational forces.” “Then what could you do?” “A nudge. A massive solar flare that would consume the system perhaps.” “That would destroy us all with it!” Silver Wrench objected. “I know,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I’m considering it a last resort, if it comes down to only myself being left alive.” “Princess, I ask we do not think of such things,” Geneser nervously asked. “That is quite the shadow casted by your vast wings.” Twilight bit her lip. She had to admit the ‘solar flare’ idea was a dark one, but she had no intention of letting the gaecha escape to harm others. Of course, the flare could also catch the probe they were soon to launch and destroy that too. Even if the system was largely barren, it was not an idea she relished. “I have a better idea,” Nimble Star stated, though his tone seemed more deadpan that anything. “Lob a torpedo or two past their ships with Want-It Need-It spell casted on them. They'll murder each other fighting over a bomb." “I don’t think that spell differentiates between gaecha and otherwise,” Twilight rebuffed. “If I managed one large enough to cover the vast distances of space, we run the risk that you all would possibly be caught in it too.” “I’m not an expert at magic, but doesn’t it depend on line of sight?” “Line of sight or area of affect, I created a variation,” Twilight stated, earning concerned looks. “I was bored one night! But still, a line of sight spell holds a lot of room for error. The gaecha could easily figure out what’s happened and replace those affected. Or perhaps not, but the plan is still hardly a sound one.” “I agree that in a normal case a spell like that would be a bad idea,” Iynx said. “But this isn’t a normal case, perhaps extreme and risky plans should be considered.” “That may not be necessary,” Xal finally spoke up, causing all eyes to glance in his direction. “Xal, something you wish to share?” Twilight asked. “We’ve been so focused on what awaits us at the planet of the gaecha’s choosing, that we’ve failed to look beyond,” he stated. “It occurred to me that some odd reading from the asteroid belt deserved a looking into. And it seems I’ve found something most curious.” “Oh?” the Princess asked with a raised eyebrow. “Then by all means, continue. Any information can help by this point.” Xal nodded, putting the device he was holding back onto the table before speaking again. “Thank you. Now, we are beyond the space charted by my people and getting closer and closer to your homeworld.” “Correct.” “Am I correct in assuming that magic has been already present on both of your colonies outside the home system?” Twilight creased her brow. “Yes. We have found magic in both location, though not in as great quantities as back on Equus. Why?” “You haven’t charted that many systems, even surrounding your own limited space. This is one of them?” “Once again, yes.” “Well then,” Xal stated, sitting upright and confidently in his seat. “It appears the region of space around your world is the birthplace of magic in the known galaxy, with Equus being the centre of it all. The systems around have it too, but less and less the further out you get. This system would appear to be one of those at the edges.” The Princess blinked. “Wait, are you saying you detected magic in this system?” “It was faint, but there,” Xal confirmed. “A single asteroid within the belt, buried deep among the others. There is indeed a magical signature there.” “Let me see.” Twilight took the pad and examined the sharin’s findings. If she were Pinkie Pie, a very real lightbulb would be appearing over her head at that very moment. “Princess?” Iynx gently called out. “Oh you have to love the universe’s twists of fate!” the Princess happily explained. “The magic within the asteroid appears… unstable. It would take a large output of magic, but one could theoretically cause a chain reaction with the spell matrices that would cause a cascade effect. The asteroid would be destroyed, but the unleashed magical force would claim a wide area of effect. Harmless aside from a bit of turbulence, for us anyway.” The Commander’s eyes widened. “But the gaecha’s technology are quite susceptible to magic! Their systems could be severely compromised by such a large magical pulse!” “And I think we know where to get the large output of magic required,” Silver Wrench stated, him and all the others looking towards the Princess of Friendship. “You’ve caught on,” Twilight complimented. “Aside from a bump or two, the Harmony will ride out the pulse with little trouble. The gaecha however, should they be caught in the blast, would be far worse off than us.” “Shields, maybe some of their weapons, and who knows how many subsystems,” Iynx eagerly remarked. “They would be vulnerable, we could actually fight back! Doubly so if, as suggested earlier, the Princess is out there fighting alongside the ship.” “It’s still dangerous, we don’t know how much the effect would be or how long it might last,” Twilight pointed out. “But short of eagerly following a bomb to our own doom or giant world ending solar flares, this is easily our best plan. I say we go for it.” Nimble Star shrugged. “Well then, who are we to argue with the Princess?” All of a sudden, the mood around the table had risen immensely. For the first time since the situation arose, there was a sense of hope returning. Perhaps, just perhaps, the probe would not be needed. Perhaps, they could tell their story themselves. “It is the most logical pursuit,” Xal agreed. “But as Princess Twilight stated, still dangerous. “Navigating the asteroid field is one thing. Then we must lure out the gaecha.” “That should be easy,” Iynx stated. “We get to the asteroid and set up, and then we just wait. Eventually the gaecha will grow tired of waiting and come to us. Alternatively, we could make it clear we know they’re there to draw them out, whether by making it look like we’re about to reverse course out of the system or by hailing them with a quick ‘hello’.” “In the meantime, I can rally the engineering team and see if we can’t put a little extra into weapons and shields,” Silver Wrench agreed, before smiling and lovingly placing his hoof atop Geneser’s. “But whatever happens, we do it together.” “I’m proud to do so,” Xal spoke up. “I know I’m an outsider, but I do not regret for a moment the decision to join your crew and immerse within your culture. Together we saved an entire species, and should we live we might have set the foundation of a great alliance between our worlds.” “As the Princess of Friendship, I couldn’t agree more,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said with her motherly smile beaming at the gathered officers. “Captain Star Gazer would be proud, just as I am. And I cannot help but feel things are coming to a close. Either way, the plan is set. Now, it must be enacted.”