Along Came a Spider Part I
Acting Captain’s log, Stardate ‘screw you, I’m not learning how that crap works’. We’ve finally reached Starbase 39 and just in time, too. I don’t think we could’ve gone another light-year without something else falling apart. That fight with the Orions really did a number on the ole’ girl, although I’m confident that a few days on the station will do us all some good.
I have also decided to get my life on track. Instead of simply gallivanting all over the quadrant looking for menial work and table scraps, I have elected to hand in my resume to Starfleet and apply for a courier position. As much as I value my independence, I also value the perks that come with working for one of the largest interstellar organizations around. A job with Starfleet means guaranteed credits, repair and resupply whenever we need, and most importantly, safety. Starfleet looks after those in its employment very well, a perk that Trixie will undoubtedly like when I tell her. By becoming a courier, I still retain quite a bit of freedom to move around, allowing Trixie to perform pretty much wherever we go, should she decide to. (End recording)
“Come in!” I called from my desk as the door chime rang. “I’m almost ready to go, just putting the finishing touches on my resume,” I added as Trixie entered.
“How does it look?” she asked, walking over to look at it.
“It’s not bad…” I mused, grabbing my light jacket from the back of my chair. “I haven’t made a resume in a very long time so I’m a little out of practice.”
“Do you think it’ll be enough to get the job?” Normally, anything resembling concern or pragmatism coming from Trixie would warrant Red Alert but after expressing her support for my endeavor, I had no reason to worry.
“It might be,” I replied as Trixie levitated the pad up to me whilst we departed. “At least, I hope so. That would solve a lot of problems, wouldn’t it?”
“As long as it helps Trixie reach fame and fortune, you can do whatever you want,” the showmare answered with a cocky grin. I chuckled.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
***
Like most other Federation Starbases, 39 Sierra was absolutely massive. In similar fashion to Earth Starbase, Sierra resembled a gigantic metal mushroom with a very long stem and a city built atop the cap. The station could hold a lot of space-faring vessels of many different configurations simultaneously and I hoped that they would have room in the cavernous repair bays for my little starship.
The fact that Trixie wasn’t impressed by the scale or sophistication didn’t surprise me. Having come from a much smaller and less dense population center, she wasn’t the most comfortable mare when it came to large places or crowds. I had asked her about that one day.
“Cities and crowds at Trixie’s shows are a different story,” she informed me. “When she’s on stage, there could be a million ponies watching all around me and it wouldn’t matter. Ah, such is the life of somepony as Great and Powerful as myself!”
Yeah, something like that.
Despite the sheer size of the installation, it didn’t take us long to find the Starfleet Employment & Enlistment office. Once there, I handed the datapad containing my resume to an Andorian ensign and was soon sent on my merry way to our next stop-Engineering. I breathed a sigh of relief as a cheerful Commander assured us that repair work on the Ranger would begin within the next few hours. Hearing that got rid of a heavy burden and I felt better knowing that my precious ship was in capable hands.
“Well that was a lucky break, huh?” I asked as Trixie and I left the Engineering department. “I remember during the Dominion War trying to get even simple routine work done. With all the Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan ships in the war effort, there wasn’t much room for us…well, whatever you’d call me.”
“Dominion…War?” Trixie asked. I could see the discomfort written all over her face and immediately apologized.
“Sorry. I know you don’t like hearing about fights. I’ll try my best to keep anything like that to myself from now on.”
“Thanks. After her last…encounter in Ponyville and everything we’ve been through, Trixie isn’t exactly the biggest fan of conflict.”
“I hear ya,” I agreed. “I’m getting pretty sick of it myself. Hopefully, after the Ranger’s all patched up, we’ll be able to stay out of trouble, huh?” The showmare nodded.
“Trixie hopes so.” We walked in silence for a bit, working through oncoming foot-traffic on our way to the civilian decks for some food and well-deserved R&R. “By the way, did you talk to the…”
“…Captain?” I guessed, pretty sure I knew what she was about to ask.
“Yeah, the captain. Did you give him the information you gathered from the alien station?”
“The lady at the desk managed to make an appointment. Apparently, things have been nice and slow ‘round here lately. That’s probably how I was able to get the Ranger fixed so quickly. I’m gonna meet him in four days.”
“So, until then…Trixie can relax?” I nodded.
“You bet, although it’ll be closer to a week before the Ranger’s back to full strength. In the meantime, have you thought about doing some shows here? Even though there’s not much going on, I’ll bet that there’ll be a few weary starship crews in need of some top-notch entertainment that only a mare with your talents can provide…” I smiled and gave the blue mare a gentle nudge. She gave me an odd look. “Sorry, that probably sounded really bad.” Trixie rolled her eyes.
“To answer your question, yes, Trixie plans to amaze as many crowds as she can while we’re here. Otherwise, I’d be bored out of my tree.”
“That’s a good reason, too.”
“Oh, and because money.”
“Ah, of course.” I nodded sagely. I grabbed at my stomach as it suddenly growled at me. “Oh man, I don’t know about you but I’m freakin’ starving. Feel like grabbing a bite?”
“Trixie has a figure to maintain, in case you haven’t noticed. Nopony wants to watch a fat showmare, after all.” Her stomach disagreed and loudly voiced its displeasure, causing her cheeks to redden. “Maybe just a bite,” she added sheepishly.
“I thought you might,” I replied with a grin. “So…what do you feel like? Restaurant or replicator?”
“You can’t be serious. All Trixie eats is replicated food! No, that won’t do this time! Trixie needs something new, something fresh, something delicious to cleanse her Great and Powerful palate!” She held a hoof up to her chin and surveyed the large dining deck, studying the dozens of different choices. Many Alpha Quadrant races had food stands on the Starbase, something like a galactic food court. With that, of course, came several different dining tiers for those more affluent than others. Just because the Federation didn’t use money in the traditional sense, didn’t mean that no one else did. Thus, there were dining choices for those with and for those without currency and as one might expect, the most extravagant ones required latinum or copious amounts of credits. “Something like…” she continued. “…that!” she finished, pointing excitedly at the swankiest place on the deck and most likely the station itself. “An establishment of that caliber is exactly what Trixie needs!”
“Y’know, I actually like Ferengi snail steaks,” I declared. “I don’t like the Ferengi themselves but I’ve gotta admit that they’ve got some tasty snails.”
“Were you even listening to Trixie?”
“Yep.”
“And?”
“And you’re crazy! We can’t afford to eat there! These repairs are gonna eat up most of our credits as it is.”
“‘We’? Speak for yourself,” Trixie replied haughtily. “You may be a peasant at the moment but the Great and Powerful Trixie has more than enough to enjoy a proper meal!”
“Yeah, for now,” I cautioned. “You’ve gotta remember how hard you worked for that and what we went through to earn it. Do you honestly think that blowing it on one dinner is the best way to use it? I know you’re sick of replicated food and believe me, so am I. Still, there’s a lot of places here to get a good fresh meal. Why don’t we keep checking places out until we find one that’s good and budget-friendly?” Trixie gave me a sour look.
“Fine…” she replied with a pout.
“Good. Anyone ever tell you you’re cute when you pout like that?” I added, gently scratching behind one of her ears.
“H…hey! Where did that come from?” the showmare protested, trying in vain to hold off a blush.
“That was for calling me a ‘peasant’!” I exclaimed with a chuckle. “In case you’ve forgotten, the only reason I’m poor is because I’ve got a ship to maintain. A ship that both you and I live in. Actually, on that note, dinner’s on you, right?” I laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement, knowing that Trixie would rather go planking strapped atop the Ranger whilst traveling through a temporal rift.
“Okay.”
I stopped mid-chortle.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that.”
“Trixie…wouldn’t mind paying this time.” To say I was merely pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. “What? Is that so weird?” she asked, seeing the incredulous expression on my face.
“No, not at all!” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Okay, fine. I just…wasn’t expecting that.”
“Well, don’t get used to it,” she replied indignantly, tossing her head. “Trixie has no plans to make that a regular occurrence.” Oh brother, I thought, resisting the urge to face-palm and ruin the moment.
“You’re tsundering again!” I responded in a light sing-song voice.
“I…Trixie is not tsundering!” she hissed. “Stop saying that she is!”
“Then stop doing it!”
“Just shut up and pick a restaurant!”
“Ooh, letting me choose now, huh? This just keeps getting better and better!”
“Trixie will end you!”
***
“You are aware that every time I catch you tsundering, I’m gonna call you out on it, right?”
“Just shut up and eat,” Trixie mumbled, levitating another forkful of Andorian green salad into her mouth while I enjoyed another bite of snail steak. I know that it sounds gross but it actually had the texture and taste of really, really tender beef. I realize that they probably seasoned it to taste more appealing to local palates; needless to say, I was rather enjoying my first non-replicated meal in quite some time and from the look of her empty plate, Trixie was too.
“Good salad?” I asked.
“Trixie finds it…satisfactory.”
“Good enough for me. Hey, how about desert?” I suggested. “I spotted a cool-looking place on our way here that sells all kinds of traditional Earth deserts. I’m sure I could find at least one to help you wash down that salad.”
“Sure.” Trixie replied as our waiter returned. True to her word, the blue mare took the waiter’s datapad and paid, even leaving a tip. “Shall we go?” I smiled, seeing her rarely-seen friendly disposition begin to surface. I guess a good meal what just what the doctor ordered after all; I know I felt batter at least.
“You bet. Somewhere on this deck is a pastry with my name on it.”
Later…
“Om nom nom nom nom…” I grinned as I watched Trixie eagerly munching on a hot, fresh strawberry turnover. There times when I loved being right, and this was definitely one of those times. She had been skeptical at first but as soon as the delicious smell of fresh pastry reached her nose, the showmare had practically raced towards the small café.
At first, Trixie had opted for an apple turnover but eventually decided on a fruit she’d never tried before; the God-tier of berries, the one and only strawberry. Combine that with some of the finest pastry available this side of the Neutral Zone and you had a desert that the blue mare simply couldn’t get enough of. It wasn’t until her third one that she remembered to ‘watch her figure’. I myself settled on a traditional Swiss Roll, having quite liking for Swiss chocolate cake and real whipped cream. Between the company and the food, it was the perfect way to wrap up our first night on Starbase 39.
“Had enough?” I asked as Trixie levitated a napkin to her muzzle and wiped it clean.
“Trixie is…quite pleased.”
“Hmm, from the way you were scarfing down those turnovers, I’d say you were more than just ‘pleased’.”
“Okay, okay! You were right! They were one of the most delicious things Trixie has ever eaten. Happy?” she finished with a mock glare.
“Yep!” I exclaimed, leaning back into my chair. A couple moments went by, during which the showmare looked at me with a quizzical, scrutinizing expression. “What?”
“You’ve got some…cream on your face…” she said quietly.
“Oh? Heh heh, whoops. Guess I was enjoying that desert even more than I thought, huh? I’ll just take care of that…”
“No! I mean…Trixie can get that for you…” she replied, quietly again as if embarrassed.
“Alright, if you really want to,” I answered with a shrug.
What happened next was easily one of the most unexpected moments of our time together thus far, which by the way, includes the Mirror Universe Incursion, the Orion raids, and our little jaunt to the space station in the middle of that spacial rift. Instead of simply levitating a napkin over and wiping the small dollop off my cheek, she leaned forward and softly licked it away, making a slow pass with her soft tongue. While it felt very pleasant, I wasn’t sure what to think. I didn’t even think of what the other patrons or onlookers might’ve thought but I didn’t really care. I was too busy trying to figure out why she had selected such an intimate way of accomplishing a task that could’ve been performed with a napkin. As if sensing my confusion, Trixie took a step back and looked to the side.
“Y…you kept talking about how good it was. I…Trixie, just wanted…to try some…for herself,” she stammered, clearly embarrassed at her own daring, and in public no less. It had to be customary for Equestrian ponies to assist each other with their personal grooming or something. I’d heard about how pegasus ponies would help preen each other’s wings; this must’ve been the same thing but for earth ponies and unicorns.
“Well, I can’t blame you, although you could’ve just told me if you wanted one. I may be poor but a Swiss Roll for a friend is definitely in the realm of possibilities.” I offered.
“Y…you don’t have to…”
“I want to. Come to think of it, do they have chocolate on your world?” Trixie nodded. “Well then, this’ll be a perfect opportunity to see how Earth chocolate stacks up against Equestrian chocolate. I’ll be right back.” With that, I went over to the counter and a few moments later, returned with two more of the chocolate treats. “Ready to go?”
“Trixie is if you are.”
“You bet. Let’s go check in with the Doctor and see how those repairs are coming along.”
***
“What do you mean we can’t go in?” I asked as reached the Ranger’s repair bay.
“I mean you can’t go in,” the Engineer replied as he went back to button-pushing on the console next to the large window through which we could see the Ranger surrounded by gantries and robotic arms, all working diligently to fix her up. “There was extensive damage to the power couplings, relays, plasma conduits, and that’s just the minor damage. 40 percent of the hull needs new plating, 60 percent of the ship needs new superstructure, you need a new starboard nacelle, your phaser banks are kaput, the shield emitter’s fried, half the turbolifts are fused from plasma scoring, and your warp core’s had it.” He wiped his brow. “I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.”
“Oh man, I knew it was bad but…level with me here,” I replied nervously. “She’s gonna be okay, right? I mean, you can fix this, can’t you?”
“Relax, we’ll get it done,” the Engineer assured me. “This Starbase is home to some of the most sophisticated starship repair and augmentation equipment around. Something like this is no sweat for this station’s repair systems.”
“I’m glad to hear it. So…why can’t I go in again?”
“In order to properly repair your damaged power systems, we had to shut practically everything down.”
“Guess we’ll need some accommodations, huh?” I asked, turning to Trixie.
“If you need a place to stay, just head over to the Starbase quartermaster. He’ll get you both settled in.” the Engineer explained.
“Thanks, we’ll head right over there,” I said. “Shall we go? There’s not much we can do here.”
“Yes, we should probably find somewhere to spend the night,” Trixie agreed. “And somewhere for Trixie to prepare for her shows.”
“Yeah, now that we don’t have access to the Ranger’s holodecks,” I mused. Although averse to using them at first, the showmare soon found them quite useful. With a holodeck, she had access to a reasonably realistic audience and a venue. Everything else, she provided for herself. “I’m pretty sure a station this big will have a holodeck or two for you to practice on.” I turned to the Engineer. “Can I access datafiles from the Ranger’s computer?”
“As a precaution, we transferred your ship’s data to our own database. You can access anything you want from that console,” the Engineer explained, pointing to another nearby console.
“Thanks. By the way, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Commander Richards, Chief Engineer of Starbase 39 Sierra.”
“Cole Stevens,” I replied, shaking his hand. “And this is my companion, Trixie.”
“Ah, so the rumors are true,” Richards replied, kneeling down to the showmare. He extended his hand and to my surprise, Trixie shook it. “When I heard that there was an actual Equestrian among us, I have to say that I was skeptical. Personally, I was unaware that an Equestrian had yet made it this far away from their homeworld.”
“As far as we know, Trixie’s the only one,” I answered.
“Well, from the looks of your ship, it must’ve been an interesting trip.”
“You could say that. Thanks again for looking after us, Commander. Ready to go?” I inquired of the blue mare. She nodded. “I’ll drop by later tomorrow to check up on her.”
“Right. See you then.”
***
“About time!” Trixie declared as we entered our room. “Trixie was growing weary of trotting about this metal monstrosity!”
“You and me both,” I replied as the door slid shut behind us. “I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted. Let’s get some shuteye.”
“For once, Trixie agrees,” the showmare added as we looked about for the other bed.
Awkward silence.
“Um…” I mused. “Is it just me or…”
“Why is there only one bed?” Trixie demanded. “Why did that officer think we only needed one bed?”
“I dunno, maybe he thought you were my pet or something,” I answered with a shrug.
“Wh…why would he…what did he…a PET!?” she yelled, forcing me to cover my ears.
“Well, you were pretty quiet at the office,” I offered. “And don’t forget that you’re new around here. Not everyone knows who the Equestrians are. Or maybe he just thought we were a couple or something.”
“A…WHAT?” I covered my ears as another audible onslaught washed over me. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is nobody’s pet and she could certainly do better than you!” She looked over at me as I gave her a confused expression.
“Not sure if tsundering…”
“TRIXIE IS NOT TSUNDERING!”
***
“Begin night watch,” Captain Wright exclaimed as he stepped onto the Starbase’s bridge before heading to the replicator for some much-needed caffeine. The lights dimmed and bathed the large control centre in a warm blue glow, signaling that night watch had begun. Grabbing his coffee, the captain did a quick walkabout, ensuring that everyone’s stations were operating normally, before returning to his chair. Thus far, the week had been rather uneventful; very few starships had approached for help. In fact, the only one that had within the last couple of days was docked in the new Repair and Augmentation facility, where it was undergoing some much-needed work.
Wright had always made a point of knowing the intimate details of the goings-on aboard his station. As such, he knew very well who the owner of the small Nova-class was along with its intriguing passenger. He almost didn’t believe it at first; although the princesses had accepted the Federation and allowed Starfleet a research base on their world, the Equestrians had never expressed an interest in interstellar travel. That begged the question; what was one of their own doing so far from her homeworld? It was strange yet encouraging; Wright saw great potential in the Equestrians and hoped that someday, they would realize their potential and enlighten themselves by traversing the galaxy.
The captain chuckled at his own idealism. He’d been in Starfleet too long; the organization’s lofty ideals had long since made his head their summer home. For the time being, all he could hope for was that someday, he’d personally receive a docking request from an Equestrian vessel. Huh, that’ll be the day, he thought as he got up to stretch his legs.
“Sir? I’m picking up something strange on the proximity sensors,” an ensign informed him.
“What is it, Ensign?” Wright asked as he made his way over to the sensor terminal.
“I don’t know, sir. There’s nothing…wait a second, I’m getting more readings. It looks like some kind of spacial anomaly. It’s generating a massive amount of gravimetric particles!”
“You mean…something’s coming through?” Wright asked amid the anxious chatter around him.
“I think so, sir!”
“Bring it up on the viewscreens!” The viewscreens flickered to life and Wright beheld the massive panoramic view of the space around 39 Sierra. “Isolate it!” A reticule appeared around a rapidly-expanding orange ‘tear’ in the space a mere 50 kilometers from the Starbase. “Magnify, times four!”
At once, there was a collective gasp as the crew witnessed the emergence of dozens of elongated pyramid-shaped vessels.
“Sir, something’s jamming our communications!” another officer cried from her station.
“Red Alert! Tell all Starfleet ships to repel attackers!” Wright exclaimed as everyone worked frantically.
“Sir! The Merrimack and the Cygnus have been destroyed! There aren’t any more ships in the area!” another reported. Wright slammed his fist against another console.
“Damnit, already!? Route all available power to the shields! Keep those things out at all costs! Send a station-wide alert! With the exception of Starfleet personnel, everyone is to return to their quarters and stay put until this is over!” the captain ordered.
“Attention all Starfleet personnel, report to stations immediately and await further orders. All civilian personnel are instructed to return to their assigned quarters until…” The Lieutenant’s message was cut off by the sudden appearance of an alien face on every viewscreen on the station, accompanied by a text-based message.
Your base is now under the jurisdiction of the Tholian Assembly. Surrender peacefully and submit to us. Be correct; we do not tolerate deceit.
“Well, they don’t want much, do they?” Wright mused as the station shook.
“Sir, why have the Tholians attacked us? We haven’t had any contact with the Assembly in 30 years.” another crewman asked.
“I don’t know but I’m damned if I’m going to lose this station to them,” Wright replied gruffly. “Order all Security teams to prepare for possible boarding parties and contact Chief Engineer Richards; tell them to keep our shields and hull integrity up no matter what. Keep trying to get a message through their interference. They’re not getting my station.”
“Yes sir!”
***
“Wake up!” Trixie yelled, rousing me from my slumber.
“Aaaaack!” I shouted in shock as I sat bolt-upright just in time to feel the entire station shake. “What the Hell’s going on?”
“You tell me!”
“Are we…are we under attack?” I asked of no one in particular.
“Attention all Starfleet personnel; prepare to repel boarders. Repeat, prepare to repel boarders. All civilians should proceed to Engineering decks. Repeat, all civilians proceed to Engineering decks.”
“I guess that answers my question,” I muttered as I hurriedly dressed myself. “Come on, let’s go!” I exclaimed, signalling for Trixie to follow me. “And stay close this time! I don’t want to lose you in the crowd!” Remembering all-too-well what happened last time she didn’t heed his warning, Trixie made a mental note to stick to me like glue.
“Why did they tell us to go to Engineering?” Trixie asked as she raced alongside myself and several others.
“It’s the safest place on the station,” I explained. “Along with the repair facilities, Engineering is buried deep within the Starbase. That way, there’ll be a lot of armor between us and whoever’s attacking.”
“So we’re just supposed to duck down and wait for someone to rescue us?” Trixie inquired, clearly unhappy with the plan.
“That sounds about right. With any luck, Starfleet will already know we’re in trouble and is bringing the cavalry as we speak.”
“With any luck?” I couldn’t blame Trixie for her frustration; we just couldn’t catch a break. I took a deep breath.
“Look, I know you’re upset and believe me, I am too and when we got out of this, we’re taking the most epic vacation ever but for now, we’ve gotta obey the safety protocols.” She stopped and looked up at me, her expression laden with uncertainty. I knelt down and gently held her shoulders. “I’m not asking you to trust them, I’m asking you to trust me. Have I ever let you down?”
“No. No you haven’t.” Trixie quietly conceded.
“Then come with me and I promise we’ll get out of this just fine,” I encouraged, hoping that I could deliver on such a claim.
We eventually reached the Engineering section of the station. Thankfully, the vast section was more than adequate to house the displaced civilians and I hoped that the brave Starfleet defenders were having as much luck as we were. It is was also fortunate that Trixie and I wound up very close to the Ranger’s repair bay and I was relieved to see that the grand majority of the repairs were already finished.
“Commander Richards!” I exclaimed, sighting the black and yellow-clad officer. He and several other Engineering personnel looked up.
“Mr. Stevens! Glad you could make it,” he replied. “I’d love to chat with you but we’ve got a bit of a situation here!”
“I see that! Is there anything we…” I paused and looked over at Trixie. “…anything I can do to help?” I asked, moving to join the other staff. I felt a tug on my jacket and looked down to see an annoyed yet determined showmare.
“Trixie wants to help, too...”
“Really?” I admonished.
“Yes! Is that so hard to believe?”
“Y’know, it’s actually not,” I replied with a grateful smile. “Commander! Cole Stevens and Trixie reporting for duty!” I exclaimed with a salute.
“Trust me, as much as I could use a hand, you’re not exactly trained Engineers,” Richards replied as he frantically pushed some more buttons.
“I realize that but there’s gotta be something we can do!” Richards paused and thought about it.
“Who am I to refuse an extra hand? Alright, get over to that station and tell me if the deflector power level exceeds tolerable limits!”
“Right!” I shouted as I ran to the console with Trixie in tow. The job itself wasn’t difficult; after all, I’d been monitoring ship functions on the Ranger since day one and this was no different.
“What is Trixie to do?” the showmare asked urgently. That was a tough one. I thought about it as I gazed around the deck when something caught my attention. A group of frightened children sat against one of the tall wall-like windows between Main Engineering and the hangar. It gave me an idea.
“Trixie, you see those kids out there?” I asked, pointing out towards them. “They look pretty scared but I’ll bet some cool magic tricks would make them feel a lot better. Actually, if you wouldn’t mind entertaining the entire crowd, a show might calm everyone down, doncha think?” I suggested. Trixie nodded immediately.
“Trixie will do her best.” I nodded and ruffled her ears; she was nervous but stoic and I felt a real sense of pride as she left to undertake her mission of crowd control.
“Captain on deck!” someone exclaimed, prompting everyone in Main Engineering to salute. The man in red offered them a quick salute/wave and hurried over to Richards.
“Mr. Richards, how long will the shield keep them out?”
“We’ve got about six hours…” An explosion from somewhere interrupted him. “…five hours until the shields collapse.”
“Have you figured out a way to get a message out?”
“Negative, the Tholians are still jamming everything we try.”
“Damn! I need options, Commander!”
“I know that, sir, and we’re working on them but they caught us with our trousers down. We’re gonna be hard-pressed to mount any kind of resistance.”
“If we could only get a message through,” the Captain exclaimed in frustration. “Starfleet would boot those arachnid bastards back into whatever web they crawled out of!”
It was then that I had another one of those awful things sometimes referred to as an ‘idea’.
“What about a ship?” I asked, surprising the two officers.
“What did you say?” the captain asked.
“I said, what about a ship? If we could get a ship through that fleet out there, they could make a run for the nearest Federation base and get help!”
“We don’t have any ships right now,” Richards explained. The only Starfleet vessels around were the Merrimack and the Cygnus and they were both destroyed outright.”
“Then what about…” I mused, looking over at the newly-repaired Ranger. Richards followed my gaze and his eyes widened as he realized what I meant.
“Are you insane? That’s a Nova-class, not a battle cruiser! You wouldn’t make it 200 kilometers!”
“What is he talking about?” Captain Wright asked.
“Sir, this young man has just volunteered to run the Tholian blockade and mount a rescue! I know it sounds like a great idea and it is but the fact of the matter is that his ship just isn’t equipped for a mission like that! He would not survive.” Captain Wright placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I appreciate the thought, son, but I can’t ask you to take a risk like that, especially when the odds of success are practically zero.” A particularly hard shock threw us to the floor.
“Sir! Power relays have ruptured in Junctions A, B, and E! Shields are down to 65 percent!” someone cried.
“They just cut our time in half, didn’t they?” I asked. Richards nodded. I turned to the captain. “Look, I know the risks; I’m no stranger to them.” Especially lately, I thought. “The Ranger might not be very tough but she’s pretty quick.”
“Even if you’re faster than the Tholians, it wouldn’t take much of a shot to disable you,” Richards countered. “Unless…” Both the captain and I leaned closer, anxious to hear what the Engineer had in mind.
“Unless…what?” I ventured. Richards glanced at the captain.
“Sir. Permission to disclose classified technical data?” My eyes widened as Wright gave me a visual once-over.
“Proceed.”
“Mr. Stevens, what you are about to see is classified Starfleet information. Should you at any time disclose any of the following details to anyone who does not possess the necessary Starfleet clearance, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Is that clear?” I took a deep breath.
“Yes sir!” It was Richard’s turn to take a deep breath.
“Then come with me.” With that, he led us to a more secluded part of the Engineering deck, a small office to be exact with a large holo-projector in the middle of the room. I heard the door close behind us and as the lights dimmed, Richards directed our attention to the projector. “After our encounters with the Borg, we began an ambitious project that we hoped would be able to defend us more effectively against them and any other race, faction, or species that meant to do us harm. We called it…the Aegis.”
“The Aegis…” he continued, activating the central holo-projector. “…is a starship modification set composed of three pieces of modular equipment designed for superior performance during space combat operations.” With that, the projector lit up, displaying the components as 3D models, complete with animated demonstrations. “The first is a highly specialized Covariant Shield Array, a little something we borrowed from the Collective. Basically, it is an extremely resilient shield that quickly adapts to whatever energy type is attacking it, much like a Borg ship. The second is the Hyper-Impulse Engine, designed for superior speed and maneuverability. Last but certainly not least is a sophisticated Graviton Deflector Array that adds even more shield strength, increasing recharge rate and speed. With these equipped, it is conceivable that you would survive running the Tholian blockade.”
“I’m sold,” I replied almost immediately. “This is the most incredible gear I’ve ever seen and believe me, I’ve seen a few things. If you throw that on the Ranger, I’ll make a break for the border and have reinforcements here before the Tholians can say “oh shit”.” Richards sighed and turned to the captain.
“Sir…permission to equip his starship with the Aegis Modification.” After a pause, Wright nodded.
“Permission granted.”
***
Acting captain’s log, supplemental. According to Chief Engineer Richards, it’s only taken about a couple of hours to equip the Ranger with the Aegis technology. I know it doesn’t sound like a long time but during a battle, two hours is an eternity. At least they’re pretty much done. While I’m obviously psyched about it, the fact remains that I’ve got a Hell of a task in front of me. I hope I haven’t bit off more than I can chew.
I wonder how Trixie’s gonna react when I tell her what I’m up to. I hope she doesn’t want to go with me. Ha, who am I kidding? She’ll wanna stay in the safest place and right now, the Starbase most definitely is. Even if the Tholians did manage to break in, the emergency force fields and small army of Starfleet security would keep them busy for quite some time. Heh, there she is with some more kids…wow, she’s actually drawn a sizeable crowd! Good for her. I’m really proud of how she’s been progressing lately. When we got out of this, I’m gonna reward her with the vacation of a lifetime and I don’t care how many plasma conduits I have to scrub to pay for it. Trixie’s totally worth it. (End recording)
“Cole, what’s going on?” Trixie asked as I gently took her aside, much to the chagrin of her audience. “Don’t worry, for the Great and Powerful Trixie will soon return!” she assured them as I led her to the projector room for some privacy. I took a deep breath.
“Remember when I said that I wanted to help in any way I can?”
“Yes?” Another deep breath.
“Well, Captain Wright, Engineer Richards, and I have a plan to deal with the Tholians but they need me an’ the Ranger to pull it off.”
“You’re not…you’re not seriously thinking of going out there, are you?” Trixie asked in a hushed yet worried tone.
“Guess you got that, huh?” I asked with a helpless smile.
“You can’t go out there!” the showmare insisted. “It’s too dangerous!”
“Look, what if I told you that I have a way to pretty much guarantee my survival?”
“I don’t care! You’re not going out there!”
“I know that it sounds scary and believe me, it is, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think it would work. This plan could save a lot of people, Trixie, including your little groupie friends out there.”
“I…I don’t care! Trixie…doesn’t want you to go…” she sniffed, letting her gaze fall to the cold metal floor. I knelt down before her and gently placed my hand on her head, slowly petting her silvery mane.
“I know you don’t, but I need you to be strong right now. I know you can be, Trixie. I’ve seen it.”
“But…fine, then Trixie’s coming with you!” I shook my head.
“No. Not this time.”
“Yes she is!”
“Trust me, right now this station’s the safest place for you to be.”
“B…but…”
“I’ll be okay, Trixie, I promise!” I offered her the most confident smile I could muster under the circumstances, although it diminished as a tear rolled down the showmare’s cheek. I gently wiped it away before firmly embracing her. She returned the gesture, wrapping both front legs around me and hugging me with all her might. We stayed glued to one another for several silent minutes before I slowly pulled away, leaving her to stare at me with heartrending and tear-filled eyes.
“Please…come back safely.” she whispered, nuzzling the side of my face.
“I will.” With that, I stood up, Trixie wiped her tears away, and we returned to Main Engineering where both the captain and chief engineer were waiting for me.
“The Aegis set has been successfully integrated into the Ranger’s systems. She’s ready to go when you are,” Richards said as we entered.
“Alright. I guess this is it, then.” I nodded at Trixie, who paused before nodding back.
“Good. Now, one thing you need to know is that the Aegis set is designed to integrate seamlessly into your existing systems, therefor requiring no operational knowledge beyond what you already have. Good luck, Mr. Stevens.” Richards concluded, shaking my hand.
“We can’t thank you enough, son,” Captain Wright added, shaking my hand as well. “When this is all over, the Kanar is on me.”
“Sounds good, sir. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Ensign, prepare to transport Mr. Stevens to his ship.”
“Aye sir. Ready on your command.” I took a deep breath, taking one last look around. My gaze lingered on a certain blue pain in my ass. I smiled at her and nodded towards Richards.
“Let’s do it up!” With that, a familiar sensation enveloped me and moments later, I stood on the Ranger’s bridge.
I hardly recognized the place. Everything was so clean and shiny; it was a shame that I had so little time to appreciate it. Ah well, first things first. I had a mission to accomplish and I wasn’t gonna rest until every citizen on board that station was safe. I took my seat and laid in the quickest route out of the system. I wasn’t much of a pilot but at least the Ranger was; as such, I had no qualms about leaving my life in its hands. It had always come through in the past, after all.
“Course is laid in,” I announced via the COM to Main Engineering. “Send me out.”
“Roger that. Opening repair bay doors.” Sure enough, my ship wasted no time getting into a position in which, after the doors opened enough for me to slip out, my ship and I could rev the engines and blast out full-tilt, hopefully taking the Tholians by surprise, allowing us to escape.
Which is exactly what I did. The second those doors opened, I pushed the throttle and let the Ranger do the rest. I felt the sudden and unexpected speed push me back into my chair as we blasted by a nearby Tholian ship. I couldn’t believe the speed! Richards wasn’t joking when he was describing the Hyper-Impulse engines. Those spider freaks didn’t stand a chance in Hell of catching me.
That’s when I felt something rock the ship…but quite a bit more subdued than usual. In fact, I barely felt it at all. Must be those new Covariant Shields, I thought as they absorbed another hit. Numerous warnings went off as Tholian ships surrounded the Ranger, pelting her with weapons fire from every angle, and yet, she pressed on, undeterred.
“Shields holding at 84 percent. Covariant system activated. Now adapting to tetryon energy weapons.” I grinned.
“Alright, enough of this,” I muttered. “Computer, target the nearest Tholian ships. Let’s show ‘em that we can fight, too.” I watched the viewscreen as one of the Tholian ships flew right in front of me, only to be scorched by a phaser beam and destroyed by a second. Richards must’ve done a number on the weapons as well, I thought, quite pleased with the result. “At least I’m giving everyone a good show,” I said to no one in particular as we neared the edge of the system. “Time to get the Hell outta here.” With that, I laid in a course for the nearest Starbase and the Ranger jumped to warp.
Please…be safe, a frightened blue mare wished as Cole and his ship disappeared from view.
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Somehow I think that lick was probably about more than simply grooming habits. Kinda curious about what happened with their bed situation, kinda expected Trixie to hop into bed and say goodnight while Cole tried to make the floor comfortable. I was almost expecting Trixie to have teleported heself to the ship as opposed to letting Cole go alone.
Glad about the multipart stories you've been up to lately as I've always liked longer plots. Will be interesting to see how this pans out. If successful I'm pretty sure Cole's resume will hardly need to be looked at. Though shame that I doubt he'll be able to keep the Aegis system, but at least he might get out of the cost of repairing his ship, sounded like he would almost be paying for a new ship to me.
My comment about the universe out to get Trixie and Stevens remains unchanged.
Cute little scene when they were eating. Trixie even got a little taste of skin!
I'm wondering if Trixie will be forced to bust out more of the Alicorn Amulet's power before Stevens returns. By the time he gets back with reinforcements, there might not be a need to save the day.
If Equestria ever does go galactic, it will be hard to avoid Trixie's name. She's a star!
3448091
I took a few creative liberties.
Aegis?! but... but is so inferior compared to the M.A.C.O and OMEGA set!
3448476
It's my baby, though!
3450100
My knowledge is by no means amazing but I'd like to think I did my homework pretty well.
3448920 Ah yes, the Aegis set. Saw me and my D'kora through more than one STF though I've since traded up to an Atrox carrier.
3448920
I'm flying a Dreadnought Cruiser (complete with Venture skin) myself. (http://www.uwebwerner.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/star-trek-online-techniker-schiff9.png) The Aegis combined with the ship's cloaking device and Phaser Spinal Lance makes a great tactical-oriented Engineering ship.
3448373
Worry not, I have lost of ideas and chapters in the works. I took a few liberties with the Iconian stuff but I like how it turned out. As for the Romulan ship, remember when that Iconian ship appeared out of nowhere and dragged Sela's Scimitar away just as you're about to defeat it? That was my inspiration for this chapter. I wanted to provide a possible place and reason for its disappearance so I came up with the twisted Iconian research station.
Excitement and drama. What will happen next? I confess that I lack technical knowledge of the Star Trek Universe but your explanations of the new ship technology made sense to me.
But why are the Tholians attacking? Heck what could possess them to attack a Starbase?
3453196
They're Tholians. They are, by definition, xenophobic reclusive assholes. As for the whole technology thing, Star Trek pretty much says "fuck you, physics" and makes things up as they go along a LOT. Knowing that helps me sleep at night 'cause I pretty much do the same sometimes!
3450100
I would love to hear your criticisms. That way,I can take note and avoid such mistakes in the future.
3453233 So in many way Star Trek is like Pinkie Pie
.
3453321
...That's deep, dude.
3455071 I am known for being deep now and again.
yeah I don't believe me either.
First, I want to say that I tried very hard to like this story, really I did.
But there are a LOT of problems with it.
Some of the issues I'm concerned about as a pedantic and details-obsessed Trekkie and as a writer, as well as general things I spotted:
(I'm not going into the plethora of basic grammatical errors and homophone fails (such as "baited breath", the correct word is bated) in this story, because it'd take a year to document them all. Get an editor.)
1. You have got to clean up your narrative POV, pronouns, etc. For one thing, bouncing back and forth between first and third person perspective like a pinball is really sloppy writing. Especially when you do it mid-paragraph. This story would receive a failing grade in any composition class.
2. There's...a little too much profanity in this story. It's rather jarring, considering Star Trek uses only mild profanity and then only sparingly, and MLP uses no profanity at all. If there isn't a reason for the profane language in your story, you might want to consider toning it down.
For example:
You could use "fornicated" here without adversely affecting your story.
3. Why is your character making so many 20th and 21st century pop culture references in a 25th century setting? To say nothing of all the meta Trek references.
4. As of the second chapter, I rescind my commendation for understanding how the replicator works. You're confusing the 24th century replicator with the 23rd century food synthesizer. The synthesizer requires stored protein and nutrient matter to resequence into preprogrammed pattern. The replicator can utilize any free, non-essential waste or debris matter, including leftovers, dishes, human waste, etc. to replenish its stock of base matter. The only limitation on replicator operation is available energy. (That's where the whole "replicator rations" thing in Voyager came from. It wasn't about available base matter, it was about available energy.)
5.
Whose ass did you pull this from? There are two standard forms of currency in the Alpha Quadrant: "credits" (not "Energy Credits", just "credits"), a catch-all term for transferrable currency, and gold-pressed latinum. (Oh, and...don't capitalize the names of units of money. Monetary units are NOT proper nouns.)
6. The Mirror Universe? SERIOUSLY?! Ugh. After DS9 ran the Mirror Universe into the ground, seeing any Trek story that deals with it is just painful.
7. Cole seems to have a brony's knowledge of Equestria and yet does not appear to be a brony. This is a major logic hole in the story.
8. Pursuant to the above: Trixie never actually TELLS Cole what the Alicorn Amulet did to her, so how is he able to explain it to Luna?
9. A Cupcakes reference? REALLY?!
10.
Kellicams.
11.
Your scene break broke in chapter 6. Might want to fix it.
12. Why would they need to BUY...no scratch that, HOW could they even buy a 20th-century brand of cereal in the 25th century? Like everything else they eat, it should be coming out of the replicator.
13. There are plotholes EVERYWHERE.
14. Every time you use "tsundering", I cringe. I get why you're doing it, but seeing it just makes me cringe. Knowing how that word is actually pronounced doesn't help matters.
...and the point at which Trixie starts masturbating is the point at which I stop reading. It was a fun read for a while, despite all the things I pointed out above, but at this point, the story has degenerated into a complete and total train wreck, and I'm just not interested anymore.
Fix the shit I listed above.
3456448
(Nods slowly) Yeah, I can see that it could use some major polishing. When I'm done, I'll go back and make those changes. I would simply like to finish it first. If it's any consolation, the next few chapters are getting better and hopefully, the greater care I'm taking with them will be reflected. Anyway, as scathing as it sounded at first, you are correct. No sense ignoring the faults because now that I'm aware, I can fix them and learn from it. Thank your for your frankness and honesty and I sincerely hope you'll give me a chance to make the changes you've recommended and stick with it.
3456448
Oh, and the Energy Credit thing is from Star Trek Online. I pull a few little things from it.
3456448
Even in the show itself, lots of the characters make 21st century pop culture references and contemporary (21st century, that is) references in general.
3459812
Oops. Fixed.
3459812
Honestly, he's not gonna make enough appearances to warrant further development anyway.
There are a few nit-pickey things about this fic that irked me a bit, but you did a good job for the most part
3461655
Yeah, there are a few things that bug me too but I've come this far, might as well continue, right? I'll do my best to amp up the quality and care in the future.
<In his best Arnold voice>
Your updates, give them to me!
3527813
I'm about halfway done the second part, will work on it today for sure.
3528295 "And there was much rejoicing in the land,"
"YAY!"
Ah, the Aegis set. Decent pieces of equipment. I used to use them on my Ody for the longest time before I got hold of the MkXII MACO set.
Only minor nitpick here is that, since you're basing this on STO, Starbase 39 should commanded by Admiral T'nae as it is in game.
3456761
I'll back you up there, since several main characters through out the shows have been past culture enthusiasts. Tom Paris especially comes to mind, even if he tended to get his facts mixed up sometimes. In fact a gripe about the shows someone once pointed out to me is that we never see much of the 23rd/24th century culture, because the characters are always reliving the 20th century stuff.
You are brilliant with the laughs. Absolutely brilliant.
Damn it! I got so excited there for a second, until I realized that his name is The Doctor...
Oh, is she now? I do believe that somepony out in the multiverse might have something to say about that!
And finally, what this chapter's name makes me think of:
derpicdn.net/img/2013/7/14/373805/full.gif
media.makeameme.org/created/oh-oh-dempsy.jpg