Future Tactics - The War Games

by TheFullCrumb

Chapter 5 - Invictus Rising

4320 AD – Brightstone Memorial Hall, Luna’s Cradle, Equestria

“Seven years ago, when we commemorated this building, it became the first of our newest structures to hold the name of those who died in the line of duty in service to Equestria, and the newly reborn Coalition.” Luna stood on a platform raised at the far end of the awards ceremony, seven platoons of freshly trained recruits standing at attention, with one seven-pony squad looking impressively sharp in their redesigned uniforms, courtesy of the seamstress, Rarity. “Captain Brightstone was an inspiration to all of us, though he was human. He represented loyalty and bravery in spades, giving his life to save another’s. But we are not here to relearn history that has been dictated to us ad nauseam for the last several years. Instead, we are to recognize the achievements of these graduating platoons, and the graduation of seven very special ponies from the training regimen they have followed for these many years. It is with great pleasure I award the following graduates their direct-entry ranks.”

“Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Step forward to the podium, please.” With a curt attention to detail and a quiet discipline, Twilight marched up with immaculate drill, halting on mark in front of Luna as she stood at the front, her podium resplendent with awards. Luna lifted a medal in her etheric grip, holding it up to Twilight’s uniform as she clipped it on.

“For outstanding service before entering the Cradle Security Forces, you are being granted the title of Sub-Commander, until the time that a proper commission can be granted.” Luna stepped back, saluting the newly-minted Sub-Commander. Twilight returned the salute, her eyes betraying the pride she felt at her accomplishment, her face a tight mask of control and discipline. With a quick about-turn, she marched away from the podium, returning to her squad and her position at attention.

“Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt.” Rainbow Dash was not as well-disciplined in holding her excitement in, but she managed to keep herself in check while marching, her wings tucked into her sides as she made her way forward. Stepping in time to the drumbeat she heard inside her head, she halted quickly, saluting her Princess and Commander. Saluting in kind, Luna lifted another medal from her podium, pinning it to Rainbow Dash’s chest pocket, looking up into the eyes of a pony who knew she had never been more proud to be a part of the organization she found herself in.

“For accomplished bravery, and loyalty to your squad, to your platoon, and above else, to Equestria, you are being granted the rank of Warrant Officer, to lead an example of bravery and unbridled courage.” Stepping back again, she saluted, a tear falling down her face. Rainbow Dash’s mouth quivered as she returned the gesture, a tear falling down her face as well. Stepping back, Dash about-turned, returning to her position with a quivering smile on her face.

“Applejack, Logistics Corps.” Applejack, while disciplined for her work on a farm, was not as tight a mask as Twilight and Rainbow Dash had been. She marched up with a beaming smile, her Logistics badge proudly displayed on the beret she had deemed necessary to wear. While the others had the option to opt out – for some like Twilight and Rarity, opting out was necessary – Applejack had insisted she wear her cap badge with honor, as she had earned the respect of her own chain of command, and in truth, Luna’s admiration for her diligence and honesty even in the face of heavy opposition to what many saw as ‘just a simple farm-pony.’

Halting on the mark in front of Luna, she saluted, holding still even as she struggled to contain her excitement. Luna smirked, returning the salute once more as she lifted yet another medal, pinning it to Applejack’s chest pocket. Stepping back, she let herself smile brightly, showing Applejack the pride she felt for her.

“For the service you rendered before your entry into service, and the service you have rendered since, for your unparalleled diligence and honesty even in the face of such heavy opposition, you are being granted the rank of Sergeant, to be placed under the command of Twilight Sparkle following this ceremony. Congratulations, Sergeant.”

Applejack about-turned, feeling her cheeks get wet as the relief washed over her, controlling her urge to hoot and holler on her way back. Twilight lowered her head in acknowledgment as she passed, smiling and making sure Applejack understood that nothing had changed, despite their respective ranks.

“Fluttershy, Medical Corps.” The only other in the group to have insisted on her particular trade’s beret, Fluttershy meekly smiled as she marched forward, the medical insignia on her beret well-deserved. As her own instructing staff had learned, Fluttershy had something of an incredible intelligence when it came to patient care and, surprisingly enough, medical research. Multiple surgical techniques had been improved during her time underneath Warrant Officer Killian Ironclaw, a Gryphon medical officer. A glowing commendation had come through, making her even more proud of herself, although she also felt increasingly self-conscious. Before she knew it, she found herself halting on the mark in front of Luna, saluting without even thinking about it. Luna lifted a special badge, showing the human symbol of the Rod of Caduceus, the patron ‘god’ of medicine, and pinned it tightly to Fluttershy’s uniform.

“For going above and beyond the call of duty, for becoming a stellar example of care, compassion, kindness and duty, you are granted the rank of Petty Officer, Second Grade. You will be placed into Sub-Commander Sparkle’s chain of command after the ceremony. Go with our blessing, PO.” Fluttershy saluted once more, Luna returning the salute as the former marched away. There was two more awards to give, but Luna realized her strength was starting to fade. Her aide, a Lieutenant Copper Jacket, rushed to her side, making certain that her Commander was okay before turning to the podium.

“The Commander wishes to express her regret that the ceremony cannot complete, but those who are warranted with promotions, awards, and assignments will be met with in private over the next month. Parade, dismissed!”

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“I apologize, Rarity. My injuries I incurred over a millennia ago still bring me to my knees regardless of the situation. On the table there, you will find your assignment, and your promotion. Congratulation, Petty Officer Rarity.” Rarity saluted before leaving the room, letting Luna’s aide take over before she closed the door with a soft click. Turning to her friends, she sighed, setting down on her haunches as Rainbow and Applejack engaged in a hoof-wrestling contest, while Twilight was once more buried deep in another technical document on her personal dataslate. Fluttershy had taken the time to get in a quick nap in the corner, curled up so as to not draw as much attention to herself. Starlight, having entered her training as an officer, rubbed her rank insignia for Ensign, denoting her Coalition Navy status. Applejack turned to say something when her beret fell off her head. Picking it up off the ground, she looked at the doorway, where Pinkie stood, her genuine, tear-filled smile something of an oddity for the bubbly pink mare.

“Sugarcube, I don’t rightly know why you didn’t get promoted, but I reckon it’s since Luna almost keeled over on stage,” Applejack offered. Pinkie shook her head, sighing as she turned back to the group. Several electrical connections ran up her neck, ending in a metal plug in the side of her head that led into her head, her own right eye glowing with an unnatural blue glow.

“Applejack, I’m still the same Pinkie, but I’m a tank commander now. All tank commanders get these weird-but-still-amazing implants. Him plants? Odd words. My grasp on language has considerably increased since the procedure- I sound like Twilight! Twilight, we’re twinsies!” Pinkie smiled as she bounced towards her friend, drawing her up in a hug as Twilight smiled, placing the dataslate inside a pouch on her side.

“Everyone, everyone. Let’s just get this out in the open – just because I’m now basically in charge of all of you doesn’t mean anything will change. You are all still my friends, but now we’re going to be working together far more.” She turned to the window, staring out into the distant desert. A year prior, the Kepler had been able to initialize its atmospheric engines, shaking off the sand as it rose like a resurrected angel from the desert. Engineers had erected a massive cradle around the ship to continue to work on her, the Magitech Fusion Powerplants being refitted due to an advancement in refinement procedures that had rendered the Mark I Powerplants somewhat inefficient.

Rarity walked towards the window, where Twilight had decided to move to after she had finished her little speech, staring out at the engineers placing newly refined selenium alloy panels into place. Rarity could see why it was calming to her friend – the welds, the plates, the work, it was rigid, concise, managed. A fact of life Twilight seemed to miss.

“Darling, might I pay a penny for your thoughts?” Rarity inquired, watching Twilight wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform, shaking her head. Rarity put her hoof on Twilight’s back, patting her gently as she sighed, resigned. Twilight scooted closer to her friend, leaning her head onto Rarity’s, her eyes falling to the ground as she spoke.

“I keep thinking about Captain Brightstone. Just what he did, and the fact that I held him as he died… on two different occasions. We haven’t buried him yet, and yet, we’re rushing forward on the Battle Fortress, and we’re desperately trying to complete the refits, and the redesign of the main Fusion Drives that used to put this whole ship into motion. I can’t help but feel that something might be waiting for us, and when it finds us, it will try to destroy everything we’ve worked for so far.” Twilight sniffed, swallowing as she stood upright more, turning back towards the others as she slowly walked towards the door to their little room. “I’m going to go speak with the engineers-”

“Twilight! You’re not leaving me behind, are you? The engineers promised me that I could hop in one of those prototype human ‘interceptors’ they’ve been so excited about!” Rainbow Dash was standing in front of Twilight, having moved faster than she was expecting. Shaking her head, Twilight giggled. Rainbow Dash was still the fastest pegasus alive, but when she had learned a few weeks prior of the redesign of the human ‘interceptor’ orbital craft, she had been beside herself in excitement as she waited for graduation. Twilight had not told her about the experience Pinkie had gone through for her Armored Command implants, and Flight Command was no different. In truth, she knew they would all be eventually ‘enhanced’ with the implants Unit 3 was developing for equine minds to interface with the human technology – a lot of the Battle Fortress required an actual neural link to even operate – and while she knew the prospect of learning and knowledge was somewhat enticing, she also knew that they would be giving up a portion of their freedom. They would no longer be able to simply walk around and just enjoy life as they once did, and she was willing to accept the risk. She just did not if any of her friends, besides Pinkie, were willing to make that call, and she was not willing to make it for them.

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“Bring turbines to full, and hard bank!” The engineers had rigged up the cockpit of an interceptor that had not made it to full testing as a simulation engine, and while it was not the full experience Rainbow was waiting for, the hooting and immense laughter coming out of the simulator indicated that she was in heaven, relatively speaking. Each command she brought up was intuitive, simple, and above all, fast. She found she could call up several commands at once just with her voice alone, but she felt like something was missing. Something felt… off. The human interceptor design, a sleek half-moon armed with 6 pulse-fire weapon hardpoints, was efficient, but she could see that the humans had an edge in their technology, something that-

“Rainbow, can I talk with you for a minute?” Twilight was standing outside the simulator as Rainbow lost her last ship in the ‘simulation encounter.’ Hopping out, she looked over to see Twilight standing there with glowing circuitry running up the right side of her face, a clear indication of implantation. She shrunk back as Twilight sheepishly rubbed her own head, clearing her throat and trying to smile innocently.

“No.”

“Rainbow, you need-”

“No. Pinkie and you have them, but this pegasus is not getting all glowy just because-”

“It feels slow, doesn’t it?” Rainbow paused as she looked at Twilight. The glow in her friend’s right eye did throw her off, but she sighed. Twilight had gotten it in one. It was slow, far too slow in her opinion. She could pull off some impressive maneuvers without much effort, but she felt she could do even better. She knew they were redesigning the interceptors with her own speed in mind, thanks to the data mined from her simulator sessions, but she wanted to go fast. Admittedly, she knew she could fly fast on her own, but the interceptors were designed for flying in a vacuum, and she knew how fast ships could go when you had no air resistance.

“Y-Yeah, it does. It feels like it could-”

“-react faster, move smoother, fly farther?” Twilight walked over, looking around. “What if I showed you just how fast you can react with the implants?”

Rainbow was dumbstruck. Twilight was still having issues every once in a while with her wings, but she thought she could outfly the Rainbow Dash? Twilight had another thing coming-

“Just watch on that observation monitor.” Twilight had already stepped inside the simulator with the confidence of a seasoned pilot, and Rainbow instinctively winced. She started to feel uneasy, as if she had made a big mistake, but she knew that was a natural point of her own competitive nature. As the screen came to life, she recognized the Kobayashi Maru, a scenario which had piqued her interest. Apparently based off of something out of human fiction, the scenario was known simply as the ‘no-win scenario.’ Many pilots had attempted to get the farthest in the scenario, but the computer pilots flying alongside you did not react as fast, turn as sharply. Rainbow had watched several of them simply collide into each other in brilliant explosions, though the explosion only lasted a brief fraction of a second, vacuum of space and all that.

Twilight had already taken out four enemy craft before Rainbow had realized what was going on. The monitor raised a reading of reaction times and maneuvering speeds, and her jaw dropped. Twilight was not just meeting her times and speeds, but exceeding them. The craft spun and flipped, sometimes flying backwards as the interceptor took heavy dives and incredible turns that Rainbow could only gawk at. Of course, there was always that one mistake, that one move that, regardless of skill or talent, the program would penalize you greatly for. Twilight’s mistake had been ignoring a target she assumed was already destroyed, and a crimson lance of energy tore her interceptor to pieces.

Once the lid on the interceptor simulator had lifted and shifted, Twilight shook her head. She had forgot how taxing it could be interfacing with such a fast-paced simulation, and it had made her pay for it in the end. She had been born a unicorn, and she knew, somewhere in her mind, that a pegasus’ mind was more… adaptable to the circumstance of Flight Command; the exact reason why, of course, she had made her way down to the simulators after leaving Rainbow with the engineers. Twilight tapped the side of her head, the circuitry increasing in brightness for a small time before returning to a normal pulsing glow.

“Mind to Machine Interfacing Suite. Star Swirl calls them MIS devices. The version he once got so many centuries ago was a more primitive one. Since then, he has worked, apparently, night and day to refine and advance the technology. The circuitry running through my skin is the result. Certainly not without risks, but the advantages outweigh a good portion of the risks. It’s your decision, though, Rainbow. I have a Command and Control implant, which is supposed to allow us to access the final levels of the Battle Fortress we could not, as well as many locked areas, including the main Command Bridge. A Flight Command implant would allow you to not just fly an interceptor, it would allow the interceptor to be a part of you. Almost like you and it are one. It’s a little hard to explain-” Rainbow stuffed her hoof in Twilight’s mouth, shutting her up before she continued. Slowly walking back towards the simulator, Rainbow ran her hoof across its plating. She could already feel each bolt, each weld, each armor plate as she ran her foreleg over the craft, her mind trying to make itself up as she looked at the half-moon and its weapon hardpoints. Looking over her shoulder, she caught Twilight’s eye, and her gaze returned to the cockpit.

“So I would be thinking my moves at this ship. No talking, just thoughts of speed and flight. Just like being a pegasus. You don’t talk about what you’re going to do when flying, you just do it. You move together with others or you fall out of formation,” Rainbow stated, turning and walking up to Twilight as she swallowed, slowly coming to a decision as she stood beside her friend. “How much faster are we talking about?”

“You think it, it happens. It’s that simple,” Twilight responded, raising her forelegs in a shrug. “I can quite literally feel every control system in this room. It’s a little… overwhelming at first, but it’s definitely unlike anything you’ve ever felt before.”

“All right.”

“Already? You’ve decided?”

“Let’s do it.”

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“So, Flight Command MIS device. Take this in advisement from somepony who has implanted seven ponies in the last twelve days – you’re going to feel discomfort after the procedure. We’ve managed to make it virtually painless, but that doesn’t mean that when it connects to your nerve endings that it’s going to be… pleasant.” A Bio-Containment-suited doctor walked around the operating chair where Rainbow sat, restrained. A bite strip had been placed inside her mouth, as she had been told that the body would sometimes spasm without control, and they did not want to risk her biting off her own tongue – it was difficult to replace that part of the body.

Rainbow nodded, her eyes betraying her emotions as her pupils narrowed, watching the intravenous line drip slowly, the doctor sliding up what appeared to be a dataslate. Lifting it up, he ran it over her neck, hearing the beeping as she felt little pinpricks. Her extremities started to feel like lead, heavy and numb.

“Just administering local anesthetic to the operating area. The sedative in the IV drip should be taking effect soon. Don’t worry. Twilight has assured me that if anything happens to me, I will learn what the Sun looks like up close.” Rainbow watched the room as it started to get less and less interesting, and her eyes started to close. In the background, she could hear what appeared to be some sort of air machine, its rhythmic pumping soothing as she fell into her drug-induced sleep.

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“It’s… green?” Rainbow touched the sensitive area of her neck, hissing as she withdrew quickly, the heat and pain something of a reminder that only a few hours prior, she had been in an operating chair. However, the circuitry seemed to change colour as she watched, shifting from a light green to a deep red. She smiled, watching her ‘eye’s new Heads Up Display pop up new information. New maneuver types and onboard commands displayed themselves alongside tactical information that she mentally noted to look over later – after all, she was about to become the de facto fastest mare alive, if the engineers were anypony to believe. As she stepped out of the washroom she had been standing in, she looked down the corridor, then the other way. Many of the engineers and scientists had gone to their quarters to sleep, many of those assigned to the Cradle having relocated inside the massive Battle Fortress.

She could not sleep, unfortunately. The ‘eye’ did not exactly turn off as she wished it could, but kept displaying information even while she slept. Twilight had described it as REM learning, where it would become a part of her flight routine just as much as breathing. Of course, Twilight had been spending much more time on the Command Bridge, while Applejack and Rarity had relocated themselves down to the Engineering Deck. Rarity had taken over the Armour Printing station, and had apparently discovered multiple new ways to design armour. Reports had stated that anyone who attempted to use the station without her express permission had almost become pony-sized pincushions as tempered steel needles dotted the walls.

Applejack had, more-or-less, appointed herself Head of Logistics. Owing to her experience, it made sense, but Rainbow had been ushered out of Main Manufacturing more than once. The sound of swearing had been punctuated by Applejack tossing a wrench at an unseen individual, followed by a dull thud and Applejack galloping quickly to make sure they were okay.

Fluttershy had been extremely busy down in the Fortress’ ‘Cloning Labs,’ learning more about how the War Games had worked. While for the most part it made Rainbow squeamish – the smell that the tubes emanated before they had been repaired was something akin to dead animals and sewage – the technology had been fascinating to the new medical pony. A nurse from Ponyville, by the name of Redheart, had been made the de facto Chief Medical Officer of the Infirmary, and Rainbow had seen more than her fair share of patients being chased out with a pair of thrown scissors.

Pinkie, out of all of them, had been the least productive. She had set herself up in the Main Cafeteria Facility, turning herself into the current Head Cook. Without an Armored division to command, her implants had been reprogrammed to interface more with the cooking equipment. A lot of the ponies who worked under her had discovered that without implants, they themselves could not keep up at all with the hyperactive mare. Out of every section on the ship, Pinkie’s section contained the most ‘enhanced’ ponies.

Returning her mind to the present, Rainbow looked around again, seeing the signs in the corridor which were pointing her towards the main dormitories. The doctor had given her a medical chit detailing what she was not allowed to do, and one of those things was, unfortunately, interfacing with the simulator. She needed at least 24 hours of sleep before she could effectively use the implant, which annoyed her greatly. However, she did need to talk to another pony, and the best one in her mind was Fluttershy.

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“C-Careful please! Careful!” The activity on the Medical deck was not something unheard of since Fluttershy and Redheart had taken up residence in the area. Fluttershy was busy directing a new clone of herself – it was a hulking brute of a clone she called Tiny, and it seemed to like the name – to putting the redesigned cloning-pod into its designated socket. Tiny nodded and grunted, slowly lowering it until a hiss was heard and the pod started filling with gel.

“Cool stuff, Fluttershy,” Rainbow blurted out as she looked up and around at the pipes. Green gel flowed around and through the various systems, most of them terminating in the pods that Tiny was now inserting into the correct socket stands. As she watched, a pod finished its ‘gestation cycle,’ and popped out a new-born clone. As she watched, it took two steps, looked around, and popped like a balloon.

“Oh, come on! I thought we fixed that sequencing issue!” Fluttershy flew around, her mind elsewhere. Rainbow had some idea, as Fluttershy was most likely monitoring every part of the cloning process, each individual portion intricate and complicated. Rainbow was more at home in the interceptor simulator, but she had to settle for watching her friend work.

A speaker crackled to life as Rainbow jumped, looking back at the main medical area. Redheart was looking annoyed, her half-lidded eyes speaking more to her exhaustion than her attitude.

“We’ve talked about this before, Fluttershy. The first pod is still broken. The second, third and fourth, which Tiny just plugged in in the last two hours, are reading as green across the board. Try the genetic sequence in the second pod, and I’ll monitor it from here.” Redheart sat down in a chair, sighing. Rainbow could see the sleep under her eyes, the dark, sagging circles mostly a testament to Redheart’s own endurance. Fluttershy had certainly gained more confidence and energy since she got her Medical Technician implant, but she did seem to be prone to focusing a little too much on one thing.

A gurgling and hissing alerted Rainbow to the second pod filling with the gel, a strange pink mixture spurting out of another tube and mixing with the gel. A metal shutter closed on the front, sliding into place as Rainbow saw the ‘clone’ start to grow. It was unnerving to see the rapid-growth process due to the growth acceleration gel – Rainbow had definitely agreed on the acronym GAG, as it had certainly made her do so – and the smell was definitely not something she would want anypony else to experience. Curiosity got the better of her disgust and she checked the vitals on the pod’s monitor. The period of gestation was normally 2 hours, as it had been the last time Rainbow had been inside the Cloning Lab, and she watched as that time drifted lower and lower, accelerating far faster than the other times she had observed the growth of a clone. She watched the timer tick down to a measly 5 minutes, the pod gurgling louder as Fluttershy hovered closer to the ground, her hooves tapping in excitement as Rainbow turned with an eyebrow raised. While she had seen Fluttershy get excited about various things, she had never seen her this excited about something similar to this. Mentally kicking herself, Rainbow reminded herself that nothing like this had existed in Equestria, so who was she to judge her friend’s excitement?

5 minutes streamed past, and the pod opened, revealing a near-perfect Replica of Fluttershy, albeit, the eyes were empty and white. It stood at attention, seemingly awaiting something. Rainbow turned to see Fluttershy quickly moving around the clone, checking individual parts before holding out what she assumed was a worker’s jumpsuit. Without a word, the clone clambered into the uniform, its eyes glowing for a moment before locking into a dark gray colour. It was unsettling, but she understood its purpose. Exact Replica clones were unnerving, especially if one could not tell the clone from the original.

“Clone Avatar 001-Alpha, ready for orders.” The mechanical voice that issued from the clone’s mouth was also something of note. Fluttershy had been testing out one of the other functions of the Cloning Labs, the Clone Avatars. As she had explained it, Rainbow had watched the data stream through her own implant, sighing as she quickly read it. A device known as a Neural Link Amplifier had multiple pods in it, similar to medical beds in certain aspects. Each ‘Clone Pilot’ would be cloned an Avatar, which would be deployed on the ground during the War Games.

Unfortunately, there was not much data on the War Games themselves, as the data could not be found. Twilight herself had searched day and night for anything about it, but had found nothing. Bits and pieces, sure, like the varying classes of Battle Fortress craft that existed, but nothing on its history, what it entailed – the entirety of the data involved with it was seemingly purged, and it bothered both her and Rainbow. The both of them had taken the time to do their own search through – Twilight on her own, and Rainbow with the assistance of Unit 17 – but neither of them had come through with anything concrete. It was… unsettling that such a massive event was simply scrubbed from the databases, but then again, the advanced computation matrices involved in the vessel’s main computers were far in advance of anything that the Equestrians could devise.

Rainbow turned to look back at the Infirmary on the other side of the glass, rolling her eyes at the Changeling Queen on the other side. As the time had passed between the beginning of her own training, and the integration of the Changelings into the newly reborn Coalition, it had been more of the purview of Queen Chrysalis to focus on the genetics side of things. Her expertise had been instrumental in rebuilding the technology used in the Cloning Lab, and in the creation of what she had decided to label as ‘Genome Recreation Mapping,’ a technique she had apparently borrowed from the database and somewhat refined using her own race’s genetic makeup as a template. It had made all the difference, including amplifying the latent genetic traits present within the ‘biological soup’ she had devised as the basis for the new clones. They would still operate like the ones the Battle Fortress once created, but they were hampered by something that eluded them.

In the vein of the Clone Avatars, Rainbow had noted something coming through her implant about ‘genetic compatibility,’ and how multiple genetic donors were, unfortunately, unusable through one issue or another. Twilight had been deemed unusable, if only due to the fact that her own genetic makeup had been altered through her ascension several years prior, and it showed up as a ‘locked’ genome-type, which prevented the machine from even scanning it. Rainbow had been deemed compatible, but she had never allowed the testing to prove it. Of course, her curiosity had been getting the better of her lately.

“Fluttershy? You think we could… test out the Neural Link… thingy?” Fluttershy turned around, her MIS glowing slightly before focusing on Rainbow. She flew down, hugging Rainbow tightly as she quickly hovered around, checking various portions of machinery and data as she apparently prepared a new cloning pod. Rainbow felt a tug on her sleeve as 1-Alpha pulled her towards the Infirmary, where Redheart and Chrysalis waited.

“So, a test of the Neural Link Amplifier? First one to do so, but this will be a rather effective field demonstration. Step right this way, Warrant.” Rainbow was led over to the NLA section beds, where two were already in operation. One was being used by a Changeling, and the other, as Rainbow noted herself unsurprisingly, was in use by Fluttershy. She was apparently making sure everything was in working order by using an exact Replica.

“Y-Yeah. I’ll have to do this sometime, so better now than never?” Redheart nodded silently, helping Rainbow to lie down in the NLA bed, strapping her tightly as two nurses brought over IV drips of sedative and what appeared to be a nutrient drip. Plugging them into the machine, Redheart brought up her hoof, which was covered in what appeared to be metal ‘claws,’ allowing her to type rapidly on the machine’s keyboard.

“Since this machine was never originally designed to work with pony physiology, we’ve been hard at work coding in the genomes necessary for clone creation and operation. Chrysalis here has been a massive help in that regard. She recoded the equine sequences over and over, and even put in Changeling and Gryphon genetic sequencing. Now, it takes a little to get used to, but the process is almost instant when you switch between your own body and that of the Clone Avatar. Your avatar will not have the same abilities as you, like your own special talent as what we are dubbing an ‘Avatar of Speed,’ but they will be able to fly, move around like you do, and imitate your speech, like 1-Alpha in there, or Flutterclone.” She motioned to the two aforementioned clones, who both waved in their own weird, synchronized way.

“So I’ll-” Rainbow stuttered, feeling the world go suddenly dark for a minute, before data started to stream into her mind, detailing out new information about the clone being produced. All at once, she started to hear voices. Opening her eyes, she looked through a pane of glass, seeing the Cloning Lab from inside a pod.

“She’s responding perfectly. Main bio-rhythms are at baseline, heart rate and neural activity are all within normal tolerances. Near as I can tell, she is linked perfectly with her Avatar.” Rainbow could recognize Twilight standing outside the tube, talking with 1-Alpha and Flutterclone, along with a few ponies in Bio-Containment suits. A sudden hiss evacuated all the liquid material in the tank, dumping her unceremoniously onto the cold metallic floor as she looked around. Attempting to speak, she found she could move her lips, but nothing came out. She could breath, but not speak.

“Ah, there’s the glitch I was mentioning. Her vocal unit is non-functional at the moment. Let’s see if-”

“Holybuckingapplesupatreethis is… weird. Like, I know I’m in that room over there,” she motioned towards the Infirmary, emphasizing her point, “but I’m standing here, talking, moving, as if nothing has changed. Is this what it’s like for you, Fluttershy?”

“Rainbow, it’s been like this for about a day now. So far, there have been no… issues. It’s just a lot easier to work with a Clone Avatar since this work would be exhausting otherwise.” Tiny looked back at Flutterclone and shrugged, grunting. “Yes, Tiny. You’ve done a good job today, yes you have! Go over into your room and I’ll get you a treat.”

Tiny made a happy grunt, leaving the room as the Flutterclone seemingly fell asleep. Looking back towards the Infirmary, Rainbow could see Fluttershy leaving the NLA bed she had occupied, rubbing her eyes and stretching. Closing her eyes, she felt around for the link, the little electronic signal she knew was somewhere in the back of her mind. With a blink, she woke up in the NLA bed she herself occupied. Blinking rapidly to clear the fog from her eyes, Rainbow sat up, looking at Redheart, who had moved to help the two of them remove the tubes that led up their forelegs. Fluttershy stood still, letting the CMO clean up the bed, letting Rainbow sigh as she still sat in her bed, staring at her friend.

“It’s a little disorienting, but the stronger the mind, the stronger the link. You have the strongest link recorded, Rainbow Dash. It’s uncanny, like this device was made for you somehow.” Redheart shrugged as she walked over to a nearby cot, passing by several monitors in the clean, white area. Seven in total, they each depicted one of their friends, including compatibility statistics, neural link strength, and genetic sequencing ratios. Out of all seven of them – including Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Starlight, Pinkie, herself, and Fluttershy – herself, Starlight, Pinkie and Applejack showed the highest link strength, which had put them in the category of ‘Tactical Avatar Command,’ whatever that meant.

“So, by all of those screens there… I’m a Tactical Avatar Commander?”

“Exactly, Rainbow. Even I don’t have the mental capacity for quite literally transferring my mind into a mobile Avatar. It’s too taxing on any but the strongest minds. Now, your implant has nothing to do with it, you’re still a Flight Commander. Think of this as a… secondary duty. You’re still going to get to fly, but you won’t be doing that if you’re boots on the ground, Rainbow.” Twilight smiled as best she could, but Rainbow could sense she was slightly uncomfortable. The screen had stated that, out of all seven, Twilight had the lowest genetic sequencing ratio and link strength.

“In essence, if you don’t mind, Commander, you’re basically a magical microwaved potato in genetic cloning terms.” An orange-coated unicorn stallion with a long, brown mane adjusted his glasses as he trotted into the labs. His uniform denoted his area of expertise as Navigation, and as he walked up, Rainbow read his nametag, and shook her head. She had heard of the… reputation that Navigator Deadwood had, although his talent more than made up for it. He had never led a patrol astray, but he had an unfortunate knack of somehow finding troubled areas before anyone had even been given notice. Rainbow knew he had taken a shine to another pony, one that came from Ponyville, a rather interesting pegasus mare by the name of Ditzy Doo. Both of them had been determined to be incredible navigators, with Ditzy having something of a knack for keeping track of two navigation screens at once.

Deadwood was about to leave when his horn was tugged, rather painfully, by Twilight, turning him towards her. He smiled meekly, shaking his head in an attempt to break free.

“Don’t remind me, Navigator.” Following the Navigator, Twilight made her way out of the Infirmary, leaving Rainbow behind with Fluttershy and Redheart, turning back towards each other.

“Well I think that went-” A popping noise in the background brought their attention back to the Cloning Lab. Flipping around, Rainbow watched as Flutterclone got plastered against the wall by what remained of Tiny, her own clone squirming in an attempt to escape.

“Stupid bucking- I thought we fixed the cohesion issue!”

“Your words, not mine! I said we were ready to test!” Rainbow let her head sag, walking out of the Infirmary while Redheart, Chrysalis and Fluttershy began to argue with each other.

--------//|0|\\--------

“Command Signal Accepted – Warrant Officer Dash on Bridge.”

Rainbow sighed as she entered the Command Bridge, noting that the automatic system introduced each of the ‘Command Staff’ as they all were whenever they entered the section. Walking towards the forward part of the section, she stood next to Twilight, who paced in front of a large communications screen. Celestia and Luna both appeared on it, speaking from their respective locations.

“Commodore Celestia, and Commander Luna, I don’t think you understand. The amount of repairs we can commit to while still within the atmosphere of Equus is incredibly limited! If we can’t get the Kepler into orbit, where we can finalize the repairs, we won’t be able to even make her completely space-worthy, not to mention trying to get our prototype Tunnel Drive working!”

“Twilight, I know this is becoming more and more your responsibility, but it’s been less than a day. You can’t take the entirety of the Cradle under your wing at the drop of a hat. Without proper crews, you won’t be able to take off, and we don’t have the materials in place-”

“We have the crews and materials, we just need to be in orbit to finish the repairs, Luna. Celestia, what do you think?” Celestia turned to see several Cradle officers checking dataslates behind her, sighing as she double-checked the information she was being given. Twilight had been arguing with them since she took the position of Commander of the Kepler, and she was already regretting it. So much had to be done, repairs, even the design of the ‘Tunnel Drive,’ which was more theory than actual science.

In theory, Twilight had surmised, one could open a ‘warp tunnel’ of sorts between gravity wells, and ‘translate’ a ship through the tunnel to the other side. The ship was being retrofitted with more Magitech Fusion Plants as a result of the upgrade, and she had been fighting with Celestia and Luna for even a test of a dropship equipped with the Drive. The old human Zharkov-Cherenkov Void Drive had been damaged beyond safe use, and they had done their best with the technology, but she was loathe to consider testing the massive Battle Fortress on a theory without it being proven sound.

“I’ve seen the reports, and this ‘Tunnel Drive’ of yours bears merit, my dear student. I agree that we need to put the Kepler into orbit to complete the repairs, and we do need to test the theory behind your little ‘pet project’. I can give the green light behind the launch, if Luna is willing to accede to the request. Sister, are you willing to let her at least call the shots on this project? We can use a Clone Avatar to test it out-”

“I volunteer for this test, if you need a pilot.” Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin as Rainbow talked behind her, sheepishly backing up as she raised an eyebrow. Sighing, she tapped multiple areas of the screen, bringing up pertinent information just as it was being dumped into Rainbow’s implant. The device was complex, and she could see why Twilight was so eager to test it.

“The Tunnel Drive is something I considered while we were in training, Rainbow. Faster-Than-Light travel using gravity wells as the creation and terminus points, while ‘translating’ a ship through a time-space tunnel between the points. The science behind it is sound, but I never had the opportunity to try and test it. Of course, until now.”

Creaking in the background signaled something starting up, as rumbling echoed throughout the ship. Twilight braced herself against a nearby railing as she looked out the reinforced view-port of the Command Bridge, watching as the gantry around the Kepler opened, radio communications flowing in over multiple frequencies. Looking around, Rainbow saw Navigators Deadwood and Ditzy Doo quickly maneuvering icons in their positions, the holograms complex as they split their attention. A hiss and an echo indicated something igniting, Twilight turning to her as she let go of the railing, pulling back to a nearby chair and strapping herself in.

“You might want to buckle up, Rainbow. I’ve been told that initial launch can be rather painful.”

Rainbow settled into a nearby seat as the commands between each station increased in speed. Strapping in quickly, she tuned her ears into their conversations, keeping pace with each part. In a way, it was almost relaxing, if it were not for the fact the ship felt like it was shaking apart.

“Pitch 175 degrees. Full stabilizers on bow. Reduce thrust on aft section until full burn.”

“Reset roll and yaw calculations to 0, 0, 0. Main Drives engaging in 5 mark. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… mark!”

A massive rush of… something pushed hard against her chest as Rainbow was slammed back into her seat, feeling the gravity increased as the view-port’s perspective began to change. What once looked out over the desert now pointed at the sky as the massive engines that had once propelled the vessel among the stars pushed hard and fast, the Kepler rising higher, and higher.

To the crew, it felt like an eternity. Everyone on board was bracing hard against the tidal forces of gravity, the Engineering section hissing and increasing in heat as the engines were pushed closer and closer to their limits. Rainbow held on tightly as the Fortress shook more and more, the vibrations becoming increasingly more intense as the altitude ticked ever closer to the orbital mark.

Twilight tapped multiple screens around her, checking each individual section and keeping up on the available thrust that was given to her. Icons flashed around her, from ‘Boosters Empty’ to ‘Main Drives Full Burn.’ Each icon that appeared was dealt with quickly as a flare-up of what looked like fire spread across the view-port, dissipating as they reached the upper atmosphere. Navigator Ditzy Doo turned around, nodding at Twilight before returning to her focus on her station.

“Breaking atmo in T-minus 5 seconds. Countdown until mark. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Mark!” All at once the push against them stopped, snapping everyone forward in their harnesses as the flare-up disappeared completely. Cheers went up around the Command Bridge, and across the radios as everyone on board congratulated each other for a job well done. Rainbow watched as objects began to float past her view, the gravity suddenly reduced in effect to where it seemed almost non-existent

“Planetary Gravity no longer in effect. Activating gravity plating. Watch the step, fillies and gentlecolts.” Objects that had been floating suddenly clattered to the ground as the Battle Fortress settled itself into a Geo-stationary orbit, its main point of contact the Cradle it had just launched from. Removing her harness, Rainbow took a couple of tentative steps in the artificial gravity before she was sure she would not begin to float. Even though it was supposed to be similar to Equus, she could not shake the feeling that she felt lighter, not as restricted. Turning back to Twilight, she was met with a massive grin that would have rivaled Pinkie’s smile on a good day. A click sounded over the ship’s Personnel Address system, and her voice issued forth.

“All hands, we have made low Equus orbit. Congratulations, fillies and gentlecolts! Now comes the hard part.” As she turned to speak with Rainbow, a loud beeping echoed throughout the Bridge, emanating from the communications console. Tapping several keys, she brought up what appeared to be a relatively young human, and double-checking the source area, let her jaw drop in shock.

“Ah! Now, that’s interesting. That planet was designated a Dead Zone! Isn’t that curious? Well, new Fortress- Wait, it’s broadcasting the old ID codes of the Kepler? I thought that one disappeared… yes, around 1500 standard years ago. Well, we’re going to have to change your codes if we’re going to allow you to participate.” Twilight stared at everyone else on the Bridge, her eyebrow raised further in confusion as she looked the man dead in the eyes, though she doubted he could see her expression.

“This is Commander Twilight Sparkle. Participate in what?”

“Ah, where are my manners! I am Consul James Killian of the Messier Interstellar Committee. Since your planet has managed to achieve the reconstruction of a Battle Fortress, we have been authorized to give you three choices.”

“What three choices do we have?” Twilight inquired. She was still not sure about the man. Something about how he spoke made her very uncomfortable, as if he was looking at a piece of meat. His hair, his face, and his reflective sunglasses were too… perfect, as if they were manufactured. Throwing that concern to the back of her mind, she looked at the information popping up on the communications console, her eyes widening with each choice that came up.

“One, we retake possession of the Battle Fortress you have so beautifully reconstructed, even if the Drive signature on it is far different than expected. You will be put back on your planet, and stellar travel will be prohibited to and from your world.

Two, we allow you to participate in the galaxy’s number 1 source of entertainment and war prevention since 2492 AD, and give you full participation, including a first training battle on the nearby moon orbiting your world.

Three, we destroy your world. A ship of ours, an Enforcer, is on its way to ‘enforce’ the decision you make. Whichever decision you make, it will enforce them.

If you decide to participate, the Enforcer will provide repair crew and an orbital drydock for you to complete preparations for you to join in the number 1 attraction in Messier 83!”

The third point got everyone’s attention. They were threatening complete annihilation as one of the decisions to be made? In Twilight’s mind, one would have to be an absolute lunatic to accept the first or third options. They were designed to trap and prevent a less intelligent race from becoming too dangerous, it seemed, but the fact that it was offered to her friends, her family, her people, it meant they did not hold much stock in her skills, in her crew’s ability. It definitely felt necessary to agree to the proposal to participate, if only to prevent any damage to her homeworld, but there was still barely- she stopped. An info package had been dumped into the ship’s computer system, marked ‘Welcome.’ She tucked it away on a more protected partition through her implant, making sure to check it later.

“Computer. Mute.” The communication went dark for a minute as Twilight considered what to do. She had to talk to Luna and Celestia, but she was certain the trust they had placed in her when putting her in command of the Kepler was not misplaced. She felt it necessary to prove herself, to show that she could make a decision without needing their input. Sighing, she tapped the screen again, resuming the communication.

“We’ll participate-”

“Then welcome, Commander, to the number 1 entertainment in Messier 83, broadcast across 7 galaxies!

Welcome, Commander, to the War Games.”

Comments

[TheFullCrumb]

9698059
It's more than that. I'm well aware of all of those movies and games with similar premises, but this is a labour of love. Sure, it might not be the greatest story in the world, but it's my story, and it's a story I want to tell.

More so than any other story I've written.