Ad Astra

by Merchent343

Chapter Two

---

//-- To: NSDF Commander [Redacted]
//-- From: Councilmember Set Form
//-- Subject: Now is the time

While amusing, your continued failures to bring to pass serious changes in our command efficiency is beginning to leak through to the Council. Should they discover the steps you have taken to ensure our activities remain discrete, it will all be for naught. The ponies I have given you are good enough for the job, but they are a finite resource. While I can continue to supply you with prisoner labor, I cannot move larger numbers without arousing suspicious.

Should the good Captain Astral Mist fail in her duties, I alone will have to bear the news before the Council. And they will be very angry if that does come to pass. I suggest you prepare for that eventuality, and pray to the Night that it does not come to pass.

I also suggest you take the opportunity to plant the right trails. A movement to bring this corrupt and vile place down can only begin from within, and you are not in such a position. I would suggest that you remember that.

The price of failure is death and dishonor. With victory comes the spoils.

By the Grace of the Night,
Councilmember Set Form
2,116 ANM

THIS COMMUNICATION IS CONFIDENTIAL. ANY SHARING OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IS TREASON, AND PUNISHABLE BY EXECUTION. PRIVATE COUNCIL MESSAGE TRAFFIC IS ONLY TO BE INTERCEPTED IN THE MOST DIRE OF TIMES.
//-- [End]

---

"Dropping out of the Stellar Field in three... Two... One..."

The pit that had built up in Astral Mist's stomach dropped as the Vengeance's near-insane speed wound down. The artificial gravity on the ship was still fully functional, and so they were not thrown against the forward bulkheads as the ship slowed down.

More noticeable in the view out of the viewing screen - the control room was, after all, buried deep in the hull - was the planet that they were a mere 235,800km away from. It was a dirty white-grey, surrounded by a thin, blue-white ring of comet debris and ice.

"First Officer Hemlock, what are the first reports on atmospheric composition?" Astral Mist barked, settling back into her role as Captain of the vessel.

"Atmosphere contains traces of CO2, and is approximately fifty-two percent oxygen." The stallion immediately reported. "Current ground temperatures at the landing site are rated at negative thirty-eight degrees. The landing site is currently unobstructed by any weather patterns, as predicted."

"Perfect. Tell the Pasture that they have permission to set up." Astral Mist said.

"Copy. Sending the-..." The First Officer suddenly cut off, before double-checking something on his screen and turning around to face her. "Captain, we have a problem. We have detected a radio signal identical to that of an Earth Pony vessel, approximately one hundred and twenty light-seconds from out current location. Ma'am, it's either an exploration or a colonization vessel"

"Send them a warning message." Astral ordered. "Tell them that we are already on the planet itself, and warn them away from our territory. And tell the Pasture to hurry up, for Night's sake!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Are there any other bits of news that happened on our three day trip?" Astral asked sarcastically.

"Construction has begin on an orbital fuel refinery in orbit around Equestria. A small group of ten Point Defense Craft has begun trials in orbit. That is all." Her First Officer dutifully reported.

Astral Mist, however, internally sighed. She had a potential diplomatic situation, a far-too-literal First Officer, and on top of that, was riding on the edge of exhaustion after three standard days spent with that same feeling that something was not quite right, a byproduct of the Stellar Drive.

Now was not the time to second-guess decisions, however.

"Pasture reports they will be in orbit in three centiseconds. Preliminary reports state the Earth Pony vessel will arrive in three and a half kiloseconds." Her First Officer said.

"Then let's meet them on an even field." Astral Mist ordered. "Helm, take us just beyond the comet ring, and bring us into a stable orbit."

"Aye aye, Ma'am!" The helmstallion, a technician manning a specialized console to the front of the room, responded.

---

The next three hundred centiseconds passed in near-silence as they passed over the ice ring surrounding the planet, the thrusting on the ship working overtime to correct their position in order to bring them into a proper orbit. That small period of peace was quickly interrupted.

"Ma'am, patching through a return message, text only, from the Earth Pony vessel, now identified as a Colony Vessel, six hundred meters in length." First Officer Hemlock said.

A message popped up on her personal terminal, one which she quickly opened and scanned through.

//-- To the Nocturne Warship,

This planet is the property of the Coalition. We require your immediate departure from orbit, and the abandonment of all settlements on its' surface. This is to be completed within a period of thirty minutes. Failure to do so will result in the forceful eviction of your settlement.

Captain Green Fields, EPC Destiny

All in all, a standard diplomatic message. One which she would pretend to have not received.

"Helm, is it possible to divert the artificial gravity systems to impact an object of sufficient mass enough to change its' course?" Astral Mist asked after a few moments of though.

"It... Uh... Should be, Ma'am." The helmstallion responded hesitantly. "It would power off the artificial gravity for a short time, but we could divert an object of up to two hundred thousand kilograms from a divergent orbit. What would you like us to do?"

"Find an object of sufficient size and fling it on a course to intersect the Earth Pony vessel." Astral stated.

"That's a precision movement! It'd take at least five centiseconds to plan!" The helmstallion protested.

Captain Astral Mist fixed him with a glare that could have rivaled the sun. "Know your place, Helmstallion Shade. Set a speed record, and do as you have been ordered."

"Y- Yes Ma'am." The stallion, realizing the ground he had just trod on, hastily responded.

Sensors, outside of certain charted asteroid fields, generally looked for objects that ran above a specific speed, those that emitted things such as tracking signals, or that were above a specific mass.

The asteroid that the helmstallion had hastily picked, Astral saw, fitted none of the above. It was a mere five kilometers away, was mostly iron in content, and was about ten meters across - for a given definition of 'round' that would include something about as smooth as any insignificant rock in space could be.

The artificial gravity stopped, and everything that was not strapped down began to float upwards and forward, due to their continuing acceleration.

The 'toss' itself was hastily done, but the helmstallion - and the rest of the bridge crew - quickly showed why they had been picked, as the rock was calculated to impact in four centiseconds.

The artificial gravity snapped back on, and those few objects that had been steadily working their way forward fell to the deck.

Astral watched with a certain amount of satisfaction - with most of the bridge crew watching in near-horror - as the semi-guided rock hurtled towards its' target.

When the rock was a mere forty kilometers away - far too late - the Earth Pony vessel finally noticed the stray asteroid and attempted to maneuver with their thrusters.

It was not enough.

Over their optical sensors, Astral Mist watched as the rock impacted with a relative speed of over thirty thousand kilometers per hour. It sheered through the starboard side of the colony vessel like a bullet, its' momentum tearing through the high-quality steel like paper. Thousands of individual microdebries were blasted from the stricken ship as atmosphere leaked out through the tear, the entire starboard side of the ship having been cut off from the rest of it.

"Ship is broadcasting SOS, claiming hostile action." Her First Officer reported, his voice subdued.

"Send our logs to the Council, report that not a weapon was fired." Captain Astral Mist ordered. "State that the Earth Pony vessel struck a previously uncharted celestial object. After that, bring us around, match speeds with the wreckage, and search for survivors."

"Survivors, Ma'am?" Her First Officer asked.

"Yes, survivors." Astral Mist deadpanned. "I hear that new colonies are often short on a workforce, as well as supplies. We will assist our colony with acquiring both. It will look better on the after-report."

"Yes Ma'am."

Astral Mist leaned back into her command chair, the form-fitting seat far more comfortable than it looked. Her first 'victory' of sorts was complete, and the Coalition would have little to do but complain. Oh sure, they might send a fleet and attack, but what would that do? Trained colonists were not exactly easy to come by, and the ones that they send here would soon enough be working for Nocturne, and nopony else.

It was good to be the Captain.

---

"We have matched speeds. Colony ship is still broadcasting SOS."

"Excellent." Astral said. "Target their defensive turrets with pinpoint Railgun fire. Launch the Search and Salvage teams."

Almost one hundred and twenty of her ship's crew were trained as the Search and Salvage team. All of them launched from the hull of her ship almost on cue, using thruster packs to maneuver into precisely the locations they were needed. As the Earth Pony vessel was segmented by bulkheads, most of the colonists and crew likely survived.

"S&S teams away, Ma'am."

"Open up a radio channel." Astral ordered. Her First Officer complied. "This is the NSDF Vengeance to the EPC Destiny. We are coming alongside to render assistance after your accident."

"Damn you for doing so, Vengeance." Came the reply a mere moment later, followed by a sigh. "We won't resist. Do as you will."

"Secure the bridge first." Astral said after cutting off the connection. "Bring their Captain here, intern the crew, and lock the colonists in the airtight bulkheads. We'll tow them to the planet."

"Yes ma'am."

Astral Mist turned to regard her First Officer. His reply had been far more dull that his earlier bravado would have given. While she was willing to pass him by just this once, she did not wish to trust her life to a damned coward.

---

With a small jolt, the ramscoop engines on the Vengeance came online and fired up, allowing the warship to leisurely drag its' cargo behind them: The cargo being the remains of the Destiny, carrying, at first count, somewhere around 48,000 of the lesser Earth Ponies inside of it, many of them being stored inside short-term cryogenic pods.

Astral Mist took a moment to gloat in the freedom of her mind. This would more than double the labor output of the colony, at least initially, and allow them the convenience of hostages if the EPC decided to try to 'retake' the planet. However, with the colony on the surface already having set up their anti-shipping weaponry on the surface, they would face severe resistance if they tried.

While the former Earth Pony colonists would wake up from their induced slumber to find themselves working prisoners of Nocturne, the two hundred former crewponies of the colony ship would be enjoying an extended stay aboard the Vengeance. While it was doubtful that more than one fifth of them could be convinced to defect, the rest were still viable intelligence assets.

Among them, their commander, one Captain Green Field, would be interned aboard the finest quarters that Nocturne would provide. Astral Mist had long known of the methods used to gather intelligence from the lower officers, but it was theorized that those who were higher in station, when accorded conditions equal to that station, were far more talkative about vital information than they otherwise might be.

Astral thought such measures silly, but she was a mere Captain. Even though she was currently the commander of the largest - and only major - warship that Nocturne had, she knew that her command did not grant experience solely by its' existence.

Currently, said Earth Pony captain was standing on her bridge, off to the side as he glared at her. It was a physiological message more than anything else: We have beaten you, now see our might.

"Ma'am, incoming message from Command." Her First Officer said. "Rerouting it to your terminal."

Astral Mist leaned forward and tapped on the display with her hoof, opening the message.

//-- To: Captain Astral Mist
//-- From: Command [DB38]

It has come to our attention that an Earth Pony Coalition colony vessel will be entering the space around your vessel within half a kilosecond of arrival. We ask that you pay close attention to them, as they may attempt to colonize the planet in any case. Disable them at all costs.

//-- [End]

Astral Mist laughed. Even with the rest of the bridge crew staring at her, she laughed and laughed.

'Damned speed of light. Their message is only three kiloseconds late.' She thought to herself as she brought her outburst under control. Everything was fine. Everything was absolutely fine.

Hopefully, the rest of her patrol would be just as eventful.

Author's Note:

Feel free to give me your comments on the story.