Chapter VIII
Chapter VIII
Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly from the chariot, leaving the craft moments before it even touched the Canterlot airdock. “Pinkie! Be careful!” Fluttershy called out nervously.
Pinkie giggled at that, but did not otherwise show that she had heard the shy pegasus. “I wonder why Princess Celestia needed us here so badly,” she said, hopping just a little bit higher as she spoke.
“I don't know,” Twilight said as the chariot she was riding in gently set down. “But whatever it is must be important if it involves an armed escort.”
“Ah reckon it must be, Ah just hope it doesn't take too long ta fix. Harvest time is comin up, and Ah can't leave Big Mac ta take care of it himself,” Applejack said as she hopped out of the chariot and stood next to Pinkie. “The big galoot would just do it too, no questions asked. It's almost as if he's ask'n ta throw his back out.”
The others all nodded in the affirmative, though Spike had a thoughtful look on his face as he rode on Twilight's back. “I wonder if it has anything to do with the monster everypony in town was talking about?” he wondered out loud.
Twilight just glared at him as they made their way to the castle. “Spike, he isn't a monster. I already explained all of this to you.”
“Yeah, but Bon Bon said that it tried to eat Lyra when she went into the woods yesterday,” Spike pointed out.
“Spike, Lyra claimed that she got abducted by yetis last Heart's Warming Eve, despite the fact that yetis have been extinct for over three thousand years. Do you honestly believe every story out of that mare's mouth?” she asked pointedly.
Spike just shook his head at this. “No, but the fact is that it's not just her telling them. Everypony in town seems to be buzzing with rumor, and where there's rumor, there is at least a hint of truth,” Spike deduced stubbornly. “Even if they all are lies, something caused those rumors in the first place.”
“That would be his appearance, darling,” Rarity said as she trotted next to the pair. “Defender's hideous visage alone is enough to launch a full fledged monster hunt, though he has done nothing to deserve it. The Princesses trust him enough to allow him to stay where he is, so you should too.”
“Yeah...” Spike said, grudgingly giving the point to her. “But that doesn't mean that Princess Celestia didn't ask us here because of the mon- because of Defender,” Spike said, barely catching himself.
Twilight just shook her head at this. “Spike, while your reasoning is sound, I'm actually pretty sure I already know what we're being called in for,” Twilight said. “I don't want to say it right now, just in case I'm wrong, but it isn't because of Defender, though it would involve him.”
The others just looked at her curiously, but held their questions. Since they had just arrived at the castle gates, they'd be finding out from the princesses themselves soon enough.
* * *
Shining Armor stood at attention outside the throne room. Years of military conditioning had instilled the classic guard discipline into him, allowing him to exude an aura of calm, despite the knot of nerves that had built in his chest. He had just arrived this morning, having received an urgent missive from the Sun Princess several days ago.
It wasn't everyday that he received such a note. The last one had been when he had been summoned six months ago, when that odd alien object had fallen from the sky. Since then, he had kept a pretty close eye on each and every report that passed through his desk, though there had been nothing new as of late.
This message made him believe something had changed, however. Celestia hadn't revealed too much in her letter, but he had grown to expect that. The Princess usually liked to give out important information in person, especially with something as sensitive as an alien crash.
As he was mulling over all of this in his head, his thinking was interrupted when he heard a very familiar gasp to his right.
“Shiny? I didn't know you were going to be in Canterlot!” Twilight said as she galloped up to her brother.
Shining Armor's face broke into a grin as his baby sister charged up to him. “Twily! How are you doing?” he said as Twilight wrapped her hooves around his neck. “I only found out I was going to be here a few days ago. Celestia had sent me a letter, saying something important was going down.”
As his sister hugged him, however, Shining couldn't help but notice her friends behind her, nor could he fail to notice the guard detail that came to attention when they noticed the Crown Prince of the Crystal Empire.
“Sir! The Element Bearers have been delivered to Canterlot safely, as ordered,” the sergeant in charge said.
“At ease, soldier. I didn't know about your orders, so you're not delivering them to me,” Shining said as he broke his hug with his sister. He frowned a little, though, as he looked over the assembled ponies. “Celestia must be really worried to call in the Elements of Harmony. As much as I love seeing you sis, I still don't like this, not one bit.”
Before anypony else could say anything else, however, the door to the throne room opened, allowing Princess Celestia's steward to poke his head out and look around. “The Princesses are ready to see you all,” the wizened pony said with a nod of his head.
Shining looked at him in confusion. “Don't they need to see us separately?”
The steward just shook his head at that. “No, what they need to say, they needs to tell you all. They will later meet with each of you individually to further explain, but from what I understand, the reasons you are all here are the same,” the gray unicorn said, opening the door wide.
The assembled ponies took this in stride, despite their lack of information, and entered without any further fuss. A few of the assembled mares shot each other questioning glances, however, which Shining quickly picked up on.
It was clear that they were nervous.
Well, most of them were nervous. The pink one acted as if she hadn't a care in the world, bouncing into the room as if she owned the place, almost causing a smile to grace his lips. Shining was trained better than that, though, so he kept his stern demeanor as he approached the dual throne of the Sun and the Moon.
The assembled ponies bowed respectfully as they approached the thrones, though Princess Celestia was quick to motion them to rise. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” she said with a nod. “I'm sure you're all wondering why we called you all here, and rest assured, it is a matter of grave importance to Equestria, and even the whole world.”
“Did some sort of evil crawl out of the depths of Tartarus, and you want us to use the Elements to kick its sorry flank back?” Rainbow said, taking a heroic stance from where she hovered over the others.
Princess Luna just shook her head at this, amazed at the Element of Loyalty's zeal. “No, and at the same time, yes. Recent events have led us to believe that we are all in grave danger. Some of you know many of the events that has led us to this point, while others are completely in the dark,” she said, her voice taking on a tense edge that the others easily picked up on. “Six months ago, an object crashed into the White Tail mountain range.”
“Ah remember that. The newspapers said it was some kinda rock from space, but that didn't sit right with me,” Applejack said gruffly.
“Very astute, noble Applejack. It indeed wasn't anything of the sort,” Princess Luna said.
“Indeed. The object was, in fact, a spacecraft of some sort. Similar to those found in the science fiction novels that grace the shelves of the libraries in town from time to time, but far different than anything we could imagine," Princess Celestia said with a frown.
At this, Rainbow Dash immediately keeled over laughing. “You... You expect us to believe that aliens crash landed here?” she asked as she tried to get her laughter under control.
“Rainbow, she isn't joking. I was asked to go and help the researchers study it,” Twilight reproved the chortling pegasus.
This sobered her up quick. “Wait, you're dead serious. A spaceship seriously crash landed here? What did the aliens look like?” she asked quickly.
“You've already met one, Rainbow,” Twilight said smugly. “After all, you did accuse him of being a monster.”
There was a moment of silence as Rainbow tried to make sense this information. However, Rarity was slightly faster on the uptake. “Wait, so Defender is an alien?” she asked in shock.
“One of them survived?” Shining asked in disbelief.
“Actually, that makes sense," Applejack said, ignoring Shining Armor's comment. "I ain't ever seen a critter like him afore, though how he ended up here's a mystery ta me.”
“Rest assured, he did not come here of his own volition. The ship he crash landed in was not his own, rather, it belonged to those that were controlling him. He and several of his kin were abducted from their home world, changed, enslaved, and brought here under extreme duress. He managed to escape, though at the cost of the lives of his fellow prisoners,” Princess Luna said, shaking her head sadly.
This brought down the mood of the room immensely. Even Pinkie's perpetually poofy hair seemed to deflate at these harrowing words. One, however, didn't seem to pick up on this as fast as the others did. Or at least, if he did, he didn't show it. “Wait, is this Defender one of those bug-like things? Or one of those lanky, spiked monstrosities?” Shining asked, having lost the thread of the conversation.
“He is the latter. Trust me when I say that never have you met a soul who's appearance belies the true nature underneath as much as Defender's does,” Princess Celestia said, spreading her wings a little for emphasis. “However, that is a little off topic. Needless to say, the danger we brought you here for is not Defender, rather it is those that seek to take him back.”
This grabbed everypony's attention, and they all looked to the Princesses with fear in their eyes. “Does... Does that mean what I think it means?” Spike asked, a tremor in his voice.
Celestia just nodded at this. “Hostile aliens have come to Equestria, and have attempted to reclaim Defender. He managed to fight them off, but we know that they will be back, and in larger numbers. We are unsure of their intentions towards us, but after what they have done to their ex-slave, we are somewhat sure that they mean us nothing but harm, regardless of whether or not we hand him over,” she said, rising from her throne, her sister rising with her. “Right now, we are preparing for war.”
* * *
Captain Hazalk straightened up as he passed through the doorway, his face carefully arranged in a neutral expression. As he walked down the hallway, he took note of how bleak and depressing this part of the ship was.
That was to be expected, though. This was the brig, and its designers had gone with an appearance that would not only wear upon the mind, but break the soul. In fact, previous versions of these places came fully equipped with a Cranial Ravager, though those devices had been outlawed after the loss of the last war.
Memories of that horrid machine danced in Hazalk's mind as he punched in the code that would open the cell in front of him, forcing him to suppress a shudder. As he typed the last digit, however, he heard a hum from the other side of the door, followed closely by four loud clanking sounds, followed even closer by the sound of someone swearing up a storm.
This made him forget about his previous discomfort, causing him to wiggle his antenna in pleasure as the door opened, revealing a very uncomfortable Ilisk prostrate on the floor, his wrists glued to the deck by the brightly glowing bands wrapped around his wrists.
That never gets old... the captain thought to himself, swaggering a little as he entered the room. “I hope you aren't busy, because I thought you might be ready to answer some questions for me,” he said, barely keeping the amusement out of his voice.
Ilisk didn't respond, choosing instead to turn his head away and look at the opposite wall.
“Aw, what's the matter? Frustrated that things didn't go your way?” Hazalk baited the restrained traitor. Ilisk just continued to give him a stony silence in response, acting as if he hadn't heard the captain speak.
“Well, don't worry about it. In a few months, you're going to be in Githock prison, along with the rest of the old guard that you work for, and you'll have a lot more things to worry about than little old me. That is, if you survive that long,” Hazalk said, kneeling down in front of the other Krin.
Again, he was treated with silence, though Hazalk thought he detected just the slightest hint of fear in those eyes. Silently congratulating himself on this minor victory, he moved closer to the traitor, and put a single, four clawed hand on his back. “You see, your little stunt earlier cost four of my soldiers their lives. Those four had a lot of friends aboard this ship. Especially Sergeant Inaz. He was really well liked, and from what I gathered, he had gathered quite a few girlfriends on board as well. I think it is only a matter of time before either his friends, or his mates, find you and silence you permanently,” Hazalk said ominously.
Silence.
Hazalk just shook his head at the failed agent's determination. “I can make sure that doesn't happen, though. If you give me the names of those that are really responsible, I might be able to find a place to hide you. Hey, I have some pull with the Hiarch, so I may even be able to ease your sentence a little. You have to work with me a little, though.”
Hazalk just stayed there for the longest time, but finally rose to his feet, brushing off his suit top in the process. “Well, it's something to think about. Who knows? Maybe the crew will be able to control themselves long enough to get you to Githock. Then the only thing you would have to worry about is a shanking from one of the old Cranial Ravager victims that still haunt that place. If I remember correctly, a few of those cases were deemed incurable, even with Quzin aid. You're just lucky they outlawed that beastly practice.”
And there it was. There was no fear, but instead there was the slightest glimmer of resentment twinkling in those eyes. Hazalk knew he had struck a nerve. “Oh, but you don't like the Quzin Empire, do you? They meddled in things they couldn't understand. They interfered. What sort of gall does it take to reduce the mighty Krin people to nothing but a puppet race?” he asked, trying to press his advantage. “Nothing but a bunch of witches, what with their self-righteous attitudes and reality warping Void Knights. It must irk you to no end, knowing that the Hiarch is nothing but a puppet to their will.”
However, as much as Hazalk dug, he just couldn't get Ilisk to show any more emotion than he already had. Sighing in frustration, Hazalk turned and left the room. “I hope you enjoy your shanking, whether it is from Githock inmates, or from my crew, I could care less. Call me if that is something that you want to avoid.”
And with that, Hazalk left, sealing the cell behind him.
As soon as he had left, Ilisk got to his feet, his wrists having become free the moment the door sealed itself behind the captain. He moved back to his bunk and lied down, grunting in frustration.
What is taking them so long? he thought to himself.
* * *
Captain Hazalk sighed in frustration as he entered the bridge, his mind dancing with ideas on how to get the reluctant Ilisk to talk. However, the more he thought, the less he was sure of anything. “Please tell me you have something for me lieutenant,” he said with a sigh.
“Yes sir. We received a message from the Hiarch himself while you were interrogating Ilisk,” she said with a salute. "I've already sent it to your personal datapad, just waiting for your review."
Finally, Hazalk thought with relief. "Thank you, lieutenant. I'm expecting Commander Yvtil later, so if she comes to the bridge, tell her that I'm in my ready room."
"Yes sir," Talian said, saluting again as the Captain left the bridge.
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Yay! New chapter!!
Spelling is "irk" not "urk," assuming you are using standard English. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/urk-is-not-a-standard-spelling/
Other than that good chapter.
The UNSC should pop in and fuck shit and run away before anyone knows what happened.
As you say, this feels more like a connecting piece rather than a story advancing one, so I find myself without much to say about the chapter as no new information presented itself, and since we have yet to see the mane 6 reactions to the latest news in any depth, comments on that front will have to wait as well.
At least the mane 6 have finally reentered the picture, so I'm allowing myself the cautious optimism that we will see more of them in the future. And with the Quzin apparently arriving, I imagine we are set for some big plotwise events and developments in the near future.
AMAZING chapter as always
well worth the wait.
hmm.. i wonder if there is some sort of spell that can forcibly rip the memories out of an opponent and put it into something that allows the caster to understand it?
anyway, keep up the good work as always
im very curious how the planet will fight these guys should they arrive in mass.
Nice to see it rolling along. A part of me hopes that Hazalk goes down there and they manage to sort things about before they escalate, but I feel that's not going to happen.
That would be at ease. I try not to point out spelling errors when I'm not editing, but this one really irks me. Then again, it does kind of go with that whole "surfer guy" voice he has...
Since I'm on the subject, those soldiers wouldn't have reported to him anyway, assuming that equestrian military doctrine is anything like what we have. When given any kind of order, soldiers are to accomplish it as instructed in the most timely manner possible, then report to the officer who gave the order for debriefing as soon as reasonably possible. In this situation, they'd probably state their orders, the name of the officer who gave them, then promptly leave.
5609572 Maybe help from... HUMANS?!
Okay chapter. 2 reasons why. 1 expected more out of Pinkie then deflating hair (it was expected with more though). 2 who is Ilisk waiting for (I want to know so bad).
I expect an update soon
Good
Hurray a new chapter!
5609622 I just have this feeling should humanity find that other races have been experimenting on us, we'd find a way of collectively tearing the galaxy a new asshole.
5609572 Ditto.
5609549 Give humanity 400 years or so, it just turned into the 21st century.
Whoo hoo! A new chapter. Glad to see a connecting chapter to briefly recap the stuff that happened in the story so far. I had to skim the previous chapters to see if I forgot any details, and this chapter helped me refresh my mind on the stuff that happened so far.
As always, keep up the great work!
Good chapter, as always.
Well, the upcoming chapters are going to be fun.
Also, fun fact - in my language, the word "talian" is used for a citizen of Italy. So that always makes me chuckle, at least a little bit
5609549 ODST incoming.
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110213073422/halo/images/d/d5/The_Rookie_Concept_Art_halo3_odst.jpg
1234 upvotes
Hopefully it's not too late for diplomacy.
Maybe what you feel is missing here is Alex. I know I expected the seven to be taken directly to his room while the princesses briefed them on the way, instead of the static throne room lollygagging that ensued. That felt oddly unproductive for Celestia and Luna, who are implied to be working on a MASSIVE crunch.
And once again Hazalk shows himself as the most interesting character of the story. What he taunted and teased Ilisk with there indicates a pretty severe conflict of moralities, enough to seed doubts on their supreme ruler's integrity, even possibly the formation of political factions. Judging by his apparent rational view on it, it may have a bit of a radical side to that and he's above it.
Not sure if I said this before, but it's excellent to see a military officer that thinks with his head, moreso when he's not the "good guy" per se (though he's by no means a villain either).
grats on gettin featured again!
5609649
I'm tempted to say he's waiting for the Quisin at this point. We already know that they're on the way because someone tipped them off, and a project like the one that mutated Alex would only be necessary if you were prepping for a big war against someone that you needed a BIG advantage to beat. A crash like this would be just the thing to kickstart a war to regain the glory of the Krin empire from their "oppressors".
Hierarch maybe?
5610100
Hm, I am having my doubts here - a war between interstellar empires is going to be decided in space from start to end, ground armies contribute nothing in such a scenario. They (the armies) would only come in to play if you really want to occupy a planet relatively intact that, for some suicidal reason, didn't surrender after their fleet was lost under the threat of orbital bombardment. And even then, a spec-ops terror squad isn't going to accomplish much on a planetary invasion scale.
Such an abominable project would certainly piss the Quzin off though, probably something fierce.
Which is odd, considering the fact that Ilisk wants the operation to be discovered by Quzin - which raises all sorts of questions about his ultimate goals. As noted by the captain, the Krin aren't in any position to fight the Quzin and would get trounced just as badly, if not worse, than before. So what exactly is Ilisk's goal here?
While I suppose it's possible he and his backers are so blind with pride and arrogance they believe the Krin can take on the Quzin this time despite the devastation suffered in the first war and merely want to spark a conflict, I wouldn't necessarily be willing to bet on them being that dumb just yet. I have a feeling they are aiming to accomplish something else and this whole setup has been one giant show orchestrated for the benefit of that goal, though I have no idea just yet what that might be.
5609572
I'm pretty sure that the ant aliens (I forgot the names, sorry) are on full retreat when the magic-using aliens showed up, doing what they can to wrap up and present the criminals in a pretty box so the magic-using aliens don't blast them all to bits. Equestria has nothing to worry about. If anything the ant aliens should forgo any attempt to land on Equestria, or use a moderator like a robotic drone/holography that won't be blasted on sight/immune to blasting. Considering how forgiving the ponies are, it would not surprise me if they accept their story about a small group that did this atrocity and have been handed over to the proper authorities. (I'm certain the ponies have skeletons like this in their own closet)
The drama llama has been moved to squat firmly on the ant aliens. Ponies are fretting over nothing... but they don't know that and we all get to watch them stew in delicious fright at the thought of alien warships in orbit, just waiting to rain death on the land.
5609502 Thanks for the catch man!
5609620 They weren't necessarily supposed to report to anyone. their orders were to deliver the Elements to the throne room, it just so happened that the head of the Equestrian Military was there to meet them. This made them assume that he was there to take them off their hooves.
Of course, he had heard nothing of their orders, so he told them that, and they left almost immediately afterwards, to report to the pony who had given them their orders. Also, thanks for the catch! (can't believe I missed that one...)
5609649 Don't worry, there is definitely more coming from The Pink One. Of that, you can be certain.
There just wasn't much here because I really just wanted to get this one out of the way. To tell the truth, this chapter was a bit of a chore to write.
Extremely glad to see you return to this.^^ Though, I notice she didn't mention that they changed him without magic, removing his limbs physically and replacing them.
5609839 I totally did not know that. I made the name up off the top of my head!
i.ytimg.com/vi/GD6qtc2_AQA/maxresdefault.jpg
5610043 I'm glad you like him. I really worked hard on his personality and back story, so I'm glad that you picked up on that!
As for the others, well, I originally had them taking the ponies to see Alex, but he would have been sleeping at this time, and it is never a good idea to take Pinkie to someone who is recuperating from surgery.
5609932 halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/pewpewpew.jpg
5610133 The Hiarch is a word I made up to signify the ruler of the Krin. It is kind of a combination of king and president, and is spelled differently then what you have there. Thanks for the catch on the others, though!
5610310 I ain't telling.
I have to say, I feel sorry for Hazalk. I suspect that not only is he completely fucked, but he's about to watch his species get dragged back into another war.
5610588
Fair enough.
Nice chapter, but there's a minor that I think should be edited.
I could be wrong, but I think that should be either "claw" or "crawl".
5610620 Not letting Pinkie near Alex? In an exaggerated comedy, maybe I could take the flanderization in stride, but for this more serious kind of fic? Yeah, no, I disagree. While it's true that she can be overbearing, Pinkie Pie's more than just laughter.
Hell, you already showed it back in the first story. Remember the subtlety of her stealth invitations and pastry presents, and when she got to Alex near the stream after that insane escape of his through Ponyville, she was gentler than a snowflake's landing. With the proper explanations that he can't be agitated even if it is in a positive (i.e. party) sense, she'll know to contain herself and not go overboard.
Also, Defender seeing the first pony that approached him positively, and the one who relieved him of his pent-up pain, would do great things for his psyche, and his recovery in turn. Friendship is more than just magic; it can make small miracles.
5610310
I feel like you're selling infantry forces short. Especially infantry forces capable of phenomenal levels of stealth, intelligence, dedication, and brutality. Every one of them is a skilled assassin capable of taking on huge numbers of enemy soldiers even in direct confrontations.
Why risk huge fleets of ships, ships that cost billions of dollars each to build and require crews of thousands (especially when you've already tried that once and lost), when a small force of super soldiers can take a planet or completely destroy the chain of command with zero loss to Krin life and property?
And even standard infantry has their place in interstellar combat. A lifeless planet is a worthless planet. Yeah, the Krin might win in space, but if they nuke the planet from orbit they're left with nothing but a lifeless rock that's worth nothing. The Quizin science and production facilities alone would be worth trillions of dollars in tech and resources, not to mention whatever other natural resources the planet may have that would be lost in a planet-wide carpet bombing. That, and assuming that those aren't the only two races in the galaxy, genocide on that level is generally regarded as a war crime at the very least.
It's definitely possible that Ilisk's goal isn't another war, but if they were willing to do this then who knows what other "projects" they've got going in other places. I think we're gonna have to wait for the Quizin to get there to get a real idea of what's going on behind the scenes.
5611208 I was joking dude, lighten up. Of course pinkie would be a positive effect, I just felt that it wouldn't do this scene a whole lot of good if I did it like that.
5611223
Special forces can't take and hold territory, though - by far the most important task for an invading army. They can make a few surgical strikes and try and break in to some government agency buildings, or otherwise unprepared locations, but they aren't going to contribute much in a direct engagement between armies. They are weapons of stealth and terror, useful ones to be sure, especially applied at the right time, but they aren't going to be toppling planets or stopping armies on their own.
That's what they were explicitly being trained to do, after all - to be the boogiemen to send in, do some nasty stuff on the low, scare some unsuspecting locals so the Krin can swoop in and pretend to be saviors by driving the nasty night-monsters away.
And still, infantry would play very little role in interstellar warfare - much like for an island nation, they live and die with their navies. Once you have orbital superiority, it's over - you can bomb their army bases, decimate vehicle concentrations at your leisure, destroy government installations and comm hubbs/powerplants ... just about anything you want - the planet is completely at your mercy, cut off and isolated from reinforcements and they know it. And unless the planet is feeling suicidal, it will surrender. (Unless you have a few individuals down there who can use the moon as an oversized wrecking ball :P)
And if it doesn't, you apply all of the above - dismantle government and military presence and infrastructure from orbit and all you have left are defenseless, demoralized and leaderless population centers that you can take at your leisure with minimal risk to whatever ground forces you send to actually perform the mop-up occupation.
There is absolutely no need to reduce the whole planet to a molten slag if you aim to suppress a planet's ability to present an organised response to an invader (though that's certainly an option if you don't care to occupy and expand, only win and ensure the enemy can never threaten you again) - and orbital superiority allows you to do this with impunity, at your own leisure and with minimal to no risk to your own forces before you actually put boots on the ground.
In an interstellar war, the army is the afterthought which only gets to do its job if the navy succeeded at theirs - because if you lost the naval war, your worlds are isolated, you can't actually move your army from place to place, your trade routes are inaccessible and you can no longer coordinate and pool your efforts. And you are completely at the mercy of your enemy and their demands. If you lose the space war, that's the end of the line - the army won't help you and you have ceased being a threat to your enemy.
5611370 You forgot something. Remember that anything that Ilisk said during his reveal is probably a lie. So yes, the stated reason was for global terror, but they were probably designed for something else entirely.
5611370 Otherwise, though, you hit the nail on the head. Soldiers at this point would either be used as strike forces, to repel boarding parties(or act as boarding parties), or to pacify an already conquered planet.
Planetary defenses would pose a problem to a space navy, but only as long as that planet still has ships to support those guns. Ground troops may be used in those instances, but otherwise the whole battle is decided in space.
Unless, of course, you have a celestial body moving alicorn to use moons and suns as orbital flails.
5610993
Damn it, now you've reminded me of that as well
This is too verbose, to the point of becoming awkward.
Try instead something like:
The others looked at her curiously, but held their questions. As they had just arrived at the castle gates, they'd be finding out from the princesses themselves soon enough.
This could be worded better.
Capitalization error
Hazalk is a good guy. I get it. Writing him to make goody two-shoes, eye-roll inducing statements like this is going overboard to make a point that's been made just fine already. (Which was also a problem for Jaleth early on in The Nautilous Protocol.)
5612940 That sentance wasn't to show that he was a good guy, rather it was to introduce the device he mentioned. Trust me, it will become important in later chapters.
However, you are right, I laid it on a little thickly there, and I'm not really sure how to fix it.
5609677 True. Jeez, people didn't take kindly to my joke. XD