Millennia: Beginning

by Thunderblast

17. Deployment - Part I

In the blink of an eye, it felt like Wednesday was long passed and Thursday was upon us. It was a big day for me. I was deploying out to sea on the Eclipse with a couple hundred other ponies, all with important responsibilities aboard the ship.

The day started like any other—showering, getting dressed, and then breakfast. Me and Solar sat down and ate together and talked for a bit without a guess of where Silver was. Deep down, we hoped he was out apologizing to Ashfall. Either way, his absence was suspicious, but not much thought was put into it.

Over breakfast, I explained to an interested Solar the basics of tracking and dumbing-down some of the harder bits and pieces that we learned about. I stopped a bit early when I noticed he was beginning to doze off, and we just laughed about it.

After we finished eating, Solar left to work his patrol shift, but not before promising to say goodbye when the Eclipse leaves port. Meanwhile, I returned to our barrack to pack my sea bag.

I didn't have much to pack. Extra uniforms and t-shirts and that was it. Within minutes I was completely packed and left with lots of time to kill.

Taking my seabag and slinging it over my shoulder, I trotted out of the barrack, likely for the last time in quite a while. The base had the same amount of activity going on as it always did. Nothing seemed to be that different. A new class of recruits had just come in and the drill sergeant was already eating away at their souls from what I could tell.

Beyond that, others did their own thing or were on patrol. Luckily while I would be gone, another Marine would replace my position along the wall. A change in position was going to be weird, though I was more excited for this one.

Once at the docks, sailors and Marines were busy loading and fueling the Eclipse. One thing I noticed was the temperature seemed to differentiate in just the few hundred yards I walked to get there, and it wasn't warm either. Standing there observing was Shadow, dressed in his usual dark blue Navy uniform and a matching cap.

Beside him was a stallion just an inch or two taller than Shadow, and though it could have been his uniform, from what I could tell he had a slightly more muscular build than the both of us. His uniform was intriguing as well; a black and extremely dark grey uniform jacket and matching pants as well as boots, a black shemagh around his neck up to his chin, and the average black military sunglasses. His coat and mane colors made me look closer a bit from where I was and fooled me into believing it was somepony I knew back in Canterlot.

I walked closer, hoping not to disturb their conversation and greet Shadow and ask where my sleeping quarters were aboard the ship.

"Ah, Private Star," Shadow had turned and noticed me walking towards them. He gave a small smile and turned to me, as did the pony beside him.

"Good morning, sir," I smiled right back and stopped in front of him, saluting.

Shadow saluted back with the same smile. "So, excited you came early?"

"What can I say? Early bird catches the worm. If... that's the right term for this," my cheeks heated a little in embarrassment.

Shadow let out a soft chuckle. "Close enough. Hey, Private, I've got somepony I'd like you to meet, as I mentioned before," he turned to the grey earth pony. "Star Shooter, meet Arc Nobis. Nobis, meet Shooter."

The grey pony, Arc, scanned over me for a few seconds before sticking a hoof out to shake. "It's a pleasure," he said with the blandest expression on his muzzle.

I took his hoof and shook it back. "The pleasure is all mine, sir," I smiled to him faintly. Directly on his uniform over his chest was a Lieutenant's emblem between his name. Another patch on his shoulder pointed towards he was a Marine. His uniform colors still had me puzzled.

"So, Shadow here tells me you're the new radarpony on the bridge," he turned to Shadow and then back to me.

"Yes, sir."

"Fixed your sleeping schedule yet?"

I blinked. "Sir?"

"Did you?"

"I don't catch on."

Arc turned to Shadow. "He hasn't," he muttered, turning back to me. "I wish you luck. Most radarponies want to quit after the first week."

I blinked again. "But I drink coffee, sir."

Arc stared at me without saying a word for probably a full minute. "So did the others. I still bid you good luck, Private."

"Thank you...?" my head cocked a little at that.

Arc nodded once, then Shadow spoke up.

"Now that you two have met, I should let you both go to do whatever that is needed to be done. Star, I assume you are taking your taking your bag to your quarters?"

I shrugged. "I am, but I was not told where to go, sir."

Shadow blinked. "The Sergeant didn't tell you?" he then grumbled. "All right, come on."

Shadow turned around and began trotting towards the steel elevated bridge that led to a hatch just below the flight deck towards the front of the ship. Once we entered, the hallways on either side of us were long. Few sailors walked about the halls, checking the rooms while others had checklists, probably for preparing the carrier. Shadow turned and went down the left hall with me following close behind. The sailors that were in the halls noticed him coming and immediately stood at attention and off to the side in doorways to let us through.

"Carry on, all of you," he said to the sailors that moved out of the way, and so they did.

We came up to a steep stair well leading to the level below us, which was no different than the one we were just on. It was a bit of a hassle to climb down, especially when carrying a seabag over my shoulder, but over time I would grow used to it.

Once off the stairs, Shadow went right and down a few doors before stopping outside a closed steel door with bolts on the outline. He took the handle in his hoof and pulled it open. It made a faint screech that made us both wince, and he stepped to the side, allowing me to enter first. I walked inside and looked around.

"Here is your berthing. Choose your bed and lay your bag on it," Shadow said.

The sleeping quarters were extremely cramped: a narrow room with two bunks build into the walls on either side, and a wooden desk in the center with a small rounded, bolted window sitting just above it. The room had a simple light bulb for a light, and it was switched off for the time being.

"Seems comfortable enough," I chuckled a little, as did Shadow. I walked to the bunk on the right and set my bag on the bottom bed. "No bed bugs, right?"

Shadow shrugged. "We've had a couple of cases, but they went away quickly. Probably froze to death. Everyone has long shifts on this ship. Same for the rest of the fleet."

That was reassuring. "Oh," was all I could say.

Shadow nodded once. "Now, come, I'll show you to the bridge so you don't wind up lost," he winked and walked out of the doorway and back towards the stairs. I followed him, closing the hatch into the berthing behind me.

We walked back up the stairs, going up two flights before coming to the small tower where flight operations and the bridge were located. Another rounded flight of stairs later, both me and Shadow stepped onto the bridge where only a few of the computers were on and operating. No one else was on the bridge, likely due to the fact that most of the crew had not boarded yet. Shadow moved ahead, right up to a station with three digital monitors displaying individual maps. Beside it was a small space to walk, and across from that was another smaller monitor on a desk.

"This is your station, Private. I would give you a look at the radars, but the systems go off when the ship is docked. Take good care of all of it, or Nobis will have your head," he joked, chuckling.

"Yes, sir," I responded with a grin.

"So, know where to go?"

I nodded once. "Yes, sir, I do."

"Very good. I expect you at your station before we depart, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good," Shadow lifted a hoof to his forehead in a salute. "Temporarily dismissed."

I returned the salute proudly, only dropping it once Shadow stepped off of the bridge. I followed him out a few moments later and down to the bulkhead hatch to disembark the ship for the time being.

***

Time quickly passed, and soon enough, there was just an hour left before the Eclipse was scheduled for departure out to sea. Of course, typical autumn Manehattan weather came about, and rain showers were building in the region due west. The skies over the city grew completely overcast and the air took the form of a soft mist. Nothing bad was expected out at sea, but the weather out there changed in a heartbeat from what I heard from other sailors.

At the time, the Eclipse was boarding, and those with families were allowed on-base to say goodbye to their loved ones. It was a heartfelt moment knowing my parents didn't know where I was, or that I would be deploying out into the ocean in just an hour's time.

As I got in line to board the ship, I glanced over and noticed Anchorage and Ashfall standing side-by-side in front of a mare and stallion, and by the looks of them, I assumed they were Anchor's parents.

"Ohhh, Ancy, don't go!" sobbed the mare, a hazel earth pony mare with a styled brown mane and diamond earrings hanging from her ears.

While she sobbed, Anchorage rolled his eyes and huffed, cheeks turning pink with minor embarrassment. "We're not going to war, Mom. We'll be back in a few weeks."

"I know, that's why I'm crying!" His mother sobbed more and brought Anchorage into another lung-crushing hug that made me snicker at the sight.

Anchorage grunted and struggled to breathe for the full minute his mother embraced him, then he gently pushed her off and took a deep inhale, followed by a cough. "Please, don't. This is just like last time."

"Now, Ash, take good care of my son. Do you hear?" said the stallion accompanying Anchor's mother, a pegasus almost exactly Ash's size. The stallion was middle-aged from what I could tell and had a short mane, and a pair of dog tags around his neck. Must be former military, and his father, presumably.

Ash nodded once. "I will, sir," he raised his hoof to salute him respectfully.

His father saluted back. "Good stallion," he then lowered his hoof and the two shook hooves.

Afterwards, the both of them received two more lung-crushing hugs from Anchorage's mother before being allowed to leave. By the time they did, sailors and Marines were boarding the carrier. The process was long and slow, and an hour or so later, tug boats were sent to tow the Eclipse away from the dock. The majority of us gathered on the flight deck as the carrier was pulled towards the center of the river. Meanwhile, the families and friends of everypony on board were against the water line and were waving at us.

I stood between two sailors stereo-typically waving cloths to their loved ones. I looked over the crowd below and in front, searching for two familiar faces. Soon enough, I found them. Solar Wave and Silver Edge were waving at me with big smiles. I smiled back and waved to them as the tugboats detached themselves from the Eclipse.

Just a few minutes later, everypony on shore left, and everypony on the boat went off to their stations. I followed suit as the others, but instead made my way up to the bridge where Shadow stood along with many others, going over and finishing up engine startup procedures. At that time, I sat down at my station and slid my chair closer to the radar desk.

"Air pressure?"

"Thirty PSI, 'Cap."

"Alright, boys. Let's start her up."

"Aye aye, Captain," spoke a sailor who began flipping switches on a control panel. Moments later, the low roar of the engines whirring to life could be heard audibly throughout the ship.

"Take us out, Skip," Shadow ordered as he sat down in his chair and sipped a cup of coffee.

"Aye, Captain," the throttle master slowly pushed the lever forward, the engines gradually speeding up and kicking up some water behind the ship.

Soon, we began gradually moving towards the mouth of the river and the ocean. The ship paced at a slow speed of just seven knots, or eight miles an hour. The Port Authority of Manehattan strictly controlled any and all vessels and their speeds moving in and out of the harbor and limited us to that speed, but once we were past the Manehattan Bridge and onto open waters, any speed required to get us where we needed to go was granted.

It was about thirty-five or forty minutes later before we crossed under the bridge where ponies were gathered to wave goodbye. Some of the sailors on the flight deck stood there and waved to the civilians, and just before the entire ship could finish clearing underneath, Shadow gave two long horn blasts to signify the ship's departure, as also required by the Port Authority.

For a while, I stared at a blank radar screen as the green line spun around in a complete circle every ten seconds or so. Both the weather and traffic radars were completely empty. Every time I glanced up, however, I could only disagree. A light drizzle was falling onto the flight deck and making beaded spots of water all across the windows of the bridge. Either the radar was malfunctioning, or whatever was above us wasn't being picked up by it—likely the latter.

Thankfully, just a few minutes later, a light blue spot slowly moved onto the top of the screen. Despite the direction we were traveling was east, it showed up on what others described as the 'northern' end of the radar, which in reality was just the direction in front of the ship. It would be confusing to some without having training on a radar.

The rain slowly picked up, and soon Manehattan could barely be visible behind us thanks to the fog between the Eclipse and the skyline. Meanwhile, the weather radar kept picking up blue, and eventually lighter and darker shades of green as we continued east.

"Shooter, weather report?" Shadow said from his chair, sipping on his coffee afterwards.

I straightened my back and looked over the radar thoroughly. "Light to moderate precipitation over us now, not much else," I glanced over to a computer between the weather and traffic radar. "Waves are calm at point-six meters. South-southwest winds are at fourteen knots."

"Very good," Shadow turned to me and winked. "And if it isn't evident already, boys, we've got a new radar pony. Better get used to him."

After that, I got a few short glances from some of the others on the bridge, one nodding once to me with a smile, before all returning their focus to what they were doing.

"And Star, if anything abnormal pops up, you let me know at once, or anypony else here should I be absent for any reason."

"Aye, Captain."

The only thing I was concerned about at that point was the massive waves storms usually came with out in the ocean.

***

Just before sunset, I was dismissed from the bridge to go to the chow hall aboard the Eclipse for dinner, as were a few of the others and we were replaced by the next shift of sailors. Down in the mess hall, the cooks were serving hot mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, and green beans—a good dinner to kick off deployment.

Each of us got in line with dark blue plastic trays and were served dinner, two by two. I sat down at one of the tables with a growling stomach and began eating. As I did, I started to think about Anchorage and Ashfall. Where were they, and what were they doing?

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, I'm sorry chapter 17 took so long to get done, but here it finally is! I would also like to apologize for it being short, but don't worry, I promise chapter 18 will be MUCH longer!