Homeworld: Equestria - The Silent Hunters

by hiigaran

31: Gehenna

“Multiple hull breaches!” Shadow yelled over rapidly beeping alarms. “Areas vented: Engineering, aft resourcing drop-off points, and upper deck of spinal corridor. Two main drives, inertial navigation systems, comm transmitters, and refinery module inop.”

“Does this ship have repair drones?” Lightning shouted back.

Shadow silenced the alarm. “Yes. We'll deploy them as soon as we're out of hyperspace.” Another alarm sounded shortly after, this time lower and more drawn out. A quick glance at the ship’s damage control panel confirmed the emergency. “Fire warning. Hangar bay, deck two. We need to—”

A distant rumble moved through the ship. Everyone heard it first, before feeling it through their hooves. Shadow looked back at the screen displaying the ship’s schematics. “Hangar bay, deck two has ruptured.”

“But the fire is out now, right?” Swift confirmed, as the last of the alarms ceased. “Silver lining.”

Shadow hummed. “Looks like our situation is stable for now. If we’re still in hyperspace with this damage, we should survive the transition. What’s our next move, Glare?”

Glare stood hypnotised by one of the observation windows with Obsidian, neither of whom had seen hyperspace with their own eyes. The external cameras of Amarok did not do the real thing justice. Blue, flame-like wisps parted, as if an invisible force pushed aside the ethereal strands. A random wisp would occasionally strike the hull harmlessly, scattering on impact before vanishing.

“Glare?” Shadow’s voice cut through a little louder.

“Hmm? Right. We’re sticking to the plan,” the unicorn ordered. “This ship has individual quarters, so I suggest running on skeleton crew and allowing others to rest as much as possible. Lightning? Ship’s yours. Let me know when you’d like to be relieved, and Sparky can take over.”

Lightning Dust leaned back on her seat, placing her hind hooves atop the nearby console. “Got it. I’m good for a few hours.”

Glare turned to the others. “I’ll need two volunteers to help me wake Khamari. Everyone else can go rest.”

“Let me get my wing blades from my bag first.” Obsidian replied. “I’ll meet you by his pod.”

Swift spoke next, “Guess I’ll check out the icicle as well.”

Following Glare out of the bridge, Obsidian left the other two, who turned to the starboard side compartments. Several quarters lined the corridor’s outboard side, and a nearby set of stairs led to a lower deck with additional quarters. At the far end of the corridor was a white pod, secured against the wall near an open panel. As Glare and Swift drew nearer, they could identify several power cables connecting the pod to exposed conduits behind the panelling.

“Pod appears unharmed,” Glare observed, inspecting it from different angles, and reading a small display at one end. “I’m guessing everything showing green means there’s nothing wrong with Khamari. That’s a good sign.”

“What did I miss?” Obsidian asked, startling others with his silent arrival.

“Please don’t do that. I’m already on edge as it is. I’m going to start the revival process now.” Flipping a guarded switch near the pod’s display, Glare could hear faint hissing from within. “If I’m reading this screen correctly, that noise should stop in a moment, and the pod will open on its own.”

In less than a minute, the process was complete. Obsidian raised his pulsar, and extended his wings, in preparation to strike. “Swift, pulsar at the ready.”

“We won’t need that,” Glare assured the two.

“As Shadow once said to me, better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”

Several clicks sounded in succession, causing the top part of the pod to elevate slightly. As the airtight seal broke, a thick white gas started to escape. The dense clouds billowed and cascaded down onto the ground, spreading across the floor, while the top of the pod started rotating up and clear from the main body. When the sublimate started to dissipate from the inside, Khamari became visible, though with his face obscured by his respirator, the three were unsure if he was awake yet.

Obsidian took a cautious step forward and glanced at Glare. “Should I give him a poke?”

“Or a slap?” Swift suggested.

“Shut up,” Glare hissed. “Look, he’s waking.”

Khamari stirred. His body moved slightly before tensing up. “Where am I?”

“You were in cryogenic stasis for a day,” Glare started. “They were going to move you to some secure facility.”

Sitting up in the pod, Khamari faced Glare. There was a subtle tilt to his head. “Were?”

“We intervened,” the unicorn explained. “I wasn’t going to let them lock you away after what you said to everyone.”

“I … appreciate the faith you’ve put into me. That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“We’re aboard the vessel that was meant to take you to that facility. Only, we’re heading in the opposite direction, to Gehenna. Can you walk?”

“I believe I can.” Khamari grunted as he rose from the pod. Stepping out, he straightened his thawb and ignored the other two who continued to point weapons at him. “Your team took control of this vessel? What happened to its crew?”

Glare led Khamari toward the stairs as they headed for the bridge. “We let them go on some of the docked ships.”

Khamari stopped. “Docked ships? You took control of a carrier?”

“No, something smaller.”

Looking around, the vessel’s interior was unfamiliar to Khamari. After a moment of silence, he turned to Glare again. “Three engines? One turret above them?”

“Yes.”

Following Glare up the stairs, the Gaalsien hummed. “A Scavenger class mobile refinery. Interesting choice for a prison transport.”

“Are you familiar with the ship?”

“Not particularly.”

Entering the bridge, Glare found Lightning alone. “How are we doing up here?”

“Nothing new. Expecting a thirteen-hour journey,” the pegasus answered, still relaxed in her recumbent position. “Oh, and no new damage reports. Got some inop internal sensors in a few compartments, so I’m unsure of their status, but if we haven’t heard or felt anything by now, we should be good.”

Glare nodded. “Then we’ll get started on assessing and repairing whatever internal damage we can find.”

“Have fun.”

Glare and Swift paired off, while Obsidian and Khamari did the same. The two groups proceeded to clean up all that had been knocked loose in the attack over Hiigara, while logging any items that could not be fixed on the spot with readily available tools. Neither pair spent much time conversing, particularly the latter, for the first half of the trip through hyperspace.

Waking the others, the four left the remaining work for Shift and Shadow. While the others rested, Obsidian continued to watch over the Gaalsien, until the first leg of their journey came to an end. Gathering on the bridge, everyone waited for the approaching exit.

Ejected from hyperspace, sensors were immediately blinded by thick clouds of dust. A visual inspection from observation windows and external cameras revealed visibility of no more than a few hundred metres. A large dark mass could however be seen off the port side.

Confirming the object as one of the many abandoned asteroid mining facilities, Lightning announced their arrival. “Hyperspace successful. We’ve arrived at Gehenna. Gonna go ahead and deploy those repair drones. Get them working on the engines first.”

Glare moved to Lightning’s side. “Thanks. While that’s happening, I think we should find where the dust is thickest, and set a course in that direction. You know ship systems better than I do. I assume it’s a standard twenty-minute recharge time for the hyperdrive?”

“Normally, yes. Problem is, two inop fusion drives means we lack the power to charge it up. At least one engine needs to be repaired. Alternatively, we can shut everything down and divert power, but that would leave us with no manoeuvring capabilities, sensors, or weapons. Life support would be down, too, though twenty minutes shouldn’t be a problem.”

“We’ll stay on course, then,” Glare ordered, before turning to Swift. “Change of plans. Find Sparky. Tell him to take a gunship and scout ahead. The Hiigarans know what direction we went in, but since they don’t know how far we went, they’ll send multiple fleets to places we’ve likely fled to. See if he can find us a suitable hiding spot. Once you’re done, go rest.”

Swift gave the Gaalsien a concerned look. “You fellas gonna be fine with him?”

“Khamari is free to move about the ship as he pleases. The weapons are not needed. Now go.”

Swift shrugged, and made for the exit. “If you say so.”

Looking back at the Gaalsien, Glare remembered something. “How are you feeling, Khamari? Any fatigue?”

“A little, thank you.”

“Obsidian? Do you mind …?”

“Sure.” Obsidian’s horn lit up, and a short stream of magic snaked toward Khamari, who flinched at its approach.

When the process completed, Glare added, “Let us know whenever you need more. Until then, I think it’s best if we all went to our quarters.”

---

Glare entered the nearest vacant quarters from the bridge and glanced around. Though small, there was just enough space to fit a desk and wardrobe beside the entrance, while a single mattress bed lied parallel to the opposite wall. Following behind was Obsidian. As soon as he closed the door, the unicorn started to tremble.

Removing his wing blades, Obsidian placed them on top of the desk and approached Glare. “Are you doing okay? You’ve worn that brave face for some time now, but I can tell you’ve been terrified since we started this.”

“If I may quote you this time, ‘nothing scarier than having to be brave’.” With a shaky sigh, Glare collapsed on the bed. “You know, it was Shadow’s idea to put me in charge. I only gave her the idea for the op, but she said she’d trust me to make the right calls. I don’t know if I can.”

The changeling sat on the floor by the bed, crossing his fore-hooves on the mattress. “Do you want a harsh truth, or a comfortable lie?”

“Whichever you think is better.”

“Fine. You’re not a leader. You’re too soft. You ask for things nicely, give suggestions, and constantly welcome input from others. They’re not bad traits in and of themselves, but in this circumstance, you need to be able to show strength and inspire confidence.”

“Is it too late to ask for the comfortable lie?”

“Yes. My guess is that Shadow put you in this role to help you refine your leadership skills. She’s experienced enough to know when, or if to step in, should you need it. I know that no matter what choices you make, or what happens to all of us, she’s definitely going to take responsibility for our actions, but in the meantime, it’s on you. I’ll be there to help in whatever way I can.”

Glare gave a weak smile. “Now that’s a comforting truth.”

“That said, are you sure you can trust Khamari enough to let him wander the ship unsupervised?”

“We’re on the run just as much as he is now, and he needs us just as much as we need him,” Glare reasoned. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spied an odd discolouration on Obsidian. “What happened to your wing?”

Extending both wings, Obsidian revealed misshapen dark red and purple patches at the tips of each. “Just some bruises. Got them from lashing the engineering crew.”

Glare took the closest wing in her hooves. “Let me see those.” Spreading Obsidian’s wing on the mattress, Glare looked back up at him. “You knocked them out with your wings?”

“Yeah. Less suspicious if you approach someone without wielding a weap—” Obsidian took a sharp breath, as the unicorn applied light pressure to the wing with her magic.

Glare was quick to cancel her spell. “Sorry, was that too much?”

“No, it’s fine. Just wasn’t expecting a massage. Cold, too.”

“It’s just a light pressure spell, mixed with a thermal spell. Best I can do as a cold compress. Wouldn’t be a good idea to massage a bruise that bad, anyway.”

“You’d need the scented candles and fragrant oils to set the right mood, anyway,” Obsidian joked.

“Oh, I’m sure I can improvise.” Wiggling her eyebrows, Glare made room on the bed and tilted her head at the empty space.

Jumping up, the changeling stood directly above Glare, and lowered his head closer to hers. “Your orders, Commander?”

Without warning, the door opened. “Oi, Glare, Sparky’s almost fin—” Shift stopped, mouth agape at what he saw.

Glare and Obsidian froze. They stared at Shift, unblinking, as if hoping the pegasus’s vision was based on movement. Shift simply backed out, leaving the door open. Shortly after, his voice could be heard down the corridor. “Swift! Swift! You’ll never guess what I just saw!”

The unicorn groaned. “Buck me.”

Obsidian’s hooves buckled, and he collapsed on top of the unicorn. “We’re never going to hear the end of it now.”

Glare hummed in agreement. With a flick of her horn, she shut the door, ensuring it was locked this time. “My order still stands.”

---

Lightning Dust swiped through several images on her station’s touchscreen display. The images sent back by Sparky showed a few promising locations, though each with their own set of problems. Her ears twitched, swivelling toward the entrance to the bridge, as Glare and Obsidian entered. “About time. I asked Shift to call you up half an hour ago. Sparky just docked, and I need to know where you want to go.”

Glare masked her guilty expression. “Sparky found places to hide? Alright, let’s hear them.”

Lightning offered Glare her seat and pointed to the screen. “First candidate is an abandoned mining facility. Entrance is large. More than enough space for us to get inside and out of sight. Second is a smaller asteroid with a fissure. There’s a narrow crevice just wide enough to fit us, but several rocky outcrops in and around the location means we’d have to either blast or ram our way in.”

Glare took a closer look at the images. “The facility would be too conspicuous. A search party would look there first. Plus, there’s only one entrance, right? If we go in, we would essentially back ourselves into a corner with no way to escape if we had to. The fissure might be a better option, but we’d need to minimise the amount of damage we cause, or else it might be evidence of our presence. Are those our only options?”

“There’s more. Press that button in the corner,” Lightning instructed, waiting until the next set of images appeared. “Next option is another mining facility. Multiple entrances and exits, so lower chance of trapping ourselves. However, it’s not in the thickest part of the dust, so the risk of sensors getting an ID on us over there would be higher. Option four might be the best choice, if we can reach it. Another natural crevice like option two, but wider and much deeper.”

“What do you mean, ‘if we can reach it’?”

“It’s pretty far away for this limping ship to get to in a reasonable amount of time. We may not make it before a fleet shows up.”

Glare arrived at her decision within seconds. “Then go for option two. We’ll try to wedge ourselves into the smaller fissure. Did we figure out if the turret could be controlled from here?”

Lightning shook her head, “Whatever damage we sustained must have severed the control cables. We can no longer control it from here. External cameras show no visible damage to the turret itself, though. Might still be able to operate it from the auxiliary station at the turret.”

“Obsidian, could you please—I mean, go find someone to operate that turret, then return here,” Glare instructed.

“On it.”

Leaving the bridge, the changeling headed for Shift’s quarters and knocked twice. As expected, the moment the pair locked eyes, Shift expression grew into a sly grin.

In a pre-emptive strike, Obsidian got the first word in. “Situation update. We’re tracking direct to an asteroid. Some crevice there that we’re going to hide in. You’re needed at the turret station to blast some of the rocks out of the way.”

“Sure you wouldn’t rather go there with a certain somepony instead? It’s more … secluded.”

“Top deck is vented, so take an alternate route,” the changeling continued. “Inform Lightning once you’re there. She’ll give you more details as we approach the asteroid.”

“That’s it? No reaction? When did you get so boring? Moreso.”

“What do you want me to say, Shift? You want me to threaten you with a pair of scrambled eggs if you don’t shut up? Or pay more animal trainers to set birds on you? You’re obviously thriving on the reactions, so like a spoiled colt, I’m taking away your toys.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.”

“That’s me. The boring hard-flank. Now get yours over to the turret.”

---

Approaching their destination, Lightning slowed the vessel as they closed the last hundred metres to the surface. Navigating around the large rock, she soon found the crevice Sparky identified, and turned to the other two bridge occupants. “Glare, Obsidian. Got a visual. Port-side windows.”

Moving up to the windows, the pair could just make out a dark trench gouged into the asteroid. As the ship nudged itself closer, the rocky obstructions became visible.

“Looks like a tight fit,” Glare observed. She turned toward Lightning. “Think you can do it?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, as long as we get those blockages cleared.” Lightning stated, while tapping on her earpiece. “Hey, Shift. You ready back there?”

“Sure thing, hot stuff. One question, though. Exactly why would a so-called non-combat ship have ammunition stores of forty thousand rounds?”

“Must be anti-missile, then. Be careful when you switch it to manual. That turret would probably fire one hundred to one-fifty rounds per second.”

“Nice. Where should I aim?”

“I’ve brought us to a stop directly beside our target. Blast away a ship’s length worth of those obstructions, and I can slide us into the crevice.”

“Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty.”

“Hmm. Cute.”

“Careful with that one, Lightning,” Obsidian warned.

Lightning watched her external cameras, as the turret faced the asteroid. A steady stream of glowing masses erupted from the four barrels, accompanied by a dull, buzzing rumble throughout the ship. The stream stopped a fraction of a second later, no doubt for Shift to evaluate the condition of the asteroid. Lightning kept a camera fixed on the targeted area as well, ready to provide feedback if required.

A second burst of fire followed, then a third, and fourth. Each time, the turret raked the required length, chipping away at the rock, until Lightning was satisfied by the sixth round. “That should do it, Shift. I’m taking her in.”

The starboard manoeuvring thrusters fired gently, until the ship slid left at a metre per second. Lightning’s eyes moved between the windows, and several screens showing cameras mounted port-side at the nose and the corner of the engine armour up top, and near both resource drop-off points below.

The first parts of the ship dipped below the surface, and Lightning fired the port thrusters, halving their speed. Dorsal thrusters made minor adjustments, providing additional clearance for the top of the ship, and a quick burst forward cleared the engines.

Mostly inside the crevice, another burst from the port thrusters slowed the vessel to a crawl. Once the starboard cameras showed the entire ship was below the surface, Lightning brought the ship to a halt, and confirmed her positioning on sensors. “We’re steady. I recommend we power down and switch to emergency reserves to conceal ourselves better. If we keep life support and the repair drones online, we should have just under two hours, before hitting the minimum levels needed to restart the main drives.”

“We still need eyes,” Glare pointed out. “How much time would it cost us to keep passive sensors online?”

“Passive? Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes.”

“Then we’ll keep them online. Whenever you’re ready.”

In one go, the vessel shut down. Exterior lights were extinguished. The blue-white lighting of the hangar bay darkened. The sole functioning engine ceased all fusion reactions, and associated systems powered off. Across the ship, the background hum fell silent, leaving only a faint sound of air circulating through compartment ducts instead. Interior lighting dimmed, and many of the bridge’s systems went offline.

Lightning confirmed the ship’s status. “Shut-down complete. Unless you need anything else, I’ll try to stretch our reserves by completely shutting off power and life support to unoccupied compartments.”

“Thanks, Lightning. Comm me if you have any updates.” Making for the exit, Glare almost forgot about their gunner. “And tell Shift he can go back to his quarters.”

---

Sparky lumbered into the ship’s galley. The minuscule compartment barely had space to fit five crew, and lacked most of the conveniences he had grown accustomed to aboard Amarok. Helping himself, he perused the snacks in the pantries, sniffing out something that agreed with his senses, until he decided upon flavoured crackers. Taking a seat at one of the two small tables, he hunched over, elbows on the table, while picking out each individual cracker from the box.

“Can’t sleep, either?” Shadow’s voice sounded from the galley’s entrance.

Giving the zebra a quick glance, Sparky replied. “No.”

“Understandable, given the circumstances.” Taking a seat opposite to Sparky, Shadow declined when he offered her some crackers. “What do you think so far?”

“About the mission? I trust Glare’s moral judgement, though I’d still be more comfortable with you calling the shots. Obsidian’s concerns are valid. Should we be letting Khamari walk free on the ship?”

“Glare is the only one Khamari trusts. That doesn’t mean I’m letting my guard down, however. From what I can tell, most of the others aren’t, either. I am somewhat inclined to believe him, though.”

“Same. They’re outsiders to their own planet. I think you and I can relate to that.”

“What do you mean?”

Sparky sighed. “Let’s be honest here. Everything on our planet is about Equestria. They have the majority population. They control the sun and moon. The Elements of Harmony chose ponies. We’re in the Equestrian Navy. Next to Equestria, we’re nothing, really. Only the griffons can truly rival them.”

“I’m not sure I understand the point you’re trying to make.”

“I think about how globally isolated we are, as the planet’s minorities. I’d imagine the Gaalsien would have it much worse. Not only are they isolated, but their planet doesn’t even want them. Forced into a life of theft and force, just to survive.”

“Now that’s starting to sound more like changelings. Odd that Obsidian doesn’t sympathise.”

“Mmm. Well, it makes me wonder. Best case scenario, we complete our mission, survive, and have the Gaalsien allowed back to Hiigara. Adjusting to such a wildly different society could be difficult.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Integrating into an Equestrian society was difficult. Things ponies did were strange to me, and things I did were strange to them. I didn’t do myself any favours with my silence, either. Somehow, I still managed make a couple of friends, though. There was this griffon who wasn’t much of a talker, either. We seemed to understand each other well enough. Through him, I was introduced to his friend, a unicorn, and one day suggested we go bowling. It was a disaster.”

“What was? The social aspect, or the game itself?”

“The game. I didn’t exactly get the full idea of the rules. Get the ball to knock as many pins down in two, or preferably one go. That was the goal. No one told me what to do with the ball.”

Shadow tried her best to halt the smile that crept up on her face. “Oh, Sparky. You didn’t.”

“They let me go first. I watched a player in another lane and imitated her. The ball ended up in the gutter, so for my second attempt, I changed tactics. Instead of an underarm, I did an overarm throw. Got the strike. And the wall behind the lane. And an employee behind the wall.”

“Oh dear,” Shadow exclaimed between bouts of chuckles. “No serious injuries, I hope.”

“The wall slowed the ball down, but there was still enough speed to break a rib. Needless to say, we were banned from that place. I quickly earned my reputation as a brute in the community. I was so embarrassed, I never saw those two again. Left for another city.”

“Was this before or after you joined the Navy?”

“Shortly after. I was based in Fillydelphia initially, then requested a transfer to Canterlot. Spent most of my time alone, afraid I’d make another mistake like that again. Over time, I learned. My next friend was another unicorn who had been more than patient with me. Found out in the worst way possible that touching horns was not within the privileges of friends. Especially in public.”

Shadow burst out laughing. For half a minute, she continued, while Sparky just stared at her, mildly annoyed. “I’m so sorry, Sparky. Oh, that must have been awkward. Why did you touch her horn?”

Sparky shrugged. “I was just giving her a pat on the head. Seemed innocent enough. Hard to miss the horn with large paws, though. Thankfully we’re still friends. Later that day she sat me down at my apartment and gave me a few lessons on Equestrian customs, taboos, and expectations.”

The speakers above sounded a ship-wide tone. “This is Lightning. All crew to the bridge immediately. Contacts on sensors. Repeat, contacts on sensors.”

---

Within minutes, Khamari and the Infiltrators were beside Lightning, as the pegasus briefed everyone on the situation. “There’s a fleet out there. Based on their drive signatures, there appears to be one carrier, a battlecruiser, and four destroyers. I’m sure frigs, ‘vettes and fighters are out there too, but at this distance, I doubt we’d pick anything up through this dust.”

“Shift, get back to the turret and stand by,” Glare ordered. After receiving a nod and departing, the unicorn turned back to Lightning. “Do we have a visual?”

“Partial. Our asteroid is obscuring most of the contacts. They seem to be pairing off and fanning out. Based on current vectors, a few should be visible on our starboard cameras in a few seconds.”

The crowd moved closer to Lightning’s screens, while she zoomed the camera in on the first of two contacts about to come into view. A distant blurry silhouette came first, identified by Lightning as a destroyer. The second, larger ship followed, with a more familiar top-down, or bottom-up profile.

“I’m actually surprised they sent a battlecruiser after us,” Lightning commented. “They really didn’t want to let you go, huh Khamari?”

“Hold on,” Obsidian cut in, frowning at the camera feed. “That does not look like a battlecruiser.”

“Isn’t that what their ships look like from above?” Glare enquired.

“Except it looks stockier than a normal BC.”

Lightning dismissed Obsidian’s concerns. “Probably just light distortion from the dust.”

“He’s right,” Khamari interjected. “ That ship is slightly longer, and definitely wider. That’s a battleship.”

Lightning gave the Gaalsien an incredulous look. “Since when have they had battleships?”

“Since they found out the Gaalsien had them, too. Though I suspect the design was being researched well before that discovery.”

Glare looked up at Khamari. “What do you know about them?”

“First and foremost; engage with overwhelming force. The larger size is almost entirely to accommodate solid armour. It is said that it can withstand a direct hit from our Honourguard class battleships’ railgun. If you had active sensors online, you’d likely find fourteen twin mass driver turrets. Ten more than a battlecruiser. The two twin ion cannons are still there, though relocated forward, while their original hard-points support twin artillery turrets. I think there’s also an anti missile turret, and the four standard pulsar point defence cannons. The most distinctive feature at the left and right edges are the fixed ion batteries. Two cannons per side. I believe your Navy calls them Kadeshi ion cannons.”

Swift whistled. “You think someone might be compensating for something?”

“Our railgun is still bigger.”

“Heh, righty. So, Lightning, are we safe here, or what?”

Lightning shrugged. “Given that they still seem to be following a search pattern, I’d say we’re safe for now.”

“That, or they want us to think we’re safe, so smaller craft we can’t see can circle around and surround us,” Obsidian added.

“True,” Lightning conceded. “Glare? How do you want to proceed?”

“Stick to the plan. We’ll stay put. If we leave, they’ll definitely detect us. If we power up and try to charge the hyperdrive, they’ll pick that up, too, then likely follow us to our next destination. Sparky, get back to your gunship. Keep it powered down, but ready to leave, in case we’re discovered. I’ll stay with Lightning. Everyone else, with Sparky.”

The majority left the bridge, leaving Lightning and Glare alone. Both wore concerned expressions, though for different reasons.

After the doors to the bridge closed, Lightning spoke. “You know, the gunship will make no difference if we’re discovered.”

“I don’t plan to use it for an attack, if that’s what you mean. If we have to escape, we’re better off in something faster, and smaller. Easier to lose potential pursuers in this dust.”

“Yeah, and then what? No hyperdrive on corvettes.”

“No, but their carrier has one. Weave through the asteroids, use the dust as cover, and circle around. Keep the carrier between us and its escorts, then head straight for it. I can teleport us aboard once in range.”

“You want to take over a carrier? All while using non-lethal methods? Good luck with that.”

“It’s the best I can come up with. Open to suggestions.”

“Short of surrendering, I’ve got nothing better.”

Glare and Lightning continued tracking any ship they could. Occasionally, some of them performed short-jump manoeuvres while moving from one search area to another. Almost an hour passed without incident, when the Hiigaran fleet congregated in the distance and disappeared.

The tension in Lightning’s body eased. “Looks like they’ve jumped away. I was starting to worry they’d stick around longer than our power reserves could handle.”

“Okay everyone, you can return to the bridge,” Glare messaged the others, before squinting at Lightning’s screens. “How much power do we have left?”

Several keystrokes revealed an overview of the ship’s electronic systems. Reading the display, Lightning answered, “An estimated twelve minutes before minimum restart power. Had we hit five minutes, I would have shut off everything, including life support. At least, until breathing would become difficult.”

Glare hummed. “How are the repairs coming?”

“One of the damaged engines is operational now. The last engine will need another ten to fifteen minutes.”

“Shut off life support now. Let’s leave the restart until the last moment. The fleet might not have jumped all their ships away. If we have twelve—eleven minutes now, plus twenty minutes extra from shutting off life support, we can restart one drive in half an hour. Just one for now. No sense giving off a stronger energy signature just yet.”

“Got it. Life support … offline.”

A few minutes later, everyone returned to the bridge, noting eerie silence across the ship. “I take it you two switched off life support?” Shadow asked.

Glare nodded. “I’m afraid so. We’ll have it back up in less than twenty minutes, but in the meantime, it’s going to get cold. When that happens, we can either sit inside my shield spell, or you can light a flame. Until then, Khamari, I’ll need your assistance.”

“How can I serve?”

“You mentioned that the research base can only be reached through the use of the hyperspace gate network, correct?”

“It’s not the only way, but it is the fastest and safest way to get there.”

“Good. What’s the closest gate from Gehenna?”

“That would be Tandall Gate.”

“Could you help me plot a jump there?”

“Of course.”

Khamari and Glare headed for the nearest console, and pulled up the interface related to hyperspace navigation. The destination coordinates were simple enough; Khamari selected the location on a galactic map with ease. Glare however, had trouble ascertaining their current position.

“So, you have the exit coordinates to Tandall gate. I have the exit coordinates to Gehenna. Seems simple enough. However, given the distance we’ve travelled since arriving here, wherever we are in relation to our exit coordinates here will translate to the same offset at Tandall Gate. I don’t want to waste time. Do you know how to adjust the jump to get us right in front of our destination?”

“Easy enough to do. Take the data from the inertial navigation system, and add the final vector to your entry jump coordinates. If you keep the exit coordinates the same, you’ll be right where you need to be.”

“Uhh, that might be a problem. Inertial navigation systems were damaged during our escape. Any other way?”

“Nothing accurate or reliable. You could guess an offset vector based on how much distance you think you travelled on an ultimate bearing, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Damn. I was hoping we could save some time. Alright, we’ll play it safe and ignore the offset.”

While the pair continued to work, the others had huddled together in a ring near one corner of the bridge. As the minutes passed by, the drop in cabin temperature had become noticeable. Shadow placed her fore-hooves together, facing each other. Pulling sharply away, a sizeable flame hovered between her hooves and radiated heat.

Finished with their calculations, Glare and Khamari joined the others. “Jump plotted,” Glare updated the group. “In ten minutes, we’ll bring life support back up. Won’t have to deal with this temperature much longer.”

“It’s times like this I wish I had some alcohol,” Shift commented.

“You realise that it only makes you feel warmer, right? Your body cools down faster.”

“I know. Not like we’re out in a blizzard for hours though, are we? Bit of booze would be perfect right about now.”

Shadow scoffed. “Shift, there’s no such thing as a ‘bit’ when it comes to you and alcohol. I saw the bill you racked up on Hiigara. Still not sure how I’m going to explain why a member of my team exceeded his allowance seven times. Four of which was on alcohol.”

“I was thirsty.”

“Two of which was food.”

“I was hungry.”

“And the remainder for … ahem, unrestricted entertainment channels.”

“I was lonely?”

“Shadow, please tell me you let housekeeping know to burn the sheets and mattress after he checked out.” Obsidian quipped.

“You’re one to talk, Siddy,” Shift fired back, a cheeky expression on his face.

Obsidian narrowed his eyes at Swift. “Touche.”

“Is this kind of conversation common on your planet?” Khamari cut in. “Most places in the galaxy would call it an information overload.”

Shadow shook her head. “Ignore them. They’re just being foolish. And our term would be ‘too much information’. Not something that comes up in civilised conversation.”

“Hey, Obsidian started—eh, whatever,” Shift gave up, losing interest. “So, gas mask. What’s with the gas mask?”

“Part of traditional Gaalsien military attire,” Khamari replied. “The thawb and bisht kept the body cool, and the mask kept sand out of the way. In my case, the mask was converted into a respirator.”

“Is that why you had trouble breathing on Amarok, when we took it away from you?” Glare asked.

“Yes. My lungs were scarred when a flammable gas ignited on a damaged Raider carrier in the aftermath of a battle we had barely won. Sustained third degree burns to most of my body.”

“I’d say ouch, but third degree means your nerves were destroyed, right?” Swift queried. “You wouldn’t have felt the pain?”

“I certainly felt it while it progressed to a third degree. Not as simple as an off switch.”

“So if I shot you right now, you wouldn’t feel it?”

“Yes and no.”

“Swift, that’s hardly an appropriate question,” Glare chided.

“Just making conversation.”

Rolling her eyes, Glare rose, taking Lightning with her. Returning to the Captain’s station, she watched as Lightning made her preparations to restart an engine. As the last few minutes passed by, Glare issued the order.

“Starting engine one,” Lightning announced.

The fusion power-plant of engine one commenced its startup procedures, forcing nuclear fuel through its internal magnetic fields. As more fuel entered, a cloud of plasma conformed to the fields, brightening to steady luminescence at the completion of the sequence, and returning the familiar thrumming that sounded across the ship.

On the bridge, Lightning seemed satisfied with the engine parameters. “Engine one’s instruments show green. Switching power over from reserves, to engine one … now.” Lights flickered, and screens went blank for a split second at the momentary interruption of power. When Lightning looked back at the display, the electrical system indicated normal operations. “Reserves show charging. Life support … online. Cabin temperature should return to normal in a few minutes.”

Glare felt some relief at the progress, as she watched the pegasus interact with the ship systems. “Give it ten minutes, then start engines two and three. If all engines are fine, charge the hyperdrive.”

“Aye-aye.”

With the ship’s reserve power banks returning to capacity, and the successful start of the remaining engines, Lightning started the charging sequence for the hyperdrive. Everyone else continued to loiter about the bridge, either monitoring sensors from one of the other vacant stations, or watching external cameras for signs of movement.

As the twenty-minute charge neared completion, Lightning readied the ship. “Port thrusters firing. We should be clear of the asteroid in twenty seconds.” Rising over the asteroid’s horizon, the dusty environment came into view at the observation windows. Confirming their position through sensors and cameras, Lightning made her announcement. “Position steady. We’re clear of the asteroid. Ready to jump when you are, Glare.”

The unicorn nodded. “Do it.”

“Hyperspace initiated.”

Author's Note:

I promise, the battleship is the last thing I'll steal from Complex

Comments

[hiigaran]

10161951

I definitely plan on finishing this. If not, I'd say so. I owe at least that much to anyone who reads this. I know the feeling of going through stories that never make it to completion.