Where Nopony Has Ever Gone Before

by Bronycommander

Chapter 2 Business

Chapter 2: Business

Tungsten awoke by a strange noise, rubbing his eyes. “What was…that?” He asked sleepy and looked around, noticing that he was the only one in the room. “Where is everypony? Guys?” He called out but got no reply.

The colt wasn’t the bravest, but he realized something wasn’t right and that panic wouldn’t help. “Stay calm. I should ask the Captain if he knows anything.”

With that in mind, he walked out of the door, yet stopped as he noticed a shadow on the wall. Turning into its direction, he was surprised as he saw a blue mare at the end of the corridor and his expression became confused. It can’t be…it is really…

“M-mom?” He asked stuttering, but the mare didn’t react and walked through the door at the end. “Wait! Please!” The colt yelled and ran after her, only to stop as he heard again a strange noise, sounded like a teleport spell.

“Bad idea.” A familiar male voice said behind him and Tungsten froze upon recognizing it.

“N-no way…” Tungsten’s mumbled and slowly turned around. Before him was his uncle Shadowplay.

However the batpony was covered in some kind of black armor, his mane was gone, some kind of electronic eyepatch over his right eye, his skin pale grey.

“Uncle…W-what happened to you?” The colt was terrified at the sight, yet the stallion’s expression was neutral of any emotions.

“There's a Borg waiting on the other side, ready to assimilate whoever comes out first.” Tungsten didn’t understand what he meant with Borg or assimilate as he added, “I hope you don’t feel guilty.”

Shaking, Tungsten looked back and gasped s Pip walked out, also covered in that black armor, with one eye replaced by that eyepatch, his expression one of pain. “Help…”

His older friend wanted to help, but his body did not respond.

“You appreciated his help, I like the irony of it.” Shadow looked behind Tungsten. “But aren't you forgetting someone or something?”

The colt turned around to see an Earth pony behind him, also wearing armor with a replaced eye. It was Shadow’s friend Tybalt.

Tungsten couldn’t even scream as Tybalt injected him with the pair of flexible needle-like devices and he felt a sharp pain, blacking out.

---

It was here where the colt woke up with a slight gasp, breathing heavily as he found himself in the bed, all other still there and sleeping peacefully. “You’re okay?” Pip whispered, not to wake the others.

“Just…a bad dream.” The older Trottingham colt replied and Pip nodded.

With a sigh, Tungsten fell asleep again.

---

“Captain's Personal Log, Stardate, 54114.4. We discovered an unknown species on the ship yesterday. I got told they are from a country called Equestria. A sentient subsidiary of the normal horse, these residents have a very advanced mental structure for their size. They have demonstrated having access to an energy or force they refer to as magic, that is in some ways it is similar to the powers observed by the Q, Organians, and other evolutionarily advanced species. In my entire career, I never thought I would see a myth or a creature out of Greek mythology to be true. I thought things like that only happened to Captains like Kirk. But I will do anything I can to make sure they are comfortable until we find their home. I’m sure the Federation can help them. Maybe, we get a new member.” Gunnar made his log in the next morning.

Then he entered the lift to the bridge. “Captain on the bridge,” Spring announced as Gunnar entered. “Good morning, Captain.”

“Morning, anything to report?”

“No, Sir.”

“Aright then. I hope we get a reply from Starfleet command soon regarding our guests.” He said with sight unease.

“In any case, Captain, I suggest we should bring them to Earth for further aid once Command is informed.” His first officer replied and he slightly smiled.

Of course.”

“Captain, permission to speak?” The Tactical officer asked.

“Granted.”

“Sir, may be of assistance? I could explain them the technical details better if they want to know more.”

“A good idea, go ahead.” He said and turned back to the crew. Maintain course.” He ordered the flight controller.

“Aye, sir.”

Then he looked back at the tactical officer and his first officer. “Get our guest to the sickbay for a checkup and show them the holodeck if you like.”

“With pleasure, sir.” Spring replied and he went into the lift with the tactical officer.

---

Dinky yawned as she woke up, stretching herself and looked out of the window. Only the stars and black, but it had somehow a wonderful look. “Good morning.” She said as the others also woke up.

“Morning, Dinky.” Tootsie replied as the knights walked in. “Morning.” The baby blue unicorn smiled at them.

“Good morning, children.” Midnight greeted and noticed Wolf was grumbling slightly. “Slept not so well?”

“I did sleep well, just dreamed strange. We were hunting some bad guys and out of nowhere, a small robot appeared and said, ‘you gonna play like a coward…you gonna die like a coward’ and chased us down.” She said with displease in her voice.

“A small robot won’t impress us, Wolf.” Midnight pointed out before the door opened and Spring came in, together with a crewmember In red uniform. He was tall and lean, with fair skin, green eyes, and slightly-shaggy, chocolate-brown hair. “Good morning, Mr. Spring.”

“Good morning. The Captain said we shall get you to a checkup.”

“Alright.” They had a quick breakfast in the mess hall, consisting of bread and juice, which tasted very fresh before they went to the sickbay on deck 5, where the chief medical officer was waiting for them.

“Hello. It is both a pleasure and an honor to meet you.” He said with a friendly smile.

“As long as you don’t cut us open.” Noi was trembling a bit and the officer gave her a calming smile.

“I’m a doctor, not a crazy scientist, child.” The doctor then reached for what looked like a small square-shaped device, together with a small cylinder. “May I?”

Noi slowly nodded and climbed on the table, seeing that the sickbay contained a few beds, a lab, where they were in and an office for the doctor. He moved the cylinder around her and the cuboid made beeping noises for a few seconds, while she stood still. “Interesting.” He mumbled amazed before adding, “Everything’s fine, next please.”

He then did the same on the other foals, then the knights, raising an eyebrow as he examined Fletcher. “Fascinating. The scan shows you have living…crabs in your blood.”

“Those are nanomites.” Fray replied.

“Nanomites?” The doctor asked confused.

“Let me explain. We are the loyal bodyguards of Princess Luna, she and Celestia are over 1000 years old and we swore to serve her. So, me and my fellow knights developed our own means of keeping up. I choose nanomites, they repair any sign of deterioration, even those that come from old age.”

“They are a living, organic counterpart of nanoprobes?” The medical officer concluded.

“I'm not quite sure what those are but I imagine if they live in your blood and keep you from falling apart, then there are similarities. These things can't be shared or transferred. So don't go marketing me for an immortality-drug.” Fray said.

“Of course.”

“What is that device you use?” Dinky was curious and the doctor grinned.

“Oh, that? We call it tricorder. It’s a scanning device that can also be used for analysis, and recording. The medical version I use is specialized for medical diagnostic.”

“Sounds very useful.”

“Yes, it is. I would like to take blood samples, it won’t hurt a bit, promise.” The man then reached for a small device that liked similar to an inhalator.

“Uhh, that is this supposed to work with an inhalator?” Pip titled his hand and the doctor grinned again.

“That isn’t an inhalator but a hypospray. Simply said, a modern version of the syringe, using compressed air.”

Pipsqueak had no idea how that was supposed to work but nodded and took a deep breath, with Dinky holding his hoof. The doctor placed it on the colt’s side of the neck, to the carotid artery and pressed a button. Pip twitched at the feeling of cold air, but felt no pain.

“See?” The man smiled.

“You right, doc, I felt almost nothing!” The colt exclaimed in glee.

“As I promised. Now, who wants to be next?” The medical crewmember asked and Dinky went next, following by her friends as they did feel much calmer, with the knights being last. “Thank you. The samples will make treatment easier if you should get hurt.”

“You’re welcome.” Dinky replied and turned to Spring. “Do you need something else?

“Not exactly. The Captain wanted that we also show you the Holodeck.”

“Holo…deck?” The unicorn titled her head.

“Let me show you.” The first officer replied and took them to deck 6 and they came to a big white room decorated with yellow squares. “Interesting,” Fletcher commented, “What does it do?”

“Just watch.” Spring tipped on a control panel on the wall and the room glowed white, blinding everyone.

As it stopped, the ponies gasped in awe. They found themselves on a meadow, blue sky as far as they could see. “Wow…” Tungsten mumbled and the Starfleet officer grinned.

“Pretty great, isn’t it?”

“It’s…amazing!” Blau exclaimed.

“And so real.” Katja added and picked up a stone next to her and threw it. To her surprise and that of her friends, the stone bounced off in mid-air at nothing with a buzzing sound.

“Yes, it may look real, but it’s just an illusion of substance as well as actual matter. It can even show people and clothing.” Spring said and tipped on the panel, and again white light blinded them before Jazz music sounded in their ears.

The found themselves on a party, dressed in fancy clothing of the 1930s, people were dancing to the music. “Cool!” Pip liked it. “But what’s the purpose of all of this?”

“Simple. To provide entertainment and diversion for a starship's crew, as we spent months or even years on our ships. My Captain thought you could use it too during your stay.”

“A nice idea.” Tootsie smiled.

“Yes. The Holodeck can also create training simulations and exercise environments not otherwise available or safe, including starship battle simulations, physical and combat simulations.”

“Does…does that mean we can be killed on the holodeck?” Noi asked with fear and Spring patted her.

“Don’t worry, there are safety protocols that recent death and serious injury during use, it can only be deactivated with authorization of high ranking personal, like the ship's captain.”

“A good idea.” Midnight replied.

“Indeed it is.” The First officer said as he deactivated the Holodeck and brought them back to their quarters.

“If you don’t mind, sir, would you tell us about yourself?” Tootsie asked him politely.

He smiled. “Not at all. My full name is Nicholas Spring, rank commander. But since you are all our guests, you can address me with my name, rather than rank. I was born on London on Earth, serving on this ship as first officer and diplomat. The Captain is a caring and experienced officer.

The USS Gabilan is a ship of the Akira-class, a versatile ship with good shields, armor and weaponry. We fought in the Dominion war, real taste of battle if ever we were looking for it.”

“Dominion war?” Wolf asked, not understanding.

“Long story.” The tactical officer replied. “I’m Lieutenant Tyrell Schaeffer, operating the weapons of the ship. The Captain meant I should show you around too, as I have…experience in such things.”

“Uh-huh. What’s this?” Blau pointed to a sleek, silver-colored device attached to the man’s belt.

“Oh, this? It’s called a phaser. This model is called the type 2. It’s a directed energy weapon, firing a continuous beam. It can either stun or kill, but stun is standard when carried. There are also rifles, called the Type 3. Our ship has also phaser as standard weaponry.”

“Sounds interesting.” Blau commented as they reached the quarters.

“I’m sure it is for you. We see you later.” The lieutenant said and he left with the first officer.

In the lift, Spring noticed something. “Equestria, could sworn I heard that before…”

“Now that you mentioned it, I studied 20th century and 21 century Earth and if I remember correctly, there was a children TV show back in 2010 set in a world called Equestria. The description of the ponies suits this very well.”

Nicholas thought about it. “You are right. Never thought I’d see a child show would be real. Now that I think about it, I believe one of my ancestors was a fan of the show, being a friend of one of Günther’s ancestors. But I can’t tell for sure, I never looked much into my family tree.”

“Neither did I sir. But I think we should tell him.”

“Righto.”

Being alone again, the children played a round of go fish, while the knights decided to inform themselves a bit about the history of the federation and they were quite surprised.

According to the PADDS, the Dominion war was a major interstellar conflict, fought from 2373 to 2375, though related conflicts began earlier. It was the Federation against a species called the Dominion, giving the war its name.

The Dominion was a major interstellar state, being located in the Gamma Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, which was the upper right of the galaxy. The Dominion’s military consisted of a cloned species, called the Jem'Hadar.

First Contact with the Federation was made in 2370 as the Jem'Hadar destroyed a Federation vessel, starting a cold war, with small skirmishes through the galaxy. But in late 2373, the Federation decided to deploy a minefield at the wormhole that served as entrance for the Dominion, leading to open war.

At first, the Federation in the Alpha quadrant where the Earth was, in the upper left part of the galaxy, suffered heavy causalities but eventually gained the upper hand. Yet, marked by massive military and civilian casualties and the mobilization of starship fleets on a massive scale, it was one of the bloodiest and most destructive wars in modern galactic history.

But that wasn’t all.

Starfleet was also engaged twice by the Borg, a pseudo-species of cybernetic beings. The first time was in 2366, named the Battle of Wolf 359, and again in 2373, known as the Battle of Sector 001. The Borg were stopped just barely in both battles.

“Interesting…for an Organization with peaceful intentions, they have quite fought many battles.” Wolf commented, “Makes me wonder how peaceful they actually were before the war.”

“Yes. The Dominion sounds like a powerful enemy, but I’m convinced they would lose against Equestria in five minutes. Same for the Borg.” Fletcher added with confidence. “We've faced worse. And lived to tell the tale.”

“Did we ever face any from space?” The bat pony asked him with a puzzled expression.

“There've been guys who 'claimed' to be from space. The Deep Ones on the Misty Isles; the Yellow Pearl Dragons; The Chupacabras.” Wolf raised a hoof, reminding them and Fray rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah, them.”

“Not to mention those stupid Neo-Hycarionites. “Midnight added with disgust in his voice. “And that suicide cult in the outskirts.”

Fletcher rolled his eyes in resignation. “You do meet a lot of weirdoes in this job.”

“Yeah. Yet, it raises the question where our home could be located in the galaxy. Alpha and Gamma quadrant are out of the question, or we had encountered at least one of the two factions. Either the Beta Quadrant in the lower left, or the Delta Quadrant in the lower right. As the latter is very unexplored by the Federation, I highly suspect Equestria might be here.” Midnight said before they took a look after the children.

They saw Tootsie, Ruby, Noi and Tungsten looking out of the window, their heads lowered with the other hugging them in an attempt to comfort them. The knights hadn’t to ask what was wrong.

“Don’t worry, Tootsie, I’m sure they will find a way to bring us home.” Dinky said with a weak smile.

“I don't want to think about how Sparky must be feeling...” Tootsie said, a tear leaving her eye.

“Mommy must be so scared…” Ruby’s voice cracked as Blau looked at her with sympathy.

“I know it’s hard, but hope dies last.”

Noi sniffed. “I and Carrot Top already lost our parents, she couldn’t take losing me.”

“But that means she won’t give up looking for you.” Katja replied.

“Don’t worry, Tungsten. Look, its not just the Knights that are here. The Princesses know we're gone. So do the Bearers. They'll find a way to get us back home soon, I'm sure they will.” Pip patted the back of his older friend.

“R-Right…” Tungsten wiped a tear out of his eye with a weak smile. “We must have faith.” Noi, Ruby and Tootsie also weakly smiled after this.

“That’s the spirit.” Midnight said with a smile of his own as Katja looked out of the window.

“Daddy told us once how humanity made it to the moon. I never thought I’d do something familiar as being on a spaceship…” She mumbled in fascination as the door opened and Nicolas entered.

“Sorry if I bother you, but the Captain has news for you and wants to see you on the bridge.”

“Alright.” Midnight replied and they got into the lift and to the bridge. “You wanted to see us?” He asked Günther, who nodded.

“Yes. We just received a message from Starfleet command. I shall being you to Earth, so the Federation can help you better in finding a way home.”

“Okay, how long until we arrive?”

“Around an hour if there are no complications. Ensign?” Gunnar looked at the flight controller.

“Course plotted, sir.”

“Engage.”

In a matter of seconds, the stars on the screen turned to a swirl of silver streams. “Wow…” Dinky was fascinated.

“Yes, it looks very beautiful. Why don’t you use the Holodeck until we arrive?” The Captain suggested and Midnight nodded.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Count me in.” Wolf liked it.

“Me too.” Fletcher added, the children nodded with slight smiles and went back to the holodeck.

There was a second one on the same deck with the first one, the children used it and played a simulation of steering a brig throughout the endless sea. “Avast! Make full sail!” Pip ordered merrily and his crew did as told. “Tungsten, you see anything?” He looked up to the older colt, being in the lookout.

“No, sir!”

“Then keep your eyes peeled!”

“Aye, aye!” The older colt put one forehoof above his eyes in an observant gesture, yet Dinky beat him to it.

“Captain!”

“Arr?” Pip turned to his first mate.

“Look!” She pointed to something in the water and he looked at it, his eyes becoming wide.

“By the seven seas!” He yelled as a gigantic wale appeared and near the ship and caused a big wave to hit the ship he got completely splashed. “Oh, you think you’re funny, huh? Man the cannons!”

“You got it!” Blau acknowledged.

“You won’t get away!” The pinto colt shouted with enthusiasm. “Thar’ she blows! Duck ho, on the port bow!”

“It’s diving!” Tootsie yelled and they saw the wale vanishing in the water.

“What? No! Show yourself!” Pip yelled in disbelief, looking around. “Shout when you see it!”

In that moment, a big wail came from behind, Pip noticed a big shadow casting over him and he turned around with a terrified expression, seeing the wale surfacing and hit the water with its caudal fin and they all got splashed by the water.

He and Dinky blinked at each other for a moment then started to laugh, joined by the others. “That was fun!” Noi exclaimed.

“We need do this this again.” Ruby smiled, as the simulation ended. “I wonder what the knights are doing.”

---

The three soldiers found themselves in front of a medieval imposing castle in a wide land of grass and woods as far as they could see, an army of human soldiers standing behind them, awaiting command. Midnight raised his blade into the air. “Charge!”

And the army attacked as some defenders ran out of the gates to meet them. Fletcher, together with the archers fired on them and the defending archers on the walls, weakening them.

Some defenders used shield formations, but Wolf, together with a pack of wolves tore through their ranks, opening the way for the main force, led by Midnight who dealt mortal strikes whenever his blade met an enemy sword, with their loyal soldiers following behind, taking care of any stragglers.

Together with their soldiers, the Eternal Knights tore through the defenses until they reached the throne room, while the main army kept the defenders outside busy.

The King, wearing full armor, was already awaiting them. His blue eyes blazed with fire, a scar over his check and a muscular build showed he had experience as he brushed his beard. “You’re come this far, but it will stop here. My castle will not fall!” He reached for his sword and clashed it with the grey stallion’s blade, while Fray and Wolf dealt with the guards, keeping them distracted.

Midnight shoved him back and hit the King full force into the left shoulder, ducking to avoid a counterstrike and rammed his blade through the man’s chest, causing him to drop on his knees with a cry of pain, his guards still distracted by the other knights, unable to help him. “You think you can have my castle? You won’t hold it for five minutes!” he yelled and tried to strike again, only for Midnight to block it and sliced his throat, killing the king for good. At the same time, the Pegasus and unicorn had defeated all guards

And with that, the simulation ended. “Well, that was fun!” Wolf said with a smile.

“Yes, a little training never hurts and keeps you sharp.” Fray added.

“I agree. I admit I wonder what will await us on Earth though.” Midnight said with an unease expression as they walked out of the holodeck.

The children crossed their ways with happy expressions, making it clear the holodeck had helped to get their minds free. “Now, let’s look after the captain.” Midnight suggested and they all nodded.

Once on the bridge, Gunnar greeted them with a smile. “Just on time, I hope you did enjoy yourselves.”

“Of course we did!” Dinky grinned at him as the Gabilan drooped out of Warp, and they all saw nothing but white stars on the viewscreen. “Uh, that doesn’t look like Earth.” She added in confusion.

“It appears we’ve come out a bit soon, Captain.” The flight controller reported. “We are at the edge of the Sol System. Something appears to have thrown us out.”

“I see.” Günther acknowledged with a suspicious expression and Spring turned to Schaeffer.

“Tyrell, you’re in the crow’s nest.”

“Commander?” Schaeffer asked confused.

“’Crow’s nest’ is a nautical term from ancient Earth. Translation: You’re on the lookout.”

“Oh.” Aye, aye, commander.” The tactical officer said before his console buzzed. “I’m detecting an unknown ship in our current flight path.”

“On screen.” And with that, the ponies looked at what they only could describe as an orange backwards manta-ray kind of ship. “A Ferengi Marauder.”

“The Marauder’s hailing us, sir.”

“Get him on screen.”

What the guests of Gunnar saw next was beyond anything they had seen. The screen appeared what looked like a human at first. Yet, the skin was noticeable orange-brown, the skull enlarged with four lobes and a wrinkled nose. But the most distinguishing feature was the large ears and that one eye was closed, a scar over it.

The Alien smiled friendly. “Ah, a Federation ship. Greetings, Captain. I am Daimon Lemp. May I invite you to a trade? Fair prices of course.”

“Thank you for the offer, but we are in a hurry, Lemp.” Günther declined politely.

“A pity, I have some good merchandise you could like. And I see you got some interesting…pets.” The Alien looked at the ponies, with Noi, Ruby and Tootsie hiding behind the knights out of fear, Dinky, Pip, the siblings and Tungsten trembled slightly in unease as Wolf growled.

“Hey! Watch your mouth, we’re not pets!”

Lemp stared in surprise before slightly grinning. “Very interesting…”

“They’re not for sale, they are guests on our ship.” Gunnar quickly interfered with a serous expression, yet stayed calm.

“Of course. But maybe…we can make a deal…” Lemp said, his grinning becoming mischievous.

“Sir, I’m detecting a large power surge coming from the Marauder!” Tyrell reported and suddenly, a blue wave emitted from the ship and all electronics on the Akira-class ship flashed and malfunctioned.

“What was that?” Katja asked in alert.

“Utilizing EMPs on Federation ships is an act of war.” Gunnar warned Lemp as he realized what happened.

“Captain please. Ferengi do not 'war', we simply add extra incentive to trade. War is bad for business.” The Daimon replied as the transmission ended.

“Everything’s offline!” Schaefer yelled and suddenly, the knights and children saw a blue flashing light around them.

They all felt numb, unable to move or open their eyes. Everything felt like they had been injected with needles, tingly.

Slowly, they managed to open their eyes all of the sudden they found themselves in what appeared to be a cell.

“What…just happened?” Tungsten asked scared as he looked around.

“I don’t know, but stay calm.” Fletcher said, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Damn it! Günther yelled frustrated. “Bridge to Engineering, report.”

“We’re working on it, Captain!” The Chief Engineer replied.

His first officer looked at the screen with slightly worry. “I hope it won’t be too late.”

The children held their breaths as one of the doors opened and the male humanoid walked in, grinning. “Ah good. Not a scratch.”

“Wh-what's going on?! Why have you kidnapped us?!” The young girl asked in fear

“Please, miss. Ferengi do not kidnap. We simply acquire. To transport.” Lemp replied calmly.

“Transport?” Tungsten asked confused.

“Yes. To sell. Ferengi sell just about anything. 'Buying' is another matter but as you see, we have ways around this. Not to worry, you shan't be harmed...To do so would shave thousands off your starting bid.” He looked at Katja, who gulped.

“No one harms my sister and gets past me!” Blau shouted with an angry expression, standing protectively in front of his older sister.

“You are brave, quite remarkable for your age. But it won’t help you.” Lemp said in a cold voice.

“With all due respect, Mr. Lemp, there’s no need for this.” Dinky spoke up in a calm voice.

Lemp raised an eyebrow. “Every man has his price. And so do you. For me, it’s worth the risk.”

Wolf started to growl before a voice shouted, “Sir, the Federation ship is powering up again!”

Lemp turned around to see one of his crewmembers. “So fast? Increase speed!”

The foals smiled, rescue was close.

“Sir, engineering reports they got the power online again. Marauder’s increased speed.” Schaeffer looked at the captain, awaiting orders.

“Good, disable the Warp Engines, red alert.”

“Engaging to disable, captain.” Tyrell acknowledged and went on an intercept course, firing, but the Marauder’s shields held, an orange beam was fired from it at the Gabilan. “Marauder’s firing back. Shields are holding.”

Lemp’s barely keep his balance as his ship was rumbling from the hits it took and Midnight grinned. “Still worth the risk?”

The humanoid eyed him with confusion. “And...what exactly are you meant to be?”

In response, Wolf drew her knives and they started to buzz and crackled with electricity before she slammed them into the ground, disabling the force field, with Fletcher drawing his bow, pointing an arrow between the Ferengi's eyes. “Extra Incentive!”

Lemp chuckled nervously. “Heh...Yes, I...ah...I admit it's quite affective…”

“They destroyed our Warp Engines!” The same crewmember reported.

Midnight had a sly grin. “I'm curious, is there a book for these rules or do they just get passed down?”

“The latter, strictly speaking. Why? Are we to take that the newest rule of acquisition would be 'Enraging an Eternal Knight is bad for business?” The Ferengi asked nervously before Wolf had a knife close to his throat.

“No. The newest rule of acquisition is 'Enraging an Eternal Knights is very bad for business'.” She pronounced with a serious tone

Lemp gulped. “...I'll keep that in mind. For future Ferengi's sake.”

“And your own.” Fletcher added as the alien walked out and hailed Gunnar.

The Daimon cleared throat, twiddling his fingers in unease. “Ahem...Captain. Clearly, there has been a er...mutual conflict of interests. On ah...behalf of the munificent Ferengi Alliance, I apologize for any inconvenience. It is clear to us that this particular investment would not be wise for us. We are presently returning the good-I mean passengers to your craft. Rest assured, this shan't happen again.”

Gunnar’s expression was serious. “You just performed a kidnapping of multiple civilians on a Federation vessel. What would Nagus Rom have to say about that?”

“Er...” Lost for words, Lemp produced a cloth and dabbed at his forehead. “C-Captain...The Grand Nagus is...a very busy individual and...I see no reason to trouble him over this...misunderstanding. I am sure that, for your forgiveness...and silence on this unfortunate matter, we can make a very generous compensation.”

“Are you transporting any fuel?” Spring asked, surprising him.

“Uh...yes.”

The first officer smiled. “We'll buy it. All of it...On compensator's discount, of course.”

Lemp furrowed his brow. “Are you joking? They're Blitmanite Cells! They don't come cheap!”

“Neither does ignoring a multiple kidnapping.” Gunnar pointed out, still being serious.

“Blitmanite...Ooh dear me. Mr. Lemp, your fuel trafficking license...is it up to date?” Commander Spring asked.

In response, the Ferengi tugged at his collar. “Uh...”

“Then again, if you were transporting with the Alliance's leave, that would be the Grand Nagus's business. But then so would this 'misunderstanding', if that were the case.”

Lemp shook his hands in apology with a sickly grin on his face. “W-W-Well, I'm sure we can compromise. It's not that much in the grand scheme of things.” He pointed to a subordinate. “Bring up the Blitmanite cells and beam them with these ones, quick!”

Aghast, his fellow officer as asked, “Sir?”

“Rule of Acquisition Number One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Five!” The Daimon exclaimed and he got it.

“'You can't make a deal if you're dead!'”

“Exactly! Now get those cells up here, now!” He ordered, then turned back to the Starfleet crew with a smattering smile. As he said this, the ponies saw the blue flash around themselves again, and in a blink of an eye, they were back on the bridge of the Federation ship again, felling numb again too as he continued. “Heh...Please accept this gift of fuel as a...a token of our thanks for the Federation's great tolerance and forgiveness. A pleasure doing business. So...this won't go down on any...”

Nicholas waved one hand casually. “No, no, simple misunderstanding. Happens all the time.” He started to grin cheekily. “And rest assured, your gift will be put to good use. How very generous of you. You can't get this stuff on the market nowadays without selling the ship you want to fill it with. How lucky we are. You are too kind, sir. We'll put in a good word for you.”

“Th-thank you.” The Ferengi stuttered in relief.

“No, no, Mr. Lemp, thank you. The United Federation of Planets wishes you all the best in your future investments.” Spring added.

“Give the Grand Nagus my regards. Gabilan out.” Gunnar said and the transmission ended, with him looking at his first officer. “You almost sounded like a Ferengi there! What did you do? Take a class?”

Spring just smiled. “A Ferengi in your debt is a rare and useful gift. Put that on their Rules of Acquisition.”

“What were those…Ferengi?” Noi asked still a bit in shock.

“They are a civilization built on free enterprise, where earning profit is the sole meaningful goal in life, superseding all other endeavors.” Gunnar explained. “Usually, they are notable for the absence of atrocities such as slavery or genocide but Lemp is known for doing shady businesses here and there in the Starfleet records, but got mostly just a minor punishment. But I think after that, it will be severe. Do you need medical attention?” He asked with concern.

“Just a bit numb from that…teleport, but otherwise fine.” Midnight replied still a bit weakened.

“Ah yes, that’s a side effect when using a teleporter for the first time. It should be over soon.”

Ruby took a deep breath. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he won’t bother you again.” Spring assured. “Now, let’s proceed to Earth, shall we?”

“Yes, sir!” Blau did a playful salute.

The crew did the calculations and the ponies walked towards the lift to get back to the quarters again.

The children just wanted to be back where it was comfortable but Midnight stopped and turned around.

“Say, ever met Lemp before?” He asked the Captain.

“No, I only read the reports about him. But as I said, I’ll make sure he won’t bother you again.”

“If he tries, he will regret it deeply!” Wolf added with a hiss.

“And of course has to go through us again.” Spring said with a smile.

Dinky and the others stopped too and turned around. “May I ask why did you become a Starfleet officer?”

“Well, being a Starfleet officer is a highly respected job and I admit, I did it also for the adventure and eager to explore the galaxy. I am sure you would make great officers too, all of you.” He replied and they all blushed slightly.

“If you say so…” Fletcher mumbled.

“Sir!” Schaeffer yelled in alert. “I detect a high energy surge from the Marauder! It’s unstable!”

“On screen.” Gunnar ordered and they saw how the Marauder suddenly exploded and a purple red rift appeared from the explosion and the screen became black.

“Everyone alright?” The commander asked.

“I am okay.” Schaeffer replied.

“What just happened?” Gunnar asked them both and the tactical officer thought for a moment, looking at the data his console showed.

“Captain, we seem to have been torn from normal space…I think we’ve been pulled through some sort of isodimensional rift…”

“Where are we?”

“Hard to say. The rift took most primary systems offline. Until we get it back online, it will be difficult to find out where we are.”

“Does…does that mean we are lost?” Tootsie asked in dread.

Günther sighed. “I am afraid, yes, but don’t worry, we will find a way.”

“Yes, Tootsie, I am sure we will.” Dinky added with a confident smile.

The baby blue filly gave a weak smile in response, her friends too. “Okay. Anything we can do to help, Captain?”

He smiled slightly. “I appreciate your willingness to help, but leave it to us. Get some rest.”

“Okay.”

Fortunately, the lift was still working as they went back to their quarters, trying to sleep a bit, yet what just happened refused to get out of their heads.

Where they now further away from home? Would they ever find a way home? They all hoped they would

It was around half an hour as they heard a faint buzzing sound, coming from the door. “Enter.” Midnight said and Spring walked in.

“Good news, we managed to get the power back online, would you come with me to the bridge?” They nodded in response.

“Any idea what caused that…rift?” Fletcher was clueless.

“Well, as far as we can tell, it appeared Lemp was transporting some kind of rift device or something that apparently was damaged in the small skirmish.” The commander explained and Wolf hissed.

“In other words, illegal, dangerous cargo.”

“Correct. He must have used a dampening field to hide it from our scanners.” Spring suspected as they reached the bridge and Schaeffer’s console buzzed again.

“I’m detecting a ship closing in on our position.”

“Om screen.” Gunnar ordered.

The ponies became confused as it showed what looked like a black block, due to having an elongated shape. “What is that?” Pip asked and Gunnar’s expression became one of fear.

“It’s a…”

He could not finish as a transmission came through, spoked by a monotone like voice.

“We are the Borg. Existence, as you know it, is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile.”

Comments

[Makerofthebuttswagger]

“We are the Borg. Existence, as you know it, is over. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile.”

*BEEP* resistance is futile.

Good job so far, although tbh I have no idea where the plot is going.

[Bronycommander]

9481249
You will See