Horse Play

by Alden MacManx

Chapter Twelve

Just before the expected arrival of the Ratzis, the Mane Six were on the Hurin, in the Forward Lounge, with their designated watcher, Lieutenant Khaball. Twilight Sparkle raised a question that had been bothering her.

“Lieutenant, why is the Admiral setting up this defense-in-depth structure? During planning, I never had the chance to ask.”

Lieutenant Khaball smiled a little. Picking up her tablet, she linked it to the window and started sketching. “What you have not taken into consideration is the sheer speeds that happen while in stardrive, Princess. The Ratzi fleet is moving at one light-year per hour. Just how many kilometers are in a light-year? Do you know what a light-year is?” she asked.

“I know it is a big distance. Just how big is it?” Twilight asked.

Annelise started writing on her tablet, the numbers coming up on the window. "Light travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. Sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day, three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days in a Standard Terrestrial year. Doing the multiplication shows a light-year is a very large distance. Essentially, one light-year an hour is eight thousand seven hundred sixty-six times lightspeed.

“Now, when going at those speeds, coming OUT of stardrive requires absolute split-second timing and absolute precision navigation. What is generally done is to come out of stardrive at some distance from your destination, get a fix on its location in real space, then hop back into stardrive on a millisecond timer, gradually getting closer to your target. Both Ratzis and the ISA use the same methods in interstellar flight. It’s just safer that way,” Annelise concluded.

Rainbow Dash let out a whistle as she looked up at the numbers. “I thought I was fast…” she said in tones of admiration. “Think you can teach me to fly like you do?”

“Once all this is over, first I’ll take you through real space flight training. When you pass that, then I’ll teach you stardrive. Mind you, I’m an unforgiving teacher. So is space,” Lieutenant Khaball cautioned.

As Rainbow Dash thought, Twilight took the chance to speak. “So, your Admiral is setting one fleet out where you expect the Ratzis to drop out of stardrive and attack there. After that, the second fleet is waiting at the second stopping point, and so on. Now I’m beginning to see.”

Lieutenant Khaball nodded. “Yes. For each ship that the fleets take out, that’s one less we will have to worry about here in Equestrian orbit. The fewer we have to fight, the easier the job will be. I know Princess Celestia has a surprise waiting, but what can it be?”

Twilight and the girls giggled some. “It’s something we take for granted here. Remember, we were told their super magic-killing gun only has a short range, from Equestria to the sun, right?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with the weapon?” Annelise asked, confused.

“Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun, Princess Luna raises and lowers the moon. Think on that for a moment.” Twilight said.

Annelise still looked confused. “You say that like it’s true,” she said in reply.

“Because it IS!” Pinkie Pie said gleefully.

Annelise thought some more, looking at all six ponies, settling on her friend, Rainbow Dash, who just nodded, a smile on her face. “Oh, my stars and garters…” Annelise said breathlessly, as comprehension landed on her head like a Ratzi kinetic strike from orbit.

“Now you see?” Rainbow Dash said to her friend.

“Princess Luna controls the moon, Princess Celestia controls the sun. The Ratzis are not going to have a good day,” Annelise said firmly.

“We sure hope not,” Twilight said in return.

On the bridge, Captain Somers, Commander Seiryuu and Commander Sardon were at their stations, monitoring the telemetry being sent from the Alliance’s fleet. “Contact in one minute minus,” Captain Somers said quietly, watching the displays.

“Let’s hope our projections are on the mark,” Commander Seiryuu said quietly.

“They usually are, Luke,” Captain Somers replied. Together, the three watched and waited. The displays lit up suddenly, dots, knots and lines of different colors lighting up the tactical displays for about forty-five seconds before the red lights of the Ratzi ships blinked out, coming back on at the Union’s position. Again, red and green lights this time filled the screen, this time for thirty seconds before going out and coming back on at the Gilgamesh’s position. This time, red and blue lights appeared.

“Captain to Princess Twilight. You may begin,” Jamie said into the intercom.

“Starting now,” Twilight replied. Down in the Forward Lounge, Lieutenant Khaball witnessed the six mares rising up, a rainbow nimbus surrounding them before the light lanced out to the Ratzi fleet.

Annelise witnessed some sort of struggle going on, the faces of the mares showing strain. “Found the one… feeling resistance…” Twilight said.

“Which ship is he on?” Annelise asked quickly.

“Little one at back… focusing there… follow rainbow…”

Annelise activated her shipboard comm. “Khaball to Captain! Ratzi leader is in a small ship at the rear of formation. Pass the word, follow the rainbow!” she shouted into the device.

“Confirm receipt of the information, Lieutenant. Passing word to the Commodore,” the Captain answered.

On the Bridge, Jamie promptly relayed the information to the Gilgamesh before taking personal control of the sun guns. “Weapons, prepare all missile batteries and secondary weapons. Any Ratzi small ships approach, fire at will. Let the large ships close in,” he ordered. “Exar shields to full power.”

“Aye, Captain. Missiles and secondary batteries are primed and ready. Fire at will. External Armor at full power.” Lieutenant Commander Hartens acknowledged, sending word to the gunners, activating Exar fields, and patching through fire control information.

Captain Somers primed all five sun guns with spectral class O rounds. “Sardon, lock number two gun on the Ratzi leader’s ship. I want to put a bolt right through his drive section,” he ordered.

“Focusing sensors. Following the rainbow,” Sardon grunted, ignoring the other ships as much as he could. The two Ratzi battlestarships closed in on Equestria, but still had a while to go. Other ships were dicing with the Gilgamesh’s battle group. Occasional flares and flashes could be seen as ships fought and died on both sides.

Once Jamie had a good fix, he rapid-fired six rounds from the sun gun. Spectral type O stars radiate much of their light in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, so the bolts were not as brilliant as the class G bolts fired earlier. “Three hits, Captain. Target craft is no longer under acceleration.”

“Very well, Mister Sardon. Right now, the Ratzis are going according to their plan. Good thing they don’t change the plan very often,” Jamie commented as he reloaded the sun guns with class A shells, in case they were needed later. “Miss Khaball, status report.”

Down in the Forward Lounge, the ponies were struggling to work their magic, then suddenly their struggles ceased, and the rainbow wave of energy shone straight and true, Twilight’s eyes glowing a brilliant white. “Captain, they were having issues before. Now, they are not. Whatever’s happening seems to be going well,” she reported.

“I managed three hits on the leader’s command ship with vampire typesetters, Lieutenant. It’s not going anywhere.”

“Good to hear, Captain. No type O errors, then. Remind me never to go shooting with you. I don’t stand a chance,” Lieutenant Khaball said wryly.

“Knew you had some smarts, Lieutenant. Keep me posted. Captain out.”

It was only a few seconds later when Twilight and the rest lost their rainbow nimbus and settled to the floor. Rainbow Dash looked up at her shipboard friend. “We got him, Annelise! He put up a fight, but we cut him off and he stopped fighting!” she said with excitement.

Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “Whoever or whatever was controlling the Ratzi stopped when the ship lost power. Right now, he’s quite confused, wondering what’s going on, unsure of what to do. From what I understand, they can last about three hours before they will have trouble breathing aboard that ship.”

“Can we stop the fleet?” Lieutenant Khaball asked.

“No. The ships have their orders, to get the magic killer up close to Equestria and fire. With no power, he cannot call them back. They would not listen anyhow. I had a trace about a second commander, but I could not make sense of who or where,” Twilight reported.

“I hope your princess’ plans work,” Lieutenant Khaball said as she tapped her shipboard comm to relay the findings to the Captain.

“So do I, Annelise.”

Captain Somers listened to Lieutenant Khaball’s report before calling Commodore Harkennon. “Have someone put a traction beam on the craft that had the neon rainbow strike it, Commodore. I have been informed the Level One Ratzi aboard has been neutralized,” he reported.

“Good to hear, Captain. Nice shooting with the sun guns from a million kays out.”

“Just have to apply some good old Kentucky windage, as my father says. How goes the rest of the battle?”

“Proceeding according to plan, Captain. We’re picking off the small fry, letting the bigger ships come in almost unimpeded. We fight them in to a hundred thousand, then we back off and let the Princesses do their thing,” the Commodore said, reflecting her worry.

“If the Princesses have something in mind, I would not doubt them at all. Just pay attention and have your recorders set,” Jamie replied. “Where you want me?”

“Come on out and join the party, if you want. You handle any fish in this sector,” the Commodore told him, a patch of space being highlighted on his tactical display. “Just make sure you get to a hundred thousand kays out or more. Other than that, have fun!”

“You got it, Commodore! Tascheter out.”

Jamie disconnected from that call and ordered the helm to take the ship out of Equestria orbit out to the battle. One little blip of the stardrive had them in position, and the Hurin Tascheter displayed the fact that it was an exploration CRUISER and had the armaments to prove it. Before the Ratzi battlestarships and some cruisers passed the hundred-thousand-kilometer mark, the Hurin had accounted for two ship kills of its own and assists in two others. The arrival of the greater portions of the Union’s and Alliance’s fleets made the Gilgamesh’s battle that much easier. Jamie and the others all watched as the Ratzi battlestarships, and what was left of their fleet, moved into firing position.

Of ninety ships the Ratzis started with, only fourteen were left to move into Equestrian orbit, those being the two battlestarships, three cruisers, five destroyers, one scout and three noncombatants. As the battlestarships pivoted, bringing the magic-killing gun to bear, Jamie leaned over in his chair and said to Commander Seiryuu, “Now you’re going to see what the Princesses have tucked up their metaphorical sleeves, Luke.”

“If it is what I think it is, it’s going to drive me to drink. Not that I do not believe in magic, it’s the sheer scale of the operation that stuns me,” Luke said, his eyes on the large bridge monitor.

“Believe me when I say I understand, Luke.”

Author's Note:

Princess Celestia controls the sun, Princess Luna controls the moon... give me a break. That can't be real, right? Orbital dynamics dictate otherwise, right?

How much do you wanna bet, pallie?

Comments

[harts fire]

bug meat windscreen.
this is going to be a messy splatter.

[erictheblue]

“Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun, Princess Luna raises and lowers the moon. Think on that for a moment.” Twilight said.

this reminds me of a short story where a large meteor or a comet was on a collision course with Equestria, so Celestia called for the smartest people in the world to come to Canterlot and try to make a plan to deal with it...
but one of the ponies she invited was Macintosh!
Twilight protested, and insulted him, so he spent the whole night coming up with a plan on his own...which called for using the moon!
Twilight DID apologize to Mac later.

[Kentavritsa]

Annelise activated her shipboard comm. “Khaball to Captain! Ratzi leader is in a small ship at the rear of formation. Pass the word, follow the rainbow!” she shouted into the device.

"Follow the Rainbow!" Indeed ^^

[Alden MacManx]

11156719
Damned if I remember why I put it that way, but it fits, yes?