Warp Song
"Luna…" Warp Song said, his vampiric, analytical eyes gazing over her. She could tell this was one hell of a puzzle even for him - and one he wouldn't be able to rest before solving. "Your presence is… unexpected."
His voice was as cold and dispassionate as it had ever been. Even after a thousand years.
“Really?” Luna said, flabbergasted. “A thousand years silent, we meet each other out here beyond the farthest shores, with you the commander of an Oblivion warship, and that’s all you have to say? It’s ‘unexpected?!’”
"Wait, wait, wait, hold the phone here!" Spike said, flabbergasted. "You two know each other?!"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Derpy said, panting slightly after. And as soon as she caught her breath, she repeated: “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”
Given the expression of the rest of her bridge crew, they all seemed to feel the same way. This was save for Pharynx, who had a look of distrust on his face towards both parties.
Luna briskly nodded, still in complete shock at his sight. A sight she couldn't take her eyes off. "He is an old… acquaintance. Emphasis on old."
"Indeed," Song said. “A strange meeting to say the least, especially since it appears you've found what was, at one time, supposed to be my flagship."
"Your flagship!?" Spike coughed, glancing between him and Dr. Whooves. “The Starshot’s supposed to be ancient. So that would mean-- What is it with crazily older than they look ponies everywhere?!”
“There is a difference here, Spike.” Luna gave Song a disgusted look. “His source of long life is… different from Doctor Whooves’s. Isn’t that right, Warp Song?”
“I’d rather not waste time bringing up ancient conversations of blood and sin,” Song said. “Conversation of the present situation is far more requisite, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would say so!” Luna snapped. “What in the name of Tartarus happened to you?! To all of you?! Why are you serving such an evil force!? Do you have any idea what they stand for!?"
"I see we've already made an impression on you," Song said. "A rather poor one, unfortunately. However, ethical debate was not exactly the topic I had in mind."
"And what might that be, then!?" Luna growled.
He narrowed his eyes. "You are currently occupying a vessel belonging to the Oblivion Empire. Fortunately, given the circumstances of its original disappearance, I do not believe you acquired it through a hostile act. Rather, you found it on Equis, likely not even knowing whom it belonged to at first..."
"He… how could he know all that?" Spike whispered to Luna, baffled.
"His investigative skills have always been as sharp as a knife," Luna whispered back. "It seems they haven’t dulled."
Spike nodded in understanding. “Like a really creepy space Sureshock Ohms.”
Song carried on. "... Furthermore, I assume your presence this far out, your lack of Aetherium, and the fact that there are teenagers on your bridge--" His eyes shifted between Spike and Ocellus. "--Means some form of terrible accident occured. Likely at an inopportune time."
"Do you just want to show off how clever you are or do you have a point to make?" Doctor Whooves groaned.
Luna actually had to disagree. Song didn't actually care that much about showing off; this was more or a matter of intimidation. Why he felt the need to do that was questionable, though. Was it just an old habit showing face?
"Of course there's a point," Song said softly. "It will be a satisfactory explanation to my superiors as to why I'll be treating you as guests instead of prisoners."
Luna gazed at him, dumbfounded. "You seriously think we're just going to hoof over the Starshot to you?"
"Starshot?” Song said, a hint of amusement in his tone as he cocked his head slightly. “Very well. I suppose its name is irrelevant. What matters is it would be the most logical course of action for you to take. Equis was barely entering the Industrial Age the last time we checked. That is nowhere near the level a civilization would need to successfully navigate the stars. And if I’m correct in my assumptions, this isn’t even what you wanted in the first place."
Luna paused before she spoke. Song had intense loyalties to both her and her… other form... all those years ago. It was likely that he really didn't want any harm to come to her, at least.
But on the other hoof, Song being Song was definitely trying to glean whatever information he could get from her. Information he would certainly be able to piece together to gain even more insights. Insights that he might pass on to his superiors. Her gut was practically screaming at her that that would be bad news.
'Best to play coy.'
"No matter the circumstances that led us here," Luna began. "We have been doing well enough, thank you very much. And though I'd like to trust you, Warp Song, I do *not* trust your masters."
"I can assure you no harm would come to you if you surrender the ship," Song said. “I swear to you on my honor.”
"And what about after that?" Spike grunted. "Say we're your 'guests'. What do we do then? Just sit around and wait?"
"Until I finish with my business in this sector, yes," Song said. "Which, admittedly, will take some time."
"Yeah, question about that," Spike said. "Why is an admiral like you flying around in such a tiny ship, anyway?"
Song glanced at him quizzically. "Knowing the capabilities of the assets at your disposal takes more than a simple studying session, master dragon."
He looked like he was about to say more when suddenly, to Luna's horror, an umbral entered the screen, wisps of black shadow licking off it's form. Unlike the Steward, this one didn’t seem to focus around a pony-shaped mass. Instead, hidden underneath the shadows appeared to be an amorphous blob of some sorts. One that rolled its way over to song, before sticking what seemed to be a tendril up to his ear.
Despite the very sight of it chilling Luna to the bone, Song didn't even flinch.
"Unfortunate, but not surprising," Song replied to the umbral, who made its way off screen. He then turned back to Luna. "My apologies, but I'm needed in another system. I assume you wish to… discuss matters with your friends, anyway, before accepting my offer. I will attempt to return in two cycles."
"And if we refuse your owe so generous terms?" Luna asked. “What then?”
Song raised his eyebrows. "You already know the answer to that. I cannot allow a rogue element to control such a significant asset. If you refuse, I will be forced to take back our ship by force. And I can assure you: my masters will be less… understanding in such an eventuality."
"You realize you'll be at a disadvantage in that case, right?" Luna said, somewhat unsure of her own words. Knowing Song, he almost certainly had multiple cards to play.
And she was quickly proven right.
"Unlikely," Song said. "You wouldn't have much luck without your weapon systems, after all.”
Before Luna could even reply, the computer suddenly spoke. Though it usually had a dull tone, it seemed even more robotic than usual as it stated: "Hyperdrive and weapon systems disabled per your command, Grand Admiral --ERROR--.”
"What!?" Pharynx roared. "My screen just went blank!"
"A-And I'm locked out of FTL controls!" Ocellus cried.
Luna's eyes widened in horror. "Song, what the hell did you just do!?"
"I've been sending a subharmonic transmission containing override codes to your computer system during the latter half of this conversation," Song said calmly. "A safeguard I specifically requested in the eventuality of a rogue AI scenario. I admit, I never thought I'd have to use it, but the only explanation for your survival thus far is that you've been receiving help. Specifically, that of your computer's. This is not something it should have even offered unless it's become unstable. My best guess is rampancy due to a long period of isolation."
"Thou art as snaketh as ever, Song!" Luna snapped, a small bit of black energy leaking from her eyes once again.
Other than her encounter with the Steward, she hadn’t felt this angry for quite a while.
"--ERROR-- --ERROR-- --ERROR-- attempts to override override failing!"
"You will still have control over the majority of your ship system's until I return," Song said. "I assume you have enough food and water to last that long, yes?"
"Thou concern is as hollow as thou offer!" Luna hissed.
"Believe me, this will be the easiest path for you in the long run." He paused, looking as if he was about to cut the transmission. But before he did, he added: "I don't wish for the worst case scenario. Know that if you willingly join me, I will do everything I can to return you back to Equis once I am finished here. Farewell for now, Princess Luna."
The transmission cut, showing once again an image of Song's ship.
“Typical!” Luna snarled, pounding a hoof on the arm of her chair as she glared at his vessel. “Thou disposition hath yielded nay changeth!”
“Uh, Captain,” Spike coughed. “You’re speaking fancy again.”
“Thy knoweth how thy speaketh!” snapped, Spike giving her a slightly hurt look in return. “I… I mean…”
She took several deep breaths, trying her best to calm down. The rest of the bridge looked at her worriedly. Meanwhile, on the view screen, Song's ship had turned towards a distant star, before suddenly disappearing in a flash of light.
Perhaps it was her deep breathing, or perhaps it was due to Song no longer being present, but Luna quickly began to calm down. “My... apologies. It’s just… I haven’t seen him for a millennium, and he can’t even bother to say ‘I’m happy to see you!’”
“N-Not to mention, it looks like he’s serving an evil empire,” Ocellus pointed out. "Annnnd he just sort of left us defenseless… and without our hyperdrive."
“That as well!” Luna hissed. “That was probably the whole point of his transmission, too! Damn him!”
She noticed Spike giving her a suspicious look.
“What?!” she snarled.
“Nothing,” Spike said innocently.
“You do realize you owe us one hell of an explanation,” Pharynx grunted. “Because I actually know about a Grand Admiral Warp Song.”
Luna glanced at him, confusion now replacing her rage. “W-Wait. You do?”
“Of course I do,” Pharynx said. “Every decent battlefield commander knows about him. You must have heard of Thunder Tzu’s Art of War by now. Well, Thunder Tzu wasn’t an individual. He was actually the pseudonym of multiple great military leaders, all who contributed to the book across the centuries. Grand Admiral Song was one of them.”
The crew looked at him dumbfounded.
Pharynx glanced away from them all, a slight bit of awe in his voice as he carried on with: “If he was an imposter, he was a good one. To see such genius in person… it was mezmerizing.” He then raised a hoof. “However, I’ve never heard of him being a thestral. Nor was he said to have any relation with you, captain.”
“And… just what kind of relationship was that, captain?” Spike asked, a knowing look in his eyes.
Luna shot him a warning look, to which he simpered slightly at.
"I think we should be more concerned with the fact that our computer just went haywire," Derpy grumbled.
"Not haywire," Doctor Whooves said. "No, I believe Song was telling the truth when he said what we've been seeing was it going haywire."
"Would make sense," Ocellus said. "Why else would an alien computer be so friendly with, well, aliens?"
"So what?" Spike blinked. "All of this time it's only been helping us because its wires are crossed? Computer, is that right?"
"--ERROR--."
"We've already tried to find an explanation for its behavior multiple times now," Pharynx grumbled. "It's far too screwed up to give one."
"S-Should we think about completely disconnecting it from our systems?" Derpy asked. “It might solve our problem.”
"A good idea in theory," Doctor Whooves said solemnly. "Though with our limited knowledge, it may cause more harm than good. We do not know how many ship systems might rely on its presence. Suddenly disconnecting it without knowing what we're doing could cause total system failures. And I don't need to say how bad it would be if something like life support shuts down."
He glanced away from her, a curious look on him. "Besides, I have a hunch… hmmm… computer, abstract question: other than allowing us to access hyperdrive and weapon controls, are you still 'on our side', so to speak."
There was a brief pause, before the computer answered with a surprisingly emotional: "This unit has always been on your side, Do-- Doc-- Doc-- Doct-- --ERROR-- --Or --Or --Or. --ERROR--"
Luna noted an ethereal look in the good doctor’s eyes at that, though it quickly went away.
"It's completely bonkers, isn't it?" Spike sighed.
Derpy sighed. "It's starting to seem that way, isn't it?"
"S-So, what do we do now, then?" Ocellus asked.
Luna gazed at her crew. Their moods had swung one eighty degrees since they arrived. Back to the same place since they first arrived at the edge of the galaxy: one of desperation and confusion. A loss of control.
“Um… hang on,” Derpy suddenly said, her eye catching something at her station. “Doc, sorry to keep asking, but can you take a look at this? Cus… I just got some results of the system scan back and… they’re picking up another weird object.”
“No worries, Derpy,” Doctor Whooves nodded, glancing over at Derpy’s console before manipulating his own controls slightly. This brought up a system map on his monitor, which then zoomed far in on a smaller object. “Mmm… yes. Not just an object, either. There appears to be a debris field and… free floating atmosphere near it.” He squinted in thought. “Almost certainly a ship. One that appears to have suffered a hull breach, and given its lack of movement save for drift, engine damage as well.”
“We need to go check it out, then,” Spike declared “Somepony could need help!”
"We still have impulse controls!" Ocellus said, a hint of confidence returning to her voice. "I-I can take us over there!"
“Doctor, what are the chances of this happening recently?” Luna quickly asked.
The good doctor tapped his chin. “Given the amount of non-difused atmosphere, it’s probably still an active breach. There’s too much for it to have been a small one over a long period of time.”
“So, recently?” Derpy translated.
“Recently,” Doctor Whooves nodded. “Ninety-eight percent probability.”
“Correct,” the computer confirmed.
"Glad to see you back in the game, computer," Doctor Whooves smiled.
“Ocellus, set course,” Luna ordered. “The highest speed you’re comfortable with. Engage!”
“Aye, captain!”
The ship’s engines roared to life, carrying them further into the solar system. It was all it took to swing their moods around. Once again, they were space explorers, not just children playing with a toy beyond their comprehension, as both the admiral and the Steward seemed to think.
“What about the admiral?” Pharynx asked.
She then turned to Pharynx. “My history with him is... complicated. We shall speak at a less pressing time."
“Very well,” Pharynx said, furrowing his brow.
“Lucky break,” Spike smirked.
“Haw,” Luna laughed sarcastically.
Spike brought a claw to his chin. “Kind of weird that the same system we run into your old, um, acquaintance also has a crippled ship in it, though. Wouldn’t you say?”
“What are you implying?” Luna asked.
“I’m not implying anything,” Spike said neutrally.
“The admiral I know would not do such a thing,” Luna narrowed her eyes. “For all his faults, he would not leave even his greatest enemy to whither and die like this."
Spike gave her a look. "Yeah, just his 'friends', apparently."
"That was different," Luna argued. "He… he didn't leave us venting atmosphere. He…"
“Luna,” Spike said, gazing at her pensively. “You said it yourself: it’s been a thousand years. I know you also said he hasn’t changed a bit, but how do you know that?”
“Enough!” Luna said, a bit more forcefully than she’d have liked. "Let’s let this conjecture lie where it is. Please."
“If that’s what you want,” Spike said, looking a bit put-off.
Luna sighed internally. She didn’t want to be angry with her first officer, especially when all he was trying to do was get her to think logically. However, this was not something she wanted on her mind right now. It was already filled to the brim.And as they drew further into the solar system, she felt it was about to overflow.
The star was incomprehensively massive, and brighter than anything she had ever seen. She couldn’t blame her Red Dwarf friend for feeling overshadowed when this is what it was competing with. It was also no wonder it hadn’t tried to speak with her as of yet; it probably didn’t even notice their presence. They were already a flea compared to the Red Dwarf, but to this beast? They were a microbe.
Given the lack of any planets in the system, it must have been fairly lonely. All that could be found were asteroid fields. Doctor Whooves had explained that if there once were any worlds, they were likely to either have been ripped apart by tidal forces or swallowed by it as it expanded. This didn’t discount the possibility of some further out, but so far, they hadn’t detected any.
She made it a point to try to contact it in the dreamscape if possible. It actually had been something she was looking forward to trying until recent matters had siphoned her attention. Ones such as the one they were approaching. It was a metallic form that took the shape of, surprisingly, an Oblivion ship. It appeared to be the same type Song was using, though it was hard to tell at this distance.
“Huh, maybe Song wasn’t behind it,” Spike said. “Why would one of their ships cripple another?”
“Maybe that’s why he was here in the first place,” Derpy suggested. “Maybe it disappeared in this system or something and he went to find it.”
“And he just left it sitting here?” Pharynx said, raising an eyebrow. “That would be fairly sloppy. Especially for someone of his caliber.”
Spike glanced at him curiously. "You seem to have a lot of respect for the guy."
"Respect, though not admiration," Pharynx explained. "Assuming, of course, this is the Grand Admiral Warp Song. But no matter the case, the creatures he serves… these 'Deep Ones'. Even Chrysalis would be horrified at their callous attitude towards their subordinates. As am I."
Ocellus's eyes swelled with pride at her uncle. He seemed to notice this, giving her the briefest of smiles in return.
They carried on towards the vessel. And as they drew closer, something looked a little odd about the coloration of its hull.
“Doctor Whooves, magnify image, please,” Luna said.
He complied, and immediately, the image zoomed in on the ship. Luna gazed at it, shocked. It was definitely an Oblivion ship, and one that had taken a beating. Its cones for engines appeared to be completely destroyed, their debris spinning off into the depths of space. As for the odd coloration, it turned out to be in the form both scorch marks and numerous paintings on its hull.
One was what seemed to be some kind of propaganda 'poster' featuring a young dragon raising a fist, pride on his face. Text was below it. Not in the Empire’s language, but in Old Equestrian: Freed Slaves, Killed Slavers.
Others were an abstract image of a strikingly familiar blue hedgehog, various depictions of stellar objects, and finally… what appeared to be a stylized version of her Nightmare form, a brilliant grin on her face. More text was underneath it: No Gods, No Masters.
“What the--” Luna gasped, gazing exasperated at Spike as if he might have some sort of answer. “How-- What-- Gah!”
“Don’t look at me!” Spike said. “Maybe the Oblivion Empire really likes Nightmare Moon for some reason?”
“If they knew about her, they’d know about Princess Luna, though,” Derpy commented. “And the Steward didn’t seem to notice.”
“Why don’t we try asking them?” Doctor Whooves quickly stated, gazing at his console as he did. “The hull breach seems to be confined to a single section that’s been sealed off. I’m detecting life signs in the others.”
Luna’s eyes widened. “Do it!”
“Sending request…” Derpy said. “Pending… pending… they’ve accepted!”
“On screen,” Luna called excitedly.
Immediately, the screen switched from the oddly-expression Oblivion vessel to that of a circular bridge. Unlike Song’s, this showed much more than just himself and his captain’s chair. In fact, they could see quite a bit, including the fact it looked heavily damaged. Wires were hanging from the ceiling and consoles were smoking.
But that was nowhere near as shocking as the look of the creatures aboard, as all were from Equis. It was quite a diverse bunch, too: one more diverse than any nation she knew of. Just a quick look over revealed a young dragon, a sun-colored griffon, a diamond dog, an Abyssian Cat, a crystal pony, and, of course, a few bat ponies.
All of them were gazing at her in equal wonder. This was save for the thestral who appeared to be its captain; one who met her with a scowl.
“Alright, who the bloody hell are you lot?!” she snapped, glaring at Luna in particular. “This some new bleathering psy-op, ya’ Oblivion shan schooners?!”
Luna’s jaw hung open. She was surprised she didn’t recognize it from before. The voice from the Starshot’s training programs: she had the same accent. Quite a distinct one, too: it was hard to miss that of a Thestral Highlander.
“You… know who I am?” Luna finally spoke.
“You daft?” she laughed. “I’m sayin’ I see right through ya’. Like the Empire would have the nads to snatch the Night Princess! Who are ya’, really? Some changeling? I thought ya’ got rid of all yer’ changelings?”
“I am no changeling,” Luna said, standing up from her captain’s chair. “I am Princess Luna, captain of the Starship Starshot.”
“Hahaha!” the bat pony laughed. “Oh, that’s rich! Princess Luna herself captaining an Oblivion dreadnought! Never thought I’d meet one of you lot with a sense of humor!”
“Our situation is… complicated,” Luna said. “But I can assure you, we are no friends of the Oblivion Empire.” She glanced at them curiously. “And you don’t appear to be, either.”
“You’re damned right we aren’t!” she said.
Half of her bridge crew immediately joined in with:
“Never! Death to the tyrants!”
“No gods, no masters!”
“Never gently into that good night!”
Luna steadied her tone, trying to sound as diplomatic as ponily possible. “Please. We saw that you were leaking atmosphere. You also appear to have suffered critical engine damage. If you’ll just allow me to explain everything, you’ll understand.” She raised a hoof. “Though first… I need to know who I’m addressing.”
The captain gave her a curious, though still heavily skeptical look. “Alright, I’ll play. I’m Acting Captain Crescent Moon of the New Lunar Republic Starship, Tyrant’s End.”
‘Crescent Moon’, Luna thought. ‘Where have I heard that name before?’
Crescent narrowed her eyes. Unlike Song’s, they were typical for bat pony's: yellowish with diamond-shaped pupils in the middle. “Now. Care to explain just how in the name of a Deep One's fat belly ya’ took over an Oblivion dreadnought, ‘Princess Luna’?”
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Warp Noonian? Song?
You never forget your Dog?
The admiral has decided to put two disparate groups together to have them in conflict at various levels, letting him play them against each other?
What a twist: it's the villain who pulls the prefix code trick.
Better start looking for that override, Luna.
Again, I feel like I oughta shoot you for that wordplay.
I can answer this--tactics. You don't actually need a large ginormous ship to bring the superior force to a battle. Indeed, there are several advantages to a smaller ship that a larger ship would not have.
To be honest, I can't blame him. If the situations were reversed, I'd imagine Luna and crew wouldn't be all that inclined to allow that either if they could.
Huh...just had an interesting though that could explain a great many things...
...have the Doc and the computer met before a great many years ago, under entirely different circumstances?
And to his credit, he was trying to avoid doing so...but then he got distracted by you, and then apparently whatever's happening out of system took priority over the both of you, so...
I suspect Song's more...following orders...for most of this than doing it purely because he wants to. Which, if true, would leave him in a rather interesting position that might be of some use to Luna and crew if they play their cards right...
But then again I also know very little of the other character he's taking such inspiration after, so...
Especially after all that talk of wanting to retake the Starshot for the empire, despite it being implied centuries out of date and likely no longer as relevant in the modern style of warfare in the here and now as it once was, despite whatever tactical advantages it may still possess. I mean, a dreadnought's still a dreadnought, but despite that, a WWI era dreadnought wouldn't stand much of a chance in naval warfare of today--I can only assume something similar would apply to the Starshot's class by now...
...Not that it matters currently, because we already know largely what's up with this other ship.
Hmm...I wonder if this means they're going to be expanding their crew here in a few...it would seem like an ideal time to do so and would be of benefit to both crews, surely...I mean, they seem to have a common enemy after all.
Yikes, that's saying something, considering Chrysalis wasn't exactly the shining example of non-callous behavior herself.
Oh, so that might still be at play and not just a throwaway reference after all...
Before her time, perhaps?
Hmm, that raises a relevant question--holed or whole?
It's really sort of a funny story--you'll laugh, actually...
10540853
Again you beat me to the reference! I knew you were going to when I had to stop reading the chapter halfway through for something else, but them's the breaks.
10540865
I.. hated that bit honestly..
Yeah.. kind of a mental reflex due to how Spike gets pushed around alot in the show.
Then Discord appears! "Discord is no god... Discord is... THE DEVIL!!"
Pony Vegeta, "OMG, HE'S SO COOL... BUT SO STUPID!!"