To the Stars

by Jay David

The Raider

"So we have friggin' time travel in our arsenal now?!" Rainbow exclaimed, probably mirroring the thoughts and sentiments of everybody else at that table. In the wake of the recent debacle, Captain Sunset had gathered her officers together in the usual meeting room, and was herself looking over a data pad concerning all of the reports she'd asked for concerning the now-historical exploits of her crew. Rainbow, leaning back into her chair, smirked. "Well, that sounds pretty awesome to me!"

Fluttershy frowned to her friend. "And also dangerous. I don't even want to think about what might happen if we made even the tiniest mistake while going into the past."

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she looked to the young doctor. "From what we can gather, you might not need to be worried at all." She then gestured to Applejack and Rarity. "If their adventure into the past is anything to go by, it would seem that we're dealing with a stable loop situation. You can't change the past, but instead your presence was always meant to happen for things to progress as they did."

Sunset nodded to her. "It would seem that way. But I don't think we should rule out the possibility that history can, in fact, be changed in some way because of this." She looked down to her pad solemnly. "The potential risks are too great for us to discount the scenario."

Twilight nodded back, silently agreeing with her leader. "True enough. However, I can offer at least some peace of mind on that front." Once she was certain she had their attention, she elaborated. "That area of space might have been new for us, but our documents show that it's been used by other spacefaring peoples in the past. And to the best of our knowledge, none of them have ever experienced what we did. By all accounts, this seems to be something that is unique to us. A combination of our specific technology and the naturally-occurring phenomena of the region."

Rainbow chuckled. "Heh, more power to us then."

Sunset shook her head. "I wouldn't be smiling about it if I were you, Rainbow. Remember, not everyone out there in the galaxy has a positive view of the people of Equis. How do you think our reputation with them will fare once it becomes known that we have exclusive access to an ability as potentially devastating as time travel?"

Rainbow blinked a few times, then leaned forward, showing at least a degree of concern. "Okay...yeah, I can see us not being too popular."

Sunset sighed. "I've already sent word back home about this. The response from Councillor Celestia is that the leadership has been locked up in the Council chambers for at least a day discussing this. Some say the area should be closed off completely by Equis ships. Others say we should send as many science vessels as we can to learn from it. All in all, this matter isn't going away anytime soon."

Twilight appeared deep in thought over something then smiled in a nostalgic manner, catching Sunset's attention. Seeing her, the scientist began to explain herself. "Oh, it's nothing. Juts thinking of an old colleague of mine back when I was studying at the academy. He always believed time-travel was possible, even when nobody else did." She tapped her chin. "A bit of an eccentric though. Talking like a madman half the time, then acting like he knew something the rest of us didn't for the other half. If he wasn't in class with us he was always tinkering in that little, blue shed he had on the campus." She shrugged. "I can just imagine how smug he'd be right now."

"Well, it ain't no matter fer us anymore," Applejack chimed in. "We did our part. We found it an' let em know. Now we can jus' get back ta our jobs an' let the top dogs talk it over."

Rarity nodded. "I'm inclined to agree. I, for one, have no desire to repeat the experience."

Fluttershy nodded also. "I hope so. It really was a nasty raptor bite that poor man had."

The group grimaced at the thought, but then Sunset, ever the captain, stood from her chair to address them all. "In that case, if there's nothing else to discuss, we should all get back to our duties."

"Sooooooo...about that..." said the voice of Pinkie from one of the nearby computer panels.

A long sigh escaped the commanding officer. "Yes, Pinkie? What is it?"

"So, not to add something to your plate, but I figured you guys should know we're getting something on our scans. A...well, it's a very, very fast something. And heading straight towards us."

Sunset looked to the panel with worry. "An asteroid? If so, then raise the shields."

"Nope, no asteroid," Pinkie explained. "It's been changing course. Definitely a ship, but it's a small one."

Without even a word, the rest of the officers got up from the table, and together they all followed their captain as she made her way out of the meeting room. Before long, all of them were on the bridge, and they saw, likely courtesy of Pinkie, that the main viewscreen was now showing an enlarged picture of their long-range scans. True enough, there was a red dot heading towards their position at great speed. "Hail them!" Sunset commanded.

Rarity nodded firmly, rushing to her post and sending out the usual electronic greeting. A moment of silence followed, save for the beeping of the aforementioned red dot. After a while though, Rarity looked back to Sunset, shaking her head. "No response, Captain."

Sunset narrowed her eyes slightly. "Then I'll talk to them."

Getting the point, Rarity looked back to her console, pressing a few buttons. "I've put you on all frequencies. The floor is yours, Captain."

Stepping forward, Sunset spoke in as commanding a voice as she could. "This is Captain Sunset Shimmer of the Equis science vessel, Phoenix. Approaching vessel, identify yourself and state your intent." Again, there was no response, prompting her to continue. "Unidentified vessel, whoever you are, we have no quarrel with you. Whatever your reasons are for approaching us, I ask that you let them be known."

Continued silence, much to the chagrin of all on the bridge. Then, a panicked Twilight turned from her own console, her eyes wide. "They're powering up weapons!"

Instantly, everyone rushed to their posts, with Sunset getting into her captain's chair. "Pinkie! Shields!"

The AI complied, raising the defensive barrier of their vessel, just in time for a single shot to collide with it. There was a shake throughout the ship, causing Rainbow to look on at the main viewscreen, almost impressed. "Well, they know how to give a punch, I'll say that."

Sunset composed herself again before issuing her command. "If they're in viewing range, I want them on-screen."

Within moments, the radar-esque image that had been there was replaced with a view of the outside of their ship. At present they had been navigating through an otherwise ordinary area of space. But among those inoffensive stars, there was a swiftly-moving object. It was going too fast to get a good glimpse of it, so Twilight, without even being ordered to do so, froze the image and enlarged it. After that, she cleared up the image a bit to get them all a good look. It was, as suspected, a small fighter craft, and a heavily-armed one too from the looks of it. "No match on record, Captain," Twilight declared.

"Did we cross over into any known claimed territory by accident?" Sunset wondered.

"Not from the looks of it," Rarity replied. "This is neutral space."

"So they're attacking us just for the Heck of it?" Rainbow asked with clear indignation. "Fine! If that's the way they want it!"

"Hold!" Sunset commanded. "I don't want us just blindly charging into a situation before we know more."

Another shake from an impact caused Rainbow to look her captain in the eye with annoyance. "They're firing on us without provocation in neutral space! What more do we need?"

Sunset weighed her options, then reluctantly nodded. "Very well. Everyone, to battle stations. We're ending this." Rainbow returned to her console with a very satisfied look, while Sunset looked back to Twilight. "I need everything you have on that ship. Whatever our scans can tell us."

Twilight was, thankfully, already hard at work on that very thing, tapping furiously on her console to look at the scans they were getting from their opponent. However, she stopped rather quickly, looking back to Sunset barely a few moments after having been given the order. "We've got...everything."

Sunset looked to her, equally confused. "Everything?" she asked.

"Everything," Twilight confirmed, after which she got back to her screen. "This makes no sense. Most spacefaring vessels have at least some protection from scans like ours. Electronic interference or the like. But that fighter out there...has nothing! They're a completely open book as far as our readings are concerned."

Though sharing her friend's surprise over that matter, a third hit to their shields brought her back to her priorities. "I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, Twilight. What can you tell us?"

Studying the new information, Twilight relayed what she could. "As we can no doubt tell by now, it's heavily armed. Lasers, missile launchers, not to mention several weapons I can't even make any sense of. A pretty fast propulsion system too."

Sunset nodded, looking back to the main viewscreen, seeing the ship fly off before beginning to circle back, doubtless for another run at them. "What about its defences. Can our weapons get past its shields?"

"Um...there aren't any, Captain," Twilight answered back somewhat sheepishly.

"What?!" Sunset responded, her head snapping back in her friend's direction.

"It...it has no shields!" Twilight insisted. "Nothing! Not even the barest semblance of any kind of protection." She looked at the main viewscreen herself. "Whoever these people are, they seem to have put everything they have into their offensive capabilities."

"So...just attack, attack, attack?" Rainbow asked.

"Looks like it," Rarity added.

Applejack chuckled. "Sounds like yer kinda folk, Rainbow," she remarked, earning her a smirk from the pilot in question.

With this new information, Sunset considered their choices. "If they have no shields, any direct attack on our part will certainly be a death sentence. Our weapons might not be military-grade, but against an undefended enemy like that they'll kill all the same."

"It's them or us," Rainbow told her.

"Perhaps not," Sunset countered. "Twilight, make sure our aim is as precise as possible. I want that main weapon of theirs taken out."

"Understood, Captain," Twilight said back.

Sunset looked ahead again. "Get ready..." She watched carefully as the attacking ship drew nearer and nearer, preparing for its next assault. Then, when it was finally where Sunset wanted it to be, she gave the command. "Fire!"

And fire they did, with the Phoenix sending off a single shot from its forwardmost point, directly hitting the weapon that the fighter had been using against them until now. Rather inevitably for a ship that had little in the way of self-protection, the shot also caused it to halt dead in its tracks. It didn't destroy it, but it was definitely shaken. Folding her arms, Sunset frowned as she stepped forward. "Alright then. Let's see if they want to talk now." Nodding, Rarity again got the line open, allowing Sunset to give a second communication. "This is Captain Sunset of the Phoenix. If you're quite finished, perhaps we can finally talk?"

After just a moment, there was, at last, a response. The viewscreen changed yet again, becoming, at first, a static-heavy image, before eventually becoming a view from within the enemy ship. All of the bridge crew looked on with surprise to see a species they had never encountered before. The pilot appeared to be female, but very burly, with a long shaggy goat of brown fur. She sported a pair of passive horns on the sides of her head, and had long hair that fell loose to her waist. She gripped the controls of her ship tightly and looked to the bridge crew with fury. "Talk is weak!"

If her initial appearance had suggested it, the voice confirmed it. This was a child they were dealing with, which made the situation even more unpleasant for the captain. "As you can tell from this encounter, our ship can more than hold its own. So perhaps you might want to explain why you decided to engage us?"

The girl seethed, but answered all the same. "I am Yona. Yona is Yak. And Yakz is strong!"

It wasn't the most elaborate of explanations perhaps, but it at least gave Sunset something to work from. "I've never heard of Yaks before."

"Yakz!," Yona corrected her, putting particular emphasis on the final letter.

Sunset, accepting the correction, continued. "Apologies."

Yona huffed. "You is weak! You lucky you no meet Yakz before! Yakz would crush you!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "So did you attack us...just to prove a point of some sort?"

Yona balled her hand into a fist and pounded her chest once with it. "Yona is young, but Yona has come to time of trial! Yona must find enemy and win! Then, Yona full Yak!"

Sunset's expression softened. "So this is some kind of rite of passage? An initiation of sorts?"

Yona didn't seem happy with the analysis. "Only weak use long words! Yakz no waste time! Yakz fight! And Yakz win!" She frowned again. "And Yona will win!"

"You can't win," Sunset assured her. "We've studied your ship. You've got all manner of weapons, but one good hit from us and you're finished."

"Ha! Yakz no fear enemies! Yakz no fear anything!" Yona declared. "Yona will win! Yona will earn her braids! Yona will be praised!"

"Yona will be dead if she doesn't stop what she's doing!" Rainbow shouted at her in an effort to get her to see reason.

Sunset, though initially irritated at her pilot speaking to the opponent ahead of her, nevertheless agreed with the sentiment. "You should listen to her, Yona. There's no victory for you here. If you continue to fight against us, we'll have no choice but to defend ourselves. And if that happens..." Her face became one of genuine concern for the youth. "There won't be a happy ending for you."

Slowly, Yona resumed her grip on the controls of her ship. "Yona will win." Her voice was not the loud and boisterous tone it had been before, but lower, more menacing. "If Yona no win fight, then Yona hailed for taking enemy with her!"

It took no time at all for everyone to understand her meaning, with Sunset reaching out and speaking in a pleading tone. "Yona! Don't!" But she was too late. The viewscreen had ceased the transmission. All of them watched in horror as the fighter, now moving again, turned and began to do a sweeping circle ahead of them. They knew what was going to happen next. No weapons were being fired, but it was gathering speed, perhaps to its fastest, before eventually pointing and heading straight back to them. "Can we stop her?!" Sunset asked frantically.

"No!" Twilight insisted. "From that angle we can't get to her engines! And even if we could there's no telling if that would halt her or destroy the whole ship!"

Sunset had to make a choice and a fast one. The Yak ship was closing the gap fast. Something had to be done. And that was when it struck her, and she again looked to Twilight. "A teleport!"

It only a fraction of a second for Twilight to understand her. "Yes! She'd have no defence against it!" Without even awaiting the inevitable command, she got to work, accessing the ship's teleportation systems and doing all of the needed work to do what needed to be done. Sunset looked ahead, never letting her eyes stray from the fast-approaching ship. She waited and waited, listening out for Twilight to say that she'd done it, all while everyone else on the bridge was growing increasingly fearful of the prospect of having the entire fighter craft collide with their shields. Then, to their collective relief, Twilight finally said it. "I've got her!"

"Fire!" Sunset ordered immediately afterwards. Rainbow complied, sending a direct shot to the other ship. A direct hit, and the result was immediate, with the craft exploding into thousands of smaller pieces. Those pieces hit the shields, but nowhere near as badly as a whole fighter would have been. In the silence that followed, everyone sat down in their respective chairs, with Sunset wiping some sweat from her brow. "Okay, that was way too close for my liking." After taking a moment to get her thoughts together, she looked over to Twilight. "You're sure she's over okay?"

Twilight smiled to her, nodding. "Positive, Captain. A clean teleport."

"So where'd ya put her?" Applejack asked.

"The brig. And I made sure to erect a shield as soon as she was in," Twilight explained.

Fluttershy, who had largely been silent during this whole debacle, seemed concerned. "Oh my. I know she attacked us, but is it really right for us to be putting children in a cell?"

Sunset nodded to her, agreeing at least in part. "I don't like it either. But she came at us with hostile intent. And we have no way to tell just how strong an opponent she is outside of her ship. Probably best to keep her contained rather than risk exposing the crew to her."

"Well, given the beating she's trying to give the aforementioned cell shield, I'd say it's clear she's very strong," Twilight informed them.

Sighing, Sunset got up from her chair, then paced for a bit before finally speaking up again. "We'll let her realise she can't get out. Then we'll talk with her." She looked to Rarity. "A fighter like that can't have strayed too far from some kind of home territory. See if you can get in touch with anyone. Other Yakz maybe. If you can, let them know we have her." Rarity nodded and got to work, leaving Sunset to chuckle to herself. "This poor ship really is a magnet for this sort of thing, isn't it?"

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Now that Yona has entered the stage, all that is left is Ocellus, Smolder and Sandbar.

[harts fire]

11797275
i was thinking the same thing.
but trying to get Yona to accept her los is going to be hard.