Ship in Distress
Ship in Distress
Previously on “DisQord Continuum: Equestria Rising”:
[NOTE: If you have not read “Equestria Rising” (Formerly: “The Legend of Hearth’s Warming Eve”), this intro should spoil all you’ll need to catch up.]
The coronation of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna was in full celebration. Everypony gathered in the center of what would become the new palace. The new city was to be named Canterlot, and the reign of the two Alicorn sisters would usher in an era of peace and love for all ponies for generations. It was a day of joy for all. Had anypony bothered to look up at the sky that day, they would have only seen their newly formed sun shining across a bright and beautiful blue sky. No one could notice the two pairs of eyes staring down at them from two hundred miles above.
In orbit of their new colony, remnants of the Windigos ship lay spread out from its destruction at the hooves of a young Alicorn filly named Celestia. With the discovery of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia was able to ignite one of the planet’s two moons into a miniature dwarf star. The eruption destroyed the ship and saved the pony race. Marooned on a new world, the survivors crowned young Celestia, and her younger sister Luna, princesses of their new home: Equestria.
Floating lazily amongst the wreckage of the Windigos’ ship, two figures watched the festivities from above.
“It would appear that we have failed,” the blonde-haired figure sighed.
“I don’t think that we did, Q,” the other figure with brown hair and a rather large nose answered with a look of chaotic glee. “We set out to eliminate a potential threat to the Continuum. And now there are but a few small handfuls of ponies left over, and they’re stuck on some backwater planet with no means of escape. I would say that we’ve achieved our goals. They no longer pose a threat to us.”
“Don’t they?” the blonde Q interjected. “We’ve seen how powerful they can get. We’ve seen that their ability to understand and use their powers is increasing. It’s best we simply eliminate the rest now and be done with it.”
“Come now Q. Are we no better than humans?”
The blonde Q shuddered. “Perish the thought! Those creatures kill their own like it were sport! “Which of them are killing the other at the moment?”
“I believe it’s the Romans’ turn,” Q replied, rolling his eyes.
“Remind me to eliminate them next!”
“You can’t just get rid of a species because they don’t suit you,” Q commented. “Besides, we can have so much more fun if we don’t!” Q's mind began entertaining all the possible trials and tests he could put those humans through.
“You find everything fun Q,” the blonde Q said dismissively. “We’ll hold off on the human question until they start venturing too far for their own good. Now, what are we to do with these leftovers?” He looked down at the celebration as though he were watching ants scurrying about their business.
A large grin spread wide across Q’s face. “I suppose I can always pop in on them from time to time and make sure they’re behaving; put a little chaos in their lives as it were.”
“I still say eliminate the lot of them,” said the blonde Q coldly. “But do what you will. I won’t stop you. Just remember that means they’ll be your responsibility, Q. If the Continuum has to step in, you’ll be living inside an asteroid for the next hundred million years or so!”
“You worry too much, Q,” the brown-haired Q laughed. “I know just the trick to keep those ponies in line.
The blonde Q was interested now. “I wonder what shape you’ll take to greet them. You’ve always had a flare for the dramatic.”
Q smiled as he began to transform. “I think a little chaos now and again will be good medicine for them, so I’ll bring them a nice heap of discord.”
As he said that, his body slowly took shape. One arm transformed into an Octurian Eagle’s claw, while the other became a Manticore’s paw. His left and right legs transformed into a Proto-Vulcan Elk and Equestrian dragon’s leg respectively. His torso was thick brown fur that could have belonged to any of millions of species. His tail was scaled, long, and notably pink. The head lifted up, stretching the neck until its head weighed it back down in a hunched manner. The dangling head elongated into an Earth billy-goat with one long fang hanging down his mouth. The horns of two more species, from two other planets, and two different times in history spiraled out of the top of his head. Finally, two very different wings exploded out of his back as though they’d been trying to break free for years. Every part of him consisted of a different animal in one way or another; quite possibly including his organs.
The blonde Q started laughing as he looked over this new form. “Ha! Like I said Q: flare for the dramatic!”
Discord laughed along with him as he admired his new image in a mirror that instantly appeared in front of him. “You know, I rather like this form. Chaos really does suit me.”
The blonde Q gazed around at the wreckage of the Windigos’ ship. “Fascinating, this species. They sacrificed everything they are to technology in order to achieve perfection, and in the end, they succeeded in losing everything. Why did you choose to use this race, and in their current state, knowing what they become?”
Discord looked back at the blonde Q. “They were just right for the job I think,” he replied. “They were able to do what we needed, without getting any understanding of our powers.”
“But should they ever learn about those particles, they could become more of a threat than the ponies ever were!” The blonde Q gave Discord a very serious look of concern.
Discord merely smiled back at him. “Which is why I prevented them from contacting any of their people during this whole little exercise. Anything they may have learned, they couldn’t have shared.”
The blonde Q was still unconvinced. “We need to be careful. Just remember, this is the species that started it all. The origin of the Borg Collective itself: Species 001!”
Two thousand three hundred and seventy-three years later:
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Byron,” the Ferengi bowed low in a more-than-pseudo gesture of respect.
“It is not normally our policy to negotiate with Ferengi, DaiMon Tye,” the Vulcan archaeologist replied. “But if the artifact is as you described and is in decent condition, I may be willing to negotiate on behalf of the Vulcan Science Directorate.”
“I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed.” The DaiMon waved his arm gently leading his guest to the cargo bay area.
As soon as Byron walked into the cargo room, DaiMon Tye called his attention to a green and rather diminished piece of technology, before the Vulcan’s eyes had a chance to explore the room. The artifact stood on top of a Federation cargo box that had no doubt been plundered. The device itself was cylindrical and worn down at both ends. Dust had caked into a thick layer of dirt all around. Parts of the device had been wiped off by the Ferengi or another previous owner.
“As you can see, it contains markings similar to that of Borg technology, but is the oldest known artifact on record.”
Bryon looked at it skeptically. Before he could attempt negotiations with DaiMon Tye, he would need to truly evaluate the device for its authenticity, then determine to what degree the Ferengi captain would attempt to deceive him.
He reached out his hand to inspect the device.
“Nah-ah!” Tye grabbed the device away from him, shaking his head. “If you would like to get a better look at it, you’re going to have to purchase it.
Byron looked upon the captain with even more skepticism. It was becoming more and more likely that he was looking at an old battery from a Ferengi cargo ship like the one he was standing in, than a priceless archaeological find.
“DaiMon Tye, if you would like to make a trade, I must first inspect the item for its authenticity. It must be visually assessed and quantum dated before I would be willing to negotiate.
The DaiMon didn’t look happy. He had no clue as to whether it was a priceless artifact or a piece of junk, and the more that small pointy-lobed Vulcan looked at it, the more likely it would be proven as such.
Reluctantly, Tye handed over the artifact.
Byron looked carefully at it, noticing the signs of wear and tear with age in the vacuum of space. Several markings did indeed appear similar to Borg interface technology, but was different enough to possibly be a facsimile.
Taking out his scanner, he ran a quantum dating on the object and discovered that it indeed was over two thousand years old. Bryon still had his suspicions but felt a more accurate analysis was necessary.
“This interface is not specifically of Borg design. However, it may warrant further study as to its origins and purpose. What would you like in return, DaiMon?”
Tye lifted his head in surprise and glee. “Well let’s see, now…I had to trade for it from its previous owner, transport it across the quadrant to you; then there’s the Ferengi tax code, and commissions…”
Byron reached into his pocket and extracted a small bag from it.
“I understand your preferred currency is Gold-Pressed Latinum. I have been authorized to offer you five bars and no more.”
He offered the bag to the DaiMon, who grabbed it and pulled out one of the bars. He tasted the gold and tapped it, listening to the liquid Latinum inside splash ever so slightly. His drool had given him away a bit.
“If it is too much, then I will trade for three bars,” Byron offered.
“Five bars should be enough to cover all of the costs, thank you,” Tye quickly replied. He opened the bag and counted three times to make sure there were five.
Byron bowed in agreement and the negotiation was over. The DaiMon escorted him back to the transporter, but was interrupted by a blast against the hull.
“Report!” the DaiMon yelled, but no response came back.
He could sense a tractor beam had locked onto the ship. Rushing onto the bridge he could very clearly see the source of the tractor beam. A massive Borg cube stared back at them.
“What should we do, Sir? Do you think they’ll take a bribe?” the young Ferengi asked, nervously.
DaiMon Tye sunk in his chair. He was speechless.
Byron calmly replied instead. “You should target the source of the tractor beam and try to make an escape.”
Several shots fired off, but their weapons had zero effect.
“Now what?”
Bryon’s face may have been cold and logical, but his expression nonetheless frowned slightly. “Now we wait to face our fate…”
U.S.S. Tecumseh, Captain John Raymond Presiding
“Captain’s Log, Stardate 50921.2:
With the close of the recent Federation-Klingon War and the recent attack on Earth by the Borg, we’ve arrived at Deep Space 4 to perform patrols near our closest border to the delta quadrant.
Early reports reveal no present Borg activity. Other than small banal cosmic phenomena, the only mentionable activity is energy readings coming from the Horse Head Nebula. However, per Starfleet’s orders, we have been prohibited from investigating that region of space.
We are continuing to monitor the area and scout for any potential Borg activity.”
“Just how long are we supposed to stand around here twiddling our thumbs, Captain?” the helmsman groaned.
“As long as they want us to twiddle, Ensign,” Captain Raymond replied. “From what I’ve heard of these Borg, we should be so lucky as to have nothing to report.”
The young ensign sighed. “Aye Sir.”
“Continue the patrol; let me know if there are any developments. I’ll be in my Ready Room. Mr. Hakins, you have the con.”
“Yes sir,” Commander Hakins answered taking his seat in the captain’s chair.
Captain Raymond left the bridge, a little tired, but more annoyed at the present situation. With the Klingons under control, he was a great deal more concerned with the new Cardassian alliance with the Dominion than the Borg. According to the reports, the Enterprise and her captain were able to eliminate the Borg Queen nearly a month ago. If that was true, then they really were there just twiddling their thumbs when they could be over at Deep Space Nine, protecting the Federation.
His good friend, Captain Benjamin Maxwell, had his suspicions regarding the so-called peace treaty between the Cardassians and the Federation. And now they’ve seen that he was one hundred percent justified in attacking those Cardassian “freighter” ships. He had already written Starfleet several times on the matter regarding the appeal and reinstatement of Captain Maxwell.
Perhaps that is exactly why the Tecumseh was ordered to this sector. He sighed as his picked up his old-fashioned paper novel, sat at his desk, and tried to relax. It would be a good long while before anything interesting was going to happen.
Seventy-two hours later, something interesting happened.
“Captain, you’re needed on the bridge,” came Commander Hakins over the comm.
Half-asleep, Captain Raymond smacked the comm. badge on the table next to him. “I’m on my way,” he said, sleepily.
He rolled himself out of bed, throwing a uniform over himself, and hurried off to the bridge to find out what the situation was.
“Report,” he said, stepping off the turbolift.
“We’ve detected a small craft adrift,” Commander Hakins said, relinquishing his seat. “It’s currently two hundred and twenty thousand kilometers to port.”
Up on the main screen, a rather tiny vessel was displayed that looked even smaller than a shuttle pod. Its architecture was unlike anything he had ever seen. If he had to guess, he’d say it resembled someone who took a centuries old Earth van and somehow made it space-worthy.
“Life signs?”
“We can detect five life signs aboard; all very faint.”
“I’m not familiar with this type of craft,” said the captain, “Does anything show up in the ship’s databanks?”
“No sir, but sensors are picking up some very unusual readings. They match those coming from the Horse Head Nebula.”
“If that’s true then we shouldn’t be intervening,” said the Captain.
“But sir, if we don’t do something, they’ll most likely die,” the Lieutenant sitting at communications rebutted.
Captain Raymond sighed, debating his options. “Have you tried hailing them yet?”
“Yes sir. There is no reply.”
“Hmm…” he thought aloud. Turning to his number one he said, Commander, get a team together. See if you can repair their systems and get their life support back online. Let’s see if we can get them back on their feet with minimal exposure.”
Commander Hakins nodded and left the bridge to gather his team. Within ten minutes, himself, Ensign Kelly Savetz, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Akai Tishatsu were assembled in front of the transporter pad; EV suits on and equipment in hand. Kelly was a recent addition to the junior medical staff and Akai was among the more skilled engineers. Hakins would have liked to have taken an extra security officer, but their simply just wasn’t enough space in the craft.
“We’re ready, Captain,” Hakins announced, standing on the transporter pad.
Back on the bridge, Captain Raymond gave the word, “Energize.”
Within moments the transporter beam wrapped around the three of them, rematerializing on board the small ship. And small it was.
“Uhmf!” Lieutenant Tishatsu yelped as he materialized with his helmet smacking against a beam.
Between the away team and the current residents sprawled out unconscious on the floor, there was barely any room to maneuver about the cabin.
Ensign Savetz immediately got to work examining the creatures, while Akai stumbled his way over to the main console. They appeared to be a four-legged species similar to ponies with some striking differences; most notably were the horns and wings on a few of them.
Akai tried to make heads or tales of the terminal screen, which appeared to be nearly destroyed, but not from an attack. The console looked as though it had withered away with age. Taking out his tricorder, he tried to run a quantum dating on the computer.
“That’s impossible,” he muttered aloud. “Commander, you’re not going to believe this!”
Commander Hakins stumbled next to him and looked at the tricorder readings.
“This ship is over two thousand years old!” said the junior grade lieutenant.
“Can anything be done to repair life support?” asked the commander.
“I’m afraid if I touch it, it may very well turn to dust!” said Akai, continuing to scan each system. “Wait…I’m picking up some strange readings…”
“Anything that may have caused their current predicament?” Hakins asked.
“Maybe…I don’t know…it looks like…temporal anomalies.”
“Temporal?” the commander repeated more concerned. “As in time travel?”
“I believe so sir,” he answered. “It looks like they attempted a time jump. Whether they were successful or not is another question. I need to take some more readings.”
“Let me know when you’ve completed your scans.” Switching gears, the commander turned to Ensign Savetz. “What’s the situation with the crew here?”
“Most are just unconscious from low oxygen,” she reported. “This purple one here is another matter. I think we need to transport her back to sickbay.”
“See what you can do here, otherwise we need to avoid contact as much as we can,” the commander ordered.
“Aye sir.”
“Sir, I’m detecting some kind of buildup,” said Lieutenant Tishatsu. “It looks like a small quantum singul-AH!” An electrical discharge spiked from the center of the ship. Akai was thrown back against the wall. His body fell limp to the floor.
Ensign Savetz tried to rush to his aid, but a small light started building up again from the same point as the first electrical discharge. More charges seemed to be spiking outward. Commander Hakins shot around to avoid one of the electrical bursts.
“Hakins to Tecumseh, eight for emergency beam out!” he yelled into his communicator pin.
Light quickly enveloped the commander, ensign, and the junior lieutenant, as well as the five pony crew members.
Captain Raymond watched from the bridge as the quantum fluctuations spiked around the ship, condensing it into a singularity. Before he could blink, the ship was gone.
“Chief, have we got them?” he asked, tapping his comm. badge.
“Yes sir, we’ve got injured, they’ve been beamed to sickbay,” the voice answered over the line.
“Understood; I’m on my way,” said the captain.
Closing the channel, he left the bridge leaving the helmsman at the con.
When he reached sickbay, he encountered a scene he never could have imagined in his thirty-five year career: Pastel-colored ponies were sprawled out on the beds being examined by the nurses and medical officers.
“What’s the situation?” he asked the chief medical officer.
“I’m sorry to report Lieutenant Tishatsu didn’t make it,” he answered.
Captain Raymond knew the young junior. It's never an easy thing for a captain to lose one of his officers, but duty required grief to take a back seat until questions were answered.
“Understood,” he said, nodding. “And our new guests?”
“Four of them are recovering well under sedation,” the doctor replied. This one however…” he gestured to the purple pony with both a horn and wings. “This one is on life support. Her body is apparently suffering from a lack of a specific nutrient. But I cannot determine what that substance is nor how to replicate it. At best we can keep her alive for only another two or three days at most.”
As if on cue, the pony lurched up, grabbing the captain’s hand yanking him close. How exactly did she grab him with a hoof, was a complete mystery for him.
“C-Ca-Captain…P-Picard…” was all she managed to say before she passed out again.
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2906056
First post! Bravo!
2906073 and first view after submission
Anywho now that I'm done reading time to weigh in... DAMN YOU FOR LEAVING THE MOTHER OF ALL CLIFF HANGERS! D: ... In all seriousness though, you've set the scene for a very awesome ride. Can't wait till the next chapter is out.
2906085
Muchos gracias mi amigo!
Arigato Gozaimasu!
Danke!
...
Sorry for the cliffhanger, I promise I won't do it every week.
And who downvoted already,
They made Fluttershy cry!
There's at least one person on this site who goes through and just downvotes every story on the front page. I got one within 5 minutes or so of posting my new story yesterday.
2906178
Ooh! new Story? I shall have a peek!
FINALLY!!! X3
2906182 It's worlds apart from the other stuff I've put up here. I might even turn it into a full blown story too. Haven't decided that far yet though.
I've read the previous story and it was quite entertaining... I can't wait to see what happens here next!
Ah, the perils of post-scarcity.
In any case, looks like the ponies are up Shit Creek, and it adapted to their paddles. Definitely looking forward to more. This may even get me to get back to my own story of partially metallic lifeforms assimilating Equestria.
Piccard was right. With all their near-divine power, knowledge and arrogance, the Continuum are nothing more than a bunch of cowards afraid of any species (like ponies or humans) with the potential to ascend and kick their colective asses..
2907627
Nice!
Glad this is getting continued.
Keep it up!
Also, I find that Friday and/or Saturday are my big reading days.
2909323
If you go bald later in life, you will probably never hear the end of it.
Still of all the TV-character referencing names, Jean-Luc's ain't half bad.
And if your parents were hippies, you could have been named Rainbow Tree!
Glad to have you and everyone on board!
Just read through the whole series in 4 hours, can't wait for more
2910961
Damn! That is some impressive speed reading skills.
Ah, so this is post season 3 Twilight, then. Neat!
2912439
The trick will be trying to explain how Discord was summoned back by Celestia in Season 3.
This will require some delicate surgery and a few lost Canon limbs
And there was much rejoicing!
Wait correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember The Federation ever having marines (corporal being an enlisted marine rank). I know that in Enterprise they had MACOs, but I wasn't aware that they existed in the TNG era. Also seems odd that a corporal would be an engineer on a Starfleet vessel. Sorry to play canon ball with you, but it kind of confused me.
signed the good dr.
2923955
And the first Canon ball strikes!
I did not follow up on proper ranking order.
so it would appear I can choose from either: Petty Officer (non-comissioned) or Lieutenant Junior Grade (commissioned).
Your ball, your choice. Let me know what you think it should be and I will Make it So!
2923955 In the game Star Trek Online, MACO still exists even in the 25th century, so it's lasted quite a long time, and just because they were not mentioned in TNG doesn't mean they didn't exist, they were just busy behind the scenes
2925249
Sorry I didn't mean to hurt you with the canon ball, it's just that being in the navy it stuck out like a sore thumb to me. In keeping in the spirit of TNG it would probably be LTJG, though the one thing that bugged the hell out of me about Star Trek is that enlisted personnel are almost never shown (especially in the TNG era, where the only enlisted personnel I can remember hearing about are Chief O'Brien, and Worf's adoptive father claiming to be a retired chief). And when there are enlisted it's usually the main characters (who are officers) who tend to do the leg work on the ship. Were it realistic I would say that the engineer would either be a machinists mate or a damage controlman 3rd or 2nd class, and would likely have whatever NEC Starfleet uses for life support technicians, assuming it isn't it's own rate. Of course he would be sent in AFTER the VBSS team has cleared the alien ship of all potential hostiles.
2931790
But why would MACOs have engineers who work on ships? That should be Starfleet.
2935719 who knows? just because we've seen MACO security doesn't mean they don't have other branches in them, such as sciences or operations
2935730
But it's like asking a Marine engineer to fix a Navy ship, though I guess it could be hand waved in that he would have both technical and combat experience, it's just odd that they would have a MACO engineer as their best engineer available.
2935760 the key word there is best available
2935791
And on an interstellar ship where good engineers can keep you from dieing a slow painful death due to lack of heat/oxygen/water/pressure/ or a reactor overload a MACO would not be your best available engineer, though maybe your most expendable, especially if he decided to wear his lucky red shirt that day.
2935791
2935883
You two are arguing about his title but neither of you bothered to notice the name!
You'll find out tomorrow since no one else noticed either.
Twilight and 4 more, this should be interesting...
Not powerful compared to the Q. Plus, they will always be forced to rely on magic. The Q aren't limited by anything.
Judging from Q actions in canon...no, no you are not. Quite below us, actually. We do bad things out of either necessity or because harsh life has forced a person to adapt by becoming harsh themselves. You do bad things for fun.
So you say while completely ignoring the reasons for humans fighting each other to survive on a Death World. Q are asses!
I guess that is an attempt to avoid leading potential threats to Equestria by accident.
Nice to see Maxwell mentioned. Yup the guy proved to be right and if the Federation was smarter they could have either prevented or weakened the Dominion War.
but their simply just wasn’t enough space in the craft
1. There.
Byron. Bryon. I do wish that you would make up your mind.