STAR TREK: EQUESTRIA

by Alicorne

Chapter Eleven- Launch

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LAUNCH!

Stardate 1001.22. December 17, 2217 1023 hours, launch! The preceding watch, I’m sure, hadn’t gone to sleep yet and it was a fair bet that the mid-watch were all up as well. Everypony onboard was in high spirits. It was Landing Day, Federation Day, and Hearthswarming Eve all rolled into one! There would be parties aplenty all day and night in all the Departments of our reborn and eager ship. All systems were perfect, all the cargo stowed and I would have sworn that even the ships computer system had picked up on all the good feeling onboard. (Sometimes these new-fangled duotronic systems can be… surprising!) Everypony who had even the slightest excuse to be there was on the Bridge. Sunny was lingering by my station and offered to share the cup of tea she got from the tray that Xantippe had brought up. I managed only a sip, I was too excited to be thirsty.

“Look at ye!” She chuckled quietly. “Ye’re positively bubbling!”

“Can you blame me?” I whispered back. “This is an historic occasion. I joined Starfleet to explore the Galaxy. Now I’m getting the chance. We’re all getting the chance!” I amended, feeling just a little guilty. Sunny noticed the blush.

“Aye, yer livin’ yer dream. No many ponies git t’ do that in their lifetimes. I’m so happy fer ye.” She sidled closer and gave my hoof a squeeze since she knew I would have died if she kissed me on the Bridge.

I covertly squeezed back. “And what’s your dream, Beautiful?” I teased.

Sunny leaned over and made a show of pointing at something on one of my displays. I leaned in, too, curious as to what she saw.

“My dream is just t’ be wi’ ye wherever ye are, Love!” Her body shielding her from casual glances, she gave me a peck on the ear. I jumped in my seat and nearly turned off a whole bank of dynoscanners! Sunny straightened up and leaned on my console, hiding her mischievous grin in her teacup as she looked around so innocently.

“Sunny!” I hissed.

“Let that be lesson fer ye. Be more careful when yer fishin’ fer compliments, ye never ken wha’ ye catch!” She murmured, the Pony of Mischief dancing in her eyes. I loved her so much at that moment… but I still wanted to spank her! …I contented myself with reaching out to give her tail a tweak when she wasn’t looking.

Merry distracted us all with the words we’d been anticipating all morning.

“Signal from Starfleet on channel one. Admiral Quicksilver, Skipper!”

Caper swiveled his chair in her direction and nodded. “On speakers, Lieutenant.” Only the subdued twitch of his wings hinted at his own excitement.

Merry keyed a couple of muted tones on her board and the voice of the Admiral filled the Bridge.

“Hermes, this is Starfleet Spacedock. You are cleared for launch. On behalf of all of us here, and the Federation of Pastures, I wish you a safe voyage. Celestia speed you and your crew, Captain. Admiral Quicksilver out.”

Caper grunted softly and nodded thoughtfully. “Understood, Spacedock. Crew and I thank you for your well-wishes. Will see you all in three years time! Caper out” We all held our collective breath…

The Captain, slouching ever so slightly in his chair, swiveled to take us all in turn, grinning that half-grin we all remembered so well from the War. The same grin that told us how he trusted us and our good ship, how proud he was to be our Captain. The grin that told us that he would move worlds to bring us all back Home safe and whole. Suddenly I was blinking back tears. Somehow, Sunny’s hoof had found mine again…

“Helm!” Caper said.

“Course laid in for Alpha Centauri at Starbase Two. Estimated arrival time in one point six days at Time Warp Factor Seven, Captain.”

He nodded again, then turned his head slightly toward me. “Departure angle on viewer, please.” He turned a bit in the opposite direction to Merry. “Put on intraship.”

The Main Display came to life. Earth in all its blue and white glory framed within it, the slender needle of the Equestria Space Elevator just on the verge of passing into night. I remembered how I’d come to Earth there just a couple of months ago…

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” The Captain began, snapping me back to the present. “This is Captain Cloud Caper. In few moments we begin our voyage of exploration. The first since end of Romulan War.” He paused for a moment, looking at the world below us. “Seventy years ago the Federation Era began when Earth launched a starship on very similar mission commanded by Earth Pony named Archer. His words upon founding of Federation then serve us well now. Space is Final Frontier. We now begin the voyage of Starship Hermes. Our three year mission; to seek out strange, new worlds, new Friends and new civilizations, to boldly go where no Pony had gone before.” He paused again to let the historic words sink in, then. “In proud tradition of Captain Archer and Starfleet, with best ship and best crew, … we go. Captain out.” We all sighed. The Captain sat up straight and addressed the Helm. “All ahead one third impulse. When clear, go to Time Warp Factor Seven.”

We watched the Earth begin to recede slowly. From all around came the soft, building thrum of the Time Warp Drive powering up. In less than a minute we were beyond the Moon. Evee called out on the ship‘s speakers. “Stand by for Time Warp.” As per Starfleet training we all stopped what we were doing and braced ourselves. Those walking stopped and came to attention, we who sat surveyed our boards and held on. The transition from normal space to subspace, when the Time Warp Field generated by the nacelle slung beneath and behind the saucer of the Primary Hull formed, came a lot faster than it did on civilian ships. They could take up to ten minutes to go to Warp. The Hermes achieved Warp in seven seconds and the ride, as the ships systems compensated for the adjustments to inertia and acceleration, could get rough. With each Time Warp threshold a slight but noticeable tremor passed through the ship. Nothing overtly violent, but a tremor at the wrong moment could trip somepony up or cause a piece of equipment to fall. Better safe than sorry was Starfleet’s motto so the protocol was put in place long ago.

Evee called out our progress as the ship thrummed. Every seven seconds, at each new Warp threshold, she sang out. “Time Warp Factor One… Two…”

The Earth had shrunk almost immediately to a pinhead of light, Luna’s Moon a pale dot close by. Our course would take us above the plane of the ecliptic all the better to lessen the already astronomical chance of crossing the path of civilian vessels plying the harbors of the other planets in the Solar System.

“… Three… Four… Five…” Evee droned on. At Warp Five, the Hermes gave a more pronounced lurch as if the ship, eager to be going, tugged at its reins impatiently. Sunny looked not alarmed, but concerned. She whispered. “Is yon s’posed t’ happen?”

“Piece of cupcake.” I assured her. “We’re just accelerating.” My eye caught the sight of Xantippe nearby. She had put her tray on the floor behind the Captain nearby to us. Instead of standing, though, she had knelt with her head bowed and eyes closed. With both hooves she clenched the amulet around her neck. Her lips worked silently and calmly. Seeing her, Sunny took a step and laid a hoof on her shoulder.

“From your lips to Celestia’s ears!” She whispered. Xantippe never paused or looked up. Poor filly. Well, she’d get used to it soon enough. She and Sunny.

“… Six… Seven!” Evee concluded a little triumphantly. We were now going faster than ninety percent of anything else in Starfleet.

Jerry scanned his displays. “All reading nominal across the board, Captain.” He turned to beam at Caper. “The new engine is purring like a well-fed manticore!”

Caper nodded acknowledgment. “Had no doubts it would, Chief Engineer.” He turned to Merry. “Signal all decks to go to Cruise Mode.” He gave his chair a lazy kick and spun to survey the Bridge with a smile. “Well, My Little Ponies, we are underway. Hoo-pah!”

In the time it took him to turn, Xantippe patted Sunny’s hoof warmly and gathered up her tray, pausing to stand and bow gratefully to My Little Alicorn. Even as the Captain spun into view she had poured a cup of coffee and offered it to him. She also slipped a couple of padds into his lap before she hurried away to the turbolift.

“A couple of reports for you to sign. I will be back in just a short time.”

Caper frowned at her retreating back. He looked our way.

“Is something I should know about, Starry-puska?”

“She’s new to space.” I explained.

He nodded sagely. “Ah! She will get space legs soon enough, da?” He sipped appreciatively.

“Well I can’t say that I blame her!” Sunny put in. “Yon was more than a wee… unsettlin’ t’ those no used t’ it! … No reflection on yer engine, grand thing that it is.” She nodded to Jerry who only grinned with unabashed pride.

“No offense taken here!” He chirped. “You just have to remember that this is a Starfleet ship and not a civilian carrier. Our engine is quantum leaps and bounds more powerful. It takes everything they have just to reach warp threshold so the transition is much less pronounced. You ought to be in Engineering when it happens! A lot more intense there in the heart of it all.”

“Celestia forbear!” Sunny shuddered delicately. We all of us chuckled.

“Is waiting that is worst.” Caper put in. “Back in Bad Old Days before Eugenics War Ponies used to go into space in chemical rockets. No inertial dampening, no structural integrity fields, no super strong alloys, just thin metal shell on top of potential big bomb. Oi! I shudder to think about it! Last ten seconds before launch they are strapped in tight while Ground Controller counts down. Ten seconds immobile on top of huge, fragile, complicated machine that could, and sometimes did, go flooey at last second! Could you imagine?”

“Ah, the ‘romance of space’.” Sunny said flatly and we all chuckled, including Sunny. “Well then! Now that we’re fairly off… some o’ us more than th’ others… “ She cocked an eye at Jerry who just smiled winningly. “ … I’ll be off t’ Sickbay t’ go through me lists t’ see which Ponies have no had their physicals yet.” Most of us hadn’t. Way too many things to do what with the launch and all. “I want t’ make sure all th’ instruments are nice n’ cold. Sensors are all verra well n’ good but I like t’ see for mesel‘, ye ken.” She swept the bridge with her eyes and strode casually to the lift. There in neutral territory, as far as she was concerned, she blew me a kiss just as the doors whooshed closed. We’d all stopped grinning long since.

Caper rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Making fun of Doctor is risky business, da?” He bucked his chair around to face me. “Maybe Starry-pushka could put good word in for us?”

“Me change her mind?” I feigned horror at the thought. “The last voluntary decision I made was to have that ribbon tied ‘round my hoof!”

Author's Note:

One of the things that caught my attention when watching the The Menagerie and Where No Man Has Gone Before was the apparent protocol of everyone coming to attention when the ship got underway. Something that had gone the way of the Dodo in Starfleet by the time TOS got under way. In Our Girl's day this procedure is still on the books. obviously a holdover from even earlier in Starfleet History. There is a precedent in our own time. I once had a friend in the Army who told me it was standard practice to NEVER put a Jeep battery on the bare ground without putting a board or similar piece of wood underneath it to keep the battery from 'going to ground' and discharging, something that was put into effect back in the days when automotive transport/maintenance was in its infancy. (This anecdote was brought to you by Trivia, Inc., a subsidiary of Alicorne Enterprises. Provider of Unrelated Facts since 1958!)

Comments

[Tony Flash]

I imagine the Kelvin equivelant is on the drawing boards, right now, if not having her keel laid. the TOS char's are twinkles in their parents' eyes atm.

oh, the battery thing? i found out it applied to rubber cased batteries, not plastic cased ones.

[Scarheart]

Took me until this chapter to finally give you an upvote (it dragged a bit for me, to be honest).