Chapter 1
Date: _April 7th, 2152 A.E.
Location: _21 kilometers outside Tarmus Colony - Outside Mantis-Class Interstellar Spacecraft
Log: _Guardian
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:::Name unavailable in databanks
///?!?!?!?!?/// _"Guardian"
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I swiped my hoof frantically at my friend in an attempt to catch him; he floated weightlessly, further and further into the infinite abyss that is space.
If I lost him, my life would have no meaning. My best friend would be gone forever...
I grumbled and gave up, igniting my horn and grasping with my telekinesis. I brought my ally back to me and placed him near the hull of the ship before activating him once more.
Sparks flashed in front of my eyes as the flames from my favorite blowtorch met the steel casing of the interstellar machine. I wasn't blinded or burned by the flecks of molten metal thanks to my pressurized engineering suit. I also wasn't imploding or suffocating thanks to said attire; space tends to do that to most ponies' bodies when they're unprotected.
Joke's on them, they forgot their suits.
Not many professions required you to go into the void, but as an emergency-mechanic, I spent most of my life inside this aegis. I was basically like every other mechanic in the universe, but I worked in zero-g instead of in a hangar. That's why they called me the most basic thing you could call it: a Space Engineer; though, professionally, it was referred to as 'Null-Gravity Emergency Repair Service'.
There's a simile that I'd often use to explain it: I'm like an ambulance for spacecraft... if the ambulance was equipped like the E.R. and smooth as butter.
I finished welding the new plate onto the ship's outer-hull. Sometimes a stray asteroid would scrape or cut a gash in a boat, and it needed repairs as soon as possible. That's why I was here: if one part of the ship lost oxygen, every part would run out eventually if you didn't have a ship advanced enough to have manual oxygen-control. In a sector like this, ships like that were extremely common.
There were also some occasions when the engines would run out of fuel or get smashed, so someone would need to come and get them running again.
In this case: all of those happened.
I tucked the plasma-torch into my toolbox and opened the voice-channel to the ship, "You should be all set, sir!"
The pilot's voice crackled over the radio, "Thank you so much!" he sounded genuinely pleased. Not too often that I received actual praise from a client. Most ponies just took the repairs, grumbled cantankerously, paid the company, and continued on their merry way. "I have no idea what we would have done if you hadn't shown up!" the stallion finished.
"Well, you probably would have gotten to know space a lot better," I jested.
I used my jet-boots to propel me up to the side of the cockpit. The windows of the compartment were tinted gold to reflect sunlight, so it was impossible for me to see the helm, but I knew it would make the ponies inside feel more comfortable to be able to see their savior. I nodded at them. "Just doing my job, sir."
I heard the pilot shuffle to the window through the microphone. I could feel his eyes on me, as well as a few others. They were obviously unaware that I couldn't see them. "What's your name?" he asked.
I chuckled to myself. I'd never been asked my name on the job before. Apparently, these ponies really appreciated the work I did.
I replied, "My name is Legacy."
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The airlock hissed as oxygen was pumped into the room. Once it finished, I gleefully yanked off my helmet and hung it in my designated locker, which sat alongside multiple others that were either empty or full. I wasn't the only mechanic at Marker Engineering.
Finished with that job, I started walking toward the exit to get a snack from the cafeteria, but I paused when I heard the signature click and buzz of the airlock's loudspeaker activating.
"You've been doing great this week, Legacy," my boss's voice boomed loudly. Obviously, he was wiring this directly to the room I was in so the rest of the station didn't have to hear it.
I grinned appreciatively, approaching and pressing the intercom button on the wall to speak into the microphone, "Thank you, sir. Do you need something specific from me?"
"No, you're done for the day."
My grin faded into confusion. After I took a moment to think it over, I responded, "Sir?"
I could hear the satisfaction in his voice, “Head home, Legacy. You've been working almost non-stop since this morning, and from every ship you've fixed I've only received fantastic word of your services! I think you deserve a little time off.”
My teeth showed in my new smile, "Thank you, sir!" The speaker clicked again as it deactivated. I sighed happily, removing my hoof from the button. I guessed my boss was in a good mood today.
I sat against the wall of the airlock, rubbing my hoof against my chin as I tried to decide what to do with the rest of my day. Normally I'd hang out with some of my friends, but at the moment they were all still working...
... But that didn't mean I couldn't visit them! My current job position allowed me to enter a lot of areas that most ponies would be arrested for entering without direct permission. Being an engineer for a government-funded organization did wonders! I was allowed to "gather equipment" from wherever I needed. That didn't mean I had to actually take anything. I could use a terrible excuse like, "I need this specific rock for science!" Hopefully the miners had a good sense of humor.
I stood up and trotted to my locker. I started to slap it on and get ready for another trip into the abyss; the equipment prescribed to me was mine, so if I broke it, I bought it. If I didn't break it, it was mine to keep.
Though, if I broke it in space, I'm not sure how I'd be able to pay for it...
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The magnets in my boots slammed my hooves into the steel bridge that extended from the mining vessel to the asteroid, giving me the satisfaction of a quiet 'thump' in my suit.
There were a few miners literally floating around the entrance to the planetoid, probably on break or waiting for orders. As I approached, some glanced curiously at me, but they knew by the insignia on my shoulder that I was an engineer. They went back to their own business.
My hooves glided above the floor a bit as I transferred from metal to stone, entering the mine. I increased my boots' magnetism to reach for those little specks of iron in the stone. I sunk back to the ground.
I spent a good ten minutes wandering through the pony-made tunnels before I reached the goal of my quest.
I finally found what I had come for: a unicorn and an earth-pony stood at the furthest wall from me. The unicorn, Aster, was one of my best friends. He appeared to be waving his horn around like a crazed lunatic.
The earth-pony, whom I'd never seen before, expertly dug at the stone wall with his hooves. As I got closer, I flipped through my radio channels to find theirs. After all, they couldn't talk in-person through the silence of space; nopony would spend the time or resources to terraform an asteroid and give it an atmosphere just so some miners could talk.
When I finally found the broadcast, I was informed as to why Aster was throwing his head everywhere like a moron.
"Find anything yet?" the earth-pony's voice crepitated over the radio.
"Well," Aster snapped with his Connemaran accent, obviously frustrated, "they're gonna be findin' blood all over the walls if you don't stop asking the same question over and over again, Jade!"
After a short pause of silence, I seized the moment coughed into the radio, "Anything now?"
As predicted, Aster stopped waving his horn and swiftly bucked Jade in the side, sending him flying into the wall as zero-gravity kicked in and his boots struggled to adjust to the new distance between them and the floor. I grinned evilly; that was what I loved about Aster: he was always honest. If he said something, he meant it.
I giggled blatantly into the microphone. Aster turned to face me, and I could tell that he was surprised even through his mining helmet. "That's why I stay on your good side," I said.
"Legacy?" he chuckled, "What're you doing all the way in here?" He cantered over to me slowly, taking his time to make sure he had a safe hoof-hold on the ground.
"Boss gave me the day off," I smiled under my helmet and punched him in the shoulder, " so I just thought I'd come see how you were doing with your extremely interesting and exciting job with the boring rocks."
Aster gestured to the wall they had been attacking, "No different than any other time, as you can tell." He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Jade gain his balance again. The unicorn laughed, realizing his mistake, "Sorry, mate. You alright?"
Jade waved him off comically, "I'm fine." He glanced at me, then looked back to Aster, "Is this the all glorious Space Engi you told me about?"
He nodded, "One day, your hull will break, and you're gonna need a professional." Aster looked at me, "Legacy, this is my partner-in-crime, Jade Groove," I tipped an invisible fedora to the earth pony. "Jade," he turned to his friend, "This is Legacy!" Jade nodded to me in acknowledgement.
"So," I glanced at wall behind the miners, "How is the mining actually turning out?"
"Damn you and yer need to remind me that I have a job to do." Aster stiffened before jumping back to work, sparking his horn and waving his head frantically, "We got word that this whole asteroid is rich with gemstones, but our entire shift has seen nothing but rock and iron." He backed up and Jade began to slam his hooves into the stones once more, gradually extending the length of the tunnel. "We've only got half a kilometer of the thing left though, so it shouldn't take very long to convince the higher-ups that this expedition is totally feckin' worthless."
"Well," I began, "I know that clairvoyance spell; I can help you guys search faster."
Jade paused his digging so he could speak clearly, "As much as we'd appreciate it, I don't want to take time out of your time off." He returned to grinding.
"But having time off isn't quite the best it could be when you have to spend it alone." I stepped forward and cast the spell, searching for any of the desired crystals, "Besides, Aster usually pays for drinks."
Jade look at me to intervene my train of thought, but decided against it. He knew what I meant; it was boring having a day off on your own. Relaxing by yourself can get boring fast when all you've got are the same video games and a view of nothing. He went back to tearing the wall apart. A little help would be nice, too.
... And Aster did usually buy the beer...
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I took a dangerous sip from my mug as I laughed, my mouth starting to hurt because I had been smiling so much.
As usual, Aster was drunk as Tartarus within ten minutes of arriving. Jade had offered, but I paid for drinks since Aster suddenly remembered how much I owed him from the three-years-worth of beers that he'd paid for.
Of course, that was before he started vomiting under the table we were sitting at.
Jade and I were getting along nicely; it turned out that we had a lot in common, from music taste to video games. He was especially loyal to his job and friends, which made me feel pretty comfortable considering my own convictions.
The stallion had a maroon coat and a ragged forest-green mane, which was partially covered up by his (according to Aster) signature Stetson hat. His eyes were just as green as his mane, and his muzzle was a little longer and straighter than mine or Aster's. In general, he looked a pretty dark shade at first-glance.
He was small, but he had a tough build. It didn't look like it came from working out, despite being a miner. It seemed more natural, probably because he was an earth-pony. His cutie mark, as he had shown me, was a bass guitar. He explained to me that he and Aster had spent many nights together "jamming", as musicians put it. I'd never gotten into making music myself.
Aster, on the other hoof, had a mint-green coat and a well-styled blue mane... Well-styled to look uneven and dilapidated. His eyes were brown, which seemed almost out of place the first time I met him, but I grew to know them as one of his special features. His cutie mark consisted of a vinyl record surrounded by a blue aura of musical notes.
Jade interrupted me as I was telling him a story about Aster eating a sandwich whole, "Hey, check it out!" he nodded behind me excitedly.
I turned in my seat to follow his gaze. A pegasus mare waltzed around the room suspending a sign with her wings. I squinted to try and read it.
"Two-way flights to Equus only 10,000 credits for 1 month! Buy a ticket today!"
"Whoa," I gasped.
"Oh man, I know, right?"
"Yeah. Only ten-thousand creds? That's, like a..." I paused to do the math, "... Twelve-K decrease."
Jade tipped his head, "What the huh about whuh?" I realized his gaze was not on the sign, but rather its carrier, so I pointed at the poster above her. He squinted to read it. Then his eyes widened, "Whoa," he gasped.
"Oh man, I know, right?" I sat in my seat normally, facing Jade, "Have you ever been there?"
"Nah," he replied, "I've been in orbit a couple times, but never on the surface." He stopped to think, "... Aster's been there before, hasn't he?" The earth pony glanced at the unicorn, who was looking around the room like he was in a submarine in the deep sea.
"I heard about that, but I've never really believed him." I gazed at the table for a moment, thinking. "You know, we could probably organize a trip there since it's so cheap," Jade nodded his head, "It's not too often that they put a sale on tickets to Equus."
"Yeah," he agreed, "and we should bring some friends or family along with us." I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, "I promised my sister I'd take her there one day." I chuckled with understanding. It made sense; my brother had always wanted to go too.
I sighed, "I would bring family as well, were any of them still alive." Jade gave a sympathetic expression. I stared at the table, "My older brother was an engineer, like me. A highly respected, highly regarded engineer."
"What happened?" Jade shifted forward curiously.
"There was an emergency, and he had to use one of those really old suits with the giant glass visors. Someone smashed his open while he was in zero-g," Jade cringed. "We still don't know who did it or why."
Jade took a deep breath, "How do you know he was murdered?"
"He had a hammer stuck in his visor with traces of magic all over it, meaning that we know it was a unicorn, and we know it wasn't suicide because he wasn't a unicorn."
"Well," Jade continued, "couldn't you just trace the magic back to its owner?"
"We tried," I explained, "he'd been missing and floating for a week; the magic was too faint to get anything out of it."
"I'm sorry," he said. I waved him off. "Well, the only other problem with the trip is," he added, "there's no way I could come up with that kind of money for my sister and I within the amount of time this sale will last," he leaned back in his chair, "We're having enough trouble as it is." He sipped at his drink.
I bragged, leaning against the table, "I can cover it; I've saved up for situations like this for years, plus I work a government-job, so I get paid tons anyway!"
Jade finished his sip of beer, "Really?" I nodded, smiling. "Damn, I should take up engineering!" he joked. I chuckled in response, and he raised his glass with a hoof. I raised mine with magic.
"For a trip to Equus!" we said simultaneously, then we knocked our glasses together and downed the rest of our beers.
"Hey, where's Aster?" Jade asked after we finished, glancing around sporadically.
I glanced at his seat and, not finding him there, started checking around the room, searching for the minty coat of my companion. He wasn't at the bar, otherwise there would be excessive yelling. He wasn't in the bathrooms, otherwise we'd hear explosions. I looked behind me...
... And he was being beaten by the mare with the sign.
Jade saw the spectacle at the same time I did, and we both burst into laughter. This was the reason we didn't talk to girls.
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LogDate: _April 7th, 2152 A.E.
EndLog: _Guardian
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:::Name unavailable in databanks
///?!?!?!?!?/// _"Guardian"
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Deleting _"Guardian"
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/Open _"Guardian2"
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///?!?!?!?!?/// Opening _"Guardian2"...