Captain Anonymous - Chapter 1 - Introduction
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>You are Anonymous, captain of Sol Confederacy Deep Space Expedition Vessel 28.
 
>Okay sure, maybe humanity has lost its sense of creativity in naming its ships in the last few thousand years, but what she lacks in unique nomenclature she more than makes up for in technological superiority; the very latest quantum tunneling drive, the most sensitive short-range scanners of any ship in the fleet, paired with triple layer polarized hull armor and a modest array of particle and projectile weapons, she can definitely hold her own in a fight. Or at least, she has in every fight you’ve been in thus far, few though they may have been.
 
>Not only that, under your command she’s also come out on top during war games with other ships in the Confederate Navy on more than one occasion – sometimes even against warships that far outmatch her. Your reputation for improvisation and cunning has spread throughout the ranks quickly over the years. Many captains of vessels that were built for the sole purpose of fighting are eager to challenge you when you’re not on a mission, and most of the time you’re happy to oblige them. This occasional sparring keeps things interesting, keeps your wits sharp, and prevents you and the crew from becoming too bored, as sometimes several months may pass between missions.
 
>Surprisingly the war games and other simulations conducted by the Confederate Navy are just about the closest thing to actual combat that anyone has experienced. Though ancient scholars and theologians might have never predicted it, your species has actually become quite enlightened and benevolent over the centuries, a process significantly accelerated by the discovery that, after so many decades of scanning the stars and wondering what might be, we finally know we aren't alone in the universe.
 
>In its early years, the Sol Confederacy was quite limited in its territory; Earth, its moon - Luna, and Mars, which was successfully terraformed over several centuries. Despite its advances, it took quite a while for humanity to develop faster-than-light propulsion and leave our solar system. The Confederacy's governments had agreed unanimously that this was humanity's top priority, and devoted considerable resources to this end, developing the technology easily a century earlier than they might otherwise have.
 
>Over several centuries, humanity has made contact with 28 new species, 25 of them agreeing to join the Confederacy. With every new friendly species that joined us, came a flood of fascinating new culture and technologies. In every single event in which a new planet joins the Confederacy, there is a great deal of mutual prosperity in a variety of ways. Some of these species had discovered and mastered laws of physics that humanity hadn’t even theorized about. Some had developed technologies to increase the yield and nutritional value of food crops a hundredfold, as well as technologies to allow them to be grown anywhere, even aboard a starship. Others bore such rich cultures of music, art, literature, history, that every masterpiece crafted by human hands seemed crude in comparison
 
>As the Confederacy grew, its government underwent many changes. There was no longer a single president or chancellor, nor any sort of congress. To simplify matters, each world chose a number of representatives to be their voice in the Confederacy’s sole ruling body – the High Council. The High Council is responsible for all of the functions of the government. To create and enforce laws, punish those who violate them, and command the Confederacy’s military as well as to oversee the planning and execution of exploration missions. The High Council’s primary function is to maintain order for the Confederacy’s billions of citizens, and the extent of their power in carrying out that function is limitless.
 
>The High Council’s word is law, and most of their laws, policies, and decisions have always been wise and fair. However, one somewhat controversial policy that the Council had in place was the granting of permission to captains of Expedition Vessels to land their ships on the surface of a new planet during a first contact mission. Despite the risk there hasn’t been any fallout from this policy, save for one recent incident.
 
>The commanding officer of one of your vessel's sister ships made the fatal mistake of bringing some of the locals on board his vessel for diplomatic negotiations. Regardless of the aliens’ initial overtones of hostility and mistrust, he had confidence in his abilities as a diplomat and believed that he could ease their tension. In a show of good faith he offered them a tour of his ship, to see the multitude of various other races on board cohesively working as a team. The captain allowed several delegations to tour the ship, led by other high ranking officers. The captain began to believe he was making progress, however as the aliens spread throughout the corridors, nearing many of the ship’s critical systems, in a coordinated effort they stuck themselves with a hidden hypodermic needle containing an enzymatic catalyst to detonate what was, in effect, a living bomb within each of them.
 
>The captain gave the order to lift off and take any remaining aliens on board into custody, but his efforts were in vain. His crippled ship barely made it a few kilometers off the surface before being intercepted by alien aircraft and forced back down. By the time anyone from the Confederacy came to investigate the sudden communications blackout with the ship, the aliens had stripped the vessel of any and all useful technology, and executed the entire crew.
 
>This incident instigated an immediate shift in policy; Confederate starships are to no longer land on the surface of alien worlds during first contact. As much intelligence as possible must be gathered from orbit first. After that, small landing teams may be sent to the surface on reconnaissance missions to gather any more required information. Once as much information as necessary is gathered, the captain, depending on his or her judgement, may either land the ship to make first contact or take a small shuttle to the surface to make first contact. This had always been your own personal policy of procedure ever since you became a Captain, and one that you had even suggested to the Council to be implemented throughout the Confederacy on more than one occasion. Many agreed, but it never got the required votes to be officially implemented. It’s a shame that it took such a disaster for anyone to finally listen to you.
 
>You’ve captained a few different vessels during your service in the Confederate Navy, quite proud of the many accomplishments you’d made throughout your career. You’re a highly decorated officer, lots of medals and ribbons to show off when wearing your dress uniform at various diplomatic events, having been responsible for commanding three previous successful first contact missions, more than any other single captain in the history of the Confederacy. Most of the High Council has a great deal of admiration for you – even inviting you to sit in on some of their meetings which are normally strictly closed to the public. You’re always deeply honored when they extend such an invitation, and infinitely more so when they ask your opinion on any matter, regardless of how small it may be.
 
>Today, you are planning for and beginning to execute your fourth first contact mission. Your ship is parked in a high orbit above a small planet about half the size of Earth, and with some unusual properties that your ships' scientists aren't quite able to make heads or tails of. The planet doesn’t orbit its star, something you’ve only ever seen in rogue planets that have no star to orbit. Orbital scans quickly confirm that there is life on the surface – clearly visible networks of roads and settlements, as well as dense vegetation in some areas.
 
>When you’ve gathered as much information as you can from orbit, you begin to form away teams. Each away team is composed of 5 officers each aboard 3 landing craft, with two of each party carrying a light sidearm for self-defense should it be necessary. Each away team is sent to a different settlement on a mission of reconnaissance with strict orders, above all else, to avoid detection by the local life forms. Their primary goal is to establish the geopolitical landscape of the primary continent - are they a unified kingdom or a series of city-states? Where do their leaders reside? Are they friendly or hostile? Additionally they are to gather as much information as they can about the local culture of each settlement without being seen.
 
>All of this information will be critical to initiating first contact with whatever intelligent life resides here. The away teams have been given a week to gather as much information as possible before returning to the ship. Your mind begins to wander and you smile in anticipation of bringing yet another friendly world into the folds of the Confederacy, eager for your teams to return with their reports.
 
>The senior science officer on the bridge breaks your train of thought, startling you as he calls out, "Captain! The star, it's moving around the planet! There's also another satellite - which appears to be a moon that we hadn't detected - that's now moving directly into the path of the star's former position. We're also getting some strange readings from the surface, an incredible amount of unidentifiable and focused energy radiating from one of the larger settlements that’s partially built into a mountainside."
 
>You look over the various monitors and scanner readouts yourself. Nothing you’re seeing makes any sense, but you have no reason to believe your landing parties are in any danger. You've given them a week to gather what information they can, information that will be critical to a smooth first contact. As the days pass you try to keep busy to pass the time. You always get antsy before meeting a new race. The away teams check in every 6 hours, just as you’d ordered, and everything appears to be going smoothly. As you wait aboard your ship, you observe the star and the planet's moon shift locations several times, always corresponding to the same massive spike in unknown energy located in that same settlement.
 
>After what feels like an eternity, your landing teams finally return to the ship. You begin by inspecting each of the shuttles. When you come to the third, you’re deeply troubled to see that it has serious burns on one side of its fuselage. The damage is more than cosmetic – had it been any more severe or had the shuttle taken another hit they never would have made it back to the ship.
 
>You begin your debriefing of the away teams, beginning with the team from the damaged shuttle that had been sent to the settlement located in the arctic, frozen lands of the north. They describe a very large settlement there, with some buildings that appeared crystalline in structure. They discovered that a prince and princess rule here, but were unable to gather much more than that. They also report that this settlement appears to have a large and well-trained military/defense force. When the away team was discovered by the locals they immediately fled, and were pursued relentlessly.
 
>All they can tell you about the attack is that the aliens fired what appeared to be some sort of energy weapon at them as they escaped, and that the shuttle was struck several times despite the evasive maneuvers of its highly skilled pilot. They clearly possess a significant capability to defend themselves – or even initiate an attack should they decide to. Concerned about this development, you order a team of science officers and engineers to examine the shuttle as you continue to debrief the away teams.
 
>Team two had gathered reconnaissance on a smaller settlement. They describe the inhabitants as equine-resembling quadrupeds, even referring to themselves as “ponies,” some having horns protruding from their forehead, and some that had wings and could even fly. The settlement is called "Ponyville," where there is also a castle and another ruler, a princess. The locals appeared generally peaceful and friendly to one another. There were no signs of aggression in this settlement. Given their observations this away team strongly recommends this settlement as the site of first contact.
 
>The last team had been sent to gather intelligence on the very mountainside settlement from which the unknown energy spikes always originated. They informed you this settlement was named "Canterlot," ruled by two monarchs – princesses – that reside in the castle there. The team was unable to identify any king or queen in this settlement, and unable to gather much more useful intelligence given the geographical positioning of the settlement. They would have easily been discovered had they attempted to get closer than they had been.
 
>You dismiss the away teams after completing their debriefing, and then begin to debrief the team that examined the damage shuttle. Your science officers and engineers confirm that the damage was caused by the same type of energy that’s always detected coinciding with the movement of the two celestial bodies. They also tell you that the ship’s computer was unsuccessful in analyzing the residual energy signature left behind by the alien weapons, there was no match in the Confederate databanks. You thank them for the information before dismissing them.
 
>You begin to tour the ship, deep in thought about how to proceed. From what you've been told, there are at least three separate kingdoms, one of which may be hostile and not respond well to first contact. Despite the amount of data the away teams had collected, you still need to know more. The attack on the shuttle has created a significant disruption to your plans. If these three kingdoms are allies, then it's highly likely that they all are aware of your presence at this point, given the circumstances. If so, it’s possible that they may be arming themselves for conflict.
 
>It doesn’t take you long to decide that it’s critical to avoid any further hostilities between the Confederacy and these ponies. Regulations strictly specify that you are to recall all landing parties and withdraw from the system in the event of hostile action by a species which may possess superior armaments. However, you are hesitant to follow this procedure. This is undoubtedly the most unique world and race you’ve ever encountered. There are so many oddities about this world, and indeed this whole solar system, you just have to learn more. Leaving the system without having sated your curiosity would drive you mad.
 
>Additionally, you still believe the mission can be salvaged. You deeply hope that the incident with team three was a simple misunderstanding, and there’s still a chance to save future relations with this unique world and its people. The longer you wait though, the more the likelihood of that happening dwindles. You know immediate action must be taken.
 
>You’re not willing to order any of your crew to return to a potentially dangerous environment, or to order them to violate the Confederacy’s regulations and face possible court-martial. After giving it some more thought, you finally make a decision. Against the laws and regulations of the Confederate Navy, and also against your better judgement, you decide to take a shuttle to the surface on your own, unarmed, to attempt first contact. Your first officer predictably gets into a shouting match with you over your decision.
 
>You’ve served with him for a very long time, and he’s concerned about your safety not only as your second in command, but also as a close friend. You quarrel with him often and to many outsiders it may appear you hate each other, but that’s certainly not the case. You chose him as your first officer because you didn’t want another yes-man. You wanted someone who would question you at every turn, who would object to your orders and challenge your command decisions – and would even go so far as to relieve you of duty should he believe your ability to command the ship were impaired in any way.
 
>Not only that, you wanted someone to keep you grounded. Someone you could trust, bounce ideas off of, have as a sounding board. It’s tough for a captain to get close enough to anyone under his command to befriend them, and it’s not appropriate anyway. That is, with the sole exception of his first officer, the only other person on his ship that’s on his level, and the only one that has almost as much power as he does. After nearly an hour of arguing he finally concedes to you. You walk together to the shuttle bay in silence, having said all that needs to be said already. As the shuttle’s door opens you give each other a firm handshake and pat on the shoulder.
 
>”You know, I think I managed to find a bright spot in this whole situation,” he says as you begin to enter the shuttle. You turn to look at him over your shoulder.
 
“Oh?”
 
>”Yeah. If you don’t come back I get promoted to captain.”
 
>You both give a hearty laugh.
 
“Well, just don’t get too comfortable in that captain’s chair. Remember, you’re just keeping it warm for me,” You say as the shuttle’s door begins to close.
 
>He nods with a smile. “Aye captain. Good luck, you crazy bastard.”
 
>The shuttle’s systems power on with various humming and whirring noises as the panels and controls in front of you illuminate and come to life. You give the command to open the shuttle bay doors, power up the engines and disembark. As you leave the ship, a single shot from the ship’s particle weapons flies overhead, creating a bright light above and in front of you before dissipating. This had become something of a tradition between you and some members of your crew, a sort of a “good luck” send-off when undergoing a particularly dangerous mission. As you begin to enter the atmosphere you bring up all the data you and your crew have collected, bringing up a map of the surface in the navigational computer, setting your destination for the smallest settlement with the greatest likelihood of receiving you peacefully – Ponyville.