Title:           Captain Anonymous - Chapter 3 - Building Bridges
Author:          somewritefag
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/7mz1qFLP
First Edit:      Sunday 9th of August 2015 09:35:46 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Last edit on: Sunday 9th of August 2015 12:17:08 PM CDT

                                        Captain Anonymous - Chapter 3 - Building Bridges
 
>As the days pass, you try to make small talk with each of the ponies as they guard the entrance to your “cell.” Every time they either simply ignore you or give you dirty looks that say “shut up, monster” much to your disappointment. At least the food they bring you is good. If they treat their prisoners this well, you can at least consider that to be a good omen of things to come.
 
>At long last Twilight returns to the castle, accompanied by two larger ponies. They release the force-field and lead you to a meeting room with a very large table and multiple chairs, motioning for you to take a seat.
 
>The two larger ponies introduce themselves as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. You bow in respect to them, just as you had with Twilight, expressing your gratitude for their presence and emphasizing what an honor it is to meet them. You hate being made to feel inferior as you bow to them, but you’ve already realized, since the moment Twilight blew up your shuttle, that you’re going to have to kiss a lot of ass to make things right here, and to prevent provoking these ponies any further. Besides, in the grand scheme of things your dignity is a small price to pay for the Confederacy to gain such a powerful new ally. That is, assuming you’re able to clean this whole mess up somehow, and then avoid the wrath of the Council after that. You’ve begrudgingly come to accept the fact that you’re going to piss off a whole lot of people and/or ponies one way or another.
 
>Celestia is the first to speak up. The tone of her voice is very soft, motherly, and soothing to listen to. This and her kind demeanor are enough to put you completely at ease, at least for the moment.
 
>"Captain Anonymous, Princess Twilight gave us a thorough briefing on your arrival and the events that have occurred since, as well as your stated intentions. I would like to begin by apologizing profusely for the attack on your vessel. I was very relieved to hear that none of your shipmates were seriously hurt. I want you to know that this attack did not come from any part of our kingdom, and that we bear you no ill will.”
 
>She pauses and gives an uneasy glance to Twilight, who picks up where she left off.
 
>"However I'm afraid things aren't so simple with the Crystal Empire. Their unicorn magi are the ones that fired at your ship. Their military is on their highest level of alert, and has been since that patrol discovered your people and fired on their shuttle. They believe you to be a serious threat to all of Equestria. Right now it’s not safe for any of your people to approach our world, they have standing orders to engage your ship with lethal force the moment they come back into range. I’m also sorry to say that my brother, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, is demanding that you be extradited on charges of espionage. By Equestrian law we’re bound and obligated to comply with his request."
 
>You swallow a lump in your throat, feeling a genuine sense of panic for the first time since you arrived here. You begin to visibly shake as your heart races.
 
“Your majesties, I would like to request asylum,” you nervously choke out, “please don’t turn me over to them, I fear for my life if you do so.”
 
>All three of the princesses give you a compassionate look as your discussion continues, Luna picking up where Twilight left off.
 
>"Though we are bound by law to honor the Crystal Empire’s request, we shall not turn you over to their custody quite yet. We have requested that Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, the rulers of the Crystal Empire, travel here and meet with us to discuss the situation. They will be arriving within the next two days, and we shall determine how to proceed then."
 
>"In the meantime," Celestia says, "you are free to go. If you are true to your word and wish to befriend us, then I believe you will also respect our laws. You will be expected to return here to face the Crystal Empire’s accusations when the time comes. ”
 
>Free to go? You're not quite sure you heard that right. You quickly shake off the feeling of surprise as Celestia continues.
 
>”Captain Anonymous, please try not to worry. Though some of the Crystal Empire’s punishments may be a bit harsh, sometimes excessively so, they do not execute their prisoners. I also believe the situation is negotiable, the three of us have considerable influence on Shining Armor and Cadance and can be quite persuasive. However, if for some reason you are turned over to their custody, you have my word that regardless of whatever punishment they decide upon, you will be treated with dignity and compassion after it has been carried out. I can understand if you are fearful, but I promise you we will do our best to see to it that you are treated as fairly as possible under the laws of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. I hope you can take some solace in that.”
 
>You simply nod at Celestia, taking a deep breath, trying to steel your nerves before turning to speak to Twilight.
 
"Princess Twilight, I need to contact my ship, they need to know I'm alright and am being treated fairly, I don't want my second in command to make any rash decisions, may I please have my radio back?" you look at her pleadingly. She begrudgingly allows it, removing it from her saddlebag and levitating the device over to you.
 
>”Captain to D-SEV 28, come in, over.”
 
>There’s no response. You wait a few moments before trying again.
 
>”This is Captain Anonymous to D-SEV 28, please acknowledge communication, over.”
 
>There is more silence before you are finally greeted by the voice of your first officer.
 
>"Captain? It's damn good to hear your voice, sir. The entire crew has been on edge, morale has been low since we lost contact with you, and many feared you dead. What is your current status?"
 
"I'm fine, the locals are treating me well. What is the ship's status?"
 
>"We took a worse hit than we initially thought, Captain. The exotic energy that whatever weapons they were firing is based on is wreaking having with the power grid, we're beginning to experience ship-wide system failures. We need to either land the ship or dock at a space station to purge the system and conduct repairs properly. What are your orders, sir?"
 
>As if your day wasn’t bad enough already. You shake your head and sigh. There’s no way in hell they’re getting close to this planet, let alone land on it. You give the only order you can.
 
“Has the QT jump drive been effected by these power failures?”
 
>”Not yet, sir.”
 
“Understood. Your orders are to jump to the Messier 101 sector twelve outpost. They’ve got some of the finest engineers and most efficient repair teams in the whole Confederacy there. You are to dock there and evacuate the ship until repairs can be made and the system purged.”
 
>"Aye captain. I'll send a shuttle for you and-"
 
"No."
 
>"Sir?"
 
"Don't send anyone for me, don't get close to this planet again, just take the ship and go, don't come back until all repairs have been completed."
 
>"Sir, that could take months, we can’t even begin to-“
 
"You have your orders."
 
>"Come on, Anon, if this is some kind of joke you’re taking it too far,"
 
“It’s not a joke. You’ve been given orders and I expect you to follow them, soldier, understood?”
 
>”Sir, if I may speak freely?”
 
"Go ahead."
 
>"Why the hell are you ordering us to leave you behind? These aliens are clearly hostile, who knows what kind of horrible things they might do to you in the time it takes us to get back here? You’re not safe there, sir, please reconsider."
 
"The ship isn’t safe approaching the planet, the ponies that attacked you are still on high alert. She would never survive another barrage like that, and you know it. I can’t ask you to wait around here until it’s safe to come and get me with the system failures you’re experiencing, either. I’m not willing to put my entire crew in harm’s way just for my sake. I also have no way to return to the ship myself, my shuttle was destroyed. Any negotiations conducted here are going to be complicated, difficult and protracted, as criminal charges have been brought against me which I intend to defend myself against. Even if the shuttle was operational I wouldn’t be leaving right away.”
 
>”We can send in a warship to pick you up, sir, they would be far better equipped to handle any attacks from the surface. They’d only have to be there for a few minutes, max. I’ll contact the admiral, have him send a Special Forces unit along with them and-“
 
>You cut him off abruptly.
 
“You’ll do nothing of the sort! That would only make things worse and could even provoke a war right now.”
 
>There’s a lingering, painful silence before you continue.
 
“Trust my judgement here, right now it’s critical that we handle this situation extremely delicately. We hit a pretty bad rough patch here, sure, but we’ll look back on all this in a year or so from now and laugh about it as we welcome Equestria into the Confederacy, I promise. Go now, take the ship for repairs. Do something to unwind, take a little shore leave time. Hell, have the whole crew take shore leave. Just relax, have faith in your captain, and let fate run its course. I’ll see you in a few months.”
 
>There’s still no reply.
 
“I can already hear you scheming and plotting different fool-hearted ways to rescue me. Let me make this crystal clear. You have been given a direct order by your commanding officer, and you are expected to carry it out, to the letter, with zero deviation. Understood?”
 
>”But sir, we-“
 
>You’re quick to cut off his objection. You raise your voice to a tone more harsh than any you’ve ever spoken to your first officer in, to make it explicitly clear how seriously you take the situation.
 
“I said, understood, Commander?”
 
>There's a long pause on the other end of the radio, followed by a forlorn reply. "Aye, captain. I hope you’re right about all of this. We’ll be back as soon as we can."
 
>Looking out a window you can barely make out a tiny flash of light in the evening sky as the ship makes its jump, leaving you alone, stranded on an alien world that you're still not sure is safe. You shake your head and sigh, wishing you actually believed half of what you just said.
 
>You spend most of the next day out and about, exploring Ponyville and doing your best to make a good impression on its citizens. Despite your best efforts to be friendly you’re still met with fear, mistrust, even loathing, by most of the ponies you come across. When Shining Armor and Cadance arrive later that day, a messenger is sent to summon you. You make your way back to the castle, not in any particular hurry, anxious about meeting them and what will happen when you get there. When you arrive you are directed to the same meeting room as before, only this time with two additional ponies at the table. One of them, a stallion, regards you with contempt; his wife looks on you more with curiosity than anything else. To break the silence in the room you introduce yourself.
 
"Prince Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, it is an honor to meet-"
 
>"We already know your name, Anonymous. Spare us the respectful charade. You know why you've been called here," Shining Armor says with a snort.
 
>You bow your head in respect, in full submission to him, hoping to smooth things over.
 
"Your highness, I assure you we meant no harm. Our only intent was to collect information about your people, to aid us in planning to make friendly contact with you, nothing more."
 
>"You're going to have to do better than that."
 
"I'm here right now, showing you proper respect, submitting myself completely to your authority, prepared to answer for my alleged crimes with full awareness of their severity, how can I possibly do better than that? Your highness, with all due respect, I didn’t even have to be here right now. I could have easily had my ship pick me up and high tailed it out of here at the first sign of trouble. Even worse, I could have given the order to return fire during your attack, and had your entire kingdom burned to the ground from orbit before we left. None of that happened. I did the exact opposite. Instead of fleeing back to my ship and responding with violence, I explicitly ordered my crew to stand down and not retaliate. I also ordered them to leave me here, entirely at your mercy, while they go make repairs. I did all of this because I firmly believe there’s still a chance for my people to form friendly relations with yours, to the extent that I’m willing to bet my life on it.”
 
>Shining Armor looks less than convinced by your speech. Eventually Twilight speaks up.
 
>"Brother, he really has been quite polite and cordial ever since he arrived here, even though we were less than hospitable to him. I thought he was a threat at first too, but I’m starting to realize that I was wrong," she offers.
 
>Shining Armor remains silent, Celestia eventually chiming in to try to ease the tension in the room.
 
>”In the time I have spent here observing Captain Anonymous, he has been nothing but kind and respectful to every pony he’s talked to. Shining Armor, I ask that you consider leniency in handing down judgement.”
 
>Shining Armor finally speaks up.
 
>”Your people were discovered by one of our patrols in a highly restricted area. If your intentions were peaceful, why did they hastily flee? Had they allowed themselves to be taken into custody and questioned, it might have prevented our military response. The fact that they tried to escape after having been discovered in a restricted area, combined with the subsequent discovery of your heavily armed ship in orbit, was alarming enough for me and my military advisors to consider you extremely dangerous. We weren’t going to stand idly by and let an alien invader to get the jump on us, so we agreed a pre-emptive strike was absolutely necessary to protect the Crystal Empire.”
 
"Your highness, they were acting under my orders. We had no way of knowing that their landing zone was a restricted area in your kingdom. When we first discover another sentient race, we gather as much information about them as we can before introducing ourselves, to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. Sometimes this means sending small teams to the surface for short-term reconnaissance missions – which is what my men were doing. All landing teams have standing orders to flee if they are prematurely discovered, in order to prevent exactly what has occurred here – a disastrous first contact event. As their captain, I am culpable for the conduct of the men under my command, and I therefore accept full responsibility for any of your laws that they may have broken. I offer my sincerest apologies in the desperate hope of making amends, but I accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate for this infraction."
 
>"I can relate to being responsible for those under your command. I, too, held a high position in the Royal Guard as captain at one time. I understand the seriousness of the burden that has fallen on your shoulders. Unfortunately, regardless of your intent, our laws were still violated, and in addition to that, your presence caused panic amongst our subjects. The charge that you are facing, captain, is espionage. It is the unanimous opinion of all ranking commanders of our military that it was an act of espionage conducted with hostile intent. I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you what a serious charge this is.”
 
”I understand, your highness.”
 
>“Captain Anonymous, do you openly, willingly, and under no duress, confess to and accept responsibility for the charge of espionage that has been brought against you by the Crystal Empire?”
 
“I do, your highness.”
 
>”Do you wish to seek legal counsel before judgement is passed and your sentence is handed down?”
 
>Twilight, Celestia, and Luna look on in nervous anticipation, but don’t interrupt.
 
“No, your highness, I do not.”
 
>”Under the laws of the Crystal Empire, the minimum sentence for espionage with hostile intent is eighty lashes with a whip, as well as banishment from the Crystal Empire. By the power vested in me by the citizens of the Crystal Empire, I now pass judgement upon you. Captain Anonymous, in light of your willing confession, I find you guilty as charged for the crime of espionage. It is my judgement that the minimum sentence as prescribed by law is to be carried out at once, in a public venue. I will therefore ask you again, captain, do you wish to seek legal counsel before your sentence is carried out?”
 
"No, your highness. If that is your judgment, then I accept it entirely, and on behalf of the citizens of the worlds of the Sol Confederacy, I offer my sincerest apologies for offending you and breaking your laws. I will not ask for mercy, I will only say that it is my sincere hope that someday we may call each other allies, or even friends.”
 
>Shining Armor closes his eyes, stomping a hoof on the table and pointing at you with the other, signaling two guards to place you in shackles. Twilight gasps, but the rest of the princesses say nothing
 
>"Brother, maybe you should reconsi-"
 
>He lifts a hoof to cut her off as you're led out of the room
 
>"It will be quick, Twily, I promise."