Rainbow Dash stood in a row of other new recruits to the Dreadnaught, all facing a window forward of a large elevator platform descending to the docking sleeve connecting Gateway to the ship. Commander Gregory accompanied the group, having welcomed them to the station after they disembarked the shuttle.
She recalled the trip to the massive spinwheel-type orbital hub, questioning her presence among such an elite alliance during the entire journey there. Up to this point she had pondered Celestia's wishes for a civilian security pilot to be part of a 125th crew, but upon inspection of the other pilots by her side, they too were originally civilians. Some were Lunar Sector Security like Rainbow, others were Sol Sector Security, some were even from the outer colonies in the Sol system and beyond.
It was almost like a draft situation, though she had also come to realize that the recruits had the option to back out. Their reluctance to do so was understandable. To refuse promotion to military service in Battlewings was unheard of, despite many individuals washing out for cracking under the pressure. The 125th had a reputation to uphold, after all.
"She may be over a hundred years old," Gregory continued his speech about the supervessel that he had started back in the lobby, "But make no mistake, the Athena class is legendary in its performance history. Both the Dreadnaught and the Stonebreaker are regular topics of conversation among my generation of naval officers. You'll understand why."
"Excuse me, sir," One of the pilots spoke up, "How many crew members are there on board the Dreadnaught? I mean, how many are stationed?"
"The Athena class has a standard operating capacity of ten-thousand. However, in wartime the number is doubled to twenty-thousand. That would be the case here."
Mumbles among the group expressed their astonishment. Dash imagined scrolling through the crew roster, snorting with amusement as to how much of an adventure such a task would be in itself.
"I should clarify that the other half of our crew compliment awaits us at Sirius-Six-Eight. You'll be briefed on the situation once we're underway." He took a pause as he glanced towards the window. "She should be in view any moment now."
The curious group of pilots watched with anticipation as beams and engineering structures passed by the glass until they finally reached the maintenance dock where the Dreadnaught was stationed. Gasps and more mumbles of conversation filled the airtight platform as the massive starship ascended into view, surpassing every one of their expectations. Rainbow Dash, though, was among those that were most speechless, staring ahead as they digested the incredible sight.
Its mass was that of a space station on its own, like an island city born to the dark abyss. It was no wonder that it had been transferred to one of the largest drydocks in the station. Somewhere the RES Stonebreaker was docked at the other one. It was an engineering marvel that only its aforementioned counterpart could measure up to. Not even naval aircraft carriers on the surface of Equestria matched this behemoth construction.
Dash counted thirty defensive guns along the upper port side alone, another twenty-five towards the bottom half, mostly 125mm. The conning tower at the upper midsection looked about the size of an Andromeda-class battleship, just slightly smaller than Canterlot Castle. Massive sensor arrays cluttered the upper deck in between the 406mm main batteries, with some of the dish structures appearing similar in design to most radio telescopes found back on Equestria.
The engine section alone warranted attention, with two colossal outlets protruding from the complex powerhouse with what appeared to be thrust-vector panels attached to the edges on controlled hinges. They seemed to be connected to other smaller outlets along the hull, indicating that they belonged to both the vacuum drive and the FTL "Light Drive."
Just above the stern, forward of the engineering section and directly behind the umbilicus port that secured the ship to the station's dock, was what appeared to be the hangar bay. Dash came to this conclusion upon noticing two large sliding doors accessing that particular section, far larger than any other supposed doorway that she could spot on the mechanically-intricate supervessel.
The smaller doors that lined in rows along the side like that of viewports were most likely firing tubes belonging to the missile bay. Now that she had a more comprehensive look, she noticed similar doors to the aft section, just below the main thruster outlets. She imagined that the main tubes would be at the bow, like on any other military starship. Not to mention it would be an appropriate location for the retrograde thruster ports for reversing the ship, which she pictured being at least half the size of those at the rear.
"She's been under heavy refurbishment," Gregory finally returned to his speech as they neared the docking sleeve, "And we've been on an extremely tight schedule in doing so, but it was necessary for getting underway for Sirius-68. It's there at the Fort Arsenberg jurisdiction of the Royal Aerospace Factory that she'll receive her full upgrade package.
"She was decommissioned about twenty years ago and was just pulled out of drydock yesterday. Took them long enough... Captain Mead's been requesting her return to active duty for about as long as she'd been sitting at the Almahni shipyards. Almost got scrapped a few times if it wasn't for him."
A loud "clang" echoed through the structure of the platform as they reached the docking sleeve, vibrating through the slip-resistant metal. The elevator converted to a tram system that moved along a central rail at the ceiling of the docking sleeve, advancing the group towards the Dreadnaught. Other tram modules on each side were also moving towards the vessel at varrying lengths apart from each other, appearing to carry additional crew.
Dash looked to the starship again, noticing the "RES Dreadnaught" and serial stencilling towards the bow section, lit with bright incandescent strobes. The whole ship was covered in light sources in one form or another. Some were maintenance lights, others were anti-collision strobes, and the rest were from within the vessel, glaring through thousands of polyglass viewports like the glittering brilliance of a midnight cityscape.
The drydock was filled with maintenance traffic, engineers and station personnel teaming around the ship's structures as they prepared the vessel for active use. Utility skiffs and shuttlecraft floated and zoomed around to various locations, retrieving supplies or personnel and transporting them to designated locations.
Gregory cleared his throat. "Once we're on board you'll notice an internal tram and lift system just like this one, except a little faster. Makes travel throughout the ship more convenient."
Rainbow Dash agreed internally at that remark. On a ship this size? No shit.
"Captain on deck!" Command Senior Chief (CSC) Commander Koroma announced to the bridge crew, arousing their attention as they ceased their activity and stood in almost perfect synchronization to face their CO.
Captain Mead looked around for a moment before declaring that he had the Conn, meaning that he was now present to command the ship. Everything looked the same except for some upgraded navigation equipment. He took a moment to observe his crew as well, noticing some familiar faces.
CSC Koroma was one of them, smiling as she met his gaze. "Welcome back, sir." She said with genuine esteem. She was about Gregory's age, with a dark complexion of Guinean-American heritage that complimented her brown eyes and short, black hair.
"Welcome back, Captain!" Another shipmate called from the control area. It was the Radar Technician, Petty Officer 1st Class McKelvy, standing by his vertical mapper with a huge grin. Mead remembered when his British E-6 grade RTS was just an E-4 twenty years ago, proud to see that he had been promoted to such a higher grade since then.
Nearest to him was Quartermaster Lowther at the helm, also appearing to have been promoted to E-6 since serving on Mead's vessel as an E-5, or Petty Officer 2nd Class. He was the only one in the room not wearing a smile, being the most steely member of the bridge crew, but the captain knew that he was internally grateful for his return to the 125th vessel.
"As you were, guys." Eyes were still on him occasionally as they stood at ease, proceeding with their prearranged duties. "I have to say, it's so nice to see the old girl again. As well as the rest of you. I couldn't have asked for a finer crew than the ones I know best from the good old days. Please allow me to also officially welcome you all back to the RES Dreadnaught."
They each thanked him for his generous greeting, the sentimentality apparent in their tone as they appreciated their transfer back to the supercarrier they knew well.
It was an iron horse of the stars that helped reach further than any space captain could dream of, survived conflicts greater than that which resulted in the destruction of the old Sol System, a vessel that Mead entrusted with his life as he would his fellow crew. It was a part of his essence, a bond forged only in the vastness of space and time.
He took closer notice of the upgraded systems and approached a control console next to a large viewport. Curious as to how it worked, he tapped a command into the touch-sensitive CRT screen, exploring the comprehensive virtual user interface.
Koroma noticed his enthusiasm and braced against a nearby support structure at the center of the bridge to observe his operation of the console. "I trust you approve of our new systems?"
"I sure do," Was the captain's excited reply, "What is this, fiber-optic based?"
"Yep. It's equipped with a virtual intelligence we call Overscan."
He laughed at the VI's name. "That's interesting, what's it useful for?"
"He cuts the workload of other crew. Automated diagnostics, complex nav calculations, you name it."
"Can he help me find the head, or is that still in the same place I left it?"
Koroma snorted. "It's still the same ship, just a little more up to date. Overscan is more for the recruits' benefit rather than our own. It's a big ship, don't want anyone getting lost and accidentally mistaking an airlock for a storage locker."
"Yeah, true." He continued his investigation of the new systems, accepting of them with keen interest and excitement for when he will get to use them in action. "Yes, this'll do nicely."
"No, no, no, no, no, no! This won't do at all!" Chief Engineer Alessi barked in jest to the engineering personnel preparing the engines.
The massive reactors towered over the cavernous compartment, like being in an aircraft hangar filled with machinery and catwalks. The turbines for the FTL drive and power core were also a daunting presence in their own right, taking up much of the space in the aft area. Temporary personnel and ship engineering crews surrounded almost every workspace.
"I can't work in these conditions!" Alessi continued as he traveled down one of the catwalks, "I require a sofa, projection TV, VR headset, beer, and busty women! Two-... No, three of them! I see nothing like that, I see bullshits like pistons and ducts everywhere! And you monkeys fucking around with my propulsion systems like you own the fucking place!"
One of the engineering techs glanced at him with a smirk. "Nice to see you too, sir."
"Ey! It's like a reunion tour! Back to the belly of the beast, eh?" He elbowed his pony ETO roughly, much to the latter's annoyance.
"I wouldn't know," Onyx replied, rubbing his sore shoulder, "It's my first time here."
"Ah, that's right! I shipped out with Rogan last time I was here. My god, has it been that long?"
"Well, let's hope I can live up to his legacy." Onyx walked over to a nearby control console, scanning the books and files on an adjacent shelf.
"Legacy?! What legacy? The guy was an asshole! Fuck him."
"Hey, all these are arranged under the file system you had back on the Renovatio."
Alessi joined him at the console. "Exactly! I set the standard for it. 'A' for 'allegedly reliable diagnostics software' and 'B' for 'bonehead-certified reactor protocols,' for example."
"What's the vacuum drive maintenance manual under?"
"'V' for 'vacuum drive,' what else? Anyway, I need to go take a shit. Be back in a minute."
Onyx sighed to himself pessimistically as the Chief Engineer exited the busy deck. "This is gonna be a long flight."
Gregory continued his tour with the group of pilots, disembarking from the ship's internal tram system. "Welcome to the flight deck. Get acquainted with it, folks, you'll be spending a lot of time here when we're underway. I need to report to the bridge... Deck Officer Jones will hail you to the briefing room in about fifteen minutes, so assemble there when he does. For now, feel free to inspect the hardware. Have fun and don't get in anyone's way." He then left for the tram system, departing from the flight deck behind a descending blast door.
The pilots observed their surroundings for a moment before parting off throughout the hangar bay, mixing with the busy personnel surrounding the spacecraft.
Rainbow's awestruck feeling for the ship remained as she approached the rows of deck fighters, sometimes looking up at the spacious construction of the hangar bay and at the individual spacecraft themselves. They looked like ordinary FB-82s, but the racks of external weapons were far different from anything she had ever seen on standard underwing stores. She could only imagine what kind of avionics and control systems they used.
She approached one fighter in particular that seemed devoid of maintenance personnel, checking the roster on a toolcart next to the nose. According to the document it was not assigned to anyone yet, raising her curiosity as she progressed to the cockpit. The canopy was already lifted to allow her access. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her, stepping inside when she was confident that her actions were unnoticed and planted herself in the seat.
The controls and cockpit displays were definitely unlike that in the security spacecraft that she was used to, with the dual sticks radically redesigned to an armrest-mounted side-stick layout rather than a main stick at the center and one off to the side of the seat. Instead, a yellow ejection handle was placed where the old control would be. She recognized each of their functions though: the left stick was for collective control in VTOL mode and supplemental attitude thrust, the right was the main control which also doubled as the VTOL cyclic. It's sure gonna take some time to get used to these cockpit ergonomics.
The pedal configuration was left unchanged, however, which were conventional rudder controls for both weightless and atmospheric environments in either mode. The engine throttle and cockpit atmospherics were in the same locations as well, but with additional options and settings.
She felt compelled to seek out the system startup switches on the control panel and eagerly flipped them on. The internal hardware hummed to life, virtual user interfaces and text displays flickered onto three CRT screens with anti-glare polyglass, and LEDs lit up some of the keypads and buttons. A heads-up display projected onto the window ahead in the same bright green found on the multi-function monitors, similar to that of the security fighters that she was used to, but with loads of additional information that made little sense to her at this point.
She hoofed the analog dials and buttons near the displays, studying some of the weapon systems. The interface was different for sure, with more options than she was used to, but it was not hard to navigate as she understood most of what was being displayed. She found preloaded calibration utilities for almost every weapon store found in an aerospace encyclopedia, even ones that she had never heard of until now, which she assumed were classified.
Even the targeting systems were far more advanced than on standard security craft, with superior tracking and identification software. She could only imagine how advanced the missile guidance systems themselves were.
"BANG!" A fist impacting the fuselage startled her out of her trance, making her jump out of her seat and look for whoever caused the disturbance.
A cocky-looking human walked closer to the cockpit area, an authoritative glare trained at the blue pegasus. "Hellstar up the right-rear outlet, direct hit. You're pushing up space-daisies."
"Wha-..." Dash shook her head in confusion, trying to process both the comment and the identity of the man who verbalized it. "Who the hell are you?"
He shot her a sarcastic salute. "Sol Sector Security pilot Scott Ferrin, serial Zero-Two-One-Nine-Nine-Four, official draftee to the Royal Trials Division of the 125th Stellar Defense Force. Or 'Battlewings,' if you will."
She ignored the obvious insult of her intelligence regarding the very last remark. "Draftee?"
"I exaggerate for effect," Ferrin replied with a shrug, "So, you're the hotshot pegasus who first encountered the weird CRAI spacecraft, huh? Rainbow Dash, Lunar Sector Security at the Orion orbital?"
She grinned proudly. "That's me."
"Yeah, why don't you step down from my fighter before you take out the whole ship?"
The grin faded at the sharp intimidation directed at her. "Excuse me?"
He leaned against the cold composite surface of the fighter. "Yeah, we've all heard about you. You're what we call dangerous. A showpony without any real combat training. Just FYI, hotheads like you never last long here."
Dash sneered at him mockingly. "You're one to talk, you're a civie security pilot yourself!"
"At least I don't ring the admiral's doorbell as a last resort. Just to neutralize one enemy fighter? Are you kidding me?"
She knew that he was referring to her desperate tactic of jettisoning her external tanks, as the yellow release button was often referred to as the admiral's doorbell in military service since pressing it without a good reason often resulted in a visit to the infuriated CO, usually an admiral. Which is definitely something she experienced in the form of Butes giving her and Gilda a good scream back at Orion.
Dash crossed her hooves and reclined in the seat. "Hey, the top brass seemed to enjoy it. Why else would I be here?"
Ferrin rubbed his eyes with a snicker at Rainbow's remark. "Did you really buy that? Do you even know what the Royal Trials Division is for?"
She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Follow me to the briefing room. We need to talk."