{STAR headquarters}Final Inspections[Attn: Steel]

[IceStorm]

 

 

 

 

Protecting the innocent... Ever since that day in the Crystal Empire, that's been the sole thing that Ice Storm had hoped to accomplish. She joined EPIC, trying to make sure that Equestria was protected, so that she could use her specialty to make sure nothing like that happened to anypony else again. But it did, three more times. No deaths in any of those invasions thankfully. No, they weren't as ruthless as the red jarl. EPIC had failed her, and she felt that she could say that with absolute certainty. There was too much bureaucracy involved and red tape in order to get anything done. Too much hurry up and waiting. The final nail in the coffin was how Tempest Shadow was able bypass every single Equestrian defense with an entire fleet of warships. EPIC wasn't good enough for what Equestria needed. And so, Ice founded STAR.

 

With the finding of STAR, now came the monstrosity that Ice Storm was currently standing on. The Shadow of Ice was completed and ready to embark on it's test runs to make sure that she would be worthy of the title dreadnought. The outermost hull was made from aetherwood from Whitescar with a thin steel backing, reinforcing the hull due to the vessel's size. The steel was much thicker around the area of the ship where the Aether Core was. The entire ship in of itself was a prototype design and the viability of the entire STAR organization at this point rested on that ship. Otherwise, the units that she had gained, would all be for not, and the morale of her organization would cause it to implode on itself. At the moment though, the ship was nearly completely unarmed. Her secondary cannons were operational, and she wasn't too concerned about those projectiles missing. They weren't big enough to be a major issue to anything below them. She was certain that they would either burn up before hitting the ground or not have enough force behind what's left to do any damage.

 

Her main cannons though, while secured to the ship, were ammoless by design. After meeting Harle and Singelstone she had enlisted their help in creating something that would allow her to use the aether core to use concentrated beams of aether from the cannons rather than the projectile based that she had. The main batteries on the ship, if they were not fired with pin point accuracy could cause tremendous damage to anything under them. If there was a chance that she could make this massive weapon safer for the ones that she was trying to protect around her, she was going to take it. plus with Aether, she might be able to at some point in the future, disable a ship without letting the ship itself fall to the ground. That would also cause catastrophic damage if it fell into the wrong place. As it stood now, Ice found herself on the command bridge. It didn't look like much at the moment because most of the scanners and everything the ship had required the ponies magic to make work. The wheel was polished steel, and the controls for the aether generator weren't too far away. They were currently set to hover as they had been for most of the last week. The core worked, at least for the small parts. At this point Ice pulled out her compass and started to wall towards the compass of the ship, wanting to make sure it was calibrated properly before they set off on any missions. She would also have her navigators double check that before they left any docking point as well.

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                               


EPIC had been a success.

 

Not an unqualified one, of course. It was too small of an organization given too much leeway and not enough intelligence resources to respond to every threat, but they had indeed foiled more than a few dangerous plots against Equestria. The REA, REN, Royal Guards? They had failed in their own ways. But EPIC had done its job. Soon Twilight would be seeing to it that the Equestrian military as a whole underwent rapid and monumental changes, but that was later. For now she was reviewing another success of EPIC- Ice Storm and her defining initiative.

 

STAR had not escaped Twilight's notice for long. How could it? The resources it accumulated may have come from underground sources, leased through fronts and intermediaries, and otherwise moved secretly, but Twilight was not Celestia and Luna. Her eyes were not just at the sky, they were everywhere, and it didn't take long for her to piece it together. The materials weren't random especially to somepony who had increasingly spent time and effort studying new weapons, armor, and vessels. And the actions STAR undertook weren't easy to hide, not for long.

 

And so Twilight had visited Ice Storm several times and took stock of STAR and their facilities a few times- though they need not know, of course. Their protective spellwards were easy enough to modify to allow her passage without triggering, and for her casting of time-stop and invisibility, as well as ethereal form and the odd memory erasure here or there. What she had seen had impressed her- for the most part. Many STAR members were highly motivated and highly skilled. She doubted their effectiveness in carrying out orders they disagreed with and their overall discipline, but she did not doubt their will to do Equestria proud. She didn't have confidence in the overall quality of their equipment- indeed, she believed Ice Storm had been had in a few deals she had made- but some of it sparkled with possibility.

 

It was this dreadnought, this behemoth of engineering, that drew her attention mostly. It was enormously expensive and it would be crippling to operate for any real length of time. Its reliance on cannons for its secondary weapons was unusual- most modern militaries used enchanted bolts fired from different scales of ballistas, usually made from timber from any number of woods known for their ease of enchanting. Cannons did not benefit from this, and were harder and more expensive to supply. On the other hoof, that expense and difficulty of resupply was in some ways a benefit. They didn't have to find a source of enchantable timber, the sources of which were normally tightly controlled. The main armament was unique. In theory it could be very powerful and even modulated. Relying on aetheric energy it had the potential to be a powerful weapon. There was a litany of issues. Maintenance and repair was a highly dangerous task, as was trying to keep the energy in a stable state after any real use. 

 

She had spent weeks patrolling the shipyard while it was being built, using her magic to investigate it by bit and making sure to hover around the Askr Wood where it was used. Every nook and cranny, every technological development and setback, every engineering solution and blue-collar 'can-do' being proven right. She knew everything there was to know about the vessel.

 

She wished she knew Ice Storm as well.
Ice Storm's initiative was very exciting for Twilight to see. Every member of EPIC was a wildcard in their own way, and their time in EPIC was leading them to creating better defenses for Equestria in the long run. Pathfinder had become a rather devoted scout and spy in the Badlands whose information had allowed the REN to pre-empt more than one raid. Swift Squall was developing new arms and armor that, when finished, could make a case for being the new basic gear of the REA. And Ice Storm? Ice Storm had created her own organization to combat evil.

 

It was an exciting prospect and one Twilight had watched closely. It wasn't perfect- Ice Storm was too focused on a specific goal and Twilight worried it may make her less as a whole than the sum of her enormous qualities- but overall Twilight was excited by what she saw. She couldn't let Ice Storm know she was watching, of course. Ice Storm needed the accomplishment of this vessel, the accomplishment of her organization, to be her own, even if flawed. And so Twilight watched, waited, learned, and debated the merits of strategies she heard bandied about. It was while listening to a crewmember debate whether they should engage over a city that Twilight felt Ice Storm's presence on the bridge.

Twilight walked through the walls and through the crew, trotting and hovering gainfully towards her target. Ice Storm was finally, mercifully alone. Twilight could now speak to her, let her know how proud she was at what she was doing for Equestria.

 

As Ice Storm made her way down a hallway, Twilight saw she had a chance with nopony else around, or due to come around for some time. She stepped out into the hallway and waited a few moments, then let her invisibility spell fade. She popped into existence silently about five trots in front of Ice Storm.
"Ice Storm, you've been doing very well for yourself, haven't you?"

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

So far the final inspections of everything was going rather well. The main components were all working properly and the ship was ready for it's big reveal next week. She made started to put her compass away when she stopped. Something felt different. As soon as noticed the feeling, the orbs separated themselves from her amulet. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was going to be ready. 

 

Ready though, she was not as she heard the voice that had accompanied the pony that had just appeared on the bridge. Of all the ponies she didn't want knowing about STAR, it was Twilight. Not because she didn't trust her, of that she felt Twilight would try to stop her. The was after all, the matter that was on her back when the Spire collapsed from the Jarl's invasion. No, if Twilight knew of the organization, then Twilight, nor the Equestrian government could claim and sort of deniability. Ice sighed.

 

"Doing well, but the fact that your here means I haven't been doing a good enough job of covering my tracks," Ice started with a sigh before docking her spheres once more. "I wanted to avoid involvement from the princesses as much as I could, the exception being Luna. Her and I are good friends and she was the only one I informed of what was going on. It was the other reason why I was promoted to one of her personal guards when I joined the Royal Lunar Guard... But the more that knew the less they could deny," Ice finished waiting for twilight to start berating her. 

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                               

 

Ice Storm was one of Equestria's finest mares. It was one of the reasons she had been selected for EPIC, and one of the reasons that Twilight was excited to see her do so well for herself with the organization. But if she believed that she was like the other Princesses and that she wouldn't find out...well, hey, nopony claimed to be perfect. "Ice, I'm not Celestia. Or even Luna, for that matter," she started with faux seriousness before laughing. "I am exceptionally nosy! Just ask Starlight. I think I gave her a complex over ballerinas," Twilight blushed and snickered, though she remained on her pleasant task. "The thought that I wouldn't keep tabs on one of Equestria's very best and brightest? Perish the thought!"

 

Twilight trotted about, rapping her hooves on the lining as she spoke. She knew a lot about the ship and would need to let Ice know that, but better that she be given the chance to confirm. That would be better for the both of them. "It is a nice ship. Some issues with it. Some things I would do differently. I assume though it has better airspeed over a continental burst than most others?" She asked, noting what they had done in some theory-gaming spoke to its true potential. It would likely lack the long-term stability and route management of other vessels but it could respond quickly like no other vessel in the fleet could currently.

"I am worried about its offensive sustainment capabilities. Cannons aren't as reliable or easily enchantable as ballistas. But I assume you had to do what you could with as much secrecy as you could muster. Getting the good materials and enchantments could have drawn eyes," She offered as explanation. Hopefully they could get that fixed.

"You can hold a company or so of REA or Guard with their supplies and support in this vessel without severely underminning its combat potential, right?" She asked, knowing (and liking) the answer already.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

It made sense. Twilight said it herself that she was exceptionally nosy, perhaps a bit too much so. The leader of Equestria being like that could prove to be an issue later on when it came to the matters of foreign affairs. That's of course, what she was planning on making her job and being the information source without the possible repercussion that would come from an Equestrian ordered intelligence mission. With Twilight knowing about STAR and it's operations... It was going to make it that much harder to maintain political disinvolvement.

 

When she started about the ship though and see of its details, Ice spoke up. "Actually, the main cannons right now after place holders. I have some engineers working on getting them to weaponize the aether core and have the cannons fire am aetheric blast rather than any projectile at all. My goal is for this to be the first airship to have an almost zero chance of collateral damages. Every other airship, even the ballista ones, have one thing in common. If you miss with your primary batteries... Somepony on the ground that had nothing to do with the conflict in the sky gets hurt. Cause that projectile will fall. An aetheric blast won't arc. If it doesn't arc, then it won't hit the ground unless I want it to," she commented explaining the reasoning behind the weapon choice.

 

"As far as her speed, she's faster than most, but she's still a battleship. She'll have an escort of at least four destroyers to cover her flanks. The fact that she won't have a set route and will be a mobile headquarters will be her advantage. Holding REA or guards with their supplies won't be a problem. Although they may not want theirs when they see what me units are given," she smirked.

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                               


Twilight kept herself from wincing. Hopefully Ice Storm was not going to go too far off the deep end with aetheric cannons. While they had their advantages, too many things completely neutralized them. The hull of a rebel caribou ship made from Askr wood would be untouched, as would a number of Saddle Arabian defensive measures and even spells. More worrying was the confidence she had in the basic premise that the power source used to power the ship's movement and activities could be used to power the weapons. Aether wasn't limitless, and even a small mishap could cause far more than a little collateral damage. The mention of destroyers didn't surprise her, though it begged the question as to why she would want to make it more of a target. Regardless of how its propulsion worked it would need to be docked for replenishment and repair, and having four destroyers around only increased the profile and time it would take. Twilight held this in, even as she mentioned gear that would make the REA jealous.

 

Ahh, yes. That stuff. Twilight had seen it. Some of it was impressive, some of it was a sham. All of it was expensive, and little of it was truly battle-tested. She had her own thoughts on it, but again would not reveal them just yet. She wanted Ice Storm to fully explain herself before she revealed any of her thoughts.
"Hmm, well, I have thoughts on the cannons and the destroyers, but that gear. What sort of gear are you talking about?" She asked innocently as she looked aroundm tapping the walls like she was a vigorous inspector. Truth be told she was worried about Ice Storm. She had all the tell-tale signs of missing the forest for the trees, or getting bilked by weapons contractors and well-meaning techno-savants who worried more about theory than practice. Anypony could fall into that hole. It took an even greater mare to recognize it and pull herself out of it, though. 

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

"Well for starters, all of the armorer made within the facility grants its wearer aetherial resistance. Working around the aether had given us better understanding of it. We've used that, plus my own magical powers to resist my own magic at a last that I felt comfortable enough testing on it. Unless we come across a unicorn more powerful and malicious than I am, their spells won't scratch my units at all. In fact it would get channeled into their weapons. The swords and halberds that my forces have made are exceptionally sharp and have enchanted sharpness built into them.

 

Not even the askr wood stood a change against it because it can resist the magic, but not the blade itself. It cuts through non magical armor like butter. I spared no expense when it came to protecting those that were willing to put their lives in the line to protect Equestria. Much like I did five years ago," Ice commented knowing full well that twilight would know what she was talking about. It was her after all that was on Ice's back when the Spire fell. "You mentioned that you had thoughts on the cannons and the destroyers? Now that as I said, I want to about physical projectiles if at all possible. I want not ground units caught up in an aerial battle."

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                            


Twilight listened with only a little worry. You could make armor that was aether resistant to a high degree, capable of resisting almost any magic thrown its way. In theory, at least. Even in small practice doses. But time and time again enchanted armor failed in the field. Not in an amount that made it foolhardy mind you, but she hoped they weren't becoming overconfident. Even the finest bit of magical armor ever made- the Agent of the Sun armor crafted, maintained, and powered by Celestia herself- could be defeated. "Don't allow yourself to become overconfident in such protection, Ice. Many are the claims throughout history of such protection, only undone when faced with something they did not expect. I trust you will not do so, but...don't allow it to sneak in. Aetheric resistance is notoriously tricky. Even dedicated war-mages could not make perfection," she replied in a friendly tone. She did not want to appear overbearing. She just wanted to make sure STAR's leader wasn't too enamored by proposed ability, even tested.

As for the weapons, Twilight looked at the window and thought it out. "It'll work with that objective, lessening collateral damage. But an Aetheric only-blast, regardless of the power or even modularity of it, can be stopped by anti-magic armor in place on many vessels. Askr Wood, Neighponese Nth Metal, Saddle Arabian protection field- there are many other examples, of course. That doesn't mean it is a bad weapon, however. It just requires new tactics and complimentary arsenals to deal with its shortcoming, especially if the power sources are all so closely tied in together," Twilight said before turning back around. "But all of that is secondary to good leadership, and any problems you encounter I am sure you will be able to overcome, like you've overcome others. Beyond all of this, how have you been? Not Ice Storm. leader of STAR. Ice Storm, my friend."

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

The words that Princess Twilight spoke to Ice were true. After all, Ice herself was limiting the amount of magic that she was using when she was testing the armor, so there was always a way to break through a barrier like Aether Resistance, but it would take a lot to break through it. She knew that on a battle field, opposing mages would not be lightening their blows and their spells so that the armor would be able to disperse the aether and make use of it elsewhere. Plus there was always the danger of Aetheric Overload should the cores get over loaded and disperse from within the armor rapidly and violently. She nodded to the princess. "It is a warning that is well heeded, after all, the best armor and weapons in Equestria are useless without proper training on how to use them," she responded.

 

Twilight continued then to give her opinions on the weapons and how they would be at a disadvantage against ships that were, for example... made from Askr wood or Nth Metal, among other things. It was true that pure aetheric weapons wouldn't have great power against those and they would need something behind them to get through their defenses. Ice Storm nodded. "I'm sure that it will be something that we can work out in the testing phase. Perhaps creating exposive charges powered by aether or other means that would automatically disintegrate after a certain distance so it would fall harmlessly to the ground in small bits. I'll put some researchers on it for possible upgrades."

 

"As far as me the pony goes, I'm doing fairly well, aside from all the stress that comes from trying to orchestrate something like this. I've recently started trying my hooves at dating again, after falling into the dangerous trap for falling for a subordinate. But she's strong, yet, she been broken repeatedly just like me, she was capable of holding up to me in a spare when I briefly lost control of myself right after I got these," she said pointing to her amulet. She wasn't sure if Twilight had seen the original housing amulet she had made for the Opalus Spheres before, but if she had she would definitely notice that the amulet was black now and looked like etched scales. "She... also didn't make fun of me when I invited her back to my hotel room and realized after I had opened the door that I had forgotten to put a few certain things away..." she said blushing a bit. "That was one of the big pluses that kinda made me start falling for her."

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                          

 

 

She was dating again? That was a relief to hear. It was easy for a driven pony with the power and tools at her disposal to get so lost in her work and so focused on her goals to forget about all the things that truly made a pony a pony, and it wasn't work and success and achievements found in one's career, no matter how important those were. It was love, it was friendships, it was the things that truly made Equestria special in her embrace of such things, that marked real success. She had to admit some aimless curiosity as to who it was but decided to not ask. Ice could reveal what she wanted to reveal when she wanted to reveal it, no nosiness from the Princess needed. Unless it was needed for wedding purposes later, of course. She only used her royal powers in the most responsible of fashions!

 

"That's good to hear Ice Storm. You deserve somepony who loves you for you, and understands you. You have so much to offer somepony else that it would be a shame for all that to be hidden away," she offered with a small smile, looking out one of the windows at the other aspect of her life that she cared about. Members of STAR milled about to and fro, completing the tasks required to get this thing in the air for testing sooner rather than later. Twilight's ears perked up. "So, when do you plan on taking this for a trial run? And what will the targets be?" She asked, anticipating the answer. She already had several vessels ready to be allotted as targets for a number of experiments and new vessels. No reason this fine ship could't get involved with that, right?

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

 

 

Ice nodded as she moved herself to look out the primary window of the bridge, joining Twilight in overlooking the operations of the base as she commented on her newly discovered dating status. She was a tad bit surprised that the princess didn't ask who she was dating, but she knew that Twilight had means of finding out if she really wanted to. Of course, then Twilight made her blush a bit when she commented about her having so much to offer another pony that it would be a shame to hide it all away. "I try to keep myself out in the open as much as possible. After all, if I'm always disappearing for large amounts of time... it is how rumors start after all. Plus if I stayed down here all the time I'd miss all the snow in winter!" she smiled.

 

Then Twilight got to the butter of the questions. The main one being, when was she planning on taking this out for testing, and what would it's targets be. "Actually, that was one of the reasons why I was giving her a final once over. I'm taking the time to do a scan through her hull and her main components, and once I finish the visual inspection and make sure she's presentable, and structurally sound, she's actually ready for launch. We already know that the Aether propulsion and stabilization systems work as planned because she's no longer technically "dry-docked", she's hovering under her own power.  The biggest part is the slight oversight I had of getting her out of the Ravine without pulling the whole top down and risk damaging the ship itself. We've made some tunnels for the smaller destroyers, but I don't know we could safely make one big enough for this. So any insight you could give on that would be appreciated... As far as targets, once she was in the air and stable I was going to try to requisition some of the old naval vessels that were deemed to be retired to use them to test the artillery and canons," Ice stated looking to the princess for possible answers.

[SteelEagle]

                                                                                                  


Well, there was a lot of stuff to work over. It was telling that she had built this base and this massive vessel but had forgotten that she needed to get it out of the base. The fact it was hovering proved the concept worked for short times, but trials would be needed to see how they worked over the long haul, especially for a vessel that was trying to do so much. Proof of concept and proof of viability were very different markers. Why was Ice so caught up in this Catch-22? The lack of foresight in base construction showcased distraction and desperation, but the airship itself was a marvel. The organizational know how and quality clashed immediately with such basic mistakes. This was a mare who needed help. And it wasn't the type of help she wanted, either.

 

But that was then. She had to solve one problem at a time. "I can solve how to get this vessel out of the base, this time. You'll need a more permanent solution though," Twilight said as her horn lit up. The airship had plenty of anti-magical defenses but they were all external. Internally, she was free. And she had studied the aether drive well enough to know how to manipulate it. In a manner of seconds she utilized aether bleeding to stabilize the drive and then finished her spell, teleporting the vessel instantly out of the base- and allowing the drive to operate immediately and without delay. A smooth transition, if she said so herself! "I'm sure with some work you can make the base suitable long term, right?"