Luna calmly trotted through the halls of the Vector, recently re-fitted with the multi-species crew it deserved. Ponies, changelings, gryphons, humans, all stopped what they were doing to salute her as she made her way through.

Just a few days ago, the humans had reluctantly assimilated Ubor technology into their ship, albeit the only one with a drive core powerful enough for what was to come. The tests on the new technology had proven effective, with capacity to travel beyond what other drive cores could. Probes had been launched, transmissions returning successfully. There was no telling where exactly the probes arrived, but one thing was certain: they made it far.

Reaching the blast doors to the Command Bridge, Luna nodded at the two armored pony guards standing by it, prompting them to open the doors for her. Walking in into the bridge itself, she was met by the sight of technicians working on their consoles with machine-like efficiency, holoscreens set up on the walls and ceilings, and the main viewscreen, currently overlooking the planet. She made her way over to Admiral Feros, arriving by her side as the woman dismissed the newly assigned Infantry Commander, previously known as “General Gilda.”

Luna watched the gryphon hen walk off, before looking up into the eyes of the Admiral. “Is it true, Admiral? Have you really found a way?”

Feros huffed. “We have.” She pointed at the lot of technicians, almost all of them non-human. “Several of our current bridge technicians have worked on the retrofitting of the transdim core. I’m proud to see that your people have never lost their sense of duty… and kindness. Without the help of the natives, this would have never been achieved.”

“But why the Vector?” Luna said. “Why not a smaller ship? What if the jump fails… catastrophically?”

“It would take decades to build another ship capable of doing this, and your planet would be starved of resources, practically left to rot in this system along with all of its people.” Feros placed her hands behind her back. “This is here and now. We have ninety-five percent of a chance that we will arrive in, or near the Milky Way. Our drive core can safely take us to the nearest USC-controlled system from there…” She looked out the main viewscreen. “And the soul of every man and woman will be able to rest once again.”

“As far as I know, Admiral,” Luna followed Feros’ gaze to and through the viewscreen. “This is interdimensional travel we are handling here. What if we get to the wrong dimension?”

“We jump back, or keep looking.” Feros sighed. “What are we prepared to sacrifice, is the better question.” She looked back down at Luna. “Back then, your mages wrote down the specific energy signature of the jump that got us here. So did our technicians. The appearance of the Ubor in this system, in this dimension, means that we, as the United Species Coalition, are no longer alone. If we do not scratch the machine threat off of the board, chances are your planet will eventually fall.”

“I see…” Luna muttered. “That is what drives us, the natives, along with our sense of kindness and generosity. But what drives you…?”

“Home.” Feros whispered. “Many of us have settled down in this planet, hence why we mixed the crew for this. But… many of us had families, children. We would do anything, anything, to see them once again.”

The Princess nodded. “And we will do nothing to stop you from having just that…” She blinked and looked at the many consoles manned by the technicians. “What about us, though? What if we are stuck there?”

“Like I said, Princess.” Kira looked down sternly at the alicorn. “What are you prepared to sacrifice? You, as the representant of them all, should have that clear.”

Pipsqueak stomped into the meeting chamber, holoscreens set all around, and a circular chamber on the middle, with his squad sitting around it. They stood up a saluted him, then sat back down.

“Been a while, sir,” Kent spoke up. “We’re glad you picked us… thought it all ended after Zebrica.”

“Likewise,” the Commander said. “I had to do a lot of paperwork for this.” He leaned over the table and rested his mechanical arms on it. “Now, commence debriefing.” The screens lit up with the image of a galaxy. “We’ve been assigned on the Vector, as you can clearly see. Now, here’s the important data; this ship has been retrofitted with the tech we scavenged from the Combat Walker at Zebrica… It was an Ubor.”

“Ubor?” Ramble muttered. “You’re… kidding, right? Sir?”

“I wish I was.” He glanced over at the holoscreens. “As far as we have investigated, it possessed tech that allowed for inter-dimensional travel. Since we adapted it to the Vector, I believe you can all figure out where we’re going.”

“Sir?” Mirror asked. “Is High Command sure about this? What if-”

“Here’s the catch… While all of us were too busy doing paperwork, or, returning the calm to the planet, Command launched probes, made studies. All you need to know is that we can and will go through this.” Pipsqueak stood upright once again. “Regaining contact with the original USC is our top priority at this moment. Now go, get some rest, stock up on food… Dismissed.”

Luna walked over to Kira Feros’ side. “Is everything ready?” she asked.

The woman nodded, pressing a set of fingers into her ear. “Alright Guardsmen, jump is go. I repeat, jump is go!”

A single, stray question popped into the Princess’ mind. “What about our magic? Will we be able to survive in your dimension?”

Kira looked down at Luna. “Don’t worry about that, we made sure that every non-human crewmember is carrying a small energy generator, which replicates the magical field of your planet. In your case, the energy core that replaced your heart should be sufficient.”

Sirens and alarms began to sound off. “All crew members,” the Vector’s deep, metallic voice said. “Prepare for imminent jump.”

Chatter filled the Command Bridge, technicians talking to and fro. Luna looked up at the Admiral, who in turn pointed at the main viewscreen, just as the ship began to speed into hypervelocity. After that, all that could be seen in the screen was blue, flame-like sprites. The crew fell silent, all the chatter suddenly falling. Luna gulped and glanced around, only to find that the entire bridge crew was looking at the viewscreen.

The Vector gave out a low growl, Luna’s eyes darting around in an attempt to track down the source, then up questionly at the Admiral. Seeing Kira’s eyes looked onto the viewscreen, she followed suit. Another growl, source unknown, before the ship broke out of hyperspace.

“Jump successful,” the Vector said. “Calculating…”

Luna gasped, looking through the viewscreen, at a planet surrounded by ships and massive stations, with its continents dominated by shining megacities. She cracked a weak smile, looking up at Kira, who had brought her hand up to her face, letting tears crawl down her face.

“Location: Milky Way, USC, Earth.”