The Tortoise was allowed to go all the way to the Dry Docks. It took special privileges to enter that area. And slow, methodical maneuvering to do it safely.

Deke was on the bridge when they came in to dock. Little was in the bay, with Olive Pit. She was not cleared to be on her own at the moment. She had to be in a wheelchair. But she understood.

Once docked, they headed out to meet Admiral Ruby Snow. Captain Bleeding Night was going with them, to ensure they arrived. Admiral Ruby Snow was in the tower in the center of the dry docks.

All four dry docks were in a line. In the center was the command tower. It looked over it all, and that was also physically over all because of it’s height. It was more than just a simple tower, housing a lot of offices and meeting rooms.

They were brought to the second highest floor, which held an East and a West meeting room. They were headed to the West one. Waiting inside with Admiral Ruby Snow was Admiral Purple Breeze, Wingnut, and Bronze Valve. Deke’s package was on the table, unopened, but it was going to be discussed immediately.

“Welcome,” Ruby Snow greeted them all. “It is wonderful to see all of you again. And thank you Captain for their safe and quick delivery.”

“A pleasure Admiral,” Captain Bleeding Night saluted.

“Come on,” Ruby Snow said approaching him. “I mean it. A hoofshake is in order, not a salute.”

They shook hooves, the Captain beaming.

“Admiral,” Deke said. Both looked at him, unsure which one he meant. Deke chuckled. “I mean Admiral Purple Breeze. The Captain and the Tortoise were supposed to be transferred to the First Fleet’s Ninth Task Force. Currently, they are just running supplies back and forth, unmarked.

“A number of things were discussed, and one of those was Lead Ins. As a Sky-tank, that is a valuable training to have, and the Captain would like to get in on that training, at some point. Without a real unit, I was hoping that, perhaps, he could join our upcoming training.”

Admiral Purple Breeze looked him over. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Thank you Admiral,” Captain Bleeding Night smiled, throwing a quick salute.

“Don’t thank me quite yet,” Admiral Purple Breeze chuckled. “What group were you with recently?”

“The First Fleet’s Twelfth Task Force, but that was recently broken up.”

“Yes, it was,” Admiral Purple Breeze nodded. “I hate the First. I do not get what they are doing. I would never allow any ship of mine to go without a home for more than a week. It is unproductive and unprofessional. If you wish, I can steal you and put you in my Seventh Task Force?”

“I,” Captain Bleeding Night stammered. “It would be an honor. I know it will take some time.”

Admiral Purple Breeze picked up the phone and dialed out.

“Yes, I am calling for the Fleet Admiral. It is Vice Admiral Purple Breeze, in the Second Fleet.”

…

“Yes, hello Sir. I hope your day is going well.”

…

“Oh yes, that is a big mess. I am glad I am not having to sort all of that out. I had heard you were having more problems than just injuries and repairs. But that is a real problem. I have been cleaning out the Seventh Task Force from similar problems. Except I knew I was getting into it.”

…

…

…

“Yes, well I know you have a lot on your plate. And I have to help launch the Buttercup here shortly. That is a big task as well. Until a few weeks ago, she was mine. And I am about to take the Seventh out and do maneuvers with the Buttercup. A real test to see if things are fixed within the Seventh Task Force.

“Which is where, I think we can help each other out. You have a Sky-tank without a unit. The Tortoise. She just delivered Captain Little and Commander Deke to the dry docks where we are for the launch. The Ninth was their destination, but with everything, they have not been placed.

“I could use another Sky-tank in my upcoming training. I’m not trying to snipe anything, but my Seventh Task Force is low in it’s size because I was having all of those problems. I had to cut some ships away and reallocate them.”

…

“Yes Sir, that is where I am going with it.”

…

“That is very appreciated. I will use the Tortoise wisely. And once you figure out the Ninth a bit more, give me a call if you need to move some ships. We are all on the same team here. Even if we approach things differently.”

…

“Yes, very much so. I will keep that in mind.”

…

“Well, you are not going to believe it, but they are expanding the Third. She is going to be a full Fleet, geared towards the real defense. Monitors covering the cities and Corvettes cruising all over the place, protecting the boarders mostly. We have always been offensive in our mindset. This will only empower us to do our job better, knowing the home front is secure, with a strong fleet at our back.”

…

“Oh, I totally agree.”

…

“You have a wonderful day too.”

Vice Admiral Purple Breeze hung up the phone with a smile on her face. “That was the best, and move civil conversation we have ever had. He never like the Third and was against it to start. So even being Vice Admiral in the Second didn’t change much.

“But it was good to talk. Now the Second Fleet can prepare to take on a switch, rebalancing the First Fleet, after some unexpected issues. The sooner we know, the better that it can be taken care of. For the immediate matter, you Captain, and the Tortoise are officially apart of the Second Fleet’s Seventh Task Force.

“Don’t thank me yet. These will be some rather intense exercises we will be doing. And the Council will be in attendance. Most likely on the Buttercup.”

“Fuck,” Little swore. “I barely have a handle on leading a full bridge!”

“Little,” Deke said. “If anypony can do it, I can.”

Little scoffed, shocked at the unexpected turn. “Fuck you Deke! I don’t need you!”

Ruby Snow just started laughing as the two of them went off on tangent arguments. Just like normal.

“Okay,” Admiral Purple Breeze said, reigning them in after a minute. “Deke, your requests for the mess hall were approved. And they look great. They did a fantastic job with the painting. But box.”

Deke popped it open and pulled out a giant flag. Blue on the top, Gold in the Center and the bottom stripe was Red. A bronze Star was prominently displayed in the center.

Deke cocky smile hit it’s peak. “The Buttercup’s Council Unit Citation, in a flag. Including the campaign star to denote its second award. It is to be flown at all times, even in battle. Especially in battle. I have a few ideas where the poles can go. We earned it, we will fly it. For the honor is the ship’s and the others should want to be able to do the same.”

Admiral Purple Breeze sighed, shaking her head and trying not to laugh. “You took inspiring others to the opposite level.”

Deke just chuckled.

“What else?” Purple Breeze asked.

Deked pulled out two more spare flags to get to the other one he had made. Then he presented a Blue flag with a Silver Shield on it. On the shield was 3, in red. Very prominent.”

“Fleet Flag?” Ruby Snow asked.

“Yep,” Deke said, unable to drop his grin.

“It’s…” Ruby Snow said, stalling for time to think. “Its… not a dumb idea.”

“Good,” Deke replied. “Because I also had a bunch more flags made, but not for the Buttercup.”

Deke pulled out a white flag with a Purple Heart Medal on it. Just the medal. But a black bar cut through the center of the flag, on the horizontal line.

“Our fallen comrades, who will be honored with their names living on as ships. This is to be flown to remind all that its not just some ship name. It means much, much more than that.”

Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head. “Did you design a Second Fleet Flag for me?”

“I tried,” Deke replied. “But I don’t know your feel. The Third was easy once Little made her Demands. That coined us a defense fleet. Just a shield! I don’t know how to make a flag for the Second.”

“Just as well,” Admiral Purple Breeze replied. “We won’t fly them.”

Deke frowned.

“At least not yet. We can see how they do on the Buttercup.”

Deke’s grin was back at full power.

“Unless your Fleet Admiral has a problem with them. Its up to him.”

Deke turned to Ruby Snow. “You know I am not above begging.”

“I’m not going to allow you to beg,” Ruby Snow shot back. “But I am intrigued by the idea. You and Little can already pick out every ship the Enclave flies. But, it would make some IDs easier.”

“Not much,” Deke said. “Really, most ships just would fly their Fleet Flag, or maybe a Battle Flag or Task Force flag thing.”

“Deke, important question,” Wingnut said. “Did you make Enclave Flags? Because that should be first and highest.”

Deke pulled out the Enclave Flags. “Yeah, but I don’t like them. They are great quality, but boring.”

“However,” Deke hesitated. “I envisioned all of our ships flying flags, so I have two options. The second is better.”

Deke pulled out an Enclave Flag with a thick red band along the top. The other was a Third Fleet flag with the same band.

“The red band signals that the Fleet Admiral is aboard.”

“Not a bad idea,” Ruby Snow replied. “But only for the Third Fleet flag. Not the Enclave one. It doesn’t look right.”

Deke nodded in agreement.

Wingnut had a plan. “I can get a mast on the Buttercup erected in a few hours. Not a problem. And I know you and I are thinking of the same location on the spine. Where the main top hatch is. It is out of the way of the guns already.

“We go old school with a yardarm. Top of the mast, Enclave. Then off the arms we can fly the others, one on either side. It dresses the Buttercup up a bit more. She is the flagship. There are called flag ships for reason. At sea, the lead ship would use flags to signal tactical information.”

“You are holding something back,” Deke stated. “Flags first.”

“Alright, lets have some fun,” Ruby Snow decreed. “Just like the Captain said.”

“Captain?” Little asked, confused.

“Yes, Captain,” Wingnut said proudly. “The Buttercup has been my home for almost all of my service. I will miss her. But we are about to get in several other Cloudships. We need more officers. And as good as you two are, neither of you are quite ready to handle command without Ruby watching over you.”

“I know these ships. I will be taking the Radiant Sun. That is the second Corvette we are building. The first will be the Firecracker, and Bronze Valve will be taking command of that, as Captain.”

“I’ll be losing both of you,” Little stammered. “I’m… I never expected to command without either of you. You are a staple for the Buttercup.”

“And it has been an honor serving under you,” Bronze Valve said. “Especially this last adventure. But we are needed with the new sister ships. I’ll be attending Officer School here in a week and then, I will be promoted straight to Captain. I have the experience, and the Third has the need for somepegasus as well trained and versed in the Corvette Class as I am.

“And I mean this fully. I would not be as ready as I am without either of you two. You have challenged me to be better and taught me more about the Buttercup than I would have learned on my own, even as Captain. I am ready for that reason. That is to your credit. But we will need officers quickly.

“The Corvettes are taking prescience. We are freeing up the last dry dock. Three Corvettes will be made, while the other dry dock will crank out the three new Net Layers. And then they will move back to repairs for three of the four docks. That forth will produce the two Monitors we are getting, and then the final Corvette.”

“Captain Little, you will be happy,” Ruby smiled. “The First Monitor will bear the name, Rising Sun.”

Little grinned. “I do like that. I am very happy for that. And for both of you. It is wonderful appointments that you two will rock. I know I will be fine, but the Buttercup is a big part of each of you.”

“Thank you,” Wingnut smiled. “It will be good for the whole fleet. And we still get to serve side by side, just not on the same ship. I am looking forward to my own command. I never expected it, being an engineer, but I know the ship. And with promoting Silver Star to Commander and him becoming my First Mate, it will be perfect.”

“That is a great pairing,” Little replied. “A very good pairing.”

“You are not without trained officers,” Bronze Valve said. “We took over a Sky-tank that was waiting for a retrofit and used her for training the past few weeks. They are ready. They are trained. And Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl will make an amazing Captain, when that time comes. She still needs to cool down a bit, like Deke.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Deke said, waving it off with his wing. “That hotness gets you these awesome flags and more than you can understand.”

Ruby Snow chuckled a bit. It was true, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

“Back to me,” Admiral Purple Breeze said. “Captain Bleeding Night, you are to report to Fort Wind. The rest of the Seventh Task Force will be right behind you. We expect to start maneuvers in 9 days. We will cover those specifics when we get there.”

“Yes Ma’am,” The Captain said, snapping to attention with a salute.

“I know you are a bit lost here with all that is happening. We all have served together for a while now. But now that I think about it, you will need a designation. Head to Nellie’s main Cloudship hangers and give your crew three days off. By then, the switch will be in the system.”

“Thank you Ma’am,” Captain Bleeding Night saluted. He turned around crisply and exited to follow his orders.

“Well?” Ruby Snow asked Deke.

Deke shrugged. “He wants to be more. He wants to really serve and make an impact like we have. He could be a very good choice to take up the chair on the Rising Sun, but more likely the Twilight Sky or Ebony Grace would be a better choice. He does like his speed. He got the Tortoise moving near top speed with little goading.”

Admiral Purple Breeze scoffed. “Already sniping my Captains?”

They both laughed. Deke had the plan thought up on the bridge after they took off and he watched everything. The test would be their maneuvers. He appeared to have what it took to Captain a Corvette. And best of all, he was young. He had the years to learn and perfect it.

Wingnut took the flags and headed down to get a yardarm set up to fly them.

“We are glad you two are back,” Ruby Snow said.

“We are glad to be back,” Little smiled. “Even if it means a chair for me for a bit.”

Admiral Purple Breeze chuckled. “Deke, you had to go break my new command center and gift to you. On the first real voyage.”

Deke chuckled. “Yeah, but it fought back hard and broke my face. It got payback.”

“Well, she is all patched up for you. And we put in a new emergency com button. On the back wall, above the center console. That way, when you two have to do it again, Little won’t have to move so far.”

Deke chuckled. “I love how you just expect us to have to do something like it again.”

“Well,” Ruby Snow sighed. “We learned from 731 that changes are being made. Becoming a defensive fleet is fucking with them. But nopegasus really understands what they are. But yeah, more teams are being made, and rapidly.”

Admiral Purple Breeze had more. “As far as we can tell, they still want Corvettes to be the action ready teams. They are faster, heavily armed, and if we get these tactics with the ACUs working, its much better to commit a Corvette to the quick reactions any teams below would need.”

“Raptors are for war,” Little stated. “And Sky-tanks for troop deployments. Corvettes for lone patrols or quick actions that you don’t want something as high profile as a Raptor to be seen. Plus, its smaller, so anypony below would not get to see our trump card, the Raptors.”

Admiral Purple Breeze shook her head with a smile. “Little, you know this stuff too well. You will make a great admiral one day. And, you won respect in the Council’s eyes. You demands didn’t drop that respect. It won more.”

“Which brings me back to them and the upcoming maneuvers. The Buttercup did undergo some changes. We added three small single rooms for the shuttling or carrying of special personnel. And another bunk room. Its tight. But a bit bigger back there. So, at least three will be on board during them. Most likely the Chief, Fourth and Fifth, since they are the military officers.”

“We can handle it,” Little stated. “Any other changes? I know that Wingnut had to go do Deke’s request.”

“Magazines were increased,” Ruby Snow said. “The other Corvettes are being increased by 5% in size to do this better than our repair retrofit. They have the advantage of learning from our hard labor and testing. And on the sides, we added a central single 10 inch turret.”

“Good,” Deke said. “That would have added a lot more to the cloud busting fight.”

“That is the idea,” Ruby Snow said. “Its the closest thing to combat we have gotten in, as far as I am aware, since the war. So it was good to see the value of two more guns total on her. I’d rather run out of ammo faster, but be able to pack a heavier punch in doing so.”

“When will we retake her?” Little asked.

“Anytime,” Ruby Snow smiled. “Outside this mast, we are ready. And obviously we all blame Deke for that delay.”

“And I will wear it proudly!” Deke grinned.

“On wearing,” Ruby Snow smiled. “First point, both of you look marvelous. Your awards are well deserved. Deke, I didn’t have anything to do with that good conduct medal. But I see you are not wearing it.”

“Fuck no I am not,” Deke spat. “I haven’t earned it yet. They were just trying to give me everything they could.”

“Well, I have one more,” Ruby Snow said. “I didn’t realize you didn’t get a Meritorious Service Medal from the Ice Emergency. And only because you were ‘on probation.’ You were off probation before then. I just didn’t get that paper worked filed until after because of everything.”

Ruby Snow tossed Deke the box. “Service Star is in there as well. Fuck, you were off probation almost immediately. As soon as I saw that you had the navigation station down, you were off. Like you should have been originally. I just never got around to filing it, and it kept you in check a bit. You deserve that. That was step one in mastering the sky.”

“Thanks,” Deke stammered. “I never thought twice about the timing technicalities. It just was what happened and not getting one made sense. I was on probation for a reason.”

“I’m the Fleet Admiral. I can fix those mistakes. And your probation ended up being a retarded piece of shit to block you out of things.”

Ruby Snow took a deep breath in. He didn’t want to cover the second point.

“Deke, how is your hearing and your eyesight? You are not wearing approved, items.”

Deke sat down in a chair with a big sigh. “No. And yes.” Deke tossed his cover onto the table. It was easy to see that the emblem on the hat wasn’t the Enclave symbol. He pulled out a soft sleeve and set the glasses on the table.

“First off, hearing. The surgery went well. Fine. My hearing is restored, and balance is almost back to normal. Just a little more time. Olive Pit can give you the medical specifics.

“The ear cuff is one of the ways it can be anchored. There is a low profile, clear rubber plastic shit thing that flips around and does a good job. But I had that designed to be more fun for me. And the whole thing gets wrapped up in the idea of covering up everything with fun, expressive ways. Pirate comes to mind, so the rings were added. I can’t have earrings in a nerve damaged ear.

“And thus enters the eye. Patch, pirate, duh. Fun. These glasses help. They help, but they are not full sight. Not quite perfect. It annoys me more than completely cutting it off with the eye patch.”

Ruby Snow looked at Olive Pit. He didn’t want to put him on the spot, but he was the medical professional with them and he knew their files.

“I got Deke to at least listen to you two,” Olive Pit stated. “I think he needs to fight for his eyesight. I’d like another opinion on the matter. I am no expert on the eyes. I will research what I can in my available time. But we are about to start another ACS. We are tight with me now being their medical escort.

“But I really think glasses are the best option. This pair is blocky and shit. It doesn’t compliment his face and I know there are better styles out there. Getting Deke into a pair that looks good is the first place to start.”

Ruby Snow nodded and looked Deke square in the face. “Deke, glasses. Enough fun with the eye patch. You need that sight to continue working as a bridge officer. No way around it. I can’t believe you have given up. It does show me how hard that injury is striking you.”

Deke sighed and pulled the patch off. He put the glass on. The right eye was perfect - meaning it was just basic glass on that side - but the left was fuzzed out enough that their discrepancy drove him nuts. Their field of vision crossed and didn’t flow like they should naturally.

“We need to get you new glasses,” Ruby Snow said. “We will head into town in New Heaven and find you another opinion and better style. One that fits you.”

Deke grunted, agreeing. “Can we go one lens? I have having glass over my right eye. Obstruction foul.”

“We will see what styles are actually available,” Ruby Snow said with a chuckle. “And cover, back to your real one. Enough fun. You have a chest full of awards to back up. The master of the sky doesn’t wear something like that.”

Deke just nodded.

With that finished, they began making their way to the Buttercup. The first stop was the shipyard’s administrator. The second was the important one. The forepegasus over the project.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” He greeted them. “Cloud Block is the name. And that’s block as in building blocks, not the action.”

“I never got to work on the others, but it is a great pleasure to finally lay down some
Cloudship, and not just repair or rebuild them.”

Little was confused. “Didn’t you guys just build the Solar?”

“Well,” Cloud Black hesitated. “Sort of. She was built from another Cloudship. The Cloudships
were built during the war. Most of their components were expertly made by Unicorns. Then the pegasi
assembled them here. So now we mostly repurposed them, play with their designs a bit and such until
its ‘new.’ It looks good to have us building new ones.

“We can make the parts, but it takes time. We reverse engineered it all, but yeah, it takes time
and a lot of energy. And they are not to the same quality the Unicorns could put out. We build what we
have to and scavenge from our lot when we have to.

“We have a ton of Cloudship parts here. Most of them were damaged in the war and never got
fixed. So we use them. And then the 1-9s accident has given us several more ships out of commission.
Several will be rebuilt, others will just be scavenged. Beyond worth repairing.

“But these Net Layers are special, and have to be built from the clouds up. The same goes for the others. Even the ball turrets were redesigned for the Corvette Class and the Monitor Class. You guys use shells. The old ships use magic guns.

“If they want to put the time and energy into fully new ships, they get them. And I prefer it to the strip and clears we do before rebuilding them all. These are more maintainable too because we build them for what we have now, not trying to compensate for what we lost. I prefer these designs. And our retrofits have been converting different magic guns to caliber weapons. We are running out of ways to make them work. And the Raptors need their main guns to stay online and with power as long as possible.”

Cloud Block gave them more information into the repair of the Buttercup. And more information into the other Corvettes planned.

Little was happy for the stops. It kept her off the Buttercup. She was getting very nervous about stepping back on. She was unsure that she could take command.

But she had to. She was her Captain. It was her duty, and she could not abdicate it or avoid it. She had to show the strength to the crew that she didn’t have, so that they could do their job for her.

Little got out of wheelchair to board the Buttercup. She made her way slowly up the ramp. Deke had the chair for the moment, as Olive Pit was right by her side, ready if anything went wrong.

At the top of the ramp in the bay was every soldier except for the bridge officers. They snapped to attention at her arrival.

“At ease,” Little confidentially ordered. “It’s good to see you all. Thank you for the greeting. Now, to your stations. We have a ship to get into the sky and a duty to serve.”

Little continued onto the bridge on her own, strengthened by the greeting from her crew.

Little sat in the Captain’s chair. Deke was standing on her left, and Ruby on her right. Every station had both chairs occupied. The Buttercup was staffed and ready to go. She had a crew, and Little didn't know what to do with it.

Little just went with the commands she would give herself when flying. “Helm, engage engines, 20%. Let her warm up. Nav, do you have our course set to Fort Wind?”

“The Tower wants to know if we are having trouble, “ Lieutenant Swift Concert asked from communications.

“Tell them we are just warming up and will be out momentarily. Engines to 35%. Forward flaps up. I don't want her lifting off at all yet.”

“Course set Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Sunny Swirl reported.

Little looked at the course on her small screen. It wasn't like really being in control, or working with Deke.

“Engines to 47%”

“47%? “ Lieutenant Crystal Bolt asked.

“47,” Little confirmed. “That is her balance point.”

The Buttercup skipped forward. Little had to hold on to her chair so she wasn't thrown forward.

“Back to 40%!” Little ordered.

The Buttercup stopped, skidding a bit on the ground. She was half out of the Dry Dock from the jump.

“Captain,” Deke said. “It appears the new engines are more powerful than what we are used to.”

“It appears so Commander. Commander, please take the helm. I will not leave Dry Dock without finding that balance point.”

“Yes Captain,” Deke said, replacing Lieutenant Crystal Bolt.

“Captain, the Tower is asking how we are fairing.”

“Tell them we are fine and that we are learning the new nuances of the Buttercup. We will be underway shortly.”

Deke checked through the weather reports before slowly moving the engines up. Deke had been trained by Little to find that balance point. Most Captains and pilots just pulled the ship up and out. Little learned to find that point where it was almost about to move. She used it to get the Buttercup up slightly in the bay and inch or two, waiting, and to seamlessly jet off at impressive speeds or turns. All because of that balance point.”

“43% and holding, “ Deke reported. “I believe we shall hit that point at 46%.”

Deke took each increase slowly. There was the chance that she would lurch again without him being prepared. If she did, he had a forward plan, but he wanted to find that balance point almost as bad as Little. It was her signature move.

“46% Deke reported. “How does she feel Captain?”

“Almost there,” Little replied. “Why are we still on the ground?”

“Checking, “ Deke mumbled. “Starboard Forward Flap 7 was not all the way out.”

“Back off to 43% and test that flap,” Little ordered.

“Already on it,” Deke replied. “As far as I can tell, the flap is fully operational. Permission to fully test her once we launch.”

“Prove she balances first, “ Little said.

“47% Percent,” Deke replied. “She is right there Captain.”

“Oh, I feel it, “ Little smiled. “Punch it and test that flap!”

Deke put the flaps down at the same time as he pushed the engines to 80%. The Buttercup floated out of the Dry Dock and forward, off towards Fort Wind.

“Testing Starboard Forward Flap 7 now.”

The Buttercup turned by less than a degree, but Deke and Little felt the subtle shift of it fully out.

“Totally operationally to specifications,” Deke reported. “Scared me for a while.”

Little chuckled. “You love SFF7 too much Deke.”

“You have to know how to caress her. That's how I kept us from tipping against the storm. You know I am right.”

“Yeah, yeah, step down so the Lieutenant can do his job. “

Ruby Snow nodded to Deke as he got up. Everything was handled exactly how it should have been. Even him taking the helm.

“Helm, follow the course set to Fort Wind.”

Ruby Snow stepped over to Deke who was in his corner, thinking.

“I know that look,” Ruby Snow said quietly. “You want something.”

“Yeah,” Deke said, a slight grin on his zoned out face. “But can I get it elsewhere?”

Ruby Snow’s face matched Deke’s grin. “Where do you know where you can get it?”

“New Cloudsdale. I know, we just came there. But my pair is readily available.”

Ruby Snow chuckled. Deke was really wanting something, but trying to not derail them. “What do you want?”

“Well,” Deke said, trying to formulate everything correctly. “When I worked as the Director of Operations, well all of us had to wear goggles at all time. Standard safety protocol. The pair we got free worked, but were not that great. We got our own pairs. If I’m stuck with glasses, well they looked stylish while being functional.”

Ruby Snow sighed. He needed Deke to wear glasses. He needed him enthusiastic about such a sharp change. And the pair he was given was an eyesore and would never look good on anypony.

“Mareland and then for you to go in and get them is a stop,” Ruby Snow said.

Deke smirked. “Yes, I know. But put me at the helm, I take her in, park her, and jump out. My family will be home. Grab them, kiss them good bye, and gone. All of 20 minutes.”

Ruby Snow almost agreed and then stopped. “You mean put the colt who is having trouble with eyesight in control of the ship to navigate in between the city buildings?”

Deke let out a chuckle, but didn’t back down. “Which is worse? Dry dock departure while finding the balance point, or that?”

“Deke,” Ruby Snow said disappointed. “Are you really trying to compare the two?”

“No,” Deke shot back. “I did just compare them.”

“Can you find them anywhere else?”

Deke shrugged. “I didn’t just walk into a hardware store to find them. I also got my industrial breathing mask. Again, the free stuff worked, but was crappy. And when you need to wear them for extended periods, pretty simple to justify buying better stuff.”

“Captain,” Ruby Snow called.

“Yes Admiral?” Little said, not even bothering to turn around. Just like normal.

“I need a destination set in between Fort Wind and here.”

“Of course Admiral. Where do you need us to go?”

“Set the point for 15 miles west of the center of New Cloudsdale.”

“Navigation, set course for 15 miles west of New Cloudsdale. We will maintain this elevation. Helm, as soon as you have that course, correction, gun it!

“Thanks,” Deke said quietly to Ruby Snow.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

Deke was serious. “I won’t. This is for real.”

“I know,” Ruby Snow replied. “I can’t imagine with its like for you. To see you rocked this deeply over what seems to be something trivial, its important. Of that I am sure.”

Ruby Snow sat down at his spot. “Commander, I just thought of something.”

“Yes?” Deke asked, peering over the center console.

“Yes, you are on light duty. I don’t want you controlling the bridge on your own yet. Not until we get you a new pair of glasses and used to them. Yes, I trust you to pilot the Buttercup into the city. You know it very well, but I want you supported for now. Just like I wouldn’t let Little be up and pacing. She staying in that chair.”

“Yes Sir,” Deke replied professionally. “It is probably for the best. Everything is still a mess right now.”

“Yeah, my entire bridge crew almost died on me. That is what happens.”

They both snickered. The usable bridge crew had almost died.

They were much faster than the Torturous. It only took them 32 hours to make the run back. They arrived mid afternoon.

“Captain,” Ruby Snow said. “The Commander has the helm.”

“Commander has the helm,” Little ordered.

Deke took the helm of the Buttercup. He began to slowly move them into the city. It was slow work. Deke was keeping to a strict speed limit. They rarely let Cloudships operate above a city, even less below the tallest buildings. Deke wasn’t going to scare anypony because of their pit stop. The Fleet Admiral was kind enough to approve it, he wasn’t going to make a mistake.

Deke maneuvered the Buttercup as close as he could and parked it in the sky. He lowered the ramp and stood up. He faced Little.

“Captain. I am departed with Fleet Admiral Ruby Snows approval. I shall be right back.”

“Of course Commander,” Little said a nod.

Deke still wasn’t rushing. He needed more time. All of this was good to get his balance back. He was getting stronger and stronger, but not running speed yet.

Deke jumped off the ramp into a good cruise. He glided towards the street and landed in front of the apartment high rise his family was at. His Aunt and Uncle had moved, letting the kids buy of the house from them. His stuff was still at that apartment.

He took the elevator up to the floor. Deke was almost knocked off his feet several times by its jerking. He was backed into the corner, holding onto the sides to stay up.

Deke walked down the familiar hallway and knocked on the door. He heard the familiar call of his aunt from inside. They might have moved, but the family was close. The must be over. The door was opened by Sun Shower.

“Deke?” She asked confused. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Hey Sun, I need something.”

“Ah,” She said, stepping aside. “I thought you had departed for you ship?”

“Its parked down that way,” Deke said, pointing with his wing as he went to his room. It had been all boxed up, but was still stored there. “I need my goggles and face mask.”

“That is Deke!” Winter Low said, coming out of his room. “Why is Deke here?”

“Aha!” Deke exclaimed as he found them.

He came back out to the living room to answer why he was there. They all confused more than anything.

“Yeah, these glasses I am wearing won’t work. Look at them. The Fleet Admiral was kind enough to amend out destination to include a stop here for me to get there. I love how I look in them. And I need to wear glasses. It glasses, or off Cloudships. At our real stop, we will get me a good pair that looks nice. But I wanted these for reference. And he wants me to wear them, and not have to remove me from duty.”

Sun Shower lunged at Deke and embraced him. “I love you. I know its for this quick moment, but its good to see you. I know you can make this transition. You are my Deke. My Deke does that. He does it without a second thought and without complaining. He is strong that way.”

Deke was hugging her tightly back. A tear dripped onto the lens of his right eye. “I love you. Thank you for reminding me who Deke is. I have to be so much for so many others. I lost myself there for a bit.”

Sun Shower let go and forced them to break contact. She sniffed back tears. “Go. Hug the others and go. You need to and I can’t stand not hugging you, so go before I won’t let you. But seeing you...”

Deke wiped away her tears. Just like he had done when she was younger and would come to him when she couldn’t sleep from all the scared, loneliness she felt.

Deke hopped away, hugged the others and was gone. He had a new pep to his step and it was noticed as he got back to the bridge. Ruby Snow caught the goggles as Deke walked past him and to the helm.

Deke had closed the ramp when he exited. He slowly increased their elevation until they were above all of the buildings. Deke turned them north and punched it. He was done playing nice. He was Deke. He had this.

Next Chapter: Chapter 93 - Plans Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 57 Minutes