Chapters In front of him sat his lightsaber. It lay in pieces, waiting to be assembled. With practiced focus and concentration he lifted it into the air and put it back together. Within seconds the double bladed saber lay before him, complete. His thoughts began to wander. The past couple nights he had the same reoccurring dream. It started with an empty room, half light and half dark. He stood under the light. The other side was dark. The only thing he could see was shapes. Lots of them. Then everything would speed up and he would be left facing only one figure in the darkness. The dream usually ended there. But last night it ha…
His arm beeped. He looked down to find his comlink buzzing. He pressed the answer key.
“Yes? What is it?”
An irritated voice sounded on the other end of the link.
“You’d better thing twice before you respond to me that way boy. I’m still your master so show respect and get up here. We’re approaching our next target.”
“Yes Harrar.”
“What was that? I didn’t quite catch it.”
“Yes, Master Durron.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. Now get up here Night, we’ve got work to do.”
Night stood and began to put on his combat armor. They had been doing this ‘job’ for almost two months now. The Jedi wanted the eradication of any and all Sith artifacts. They had been tracing shipments through the Outer Rim for years but hadn’t acted upon it. Now with rumors of the Empires return, the Jedi were holding nothing back to prevent it from happening.
Night grabbed his lightsaber and cloak and jogged down the hallway towards the bridge. Hopefully this would be the last target, and then they could go home. He couldn’t wait to see Tekli again. Before he left she said that she had to tell him something important. He had no idea what it could be. They had been friends for the longest time and she was always trying to pull a fast one on him.
Night arrived at the bridge. One of the soldiers at the door shouted,
“Officer on deck!”
As the bridge crew rose to salute, Night waved them back down.
“We don’t perform formalities in combat, remember? It’s unnecessary, now sit down and get to work.”
From behind him a sarcastic laugh echoed from the captain’s chair.
“Your one to talk of work, boy. You don’t do a lick yourself.”
Night turned to face his master and smiled.
“Isn’t the captain’s chair for the captain, master? If so, then why are you sitting in it? You’re just the commander of this mission, not the ships captain.”
Master Durron was up in Night’s face in a flash.
“You watch your tone boy, or I’ll…”
“You’ll what? We both know that I’m the better of the two of us, so go ahead. Give me your best shot.”
The captain of the boarding squad pushed between the two of them. He stared them both hard in the eye.
“Enough, the both of you. You’re squabbling like a bunch of kids. Show some maturity.”
Master Durron smacked him away.
“Get off of me you inbred trash. I should have you court marshaled for this. You dirty piece of-”
Night’s blade flashed on. The tip was just under Master Durron’s throat. The bridge was silent.
“You say one more word and I will cut your tongue out, do you understand?”
The two just stared at each other for a moment.
“I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
An alarm siren broke the silence. A technician called from their station.
“We will be within firing range in two minutes captain.”
The bridge went back to its normal state. Night turned his saber off.
“I’m not finished with you.”
He and the squad captain turned to where the rest of the squad stood in a nervous silence. The captain leaned over to Night.
“Thanks for the help man but I didn’t need it.”
Night shook his head.
“Nobody talks to my friends like that. I don’t care who they are.”
John Drakthuul was in no way a helpless man. He was half human and half Tusken. Luckily his human side stood out more. Either way he was big and mean when he needed to be. He was one of Nights few and only friends.
Night leaned against the wall and sighed.
“I’m really hoping we can go home after this run. I’m tired of dealing with him.”
John grinned and said,
“Or you just really want to see your lady friend. Huh? Am I right?”
Night shoved him away.
“Tekli and I are just friends.”
John was laughing now.
“Oh yeah I’m sure. You’re just really good friends.”
Their laughter caused the rest of the squad to lighten up and relax until the technician shouted,
“Two minutes till boarding range!”
They straightened up and waited until the call sign said go. Then everything started going wrong.
The smuggler ship detonated, engulfing the blastboat in flame. The bridge shook about under the assault. Another alert siren rang off has dozens of other ships materialized around them. They opened up on the out-classed Jedi ship. The blastboat shook under each hit.
“Life support is at Fifty-two percent sir, our shields are gone. We can’t take another hit like that.”
Another shock rocked the bridge and the lights flickered. The technician looked at his keyboard again.
“And there goes the hyperdrive, we just lost our wheels.”
Master Durron stood from his chair.
“Try to comm. them; see if we can negotiate surrender.”
Night stalked up beside him.
“Belay that!”
Turning to Durron he said,
“You can’t possibly consider surrendering to the Sith? Those are their ships. We have to try and run.”
“On what? The hyperdrive is gone. We’re sitting ducks.”
Turning back to the technician Night asked,
“Is the drive still in one piece?”
“Yes sir, the power uplink was knocked loose and we lost the engineer who usually fix’s it.”
Night nodded
“Good, then I can get us out of here.”
He walked to the middle of the bridge and began to focus on the engine. Master Durron shouted at him.
“Do not do what I think you are going to try. If you even attempt it, I will personally shoot you into space myself! You could kill us all! I should have you…”
“John shut him up or we aren’t going to make it out!”
John walked over and promptly socked Master Durron in the jaw. He smiled at Night.
“That good?”
“Perfect.”
Night focused on the engine. He slowly fed it power through the Force and watched as the machine started to turn again. He felt blood running from his mouth and nose has he pushed it to go harder; faster and faster until… He felt the kick as they shot to lightspeed. He managed to stumble two steps before falling into darkness.
In a galaxy far, far away...
Night stood in the room again. This time something was different though. He was backed against the wall in the last sliver of light. Darkness surrounded him on all sides. He brought his saber up to drive and block the pounding attacks, but failed, has his body took more and more punishment. His head was pounding and his arm hung limp at his side. A small light grew on the opposite side of the room. The light grew until the dream dissolved and he awoke in the sparking remains of the bridge. John was dragging him to his feet.
“C’mon now, you aren’t dead yet.”
The bridge was dark and bodies were scattered around the room. A small fire burned in one corner while a few soldiers searched for other survivors. By the way they were shaking their heads the result wasn’t good.
John helped him outside to where other survivors were being treated. Night’s vision swam and he fell to his knees. John was at his side immediately.
“Whoa there, you need to be careful. You have a concussion. That much I can tell. Let’s get you laid up against a tree and then we’ll talk what’s what.”
John led Night to the edge of the clearing. He raised his hand to call a medic but Night waved him down.
“I can heal myself later. We need to discuss what happened.”
John plopped down next to him.
“Well where do we start?”
Night rubbed his chin.
“What happened after I blacked out?”
“After you collapsed the ship fell from hyperspace. We had come out near a terrestrial world, so that was good. The gravity well caught us and reeled us in. The ship started venting when we entered the atmosphere and we lost our engines. I’d say maybe twenty people died on re-entry. Otherwise I think casualties were light.”
The medic had come over while they were talking and had wrapped Night’s head up. He jumped to his feet and walked towards the group of people.
“Run roll call. See who we have.”
John pulled out a small datapad and began reading off names. The casualties were higher than expected.
“How did we lose forty-eight people of an eighty person crew? Isn’t this bucket supposed to be unbreakable?”
Night kicked the ship, venting his rising anger. Some many had died, was it really worth it?
Master Durron hopped out of a tree beside Night.
“Don’t blame her. She wasn’t the one disobeying her superiors’ orders.”
Night whipped around to Master Durron.
“Don’t even get me started. You were perfectly content to let us be captured by the Sith armada. If it wasn’t for your lack of orders we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Master Durron waved his hand around in the air.
“Lack of orders? I specifically told you not to take us to hyperspace. I also told you to try to raise the enemy ships. Where did you see a lack of orders?”
“How about when you didn’t order us to fight back? Or to run? You left us to sit there, like bantha fodder.”
Master Durron was screaming now. Spittle flew from his mouth.
“THAT’S BECAUSE WE WERE BANTAHA FODDER! IF IT WEREN’T FOR YOU, MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!”
John shoved his way between them.
“Shut up! The both of you. As your commanding officer I order you to both stand down and walk away.”
He whipped his pistol out and pointed it at Master Durron’s face.
“If you say one word about my heritage, there will be twenty shots in your eye before you can blink, clear?”
Master Durron stared him down with a look of pure hatred.
“Crystal.”
Night turned and stalked towards the tree line. Master Durron jumped back into the tree he had been hiding in, leaving John alone to face the small crowd of survivors.
“We are leaving in half an hour so get what you need for the road. We have crashed on an unknown planet but scanners say that intelligent forms of life exist. We will try to seek them out and find our way back to Corscant. If it doesn’t work out we may have to fight our way out, so take weapons, as well has food and water. Pair up and gather supplies. That is all. WHO ARE WE?”
The soldiers answered with loud, strong voices.
“WE ARE THE CALVARY!”
John nodded and set off into the woods to find Night.
Night had found a small stream and was cleaning his armor. The breastplate was covered in ash and soot. Night first ran it under the water, and then scrubbed at it with his hand. He ran his hand over the scarred and scratched surface. It had several fresh, burned out gouges. He ran his hands over a particularly broad delve. It ran from the ribs down to the edge of the plate. Night noticed the fact that the edges of the cut had been burned. It looked similar to a lightsaber cut. The only problem was that this plate had never been hit with anything. Lightsaber or otherwise, so how had it gotten cut? Images of bright light and agonizing pain flashed through his mind. He opened his eyes into another vision.
He stood in the rain with a man shooting a blaster at him. The shots thudded against his chest and as he fell he saw John standing there holding the blaster. Then a crimson saber pierced his back and the vision faded into darkness. He shot up alert with John shaking his shoulders.
“Night, Night! What’s wrong with you man? Are you daydreaming or are you just trying to ignore me?”
Night shook his head. He gazed at his armor. It was now clean and unscarred.
“I’m fine, just… zoned out for a second.”
John pulled Night to his feet.
“C’mon, we’re leaving out soon and we need you’re help.”
Night nodded.
“Yeah, I’ll be right over; I just… need a minute.”
“Are you okay? You seem… out of it.”
Night shook his head again.
“I just need a minute to think is all.”
“I’ll see you in a few then, okay?”
Night nodded
“Yeah.”
John walked away and Night once again stood alone in the woods. A branch snapped overhead. Night ignited his lightsaber.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
He turned in a small circle but didn’t see anything. With a grunt he snapped on his armor and walked towards the crash site.
She let out a breath of relief. The human had been very alert and had almost seen her. She didn’t understand the language it spoke. She didn’t know how it had heard the twig break. It had been tiny and she had almost missed it herself. Yet the human had whipped around like a tree had fallen. Then there was the glowing light from the small metal object. It had been a blazing blue and had come form both ends. Was it a weapon of some sort? A tool? She decided to keep tracking the humans. If they showed no signs of aggression then they would reveal themselves. If they were violent however… things could get messy.
After gathering their supplies they set off into the woods. The sun was starting to set and it felt like they hadn’t made any progress. Two more had died from their wounds. The medics were worried the lack of medicine was going to cause even more deaths from infection and disease. Night wasn’t focused on their chatter though. He was searching the surrounding area through the Force. He felt like they were being watched. Ever since he had found that stream the feeling never left him. He felt nothing through the Force but he couldn’t shake the premonition that they were being followed. A dark shape flitted at the corners of his vision. John called a halt to the march. Night turned to the front to find what looked like large wolves. The only problem was that they were made out of sticks and leaves.
“What are those things?” John asked
Night pushed in front of him and ignited his lightsaber.
“I have no idea, but they don’t look friendly. Weapons out! Look alive! I would bet fifty credits they didn’t come alone.”
As he said this more and more of the creatures stepped from the wood-work. The lead one growled at Night. Both groups stood in a tense silence, until one of the soldiers loosed a shot. It hit the lead wolf in the eye. The creature yelped in pain and the rest leaped forward. Night met the first one head on and cut the creature down the middle. It collapsed and he smiled at John. The look was not returned and Night turned around to find the thing pulling itself back together. Night gathered a ball of Force energy in his hands and shoved it at the healing wolf. It scattered into pieces. The other two he faced thought it better to run than fight, so they did. Night turned around to find that most of the creatures were pulling out. The sight almost made Night smile until he saw what they had left behind.
Ten bodies lay on the ground unmoving. They were mangled and torn. The last medic went around to each shaking his head. Most of them had been unarmed, medics or wounded. The remaining survivors were scared out of their wits. They looked to him and John for orders.
“Let’s get moving, we don’t want to be here when they come back.”
“But what about the bodies, sir? We can’t just leave these saps to be eaten.”
A few soldiers nodded in agreement, but John shook his head.
“We’re going to have to leave them. We don’t have the time to bury them nor the power to stave off another attack. I’m sorry, but we have to go.”
The soldier who had spoken up looked to be on the verge of tears.
“But, but what about my brother?”
He gestured towards one of the bodies. John walked up to him and pulled him into a hug.
“I’m sorry about your brother Mac but we can’t stay here. We have to get moving.”
The soldier broke down into tears. Night walked over to the medic.
“Do you have anything to make him sleep for awhile?”
The medic nodded
“I do but someone will have to carry him.”
Night stuck his hand out.
“I’ll carry the lad; just help me calm him down.”
They both walked over and injected the soldier with the medicine. He slumped over and Night picked him up. John slowly shook his head.
“That boy just lost his last family member; the rest had been killed by pirates a few months back. It’s the only reason those two came, to get revenge on the scum of the galaxy.”
Night just nodded and the group walked on into the forest in an uneasy silence.
They trekked until the sun was gone. The came upon a small clearing and began to set up camp. While Night lit a fire, John spoke to the rest of the group.
“Listen up! I’m taking a hunting party out to find some fresh meat and I need a few volunteers.”
About ten soldiers raised their hands and the hunting party left. Night lit the fire and walked over to a tree on the edge of the clearing. He slumped his back against it and closed his eyes. It had been a long day. He dozed slightly until he heard a branch snap on the other side of the camp. He looked up to find the medic relieving himself. Night grabbed a pebble and chucked it, hitting the man in the back of the head. The man looked over his shoulder to see Night grinning back. The medic just shook his head and finished his business. Night chuckled at the man’s expense and went back to dozing. Then the arrows started coming down.
They started in ones and twos, and then started raining down more and more frequently. The soldiers watched as the arrows thudded off of their armor. Eventually one started laughing because soon they all were. The only people not laughing were Night and Master Durron. They both casually diverted arrows that were aimed towards the heads of the oblivious soldiers. The squad leader was laughing the loudest.
“Look at the poor saps, can’t get through our armor. It’s funny to watch them try.”
Master Durron scowled at him.
“Watch for the arrows coming at your heads, fools. Your skulls may be thick, but not that much.”
As if to prove his point he caught an arrow aimed for his head and snapped it in two. The squad leader gulped and shot his blaster off into the air. The hail of arrows stopped.
“Alright get back to work. We can’t let some pesky natives get the best of us.”
A beam of light similar to a blaster shot struck him in the back of the head. He collapsed face first into the dirt. More similar beams of light struck the other soldiers. Soon he and Master Durron were all alone. Master Durron raised his lightsaber to block one of the beams to find that it passed right through. He collapsed to the ground and Night stood by himself.
He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and pulled a broken log to him as a shield. It blocked the bolt but shattered after the impact. He continued blocking beam after beam in the same fashion. With each hit he backed up farther and farther until he was backed against the tree. He brought his forearms together and two logs followed suit. He shoved them towards the point where the beams were coming from, then turned to the fire. He fed the fire air and fuel through the Force and it blazed into the sky. Night dove into the woods at a Force enhanced sprint.
“I’ve got to warn John and the others” he said to himself. He skidded to a stop to catch his breath. A flare crawled through the sky. Night took off at a dead run towards the spot where the flare was launched.
“No, no, no, No, NO! I can’t let them be killed!” He ran as fast as he could to the flare. He ignited his lightsaber as he jumped into a small clearing.
He collapsed to his knees. The field was empty save for a few burned holes and weapons.
“DAMN IT!”
Night slammed his fists against the ground, leaving two small craters. He kneeled for what seemed like hours and cried. He had been helpless to save one of his only friends. Now he sat alone save for a small clutter of weapons and utter silence.
Night glared into the darkness with a pile of weapons by his side. He pulled out a flask and took a swig. The whisky burned down his throat. He allowed his senses to dull as he tried to piece together what had happened. They had obviously been ambushed by a larger force with superior weaponry. What Night couldn’t understand was why he hadn’t been attacked yet. He had launched five different flares into the air and yet nothing had happened. No lights, no arrows, no signs of intelligent life. Nothing.
A branch cracked behind him. He jumped to his feet and ignited his lightsaber. He shouted into the darkness.
“YOU DIRTY RAT HOLED FODDER! COME OUT AND FACE ME LIKE MEN! YOU COWARDS DON’T WANT TO STOP UNTIL WE’RE ALL DEAD? FINE THEN! COME OUT AND FACE ME!”
A beam of light danced towards Night. He ducked under it and summoned one of the blasters to his hand. He released a flurry of shots towards a shadow that was circling the clearing. The shots fell behind his target and he speared his lightsaber towards it. It struck. He walked over to where his lightsaber lay in the creature that had caused all this trouble. He pulled the saber to his hand and waved its light over the form, only to find…
“What the hell is this?!?”
Something struck his back and he flew into a tree. He tried to shake it off but then a shadow cast over him. He passed out with the sight of a very pissed off looking horse creature standing over him. He mumbled out a last few words.
“How the hell did I get beaten by a horse…?”
Night faded in and out of consciousness. The glimpses he caught were few and far between. In one he glimpsed himself being dragged through a hallway. Another was a glimpse of a row of empty cells. He finally clung to consciousness enough to realize he was in one such cell. He was manacled to the wall opposite the door. The manacles were clearly made for something else because he slipped his hands out with ease. He waved his hand and the manacles on his feet similarly fell off. He investigated his person to find that he still had most of his weapons. The only thing missing was his primary lightsaber. He pulled out his single bladed back-up and ignited it. The blade flashed in a brilliant blue and he tucked it into his belt. He continued his investigation of his surroundings. In the center of the room sat a small table. He checked under it for any bugs, but then realized how foolish he was being. These creatures had no technology from what he had seen. He levitated himself to the ceiling and propped himself in the corner. He wanted to see the reaction of the guards when they found their prisoner had disappeared.
The door clicked open. A tall white horse walked into the empty room. It panicked and turned to leave. With a wave Night closed the door and jumped down from his corner.
“Where am I lackey? You have about ten seconds before I walk out the door, so answer the question.”
The creature stared at him. He sighed and shook his head.
“I haven’t got time for this.”
He used the Force to push the creature to the side. He walked towards the door when the creature swung a wing out to stop him. He cocked an eyebrow and lit his lightsaber at the thing’s throat.
It didn’t even flinch. Night grinned at the creature’s stupidity. With a small wave the table flattened it to the wall and the wing fell to the floor. He opened the door and strode into the hallway. The guards fell back when they saw him leave the room. He gathered a ball of Force energy and sent it through the wall. Luck was with him and it led to the open air. He stood before the hole and with a small salute dropped out backwards. He turned himself around to find something very unsettling.
He had just jumped off of a cliff. A very tall cliff with a city beneath it. He struggled to bring his descent under control. He aimed towards the nearest spire and skidded across it. He repeated the process again and again until he landed in a small square, landed being the nice word for it. He crashed through a statue and landed in a fountain. He staggered to his feet and began to sprint the opposite way of the approaching guards.
Night was at a severe disadvantage. All of the horse guards appeared to have wings. He was stuck on the ground and had no idea where he was going. He pulled out his blaster and opened up on the small mob trying to catch him. At the head of the crowd was the white horse he had thrown the table at.
He yanked a thermal detonator from his robes and yanked the pin. He chucked it towards the crowd of guards and turned to watch it explode. It did. Night felt the heat coming off of it from where he was thirty yards away. His eyes widened when the entire mob ran through the smoke, unscathed. He took off down a side alley.
Night burst out on the other end of the street to find more guards led by a tall blue horse. He tried to duck to the side, but tripped on a loose stone. One of the guards drove a spear through his side and Night screamed in pain. He grabbed the spear in his hands and cracked it in half. He stumbled to his feet and ran down the street, holding his side.
Night focused on putting on foot in front of the other. He didn’t notice the large stand until he was almost upon it. He dipped to the side but overshot the jump. He crashed through a large window and hit the floor with a thud. He tried to prop himself up but collapsed after slipping in the small pool of blood that was spreading on the floor. He dragged himself away from the hole in the window and managed to crawl through the building to a back door. He reached for the knob on the door. He heard the crackle of glass and fell to the floor. He slipped another detonator from his robes. A tall shadow cast over him. He looked over his shoulder to find the same white horse standing over him. He coughed a small spray of blood on the ground.
“Well what… are you waiting for? I,I didn’t run this far to be taken again, so just finish it.”
The creature just stared at him. Night grabbed his lightsaber from his belt and pointed it at the creature. Wincing he screamed,
“FINISH IT!”
His arm fell and he slumped over. His exhaustion caught up with him. From the corners of his vision, darkness closed in.
“Just finish it.” He muttered
A small thought came to his mind. Night listened to some of the creatures speak and attuned his vocal chords to their language. The last thing he heard before the darkness closed in was,
“Why did you have to run?”
The Princess sighed as the human slumped over. It had somehow managed to escape from the castle and make it half way across Canterlot. Despite her orders, it had been wounded and now was bleeding out. It had somehow managed to keep running after it had been wounded, crash through a shop and drag itself to the back door. She looked at the long smear on the floor. How she was going to pass this off she had no idea. The thing that bothered her most was that it could have gotten this far with no special talents to guide it.
Her sister walked up behind her and gasped at the scene. Celestia levitated the human and teleported to the castle. They appeared in the small hospital kept near the holding cells. She placed the man on a bed and turned to the nurse and guards waiting nearby. To the guards she said,
“Take anything from his person that looks like it could be a weapon. He seems to have quite an arsenal.”
Turning to the nurse she said,
“Try to patch him up as best you can.”
The nurse walked over to where he was still bleeding out.
“How will I tell where his clothing ends and skin begins?”
The princess gestured towards his face.
“It will probably be pale, like his face.”
A team of surgeon’s rushed through the doors to get to work when they saw what they had to heal.
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking Princess but, how will we know what’s vital and what isn’t? We have no documents of such a species anatomy. We can’t do much without knowing what we’re looking at.”
“I trust you to do your best, doctor. Now please get to work, losing that much blood can’t be healthy.”
A large pool had formed on the sheets and the human hadn’t even moved since they had got here. The head surgeon nodded.
“Of course you’re Majesty, clear out anyone that doesn’t have proper medical training.”
The princess left through the double doors and began the long walk back to her quarters. It had been a long day.
Night lay awake staring at a white ceiling. His armor was gone along with the shreds of his under shirt. His entire torso was bandaged. He had been awake for the better part of the hour. He winced as he propped himself up. The room he was in was white and a short row of beds extended to his left and right. His spare lightsaber lay on the dresser beside him. He smiled and lay back in the small bed. It had all been a dream, he thought. Reality came crashing in when he heard footsteps, or more specifically hoof-steps. He slid the lightsaber underneath the sheets and slowed his breathing to a crawl. The horse creature walked in to Night’s bedside. He heard it gasp a little. It left the room for a second, then sprinted back in.
“Ohh… You were just fine a few minutes ago, what changed?”
Night whispered back to the creature,
“I wasn’t awake when you checked earlier.”
It tried to rear back, but Night grabbed it by the throat and ignited his lightsaber.
“You have about ten seconds to start talking before I start cutting, clear?”
“Wh- what do… do you want to know?”
Sharp pain raced up Nights’ side. He stumbled back and fell to the floor. The creature in front of him now looked concerned.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! I just need to…”
The sentence trailed off as Night used the Force to scan through his body. He winced,
“Something feels… different. Like there’s something missing. What did you do?”
“Well during the surgery there were some… complications. Your side wouldn’t stop bleeding so we looked and found what was causing it. Some sort of organ. We couldn’t sew it up so we cut it out and patched the rest of you up. We didn’t know if it was important or not, but you seemed to stabilize after so we thought…”
Night clutched his side.
“Was it sort of small? A bit round?”
The creature nodded
“We still have it if you…”
Night shook his head.
“You cut out my appendix you twit.”
“Is that bad?”
“Only if I want to digest raw meat ever again. But that’s okay, didn’t want to survive in the wild anyway.”
He laughed at his joke, but it turned into a cough which turned into a splatter of blood across the floor. The creature ran to his side. Night looked at it over his shoulder.
“You some kind of doctor?”
It shook its head
“No I’m just an orderly.”
“Do you have a name?”
“Everypony just calls me Orderly Brown”
“Every…?”
“Pony?”
Night shook his head.
“Never mind, let’s get out of here orderly Brown.”
“What? We can’t leave; the princess is on her way down!”
“Look, there is a reason I got to where I am. I was running and got myself gutted. I intend to keep running until I can find someplace to think.”
“But-but…”
The door opened, interrupting the orderlies’ sentence. The first thing Night saw was the same white pony he had been chased by.
“Oh son of a…”
With a Force push she flew backwards and the door slammed behind her. Night stacked the beds in front of the door. Orderly Brown gaped at him.
“You just slammed the door in front of the princess!”
Night walked to the center of the room and plunged his lightsaber into the floor. He looked up towards Brown.
“You know how I said I was being chased? Well, that’s who was chasing me!”
By this point Night was halfway through the semi-circle he was carving through the floor. The door blew open, scattering the bed barricade. One of the beds flew right towards where Night was cutting.
“Oh, sh-..”
The bed knocked him backwards, leaving the lightsaber in the floor. He collided with the wall and fell to the floor. He coughed and hacked while holding his side. Brown ran over and scowled in the general direction of the door.
“Now look what you buffoons have done! He was speaking in full sentences before you came in here! Now look at him!”
“Been talking in complete sentences since I was three, don’t play me off as stupid.” Night grumbled
“Hush, that’s not helping.”
“Don’t care; help is the last thing I need.”
A different voice replied,
“It looks like you need all the help you can get.”
“Yeah, okay princess.”
Orderly Brown looked at him inquisitively,
“How did you know that was the princess?”
Night face palmed
“I was being sarcastic. I didn’t actuall-. You know what? Who cares?”
Night pulled himself up and faced the so called ‘princess’. He counted about twenty guards, two of which were poking at his lightsaber. He sighed and pulled the hilt towards him. Spears were pointed at his chest in a heartbeat. He raised his hands.
“It’s better that I’m holding it then you poking at it. So hold your hor-..”
He let the sentence trail off. He reached to clip the saber to his belt to find it was gone.
“Might I ask where my belt is? Or better yet, my shoes and armor? And why take my watch? It wasn’t hurting anything. Might I …”
One of the guards cleared its throat.
Night cast his gaze towards the ponies before him.
“Right, talking with a princess. So, what do you want?”
The princess cocked an eyebrow.
“What do I want?”
Night leaned against the wall behind him in an attempt to appear calm. Good thing I’m not wearing a shirt right now, he thought, I would have sweat clean through it.
“Yes, what do you want? You captured me, chased me through a city, wounded me, and then preformed a hare-brained surgery to save my life. That’s an awful lot of trouble just to let me go. So I’m asking; what do you want?”
“I just want to talk.”
“Talk? You just want to TALK?”
He shoved off the wall and stopped right in front of her face.
“You did all of this, killed my friends and then went through all this trouble, to talk with me!”
Something punched him in the side. He fell to one knee. Over him stood one of the guards.
“You’ll think twice before you speak to the princess that way.”
“Will I now?”
Night shoved him against the wall. Igniting his lightsaber Night held it an inch from the guards throat.
“Give me one reason I shouldn’t end you, right here, right now.”
The room held its breathe in a tense silence. The princess stiffened.
“Put him down.”
“Or what?” turning back to the guard Night said, “You have my answer yet? I’m not a very patient man.”
A yellow aura surrounded Night. He dismissed it with a wave of the hand. The guards brought their spears to bear around him. He ignored them. He stared into the guards eyes.
“You are pathetic; I’ve killed scum for less. I would be doing this planet a favor by ending you.”
All of his anger drained from his body. His lightsaber clicked off and clattered to the floor. His eyes widened at the prospect of what he had been about to do. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a window. He ducked under the spears at his back and crashed through the window. He grabbed the nearest ledge and swung underneath it. He held himself in place and willed himself invisible to the naked eye. He watched the guards spread from the room to look for him.
He watched the princess fly through the window.
“Why do you keep running? What are you afraid of?”
He willed himself visible and sent her a mental note.
“I’m afraid of hurting those who don’t deserve it. I don’t know what happened back there but you’re right. We do need to talk. In private.”
She spun around towards his hiding spot. He nodded towards the broken window and began to scale the wall towards it. He was almost to the edge when two things happened at once. His side shot a bolt of pain up his side. He put a hand over the bandages. The second thing was that his other hand hold broke. Night fell backwards off of the wall. He tried to slow his descent to find that his Force reserves were gone. He reached for the wall and his arm caught on a ledge. He heard a snap but he stopped falling. He pulled himself over the ledge and looked at the now longer climb he had to pull off.
Night grunted and wheezed as he pulled himself through the window. Pulling the climb off with only one arm had been more difficult than he had imagined. All of the guards had returned by the time he crawled through the window. Not one had asked if he needed help. Well if I had watched someone threaten one of my soldiers I would love to watch them struggle, he thought.
He laid down in the pile of broken glass at the foot of the window. Orderly Brown rushed over.
“Are you okay?”
Night looked at him with pure amazement.
“I just insulted your leader, threatened to kill someone because they punched me and then shattered a window to try and escape. Why would you check if I was alright? Wouldn’t you want to grab a pitchfork and attack with an angry mob?”
“No, why would I want to do that?”
Night surprised the entire room by laughing. Brown looked at him like he was crazy.
“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? This is a huge change from a few minutes ago.”
“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just that you remind so much of my friend John. You two are identical.”
His laughter subsided and his face fell.
“Or at least, were identical.”
“Why were?”
“I lost him recently, too recently.”
Night stood.
“But let’s not dwell on that. We have work to do.”
He propped his arm against the wall.
“By the way, you might want to cover your ears. This is going to hurt.”
“Wait, what are you…”
Night shoved his arm against the wall. It slipped into the socket. Everyone flinched at his scream, but then after a second the pain subsided and he tested the shoulder.
“Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk.
After a short yelling match Night managed to get his belt and watch back. The guards thought he was hiding more weapons in his shoes and robes so he remained bare foot, and bare-chested. He was led to a small room, not dissimilar to an office. He scanned the book titles but found he could read none of them. The door closed and he was left alone with the princess and the other tall pony. He stared at the sun through a window. He checked his watch. He tapped it a couple of times.
“Might I ask a question before we begin?”
“Of course, what would you like to know?”
“How fast does your planet rotate on its axis?”
“About 1070 miles per hour, why?”
“My watch tells me it’s four o’clock and it feels like summer outside, so why is your sun setting so quickly? It shouldn’t set for four hours at least.”
“I thought we could set the sun early today. If you haven’t noticed it has been a long day.”
“You act like you set the sun.”
“I do.”
Night just stared at her, but then shook his head. He wasn’t about muck up their beliefs.
“I wanted to ask if we could delay for a few minutes. I always love to watch the constellations come out on a different planet. It’s exciting to see them from a different view.”
She just nodded.
“I was going to wait for my student anyway.”
He walked to the door leading to the balcony and opened it. He leaned against the balustrade and looked out over the city below. He heard the two speaking in hushed whispers behind him, but decided to tune them out. It had always been a tradition to watch the sunset and wait for the stars. He had shared it with John since they met.
He heard the doors behind him open again. The blue pony walked onto the balcony. He chuckled under his breath and shook his head.
“What’s so funny?” the blue pony asked
“Oh nothing special, just the awkwardness of all of this.”
“What do you mean?”
He faced her.
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, you are standing on a balcony with a half naked man, over looking a city. The very same man, who has no doubt caused all sorts of problems, has asked to wait for the beginning of the night, and you agreed with no questions whatsoever. It feels a bit odd to me.”
She faced back towards the sunset.
“It’s always nice to find someone that enjoys the night.”
Night sighed.
“It’s hard not to enjoy the thing your parents named you after.”
“What do you mean?”
He waved her off.
“I’m sure we’ll get to formal introductions in a few minutes. Right now we have to wait for just the right moment.”
The sun descended over the hills. Night jumped up onto the rail and cracked his knuckles.
“What are you doing?”
He looked towards the top of the tower.
“Looking for a good view point for when the stars come out.”
“Trust me when I say that this is the best view for the sky.”
He jumped down from the railing.
“Alright, if you say so.”
Darkness slowly cast itself over the balcony. Night smiled as he caught sight of the first stars. Night noticed a pulsing blue glow. He turned to find the light being cast out from the ponies’ horn.
“Might I ask what you are doing?”
The glow faded and the pony faced him.
“I was raising the moon for the night.”
Night held back a smile. He turned towards the door.
“Well I guess we’d better head inside. The best part is over for now.”
He opened the door for her and then strode into the room himself.
A small table was set in the center of the room. Surrounding it were four pillows, two of which were occupied. At the head of the table sat the princess. To his left sat a purple pony that stared at him with its jaw agape. He sat crossed legged on the pillow and levitated himself to be even with the table. This seemed to surprise her more.
“H-how are you doing that? You don’t have a-a horn or anything.”
“I don’t require anything to channel the Force, as padawans we learn that size doesn’t matter in the Force. It’s one of the first things taught at the Jedi temple. Levitation is very basic and requires almost no effort.”
The pony stammered.
“W-w-what does most of that mean?”
Night tried to look friendly.
“We can get to the history lesson later; I think your princess would like to speak.”
Night nodded to the princess.
“Yes, thank you. I suppose we should start by introducing ourselves. I’m Princess Celestia; I share my rule with my sister Princess Luna.”
She nodded at the blue pony when she said this.
“And across from you is my personal student Twilight Sparkle.”
Celestia turned towards him.
“So what is your name? And how did you get here?”
“You didn’t ask what I am. I would assume you already you know?”
“Yes, I know you are human.”
“Actually that is only half true. I am a half- human, half-tusken. My mother was human; my father was a Tusken raider. My brother is the same way, except for the fact that he has more of our dad in him.”
Night sighed
“I miss him already. But that isn’t important right now. My name is Night Drakthuul, Jedi protector of the Galactic Republic. I have fought in Thirty-two separate wars and lost more friends than I can count.”
“As for getting here, my ship was ambushed by a small Sith armada in the Outer Rim near Corellia. Our hyperdrive was damaged so I managed to push us to hyperspace using the Force. I blacked out, and when I woke up I was on your planet.”
“And this… ship of yours. Is it intact?”
Night leaned forward a little.
“Don’t play dumb. You’ve been following me almost constantly since we crashed. I would assume it was one of yours by the stream yesterday morning?”
Celestia nodded
“Yes, that was I. Our past contacts with your species have generally been peaceful, or very violent, frequently ending in death. We couldn’t have you running around unsupervised.”
“So what did these humans usually arrive in?”
“Well, usually they came through…”
Night tuned her out. A small glint had caught his eye through the window. He stood.
“Is something wrong?”
Night walked to the window. The shape was closer now and Night could see a faint ion trail.
“Tell me something princess, you act like you have never seen a ship like mine before.”
“I haven’t. It’s the first ever to land here.”
A bright light detached from the object. Night’s eyes widened.
“Clear the room.”
“What? Why would we ne…”
“GET DOWN!”
Night hurled the table towards the missile. He pulled two bookcases in front of the window. The blast eradicated the shelves and blew Night backward through the rooms’ door. He hit the stone wall with a resounding crack and slumped to the floor.
The three ponies gaped at the burning hole in the wall. A half dozen beings dropped through and began shouting in their foreign tongue. One took of his mask and began shouting and pointing towards the door.
“W-what are they saying?” Twilight asked.
“It’s the same language Night had been shouting earlier. I think they want something.” Luna pointed out.
They heard a crack as Night flung the door from its hinges. His entire body was covered in cuts and his bandages were soaked in blood.
“They’re Sith and they are here to take over your planet. The best way to do that is to find the current rulers and execute them. This is the way they deal with everything. There is no negotiating.”
Night stepped in front of the three ponies.
“I’ll deal with this. You need to find somewhere safe and I’ll come find you when this is done, okay?”
“We are not just going to hide like cowards!”
“I’m the only one who can save your asses right now, so GO!”
“Twlight, find a safe place, we’ll find you in a…”
Night faced the princess down.
“Do NOT question my orders. Right now the only thing these bastards are going to understand is displays of power. You questioning me will not help. So take your student and Go!
The ponies filed through the door and Night turned to face the captain of the scout party. He switched to Basic and asked,
“What are you doing here? This land isn’t in your jurisdiction.”
The man pulled out a datapad and flashed it in front of Night’s face.
“This planet has not been claimed by any formal deeds, and now will belong to the Sith empire! The rulers of this planet will meet the Grand Master.”
Night grabbed the datapad and crushed it in his hand.
“You haven’t noticed who you are talking to yet have you?”
He flicked on his lightsaber and held it to the man’s neck.
“This planet is under the protection of the intergalactic Republic and the Jedi council. Your actions today will be met with swift justice unless you leave this place and never return.”
The man laughed in his face.
“And you don’t know who you’re messing with. Prepare to meet the full power of the Wraiths.”
The men shed their flight armor and blasters. Night backed up a step. In front of him now stood six Sith knights. He was out-gunned. Night had heard of the infamous Wraith squadron before. They had a track record for most Jedi killed in a single attack. Night grinned to himself, the Sith had numbers sure, but he had raw power and his fighting style was an art. And he was a master of his art.
He sought out the loose stones in the floor using the Force. He pulled them up from the floor and summoned a blaster to his empty hand. He let his grin show.
“You’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.”
Night launched the stones at three of the Sith. He threw his lightsaber and shot the blaster at two others. Then he launched a kick towards the leader’s chest.
The man dodged to the left and Night rolled to his feet. He called his saber to hand and took stock of what his initial assault had done. One of them walked with a slight limp and another’s cape was smoking. Otherwise the group remained unharmed.
Night leapt forward towards the limping Sith. Their lightsabers scraped against each other. Out of the corner of his eye Night watched as a lightsaber was raised for the killing blow. He pushed out of the gridlock and under the swing. Night plunged his lightsaber underhanded into the man’s stomach, then spun him around and stuck it into his heart. The man fell to the ground and Night took his lightsaber and ignited its crimson blade.
He threw both at the lead Sith, then scooped up a large wood splinter and speared it towards him as well. The man blocked both lightsabers but fell to the ground when the splinter entered his eye and blew out the back of his head.
Night felt a burning sensation in his shoulder. He grabbed the culprit by the throat and twisted his neck. Night tossed the man into the wall and he hit with a crack. Night turned to face the remaining three Sith to find only two.
He shot forward and pushed the first into the wall. Night ducked under a lightsaber swing and located the cornerstone of the wall. He wrenched it from place and watched with satisfaction as the wall collapsed on top of the Sith. He brought his own saber up into a block. Only one to go.
Night’s saber was knocked from his hand. He dodged another swing and punched his opponents face. The Sith stumbled backwards and Night used the precious moments to search for his lightsaber.
He frowned when he noticed that the other man was holding it. Night noticed a thermal detonator on the man’s belt. Night flicked the switch down and stepped back.
“You know, you probably shouldn’t keep those out in the open.”
The man scrambled at his belt and Night pulled his lightsaber to his hand. He Force shoved the man out the window. Night walked over to the collapsed wall. There he looked down on the face of one of the remaining Sith. The man spat in Night’s face.
“I’m not telling you anything!”
Night put his foot on the man’s throat and applied pressure.
“That’s okay. I’m not asking.”
He felt the bones crack. Night turned to the door. He still had one more to track.
Welcome to the Equstrian Front
Night fell against the wall. His blood pattered softly on the stone floor. He had fought two more Sith knights and half a dozen soldiers. He had dispatched them with ease but had not walked away unscathed. A viro-blade was lodged in his shoulder and a lucky blaster shot had torn through his hand.
He shoved his weight against another door and forced it open. Standing in the room was his target. The man he had been tracking held a lightsaber to Twilight’s neck. Night shook his head.
“I have killed every single one of your comrades. Do you really think that this is going to save you? Hiding like a coward? No, I’m going to kill you. It doesn’t matter what happens before I do. It’s your choice, die with respect or like the bastard I suspect you are.”
The man’s arm dropped and his lightsaber fell from his grasp. Night smiled and took a step forward. The man’s hand shot up with a small black knife in his hand. Night’s smile dropped and eyes widened. The man grinned like a maniac.
“I choose honor!”
“NO!”
Night dove forward. He was a second too slow. The knife dug into Twilight’s chest the second Night’s elbow cracked into the man’s throat. The man spiraled away and Night shot after him. He ignited his lightsaber and drove it into the man’s stomach to the hilt. Night pushed both against a wall and stepped back to watch the man hang.
“I’ll be back for you later.”
He scooped up Twilight and tore out the door. He dashed up the stairs to the small hospital room. He kicked the door open to find three soldiers mocking a scared group of ponies. Setting Twilight on a bed he let out a shrill whistle. The three men turned around. Night pulled the viro-blade from his shoulder. He shot forward and left the blade in one man’s neck; then took the falling blaster and shot the other two.
He turned to the cowering ponies.
“I need a doctor, NOW!”
Orderly Brown strode forward.
“I can help.”
Night nodded.
“I need a scalpel and some clamps. We may need a transfusion, so we’ll need blood. After we’re done we’ll need to patch her up.”
Brown backed up a step.
“Her? I thought you need attention.”
Night shook his head.
“I’m fine. She needs surgery now or she dies.”
Brown backed up another step.
“I-I, don’t’ know…”
“IF WE DON’T TAKE OUT THAT LULSEED RIGHT NOW SHE WILL BE CORRUPTED AND THEN SHE WILL DIE! WHAT PART OF THAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?”
Night spun around and took a small combat knife off of a soldier’s belt.
“You know what? I don’t care. I’m going to remove it a more mundane way. If you come near me with things that will help I will personally toss you out the window.”
He crossed the room to the bed Twilight was lying on. As he prepared to make the first cut he was shoved out of the way.
“We’ll handle the surgery, thank you. Just tell us what we’re looking for.”
“You’ll know it when you see it. Call me over when you see it, I have to remove it or it may cause… complications.”
The pony nodded and turned to Twilight. Night walked over to the door.
“Just call out and I’ll be back in a heartbeat.”
He ran down the stairs to where his prisoner awaited.
The door slammed open and an armored body flew through. Night walked to the hunched form and drove it up the wall. He lightly patted the man’s face until his eye’s fluttered open.
“Ah good, you’re awake.”
A fist slammed against the man’s face. Night followed it with one after another. He ignited his lightsaber into the man’s leg eliciting a scream.
“Does that mean you’re ready to start talking? Or will I have to keep tearing them from your mind?”
He punched the man again. Night heard hoof-steps enter the room but decided to keep punching the man anyway.
“What is going on in here? I heard a scream.”
Night looked over his shoulder at Celestia.
“Interrogation.”
“This isn’t right, you’re hurting him. Stop.”
“I have no such time for pleasantries. Your student is upstairs having surgery to remove a lulseed. This waste of life was telling me how to remove it.”
“Well this isn’t the way to find out. So stop beating this man senseless and …”
Night summoned a blaster to his hand and shot the man in the face. He tossed the weapon away.
“That’s okay I was done with him anyway. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have lives to save.”
He pushed past her and strode towards the hospital room. Night opened the door and strode to the bed where the surgery was taking place.
“Have you found it yet?”
The head surgeon shook his head.
“Everything seems to be fine. Are you sure something is wrong?”
“Yes, you just can’t see it. If you’ll allow me I can show you.”
“Well I don’t see how but-…”
“You’ll see.”
Night closed his eyes and focused on the pony’s mind. He looked down and saw the seed.
“Oh my, that’s…”
“Horrifying, I know.”
The seed had already expanded through a good part of the chest. Its black tendrils seeped slowly outwards, trying to envelop the entire body. The heart of the mass pulsed and the tendrils extended again. Night scowled in disgust. He took a Sith light saber from his belt and removed the crystal.
“Alright everybody stand back. This will be risky and the seed could attack any one in this room if you get too close.”
“So why are you safe?”
The door slammed open again. Celestia entered the room.
“Because he has one too.”
The surgical team all took steps back in revulsion. Night just shook his head silently and set to work. The crystal cut through a small tendril and Night watched with satisfaction as it shriveled and died.
“Yes, I have a lulseed inside of me. The difference is that I have an older version and can keep it repressed, she cannot.”
He cut off a larger tendril. The seed lashed out at him. Night watched with minor annoyance as the creature latched on to his arm. He deftly sliced off that tentacle and went back to work on the larger body.
“My lulseed was designed to emphasize on desires in young Sith apprentices. Everyone at the academy was implanted with one. Some went mad; others rejected the seeds and were killed. But the rest either suppressed them or learned to live with them.”
Night cut the largest tendril in two. The seed withdrew into itself.
“I’m going to need a sealable metal container and a lot of heat.”
Orderly Brown walked over with a small box.
“Will this do?”
Night nodded
“Open it.”
Night scooped the seed from Twilights chest and plopped it into the box. He slammed the lid on and seared the metal closed with his lightsaber. He nodded to the surgeons.
“The rest is up to you.” He turned to the princess. “Do you have a metal foundry or perhaps a volcano, nearby?”
A yellow aura surrounded the box.
“I’ll dispose of it.”
“Thank you.”
She took off out the window. Night waited until she was out of view then fell against the wall. His adrenaline had worn off and he slid down the wall and sat on the floor. Night brooded silently while he watched the ponies work. Tools lifted into the air with small glows surrounding them. He pondered why these even occurred. Force energy caused no physical display except when used for limited abilities. Levitation though? Shouldn’t cause any visible affects whatsoever. He dozed slightly until the door slammed open once again. Luna stopped in the entrance and gazed about the room. Night rose stiffly to his feet and walked towards her. The look she gave him was a mixture of surprise, worry. It then quickly shifted to disgust. He struggled to keep his face impassive.
“Is there anyplace I can shower?”
Night’s voice must have dropped a hint because her demeanor changed in a heartbeat.
“Yes, we have prepared a place for you to sleep and clean yourself up.”
Her scowl deepened as she got an up close look of his blood soaked body. Night ignored the look and simply nodded. He walked through the doorway, being careful not to smear blood on the blue princess.
“Don’t you want me to show you where it is?”
Night kept walking but threw a retort over his shoulder.
“I’ll find it myself. You are very plain in your disgust of me. It’s clear that the farther I am away from you, the better.”
The princess stammered, trying to defend herself.
“That’s not true! I never said anything of the sort!”
Night spun around.
“Have you listened to nothing I’ve said? I can feel everything around me! Your feelings are an open book! You’re revolted by me! The only reason is, is because I killed a dozen, to save a hundred. It sickens you that I would take lives so willingly!”
Night ranted on
“You have no idea what kinds of monsters you had in this place tonight! But I do! And I solved the problem! You think everything is picture perfect, because for some reason you’ve never had to get your hands dirty!”
Night pointed an accusatory finger at the stunned princess.
“Oh, I’ve seen your kind before. The high and mighty ruler that hasn’t made a tough call.”
Night spun back around and strode down the hallway.
“No, you live too sheltered a life to have lost much. I’ve been making tough calls and have lost too much to regret it now. I live with the consequences daily while my friends rot in their graves. I’ll find my own way.”