Chapters View Online
Chapter 1: From the Citadel to... What the Brix?!
Fives's P.O.V:
Being a soldier isn't easy, especially when you're raised to be one since birth. The name's Fives, but if you prefer a more technical name, you could call me ARC-5555. This is the beginning of a strange odyssey that sent me and another brother of mine, Echo (a.k.a ARC-0408), to a strange land after our apparent deaths. What follows next is how it went on how I and Echo could recall it.
It began in the Citadel, a captured Republic prison once designed to hold rouge Jedi, but was now in the hands of the Separatists on the crumbling, inhospitable sulfurous planet of Lola Sayu. The mission was to rescue Jedi Master Evan Piell, who knew vital coordinates for a key Republic supply line called the Nexus Route. It was our job to rescue Piell before the Seppies could get the information from him. Turns out that he'd split the info with another one of his officers: Captain Tarkin. We quickly freed Piell and Tarkin and all we had to do was get to get out alive. Our current objective was to try and make it to our transport: a captured Separatist shuttle to escape the planet, and... at first, all seemed to be going well. We almost had gotten aboard when the commandant's Tactical droid had to ruin it all and informed a clanker right next us that we had escaped. Obi-Wan grinned and made a two finger salute before slicing the droid and the platform erupted into chaos as droids flooded in. I let my instincts and training kick in, shooting droids and holding the position. Things were starting to look bleak, the place was swarming yellow-marked Citadel Commando Droids and there were a few Crab Droids to contend with as well. Blaster bolts flew everywhere, and the shots rang loudly in my ears. Echo carefully threw a Thermal Detonator, which took out a Crab Droid which was slowly approaching us.
Suddenly, Echo lowered his rangefinder and said, "General Skywalker, a droid is manning one of those turrets. It means to destroy the shuttle!" Echo ducked back behind the large container we were hiding behind to avoid some incoming blaster fire. "This is our only chance! We've got to stop him!" said Echo, darting forward and grabbing a handheld force-shield as I fired a few cover shots for him.
"Echo, look out!" I shouted.
The turret began firing and it's green bolts narrowly kept missing Echo.
"Echo, no!" I yelled. I ran and tackled him in an attempt to save him, but I was too late.
Suddenly, the turret hit shuttle and it exploded, "This is how it ends. Now I know how Hevy felt," I thought. The last thing I did was use my body as a shield to try and save Echo, but I blacked out before I felt anything.
Captain Rex's P.O.V.
The force of the explosion shook the entire landing platform, throwing all that was left of us off our feet.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled. Fives and Echo, probably the two best men he had ever known, were dead.
"We have to go, NOW " said Obi-Wan.
I hesitated for a moment, but I too fled. "Something's not right..." I thought to myself as I left the landing platform behind. "They can't be dead... that shouldn't have happened..."
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Fives's P.O.V:
The first thing I felt was warmth, the sun heating up my armor. But the environment was surreal. I observed that I was sitting in what appeared to be a grassy alpine meadow on a mountain top. The mountains were somewhat mound shaped and very steep, having nearly vertical sides. "What the brix just happened?" I mumbled as I got up. It felt odd getting up and collapsed as soon as I stood up. "OW! I've definitely broken something, my leg, probably," I thought. "This can't be the afterlife, or afterlife sucks."
"Fives, I think we're dead," said a familiar voice. It turned towards the sound, yelped, and jumped back. Standing in front of me was a small quadruped creature, similar in stature to a Guarlara from Naboo. It had what looked like ARC Trooper Armor on, complete with Kama, Pauldron, and experimental Phase-II helmet. What was disturbing is that the armor had markings that were nearly identical to Echo's.
"WHAT THE KRIFF ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ECHO!" I yelled, attempting to draw one of my DC-15's from their holsters.
"I am Echo. Don't tell me you get dumber in the afterlife..." said Echo in his new form. "You're basically the same as me. Don't ask me why, I don't know."
"What, you can't... wait if you're Echo... where was the last place I visited?" I asked.
"Lola Sayu," responded Echo.
"What's my designation?" I asked.
"ARC-5555," responded Echo.
"What's..." but Echo interrupted me.
"Fives, knock it off. We're both... whatever we are and you're injured. I need to get you to shelter and look at that leg," said Echo.
I tried to think of a protest, but I came up with nothing. Inside, part of me was overjoyed that I'd saved Echo in some obscure and strange way, but the other part felt sad, like even though we were reunited, it felt like wasn't have supposed to have happened,
Echo somehow got me on his back and he began carrying me down the steep mountainside.
"So... back on the landing platform..." said Echo. "You tried to save me. Thank you."
Echo's P.O.V:
Fives responded by making a retort about how the shuttle must've had gas. Really stupid and funny, but mostly stupid.
"I can walk," said Fives.
"No... no you can't, not with a broken leg. You need a splint, at least..." I said. "So, would you rather not have to do anything while I carry you down a treacherous mountainside or would you want to sit here and wait until I somehow got a splint made for you?"
"I'll take option B," said Fives.
"Alright, I'll be back in... Yoda knows when," I said as I began the probably futile search for splint materials. Spice mines of Kessel, it was hot! The summer sun here was really heating up my armor and making me really uncomfortable. I wished could've just stripped off everything and laid down under a tree, and for some reason I felt... ah... best not talk about it. I'm thinking of the kids, you know. Anyways, luck was on my side and I came across a cabin with small yard. Freshly washed clothes clipped to a clothesline flapped in a much needed breeze. Hopefully, someone was home. I ran, or... galloped in this case across the yard and up to the front door of the cabin. I reached out and forehoof and rapped on the door. I heard a muffled feminine voice and rushed footsteps. The door unlocked with a loud click and swung back, revealing a lime green equine with a white mane and tail about the same size as me. She also had what looked like tattoos of a slice of strange green cake of some kind with a brown rust and a small amount of cream on top on both sides of her flank.
"Oh my... can I... help... you?" said the equine in a wary feminine voice. She gave me curious gaze and it also looked like she was surprised and a bit afraid.
"I'm Echo, and my friend... Fil... has broken a leg, I need to get splint for him. Do you have anything that I could..." but the lime green mare cut me off before I could finish.
"Oh heavens! Why don't you get him here and we'll fix him up!" said the mare. "Oh, Mr. Echo, I'm Key Lime. My husband, Shining Spear and I were on vacation. Don't worry about, we'll be fine. Also, not to be rude, but you are a bit strange... you must not be from around here."
"Yes, well... I'll be back in five minutes," I said. Though the rules said I should try to ask for communications for the Republic or ask what their side was above anything else, I felt like giving away our true identity wasn't a wise idea. I found this partially justified in the fact we really weren't even their race, we had somehow been made into their form; and also the fact that revealing that we were aliens ins't usually what one brings up in idle conversation. Anyways, I got back to Fives and told him about my encounter with Key Lime.
"Alright, then let me carry you there," I said, slinging Fives over my back.
"Well, as long as we keep our real identity hidden we'll be fine," said Fives. This I interpreted as his agreeing statement.
I flinched and decided not to tell him that I had revealed my true name to Key Lime. Despite carrying Fives, we quickly arrived and Key Lime, along with another equine with white fur and a silvery-grey mane and tail, who I assumed to be Shining Spear, were waiting for me.
"Key, is that the 'Echo' pony you've been talking about?" said Shining Spear.
"Yes Shiny, he is," said Key Lime.
"I don't trust him. Look at what he's wearing, its really, odd to say the least. You don't think this is a recipe for disaster?" said Shining. "He's also walking on two legs, pretty strange for a pony."
"Sir, I can assure you, I'm a pony, and I mean no harm to either of you," I said.
"What's with the frown, then?" said Key Lime.
"It's my helmet's visor," I explained. "Can I please get Fil to a bed, he's getting really heavy now."
The ponies obliged, but gave us scrutinizing gazes as I walked in.
"There's a guest bedroom off to your right," said Key Lime.
"Thanks, we greatly appreciate your hospitality," I said, quickly walking towards the bedroom. Finally, I managed to lay Fives down.
"Well, now would be a good time for that splint you promised," said Fives.
After setting the bone (at which Fives remarked that It was less painful than he had imagined) and splinting Five's leg, I took my helmet off and wiped my brow.
Key Lime and Shining Spear both seemed less tense after revealing I was a pony (for now) and that my intentions and explanation was sincere, but they still seemed a bit untrusting of us.
"Why don't you two get some rest and I'll start making dinner. You're welcome to join us," said Key Lime.
"Thank you, ma'am, that's very kind of you," I said.
"It should be ready in two hours," said Key Lime before walking off to the kitchen, Shining following.
I sighed and sat on the opposite side of the bed. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"
"I don't know, Echo," said Fives. "I don't know..."
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Chapter 2: After an Awkward Dinner, We Hit the Road
Echo's P.O.V
It had been about two hours since we'd been welcomed to the cabin of Key Lime and Shining Spear, and, I was starting to get hungry. And, the delicious aromas floating in from the kitchen really didn't help. The only thing I'd ever really eaten were Coruscant protein sticks, and... well, they tasted like sand wrapped in dirty cloth. Not very appeasing, but you somehow got used to it. No one in their right minds would actually like them, and the sad thing was, I had known a few troopers who did. Poor fellows, no sense of taste whatsoever. They probably would've eaten Bantha Pies if they had the chance.
"Whatever she's got cooking... I think it's going to be good," I said. "Smells good, anyways."
"No kidding!" said Fives.
"ECHOOOOO! FIIIIIIIIIL! DINNER'S READY! " rang Key Lime's voice.
"Well, should we go?" I asked.
"Sure, you go ahead, I'll be there in a moment. Klarking leg..." said Fives.
I exited the bedroom and let my nose do the rest. Soon, I found myself in what would be best described as a dining room and kitchen with cute decor. Somehow, I understood a small sign on the wall that read, 'Home is Where Heart and Hoof Are'. I pulled out a chair and sat down, looking around the room and observing the table as well.
"Oh, you came! If I may ask, what's the story with that shoe-print on your chestplate?" asked Key Lime as she sat down.
"Well, I'd rather not talk about it... It just has stuck with me ever since," I said.
"So you're a soldier?" asked Shining.
"Yes, but... well, it hasn't been easy," I said. "Where we live, there's death all around us. It truly tests you, and this place is a bit... odd for me."
"Oh my! I couldn't stand the thought of someone dying, much less many people!" said Key Lime.
"We have no choice. It's do or die, shoot or be shot. Our enemy has already taken so much ground, and their armies are vast, and are able to recover much faster than we can," I said.
A brief silence ensued before Key Lime offered some food to me."Oh... um... would would you like some french onion casserole?" she said, opening up a large container.
"Sure, I'll take a piece," I said, holding out my plate. The piece of casserole I received was a whitish-yellow cube, and the top was browned to a slight crisp. It smelled, distinct, and the taste could be best described as a combination of being crunchy, firm, creamy, and something else I couldn't quite put a name to. It was good, and my piece was gone before I even knew it.
"Oh, glad you like it," said Key Lime. "Not many ponies are fond of my casserole. Well, except for Shiny of course."
"I'm coming!" came the familiar sound of Fives's voice. He walked over to a chair and sat down. "Sorry, I spent half the time getting out of bed and limping in the hall," said Fives before taking off his helmet and hanging it on the back of his chair. On his face he had a grin that I translated into, 'I said something funny, laugh!' Nobody responded, and Fives's grin disappeared and he cleared his throat.
"Anyways, what chow have we got tonight?" said Fives.
"Well, we have french onion casserole, fresh garden salad, baked brussel sprouts stuffed with butter, feta cheese, and cream cheese... and... for dessert... my special lime pie!" said Key Lime.
As I began munching on hoof-fulls of baked brussel sprouts, Fives got piece of casserole for himself. Upon the first bite, he said,
Suddenly, Fives chuckled, grinned in a devious manner, and said, "Yeah, I'd like your 'special lime pie' with extra cream, too."
"Watch it, mister. I'm not putting up with talk like that at this table," said Shining.
"Oooooo, I'm so scaaaaaared," said Fives, his sarcastic tone intolerable.
"Shut up, Fives. I don't need to hear your perverted comments," I said, staring to get angry at his rude behavior. "You're acting like the one cadet fapped at the thought of Taun We."
"Didn't we all!" said Fives, cackling and uncaring about how absurdly inappropriate the conversation had suddenly been turned.
That was the straw that broke the eopie's back. "Fives, I said: shut up!
Fives suddenly stopped, and the mischievous light in his eyes was suddenly quenched by one of sadness and shame. "My deepest apologies, ma'am. That was incredibly... I... excuse me," said Five as he got up, grabbed his helmet, and walked out.
I sat down, shocked at what I'd just heard. I knew Fives wasn't a strict protocol follower, but what he did a few moments ago was inexcusable. Then the awkward silence followed. All three of us sat silently for a few moments, and I could tell Shining was just as mad as I was.
"I'm very sorry, I don't know what happened to my friend there... " I said, blushing a bit, surprised at how I had needed to intervene for Fives's sake.
"Well, that it's not the first time someone has said something like that to me. Just glad he realized his mistake," said Key Lime.
"I hate ponies like those," said Shining. "Think they can get away with anything they want."
"He's not a bad pony," I spat. Now I was starting to get angry at Shining Spear. "That was a once-off. He isn't like that all the time."
"I'm sure his friends are worse," said Shining.
That made me furious. "SAY THAT AGAIN!" I yelled, bolting up again. "I DARE YOU!"
"Honey, you really should provoke Mr. Echo! He didn't do anything wrong! Sit down!" said Key Lime, trying to diffuse the situation.
"I think you need to sit down, your unruly friends would agree as well," repeated Shining, also getting up.
That made me lose it entirely. "WE HAD BROTHERS! THREE OF THEM, AND THEY'RE ALL DEAD! YOU THINK THEY WERE MEAN TOO? HERE, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ONE! HIS NAME WAS CUTUP, HE WAS THE MOST CARING AND COMPASSIONATE BROTHER I EVER KNEW, AND HE WOULDN'T HURT A FLY! HE WAS EATEN ALIVE BY AN EEL AND I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO SAVE HIM! AND THEN THERE WAS HEVY. HE KNOWINGLY GAVE HIS LIFE PROTECTING ME AND MILLIONS OF OTHERS! SO LET ME TELL YOU THAT THEY WEREN'T MEAN OR EVIL. THEY WERE FAMILY, THE ONLY ONE I KNEW! THANKS FOR DEFILING THEM AND YOURSELF, YOU'RE LUCKY I DON'T BRIX YOU UP FOR LIFE!!!! AND WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU? NOTHING!" I ranted at the top of my lungs.
Both Key Lime and Shining Spear sat speechless as I tried to catch by breath.
"THANK YOU FOR THE HELP, WE'RE LEAVING!" I said as I abruptly ran to the guest bedroom. When I entered, Fives looked at me with a surprise in his eyes.
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Fives's P.O.V.
"Echo... brix... that guy really pissed you off! I heard everything, I'll be ready in a moment. never really wanted to stay here anyways. Oh, I found these in the closet," I said, pointing a hoof at two DC-15S carbines laying on the floor.
I nodded, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I also grabbed a carbine and put my helmet on, Echo following suit.
"How did those blasters get in that closet?" said Echo.
"I really don't know, or care. Let's get outta here," I said.
"You said it," replied Echo, sounding more calm and relieved. "I went up the wall out there. Sorry."
As we began walking out of the cabin and down a windy mountain dirt road, I looked at Echo and said, "What happened at dinner... I apologize. I really don't know what got me there, I guess it was just..." but Echo interrupted me.
"Your perverted mind? I can't blame you, really. Were an army of identical guys, and... we get feelings, and... they begin to pile up. I know that both you and I have figured out to relieve those feelings sometimes, but unfortunately, we don't get the chance very often. You just basically got a bit horny and expressed it... but at the wrong time and place," said Echo. "I should be the one to apologize, I shouldn't have snapped. Still, it was inappropriate according to regs."
"Okay, 'Dr. Echo', whatever you say." I said.
"And neither should you, Fives," said Echo.
At that moment I felt compelled to hug him. And so I did.
"Whoa! I forgive you! No need to... to... oh Fives," said Echo, hugging in return.
"Don't speak of that to anyone, understood?" said Fives. "I think I'm going soft."
"That's good, I don't want you hard," said Echo. Under his helmet, I imagined he was grinning.
"Watch it, mister. I'm not putting up with talk like that at this table!" I said, grinning and pulling off the best Shining Spear imitation.
We both laughed and continued walking. Who knows when we'd reach civilization (shortly, but I didn't know at that time), but I did know that we would get through this together. And, we had high spirits.
Chapter 3: Welcome to Canterlot
Fives's P.O.V
As we walked, we reminisced and made small talk, nothing amazing or entertaining ever happened on our little travel anyways. Soon, our conversations gave way to the sounds of nature, and we were silent. As we walked further and further down the windy road, the sun began to slowly get lower and lower in the west, and soon a glorious yellow light shone upon the landscape. I have to admit, sunsets have always been a favorite natural phenomenon of mine. On Kamino, sunsets were rare due to all the constant stormy weather, and, according to an old Kaminoan myth, any couple or friends who meet under a sunrise or sunset on Kamino will have an everlasting relationship or friendship. Dunno why I thought of that. The rest of the journey was continued in silence, and day silently transitioned into night, the sky turning from yellow, to cobalt, then to deep purple. A strange, unfamiliar set of stars began appearing in the sky, twinkling and forming unfamiliar constellations. Also, as we walked, an orchestra of night sounds began, unknown animals and insects and animals all raising their voices towards the heavens, praising the moon and stars. And, speaking of the moon, it was a yellow waxing gibbous. And... on the moon, if you looked at it just right... it looked like a pony head was on its surface. For some reason, I wanted to call it the 'Mare in the Moon'. There was plenty of ambient light coming from it and stars but, I turned on my night vision just to be safe.
"Look, over there!" said Echo.
"Where?" I exclaimed, lowering my rangefinder and sweeping the horizon. Then, I saw it. "Oh, you mean the girly castle-city hanging dangerously off a mountainside?"
"Yeah, that. I think that's the place we should go to," said Echo. "At least it's civilization."
"Yeah, but... does it have to be so girly?" I complained. "It's degrading. How can this race live with any pride, living in the background for a freaking girl's toy line holomercial!"
"I don't know, you might as well ask why we're in the form of them," replied Echo.
I let out a nervous sigh and said, "Well, at least it's not... the Citadel..."
"Well, yes... you could say that. You make it sound just as bad," said Echo.
"You're welcome," I said, not even putting effort into a sarcastic tone.
"Come on, it can't be that bad," said Echo.
We began galloping towards the city but were stopped by what appeared to be a drawbridge and two... oh for Yoda's sake! Who the hell uses gold for armor?! It's one of the most malleable metals out there, and used to be one of the most precious, too!
"A race of idiots..." I mumbled under my breath. "Oh, and we have to deal with Morons #1 and #2."
"How are we gonna get in? We'll look really, really weird and I doubt the guards will be as friendly as Key Lime," whispered Echo.
I was about to answer that I didn't have a plan, but then a cart filled with large bags of produce being pulled by a pony stopped in front of the guards and drawbridge, and I got an idea. "See that cart? We're going for a ride in it," I whispered.
"So, we're going to sneak into the city by hiding underneath some bags in that cart and hope no one spots us?" said Echo with a concerned tone. He suddenly dropped it and then replied confidently, "Sounds like plan to me. Beats being frozen in carbonite."
"Let's move!" I said.
Thanks to all of our training and battlefield experience, we managed to sneak onto the cart and comfortably conceal ourselves inside the large mound of bags without any of the ponies (I decided to call them and us in our current form for some reason), without noticing.
"Have a good night, Morons #1 and #2!" said our unsuspecting smuggler.
"G'night! " said one of the guards. "I hate our names, brother..."
Echo nearly went into hysterics and I did the same. "WHAT, WHAT?!?!" I thought. "Who seriously names their kids Moron #1 and Moron #2?!"
Suddenly, I heard what must've been the drawbridge open and we began to slowly move forward. Green Palm's Coffee Beans; Grown Naturally in New Canterlot, Hayti, for Eight Years
"Now?" asked Echo quietly.
"Yes," I said.
"Now?" whispered Echo again, sounding a bit unsure.
"NOW," I replied softly but strongly.
"Right!" said Echo quietly.
With that, we slowly and quietly crawled out of the bags of coffee beans, clutching our carbines tightly.
"The coast is clear, let's move!" I whispered.
We stuck to back alleys and close to walls, trying to avoid the streets, which, were mostly empty. However, we suddenly walked straight onto a large boulevard, packed with ponies.
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Echo's P.O.V
"What do we do? We stick out like a sore thumb I mean, hoof!" I whispered.
"Act natural, get on all fours, we're going to stick out if we walk like bipeds," said Fives. "Tuck your blaster into your munitions belt."
I followed Fives's instructions and we began the slow, awkward walk down the packed boulevard.
"Who wears such absurd outfits?" said a passing pony in high-end clothes.
"Oh great, we're in the stuck-up nobility neighborhood..." I heard Fives mumble.
Nonetheless, we continued. We received many criticisms and insults, from being called weirdos, to insane, to the scum of Equestria, to homeless wackos, to even 'Changelings'... whatever those were....
After a few minutes, we both were up the wall. What was wrong with these ponies? They were more demeaning and judgmental than any other race I'd ever come across! Sure, I figured they weren't all jerks, but I think that this particular demographic would have fainted if we were in human form. However, we made it through the street and galloped as fast as we could away from it.
"Now what?" I asked.
"We find a place to stay," Fives. He looked around for a moment before reading aloud, "Gold Clover Inn."
I looked in his direction and noticed a small wooden sign above a door that had the words: Gold Clover Inn painted on it.
"Ack... looks like a bit of a low-end establishment, don't you think?" I said with disgust.
"Better than nothing. Just don't know how we'll pay," said Fives. "That's usually how these establishments work."
I sighed and we both entered. Immediately we were greeted by the strong, pungent odor of alcohol and burning wood. It was dark, smoky, grimy, and dirty: and many a drunk pony was either sitting on standing around or. The floorboards creaked with every step we took. One was singing what I think was a song... but the lyrics sounded like his head was in a 'fresher, so I didn't try to listen. Another pony standing close by... Oh fierfek, was he urinating?! One pony who was probably swimming in ale actually took his mug lowered it underneath the whizzing one and... I don't want to talk about it anymore. Needles to say, I was so disgusted I thought I'd actually hurl on the bar counter. And I was about to. I gagged a few times and I hurriedly asked for a bucket from who I assumed was the innkeeper. I hastily removed my helmet and then... well, hurled.
Upon wiping bits of dinner off my muzzle, I turned to the innkeeper and said, "V... vacancy for two?"
"Sure... I've got a room. That fancy getup means you probably got lost on the way to the palace and have wandered all day. Tell you what, since you're already so well behaved, and since I've never had classier clients, I'll give you one night free of charge," said the inkeeper. "Here's your key. Checkout's at nine in the morning."
"Thank you... sir," I said, taking the key. Either this guy was desperate for attention or drunk. I hoped it was the former... he didn't really show any signs of intoxication anyways. "Sorry about your bucket."
"Thanks," replied Fives.
"You're both welcome." replied the inkeeper. "I hate my job..."
We quickly exited the area before anything else happened and finally our escapade was over; time for some sleep. At last, the bed which I had begun thinking about now lay before me. I quickly took off my helmet and crawled in, Fives squirming in on the other side.
"See you at 0800 hours," said Fives.
"Sleep well, brother," I said. Now, I gave myself up to the subconscious and my mind seemed to forge another world. One that was just as scary as the real one.
Chapter 4: A Strange Dream
Princess Luna's P.O.V.
It seemed like another usual night for me, another night of watching over the dreams of all the little ponies. I caught the night wind soared towards the first troubled mind I felt, which was, surprisingly, in Canterlot. The dream was odd, it gave off a strange feeling that I had never noticed before, something was different. I decided to investigate, and the dream that I entered next was one I'd not soon forget. I was taken to a barren, dusty, rocky and isolated place; it was dark out, I couldn't see any stars in the sky. I was on a metal platform leading up to a strange circular building with what looked like a large bowl on top of it, with something protruding from the large bowl. But, what was even stranger was that there was a white creature on the platform with me. I hadn't noticed me yet, and I dove behind a large metal crate just to be sure. Tampering with an unstable dream was never wise. I poked my head up from behind the crate and observed the creature more closely. It was pure white for the most part, except for its head where it's face was black, its black mouth looked like an upside down V and it's black eyes were shaped like a T. It also had a crimson colored appendage attached to its head, which it brought down every once and a while to its eyes. It moved as though were patrolling the area, like a guard, clutching a strange a strange black thing in its hands. The creature suddenly spoke and said, "This is the deck officer checking in; nothing going on... as usual."
Suddenly, I was inside the building. The room was was metal, and strange lights lit up the room. A few of the creatures were bent over strange devices, and a strange short blue being with a strange voice was talking about some group called the 'Mudjumpers of the 224th' and how they were slugging it out on at a place called 'Mimbam'. Also, a set of stairs led to a small upper level where large window was located, it was an observation platform. Some strange form of music was also playing. It was at this point I realized something: the creatures were soldiers. Their helmets were off, and I could clearly see the creature's true faces. They were all virtually identical, but they each had different personalities, and other small things that separated them. One soldier carrying a small grey tablet with a screen of some kind walked in while two of the others were currently engaged in some sort of sport of strength, and one apparently won the challenge, laughing victoriously. The loser said nothing about his loss and the soldier with the tablet asked the winner, named Hevy, to check on his 'scope'.
Hevy pressed a button and a screen displayed a blue flickering image of the outside landscape. Hevy said, "Hmmm, what do you know? All clear! Just like the hundred last times I looked at it."
The soldier with the tablet said. "Personally, like that it's so quiet out here. Allows me to catch up on my reg manuals!"
However, Hevy didn't seem to agree, "What's wrong with you, Echo? We should be out on the front lines, blasting droids!"
Another soldier then said, "Ah, leave him alone. They kept him in his growth jar too long."
"Yeah!" said Hevy as he and the soldier laughed at Echo.
Hevy them made comment, "You uh... may not have realized it yet, Fives... but you have landed in the most boring post on the Outer Rim."
Suddenly, another one of the soldiers walked up and said, "And one of the most important." This prompted Fives to turn off the music and cause a kind of electronic whistle to sound and another soldier to yell, "Sergeant on deck!" as all the soldiers in the room snapped to attention.
The sergeant responded with, "At ease. Even though you're all knew here,I shouldn't have to remind you that this quadrant is key to the Outer Rim. If the droids get past this station, they can surprise attack the facilities where we were born on our homeworld of Kamino. There's some officers on the way, so I want everything squared away for inspection. Understood?"
"SIR YES SIR!" responded all the soldiers.
Obviously, the white soldiers defended the 'Republic' and they were fighting the Separatists. Who these 'Separatists' were I didn't know, but they were bad, that was clear. However, I swore one of the soldiers look at me directly, for a moment. It was a brief and suspicious glance that partly convinced me I had been spotted by him. "But its not possible," I thought to myself. "Nopony can see me while I've cloaked myself!" Suddenly, an alarm went off and the soldiers scrambled around the room to I assumed to be their designated positions. "Sir, in coming meteor shower!" said a soldier at a panel to the sergeant.
"Raise the shield," replied the sergeant.
"You wanted excitement, Hevy," one of the soldiers said.
"Right. Ooooo, meteor shower..." the one named Hevy mumbled.
"Raise the shield!" said the sergeant.
Suddenly, I was outside the station. Sure enough, there was a small group of meteors headed for the station. A few hit a transparent blue white bubble of energy, obviously the shield they spoke of, and were vaporized. The rest of the meteors overshot the station or fell short of it. By the time it was all over and the dust had settled, everything was normal... except for a large black needle-shaped object embedded a short distance away in a barren rocky plain.
"What the..." said the soldier patrolling the deck, as though he had seen the same thing I had.
Suddenly, I heard the soldier let out a garbled scream as purple electricity surrounded his body and I ducked behind a crate to avoid detection. When I turned back, what I saw disturbed me. Several brown skeleton-like figures with strange black objects in their hands were standing around the body of the soldier, who I assumed had been killed. My theory was confirmed when they drug his body out of sight. They had piercing white eyes, and they also had a glowing red spot on their chests. One of them had white markings on its head and chest. They honestly scared me, and I nearly yelped when one turned in my direction. The figures then approached a large door at the base of the building.
The one with the white markings said, "Get these doors open!"
"Rodger rodger," responded another one of the figures, who removed a small panel next to the door, and after a few moments, the door slid open with a strange hiss. The figures then drew the black objects towards their eyes, and they began walking forward.
Suddenly, two of the soldiers appeared and one of them shouted "DROIDS!" and pointed at the brown figures.
The figures responded by firing red beams of magic at the soldiers, who took cover. The white soldiers, also armed with black things (which I quickly realized were weapons), responded by firing blue beams of magic, put it seemed the droids had the upper hoof.
"Sound the alarm!" yelled a soldier. Another soldier flipped a cover and pressed a button, but a discouraging beep sounded and the soldier said, "They've disabled the beacon." The figures then proceeded without any care or mercy; they mowed down all the white soldiers in sight.
The sergeant, now the only one left of the other clones, frantically said, "Get a message to the fleet! We have to warn... AGH!" But the sergeant was hit by one of the red beams in the leg and fell down. Before he could retaliate, the droids knocked the sergeant's weapon out of his hand and killed him by shooting red magic beams into his chest point blank.
I was suddenly standing next to Hevy, Echo, Fives and another one of the soldiers who I didn't know the name of.
"SARGE!" exclaimed a soldier.
The droids heard the soldier's shout and pointed their weapons and fired red beams of magic at them, but the soldiers had sealed the door to the room they were in.
"That should slow those buckets down," said a soldier as he tore something from a small panel next to the door.
"This way, hurry!" one of the soldiers frantically exclaimed as he removed a small grate. "No! We can..." one of the soldiers interrupted.
However, the figures were starting to break in, so the one next to the tunnel said, "There's too many!"
The soldiers climbed into the tunnel of some kind and I followed and dove inside the tunnel just before the last one crawled in and shut the grate behind me. While distracted by my curiosity, I accidentally bumped into one of the soldiers while trying to crawl ahead.
"Quit shoving Cutup!" one of the soldiers hissed.
"It wasn't me!" the soldier behind me protested.
"Quiet! Those clankers are gonna hear us and then we'll all be dead!" whispered a soldier.
It didn't take long before I heard something be kicked out of the way and hit the stony ground with a loud KLANG, and we dropped down on a narrow ledge next to a large, gaping pit. There were many large holes, which actually looked like the entrance to burrows lining the walls of the pit. The four soldier went single file, and I had to stand very uncomfortably on two feet in order to squeeze in between the third and fourth soldier.
"What do we do without the sarge?" asked a soldier, presumably Fives.
"The reg manual says that next..." began Echo.
I suddenly heard a loud hissing sound. I didn't like it, and my fur stood on end. Something bad was going to happen.
"Wait, did you hear that?" interrupted Hevy upon hearing the same hiss that I did.
"Yeah, what was that?" a soldier asked.
"It doesn't sound like droids," responded Fives.
I thought I heard a crackling sound, like something slithering through the rock.
"Don't forget about those giant eels," said Hevy.
"Oh, I've never seen- GAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed the soldier right behind me as he was eaten by a huge, fat, blue-grey eel with large mandibles and a gaping mouth.
I nearly wet myself and jumped back, letting out a scream of fear. Fortunately, it seemed that none of the soldiers or the eel had heard me.
"CUTUP!" the soldiers yelled. Fives pointed a small weapon at it and shot blue magic beams at it, but the creature disappeared into another one of the holes in the cliffside and any of the beams that did hit it didn't affect it.
"What the HELL was that?!?!" yelled Fives, pointing his hand at the eel.
"Uh that was an eel. N-now that's why we have the regulation not to go outside," said Echo.
"Let's move before it comes back," said Fives.
"Ugh, poor Cutup..." mumbled Echo as we walked away.
I didn't like that eel; it made the Giant Quarry Eels from the mountains look like cute puppies. I also shivered at the fact I'd seen it eat a soldier whole in one bite. It was disgusting, disturbing, and sad all at once.
Suddenly, I heard a loud humming sound and I saw a red bird descending onto the platform next to the station.
"Look, it's Commander Cody!" said Hevy, pointing to the bird.
"The inspection team!" said Fives.
As the clones and I observed in silence, I decided to fly up and get a better look. I was next to the platform, and I watched as the bird, who I don't think was Commander Cody, slowly descended and landed, its wings folding up and feet reaching out for the ground. From my knew vantage point I saw the mouth of the bird open two soldiers, one with blue markings and armor accessories and another with orange markings, a visor and small antennae on his helmet walk out of the bird, which I now realized was a flying carriage of some kind.
"This is not good," began orange marked soldier as he and the blue marked soldier began walking on the eerily abandoned platform towards the station. "I don't see the deck officer anywhere."
"These boys are sloppy; there should always be an officer on duty." replied the blue marked soldier.
I jolted when I saw a droid hiding behind crate they just passed; the soldiers were unaware of the danger they were in. I wanted to do something, but tampering with something like this could lead to all kind of nasty consequences, so I let the dream play out. I descended to where Hevy, Echo, and Fives were and Fives said, "We have to warn them. Get on the comlink!"
I returned to my previous vantage point and I suddenly saw the front door of the station open, and a very suspicious soldier was walking up to the blue marked soldier and the orange marked soldier and began speaking while making unnatural arm motions, "Welcome to Rishi, Commander. As... you can see, the outpost is operating at... peak efficiency. Eh thank you for visiting, and have a safe trip... back."
The two soldiers briefly looked at each other confusedly and the orange marked one then said, "We need to inspect he base just the same."
"Ah... there is no need. Everything is fine and fully operational," said the soldier, making more suspicious arm movements, and also trying to block the two soldiers from going any further.
I checked on Echo, Hevy, and Fives and it seemed they were running into issues...
"Argh, it's no good! Their comlinks are on a different scramble set!" said Echo, fiddling with something attached to his forearm's armor.
"I'll signal them with this flare," said Fives.
I returned back to the three soldiers back on the platform and the blue marked one said firmly to the suspicious one, "Take us to the sergeant in command."
The suspicious one instantly sent me up the wall when he responded with, "Rodger rodger." It was a droid in disguise!
Suddenly, a red flare shot up and it flew high into the still starry sky with a whistling sound.
"A droid attack flare?!" said the orange marked soldier confusedly.
The blue marked soldier turned on the droid and shot it in the head with a single blue beam of magic from a black object that looked just like the one Fives had.
"Whoa, Rex; what the heck are you doing?!" said the orange marked one.
"Re-lax ," said Rex. He took the helmet off the droid and said, "Just as I thought, looks like one of those new Commando Droids."
"That flare must have come from the survivors," said the orange marked soldier.
"You don't say?" I remarked to myself.
Suddenly, red magic beams filled the air, and the Commando Droids popped out of their hiding places, firing more beams of magic, the soldiers countering.
"AMBUSH!" yelled Rex as he began returning fire.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," I thought.
The Commando Droids were to be the winners, it seems, and the two soldiers, despite being excellent marksmen, were outnumbered and surrounded. The orange marked soldier even said that they had tough armor. Several droids suddenly rushed forward and tossed some grey spheres that made a quickening alarm as they flew through the air.
"OFF THE PLATFORM!" yelled Rex.
"Copy that!" said the orange marked soldier.
The spheres suddenly exploded and the red craft was destroyed in series of loud explosions. As soon as the smoke had cleared, the white marked Commando Droid walked out and inspected the remains of the carnage. "No sign of them, they must have been pulverized," it said in a trademark deep monotone voice, "Resume defensive posts."
However, Rex and the other soldier had survived, and were hanging precariously from the platform on cables. They let out more cables from their objects and descend down to the ground; and I also heard the hiss of an eel as the rappelled.
"Well that complicates things, Commander. No worse than that time on Tibrin," said Rex after he and the other soldier landed and detached their cables.
"We had Jedi with us on Tibrin. They helped ," said the Commander.
Suddenly, Hevy, Fives, and Echo approached.
"Hands above your heads, take your sun bonnets off!" said Rex, grabbing a weapon and pointing it at the other soldiers.
"Uuuuh, sir?" said Echo, puzzled.
"Take 'em off. NOW," said Rex.
The three soldiers did as they were asked and revealed confused the soldiers' identical confused and frightened faces.
Suddenly, and eel (perhaps the one from before) burst out of a rock wall and hissed at the soldiers, mouth gaping and staring intently at them, as if it were saying,"HEEEEEEERE'S EELY!"
However, Rex shot the eel with a blue beam of magic dead (no pun intended) through the eye, which killed it. The eel fell to the ground with a tremendous THUD which rattled the ground.
"Nice shot," said Hevy, which made me giggle for second. A giant eel nearly eats them and they are narrowly saved by Rex, and all he can say is, 'nice shot?'
"The name's Rex," said Rex, turning to the three soldiers after examining the corpse of the eel. "But you'll call me Captain or sir."
"SIR YES SIR," responded the three soldiers simultaneously.
"I'm Commander Cody, your new boss," said the Commander, taking off his helmet and revealing a scar surrounding his right eye.
"My designation is trooper 27 dash 5555," said Fives.
"We call him Fives," said Hevy, turning his head to Fives. He turned to Echo and said, "This is Echo."
"Where's your sergeant?" asked Commander Cody.
"Dead, sir, we're all that's left," said Fives.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a batch of shinies, Commander," said Captain Rex, walking up to the troopers.
"Shinies, sir?" said Echo quizzically.
"That's right. Your armor, it's shiny and new, just like you," said Captain Rex, putting his left hand and stamping a purple handprint on Echo's breastplate.
"Sir, me and my batchers are trained and ready," said Hevy.
"There's hope for you yet, rookie," replied Captain Rex.
I'm not sure how it happened, but I somehow suddenly got weak legs and fell, tumbling down the rock face and landing in front of the troopers.
"What the?!?!" Captain Rex exclaimed.
I somehow had been revealed to all of them, and they all were staring at me with shocked and amazed expressions and Commander Cody had his weapon trained on me. After getting up and dusting myself off, I cleared my throat, and I said the best I could come up with to introduce myself, which was, "Eheh... greetings! I am Princess Luna."
Chapter 5: An Unexpected Adventure
Princess Luna's P.O.V.
"What are you?" said Echo.
"How did you get here?" said Fives.
"Perhaps it's an indigenous life form, like the eels," said Echo.
"I'll take it from here," said Captain Rex. He turned to me and said, "Listen, miss. We don't know who you are or where you came from, but what we need to know is if you're working for the clankers. And answer me, the more your resist the more suspicious I get."
"No, I'm not a Separatist agent," I said. "I don't know exactly why I'm here, anyways."
"Then what's with your title? Are you actual royalty?" said Hevy.
"Yes, but not here. I must say that this is a bit of an ambiguous situation for all of us, and I certainly wasn't expecting this to happen. But I do know that you need help... and... I normally wouldn't do this, but I will offer my assistance," I said. I didn't know what to expect, tampering with a dream like this could lead to disastrous consequences, but for once, I decided to lay my fears aside and hope everything went well. Pretty stupid, but I wanted to know more, and this was the only way. Being a hidden observer only got you so much in a dream like this.
Rex and Cody exchanged uneasy glances, but they agreed for me to join their team.
"Alright, now that we have a new member, let's get going..." said Rex. "We're climbing up to the platform."
I smirked, spread my wings and took off before any of the clones could react. I then decided to blow their minds further by grabbing Rex and carefully lifting him up to my position.
"Whoa! What the?!" said Rex as he was enveloped in a dark blue bubble of magic and began floating towards me.
"Wow. You're gonna be handy," said Rex quietly as he put on his helmet. "Can you get the others up here?"
"Of course, Rex," I said in a low voice, grabbing Commander Cody.
"I... had been watching in secrecy until I somehow lost my balance and I was discovered by you," I responded.
"For some reason, I'm okay with that..." said Captain Rex.
Commander Cody only shot a mildly displeased countenance when he landed next to me. "Thank you," he said.
"Hold on!" said a voice.
We then observed Echo, Hevy, and Fives reaching for us and we helped them over the ledge.
"Look sharp, rookies. As long as those tweezers occupy that post, our homeplanet of Kamino is at risk," said Captain Rex, handing out a weapon to Echo.
Commander Cody handed out two weapons to Fives and Hevy.
"But there's so many of them!" said Echo.
"Doesn't matter, kid. We have to retake this base, so we will retake this base," said Captain Rex.
Echo, Hevy, and Fives responded by priming their weapons.
"How do you propose we get through those blast doors, Rex old boy?" asked Commander Cody.
"I have a few ideas..." Rex responded.
We walked up to the platform and saw that no droids were on the platform. Except for one, which was quickly gunned down by Cody.
"Get it's head," said Captain Rex.
"Why?" said Commander Cody, tearing off the head of the droid.
"I'm gonna pose as a clanker in disguise," said Captain Rex, taking the head sliding it towards the door.
"Do you really think they'll buy it?" said Echo.
"Their droids, of course they'll buy it," said Hevy.
"Here I go," said Captain Rex. "Wait, get out of sight! If they see any of you with the visual identifier, our plan is compromised."
We did as Rex instructed and hid by standing up flat right against the door as Rex approached a small panel next to the door of the station, walking in a droid like manner.
We suddenly heard a droid voice say, "Unit 2 6, is that you?" as what I could only assume was a camera of some kind began extending out to get a better look at Captain Rex.
"Rodger rodger," replied Captain Rex.
"You sound strange... is there something wrong with your vocabulator?" responded the droid voice.
"Rodger rodger," said Captain Rex.
"Take off your helmet. Let me see your faceplate," said the droid voice.
"Rodger rodger," responded Captain Rex grabbing his helmet as if to take it off and crouching out of view from the camera before picking up the droid head and holding it up to the camera.
"This is never gonna work," said Commander Cody worriedly and incredulously as he made what meant to be a facepalm.
However, it seemed luck was on our side as the door suddenly opened to reveal three Commando Droids.
"CLONE!" yelled the closest Commando Droid.
"RODGER, RODGER," said Captain Rex before he shot the Commando Droid in the head.
Okay, I'll say it. That was badass.
Anyways, the other two Commando Droids were quickly gunned down and Captain Rex said, "Alright, let's move!"
We rushed forward and before we entered what I now guessed to be the control room of the station, Fives said, "Permission to take point, sir?"
"I'm always first, kid," said Captain Rex. With that, we charged into the room. The fight was short but intense. The Commando Droid's only major weakness was the head. You could probably sneeze on its head and it would collapse. Anyways, me and Rex teamed up to take on the white marked Commando Droid while Cody and the other took out his buddies. I managed to disarm the droid but it had a sword of some kind and I jumped back to avoid the swing at me. However, I gave it a lightning fast Canterlot Buck and sent it reeling over to Rex, where he finished the job by twisting its head.
By the time we were done the other droids had been taken care of.
"I got one!" yelled Echo triumphantly.
"Sorry Echo, but I junked that one," responded Hevy.
"Like hell you did," mumbled Echo.
I wanted to congratulate everyone, but Commander Cody cut me off unintentionally, "Get to the window, it looks like we have visitors."
We all ran up and Echo used his helmet to scan the night sky. "It looks like Separatist fleet!" Echo exclaimed.
"That's why they commandeered to outpost; they're mounting a full scale invasion!" said Commander Cody.
"We have to warn command," said Captain Rex.
"Not to ruin the mood, but... may I ask why this planet Kamino is so important, besides the facilities there?" I asked.
"That's exactly why it's so important," said Commander Cody. "Every single one of us, including me and Rex came from Kamino, the entire Republic Army does. Every Clone Trooper in the GAR is born and raised there. If the Separatists can get to Kamino, launch an invasion and capture Kamino, the war will be lost for us. If they get past this post, it won't be long before they hit Kamino, which is virtually undefended right now."
Before I could respond, Commander Cody rushed down to began to attempt communications, but things got suddenly worse when he said, "Those clankers sabotaged our transmitter and they hardwired the all-clear signal, it'll take time to repair..."
"We don't have time. Look!" said Captain Rex.
I turned back to the window and observed a large four-winged craft approaching the station.
"Well buddy, you always said you'd wanted to be in the front lines!" said Fives to Hevy.
I observed the craft land, open a pair of large doors, and saw a large group of whitish droids, I counted about two to four dozen at the most.
"We can't protect the outpost long against that army of clankers," said Commander Cody.
A few dozen droids was hardly an army, but it was more than we could fend off single-hoofedly.
"Then we'll destroy the outpost instead!" said Captain Rex.
We turned with shocked faces to Captain Rex.
"Ah but sir, our mission is to defend this facility, at all costs!" said Echo.
"We have to warn the Republic about the invasion. They'll take notice as soon as the all clear signal stops," said Captain Rex.
"That's right! When they stop recieving the beacon, they'll get the message something's wrong!" said Hevy.
"We'll need every Thermal Detonator in the inventory," said Captain Rex.
"It'll take more than a few detonators to destroy this outpost," stated Commander Cody.
"We can use the LT!" said Echo excitedly from below. He then backed up his idea by stating,"This moon freezes for more than half the year; we use Liquid Tibanna as fuel to heat the base."
"Liquid Tibanna... highly explosive," said Commander Cody.
"Good! Bring the tanks here and prime the detonators," said Captain Rex.
"Wait, what?" I thought. "Did they just say that stuff is highly explosive?! Then why the heck do they use it as fuel there?! If they're storing and using this in a place where they keep explosives , this just practically screams bad idea!" However, I realized that this detail wasn't very important at the moment. It was just my commons sense picking out a potential danger. Nonetheless, it sounded like they would be detonating it from a distance or shelter, so I didn't worry about it.
Anyways, all the clones turned towards the door and I followed. Cody and Rex turned to Echo, Fives, and Hevy.
"Alright, listen up! There's only one target of interest in this sector: Kamino. It's the closest thing we clones have to a home. Today we fight for more than the Republic, today we fight for all our brothers back home. Understood?" said Captain Rex.
"SIR YES SIR!" responded the other Clones.
They each grabbed their respective helmets and put them on, one by one. Hevy then directed us to what appeared to be an armory.
"I think we can even the odds a bit, Commander; 'specially since they don't know we're here," said Hevy, grabbing large, six-barreled weapon. "This on here is mine. Heheh!" said Hevy as he spun the barrels of his new toy.
"A big gun doesn't make a big man," said Commander Cody as he and the other soldiers grabbed new weapons and Rex began gathering the LT for detonation.
"I'll take this one, then," I said, standing bipedal and grabbing another six-barreled weapon. I actually could hold it comfortably, it's weight kept me balanced.
Me, Commander Cody, Fives, Echo, and Hevy then went out to greet our new guests.
"Reinforcements reporting, open up!" said a droid in a distinct voice. The door opened to reveal me and Hevy, both of us sprouting the line,"Didn't say please !"
"Clones! Get 'em!" yelled a droid in its distinct voice.
And then, all Tartarus broke loose. Thanks to ours weapons and combined firepower, we managed to mow down a fair amount of droids, but more kept coming.
"Could use a Jedi about now!" said Commander Cody.
As soon as we'd pulled back far enough we closed the door and paused for a moment. However, after a few moments the door was blown open and droids started pouring in like water flowing from a busted dam.
"Time to go!" I said as we fell back, the droids a few feet behind us.
"Rex, time's wasting!" said Commander Cody into (presumably) his comlink.
"Almost ready," replied Captain Rex. We quickly arrived, but it seemed Rex was having trouble, "The handset isn't linking up with the detonator," said Captain Rex. He stood up and called out,"Hevy!"
"Yes sir!" responded Hevy, running to Rex.
"This detonator isn't working," said Captain Rex.
"I'll take care of it. It'll be fixed in no time. You guys get out of here," said Hevy, grabbing the handset from Rex.
"Alright, but make it fast, those droids are getting close," said Captain Rex.
For some reason, I felt compelled to stay behind.
"I'm gonna cover Hevy," I said.
"You can't! I'm not risking losing you. Wherever you come from, your government is probably looking for you! We need to keep you safe!" Captain Rex.
"There's no time for discussion! Go, we'll be fine!" I yelled.
Captain Rex gave we what I sensed was a pained look, but he and the other soldiers left through the tunnel.
Hevy was tinkering with the detonator and gave me hope when he said,"There, that should fix it." However, it seemed nothing happened and the droids were getting very close to our position. Hevy fiddled with it a bit more, but the result was still the same: the handset and detonator weren't linking. "This isn't good," mumbled Hevy. "There's gotta be another way..." He ran over to the tunnel where the others had exited and put it back in place so as not to arouse suspicion from the droids. "Follow me," Hevy hissed quietly, and we went behind a wall a few feet away from the LT tanks which had been set up. From our hiding spot, we could hear the droids enter the room we'd just been in.
"The base is ours again, sir," we heard a droid say. "The clones are fleeing!"
"Cowards... Secure the area!" responded another droid in a slightly lower pitch.
Suddenly, Hevy got a message on his comlink He turned it on and the voice of Captain Rex said, "Hevy, get out of there!"
"The remote isn't working, I'll have to detonate it manually," replied Hevy.
"Hey, hold on there!" said a droid. "Blast him!"
I returned fire as I heard the voice of Captain Rex say, "Heeeevy!" I also overhead some more dialogue directed towards the other clones,"We've got to get up there; back to the maintenance pipe!"
"It's no use!" Hevy exclaimed. "I know what I have to do!" With that, he drew his weapon and we both fired on the droids.
"I don't like your tone rookie," came Captain Rex's voice from Hevy's comlink.
We mowed down the first few droids in sight, but they just kept coming. Then, droids from behind us fired, one landing a grazing shot on Hevy's shoulder. I took care of them and he fired at the droids behind me. But they still kept coming, and we knew that our weapons wouldn't last forever. They would eventually overrun us.
"Soldier, come in! Are you there?" said Captain Rex nervously over Hevy's comlink as he kept firing. Hevy remained silent, taking down a few more droids. I was doing alright, but a few shots had already grazed my forelegs and I dodged one that would've nailed me in the head. Why was I doing this? I can't be sure, I was endangering myself in a vivid dream, but part of me says that it was the right thing to do; I was helping a soldier in a hopeless battle... a final battle.
"Soldier, where are you? Respond!" yelled Captain Rex frantically over Hevy's comlink as he limped towards the LT.
Hevy and I arrived at the main room and he was able to fire a few shots before his weapon ran out of ammo. He threw it at some of droids behind him (and succeeded in taking out two of them), but he took multiple shots in the back and fell face first to the ground; and while that was happening a shot hit me in the side and I dropped weapon, letting out a loud grunt of pain. I knew I couldn't die, but the pain felt very real. We both fell a few inches short of the LT tanks' detonator.
Hevy laid still as the droids surrounded us. I thought I heard Echo trying to frantically contact Hevy, but i couldn't be sure, I was caught up in the immense pain.
One droid asked as Hevy slowly inched forwards towards the detonator, "Do we take prisoners?"
"I don't," said Hevy as he pressed two small buttons on the detonator.
Somehow, in the millisecond before the station exploded, I was able to create a shield around me and Hevy and then I did something I thought was impossible: transport a person from a dream out of the dream. Hevy being that person. Where he was sent, I couldn't be sure. But at least he was alive: if barely. The station then exploded in a massive and I orange fireball, and I had managed to leave the station before it went up, just like Hevy had (albeit by my magic).
I observed Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Fives and Echo as they avoided some falling debris on fire and ran to the safety of a large overhanging ledge. They then watched the flaming wreckage of the station in silence.
"Hevy always did hate that place," said Echo to Commander Cody. Echo suddenly looked up and said, "We've got those tinnies on the run!"
"Thanks to Hevy..." said Commander Cody. "And Luna."
With that, I left the dream. When I finally had caught my breath, I saw the dreamer: a strange pony in some kind of ponified clone armor. of some sort. When the pony turned over, I saw a bluish-purple horseshoe mark stamped on the chestplate of the armor... just like the handprint on Echo's armor. "Wait... no, it can't be!" I thought. "Echo?!?!" I looked at the other pony and I guessed it was Fives, because the markings on the pony's armor didn't match Captain Rex's. Then, something else hit me: I had just discovered the first alien lifeforms, albeit in pony form, on Equestria. I soared straight back to the castle; tomorrow was going to be a long day...
Chapter 6: Meeting the Royalty
Five's P.O.V.
When I first awoke, I heard a sound that I was all to familiar with: heavy rain and thunder. I still felt very sleepy, but I managed convince myself to get up and take a look outside. I approached what I recognized to be a window, drew back the blinds, and I saw only the light of a street lamp shining into the window. It was still pretty dark out and there were only a few lights on, so I decided to go back to sleep and wake up a little later. It felt nice to relax for once, to not be caught up in senseless war. But, as I settled back into my bed, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on Lola Sayu. Did anyone else die? Did the mission succeed? I also wondered what Captain Rex or Commander Cody were doing, or if they had been taken by Lola Sayu as well. But I hesitantly pushed my thoughts aside and cleared my mind and soon the rain lulled me back to sleep. About two hours later, I woke up again to the sound of rain. I rolled over and I saw a dull grayish light was filtering through the blinds. I quietly got up and walked over to Echo, who was sound asleep, but also mumbling something intelligible. I decided to let him be for a few minutes more and I decided to go see if the inn served any kind of breakfast. I grabbed the key to our room and I quietly unlocked the door, and gently closed it behind me. A burst of thunder rattled the building as I walked down the hall, the smell of food and liquor guiding me in the dim hallway.
Meanwhile...
Princess Luna's P.O.V.
I had no time to waste. I galloped down the hallways at full speed, sliding around corners and leaping up stairways. I finally made it tot he throne room and burst in on Celestia and a few nobles come to complain about something, most likely irrelevant. There are three types of nobility; the good, the bad, and the snobby. From the the annoyed glance I received from Celestia, I could tell she was dealing with type 3.
Celestia turned to the nobles and said, "I understand your concerns, and they shall be dealt with. Now, if you do not mind, my sister approaches, and I believe we need to be alone. Good day."
With a few aggravated sighs, the nobles left. As I rushed past them, closing the doors as they were led out by the guards.
"Luna, I know something is wrong. Speak," said Celestia.
"I have seen the dream of an alien," I said with as serious a tone I could muster.
Celestia was silent at first, but a grin began to show and I could hear her chuckling softly. She also subtly raised a hoof to her mouth, meaning she was suppressing laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"A-aliens?" stammered Celestia. "You're pulling my hoof, aren't you?"
"No," I said, so irked that I literally made the words 'not amused' float above my head.
Celestia's face suddenly straightened out and she said, "So you did contact extraterrestrials?"
"Went into one of their dreams, yes," I said.
"What did they look like?" asked Celestia.
"The two that are currently among us are ponies somehow, but in their natural form, they are strange, monkey-like bipeds standing at about six feet that look virtually identical. They wear white armor, sometimes adorned with markings in various colors. They are apart of a military force called the Republic, and they fight droids. The two that are here are known as 'Echo' and 'Fives'. That's all I know," I said.
Celestia suddenly grew pale.
"Sister?" I asked.
"Luna, those nobles just reported two ponies wearing strange white clothes with blue markings. They thought were a threat to the city's security..." replied Celestia.
"I think I know where they are," I said. "They were sleeping at a room in an inn, somewhere near the outskirts of the one tiny red-light district we have in the middle of the east side..." I shivered at the thought of the perverted and sick dreams that I had encountered in that minor area. I really was glad they hadn't gone too far in there.
"We must bring them here at once," said Celestia.
Echo's P.O.V.
Okay. I've seen some pretty weird stuff... watching a wild Reek humping a Battle Droid was the most bizarre (and hilarious) thing I'd seen, but the dream I'd just had took the cake for me. Well, kind of, wasn't too weird... except for the fact a small blue equine named "Princess Luna" suddenly showed up at the Rishi station. It was all so real... but... I knew It couldn't be. I mean, come on, was I really supposed to believe that an a blue pony had helped us win back the Rishi station and save Kamino? No, I won't believe. It's not possible. Anyways, Fives had left, and I figured that he'd be back shortly. As I began adjusting to the dim light of the room, I heard rain beating on the observed that the tiny bathroom did in fact have shower. So I stripped of my armor and clothes, stepped in, and drew the patched up and stained shower curtain around me. I reached for the faucet, turned on the water, and the pulled up on the handle to activate the shower. The only problem is, it sucked. The water pressure was next to none, and the water temperature was at the Arctic setting. Even the rain on Kamino was warmer! But, it was still a shower. The water stirred my nerves and I began to wake up more. There was a stained washcloth which I dampened and rubbed in some soap with the pitiful soap bar on a rusty metal rack attached to the shower wall. As I washed, I listened to the rain beating on the roof, the rumbles of thunder and the crack of lighting. It all felt odd, kind of surreal. One day I'm on a dangerous Separatist prison planet, the next I'm an equine in a world full of equines who seem to have no knowledge of the Clone Wars. How nice it must be to live in complete ignorance. To not have thought that thousands of people were dying each day, people who you considered your brothers... ignorance must truly be bliss.
Fortunately, my shower was brief, and before I even knew it, I was back in my armor.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Must be Fives," I thought. "Come in!" I said.
Fives walked and said, "Ah, good. You're up. It's about time we left."
"I wish we could have some breakfast," I said.
"We'll figure something out. Heck, we managed to survive the Citadel... at least... I think we did..." said Fives.
I think we both questioned are reality at this moment. Were we dead? Alive? In another dimension? We both really didn't know. However, we left the room and walked out into the hard cobblestone street. The rain beat on our plastoid armor, creating on odd sensation like a crowd of invisible people tapping on your shoulders. This stuff is actually pretty heavy, but even it wasn't not very effective at repelling enemy fire. The only good armor was Katarn-class, but only commandos got that... I guess they earn the privilege. Regardless, the part we were in looked shady. There were a few noticeable signs advertising all kinds of explicit adult entertainment and brothels of all sorts. We mostly ignored the signs and the shadowy figures of equines probably doing or looking at intimate and explicit things. One mare with a particularly lustful look sidled up to us and began making a series of suggestive and somewhat obscene gestures and even began grinding on my leggings.
"Knock it off. We're not interested," said Fives.
"You sure? I can give you a real good time..." the mare whispered.
"Positive," I responded.
The mare said nothing but slunk back to the edge of a brothel.
We continued down the shadowy boulevard, walking past prostitutes and the likes, and a few ponies going at it outside.
It was still raining hard, but we finally made it to a more comfortable part of the city. Shops, cafes, and small restaurants lined the streets on both sides, and everything looked cleaner and much more civil. The ponies, though some gave us strange looks, were much more kind and tolerable of our strange outfits. A few even greeted us. We eventually sat down at a cafe, and a few minutes after we did, a large ornate vehicle pained white and covered in some gold trim pulled up. I wasn't sure what to do, but Fives gave me a look that I knew mean to act casual. The door of the vehicle opened and a dark blue pony stepped out. It was a bit taller than the other equines, and it had a large blue man and tail that looked like it was speckled with stars and flowing in a breeze, even though there was none; and on its flank was a white crescent moon. Wait a minute... that was... the pony from my dream! I looked in amazement as Princess Luna, as she had called herself, walked over and sat down at our table casually. Fives, unaware of my dream, simply turned to Luna and said, "Hello. May I ask what exactly you came to see us for?"
"Don't play games, Fives. You know why I'm here," said Luna.
"Excuse me, but may I ask how you know my name?" said Fives.
"Ask your friend, Echo," said Luna.
Fives turned to me and said, "You've got some explaining to do."
I told them about my dream and what happened in it best as I could remember. And by the time I was done, I figured Fives's face had a look of disbelief on it.
"Wait... so you're telling me Luna here, in your dream, helped us save Rishi?" said Fives. "That brings to mind another question... how did-"
"How did I know about Echo's dream? I don't wish to sound... intrusive, but I have the ability to enter one's dreams. Yours stuck out, and, naturally, I was compelled to investigate," said Luna.
"Okay, okay... so you went into his dream and helped us during the Rishi incident?" said Fives.
"Basically," said Luna. "I now know a little bit about you and your brothers."
"Alright, stop with the dream entering stuff. Fierfek, I'd rather listen to Neimoidians conducting business negotiations and trade agreements," said Fives.
"Fives, you do realize she's a princess, right? She could have our heads on a platter!" I said.
Luna suddenly shuddered. "Please, do not describe such... violence," she said, looking a bit green.
I banged my head into the head into the cafe table and thought, "Wow, I'm just doing greaaaaaaaat . Probably offended royalty and ruining all possible diplomatic relations with this planet." Why I was thinking like a galactic senator at that moment I didn't know, but after dying and turning into miniature equine, the line of normal gets a bit blurred.
"Anyways," said Luna, regaining her composure. "You need to come with me."
"Why should we?" asked Fives.
Luna stiffened a bit and said, "You are penniless, have no place to go, stay, or sleep, and have no friends or means of contacting the Republic. If you come with me, you'll be taken care of well. All that I ask is that you cooperate with me and my sister."
"So, you'll take care of us if we just cooperate?" said Fives suspiciously.
"Well, one other thing: I would like more answers," said Luna.
"I thought so!" said Fives. "Well, it's a deal then. I'm afraid that certain info we can't give, but whatever we can tell you... well, we'll discuss that later."
Just before she got up I said, "Princess........ Can you make us... human... again?"
Luna turned and said, "I don't know, Echo. I don't know much at all about you, except form your dream. Come, Celestia is expecting us."
We both looked at each other uneasily but we followed Luna and climbed in the carriage, our the rain dripping and running down our plastoid armor darkening the red fabric of cushioned bench we were sitting on.
Meanwhile...
In a dark, slimy cave in the heart of a desolate and towering mountain, something stirred. Inside a clear membrane cocoon filled with a greenish gelatinous slime, a white bipedal figure stirred from a strange kind of stasis. It struggled through the slime and began tearing at the membrane, kicking and punching and ripping. Just before it could suffocate, the cocoon burst and the creature gasped for air, making strange electronic breathing sounds. The sound stabilized and the creature stood up, recovering from its struggle to escape the cocoon. It raised its right forearm towards what appeared to be its mouth and said:
"This is CT-782, can anyone hear me?"
