A New Galaxy

Chapter 4: Meeting Her Other Highness

It had been several days as there had been no news of what the rulers of this foreign planet would announce in terms of the clones being upon their planet. For now, all the clones were just living onboard their ship, taking patrols to make sure no mynocks of any kind would get stuck to the ship's outer hull. Thankfully, this planet was filled with life the clones were not used to seeing and had no knowledge of, and anything threatening was shot at immediately only to scare. Currently, Steele and the other two ARC troopers were sitting outside on the green grass, eating some rations, disgusting in taste but nutritious.

“So what do you think about all this sir?” Shock asked curiously

“Too perfect for me Shock, too perfect for me. I don’t like it, I fear this will get out of hand really fast,” Steele answered

Viper just gave an impression of holding a blaster pistol and firing it, he was the only one who was still wearing his helmet.

“Uh, care to explain why you don’t talk Viper?” Shock questioned

Viper shrugged, he couldn’t say why he didn’t like talking, maybe it was too much noise for him. Then again, the sound of a blaster is always much louder but Viper preferred the weapon to do the talking. Just then, a clone sergeant came over to the ARCs, saluting before giving his report

“Sir, all patrols report that the wildlife here is mainly nonhostile, with only a few predators. Nobody was hurt and frankly, the predators seemed pretty scared when we blasted a couple of them,” the sergeant reported

“Good work sergeant, anything on the inhabitants?” Steele asked

“Nothing yet sir, thought one of the patrols thought they saw a yellow creature with some pink hair, but it disappeared before we could get a good look at it,”

“Anything else?”

“The only other thing is one of our men stumbled upon a home here in the forest, we didn’t go any farther than its perimeter to not get on anyone’s bad side. Nobody was home at the moment, wait, just got something,” the communicator beeped as the sergeant activated the link

“Uh sir, there is someone here for you.” A voice of a clone spoke out as the sergeant looked at the ARC’s and each of them gave a nod

“Let them through shiny,”

Steele got up, donning his helmet once again as he saw one of the clones come out of the thick forest with Luna. Luna looked a bit peeved about not being allowed access to talk to Steele right away but her expression softened when she saw the familiar commander. Steele approached her with the other ARC’s following right behind him.

“A pleasure to meet thee once again Steele,” Luna said as Shock raised a questionable brow

“Care to enlighten us sir on this meeting?”

“Long story, what has your rul-I mean sister have to say?” Steele asked correcting himself as he had to remember he was dealing with a co-ruler

“She is quite intrigued with your presence and wishes you to come see her at once. Along with your other brothers to give the whole kingdom a proper introduction. She has given me the authority of introducing you all since you know of me more than her and I know you better than Celestia does. You must come to Canterlot Castle immediately,” Luna explained

“Expect us there,” Steele nodded

“Perfect, we will await you at the castle,” Luna smiled before turning into mist and disappearing

“Viper, get a transport,” Steele said after the Princess left, the ARC nodding

Canterlot Castle

“Did the negotiations go well Luna?” Celestia asked her sister as she was walking down the hallway with her sister who appeared to her seconds ago and with a pleased expresion

“Yes, quite well. Commander Steele is coming this instant and I haven’t been able to observe the whole force but there are many of them for sure. Not as much as the Changelings but they have numbers,” Luna answered, walking down the hallway following Celestia and feeling something odd about her sister

“Is something wrong?” She asked concerned

With her head turned towards her sister but with her body facing Celestia’s intended destination, Celestia sighed and said,

“You know I do everything in my power to ensure peace correct?”

“Of course, you do what you think is best for the kingdom as a whole, even if I or anyone else disagrees,”

“Then you know how I feel about this. These aliens who are well armed and have experienced war first hand and were bred for it,” Celestia then turned to the smaller Alicorn keeping a wary but compassionate tone though it became a bit bitter towards the end

“Yes, you were distressed with the war of King Sombra many years ago but times have changed sister and they do not seem eager to fight unless provoked to. The dreams of their commander told me enough that they fight for the greater good and will not cause trouble, I even offered to help the commander learn how to live without war,” Luna replied with a neutral tone to not upset her sister

“You offered him on how to live? But don’t they know how to live?” Celestia’s head perked to the right in confusion

“Not exactly, most of the basics but they are too used to war and fighting on a daily basis, thankfully they can learn how to enjoy peace,” Luna answered shaking her head

“How many of them are there?”

“Hm, I could guess about a battalion at max, but I haven’t seen their full force, just pockets of them,”

“Your highnesses! There is a large flying object coming towards the palace!” A Royal Guard suddenly burst through the doors at the end of the hallway and reported what was causing a commotion already, Royal guards running about to their positions with their captain, Shining Armor, giving orders

“Flying object? A living being?” The Princess questioned as she went to the balcony to look at what the guards had seen and saw what they were talking about, something was flying their way, with two windows in the front of it, two wings that pointed downward and ball like contraptions to the sides of it

“No, it must be one of their transportation vehicles. That must be Commander Steele, tell the Captain of the Guard to order his stallions to be at ease,” Luna told the guard

“Yes your Highness,” with that, the guard ran off to inform the captain

“I sure hope you know what you are doing Luna,” Celestia said warily as she did not like this

“Rest assured sister, all will be well,” Luna comforted the taller Alicorn with a pat on the backside as the object came closer and closer, decreasing its speed as it began to descend into the courtyard, two doors opening out of its body, one on each side, revealing the troopers and Steele standing within this thing

The troopers disembarked with their weapons lowered or holstered to their sides as Steele looked up at the balcony where the Princesses stood. The guards were all around the troopers, many close to them with spears and others on the ramparts. The guards numbered possibly a hundred while there were only Steele, Viper, Shock and two regular troopers along with the LAAT.

“Well this was a welcoming party,” one of the two troopers stated sarcastically

“I wonder if they do this to everyone,” the other nodded

“Commander Steele I presume,” Celestia said looking down at the Clone Commander below her

“Yes ma’am,” nodded Steele

“You have to forgive my guards for being too cautious, we haven’t been visited by aliens before,” Celestia waved to her guards who relaxed more as she motioned for the troopers to come into the castle, the troopers did so as the great doors to the castle opened with the servants quickly doing so with fear in their eyes

“So, Commander Steele, what brings you to our little kingdom?” Celestia began to ask as she was brought tea which she sipped on occasion

“We didn’t purposely come here, a wormhole caused us to go here and our hyperdrive was damaged along the way. We are working to fix it and hopefully go back to our galaxy,” Steele answered honestly as he had to treat this ruler with the highest respect

“The wormhole? My sister has told me of such odd events within space itself and it is beyond her control but they also rarely happen. As far as we have recorded, once every thousand years,” Celestia nodded in understanding

“Once every thousand years?! We won’t be alive by then!” Shock spoke out as he couldn’t believe this

“Yes, I have no control over those wormholes and my sister is right, once every thousand years. But please tell her about your war as you described to me,” Luna answered as she looked to Steele who then walked forward where he was closer to the Princess but still far enough for the guards not to get anxious

“The Clone Wars, as the Jedi and everyone else call it, is our current war in our galaxy fought by the Jedi and us clones, against the Seperatist Droids. The droids are led by a former Jedi named Count Dooku who is the apprentice of some Sith Lord we have no idea of and the Seperatists seem to follow their leadership. We have been at war for years now and many of my clone brethren have died doing what they were born to do, protect the Republic. We want peace and stability throughout the galaxy but this war has been dragged on for far too long and the casualties have mounted high on both sides, even innocents were killed,” Steele began to explain as he continued with whatever knowledge he was given of the Jedi, the Sith and the reason for the rise of the Seperatists

Celestia listened with intent as she also drank her tea in between the long explanation that the Clone Commander was giving her. She was intrigued about this war but flinched at the idea of innocents getting killed in the crossfire and the many lives the Clones and Jedi lost to protect their Republic. Celestia was still wary of the clones in front of her as Steele described what the clones were bred for and who was their original along with their growth acceleration, their home planet and the ‘names’ they got. Luna almost wanted to grimace as her sister’s eyes were bearing the feeling of disgust to an extent for the clones being treated as cannon fodder but also admiration for the clones’ bravery and undying spirit to fight for what's right.

“What makes you so different from your clone brethren Commander?” Celestia asked as she wanted to know Steele a bit more personally

“I’m an Advanced Recon Commando, ARC for short. Specially modified elite variant of the other clones with more independence and creative thinking along with all around better skills and feats,” Steele summed it up quite simply

“How did you receive your name?”

“The others gave it to me as I’m as arrogant and unbreakable as a durasteel wall,”

“How many clones are there in your galaxy?”

“Millions, but only 106 ARC troopers, and that number is even smaller as there is two groups of ARC’s. The experimental Null-Class ARC’s which only had six out of twelve possible clones and there are Alpha-Class ARC’s like me which make the other hundred.”

“Hm,” Celestia pondered in thought as she couldn’t think of anymore questions as Steele’s explanation of his galaxy was painted pretty clearly in Celestia’s mind

Steele stood there watching the Sun Alicorn think as the other clones had stayed silent and were still shocked about being stuck here on this planet for a thousand years. Their mood changed from hoping for escape to being depressed in terms of now being hit with reality, not going home at all. It was as if you were to tell the clones that they were dead anyway since a thousand years of being stranded on another planet was basically death since none of the clones would live that long. Luna seemed to sense the clones’ attitude and demeanor change as a thought came to her head which she knew her sister would disprove but this would help the clones settle in and also help their fellow ponies to be acquainted with the aliens.

“How about we offer you military service for our kingdom to protect ‘our’ Republic like you would do yours?” Luna asked as she purposely phrased the question to catch the clones’ attention and it certainly did along with Celestia being snapped out of her thought bubble

“What?” Celestia questioned

“Yes, we only have our Royal Guard to keep us safe and we cannot send them to all parts of Equestria since they are low in number but you are soldiers and peacekeepers. You will fit perfectly into the job of maintaining order as you did with your war and it will help our pony civilization to accept you and see you as peacekeepers and not monsters,” Luna explained

“Luna! You can’t be serious?! They barely just arrived here and you want them to have peacekeeping authority over our kingdom?!” Celestia seemed quite offended and angry with this

“Sister, I know why you think as you think, but it is logical. How else can they interact with our little ponies and get them to trust the clones?” Luna retorted to her sister’s outburst

Celestia was about to say something but Luna held up her hoof to inform her sister to calm down and think, which Celestia did reluctantly. Luna did have a point though as the clones could maintain order in parts of Equestria much easier than the Princesses who would have to travel to those locations especially far away. Plus, Celestia could have command over these clones as this was her kingdom and they were visitors, so they had to follow her rules.

“Very well, I see this option as possible, but I have some conditions,” Celestia said with a more regal tone once more

“Go ahead,” Steele shrugged as he had been silent this whole time as he watched the two sisters had their slight argument a few seconds ago

“Since this is my kingdom, you will have to follow my laws and rules if you wish to live within my kingdom,” began Celestia

“Simple,”

“You will NOT kill any of my subjects no matter what crime they posed unless I give you direct authority to do so,”

The clones looked at one another and nodded, still simple enough, they had blasters with a stun setting anyway.

“You will NOT kill anything within the forest or anywhere in Equestria unless I allow it. Food should be of no concern as your kind seem to be omnivores and we have plenty of food as your payment,”

“Well that settles our one year of rations,” Shock whispered

“Lastly, I request you go as far away from using violence as possible. Only as a last resort, I don’t want my little ponies to think that violence is legitimate in our peaceful kingdom on a daily basis,” Celestia finished

“Yes ma’am, I’ll make sure of it,” Steele nodded

“You better Commander, I don’t tolerate violence lightly. Now, there is one more matter to discuss,” Celestia replied

“Which is?”

“In a couple of days, there will be a wedding here in Canterlot Castle as the Captain of the Guard is getting married to my niece. As your first assignment to prove yourself, I want you and your stall-,” Celestia was beginning to explain

“Men,” Luna corrected with a fake cough

“Men, thank you. I want you and your men to provide security detail for the day in Canterlot. The castle is quite safe with all the guards and we of course are powerful in our magic. Just ensure that Canterlot is safe from any attack and you will pass my assignment,” Celestia finished

“Nothing we can’t handle. The 142nd is known for being the first battalion to defend and keep positions secure,” Steele replied with a firm nodd

“I sure hope you can meet my expectations Commander, you are dismissed,” Celestia finally stated as she walked away to a different part of the castle as Luna stayed where she was and the clones began to head back for their ship

“Commander, a word,” Luna said as Steele was exiting the castle

“Ma’am?”

“There is something you could do for me….well, for the whole kingdom. We have a little nuisance and his name is, Discord. He is a being of absolute chaos and he has just broken from his stone prison. I need you to assist the Elements of Harmony to defeating him,” Luna explained quickly

“Take down a nuisance, consider it done,” Steele replied as he was about to take another step

“Wait! Can I see how big your battallion is? I’m sure my sister will want to as well so she can assign your men to other areas,” Luna asked

“I’m not in charge of that, you and your sister are now,” the Clone Commander shrugged as it he basically stated that she could if she wanted to

“Then prepare your men for our arrival Commander,” Luna then smiled using her more regal tone with an authoritative voice

“Yes ma’am. Shock, inform the officers to have our men assemble outside the ship!” Steele ordered as the other ARC nodded and activated his comms

The five clones and the Lunar Princess, also joined by the Solar Princess reluctantly, got onto the LAAT as the doors shut and it took off towards its desired location. Flying over miles of landscape in little time as the large cruiser could be seen. Outside the ship was five hundred regular clone troopers standing at attention, thirty clone officers in front of them and one hundred and seventy crew members of the cruiser. At least one of each of the land vehicles, the cruiser carried, were presented as well as the LAAT then landed.

“Hm, impressive Commander,” Celestia commented on how organized the clones were, perfect lines of them horizontally and vertically

“Yes, very well organized Commander, we should not be displeased in your performance,” Luna smiled more than her sister as Celestia still was doubtful

“Present arms!” A clone officer yelled as all the clones held their blasters in front of them,  perfectly in unison as an echo was created the sound of blaster butts hitting the floor

“Everyone of us was trained to do this until it was perfect. Our Kaminoan cloners wanted perfection out of us and we made sure to give them perfection,” Shock boasted as he was always happy to see his fellow brethren stand proud and at attention

“Well Commander, I have other matters to attend to and I will leave the charge of arranging placement of your stal- I mean men, to Luna,” Celestia stated firmly as she disappeared in a flash of light

“Forgive my sister, she has nightmares of war from earlier years,” Luna sheeplishly said

“Not a problem, we will do what is necessary to exceed her expectations and protect your kingdom. We really can’t go anywhere else,” Steele sighed as he gave the signal for the men to be dismissed

“Indeed you don’t but that makes it much more fun for me to teach you the meaning of life,” Luna tried to cheer the Clone Commander in front of her with her earlier offer that he had accepted

“Right,” was all Steele muttered

“Now, come with me. I will take you to meet the Elements of Harmony and let you help them take down Discord,” said Luna

“Alright. Shock, get Mincer and Washout and come with me. We got our first target,” Steele ordered

“Yes sir,”