Celestia stood tall over the flat wastes of Malastare. The sun was beginning to set, giving the planet a dark purple atmosphere. Under normal circumstances, she would take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the world around her. But these were not normal circumstances.

The Separatists have launched another campaign against the Mid Rim, striking at key Republic Worlds. The 187th and the 501st were quick to respond when Malastare was attacked. The planet provided a large amount of fuel needed for their ships, and if it fell, it could out the Separatists within striking distance of Coruscant. They were holding, but barely, being pushed back from the main droid landing zones.

Now she and her detachment of troopers had to hold the line at one of the major fuel refineries. They had to be careful, if one of these fuel tanks behind her blew, there would be nothing left of the 187th. They had to win, or this war was going to end badly.

“Are you still up here contemplating life, Tia?” The Commander turned to see her sister, Luna, walking up to her with a grin on her face, another trooper marched behind her, Captain Rex if she remembered correctly.

“I suppose I am.” The one good thing about this campaign was that it gave her an excuse to see one of her sisters again. Now if only she could see Cadence, then it would be a proper reunion.

“Contemplating about how you’re going to lose this bet?” Luna asked cheekily. Celestia chuckled, remembering when they were younger how competitive Luna could be. It was good to see that hasn’t changed.

“If you think you can blast more droids with that dinky little thing you call a blaster than my heavy chain gun, then I might just write you up for a Section 8.” Luna rolled her eyes and pulled out a bundle of thermal detonators. For the past few weeks, she started favoring explosives over her traditional blaster. It was Celestia’s turn to roll her eyes.

“I swear, that Razorwolf has too much influence over you.”

“I like to think I reflect the best qualities in my troops.”

‘Well, let’s see if your best qualities beat my firepower, Lulu.” The look Celestia received from her sister could blow up a Providence Class Cruiser. Rex bellowed in laughter, even with the look Luna shot him.

“I thought we agreed never to call me that, again.” Luna growled, then smirked. “Crusty Face.” Rex laughed even harder while Celestia’s white fur turned red.

“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t you check on your men, Captain?!” The tall alicorn spluttered. Luna laughed and nodded.

“That’s why I came, the troops are ready. General Skywalker and General Windu want us up front to lead the defense.”

Celestia pushed the embarrassment back and put on her helmet. “Very well, let’s head back.” The three made their way back to the frontline, with Captain Rex having a hard time containing his laughter.

Captain Rex wasn’t laughing anymore. Through his macrobinoculars, he could see a massive army of droids approaching. He could see the formations of B1s, B2s, Crab Droids, AATs, and Dwarf Spider Droids slowly marching toward them. They easily outnumbered the troopers stationed at this refinery.

Celestia and Luna could see the same thing, and they were not liking the odds. Celestia, especially, hated this plan. It required her troops to engage the droids head on and draw them in, where the Generals could then test their new weapon. The alicorn knew that if anything went wrong, this mission would be their last.

The new weapon was designed by the Republic’s Top Scientist, Doctor Sionver Boll. But she was a biologist, now a weapon specialist. She didn’t know if her new bomb would work, or if it wouldn’t kill her men. Too many variables, too little room for error. That seemed to always be the situation when it came to the Jedi’s plans.

Luna tapped her shoulder, gaining the commander’s attention. “Sister, we’ll be fine.” She said confidently. Damn her if that confidence wasn’t contagious. Celestia smiled and nodded.

“Good luck, Sister.”

“You as well.” With that, Luna ran off to be with her company, which were right next to Rex’s on the front line. Celestia watched her go, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she saw her.

Cy readied his blaster as the droids approached. They were almost in range for the attack. He turned to his platoon. One of his troopers, Shotwire, was preparing his dual blasters. The Platoon Leader could feel the glare his sergeant was giving the droids.

Shotwire had barely survived Ryloth, losing most of his squad when they were hit by the firebombings. Seeing his men burn alive left the clone filled with anguish and rage. Cy just hoped his hatred wouldn’t burn him or his men.

“Sergeant.” he called, gaining Shotwire’s attention. “Keep it cool.” Shotwire stared at him for a few seconds, then turned back to the droids. He never acknowledged the request. Cy sighed and turned back to the approaching army.

Osprey slowly walked behind his squad, checking each one to make sure they were ready. One trooper laughed as he revved up his Z-6.

“Hehe, time to kick some ass.” The trooper muttered. Osprey tapped the back of his helmet, forcing him to turn around.

“Keep your head down, Bash.” The Sergeant advised before moving down the line. Bash shook his head and went back to giggling. He lowered his cannon and patted the small hammer that was strapped to his hip. He was going to show those Seppies why his brothers called him Bash.

Luna checked her men over, twice, before she felt satisfied that they were ready, and just in time too. The droids were well within range, and the attack began. A wall of laser bolts raced toward them, striking whatever stood in their path. A few troopers were caught in the open and went down quickly. Luna ducked as several bolts slammed into her cover. She popped out and returned fire. Her men followed suit, and fired into the seemingly infinite droid ranks.

“Hold the line!’’ She bellowed as more of her troopers went down.

To her left, Zombie was in his element. He targeted the Command Droids, popping their heads off with each shot of his blaster. The tactical Droid was his next target, were it not for the sudden appearance of a Dwarf Spider Droid in his vision. It aimed at a small clump of clones behind a wall. It fired a single shot, which destroyed the wall, and the troopers behind it. He aimed at the left eye of the droid and fired. It never stood a chance. But now his chance at killing the Tactical Droid was gone, as it had ducked into the turret of the tank.

Celestia unleashed hell with her rotary cannon as the battle began. A trooper to her left goes down, followed by two at her right. An AT-TE is hit and falls limp. She motioned for a squad of troopers to recover the crew inside.

“How much longer do we have to hold out?!” Havoc called from his position.

“Just until the bomb drops!” She replied, never releasing the trigger.

“Can I just say how much I hate this plan?!” Indie shouted as he fired.

“Your opinion has been noted, trooper.” The Alicorn snapped. Normally, she welcomed Indie’s criticism of bad plans, but now was not the time for it.

“You like that?!” Shotwire called out as he fired into the droid ranks, anger flowed through his voice with every syllable. “Well how about some more?! Take this!”

Cy watched the sergeant begin to step out from his position, marching toward the droids while firing his pistols.

“Trooper, get back here!” The Lieutenant ran out and tackled the clone to the ground. The battle continued to rage as Cy dragged his sergeant back into cover. Shotwire tried to get up, but Cy kept him pinned against the wall.

“Now listen here, trooper. Keep your head in the game! Now is not the time for your vengeful bantha poodoo!” His lecture was interrupted by a stray bolt slamming into his shoulder. Shotwire’s eyes widened as his Lieutenant fell to the ground. His first instinct was to stand back up and take his revenge on the droid who fired that shot. But for now, he had to follow his training.

He kneeled over the officer and checked his wound. It was a clean burn, with a small charred hole in the shoulder pad. “I need a medic here, now!”

Luna watched as Vulture Droids took off into the air. “Take out those fighters!” She ordered into the commlink.

In the rear, with a company of RX-200 tanks, was Circuit, who signalled the tanks to fire. The turrets turned and aimed high into the air, just ahead of the vulture droids, and fired their electron beams. Fighters flew straight through the beams, shutting down as their electrical circuits were fried beyond repair.

Luna winced as one of the fighters crashed into an AT-TE. She would have to make up for that mistake by winning this battle.

Celestia ducked as a vulture slammed into the ground next to an AT-TE. The tank wobbled and fell to the ground as the top gunner went flying from his seat. The Alicorn raised her cannon once more and fired into the approaching ranks. She was surrounded by the dead and wounded, and it was all piling up around her.

When were they going to drop that bomb?!

She turned to see a squadron of Dugs charging into the droid lines like cavalry. She watched as all but one of them were gunned down by the line of droids. The one that made it through jumped on top of a Dwarf Spider Droid and began stabbing it with its electro-spear. The spear was ineffective and the Dug was sniped by a second Spider Droid.

Celestia shook her head. She had warned the Dugs not to use this tactic, as all it did was get them killed. But they were a prideful race and very traditional. She both admired and hated that aspect.

“Commander.” General Windu’s voice came over the net. She activated her comms to acknowledge him. “The bombers are launching now.”

Well it was about kriffing time!

“Understood, sir. We’re ready.” With that, she closed the channel and looked to her men. “The bomb’s coming, get ready!”

“Finally!” Indie shouted. The clones slowly began their way back into cover, trying to move clear of the blast zone. She held her ground until the last trooper was behind cover before following Indie behind a wall.

Her eyes turned upward as the bomber came into view. It easily slipped through the fighter screen and avoided the flak fire from the enemy vehicles.

The Y-wing was over the drop zone within moments, and Celestia could see a small object drop from the bomber. That bomb was huge, and she knew it would pack a big punch. The Alicorn readied a shield summon, just in case.

It disappeared into the middle of the droid ranks, and was replaced by an explosion cloud that expanded high into the air. The concussion wave of the blast sent droid parts into the air, and shook the very ground she stood on. Were it not for the tint of her helmet, the Commander would have surely gone blind.

The explosion was then sucked into itself and a large ball of electro-magnetic energy was created. The ball expanded through what remained of the droid army and continued to do so long after it overran the last functional droid.

Celestia’s eyes widened as she realized how large this pulse was getting. “Brace yourselves!”

Luna shielded her eyes as the pulse overtook her. A high pitch screech drove nails into her ears, drowning out her agonizing scream. She threw her helmet clear of her head and took several breaths to steady herself. The Captain saw her troopers suffering similar fates, some focusing more on getting rid of their wrist comms that were going haywire.

AT-TEs stopped dead in their tracks, with their pilots having to shield themselves from the sparks of their damaged control circuits. Luna felt shocks against her sides and looked at her short-circuiting wings.

It was over within seconds, but it felt like minutes. Silence fell over the battlefield as troopers tried to reassess themselves. The Alicorn Captain could hear the Dugs cheering in the distance. The bomb had worked, albeit a little too well.

She felt relief for the end, as it meant they now had a powerful superweapon that could end this war much quicker, and save Malastare.

Her relief turned to curiosity as she felt the ground rumble. She looked down to see the pebbles wobbling back and forth. Other troopers noticed the same thing, taking steps to balance themselves. The shaking got more violent and a loud crash was heard near the droid positions.

Luna looked out at the sea of deactivated droids and gasped in shock as the ground below them disappeared. Her shock turned to horror as the sinkhole expanded toward them.

“Run for it!” She shouted, making a run for the refinery.

Celestia lowered her shield as the ground began to shake. An earthquake? Now? She saw the creation of the sinkhole and realized what was happening. “Fall back, get away from the blast site!” her troopers were quick to obey, grabbing what wounded they could and making a break for it.

Shotwire turned to see the sinkhole expanding toward them. He looked to the troopers. “Get clear!” They obeyed without question. The clone reached down to help Cy, but the Lieutenant stopped him.

“Get outta here, sergeant.”

“I ain’t leaving you here, sir.”

“That’s an order, trooper!” Cy retorted, shoving the clone away from him. Shotwire was about to go back, but saw that the sinkhole was almost on top of him. He turned and ran for his life, looking back to see Cy disappear below the ground.

He ran past the dead AT-TEs, which were also sucked into the ground. He could see one crew stuck inside as it fell into the abyss. He continued to run with the edge of the hole right on his heels. He could feel the ground about to give way below him, so he jumped forward and landed roughly on the ground. The rumbling stopped, and so did the sinkhole.

Shotwire almost didn’t want to look back, but his curiosity got the better of him. His eyes widened in shock at the sheer size of the sinkhole. What was once a battlefield littered with droids, troopers, and tanks, was now a massive hole in the ground with no bottom to be seen. Dust kicked high into the air, obscuring whatever was inside the hole itself.

“Oh scray.” Shotwire muttered before standing up and joining the others.

A few minutes have passed since the sinkhole, and Celestia was already organizing a search party, with Sergeant Raptor leading it.

“Now make sure to keep the survivors together, preferably next to an open area so that our gunships can get them out easier.” She instructed. Raptor nodded and motioned for his men to follow. They prepared jetpacks to jump down and land inside the hole, along with replacement commlinks after theirs were destroyed by the bomb.

Celestia shook her head. That bomb was too much. Next time, they should make sure clones are clear of the area before dropping another one. She watched the rescue team, consisting of 20 troopers, disappear into the smokey abyss that was the sinkhole.

Raptor landed with a soft thud, the rest of his team quick to land behind him. He activated his helmet light and looked around. Something didn’t feel right. There was a soft rumble that echoed through the whole thing. It made him feel uneasy.

“Sir, I see a tank!” One of his men called out. He turns to see what the trooper was pointing at. An AT-TE laying on its side. He couldn’t see any troopers nearby, but they were likely inside.

“Alright, go check for survivors.” Raptor ordered. The trooper nodded and signalled for two others to follow him. Raptor turned away to check for any other wrecks or signs of life. There weren’t any.

The ground shook once more, knocking the troopers off balance. Raptor quickly steadied himself, then looked up. A wall snow stood in his sights. The trooper tipped his head to the side in confusion. This wall wasn’t here a second ago, was it. The wall shifted, revealing a large toxic green eye.

Raptor reeled back in shock and raised his blaster. There was a loud roar, followed by a loud rumbling, which drowned out the screams of the rescue team.

“Rescue Team, this is Commander Celestia, come in, over.” Static was all she got. It had been several minutes since the aftershocks began, and now she had lost contact with Raptor’s team.

Luna was getting the same thing, after she had sent Jump and his squad down into the hole to recover her missing troopers. Something wasn’t right. She had to talk to General Windu. Luna seemed to have the same idea, as she was already contacting Rex, who was with both Generals at the moment.

Communication was finally established after General Windu entered the sinkhole. They found several survivors and were now sending gunships to rescue them. But where were the troopers originally sent to rescue them?

Celestia and Luna stood tall on the edge of hole, looking down for signs of… anything really. They were just hoping for something to make sense.

“Why do I get the feeling we messed up royally, Sister?” Luna asked. Celestia shrugged.

“When do we not? I’m surprised the whole Galaxy hasn’t exploded yet at this point.”

“What do you think the crew meant, when they said something was down there with them?” Now that was a mystery. Whatever it was, it had them spooked, and there was little doubt in Celestia’s mind that it was the reason twenty of her men, and eight of Luna’s were missing, if not dead.

A loud roar echoed from the hole, followed by a violent shaking. Celestia was quick to jump into the air, using her wings to stay above the ground. Luna was not as fortunate, as her wings had yet to go back online. The shaking knocked her off balance and she fell into the hole.

“Luna!” Celestia dove down and used her magic to catch her younger sister. Luna floated in the air, just barely visible in the smoke and dust that was kicked up. Celestia carefully lifted the Captain back above solid ground and placed her on the ground.

“Thanks, Tia.” Suddenly, General Skywalker’s fighter flew into the hole, and the two sisters could hear its blasters going off out of sight.

“That’s not good.” Luna muttered as Celestia raised comms.

“I want all troopers up here on the double, ready the tanks. Something big is about to come out of that hole!”

And right she was. After another small explosion, General Skywalker came out of the hole riding R2. General Windu was already organizing a defense when the Jedi landed not-so-graciously on the ground.

“Okay, not my best entrance.” Skywalker muttered. Windu knelt down, an eyebrow raised.

“And where is your starfighter?”

“That Thing ate it!” Luna’s General retorted.

“That Thing is a Zillo Beast!” Nakha Urus, leader of the Dug People, announced as he approached. All eyes turned to the Dug as he explained what a Zillo Beast was. “They used to roam Malastare, devouring our Ancestors.”

“Well now we know what happened to our troopers.” Luna growled. She hated the fact that she lost more troopers to beasts. Memories of Felucia were still fresh in her mind.

“When the Dugs first began mining the fuel in the planet’s core, they were killed off.”

“Oh great, so now it’s an extinct creature back from the dead, a real miracle.” Luna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she did so. Celestia tapped her back to silence her.

“We’ll have to contact the Chancellor and explain the situation.” Anakin stated. Windu and Urus nodded before walking off. Celestia sighed. They could’ve at least given her and Luna instructions on what to do next.

“Guess it falls to me… again.” she muttered under her breath. “Alright, set up a perimeter around the sinkhole, but do not go near the edge and do not provoke the creature!” She ordered. That last thing they needed was for this ‘Zillo Beast’ to get more angry than it already was.

Some time had passed since the Zillo Beast was awakened, and the Dugs were hard at work trying to kill it. They unleashed a barrage of explosive disks with their catapults, and were constantly bombarding the sinkhole. The cries of the Zillo Beast could be heard from the Clone Camps, several hundred yards away.

Every gun was trained on the hole, but Celestia forbade any troopers to go near it. She lost enough of her brothers to that thing.

“Commander.” Indie called. “General Windu wants you to attend the meeting with the Chancellor.”

Celestia sighed. Great, she could already tell her head was going to roll.

“How remarkable.” Palpatine said as he stared at the image of the creature. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

Celestia was thankful her helmet prevented the others from seeing her glare. The Chancellor seemed to admire the beast that swallowed her brothers.

“I recommend that we transfer it off the planet as soon as possible.” Windu stated. “We can find a place for it to live undisturbed in the Outer Rim.”

Again, they seemed to care more about a creature that ate her troopers more than the troopers themselves. Celestia was normally fine with whatever General Windu stood for, as she had similar principles. But her principles were also to keep her men safe, and the Zillo Beast violated those principles.

“And what do the Dugs have to say in this matter?”

“They want us to help them destroy it.” Windu answered.

“Then by all means, help them.” Palpatine said simply. “This creature is of no importance to us. We cannot be alienating the Dugs at this crucial time.”

Of course, because the Dugs were more sensitive than a mouse droid.

“It is not the Jedi Way to take an innocent life.” Windu explained. Celestia disagreed. That thing was anything, but innocent. Anything that killed her men was considered hostile in her book. “Especially if it is the last of its kind.”

“Chancellor Palpatine.” Doctor Boll interrupted. “I think it would be in our best interest to study this creature.” The Doctor adjusted her collar as the heat seemed to be rising in the room. She felt the source coming from the Alicorn Commander standing opposite from her. The Scientist would have to ask the trooper about that later.

“Its outer scales are impenetrable. None of our weapons could harm it.”

General Skywalker sighed. “Not even my lightsaber could damage it.”

“If we could somehow duplicate that for our ships…”

“An impenetrable armor.” Palpatine finished in awe. Now that was something Celestia hadn’t considered. If they would duplicate the outer scales, then her men would be a lot safer from blaster fire. Many more lives could be saved if they did it. Now she wanted this beast captured, but they needed the Dugs to sign the treaty.

How were they going to convince the Dugs to sign without killing the creature? The Alicorn had an idea for that.

“What if we let the Dugs think we killed the beast.” She suggested, gaining everyone’s attention. “We could use the EMP features on our RX-200s as a sort of stun blaster. We could shut down its nervous system long enough to transport the beast off-world and make the Dugs think we killed it.”

“Hey, that could work.” Anakin added. “When I was fighting the creature, I noticed small gaps in between the scales that had exposed skin. Our tanks are more than accurate enough to hit those spaces and get at the soft tissue underneath.” General Windu looked at Skywalker, nodded, and turned to Celestia

“Very well, Commander.” General Windu said. “Organize the tank battalion and inform the men.” Celestia saluted and turned about to walk away.

She could hear General Skywalker chuckle. “Now I know why she’s under your command. She has all the ideas.” Celestia giggled a little as she imagined the indignant face General Windu was giving his fellow Jedi.

Everything was almost ready. Celestia guided the tanks into position. Ahead, she could see the Dugs dumping the toxic green fuel from their pipes into the hole. The Zillo’s cries echoed from the hole.

Not good, if that creature climbed out of the hole, it was going to be a harder target. She saw General Windu and Skywalker arguing with Urus, who seemed far too pleased with himself.

“Get ready, I want all guns aimed at that hole!” She ordered. The tanks aimed their cannons at the hole and waited.

The ground began to shake and loud thuds could be heard getting louder from the pit. “Oh kriff.” The Alicorn muttered. The Zillo Beast was climbing out! “Get ready to fire!”

The Beast rose from the green mist and roared as it stared at the rows of tanks and troops awaiting it. It slapped away the catapults that had been bombarding it all day, and fully climbed out of the hole it once called home.

The Dugs ran for their lives as the Zillo stomped through their camp. Many tents and Dugs were crushed under the massive feet of the creature.

“Aim for the gaps!” The tank gunners rotated their turrets and raised the cannons toward any gap their computers could locate.

“Fire!” The tanks fired continuous streams of their pulse cannons, slashing along the creature until they could find a gap. The creature roared as the beams scraped its scales. It swiped at a tank, sending it flying through the air. Celestia heard the crew scream before it crashed back onto the ground.

“Back up!” The tanks slowly moved back from the creature, still firing their pulse cannons. Another tank was slapped away. Two more were whipped by the Zillo’s long tail.

“This isn’t working!” General Skywalker announced over the comms.

“It will work, General!” Celestia replied confidently. Though that confidence waned a bit when the Zilllo picked up two more tanks like toys and smashed them together into a pancake. Another tank was thrown into the refinery, causing a massive explosion. The creature stomped through the destroyed building and stopped on the other side.

Celestia could see the creature beginning to wobble. It was working! The Zillo suddenly grabbed her tank and lifted into the air. She held on to the chairs as the crew struggled to stay in their seats.

“Whose bright idea was this anyways?!” Celestia blushed and shrunk a little in her armor. Suddenly, the creature dropped the tank. The Alicorn braced herself as the vehicle slammed into the ground.

“Is everyone okay?” She asked. The two crew members nodded. Celestia sighed in relief and looked outside. “Good, now keep firing. He’s getting tired.” The gunner opeyed and fired the pulse cannon once more.

The creature was now surrounded on all sides, and the beams had found homes in several gaps in the scales. It gave one last defiant roar before collapsing on the ground.

“Cease fire!” The beams died down, and Celestia hopped out of her tank. She walked over to the eye of the Zillo, which was still partially opened. The Alicorn stared directly into it, and realized something. The look it was giving her was not malicious, hungry, angry, or blank. It was a look of terror, confusion, and pain. It was afraid of… her. Because the first thing it saw was her after dealing with insurmountable pain. It was a face she had seen on troopers’ faces before they died, or before they were carried off to be treated for severe wounds.

All the anger and hatred she had for the Zillo evaporated. Instead, all she felt was pity and guilt. “I’m sorry.” She said, putting a gentle hoof on its head scale. “I promise, you’ll be okay.”

“It will be.” General Windu said as he walked up to her. “Once we get it out of here.” Celestia nodded.

“I already signalled the gunships to transport it to a nearby Venator. They have clear hangars to transport it to whichever planet you deem fit, sir.” General Windu smiled, much to the Alicorn’s amazement.

What neither of them could have known, was how much trouble this beast would cause in the future.

Author's Note

And we have another chapter complete. Let part 2 begin!

Trivia Time:
1: what kind of trouble does the Zillo Beast cause after this?
2: Is it right to kill something like the Zillo Beast?
3: Who's excited for rest of Part 2?!