Chapter 1 - A Ticking Bomb
A purple lightsaber blade sliced through some low-hanging tubes, the hue illuminating the dark corridor and Jedi Master Twilight Sparkle’s face. She stared out at the black void ahead, determined, holding the lightsaber in front of her with the Force. She simultaneously held a commlink to her mouth, clicking it on, the red light that came with it mixing in with the already present violet.
“Spike? I really need the power back up soon!” She ordered before trudging ahead a bit more. Spike’s voice crackled from it after a few moments of silence, sounding strained and stressed.
“Nngh… I’m trying, Master! These wires are giving me fits, though…”
“I don’t want any excuses, my Padawan.” She stated sternly, swinging her lightsaber at a few more tubes that she was about to walk into it. These ones sprayed a white mist out of it, and after feeling her joints start to freeze up, Twilight knew she had to get out of there. The tubes undoubtedly gave sustenance to a makeshift carbonite freezer in the Baleen-class bulk freighter.
Spike sighed over the commlink and it shut off, indicating he was going to fulfill his master’s request. He was stuffed in the freighter’s electric shaft below the corridors, working to get the power back on after the pirates they were invading shut it down, keeping a possible combat advantage over the Jedi in mind. Obviously it didn’t work—Twilight was skilled enough in the Force to detect when a blaster was about to be fired, and aware enough to focus on the enemy, even in the darkness of the ship.
Twilight proceeded through the ship, encountering a few pirates and promptly downing them with her weapon. To her, they were nothing more than sick life forms finding pleasure in capturing and torturing ponies, as well as pillaging. They were all the same—ponies, and other species, willing to make money off the suffering of others. Whether it be through hostage situations or straight-up burglary, these ponies proved that they were on the opposite side of the Jedi, no matter what they were up to.
Although, in this scenario… there was something they agreed on. It was that this prisoner was worth keeping captive. And that their importance was not unwarranted.
After slicing her lightsaber across the chest of another pirate, shooting their last blaster bolt at the ceiling as they fell, Twilight walked inside the dark control center. The inactive lights from the panels stood out in the pitch blackness of the place, and she really needed a jolt of electricity right about now. She groaned and ran up to one of the panels, pressing onto some of the buttons, displeased when she found out nothing occurred.
She lifted the commlink up to her face again, a bit frustrated at the lack of electricity still present in the Baleen-class bulk freighter. “Spi-ike! I really need something right now!”
“Nngh… where are you right now, Master?!”
“Control room!” A red blaster bolt whizzed past her ear, nearly nicking it, prompting her to deflect the next bolt back to its sender. “Hurry!”
The next few seconds were idle and quiet as she waited for Spike’s verbal response, but that came instead in the form of the ship’s power being restored. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the panel after deflecting another blaster bolt back at a now visible pirate. The downed pony let out a yelp as he was hit by his own bolt as Twilight activated the blast doors, shutting them, making it impossible for any other pirate to enter.
Afterwards, she got to work on looking for the prisoner, turning off her lightsaber and sheathing it before turning to her commlink once more. “Spike, what’s the prisoner’s name again? Forgive me for having trouble with remembering…” the Jedi Master looked through the surprisingly well-documented list of prisoners kept in the cargo containers acting as makeshift cells.
Prisoners, in all honesty, had no respect for whatever ships’ purpose was before they were conquered and utilized for their own needs. To them, if they could flex as cargo haulers and powerhouses with weaponry, they were suitable for their needs. Needs that were typically illegal and were the cause of a lot of violence—that was a trend that most space pirates followed, no matter what gang they belonged to.
Outer Rim pirate bands mostly aligned with the Dragons, an elite clan of crime lords who also turned out to be impressive negotiators. They were able to strike deals with many prominent groups throughout to galaxy… including an under-the-table arrangement with the Solar Galactic Republic that meant they couldn’t attack each other, especially when it came to past disputes. It wasn’t an agreement Twilight Sparkle was too fond of… but she wasn’t in a position of power to have influence in the negotiations when they were made.
Now, there were bloodthirsty pirates banging on the locked blast door, screaming and yelling, as Twilight awaited a response from her Padawan.
“...his name is Lit Candle. Wanted for selling weapons to the Separatists… and clearly he did something to tick off these pirates.” Spike finally spoke up, his voice seemingly more staticy than before. Twilight bit her lower lip and located the prisoner amongst the list of names, also noting his cell number—7. She nodded and moved on from the panel, making her way towards the blast door opposite from the locked one.
“At least we agree on something, us and those space pillagers…” She muttered to herself, glancing back at the door. She then turned on the commlink and pressed a button that allowed her access into another part of the ship, which contained most of the cells, when referring back to the freighter’s floor plan. “Stay on the commlink, Spike. I may need you to lock up some doors if more pirates decide to join the party.”
“You got it, Master.” Then he was silent.
Twilight trekked through the ship, keeping a close eye on the crudely written cell numbers on each cargo box. There was no certainty there were ponies inside, or even that Lit Candle’s cell number was correct, given the pirates’ lack of caring for organizational skills. Still, she had to try her best to navigate through the admittedly confusing hallways of this Baleen-class starship.
And after turning a corner and coming face-to-face with yet another pirate, pointing a blaster in her face… she knew she had to press on much faster.
In an instant movement, Twilight levitated her lightsaber and activated it, slicing the blaster before it even had a moment to fire. The pirate stared at the remnants of his blaster for a moment before yelping and staggering back. As he tried to flee, the Jedi Master used the Force to stop the pirate in his tracks and bring him forth to her, turning him around so he was facing her.
She growled and moved the tip of her lightsaber up to his neck. One small jab could instantly kill him. The pirate whimpered and trembled as she gripped onto him with the Force.
“So tell me… where is Cell 7?” Twilight asked angrily, staring into his eyes intimidating. The pirate looked back into her eyes, though his expression was the near opposite of the Jedi Master’s—afraid. He opened his trembling mouth to speak.
“J-Just take a left from here!... then you’ll get t-to Lit Candle…” The pirate stammered, still shuddering in her grip. Twilight gave him a long and suspicious look before ultimately dropping him. Instead of trying to fight back, the pirate simply ran away in desperate fashion. Even those with strong beliefs would give them up at a second’s notice if their life was at stake, somehow.
Besides, mercy was always something Jedi had strived towards for millennia. Twilight would be disappointing thousands of Jedi who had come before her if she struck down a defenseless pony—evil or not—without a fair fight.
Keeping this in mind, she proceeded down the way the space pirate had frantically directed her to, resulting in a line of cargo crates, at least 3 on each side of the corridor. Twilight used her lightsaber light to look over each number, making sure she would choose the correct cell. It started at Cell 1—containing a concerning amount of screaming and yelling, though she couldn’t see who was inside—and eventually made its way to Cell 7.
Twilight walked to a keypad that was next to the door, and of course that didn’t work. And instead of calling Spike to open Cell 7, she decided to shove her purple blade into the crate side, allowing her access into the cargo holder. It was now eerily silent on the block with exception to the crackling of her blade against steel. After a full circle formed on the side of the cargo holder, she kicked it open and stepped inside.
Smoke from the singing hole filled the quiet crate as Twilight retracted her lightsaber blade. She wasn’t worried about the prisoner potentially attacking her as she was practically an intruder, because she would know where he would be coming from and would have enough time to subdue him. At the current moment, however, it was dead silent.
Something isn’t right here…, Twilight thought to herself, trudging around the crate that wasn’t very large to begin with. It was at most 12 by 8 feet, maybe the size of a room on a star yacht.
Nevertheless… it was almost as if—
Just then, Twilight’s hoof bumped into something on the ground. It initially startled her, but after realizing it was the body of a pony, she was forced to look down, using her lightsaber again as a source of light.
As the steam started to fade away into non-existence, it became easier to see the dead body of Lit Candle at her hooves. The Jedi Master sighed at the blaster-filled prisoner and lifted the commlink to her lips again, its red light quite prominent in such a dark cargo holder.
“Spike. The prisoner’s dead… the work of pirates, I bet. I’m sure they took care of him once they figured out we arrived, looks like he hasn’t been dead for too long.” She stated as she started making her way back to the cell entrance, the steam no longer there to distract her or cloud her view. She heard Spike sigh on the other end, along with the clank of machinery as he moved around. This caused her to raise an eyebrow as she activated the commlink again, stepping out of the container/makeshift cell. If there were even more things going on, especially if they were going against the Jedi, there was going to be a massive problem waiting at the end of the tunnel.
“Spike? What’s going on?”
“Master, you should know that… the entire ship is rigged with explosives. I can’t tell what the countdown is, but we have to get out of here!” Spike said frantically over the communications device, the clanking of metal continuing as he worked his way through the ship’s infrastructure below deck. Twilight cursed under her breath and turned to the commlink angrily, not particularly at her Padawan but at the fact that she had been lured into a trap.
“This isn’t good! Get to the ship as fast as you can and turn on the engine! Fly away so that you’re a safe distance away. I’ll tell you when to get me.” She said as she took out her lightsaber, igniting it, getting ready to turn back around and fight through a ship filled with pirates. There was an audible sigh over the commlink as Twilight started galloping through the halls of the bulk freighter, relieved to have not found a pirate. Yet.
“But Master—“
“Do as I say! Go!” She yelled into the commlink, shoving it back in her belt as she continued to run. Alarms blared and blast doors shut in random and awkward places, often causing Twilight to have to turn in another direction and work her way through a maze-like ship. With her craft sitting in the hangar of the massive freighter—hopefully untouched—it was going to be a longshot to get there in time if pirates kept messing with her wayfinding.
Eventually, after turning a corner, the Jedi found herself face to face with a horde of bloodthirsty, waiting pirates, who fired on her immediately. Luckily, Twilight saw this coming, and she was able to deflect a few blaster bolts back at them, thinning the group, before advancing forward. Some of the scoundrels got so afraid that they dove out of the way of the passing lightsaber-wielder, which was a smart move considering how they would be shredded like nothing otherwise.
Twilight encountered a few other groups of pirates, including a few stragglers, but they were quickly taken care of. She was getting close to the hangar when Spike’s voice crackled over the commlink in her belt.
“Master, I got to the ship, but…” an awkward pause, followed by some fidgeting as the ship powered up. Twilight removed the commlink from her belt and moved it close to her mouth again, so she could speak to the dragon.
“What else? Why but?!” She shouted frantically.
“You may have some company!”
Just as Spike uttered those words, Twilight had reached the hangar doors and was about to force them open when they opened anyways. Standing there, in the hangar, between the Jedi and her craft, was a large and armored pirate, but other than that, he wasn’t entirely terrifying. Twilight stood about 10 feet away from him, so there was some separation. She smirked and raised her lightsaber, getting ready to charge and strike down the large smuggler.
That smirk faded when the pirate took out an electric baton capable of challenging a lightsaber-user if armed correctly. This caused Twilight’s heart to skip a beat but she stood her ground. Just because the pirate was more prepared than she thought didn’t mean he was impossible to beat.
It just… complicated things.
“Bring it on, Jedi!” The pirate screamed through an intimidating welding mask, slamming the baton on the ground, its shockwave reaching Twilight but not enough to shock her. She growled and charged at the stallion, who blocked her seemingly futile attempts to strike him down with ease. Her biggest mistake was lunging at the pirate, her lightsaber only barely scraping his armor. Her awkward position allowed the stallion to swing his baton and strike her right in the chest, sending her flying across the hangar and into a pile of empty barrels with a grunt. He chuckled and charged at the barrels as Twilight was slowly getting up. This caught her off guard and she was nearly tackled, instead just absorbing a huge hit that sent her across the hangar again.
She slid across the floor before quickly recovering, feeling reinvigorated. Her magic gripped the hilt of her lightsaber as the pirate slowly approached her, sparking his stun baton again. Instead of being aggressive, Twilight decided to be on the defensive side, focusing on her enemy and his weaknesses. When he charged at her, she shifted to the side and kicked his back, sending him forward with a grunt. He growled and went after her again, but she did the same thing, this time sticking her hoof out and tripping him.
Slow and dumb, she noted. Just my type.
This went on for another minute before the pirate made a mistake that would cost him his life. While he raised his stun baton to release a crushing blow on the Jedi, she was able to maneuver around him. Before he realized what was going on, a lightsaber sliced through his arm, severing it. He howled in pain and collapsed to the ground in a writhing heap. Instead of ending his life right there, Twilight sighed and deactivated her lightsaber, inserting it into its holster before running to the loading ramp of her ship. Killing a defenseless pony was not the Jedi way.
Twilight and Spike’s craft was an XS stock light freighter supplied to them by the Jedi Order. It was a somewhat reliable ship, and it had limited living quarters, but the Jedi didn’t care as long as it let them proceed on their missions. Its narrow viewpoint from the cockpit sometimes resulted in problems though, with Spike still being a young dragon and unable to really see out of it. Because of this, Twilight took up most of the piloting, while her Padawan was focused on managing the rear cannons. The latter was for battles, of course. This particular situation didn’t require it unless they were pursued by the pirates and their ticking time-bomb.
Spike had already started the ship, and he immediately got off the captain’s chair when Twilight came on. He stood off to the side as she flicked some switches and the freighter lifted itself off the ground with haste. She could hear blaster bolts ricocheting off the ship’s behind, prompting her to growl angrily and face Spike.
“Spike! I’m going to need you to take out those pirates while I try to navigate us out of this hangar!” Twilight ordered, looking back out the cockpit. She heard Spike scuffle away, and soon, a light popped on that indicated the rear cannons were online. The Jedi Master couldn’t help but smile as she slowly moved towards the hangar’s entrance/exit, the flashing red alarms inside boding well with the consistent sound of the freighter’s guns firing. Soon, the amount of blaster bolts that were firing upon the starcraft were reduced mightily, likely the result of Spike’s shooting. This gave Twilight enough time to concentrate on finding a perfect exit through the crowded hangar…
Right as she identified it, a light blinked, showcasing the hyperdrive as ready, and Twilight pulled the lever. Blue streaks outside the ship gradually formed around them before the craft was thrown into hyperdrive, leaving the hangar in a split second.
Captain Sven Gallop sat in the pilot chair of his bulk freighter, seething with anger as the Jedi’s ship departed the ginormous hangar in the lick of time.
“Damn it! Those slippery religious bastards!” He slammed his hooves against his chair in frustration before wheeling around to look at a timer displayed on a huge monitor. He had 3 minutes and 46 seconds to live, and he wouldn’t even be able to bask in the glory of trapping one of the most prominent Jedi in the galaxy into his trap and killing her off. It would certainly pay off the mammoth debt he owed the scummy Flam Cartel.
“Sir?! The ship is falling apart! The Jedi’s lightspeed jump just ruined… everything!” His second-in-command, Coloratura, said from the doorway he wasn’t facing. Captain Gallop quickly turned to look at her, not angry, but out of mercy for the mare. He gazed around her, looking out the hallway she had come from—sure enough, sparks were flying out of busted pipes that he hoped were not oxygen storages. Pirates scrambled in the background, trying to reach their ships before the host exploded. “Most of the stallions and mares are abandoning ship, but… I will stay here…”
Sven breathed out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, it’s always positive for the capt—“
Suddenly, Coloratura whipped out her blaster pistol and fired 5 shots into Sven’s body. He was stunned but soon died in his chair quietly, and Coloratura, who was once second-in-command, trotted off the bridge with a smirk on her face.
“I am just a pony, Gallop. I make mistakes from time to time, but… start treating me like a pony!”
