Fallen Knights

One must endure a lot of trials when in war, this was a lesson Jedi Master Ven Allusis had learned many years ago, when he himself was a Padawan.

The clone wars was the first galactic wide conflict in centuries, but it hadn't been the first war master Allusis had been involved in. Throughout the years, Allusis had been on many worlds that were minor to planetary conflicts. He was familiar with war, perhaps too much for a Jedi.

All the fighting, the pain, it never got any easier, but you learned how to deal with it. Allusis suspected if it wasn't for his Jedi training, he wouldn't have been able to handle it.

But that was in the past, and Allusis knew he had to focus on the here and now. There were far more pressing matters at hand, like securing his ship, and see to the many clones under his command.

The Venator landing had been a success, although as his officers had said, the ship's back was broken, and if they tried to lift off, the whole ship would likely pull itself apart and collapse. Without a full salvage team, this ship wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

But there was good news.

The ship was mostly intact, and the systems were running as they should, so as long as they didn't try to move it, the ship would hold up fine. The ship's crew were already inspecting damage, and taking care of any fires, or whatever else that might need attention. In time, Allusis had no doubt the ship would be fully secure again.

That left only one immediate task, the care of the injured.

Reports were still coming in, updating the numbers of the injured, or dead. Allusis didn't like losing men under his command, they had already been through so much when evacuating the remains of the 481st Legion. Still, it could have been worse. Had it not been for the amazing work of his crew, the ship would have crashed, and likely all would have been killed.

It was a bitter comfort, but it was out of his hands. The best thing he could do was to oversee operations, organize the efforts to help the injured, and secure the safety of his men. Despite his wish to go see the injured clones, he knew he had to stay on the bridge to organize things from there.

The clone captain, also called Nemo, made his way over to his general, holding a datapad. Nemo was a good soldier, and had impressed Allusis time and time again. "Anything to report, captain?" Allusis asked.

"The core is stable, sir. The technicians are not worried about a leak, but they'll keep working to make sure it stays stable."

Allusis nodded. "Very good. Have you organized the troopers that are fit to help the others?"

"Yes sir," came the swift reply. "I'm only organizing a few squads to secure the perimeter around the ship."

"Be sure to take care, captain. We don't know the creatures of this world, so don't take any chances. Also be sure to watch for natives, we don't want to make any enemies right now."

"Understood, sir."

Allusis considered for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Anything new on the launched escape pod?" It had been three hours since Allusis learned that the escape pod his Padawan was in had malfunctioned and launched on its own. Thank the Force it wasn't all of them, or they would have several missing clones.

Nemo gestured to the tactical map on the projector table. "We think they landed somewhere in this area." The captain said and pointed at a large forest area some miles from the massive mountain in the distance. "Their beacon stopped emitting a signal when they landed. Either the transmitter is damaged, or something is interfering with the signal."

The map was a bit crude, as the sensors were still a bit out of shape. The holographic map showed a large area around their ship, and in time, it would be more detailed.

Allusis nodded, not thinking the pod would be too damaged, as it was built to take a beating. Still, that was not a guarantee. "How soon can we send a squad to their position?"

Nemo hesitated for a moment. "It will take some time, sir. We are still getting a handle on things here. I don't think we will be able to get anything done before dawn."

Allusis sighed, he didn't like to wait that long. As it stood, they had three missing troopers, and his Padawan. Allusis didn't like the fact his Padawan was out there, but at least he wasn't alone, and he was capable. He would need to trust him to handle himself until they could send out someone to bring them back.

"I understand, captain. Please inform me once you have a squad available. I want my student, and those troopers back safely."

"Understood, General."

Nemo was just about to return to his other duties, when the sensor officer came over. "Sir, we have several vessels leaving one of the cities. They could be heading towards us." Allusis gestured to the tactical map, and the officer moved to one of the panels.

After pushing a few buttons, three green markings appeared on projection near the mountain city. "The vessels are airborne, sir, but not fast."

Allusis frowned. "If they are heading towards us, how soon until they reach us?"

The officer shrugged. "It's hard to say, General. We are barely picking up any energy signatures from it. If I'm being honest, I'm surprised our scanners even picked them up. I'll give them maybe two hours, perhaps less."

"Have you tried to communicate with them?" Allusis asked.

The sensor officer nodded. "Yes, sir. But either they are ignoring us, or they don't have anything to receive our transmissions."

That was surprising. Allusis knew there were civilizations around the galaxy that hadn't reached the advancements to be able to receive transmissions. If that was the case, then what else did they not have?

Allusis considered for a long moment. "We have to act carefully," he said with a thoughtful hum, crossing his arms over his chest. "Captain, gather some men. We have to prepare to receive them, and hopefully negotiate peacefully." He looked at Nemo with a serious expression. "Make sure they know not to fire unless fired upon."

Nemo gave a firm nod, knowing exactly what his Jedi General was expecting from them. "Understood, General. We won't let you down."

Allusis favored him with a small smile, and inclined his head. "I know you won't, Nemo." He looked back at the sensor officer. "Continue your scans, and keep trying to communicate with those ships. Perhaps we will be lucky, and they will respond."

Allusis sighed, it looked like his apprentice would have waited longer than he wanted. He just hoped that whoever was coming would be friendly, otherwise things could turn ugly fast.

Liam groaned, he felt lightheaded as his mind slowly returned him to cautiousness. As he started to open his eyes, he found that he was laying on the floor of the escape pod. His tunic had been removed, and his brown robe folded under his head as a pillow.

It took a moment for Liam to remember what had happened, and why he was here. When he did, he almost let out a gasp and quickly tried to sit up. That wasn't a good idea, Liam quickly found out. He felt dizzy, and lightly slapped back down on his back.

He must have fainted, Liam realized, feeling a slight touch of embarrassment wash over him. He was a Jedi, he shouldn't have fainted...

The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and he looked towards the hatch and found a clone trooper looking down at him. "Good to see you awake, commander." The trooper took off his helmet, and sent Liam a friendly smile. "Hey Dex," the clone called over his shoulder. "The commander is awake."

A moment later, and the clone known as Dex came inside. His helmet was off too. Unlike the others, he was almost completely bald. The first, who Liam reasoned was the clone known as Lucky, had let his hair grow into a more basic human haircut.

Dex reached Liam's side. "How are you feeling, commander?"

"I'm alright," Liam replied. "Just a bit dizzy, that's all."

"It's understandable," said Dex. "It was a pretty rough trip." He handed Liam a canteen, which Liam gladly accepted, taking a sip of the refreshing cool water. "Better?"

Liam removed the canteen and let out a satisfied sigh. "Much, thank you." Dex nodded, and took back the canteen as Liam sat up. He looked down at his torso, finding a large bacta patch sticking over the place that hurt since his fall.

"Took the liberty and fixed that up for you," Dex said as he got up. "It looks like you took a nasty fall."

Liam nodded, standing as he found his tunic folded on one of the seats. "I did, thank you, again." Dex smiled, and gave a nod as he got up himself. "Do we know anything about the ship?"

"We don't think it crashed," Lucky answered. "Before we crashed, the venator looked like it had its landing under control."

"We don't know the extent of the damage either," Dex added.

"What about communication?" Liam asked as he secured his belt, and lightsaber.

Dex shook his head. "We are having problems sending or receiving any signals. It could be because of the forest we've landed in."

Liam frowned. It was rare that a simple forest could make communication difficult. Then again, it could be an issue with the Venator, and not them. As Liam collected his brown jedi robe, he followed the two clones outside. The forest around them was indeed large, and thick, with all sorts of plants and trees Liam was unfamiliar with.

"Okay, we should find our way out. Perhaps once we clear the trees we can get a signal."

"That could work," Dex said.

"Hey, commander." The clone who had sat beside Liam greeted. He was walking towards them carrying a DC-15A blaster rifle. "Good to see you up and about again."

Liam smiled a little, and inclined his head. "Thank you, trooper."

"The name is Jeice, commander." The clone responded, with some amusement in his voice.

"They call me, Dex." Dex then introduced himself.

"And my name is Lucky."

Liam already knew their names, but it was nice to finally be introduced officially. He made a small bow in greeting to all three of them. "I'm Liam Valar."

"Oh we know, commander." Lucky said with a small smile, and put on his helmet.

Liam felt a little embarrassed, but quickly let the feeling fade away. They had a mission, and they couldn't wait. "We should get moving."

He looked up, seeing noticing but thick three branches a lot of foliage that almost sealed them off some the sky above them. The path of the crashed pod however made a large gap, and Liam could see the sky was already just a little brighter. Dawn couldn't be far away. Liam wanted to get moving, and find his way back to the venator, and his master.

Though as he looked at the clones, he hesitated. "Are you well enough to travel?" He asked, knowing they had to be tired just like him.

Lucky gave a confident nod, and all three stood a little taller. "We'll manage, sir."

Liam couldn't help but smile a little. "Alright, then let's gather up some supplies and get moving."

"You heard the commander," Lucky said to the two others. "Gather the kit, and let's get moving."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Celestia stood on the bridge of the airship. After taking a moment to raise the sun, she returned her attention to the matter at hand. They were approaching the crashed vessel, and as they had gotten closer and gotten a better idea of the sheer scale of it, every pony onboard had gone quiet.

Briefly she had wondered if she should have brought more of her guards with her. Especially after seeing activity around the metal ship.

But it was too late to change course now, doing so would only make all her guards more nervous, and if need be, she would defend them to her last. Of course Celestia hoped it wouldn't come to that, her hope was this could be solved diplomatically.

After all, the metal vessel hadn't attacked them, nor had it destroyed any buildings or towns, or killed any of her subjects that she knew of. Moreover, the ship looked damaged, so she thought this might be an accidental landing of some sort. Perhaps the occupants, whoever they were, needed help. Celestia had prepared for this, by bringing any doctor and nurse she could find on short notice.

Although as they came closer and closer, she was unsure on how much help they could be. Still, it was worth a try, and hopefully everything would go over smoothly.

"Princess," the captain of the ship said. "We are approaching the ship, and are preparing to land. Should we get the guards prepared?"

Celestia considered. She didn't want to make it look like she was preparing to attack them, but neither did she want to signal that they could be pushed around. "Prepare four of my personal guards. We shall depart first, the rest may follow behind us, calmly."

The captain nodded. "As you command, Princess."

"Captain," the first officer said as he hurried to them. "You should see this sir." He handed a spyglass to the captain, and pointed head at the ship. "Several white armored warriors are coming out in formation."

The captain frowned, and took the spyglass to see. He clicked his tongue, and lowered the spyglass. "There must be one hundred or so..." He looked at Celestia.

"May I?" She asked, and held out a hand.

"Oh, of course, Princess." The captain said, and handed her the spyglass.

"Are they taking any aggressive stances?" She asked as she raised the spyglass to her eye.

"I wouldn't say so, your highness. Looks more like the same formations we use during parades." Explained the captain, and was handed another telescope so he could watch with Celestia.

Celestia moved her gaze over the strange warriors. They had the discipline of trained soldiers, Celestia could tell that from their stance, and the way they moved. She took in their features, noting their body shapes. The armor struck her as odd, she'd never seen the like before.

While her own soldiers wore armor, she had never seen armor that covered just about every inch of their body and face. At least, they hadn't used armor like that in centuries, but she didn't feel she could compare the two. Their armor seems lighter, and it didn't look like any metal she knew.

The weapons they were carrying were also strange. She recognized them as projectile weapons, or at least she assumed that was what they were, but like their armor, they looked more advanced than their own muskets.

Like the captain had said, it didn't look like they were taking up any defensive formations. Instead they came marching out, weapons held in low position, and not taking aim at them, even though she was sure they could see them. There were two formations marching side by side, fifty in each, Celestia guessed.

At the head of them, Celestia noticed someone who was dressed in robes, instead of armor it seemed. She couldn't see too much detail, but a glance was enough for her to confirm who she was looking at wasn't a pony. But more importantly, she could tell whoever it was down there was waiting for them.

As she lowered the spyglass, she considered for just a moment, then made a decision. "Begin your landing, Captain. I believe our guests are expecting us."