A lone ship, a Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser, sits in orbit over the city-covered planet of Coruscant. Small fighters and shuttles flew about around it's massive bulk, running simulated engagements or evacuations.
On the bridge, a lone unicorn, olive-brown coat a stark contrast to the blue uniform he's wearing, stood at the forward viewport, staring out into the deep black of space, sighing quietly to himself. Behind him, a young junior officer approached and stood behind him, saluting.
"Captain, Jedi Master Skywalker's shuttle has just docked on C-Deck," the junior officer declared.
"Thank you, Ensign... I'll meet him in my Quarters in a bit," the captain replied, looking down at the PAC-20 Hoof-Communicator on his left foreleg.
"Yes sir" the ensign nodded, turning quickly and trotted off the bridge.
The young captain stared out for several moments longer before sighing quietly, closing his bright blue eyes.
"Alright Cayden... let's go see what the good Jedi Master wishes of you this day..." he said to himself, turning on the spot and walks off the bridge, heading down the durasteel-plated corridor and pressed a button to call the lift down. He waited several moments before the dual-doors slid open and he walked inside, tapping the button for B-Deck 4, closing his eyes as he hopped up onto his rear hooves, sighing again as the doors closed.
The lift hummed quietly, yet still audible enough for the unicorn to listen to it. The doors hissed as they slid open and he trotted out, heading immediately to his right, going deeper into the ship.
Soldiers and officers alike stood to the side and saluted as he walked past them. He watched each one as he went by, mentally making a note to remind them all to not salute him.
Oh, you know they will... they drill saluting into their heads from day one in basic... just hope they don't salute you during a combat situation he thought to himself, smirking a bit as he typed in a code on a panel, walking into the room.
The door slid shut with a hiss, locking behind him as he walked into the room, watching the light-brown earthpony dressed in black Jedi robes stand at his viewport, staring out at the planet below.
"Captain Cayden Tavers..." the earthpony said, not turning from the window. "It has been quite some time..."
Cayden smiled, standing at attention. "Indeed it has, Master Skywalker. Two years, I believe it's been. Not since the whole "Emperor-reborn" crisis..."
"Those were dark times indeed, Captain. I recommended you for a promotion, as did other decorated officers..." Luke said, turning to face the Onderonian unicorn.
"I refused the promotion, sir. I like my command here on the Katana, sir... adding more ships into the mix would dwindle my ability to effectively command her," the unicorn replied, smirking. "But you're not here to talk about the past or why I'm not an Admiral... are you?"
The Jedi shook his head. "No Cayden, I'm not... I'm here for two reasons. One... to inform you that your request for leave has been granted."
Cayden smiled. "That's very good news. But... I'm curious as to what the second thing is..."
"A special assignment I need you to do for me before heading home. How much do you know about the Celestials?" the robed-pony asked, walking to a desk and places a hoof on top.
"The Celestials? Not much... just that they died out about a hundred thousand years ago..." the captain replied. "Why do you ask, sir?"
"There's a planet I need you to investigate for me. It used to be one of theirs', a homeworld of sorts... now devoid of life."
The unicorn nodded, smirking. "I can have the Katana ready to go in-"
Luke raised a hoof to stop Cayden. "No... just you, Cayden. I don't want the New Republic knowing about this just yet..."
Cayden's ears perked a bit and he nodded. "Yes Master Skywalker. I can swing by this planet on my way to Onderon..."
The Jedi smiled. "Excellent. Everything you need to know has already been sent to your datapad."
"Alrighty then..." the olive-brown stallion said, smirking. "Is there anything else, Master Skywalker?"
Luke shook his head, smirking. "Nothing else, Captain. Safe travels, and may the Force be with you."
Cayden nodded and bowed slightly. "May the Force be with you too..."
The earthpony returned the bow, then left the room, leaving the young Captain all alone.
Cayden sighed, looking after the Jedi and watched the doors close. He tapped his PAC-20, scrolling through his messages and sees one from the Jedi. He opened it and read the file over.
"Kala... definitely a strange name for a planet..." he smirked, continuing. "Desert... lots of ruins... may contain random space junk, very nice..." Cayden chuckled a bit, then stoped, his face turning a bit darker. "... also home to the last known population of Tarentatek... oh boy, no wonder the Jedi haven't been here... and whatwith the war going on, they're going to be something mighty fierce..."
The Onderonian unicorn walked to a trunk and tapped several buttons on the side, engaging the repulsorlifts mounted underneath, and started pushing it out of the room, heading down the hall to the lift. He pressed the button and walked inside, tapping the button for G-Deck 1.
The doors slid closed with a hiss, the lift slowly going down deeper into the ship, the lights dimming some to represent the fading day according to the clock of the planet below.
The doors slid open quickly when the lift stopped, the officer inside stepping out into the hall and makes his way through the belly of the ship, trotting towards the Main Flight Deck.
After several minutes of walking, Cayden stepped onto the Main Flight Deck, looking over all the ships neatly parked inside. He looked over multiple fighters and transports before his eyes fell upon one parked all the way into the back, flight crews and droids running about underneath it as they finished prepping it for launch.
He walked up to the ship and stopped some thirty feet away, staring at it in all it's beauty. The E-9 Explorer... not the most elegant or combat-capable ship... but definitely one of the cheaper and more modular ships on the market. And... with the modifications you had installed, it's easily one of the more powerful and well-built ships of it's class Cayden thought to himself, smirking.
One of the crewmen noticed Cayden and immediately saluted out of habit, the others noticing and also turn and salute. The Onderonian smirked at the young crewmen and returned the salute crisply.
"Is she ready to go, Petty Officer?" The captain looked at the young PO that saluted him first, smiling.
"Y-Yes sir! Your ship has been prepped to your exact specifications and is ready to go!" she replied quickly, smiling a bit to the officer.
"Excellent..." he said, smirking. Cayden walked up to the E-9 and climbed onboard, closing the loading bay and walks to the cockpit, checking the instruments. Perfect... I'll put in a good word with her commandi- oh wait, that's me! he smiled at his thought, chuckling a bit as he flips the comm on.
"Control, this is the Destiny requesting permission to launch," he said into the comm, smiling.
"Copy that Destiny. Request for launch granted. Safe travels, Captain Tavers," the pony on the other end of the comm replied.
"You too, Katana..." he sighed, pushing the trottle forward and took the yoke in his hooves, flipping a switch and feels the ship shake twice as it lifted off the deck. The landing gear retracted back into the ship as it began flying out of the hangar. He banked the ship to port slightly, pressing several keys on a console to his left as he plotted his course to the planet the Jedi Master gave him.
The Onderonian stopped before he pulled the lever to engage the hyperdrive, thinking about going back to his ship, then shook his head, smirking, and pulled the lever. The ship's engines roared to life, accelerating forward quickly. The hyperdrive whined loudly, then plunged the ship into hyperspace, leaving the Katana and Coruscant behind.
The ship dropped out of hyperspace over a desert planet and immediately, the ships sensors began beeping frantically.
Cayden snapped-to as he woke up from a nap, then quickly grabbed the yoke as he sent the ship into an immediate dive to avoid crashing into a floating mass of spaceship.
"Sith's blood! What in the name of the Creator have I just jumped into?!?" he yelled out loud, pressing several buttons as his shields sprang to love, the ship accelerating as he maneuvered around debris.
Cayden looked about him, taking everything in. "... So many ships lost... many of them I've never seen any record of..." he said quietly to himself, looking at his Nav-Computer to make sure he was in the right place.
"Yeah... this is Kala alright..." he sighed, setting the ship's course for the planet below, still maneuvering around ships until he breaks through the "blockade," heading to the planet below.
The Destiny lurched a bit as he hit the atmosphere, the shield straining against the dense atmosphere as he descended to the planet surface.
"Holy crap... feels like I just flew into an ocean..." Cayden checked several of the ship's sensors and dials. "I'll need to wear an EVA suit out there... or, well.. at least the respirator. Atmosphere is too dense out there... it'll choke me to death.." he said to nopony in particular, the ship shuddering as it touched down onto the planet surface.
The unicorn pressed a button on his console and the forward viewport began to clear the atmospheric gunk off itself, and Cayden got a good look at the surface world for the first time.
Cayden's eyes widen as he saw what looked like a massive city, sitting in absolute peace and serenity. Nothing moved or made any sound as he stood there, watching.
He finally snapped himself out of his stupor and trotted into the back of the ship, taking an EVA suit out of his locker and quickly put it on. He then grabbed a blaster rifle, a DC-17m Interchangeable Weapon System, and slammed a full magazine into the receptacle, smirking when the ready light flashes green.
Cayden slung the rifle onto his back and trotted to the loading bay door, opening it and quickly poked his head outside before walking out, looking around him.
"... hello? Anypony here?" he called out, taking several steps towards the derelict city before breaking into a steady trot. The young Captain looked around as he passed the first few buildings of the city, eyes wide and a subtle grin plastered to his face as he looks upon the ancient city, being the first pony to set hoof on the planet in over 100,000 years.
Several machines whirred to life as long-dormant sensors detected the ship break atmosphere. Somewhere deep in the city, an ancient being awoke from it's eternal slumber.
The being slowly walked through the corridors of the run-down facility, the ancient lights slowly flickering to life as it passed each one.
The being trotted into a large room, the only thing being in the poorly-lit room was a massive computer, the screen flashing with a simple strand of binary. It walked up to the computer and pressed a key, then the screen changed to multile lines of code scrolling upward, then it flashes to a line wavering as speakers installed into the computer sputtered to life.
"Greetings, Captain Blaire. Your last login was 876173640.3 hours ago. How was the wedding?" the computer asked the being.
The captain sighed, sitting down into a chair. "... there was no wedding... the war came to an end..."
The computer was silent for several moments before responding. "That is... most unfortunate, Captain Blaire... I am sorry."
"Don't be, Omega... it was our fault for creating the monsters..." Blaire replied quietly. "How many survived?"
Omega made several noises as it processed the request, then replied. "Only you, Captain. All other Stable-sites contaminated by Organism 17-B. Security Protocols in effect across entire Stable Network. One Security Drone online. Location: Stable 17. Any other inquiries, Captain Blaire?"
Blaire choked a bit when Omega said she was the only one left, silently crying into her hooves. "N-no... th-thank you, Omega..."
The room fell silent as she cried to herself for several minutes before the proximity warning went off.
"Alert. Unknown entity has breached the perimeter of Provectus. Security Drone response inadequate. Recommend direct intervention of Celestial Military personnel" Omega stated loudly into the room, shaking Blaire from her crying fit.
"... b-buck..." she simply said, sliding out of her chair and trots out of the room, heading down the hall. "Omega... p-prep m-my combat suit..."
"Yes Captain Blaire. Your weapons are charged and ready for deployment."
She smiled a bit. 'That computer knows how to treat a mare...' she thought to herself, walking into the readiness room, a single powered combat suit standing on the rack, a rifle and pair of pistols in their respective slots nearby. Blaire trotted up to the armor and started slipping it on, the suit fitting perfectly to her body, just as it had before she stepped into the cryo-pod 100,019 years ago.
Cayden walked through the city, stopping in front of a large building, the unknown language of the Celestials plastered onto the sign above. He walked inside, pulling a glow-rod out of his pack and turned it on, looking around at the room.
It was a rather simple room, what you'd expect from a reception area, except, of course... the rubble, monumental amounts of dust, and machine parts and discarded armor fragments littering the ground everywhere.
Cayden wide-eyed at the sight, looking around. "... what happened here?" he asked, expecting only silence to be his answer.
"War, my little pony... war at it's worst..." a female voice replied from the shadows to his left, a rifle pointed at him, the power cell glowing a faint blue.