Jedi Master Shak Toln sat silently in the cockpit of his ship, The Masters Refuge, as it drifted through space, currently aimless. These moments were often, but brief, and he liked to use them to reflect upon his life. He would often times rethink moments where he had acted less than in accordance with the Jedi code, times when the dark side had called to him, and how the many padawans he had trained had fallen to the temptation he so stalwartly withstood. He stood and sighed, pacing about the ship for the fifth time that day. He was currently in orbit around Tatooine, the sandy planet of the Jawa’s and the Tusken raiders. He was currently waiting for the latest assignment from the Jedi council, which was taking much longer than he had anticipated. He had completed his mission here weeks ago and reported back to the council, via hologram projector. He had been told to stay close to the planet until further notice, which was taking far longer than it should have. “Have I failed them somehow?” he asked himself as he paced. “No, they would have said so. Maybe they have a new padawan for me to train…. No, no, I told them I would never train another padawan.” he said, stopping to look at himself in the mirror for a brief moment. He was a decent specimen, in fine physical condition for his age, which was about fifty-three. His hair and eyes were both grey, the former usually kept in a long ponytail. He also wore a goatee, though it was difficult to pick out due to it’s color. His skin was a pale tan hue, and anyone could tell he hadn’t slept in quite some time. He sighed as he brought his humble dark brown robes closer around him, covering his traditional shirt, and not so traditional armor that was overtop of it. He was about to walk to the cargo hold to find some nutrient sticks when his communications unit came to life with a distress call.
“Hello? Hello? Is there anyone out there?” came a feminine voice, sounding hopeful. Master Toln answered immediately.
“Yes, hello? Who is this?” he asked.
“Who I am is not important, who you are, on the other hoof, is.” came the voice. At first he was confused by the reference to a hoof instead of a hand, but pushed it aside.
“I am Master Shak Toln, of the Jedi order. Where are you, and why is your signal classified as a distress call?” he asked calmly.
“I am sending the coordinates now. As for the distress signal, you’ll see when you arrive. You may very well be my only hope, Master Toln.” said the voice before the channel was disconnected. He was confused. Why would they send a distress signal and not tell what was causing them to require aid? He sighed as his astromech droid Spoke to him in its language of ambient sound.
“You got those co-ordinates, R3?” he received a reply and walked towards the combat information center of his ship, where the hologram projector was housed. “Good, set up a com link with the council, and transfer those coordinates. I want to know where I’m going, and why.” he said as he began powering up the projector. Soon the projector was alive with the forms of the Jedi council. Master Vandar was the first to speak.
“Master Toln, it is good to see you are well.” said the short brown colored being. His species had been in existence almost as far back as the Jedi archives could remember, yet there was no record of their official name or home planet, which was odd.
“And you as well, Councilor. Did you receive the coordinates I sent you?” he was answered by a fellow human, Master Kroton Shaknar.
“Yes we did. I searched the archives for any mention of this planet, but there is none. It is likely uncharted, and thus uninhabited, if it exists at all. Where did you receive these coordinates, Master Toln?” he asked, a strange look on his face.
“I received a distress signal moments ago from an unidentified source. They transferred the coordinates to me, asking that I come to their aid. I would like leave to investigate the situation, and render what aid I can.” he said, his arms folded into the opposite sleeves. The council spoke amongst themselves for a moment before Master Vandar turned back to Toln with an answer.
“You are herby granted leave to investigate the distress signal issued by the uncharted planet, Master Toln. Report back to us with your findings. May the force be with you.”
“And with you as well, Councilor.” he said as he deactivated the projector and walked back to the cockpit. “R3, pull us out of orbit and prepare the ship for light speed.” he said as he entered the coordinates that his trusty droid had relayed to him earlier. But something deep down told him he should be wary, and it put him on edge.
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Lyra was pacing back and forth in the living room, not knowing what to do with the energy her excitement gave her. Years of research, studying, and testing had all come to this moment. She had finally finished her long distance communicator, that she believed could reach beings far off into the galaxy. She still had yet to test it, but she had a good feeling that it would work. She knew she would be able to contact an extraequestrial, and maybe even a human if she was lucky, but she didn’t bother get her hopes up. “You know, if you keep pacing like that, you’re going to wear a hole into the floor.” said her roommate, and original owner of the house, Bon-Bon.
“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just so excited! Do you have any idea what it will mean to all of equestria if I actually manage to contact something!?” she said, barely able to contain the excitement in her voice.
“That you’re not crazy after all?” she said, instantly regretting it. They had been best friends since foalhood, but Lyra had always taken other ponies calling her “Crazy” or “Odd” very hard. At this moment, her look of joy instantly turned to one of depression, her sparkling yellow eyes losing the shine they had just moments earlier. “Oh, Lyra, I’m so sorry, I-I-I-I didn’t really think about what I was saying, I didn’t mean it, it’s just….” she tried to explain, trailing off at the end, not knowing where to go from there.
“No, no, you’re right. I am crazy, aren’t I?” Lyra said with a sad chuckle. “I mean, seriously, what are the odds of me being able to contact a being thousands of light-years away?” she said, yearningly looking out the window into the star filled night sky, looking beyond Luna’s moon, far into space. Bon-Bon only sighed, knowing how hard the words would hit Lyra, especially coming from her.
“Well, I’m going to bed, alright? Don’t stay up to late, you’ve been up all night the past few days, and it isn’t good for your health.” she said as she walked towards her bedroom. Lyra continued looking out the window, a mournful sigh leaving her lungs as she did so. She waited until Bon-Bon was asleep before returning to the communicator, a large box shaped machine with an old looking microphone, and activated it. She took a deep breath as she set it to a random frequency, and began to speak into it. “Hello?” at first all she received was static. “Hello? Is anyone out there?”
Master Toln’s ship exited light-speed outside a small, yet very green, planet. There were no immediate signs of any actual distress, but he had to keep all possibilities open and in mind. “Well… that’s strange…” he said, looking at his scanner. “This planet doesn’t seem to have a space port, or a landing area of any kind. R3, bring us in for a landing, preferably in a more secluded area. I do not wish to startle the locals.” he said as he stood from the pilots seat and began walking towards the cargo bay. He was deep in thought. Why would someone from an uncharted planet, that didn’t seem to have space travel of any sort, and seemed relatively peaceful, would send a distress signal? More importantly, how? He decided he would soon discover the answers to his questions as his ship entered the planets atmosphere. But something was wrong. Warning signs and sirens began flashing and blaring, telling him that the engine systems had failed. “Blast it, R3! Get down here and help me take care of this!” he yelled as he walked towards the engine room, only to be met with a familiar face.
“Master Toln.”
“Darth Korth.” Darth Korth was a pure-blood sith, and was a prime example of such. He was bald, and had small tentacles on his face, almost forming a beard. He also hat two points on his chin of protruding bone, one on either side of his lower jaw. His skin was read, but laced with various tattoos in blacks and blues. “I take it you’re the reason my engines failed.” said Master Toln, more of a statement than a question. Darth Korth only laughed.
“Yes, I am. I still owe you for that time on Hoth, remember?” he asked as he ignited his double bladed lightsaber. One blade was a deep red, while the other was a deep, sickly green.
“Are you still sore about your eye? It was three years ago!” Shak said as he drew and ignited his own lightsaber, it’s blade a bright, earthy green. This was how every confrontation between them went. They joked like old friends throughout, all the while attempting to take each others lives. Korth twirled his lightsaber gracefully, cutting through many important pieces of equipment, tubes, pipes, and power lines, sending sparks everywhere and cutting out the lights.
“Why yes I am.” he said, approaching Shak.
“You do realize that we are, at this very moment, plummeting towards the surface of an uncharted planet, right?” he said, slowly backing away from Korth.
“Your point being….. What, exactly?”
“That there is a decent chance that neither of us will survive the crash anyway.” at that statement, Korth put a hand to his chin in thought. Shak took this opportunity to strike, charging in with a downward slash. He was stopped, however, by Korth kicking him in the hands, knocking the Jedi Masters lightsaber away.
“Well now, attacking an enemy while he is distracted? I’m surprised, Shak, I never saw you as the kind.” Korth said with a laugh as he continued his approach. He was distracted again, this time by the ships warning systems alerting them that they were nearing impact. Shak used the force to throw a nearby crate into the sith lords chest as he pulled his lightsaber to him. As soon as it was in his hand, the ship impacted, the front windows shattering, R3 making a loud whirring noise as he was flung across the ship, and the screams of Korth as he was thrown into the pilots seat, knocking him unconscious, or killing him. Shak did not escape unharmed, of course. He was thrown into a bulkhead, breaking one of his arms and some of his ribs, and he was showered with broken glass, leaving him covered in deep gashes. He used the force to heal what he could, which was very little, but enough to keep him alive long enough to find medical help. He saw R3 as he climbed the wreckage, now only a pile of debris. He sighed mournfully.
“Good bye old friend.” he said as he climbed out through a service hatch and into the warm sunlight. He could hear what sounded like an angry mob in the distance. “I guess this is what they meant when they said I might be their only hope….” he said to himself as he limped in the direction of the noise.
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EARLIER THAT DAY
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Lyra hadn’t slept last night. Her excitement wouldn’t allow her to. When morning finally came, and Bon-Bon woke up, Lyra was trying to do something she had never done before.
Bake.
“Lyra? What are you doing?” asked Bon-Bon as she walked into the kitchen, seeing egg shells, flour and many other ingredients spread all over the place. Lyra was startled by the sudden intrusion, and jumped before turning to see her roommate.
“Bon-Bon! Oh my gosh Bon-Bon, youwon’tbelieveit youwon’tbelieveit youwon’tbelieveit!” she yelled, now bouncing up and down with joy. She also had a hold of Bon-Bon’s hooves, so she was brought with her on her wild ride.
“Lyra….. Lyra. Lyra!” Bon-Bon yelled, making her ecstatic roommate slow to a near stop. “Just what has you so excited that you would be….” she said, trailing off as she looked around the kitchen, trying to find a good word for it.
“I’m Baking!” Lyra said with a large smile.
“Alright, what would get you excited enough to bake?” Bon-Bon asked with a nervous laugh.
“It worked!” was the response she received, causing Bon-Bon to give her friend a questioning look. “The long distance communicator! It worked! I spoke to an extraequestrial! And he’s on his way here right now!” she said, her smile broadening with each sentence, while Bon-Bon grew paler.
“How does he know where we are?”
“Oh! I designed the communicator to be able to transmit the planets coordinates to whomever I’m speaking to!”
“Oh…. That’s… Great…. One moment…” she said, walking out of the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, she broke out into a gallop, going out the door towards Twilights library. If anypony knew how to handle this, it was her. When she arrived, she nearly broke down the librarians door. “Twilight! Twilight, open the door! It’s urgent!” she yelled, hoping to gain the lavender mares attention. In her fright, she continued knocking even after the door opened,. She was then hitting Twilight in the forehead, just beneath her horn.
“Bon-Bon!” she yelled, after many failed attempts. “Stop hitting me in the face! Just what is it that’s so urgent? Is Lyra going on a rant about extraequestrial again?” she asked, Bon-on having stopped after her name had been called. She simply gave the librarian a look that made her blood run cold as she stepped inside. Twilight closed the door behind them, then took a seat, motioning for the other mare to do the same.
“Worse! You know that project she’s been working on? That thing that she said will let her talk to aliens?” she asked, now rushing her words to the point of almost complete incoherence. Twilight gave her an odd look.
“Yeah…… What about it? Such a thing could neve-”
“IT WORKED!” She said, cutting Twilight off mid-sentence.
“W-What?” Twilight asked, flabbergasted and worried about the consequences it might bring if Lyra truly had contacted an extraequestrial.
“She talked to an alien….. And told it where we are….. It’s on it’s way here, right now!” Bon-Bon yelled, making Twilight gasp and stand up.
“Oh my gosh, I need to tell the princess!” she said as she looked around for her assistant. That’s when they heard a highly audible gasp from outside the window, and turned to see Pinkie Pie, just before she disappeared. “This is going to be a problem…..”