//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24 
// Story: Star Wars Jedi Lyra: The Search 
// by currentlemon 
//------------------------------//

Lyra never conceived that she would be fighting out in the front lines. She always pictured herself being more of a Healer1 or Lore Keeper2 who’d stay behind at the Jedi Temple. Even the role of a Diplomat3 was also something she considered before. At least with that position, she’d be able to visit all sorts of planets across the galaxy.

Guess she should’ve known those dreams would never come to fruition.

Taking her lightsaber, Lyra lunged the tip of the blade into the belly of a Mandalorian soldier. The Neo-Crusader screamed as he fell to the ground, crying in pain. But the blow wasn’t lethal. Killing the man was not her intention. She just wanted him out of the way.

“Eyes up, kid!” shouted Hider. “Down the hallway. You got three Crusaders gunning for you!”

Turning her head, Lyra immediately spotted three soldiers pointing their rifles directly at her. They all fired at once, causing the Padawan to leap into the air. The bolts missed, but the injured Mandalorian that laid behind her got caught in the crossover.

“No!” Lyra cried. Landing upright, she quickly checked the injured Mandalorian for any sign of life. However, it was fruitless. The soldier was already dead.

“Pay attention, little one!” Chessk barked as he raised his rifle and fired three shots back at the Neo-Crusaders. A direct hit. The soldiers who fired at Lyra now laid dead on the ground. “You need to focus on what’s in front of you, little Jedi! Worry not of your enemies, for they will kill you the moment they set eyes on you!”

Lyra, albeit hesitantly, complied with her friend and began to follow him. Deep down, however, she felt sick to her stomach. Seeing a helpless incapacitated man die wasn’t a pleasant feeling. There was no need for him to die like that, even if he was an enemy. 

But regardless of her true feelings, there was no time to mourn. She had a promise to fulfill. “How much further is it to the cell block, Sweetie?” she said into her headset.

Take a left when you reach the end of the hallway, you’re in. Sweetie answered over the comm-link. After that, make a beeline for the end of the next one. There will be a door to your right that should lead to the prison block.

“Anything else we should know?” asked Hider.
    
Um, according to the map, it looks like the room is pretty big. So, there’s bound to be guards posted there, so be on guard.

Lyra frowned. “Do you think they know we’re here?”

“Possible,” Chessk answered. “If Master Darran has engaged with the enemy, they must be on high alert by now.”

“Plus, with all the ruckus we’re making and the dead bodies we left behind, I’m certain we’re bound to get someone’s attention,” said Hider. T3-G4 hollered as it strolled alongside the ship captain. “Yeah, the tin can has got a point. There might be some combat droids roaming around here and the cell block too.”

“Combat droids?” asked Lyra.

“Droids built specifically for combat. Depending on how well they are programmed, they can be just as deadly as any other soldier on the battlefield.”

As the crew took a sharp left turn, another Mandalorian soldier immediately spotted them. He wasn’t alone. Standing beside him were a pair of armed combat droids. “Damn, right on cue,” Hider said as the two droids quickly fired their rifles. However, Lyra reacted faster. She quickly leapt into the air, landed in front of her companions, and redirected both bolts.

Chessk grinned as he and Hider fired their weapons at the Mandalorian and the two droids. “Good one, little Jedi,” he said. Unfortunately, their attack wasn’t enough to put the pair of combat droids down. Both were still operational and were about to fire their rifles again. But Lyra and T3-G4 reacted first. The former leapt in to cut one of the machines in half and the latter using its stun gun to paralyze the other.

With the last droid disabled, Lyra impaled her lightsaber through the machine, destroying it for good. “Okay. Since when could Geefour do that?” she asked.

“Since forever,” Hider replied. “You do remember the flamethrower side-arm it showed back on Taris, right?” 

T3-G4 hollered as it pulled out a pair of side-arms from its compartment bin. “Oh, yeah, I remember now. Geefour showed it to us when we first met on Taris,” said Lyra. Immediately, she frowned. “And if I remember correctly, Geefour threatened to burn the shop owner if she tried to perform a memory wipe.”

Chessk raised a brow. “Excuse me, but did I hear that right? The droid threatened to burn someone alive?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, big guy. Just leave the tin can alone and it won’t hurt you,” said Hider as he continued to run down the hallway

“Yeah, what he said,” Lyra replied casually. Her response wasn’t enough to put her friend at ease, but it did get him to follow her and their captain. Eventually, they reached the hallway’s end, but unlike before, the way was split. To the right was a rather large door, and to the left was another hallway.

“This must be the door the creamy one mentioned,” said Chessk.

“Yeah, I think the really big door kind of gives it away,” Hider replied in a snarky tone. He put his hand on the door to open it, but sadly, it wouldn’t budge. “Damn, it’s locked. The Mandalorians must’ve known we were coming, or they’ve commenced some sort of lockdown.” 

T3-G4 let out a few beeps as it pulled out its mechanical arm and pointed it toward the lock on the door. “Yeah, I agree. See if you can unlock it Geefour,” Hider said to the droid. “In the meantime, we need to think of a strategy first before we charge in.” 

“Our enemies have probably barricaded themselves inside, and it’s likely possible that they have combat droids with them as well,” advised Chessk. “As much as I like fighting my foes head on, a frontal assault might be too risky.”

“We also don’t know how many guards are inside,” said Lyra. “Chessk, do you have anything that might help turn the tides?”

Her friend nodded in reply as it took out a small pouch from his belt. “I have several hand grenades here we can use. Some ion which we can use against the droids and a few thermal detonators in case we need more firepower.”

Hider whistled. “Dang, you got thermal detonators too? Wow, big guy. You really do know a thing or two about explosives.”

“Your compliment is appreciated, human,” Chessk said. He took out a couple grenades from his pouch and showed them to Hider and Lyra. “I also made some smoke bombs too. We can use them for cover for when we enter the room.”

“Good thinking,” said Lyra. “The smoke can definitely give you guys time to look for cover and start shooting.”

“What about you, kid?” asked Hider “Got any bright ideas on how to get up close and personal?”

“Speed and acrobatics are all I have. I’m pretty sure I can outmaneuver them all before they can shoot. All it takes is good awareness and great reaction time.”

Hider rolled his eyes. “I’d rather take a blaster any day than rely on jumps and cartwheels. Just watching you move like that all the time tires me out. How in the world can you do that so consistently?”

“Training of course!” Lyra replied, putting up a wide smile. “Master wanted me to use my size as an advantage. So, I did acrobatic training with him when I became his Padawan.”

“As long as it works, it’ll be fine. But do not overdo it with those jumps of yours. Freeing the captives is only half the mission, so the last thing we need is for you to tire yourself out,” said Chessk, to which Lyra complied with a nod.

As soon as they were done talking to themselves, T3-G4 let out a bleep. They all turned to see that the droid managed to get the door open but refrained itself from opening it entirely. 

“Let me take a look,” Hider said as he peeked into the room. While he did that, Lyra reached out with the Force to check if there were any signs of life. Sure enough, there was. She could feel over a dozen Force signatures on the other side of the room; however, she couldn’t tell who she was sensing. Was it the captives or the Mandalorians?

“Is something wrong, little Jedi?” asked Chessk.

Lyra frowned. “I’m trying to use the Force to check for any signs of life in the other room. There are people inside, but I can’t tell who’s who.”

“How many people can you sense right now?” asked Hider.

“About thirteen in total.”

“Well, I can safely say there’s about four Mandalorians standing guard right now. And they’re accompanied by combat droids too, but I’m not sure how many of those things are there.”

“Do you see the captives?”

Hider shook his head. “I definitely spotted the holding cells, but I can’t get a good look at the captives. They’re too far away for me to see. Still, we can’t just sit around here all day and ponder whether the ponies are here or not. Let’s just charge in there and take them out.”

“Agreed,” said Chessk as he pulled out a pair of grenades from his pouch. Judging from its black color and small size, it appeared to be the smoke grenade that he’d mentioned earlier.

Seeing this, Hider gladly stepped aside as the Trandoshan approached the door grenades in hand. He then took out his blaster pistols and aimed both weapons toward the door. “Better get your lightsaber ready, kid. We’re gonna go in guns blazing when the smoke pops.”

Lyra nodded as she unhooked her lightsaber. “You guys take care of the soldiers who are furthest away from us,” she said before clenching the hilt with her teeth. “Leave the closest ones to me.”

“Whatever you say, kid,” said Hider. He smiled. “You show’em what you’re made of, okay.”

Suddenly, a faint bang could be heard from the other side of the door. “Smoke is out!” shouted Chessk. “Open it now, Geefour!”

The droid let loose a whirl as it spun its mechanical arm around the lock. Soon, the door to the holding cells flung open. Lyra immediately darted inside, using the smoke as cover as she leapt into the air with a Force empowered jump. 

While airborne, she looked down at the enemies below her and noticed that Hider had correctly counted the number of prison guards. Four Mandalorian soldiers were present, looking at her with rifles raised. They also seemed to be accompanied by a pair of combat droids too, but unlike the soldiers, the machines haven’t noticed her yet.

Lyra smiled. It was a golden opportunity.

As she felt the force of gravity affecting her, she eyed two Mandalorians looking right at her. Perfect targets. She opened her jaw and allowed her lightsaber to fall from her mouth. But instead of the weapon dropping down completely, she used the Force to levitate in mid-air. 

Upon making landfall, she caught her weapon with her right hoof and ignited the blade. Her opponents—though caught off guard—tried to shoot her with their rifles. One managed to make a shot, but Lyra had dodged it in time. She attacked the nearby guard to her left, landing Cho Mai4and Sai Tok5 marks of contacts on the soldier’s wrist and waist with the tip of her blade. Her attack was non-lethal, but it was enough to put her enemy down.

“Look out! Jedi!” shouted the Mandalorian soldier right behind her. His cries, however, were cut short when Lyra leapt in and performed the same marks of contact against him.

She scanned the room. All the remaining Mandalorian guards and combat droids all had their sights on her. She braced herself for incoming fire but stopped when several blaster bolts came from behind. Each one made their mark, taking out two guards and one of their battle droids.

“Go, kid!” shouted Hider. He, Chessk, and T3-G4 had all entered the room at once, scrambling for cover as they shot their weapons at the remaining guards. 

Their sudden appearance caught the Mandalorians off-guard again, giving Lyra ample time to make another Force jump. Her target this time was one of the battle droids. Though the machine was able to react to her presence this time, it wasn’t fast enough to fire its weapon. Upon reaching her target, Lyra attacked the machine with an overhead strike, cutting the droid vertically in half.

After the droid crumpled onto the floor, Lyra turned her sights to another Mandalorian guard. This time, the Neo-Crusader had all the time in the world to shoot. But the young Padawan was ever so nimble. Upon feeling the trigger being pulled through the Force, she cartwheeled out the way.

In response, the Mandalorian tried to fire his weapon again, but was interrupted when a blaster bolt hit him at the back of his head. He collapsed to the floor, motionless. If Lyra had to assume, the soldier seemed to be dead. She looked to where the shot had been fired, only to see Chessk giving her an okay sign.

“Thanks!” Lyra yelled as she moved on to her next target.

The battle for the prison block was an easy victory. Though the remaining guards had tried to maintain a suitable defense, it was fruitless effort as T3-G4 rendered the remaining battle droid obsolete by disabling it with its stun gun. With no suitable defense, the Mandalorians crumbled to blaster fire.

    Lyra beamed. “We did it! We won!”

    “Of course we won. What else did you expect?” Hider replied, smirking. “No way would we lose to these guys. Not when we had the element of surprise.”

    “Now is not the time to be acting cocky, human. Our battle isn’t finished yet,” said Chessk. He pointed his finger toward the large prison cells. “Look, over there. All the captives are here.”

“Wait, what did you say?” Lyra quickly followed the direction at where her companion was pointing to. Upon seeing the prison cells herself, she gasped. All the remaining crew members of the Celestia Sun were all there. Trapped behind electromagnetic fields.

“Well would you look at that. The gang’s all here,” said Hider while hoisting his blaster pistols. He then pointed his finger at the ponies, counting each one. “That’s seven in total. Looks like all the missing ponies are accounted for.”

“We better notify the creamy one,” said Chessk as he placed a finger on his earpiece. 

While he and Hider communicated with Sweetie over the comm-link, Lyra and Geefour went ahead and met with the captives. Upon approaching the cells, the first thing she noticed is that all three pony species were present. Out of the seven ponies: two were Pegasai, three were Earth ponies, and the remaining two were unicorns.

“Oh, my Celestia, the Captain was right!” shouted a unicorn mare. “She really did come to save us!”

“We’re saved!” yelled an earth pony stallion who had tears in his eyes. “We’re finally gonna be free!”

Everypony’s reaction was just about what Lyra expected it to be. Though the bags in their eyes and the wrinkles in their foreheads made it clear that they’ve been through rough times, she could feel their hope and joy. They could feel it. The nightmare was almost over. Freedom was within their grasp. 

Seeing this, T3-G4 let loose a couple of beeps as it observed everypony; however, it’s constant beeping only startled the captives. “Sweet Celestia, what is that thing?” shrieked an earth pony mare.

“Is that supposed to be a robot? Like the one those soldiers had?” asked a pegasus stallion.

Lyra chuckled. “Okay, settle down everypony,” she said to the ponies with her head held high. “I take it you all are the missing crew members of the Celestial Sun. The one that Private Sweetie Drops was a part of?”

“Private Drops is okay?” asked one of the earth pony stallions. He quickly looked around for any sign of the mare but frowned when she was nowhere to be seen. “Where is she?”

“Don’t worry, she’s here. She’s just not with us right now.”

“Excuse me?” asked the unicorn mare from before. “If she’s here, why didn’t she come with you?”

“Me and my companions decided that bringing Sweetie with us would only prove to be a liability,” Lyra answered. “We couldn’t risk her getting captured too. Not when she has no means of defending herself.”

“You mean those aliens back there are with you?” asked a pegasus pony. The same one who was intrigued by Geefour earlier. Lyra observed the stallion, as he examined her friends. “Hey, wait a minute! That big lizard thing over there was part of the group who abducted us!”

“What!” Everypony shouted, excluding a pegasus mare and a unicorn stallion.

“Why is he here?” panicked an earth pony mare. “Isn’t he supposed to be a bad guy?”

“Everypony calm down!” shouted a unicorn stallion. “I’m sure this mare has a good reason as to why one of our previous captors is with her.”

“But Sergeant, we can’t trust that thing! Not after what the other alien lizard did to us!”

“I know that. But do recall he, that other alien, and the robot not only accompanied this mare today, but also saved her life mere hours ago.”

“The Sergeant is right!” shouted the remaining pegasus pony. Her voice had just as much authority as the stallion. “This mare has come back from the brink of death to save us! If she can trust these aliens, then so can we!”

“C-captain Impact.” Everypony gawked at the pegasus mare. Their expressions shifted from worry to concern. However, Lyra did not notice this change, as she was more interested in the mare rather than the other ponies.

“A-are you the Captain of this crew? The one that Sweetie mentioned?” she asked.

The pegasus mare nodded in reply. “Yes, I am,” she said as she gave Lyra a weary, yet joyous, smile. “Did… did Private Drops ever told you about me?”

Lyra shook her head. “Only that you were really important and that saving you along with everypony else was top priority.”

“I-I see.” The mare suddenly frowned. “Oh, Sweetie. Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Captain are you sure this is the best time?” asked the unicorn sergeant. “I know she’s the reason why you came with us on this trip but telling her now might now be a good idea.”

“Tell me what?” asked Lyra. Curious, she gaped at the pegasus mare, hoping that she would get some answers from her. But the mare said nothing, preferring only to stare at the Padawan with jaded eyes.

Lyra raised a brow. She looked around and noticed that things have gotten strangely quiet. Ever since Captain Impact hushed everypony, no one had said a word. To make things weirder, they were all either staring at her, or their captain.

    Realizing that she needed answers, Lyra gaped back at the pegasus mare and began to examine her.  In terms of height, they were identical; however, the military mare was way too thin. She was devoid of any muscle or fat, likely due to the mistreatment she endured by the Exchange and the Mandalorians. 

But the mare’s physicality wasn’t the only thing noteworthy. It was how she looked.

Despite the disheveled appearance, the mare’s coat stood out amongst the other ponies. Its color had a bright yellow look, nearly identical to that of a sun. And her mane. It had same white streak as hers, though the second color was orange instead of cyan.

Lyra frowned. She didn’t know why, but this mare looked rather familiar, as if she had somehow seen this pegasus before. But she didn’t recall where or how she met this pony in the first place. She needed answers now. And the way to get them is by asking the big pony in charge. Sadly, she wouldn’t get the chance. 

Before she could say anything, her headset began to vibrate in her ear. Someone was calling her. Letting out a groan, Lyra pressed her right hoof onto the headset and answered the call. Unfortunately, a loud, frantic Sweetie Drops was on the other line. Lyra, I just spoke with the others! They said you found all the missing ponies!

Lyra winced. “Yes, we did,” she replied, rubbing her ears. The mare had screeched louder than a howling Kath Hound. “All the remaining seven ponies have been accounted for, Sweetie. They’re a bit malnourished, but everypony seems to be okay.”

What about the captain? Is she with you too?

“If you are talking about Captain Impact, then yes, she’s fine. But I want to ask you a quick question, Sweetie. Regarding that captain of yours.”

Oh, come on, Lyra. Is this really a good time for questions?

“Just one question, Sweetie! That’s all I want!” rebuked Lyra. Her voice was so loud that it got the attention of Geefour and everypony else.

“Hey, what’s with her?” One pony asked. “She’s yelling for no reason.”

“I think I heard her mention Private Sweetie Drops,” said another pony. “Do you think she’s talking to her right now?”

“How is that possible, she’s not even here!”

    “I dunno. Maybe she is using some kind of alien technology or something?”

“Well, that would explain why she was talking to herself earlier. And it is in the realm of possibility after all the stuff we’ve seen. Who knows, maybe there’s even a way to speak to somepony who’s on a different planet.”

The Padawan rolled her eyes. Rather than answer the questions of the curious ponies, she instead adjusted her headset and was about to continue her talk with Sweetie, hoping that she could pressure the mare into telling her secrets. But before she could say anything, however, her headset began to vibrate again.

Lyra groaned. Oh, come on! Another caller? Who else could it be besides Sweetie Drops? She glanced back at Hider and Chessk, checking to see if they were trying to reach her via comm-link despite being a few feet away. However, this wasn’t the case. The two were busy talking amongst themselves, and they weren’t even using their headsets at all.

    She blinked. If they weren’t trying to reach her, then who was? Geefour crossed her mind but there was no way the droid would do such a thing, not when it was this close to her. Besides, she doesn’t understand droid binary, so why would it even try and contact her in the first place.

    Sweetie’s already on the line too. So, if none of my friends are using the comm-link, then that only leaves… oh, Force!

     The Padawan frantically pressed her hoof onto the headset again, which caused a clicking sound to echo in her ears. If her hunch was right, the only other person who would be contacting her is the one sole being she trusted the most. After another click from the headset, she yelled into the mic. “Master? Master is that you?”

    Yes, it’s me, my Padawan. It’s good to hear from you again.

    Lyra breathed a sigh of relief. Her master was okay, for now at least. “Guys check your headsets! My master is on the line!” she shouted.

    Hider’s eyes went wide. “Wait, seriously?” Curious, he placed his right hand onto his headset and spoke into the mic. “Hey, old man, is that you?”

    Yes, Hider, it’s me. said Master Darran. As you can clearly hear, I am alright. I managed to fight off a contingent of Mandalorian soldiers after we separated. They weren’t expecting to see a Jedi Master here, so I had the upper hand.

    “You fought off an entire squad of Mandalorian soldiers all by yourself?” Hider’s jaw dropped. “Damn. I guess I shouldn’t expect any less of a Jedi of all people. But where are you right now?”

    By chance, I managed to fight my way into the security room. As of right now, I have access to all the cameras in the base.

    “Wait, the security room?” Lyra asked. She looked around the prison block for any cameras nearby. But she couldn’t find any. Either they were too small to see, or they were located somewhere she couldn’t find. Can you see us right now, Master?” 

    I do. I see you, our crew, and all the captive ponies that are with you right now.

    Hider cocked a brow. “So, you contacted us just so you could say hi?”

    No I did not. I’ve contacted you because I wanted to warn you about the upcoming threat.

    “Threat? What threat?”

    We have been fighting for quite some time, Hider. I figured that it’d be only a matter of time before the Mandalorians discovered our whereabouts. There was a brief pause on the other line, then the Jedi Master could be heard again: It seemed my suspicions proved to be correct. Twenty-four Mandalorians are gathering in a room right now. I can only assume they plan on launching a counterattack.

    “W-what? Master are you sure about this?” asked Lyra.

    I’m looking through their security cameras right now, Padawan. I can see them right now. The good news is that they haven’t fully mobilized yet. One of the higher ups is apparently giving some kind of speech to his soldiers.

    Lyra winced as a cold chill crept down her spine. She looked back at her companions, then back at the ponies. She bit her lip. No! There’s assembling at the worst possible time! We can’t fight that many all at once. Not with everypony escaping.

    “A… a whole squad of Mandalorian soldiers are coming here? A-and there’s twenty-four of them?” Hider asked.

    “Huh?” Lyra looked at her captain and noticed something odd. It seemed like he didn’t seem to take this bit of news very well. Sure, she couldn’t blame him, but something was wrong. He was stuttering in his words, as if fear had overtaken him completely.

    “Human, what’s wrong? Chessk asked. It looked like he too had also noticed a change in Hider’s attitude. “You look a bit shaken. Are you alright?”

    To the surprise of both Lyra and Chessk, their captain began to lash out at the former. “No… no, I am not alright!” he shouted. “We have a serious problem here! A whole squadron of Mandalorian soldiers are on their way here, and we have no way of fighting them back!”

    Although he was surprised by Hider’s unexpected outburst, Chessk did his best to calm his captain down. “Settle down, human. This isn’t you. Yes, the news of Mandalorian reinforcements is alarming, but panicking about it won’t help.”

    Lyra nodded in agreement. “Chessk’s right. We can’t panic now, not when we’re so close to our goal. W-we’ll just have to think of something that’s all.”

    The Padawan curled her lip. She attempted to show bravado so that she could try and clam her captain down; the truth is, she was just as nervous as he was. There was no way that she or her friends could handle that many soldiers at once. They’d be routed in an instant, or worse.

    Suddenly, Master Darran spoke up again on the other line. The situation may look bleak, but you must persevere my Padawan. The same goes for the rest of you as well. I can at least attempt to get their attention and split up their main force, but you all must play your part too.

    “What do you suggest we do, Master Jedi?” asked Chessk.

    You need to stay put. Leaving the prison block with the captives now would only put them at risk. Even if you make it back to the garage, I have no doubt you’ll eventually run into some Mandalorian soldiers.

    “You want us to stay here!” shouted a bewildered Hider.

    Don’t fret, Hider. You are better than this. Remember, all of you have the capabilities to turn even the bleakest of battles around. You just have to think. Make the most out of your strengths and all of you will triumph.

    Lyra smiled. Hearing her master’s praises calmed her down at bit, which gave her enough confidence to come up with a plan. “We can set up an ambush here. Try to catch our enemies off guard. It may be a bit too simplistic, but at least we’ll still have an advantage.”

    “I agree. An ambush would be an ideal situation here,” said Chessk. He then grabbed a pouch from his belt and took out a handful of grenades. “Might as well put these things to good use too. At least we’ll be able to catch a few off-guard with all these explosives.”

    Suddenly, the trio hear a loud bleeping sound coming from the right side of the prison block. They turned and saw T3-G4 flashing its robotic eye toward a trio of deactivated combat droids. 

“No way. Is that for real?” Hider quickly ran toward the deactivated droids and began to examine them one by one. When Lyra and Chessk caught up to him, they quickly noticed he’d changed. The brash, cocky Smuggler they’ve always known was back, and he was smirking at the idle droids. “They’re fully operational. Deactivated, yes, but they can still be used.”
    
    “What kind of weapons do these droids have?” asked Chessk

“Blaster rifles. It’s not high-quality stuff compared to yours, big guy, but it’ll do.”

T3-G4 let out another beep as it pulled out its mechanical arm. “You go and do that, tin can. But I’m only giving you five minutes,” Hider said. “If we’re going to survive this encounter, we need these droids activated as soon as possible.”

“Um, excuse me. But can somepony please explain to us what’s going on?”

The crew turn to see that all the ponies were staring at them from their prison blocks. “Oh, Force, I forgot about them. We… we need to tell them what’s happening,” suggested Lyra.

“You sure they won’t freak out over the news?” asked Hider. T3-G4 replied back with a long-winded whirl. “Okay, you got me there, tin can. I guess I shouldn’t be making excuses for others after my little panic attack back there.”

“Yes, that was kind of uncharacteristic of you, human,” said Chessk. “Do you mind explaining why?”

Hider sighed. “Look, can we save that for later, please. I admit I panic a bit when things don’t go my way, but let’s leave that there for now and focus on getting ready for what’s to come.”

Lyra blinked in surprise. To think, her captain had a weakness behind all that bravado. Unexpected, yet enlightening at the same time. It almost made her wonder what other weaknesses Hider might have hidden away in that false bravado of his.

Immediately, she shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking such things. She had to get ready now. 

Leaving her friends behind, she galloped back to the captive ponies. However, when she got there, she was bombarded with questions.

“Hey, what’s going on? What were you and the aliens talking about?”

“That alien over there was freaking out earlier. Did something bad happen?”

“Are we getting out of here or not?”

Lyra sighed. “Everypony, settle down. I know you all want to be free, but things have taken a turn for the worst. As of right now, a squadron of Mandalorian reinforcements are on their way here with the intent of recapturing the prison block.”

“W-what?”

The ponies began to talk amongst themselves. Some showed signs of panic, while the others seemed almost skeptical of Lyra’s statement. The only ones who remained steadfast were the Pegasus Captain and her Unicorn Sergeant.

“Enemy reinforcements are on their way here. What… what should we do?”

“How does she even know that in the first place?”

“That’s enough, everypony!” shouted the Captain, showing commanding authority over the others. “Quit arguing amongst yourselves and listen to what this mare has to say!”

Lyra smiled. “I really appreciate that, captain. Thank you.”

“Save it for later, dear. Just tell us what your plan is.”

“R-right. Because reinforcements are on their way, we can’t free everypony just yet. Wandering around those hallways with that many soldiers searching for us would put us all at risk. So, we’ve decided the best thing to do is to hunker down here and prepare an ambush for our enemies.”

The ponies gossiped amongst themselves again, but much to Lyra’s relief, they were quickly silenced by their captain once more. “How many are on their way?” the captain asked.

“Twenty-four,” Lyra answered.

“That many!” shouted one of the ponies.

“Yes, that many. But don’t worry. We have the element of surprise on our side. Plus, my Jedi ma—err, teacher, will provide a distraction to separate the main force.”

The Unicorn Sergeant raised a brow. “Jedi teacher? Are you referring to that tall blindfolded alien with the long blue sword weapon?”

“Yes, that’s him. You all probably saw him back on Coruscant before the Mandalorians took you here. His name is Gizar Darran, a Jedi Battlemaster. He’s been my teacher for over a decade.”

“Wait, then what are you supposed to be?” asked one mare.

“I’m a Padawan, a Jedi currently in training. In short, think of me as a Royal Guard, but my job is to protect and serve the citizens of the entire galaxy. There’s more to the Jedi Order than that, but now isn’t exactly the best time for a history lesson.”

Suddenly, Lyra caught eye of the Pegasus Captain’s face. The mare was staring right at her with wide eyes. Then she began to cry. 

“Um… hey, are you alright there, captain?” the Padawan asked.

Wiping the tears off her face, the pegasus mare smiled. “Yes, dear, I’m fine. You go ahead and do what you have to do. We’ll stay put here.”

Lyra raised a brow. “So, you don’t have any objections staying behind this prison cell.”

“Not all of us are guard ponies, Lyra. Even if we all were, we are not in any condition to fight. The best thing we can do is to just stay back and let you handle the rest.”

Lyra smiled, sheepishly. She didn’t know why but hearing the voice of that mare was rather soothing. How odd. It’s almost as if she heard that voice before, but where? 

She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking such things.

After giving one last good look at everypony, Lyra realized that—although some of them were still scared—they had all put their faith in her. Seeing this, she grabbed her lightsaber from her belt and ignited the weapon. A rather pointless thing to do but given that the sight of a lightsaber can sometimes give hope to others, it was perhaps the best thing to do.

Luckily for her, it worked. For just one moment, everypony’s fears and doubts had all vanished. The sight of an ignited lightsaber blade gave hope to all, and curiosity to others.

With their spirits raised, Lyra deactivated her lightsaber and hoisted it back on her belt. “I got to go back to my friends. Please, all of you, stay strong. You will all be out of here in no time, I promise.”

 The ponies cheered.

“Do your best, Lyra!”

“Give ‘em Tartarus, kid!”

“Kick their flank for me!”

Lyra beamed as she galloped back to her friends. Unbeknownst to her, however, the pegasus mare began to mutter something. Nopony heard her due to the loud cheering, but even so, she wanted to say it anyway.

“Stay safe, Lyra. When this is over, you and I are going to be a family again.”