//------------------------------// // Escape From Tatooine // Story: Star Wars Episode IV, Rise of the Rebellion // by FourShadow //------------------------------// Several hours had passed and thankfully the storm lifted up. It was now the middle of the afternoon, and the residents of the moisture farm were getting ready to depart. Applejack and Rainbow Dash grabbed a handful of necessities for themselves (mostly food, weapons, any supplies that could be carried in a backpack or two). Once they had what they could carry, they followed IG-11 and Flurry Heart back outside to the ground level of their farm. Applejack wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead as she gazed out at the desert for one last time. "You know somethin' Rainbow? As nice as it is to see Sunset Shimmer again... I think I might miss this place," Applejack admitted. "I won't. Seriously it's nothing but sand for miles; who was that guy that said it's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and gets everywhere and all that?" Rainbow complained. "Skywalker, and he doesn't live here," Applejack pointed out. "Well not now!" "Um, guys?" Flurry interrupted. "What's that?" The group looked to the right, gazing off at the distance. A massive dust cloud was rumbling through the barren wasteland. Pulling out her binocs, Applejack rasied them to her eyes to get a closer look. "Uh oh." "What?" Flurry asked. In Applejack's viewpoint, she saw a massive silver transport racing towards their location. She couldn't see the driver, but she saw plenty of soldiers in purple armor on the sides of the transport, held by support doors. And there was someone sitting on the top of the transport with an open hatch, pointing towards their direction. "We've got boys in purple, and I don't think they're friendlies." "Midnight troopers," IG-11 calculated. "We must depart at once." "Now come on, let's not overreact here," Rainbow said with a cocky smirk. "Let's see what they want, and if they're going to give us a hard time, I say we fight." "I don't know..." "Kid, we'll be fine. Can you fight?" "Um... no," Flurry admitted. "I've been training but I've never really, um, fought anybody..." Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other and gave each other single nods. "Okay, kid, go back inside. I want you to find our landspeeder. The keys are in the kitchen in a glovebox. When we're ready to leave, I want you to pull out and get us to where yer mom's ship is," Applejack ordered. "Okay, got it! Are you sure you'll be okay?" "Relax. We'll be fine. Take your nurse with you," Rainbow added. Flurry wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to argue. And so she and IG-11 went back down the steps straight back into the farmhouse for cover and to look for the keys. Just in the nick of time, as the Imperial troop transport had finished rolling up towards them. They had made enough distance between them and the farm and so all the Midnight troopers jumped off the transport and started running towards them cocking their blasters in defense. "Attention! Traitors to the Empire!" Yelled the Imperial officer on the top of the transport. "You are surrounded! Come out with your hands above your head, or we will open fire!" "Sheesh, quick to throw out accusations much?" Rainbow muttered to herself. "Guess we're going to have to fight now, huh?" "Uhhh, Rainbow... I'm not so sure..." Applejack worried, looking at the troops coming out of the transport door. "Oh come on, they're just copycat clone troopers, how powerful can they be?" Rainbow cockily said, shrugging their numbers off. Applejack gulped. "Rainbow? I think those two might..." she said, pointing forward. Standing far away but close enough to see were two figures, presumably female, dressed in black cloaks and hoods. And judging by the silver reflective weapons hanging by their belts, it was easy to guess who they were. They were the last two to emerge from the transport, only they didn't run up with the rest of the Midnight troopers. They stood back and allowed the troopers to go up front. "Sith?" Rainbow asked. "Probably." The two Inquisitors stared down the two Jedi. but did not remove themselves from their current stances. The two Sisters looked at each other, and silently nodded. "Captain. Fire at them," the Second Sister ordered. All at once, the soldiers in dark purple opened fire on the Jedi. Bracing for their fire, the two Jedi booked it and threw themselves behind some empty barrels that were sorted in a way that was just enough to protect them from the blaster bolts. "I sense these troopers won't be enough to handle the Jedi," the Fourth Sister spoke, watching as the Midnight troopers slowly moved closer and closer, trying to box the two in. "Maybe not. But that's why we're here. Let them believe they have a chance, and once they annihilate our men... we make our move," the Second Sister grinned maliciously under her mask. While the two Inquisitors watched, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash kept their heads down behind the cover, desperately praying they wouldn't get shot through the hearts. "Great, this is just like dealin' with those Palpatine Witnesses last week," Rainbow complained, ducking again. "I think there's a clear difference between them and the Witnesses," Applejack said, pulling out her two blasters. She dashed out of her cover in a sideways run, blasting at a few of the troopers before her. "They didn't try and blast us to bits!" She pulled herself over a piece of cinderblock, taking a few potshots at some of the Midnight troopers who were charging at her.Two of them went down with direct shots near the shoulder regions, only a few inches away from their hearts. But they didn't stop fighting back. Taking her chance, Rainbow Dash stood up and hit a small panel on the side of the adobe wall next to her. A secret compartment unfolded showing a variety of weapons, but she simply took a DC-15 carbine blaster. Gripped in both hands, she held the blaster at the ready and stood in firing position, blasting at the Midnight troopers before her. Rainbow Dash managed to shoot two of them down, and ducked as another blaster shot was about to hit her head. Applejack took care of the next one as the two of them didn't move from their current positions, keeping cover and playing this encounter smart. Meanwhile, IG-11 and Flurry peaked from a door, watching as the fight ensued. The two of them were standing on the steps that they had taken down to the main floor, peaking over the ledge above ground. "That's a lot of troopers," Flurry worried. "The two Jedi will suffice against this squadron. But I do not think they will stand for long against the two Equestrians in black," IG-11 observed, watching the two Inquisitors from afar. "We must access the landspeeder." Trying not to worry, Flurry and IG-11 ran back down the steps and back into the dwelling; they had to find those keys. -- Rainbow Dash gripped the blaster tight as she started to move from her cover, blasting as much as she could. Spending more than fifteen years on Tatooine and living with Applejack had given her all the time in the world to learn how to use a handheld blaster and not using a lightsaber. These troopers didn't need to be slashed apart with a saber, just simple blaster shots would do. She looked to her left, bam. Trooper went down. She looked to the right, bam. Another trooper down. She turned her head as a trooper was about to ambush her, until he was taken out by a single shot in the chest by Applejack. She jumped up on her cover and gripped her blasters like a gunslinger, blasting up a storm as more and more Midnight troopers went down. The two of them were an unstoppable team, and as the two Inquisitors predicted, the Midnight troopers didn't stand a chance against the veterans of the past. No matter. They'd surprise them once they had cleaned their troops out. Some of the troopers tried to be a bit more risky and move in closer, but that ultimately proved to be a big mistake. One of them tried to lunge at Rainbow, but she delivered a swift kick in the chest and fired a shot at his shoulder, rendering him down. Another trooper tried to come at her, swinging an electric baton. He stood his ground, ready to swing and attack. Rainbow Dash sternly glared, silently enticing him to come towards her to attack. He swing the baton at her, forcing Rainbow to jump out of the way. He swung it towards her, urging her to keep moving backwards until he was right close to Applejack. The farmer took her chance and shoot a blaster bolt in his leg, making him twist his ankle and fall to the ground, screaming in pain. And Applejack finished him off with a blaster bolt to his side before focusing on the troopers again. Only six troopers remained, and the two of them were ready for the final numbers to roll in. Applejack ran from her cover sideways, shooting as she ran, taking down one of them in the process. Getting their attention, Rainbow Dash used this opportunity to take out another trooper while he wasn't looking, and then another one who was too late to draw his weapon. Applejack ran back sideways again, this time going back to the area where she and Rainbow had just started the fight. But the two of them ducked for cover where Rainbow had hidden before, reaching for the ammunition compartment. A small droid popper from the Clone Wars, intended to electrify it's targets. "Grab their attention, I'll do a hardball!" Rainbow asked, also grabbing the trigger to hit the charge. Applejack pulled out again with a smirk on her face. "Hey troopers! Yer about as bad as shootin' as Six-Tat on a hot summer's day!" None of the troopers understood what that meant, but regardless her taunt worked like a charm. All of them tried to shoot at her, not even noticing the small metal ball that bounced on the ground underneath their feet. "What the?" One of the troopers looked down. "Oh my," another one sighed, realizing what was about to happen. And all three of them were feeling a strong surge of electricity surging through their bodies. All of them screamed in pain as their armor-clad bodies writhed on the ground until their cries of agony stopped. They were defeated. The two Jedi got up from their hiding spots and into the open, not realizing that the two mysterious cloaked figures had vanished. They were on the lookout for more of those troopers in purple, wondering if more was going to arrive for them to fight. "Hah! Come on, bring it on!" Rainbow cackled. "Is that all you got?" "How about us?" In seconds, somehow the two figures in black cloaks and masks were now standing smack-dab a few feet away from Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "So, who are you two?" Applejack asked. The two figures said nothing, but instead drew their weapons; a sword-handle with a circular ring around. But then when they flipped a button, two red blades appeared from the circular weapons. "... Well, yer guess was right," Applejack blinked. The two veterans pulled out their lightsabers and ignited their blades. Two sword-users against two as they faced each other. "We're looking for someone. Someone we believe is hiding here on this world," the first Inquisitor spoke. "Where can we find this astromech unit?" She pulled out a holo-device, projecting an image of Spike. "I'm sorry, you must be mistakin' us for someone else. We haven't see that astromech around here," Applejack shrugged off. "You never were a strong liar, Applejack," the second Inquisitor remarked. And before Applejack could question how this woman knew her name, she charged straight towards the veteran. She swung first, which Applejack blocked just in the nick of time. The other Inquisitor made her move and tried to go for Rainbow Dash's heart, but she picked up on her tactic soon enough. She blocked her move and tried to swung over her head, only for the Inquisitor to move her blade up to block. Sparks flew as the sabers clashed, and an adrenaline that the veteran hadn't felt in a long time was starting to kick back again. Rainbow Dash used her fleshy hand to use the Force, slamming against the Inquisitor and pushing her away from her body. The Inquisitor nearly fell, but kept herself up even as her boots grinded against the sand. She pushed Rainbow back, forcing Rainbow to fall on her back with a powerful thud. The forty-three-year-old Jedi groaned from the pain, but she got back up. "You think you're so tough?" Rainbow smirked, blocking her next attack. "We've taken on Sith Lords stronger than you." The Inquisitor was chuckling under the helmet, almost amused by her statement. "If the Sith Lords of the past were so strong..." The Fourth Sister started, pushing Rainbow back with her upper body strength. Rainbow tried to push back, but she couldn't. Every move she tried to anticipate, it was like the Inquisitor was three extra steps ahead of her. The same could be said for Applejack as she tried to fend off against the Second Sister. Her red blade was swung left and right, and Applejack was trying her best not to feel the hot sting of the blade. Applejack tried to swing, but she couldn't make any attack, instead, all of the moves were coming from the Inquisitor. "Then how are you becoming so tired?" Applejack couldn't keep up with this woman's speed, it was uncanny! Every time she tried to make a swing, she was blocked. She couldn't do anything against her! Her heart started pounding and she started panting harder than ever, this wasn't possible! Applejack worked every day on the moisture farm, always lifting weights and workout out whenever possible, but still this Inquisitor was beating her. The Sith Lords they faced in the past were strong, but not to this level! The Fourth Sister's grip was stronger as she started to force Rainbow's gripped weapon down lower. Rainbow tried to pull herself up, but the Inquisitor was proving to be quite resilient. One final push got Dash distracted enough for the Inquisitor to try and hack at her with the other side of her double-bladed weapon. Rainbow tried to get out of the way, but was too late. She wasn't killed, but the Inquisitor managed to slash through her artificial limb, letting it hit the ground. "Agh!" Rainbow yelped, hissing from the injury. It might not have been real, but it still felt painful to lose that connection again. "You shouldn't rely on Clone Wars era tech to survive. Outdated, outsourced, obsolete... just like you," the Inquisitor warned. Rainbow tried to fight back, but the Inquisitor Force-pushed Rainbow across the gruond, skidding across the sands and making a massive trail from where she was kicked. She tried to ignite her lightsaber but all it did was create a small series of sparks from how hard she fell on it. Applejack looked back in fear, seeing her friend kicked down. The Second Sister took her chance and kneed Applejack in the groin and roundhouse kicked her in the chest again, sending her flying and slamming on the ground next to her. Both of them were now struggling to get themselves moving with the wind knocked out of them. "I almost feel bad for you two. You could have just told us what you knew, and we would have left you two to decay in peace," the Fourth Sister snarked, walking towards them with her cloak swaying in the winds. "Now I think it only makes sense that we finish the job and move on." Both of their lightsaber blades were ready, clamped tightly by their hands as they held their weapons up. Their chance to make the final blows were now! The ground started rumbling and shaking underneath them. The Inquisitors looked around, wondering if maybe the rumbling was coming from some underground animal rising from the surface. They did know that the legendary Krayt Dragons would burrow underneath their feet. But instead, a massive door from the ground surfaced. Sand started to fall towards the ground as it rose up, making the two Inquisitors stand there with caution. They couldn't see much, but it looked like the door had opened to a massive entryway underground, intended for speeders. The sounds of roaring engines in the distance of the tunnel were hitting their ears as it got bigger and bigger... Instinctively, the two of them moved out of the way as a massive vehicle emerged from the tunnel, roaring louder than any other machine or weapon in the area. Two massive engines were held together with a purple energy binder, and said engines were connected to a four-seated control pod. And sitting in the pod was IG-11 behind the wheel with Flurry Heart in the shotgun seat. "You didn't say your landspeeder was a podracer!" Flurry yelled, trying to make her voice clear to the two Jedi. "Thought we'd surprise ya!" Applejack shouted as she helped Rainbow Dash walk over. The two of them quickly jumped into the seat, with Rainbow Dash still wincing and hissing from the pain. "Wait, your nurse droid can drive?" Rainbow asked. "Well, yeah!" Flurry said, rather nonchalantly, wondering why that question needed to be asked to begin with. The two Inquisitors however were not done with them as they got back up. "Punch it!" Applejack shouted. Eleven's foot hit the pedal, and the podracer took off like a blaster bolt, kicking sand right at the two Inquisitors. Both of them were covered in sand and dust from the kick, and needless to say, they were unhappy. "All units," the Second Sister ordered, speaking into her com. "Pursue the Rebels, they are escaping in a pod-racer. Destroy them!" "Yes Sister." Podracing was one of the most dangerous sports in the galaxy. Not because of the betting, not because of the drivers, but because of the actual racing vehicles. Sure it was fun, but these weren't ordinary racing vehicles; every podracing vehicle built by hand were some of the most dangerous machines ever, mostly because they were fast. Not normal fast, this was faster than normal to the point where if you took your eye off the environment in front of you for more than a few seconds, you'd most likely crash and die. To the eyes of the group who were flesh and blood, everything was going by in seconds. Rocks, the structures, it felt like rocketing through space. While Rainbow Dash could easily drive through this, having years of experience fighting and racing in adequately fast craft and speeders, her lack of two hands rendered her useless. Yet she still wondered how Flurry's nurse could navigate the entire landscape at the speed they were going. Luckily with IG-11 helming the wheel, there wasn't too much difficulty. And the environment they were speeding off on wasn't an issue either, plenty of wide open spaces for now. But there was still mountains and rocky structures coming up ahead. Worse, Imperial speeder bikes started to emerge from the treacherous lands and race after them. "Targets in sight," Eleven stated, using one of his eyes to peer on his left. One of the bikes was lined up beside them, and not needing to be told, IG-11 just gave a massive nudge to the bike, nearly sending him crashing into one of the walls. Almost. The scout trooper wasn't kicked off, which to IG-11, only meant he had to use some more force. He slammed into the bike harder, sending the rider and the bike right into one of the structures, exploding upon impact, killing him. Two more bikers pursued them, using the triggers on their bikes to try and shoot at the engines. This only encouraged them to go faster. Just up ahead was Beggar's Canyon, all they would have to do was try to get to the top of the canyon walls and they'd make it. Carefully, the podracer moved into the center line and pulled through the narrow gorge, with the bikes still pursuing. The roaring engines of the podracer echoed throughout the canyon as it went around dangerous corners, trying desperately not to slam into the walls and explode. Only a few scrapes and peels of metal had been damaged, but the racer kept going. And seeing what was up ahead, IG-11 started to steer to the right of the wall. "Wait, what are you doing!?" Rainbow asked. "Wait, you're not seriously--" Flurry interrupted. "Hold on tightly. We might be flying out of the car." "Wait, WHAT!?" A single service ramp going straight up was just up ahead, with a single gate blocking it off. However that didn't stop the assassin droid's intentions as he broke through the weak gate, making everyone scream as they started to go up the massive ramp. The speeder bikes saw the broken ramp, and the podracer going right up, but they didn't stop moving. Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs as the podracer was flying, but IG-11 wasn't panicking. He switched the dials and knobs on the control console, automatically adjusting the flaps and panels on the sides of the engines to make a turn as they were in the air. Carefully, the podracer began to make a turn around from where they jumped, aiming for the top of the canyon walls. Still shrieking as they went down, the podracer finally landed on top of the canyon, bouncing softly as it started to slow down upon IG-11's pushing of the buttons. "I believe we have arrived at our destination," IG-11 said, his head turning around to face the terrified expressions of the veterans. Neither one of them were saying anything but just looked at the nurse in horror. "That was a joke to lessen your discomfort." Applejack just gave him a soft glare. "Don't do that again." "Come, we must leave." All of them jumped out of the podracer, standing on top of the canyon on their own feet. "Follow me! I know where the ship is, come on!" Flurry insisted, urging everyone to follow her. Gallus, Sandbar, Yona and Silverstream stayed at the edge of the ramp, looking for Flurry and IG-11. They got the report of the landspeeder heading towards their location, but they had to stand by in the event of Imperials showing up. They had to cover their escape, so the four of them had weapons deployed and ready to open fire to help get their new friend inside. Just then, they saw Flurry running towards them with a panicked look on her face. "Oh finally, Flurry where have--" Gallus was about to ask. "WE GOTTA GO!" Flurry yelled as she darted right up the hatch and inside, boots stomping up. IG-11 followed suit, not saying a word as he tried to speed his stick-figure legs up the ramp. Silverstream and Gallus were confused, and were about to speak until-- "Run for yer lives, girls!" Applejack added as she ran up the ship. Yona and Silverstream were confused, but shrugging it off they ran inside the ship to join the others. Now only Sandbar and Gallus were outside, but it wasn't going to be for long. "Better safe than sorry, guys!" Rainbow Dash sped on by. And not wanting to argue, the two guys followed suit and ran back inside the ship. And soon thereafter, the hatch slowly closed up and sealed tight, locking behind them. "Okay everyone, strap yourselves in, now!" Bon Bon yelled over the radio system. Yona and Smolder buckled themselves down a set of chairs that faced a small computer system, while Sandbar and Ocellus buckled themselves to the living room booth along with Silverstream and Gallus. Cheep and G-G bolted from their charging docks, tools exposed and spinning, ready to repair in the event damages were to happen. "Can't believe we're heading home like this," Silverstream worried. "Assuming we even get off the ground..." Bon Bon flipped several switches above her head and yanked a lever down on her left. Four blaster cannons mounted at the front of the ship unfolded, set in position. The engines on the back of the ship began to shake and rumble, but a burst of energy ignited. "Hang onto somethin' everyone, this is gonna be a bit bumpy," Bon Bon yelled into the coms. And then her hands immediately kept flipping switches and trying to get the rest of the ship up and moving. "Come on baby, stay with me now..." Lyra's eyes gazed forward and shrunk. "Uh, Bonnie? Are the cannons active?" "They should be," Bon Bon said, seeing the same thing. Hovering in front of them was a starfighter with two big black wings on the sides facing them like daggers, and a single cockpit in the middle. "Mind if I shoo him off the driveway?" "I'd be fine with that," Bon Bon said, rather casually. Lyra hit a switch, unlocking the joystick on the console. Her hand gripped it and she raised her thumb over the blaster button. "Get out of the way you lunatic!" Lyra yelled before hitting the trigger. The cannons fired at the TIE fighter with a solid shot, blowing it up right before their eyes. A massive cloud of fire burst in front of them, but thankfully went away after a minute or two. Now that their view was clear, the ship slowly started to rise up and take off. The legs folded up underneath the ship, and with a push, the Sweetie Drop launched from it's hollow cover and took off above Beggar's Canyon. Everyone inside the vessel were clinging onto anything they could, feeling the ship rattling and shaking. Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash tried to hold on tight to whatever they could. A powerful push of the engines launched the ship across the skies, making Bon Bon and Lyra shout and squee in excitement. "Whoohoo! She still lives!" Bon Bon hollered, raising a fist in the air. "Now let's get these bugs off our backs!" The radar screens displayed several red dots approaching their radius, and the roaring sounds of the TIEs behind them were enough to give them an indication who was behind them. Lots of them. "We need someone to use the gunner seats!" Bon Bon grunted as she made another spin. And slamming her fist against the com, she yelled to the crew onboard. "Does anyone on this ship besides us know how to shoot a target from a gunner's position!?" "I do!" Silverstream chirped from the hallway. The doors had been left open for anyone to come to the cockpit and speak, if needed. "You?" Bon Bon asked, watching as the poor Arisian was slammed into the wall as they made a sharp turn, sliding right to the left side of the ship away from the cockpit. "Yep-oww!" She grunted, trying to get back up. She had to dig her claws into the doorframe just to not slide again. "I've been using gunner seats since I was a pre-teen!" "Okay, straight down to the left past the kitchen, there's a gunner's seat you can strap in. IG-11, I want you to go down to the right, understand?" "Affirmative," the assassin droid replied. "Got it!" The two of them ran down the ship, carefully trying not to fall or bash their heads into anything from the constant tremors. Once they were in the middle, they split off to the two separate ends going for the gunner stations. IG-11 climbed in and gripped his fingers on the turret sticks, scopes looking straight out the window where he was assigned. Silverstream jumped into her chair, but yelped the moment she lightly touched the control stick. It was a lot more jerky than she had expected, but she was still willing to give it a shot. From the sliding side to side she had done, she could see how it affected the position of the turret. "I'm in position!" Silver called out. "The Imperial fighters are coming on your port-side, blast them down!" Lyra ordered. Silverstream wiggled her seat around with the control sticks, trying to get used to the controls for a second. Then seeing a headphone jack on the side, she pulled it off and set it over her head, with the microphone piece close to her beak. She gripped her claws on the joysticks and watched as several TIEs whooshed past her window, bouncing everywhere on her radar screen. She hit the triggers once one of them flew by, but she missed. Grunting in frustration, she waited as another one flew by and she fired again, but the TIE kept evading her shot. Locking her eyes on the radar screen and in front of the window again, she waited for the TIE to return. KABAM! Direct hit, and so the TIE fighter went down. Silverstream cheered, but quickly put her focus back on the window. IG-11 swung back and forth in the chair, trying to fire as many shots as possible. He waited for the TIE to make another turnaround and hit the trigger, blasting another fighter out of the sky. Flurry, Gallus, Smolder, and Ocellus were desperately clinging to their seats as the ship shook and rattled. "Have you ever left Tatooine before?" Gallus asked, worried. "A few times!" Flurry admitted. "I did go to Naboo's Festival of Colors once though!" Poor Cheep and G-G who were clamped tight under the astromech docks were chittering and whimpering, worried about the constant shakes. "Hang on little guys, we'll be okay!" Flurry said, trying to calm them down. "I hope..." Silverstream's chair kept spinning around as she tried to keep blasting, but the turrets suddenly stopped. No more laser rounds continued to fire from the cannons, they were down. Even checking the screens, she saw a light indicating the malfunctions. "Uhhh, Mandalorian? The side turret's not working anymore!" "Dammit!" Bon Bon ranted in the cockpit, slamming her fist against a bare wall. "Front cannons still optimal," Eleven inquired. "We don't have any back turrets, do we?" Gallus yelled into the coms system as he struggled to hold onto his seat. "No, we don't, we... wait a minute," Bon Bon stopped. The Mandalorian had an epiphany, and she pressed a button to display a screen on the dashboard. What she saw made her grin. "Okay, new plan! Rebels!" Bon Bon yelled, slapping her hand against the intercom button again. "I'm asking this once, go down the hall check on your right, there's a closet." Sandbar and Yona were the ones to get up from their chairs to check, both running down the hall as per order. They opened the door and their eyes sparkled to see what was inside. "Ohhhh Yona likes this!" "Me too!" Sandbar said with an excited grin. But he stopped briefly. "But what are we gonna do with a bowling ball?" "Listen! I need you guys to grab the seismic charges and bring them to the back of the ship, there's a machine I have back there that acts as a launching mechanism. I only use it as a final resort. Now load the launcher!" The two Rebels shrugged as they grabbed the charges and went down the hallway to the back of the ship, finding the open room with the launching mechanism as told. The two of them loaded the arsenal into the machine, hearing a clicking noise and a green light turn on. "We're ready!" Sandbar said, tapping the intercom. "Fire one!" Bon Bon hit the launching mechanism, and out from the back of the ship... a bowling ball went flying out and right past the pursuing TIEs. "Wait, why didn't we hit anything?" Bon Bon asked. "You set the charges, right?" "There's no charges on a bowling ball," Yona responded. Bon Bon's eyes widened and her brows furled. "YOU DID WHAT!?" "It's a heavy object, we thought maybe it could smash their windshield!" Sandbar protested. "That was a wedding gift from Equestria you little---ergh! The next family possession you break, I'm shoving you in the rear launcher! Use the seismic charges!" Bon Bon ranted in the coms. Following orders this time, the two Rebels loaded up the seismic charge into the loader. Once it was secure, Yona waited to hit the switch to activate the launching mechanism. "Okay, fire!" Yona pulled the switch, releasing the seismic charge into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was too late as the TIEs got out the way, with the charge releasing a massive booming sound right behind them. "Aggggh!" Bon Bon ranted. "Okay, how many more charges do we got left?" "Last one!" "Dank Farrik!" Bon Bon yelled. "Why didn't I buy the--okay. Let's make this count. Load it up, and don't launch the charge until I say so, understood?" "Yes ma'am!" Sandbar replied. "Mind getting us out of here alive first!?" Smolder begged. Lyra flipped more switches on her side of the cockpit, providing more power to the engines to make them go faster. "Reserving power for the back, I hope it works..." The ship's engines thrusted more, rocketing faster into the sky. The TIE fighters were still on their tail, but Bon Bon refused to turn around. She wasn't about their last seismic charge go to waste. "Almost in range..." Bon Bon's eyes kept bouncing back between the radar and her view of the air above. Once they were finally within range.. "Now!" Yona yanked the lever, sending the seismic charge down the hatch and out of the back of the ship. Everyone waited as the TIEs kept getting closer, and the charge began to glow in a big blue ball as it got closer to the fighters. Without noticing the bomb, the TIEs were right in the middle of the bomb as a massive sonic blast of a sound echoed in the air and sent a wave in all directions. The blast reduced the fighters to spare parts. With no more red dots on the radar, Bon Bon and Lyra whooped and cheered. "YAHOO!! Great timing, Yona!" Now that the TIEs were out of sight, the Sweetie Drop went straight up into the air, rocketing towards the skies. It punched through the atmosphere until they were no longer seeing clear skies. Suddenly the view from the cockpit turned dark as the ship finally emerged into space, where millions of stars twinkled all around. "We made it!" And at that exact moment, a Star Destroyer jumped from hyperspace in front of them. "Okay, we didn't make it," Bon Bon said, rather casually as she spun the ship around, avoiding the turrets. And to make matters worse, a swarm of TIEs emerged from the Star Destroyer's hangar to pursue them. As they made their next turn, Smolder and Silverstream ran up to the cockpit to get a better look. "Can we lose them?" Silverstream asked. "We'll lose them," Lyra reassured. "I just need the coordinates." "What if we lightspeed skip?" Smolder asked reaching for the button, only to have her hand swatted by Bon Bon. "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. There is a 100% chance of dying if you pull a stupid move like that, this ship can't take that kind of jump, and I'd like to see my daughter have kids before I die!" Bon Bon yelled, yanking a lever down. "Now can someone tell me where this base is!?" "I got it!" Spike yelled as he rolled towards the center of the cockpit. One of his panels opened up, sticking out his interface arm. He accessed the ship's navigation system, and a series of coordinates were processed on the screens. "Okay, great! Everyone hold on tight!" Bon Bon yelled. The TIE fighters were closing in fast and were almost within range to shoot at them. Four of them closing in on them fast. Bon Bon's eyes darted back and forth between the radar screen and the lever, waiting for the right moment. "Almost... and... NOW!" She yanked the lever down, and a burst of energy shook the ship. Everyone watched the front view as everything around them started to zoom right behind them, until the ship finally started to speed off in the blue tunnel of hyperspace. The TIEs were too late and so they all went in separate directions the moment they had vanished. "Second Sister, they've jumped into hyperspace." The Inquisitor growled from the bridge of the Star Destroyer. "Get me Captain Phasma..." -- Now that the crew had jumped into hyperspace, the married couple threw themselves back in their chairs, thankful they had escaped. "That was too close," Bon Bon said. "I think I need a soda." "You and me both. But you know something? Escaping those Imperials, flying through the junkyard... I haven't had a rush of adrenaline like that in over seventeen years," Lyra admitted, spinning her chair around to face her wife. "I don't know if it's because of all the excitement or stress, but something about that oddly felt good." Bon Bon giggled as she pulled her wife close and kissed her lips. "I think I understand that feeling too. Maybe even a little more than before." "Oh honey, not now, can't we wait til the ship's empty?" Lyra playfully pouted, getting Bon Bon to blush. "Just kidding, Bonnie." "I know," Bon Bon tittered. "Come on, hon. Let's make sure no one's killed themselves." The two of them got up from the cockpit, setting the ship into autopilot mode so they could take a moment with the rest of their crew. IG-11 and Silverstream got out of the gunner seats and joined everyone in the main living room, where the Rebels were chatting amongst themselves. "Hey everyone. Just letting you know, we're in hyperspace and on our way to your base," Lyra announced. "Awesome!" "Alright!" "Whoohoo!" "Now until we get there, you all are free to wander about the ship if you need to stretch your legs. If you need a snack or something to eat, just let us know, that includes Flurry," Bon Bon said, gesturing to their daughter. "Vac-tubes are down the left hall, so if you need to use it, it's there. I do think we need to set some rules though," she said, giving them all a serious face. "One, please do not keep asking me how long until we get there, hyperspace travel takes a long time." "Rule two," Lyra added. "Please for the love of all that's sacred, please do not go into our bedroom." "Why would we want to go into some old lady's bedroom anyway?" Smolder asked, sarcastically. "Do I look old to you?" Lyra glared. "How old are you?" "I'm forty-three!" "You're old," Smolder snarked. "Ignore her!" Sandbar interrupted, trying to defuse their Draconoid friend. "We won't go into your room, we understand." "Thank you. And last rule; please do not touch or play with any of the droids over in my workstation. Those parts are extremely rare, and I would appreciate it if my hard work didn't become squandered," Bon Bon finished. "Oh, Mama?" Flurry interrupted. "Yes Flurry?" "Um... well, I kinda forgot to mention something before we left... I might have, sorta, um..." "You didn't forget anything, did you?" Lyra asked. "No Mom, it's just, um... I might have picked up two more passengers," Flurry admitted, sinking her head and twiddling her fingers. "Flurry..." Lyra said with a stern glare. "They're good people, I swear!" "Alright, so who are these other passengers?" Emerging from the corner was Applejack with a toolbelt strapped to her waist, and holding a wrench. "Well, I fixed loose wirin' in that exposed floor. Hopefully this ship won't have any more issues while we leave." Lyra was frozen stiff. Another familiar face from her past came back, and she couldn't believe her eyes. "You... how... but... yo..." Applejack looked at their ship's captain and gasped. "For land's sakes... Lyra?" "Applejack? Is... is that actually...?" "Hey Applejack, you gotta see the workshop! This ship's a walking droid store, I swear they got everything," Rainbow said, coming around the corner to stand next to her. "I just need to figure out how to ask if... ohhh." And Lyra felt her heart was about to explode. "You're... you're both alive? Two members of the Council are still alive?" Rainbow and Applejack gave each other glances, but looked back to Lyra and Bon Bon with warm faces. "Yeah. We're alive. Mind if we talk somewhere in private? I think we got a lot to catch up on." Lyra finally pulled herself together to speak. "Yes... yes we do." Lightning flashed all over the main Imperial fortress. Hidden on the perfect planet, far from the public eyes of the Outer Rim and Core Worlds. Security measures of every kind were around; armed guards, ground turrets, even a selection of Star Destroyers on the outside to act as a blockade. The inside of the main fortress was covered from wall to ceiling with metal, much any standard space cruiser. Midnight Troopers wandered around, performing their assignments, speaking with others, what one would typically see in their work environment. One of these soldiers, Captain Phasma, was making her way through the fortress to report directly to the true leader of the Empire herself; Darth Midnight. After the failed attempt to stop the Rebels from escaping on Coruscant, she had ordered several divisions to try and go after the missing plans. She hadn't reported to Midnight in quite some time, and her report was long overdue, mostly because she was hoping to have some good news to report. But with the plans escaping their grasp yet again, the captain had no choice but to hike up her beskar covered boots and face the music. The chrome-armored captain marched through the halls until she approached a dark purple fluorescent set of doors. She stared at them for a moment or two, until she finally got the courage to face her leader. Inside, there were a few dark purple lights, with only a few standard white lights to brighten the room. Everything else was either black, gray, or white, as the standard for the military operation that the Empire strived as. It almost looked empty, until the shadow of a helmeted figure was visible, thanks to the lightning flashes coming from the outside of the fortress. Captain Phasma right away moved herself down on one knee, as to properly address her leader with the most respect. “Stand on your feet, Captain. You are not the Sisters, you are not required to take a knee.” Quickly she corrected herself and got back up, standing straight like any military leader. “Yes, Lord Midnight.” The dark mistress of the Empire herself slowly turned around, facing the captain of the Midnight Trooper Corps. Her right hand whirred as she stretched her fingers. “Well Phasma. Do you have any excuse for your failure?” The captain lowered her head. “I have none, mistress. We failed to stop the Rebels from escaping, and only two ships escaped the fight; the Ghost crew and a remaining Rebel force. And the Inquisitors failed in capturing the one who escaped with the plans.” Midnight’s breathing echoed in the room as she let Phasma talk. “I see.” “I have no excuse for my failure, Lord Midnight. If you must execute me, I understand the consequences.” Darth Midnight’s heeled boots stomped down the steps from her window, and she stood in front of Phasma, towering her in size. It didn’t even matter if she wore boots or not, she was still taller in comparison. Midnight’s hand slowly slipped under Phasma’s helmet, enticing her to raise her head up to stare Midnight deep in the scary eyes hidden behind a mask. “You failed. Yet I sense there is something else you are not telling me. I can feel you trembling in my presence.” Phasma corrected her stature and replied, “We did notice something during this fight. Surveillance reported an astromech unit escaped in a single long-distance pod from the fight, and one of the last things we saw was one of them passing off the data to the droid.” “Who is this astromech unit?” Phasma was confused. “Mistress, it’s one astromech are you sure—” Midnight silently glared under the helmet. Right away, Phasma understood and cleared her throat, and checked her data pad, “We’ve identified the astromech as a C1 unit. We cross-referenced the data to any fugitives and any remaining C1 unit droids, but this one does not have any connections to Unit C1-10P, or Unit CH-33P who was missing in action during the Clone Wars. However, after a search from the old Republic archives, we narrowed down the serial number as SP-1K.” A profile picture of the astromech came into view on a hologram, and Midnight stared at it, intensely. “I haven’t seen this astromech in a long time… where did he leave?” “I tracked the astromech to Tatooine. But unfortunately it had help from some Rebel fugitives, and they escaped. We cross-referenced every make and model on the freighter, but we cannot seem to find it. It appears to be custom-made.” Phasma then pressed another button, showing a picture taken of the Sweetie Drop as it took off to the skies. “The only other information that appears to be relevant is that SP-1K escaped onto the vessel, along with two Jedi fugitives.” “Jedi? Who?” Midnight questioned. “The old Republic files mark them as Jedi Masters Applejack and Rainbow Dash.” Both of their identification pictures appeared on the holopad, with Phasma flipping through both pictures to show. “So it is true then. Sunset Shimmer is not the last Jedi. This certainly makes things… interesting.” Phasma cleared her throat. "Shall I send every available fighters and starcraft to find them?" "No," Midnight said, raising her hand up. "By the time we look for them, they will have already gotten the plans to the Rebellion. They'll no doubt be making a plan to strike at our project. And when they do, we will be ready. Send four available factions to the project site, and inform Commander Dust. We will need some Mandalorian assistance." "Yes, Lady Midnight," Phasma nodded before walking away to perform her assignment.