//------------------------------// // Chapter 44 // Story: Star Wars Jedi Lyra: The Search // by currentlemon //------------------------------// It was the duty of the Equestrian Royal Guard to protect their homeland no matter the cost. Sweetie Drops knew this. It had been ingrained in her since the day she swore an oath to Princess Celestia, to her superiors, and to all of Equestria as a whole. So, when the time came to uphold the promise she had made, she immediately sprang into action. No matter how big an obstacle may be, Private Drops would take it head on with no regrets. Or at least that’s how she pictured it in her head. After the Princess had left Macintosh Hills in search of the enemy, the Jedi and Lyra’s crew boarded their ships to follow her. They, including the Princess, did not wish for anypony to get involved in the war whatsoever. But Sweetie did not like that. She did not want to put her faith in a bunch of aliens, despite their goodwill. So, she snuck aboard the Omega, hoping that she could aid in the defense of Equestria. However, her plan was sullied by a certain machine who happened to discover her hiding spot.  At first, Sweetie believed that T3-G4 would turn her in the moment the ship made landfall. But that did not happen. Instead, the droid had used some sort of device to stun her. As a result, she was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. By the time she woke up, Lyra and Chessk had already left the ship. Geefour revealed her location to Hider eventually and was brought before the human. To Sweetie’s surprise, she found herself in space once more. And not only that, she was in the middle of a battlefield. One that no pony had ever seen before.  Sweetie Drops was scared. No, terrified if she were honest with herself. The explosions going off in space. The insane number of spaceships flying about and destroying each other without a single thought. It was a spectacular view, yet terrifying at the same time. “Enjoying the view?” said a voice from her left. Turning her head, she saw Hider fiddling around with his ship’s navigation computer. “Are… are you seriously asking me that?” Sweetie replied in disbelief. “There is a literal war happening right in front of us and out of everything you could’ve said, you asked me that stupid question!” “Hey, you aren’t even supposed to be here right now, Private. You ponies aren’t ready for this sort of battle.” “I wanted to go with Lyra, not stay here. If that stupid droid hadn’t knocked me out cold, I would’ve been on the frontlines fighting alongside her!” “That would’ve been even worse!” countered Hider. “The kid and Chessk will be swarmed by blaster fire and whatever the Mandalorians have in store for them. You on the other hand would only be a liability to them and the rest of our forces. If anything, they’d probably hand you over to your Princess the moment they saw you.” “But I wanted to protect my country!”  “That’s fine and all, but this fight is bigger than you, Private. Way bigger than any of you ponies have ever seen.” Hider paused for a brief moment as he pointed his finger directly at the battle in front of them. “See those starfighters there. Those ships have one purpose, and it’s to destroy. Whether it be towns, cities, or other spaceships, that is their only purpose. Heck, two clean shots from a starship’s turbo cannon can easily destroy my baby if I’m not careful.” Sweetie flinched. Sweet Celestia, he was joking, right? That had to be a joke. “Judging by your reaction, you’re probably not sure if I’m being serious or not.” Hider sighed. He extended his right arm below the navigation computer and opened a container of some sort. Reaching inside, he pulled out a strange device that looked familiar to the one he wore on his head. He then threw it over to Sweetie who immediately caught it with her hooves. “Hear, wear this.” “What is it?” Sweetie asked. “A headset. With it, you can listen in to the conversations I’m having with Red Squadron during the skirmish. Just wear it on your head and place the earbuds over your ears. Don’t worry, they ain’t gonna hear you. The mic is muted.” Sweetie nodded and did what she was told. In truth, she wasn’t sure why a “headset” is needed at all or how listening to his conversation with this “Red Squadron” will prove his point. When she placed the device over her head, however, she nearly fell off her seat as she heard multiple voices from the earmuffs. “Red Squadron, this is Fleet Admiral Saul Karath. Are you all ready to engage, over?” “Fleet Admiral, this is Red Leader Burke, speaking! Red Squadron, report in!” “Staff Sergeant Dabrato here. I’m ready!” “Senior Airman Zeck Ne, reporting for duty!” “Airman First Class Heidi here. All systems are good to go!” “Airman First Class Ersha speaking. I’m ready to kick some Mando but!” “This is Captain Hider Louhun speaking. The Omega is green and ready for action!” Hider exclaimed. “Good,” said the Fleet Admiral on the other line. “Red Squadron, your mission is to destroy the gun turrets that are mounted on those remaining flagships. Once they are gone, our bombers will clean up and destroy the enemy flagship.” “Sir, Staff Sergeant Dabrato speaking. Are you sure it is wise to put Captain Hider Louhun on our squad? No offense, but the man isn’t even part of the Republic Navy anymore. Not to mention he has not received any military training for some time. “Captain Louhun will be fine, Staff Sergeant. He may not look like it, but he is an excellent pilot. With his help, you should be able to complete your mission quickly.” “Sir I hope you are right. Red leader, shall we begin the assault?” “Of course. Red Squadron form up and follow me. We will begin our attack against the Mandalorian fleet! Captain Louhun, fly your ship behind our formation. We’ll need you to watch our back and take down any ship that tries to attack us directly.” “Oh, you want me to blast away the guys who get in our way, eh? Great! I’ll do it! Just try not to break your formation, alright. The last thing any of us want is to save some imbecile who decided to fly off on their own,” said Hider. “That’s rich coming from a guy who went AWOL on their military training and became a common criminal instead,” rebuked Sweetie Drops. “Shut up, Private Candy.” “Captain Louhun, who are you talking to?” asked Red Leader. “No one, sir. Let’s begin the assault.” Sweetie sat back and watched as the five ships in front of the Omega began to move. They disappeared from view in a matter of seconds, but Hider matched their speed rather quickly and was able to keep up with them. Private Drops was in awe. Not just with Hider’s flying abilities, but also how Red Squadron managed to pilot their ships. Their flight formation was akin to the V-formation that the Wonderbolts used. One flier was out in front, leading the team into dangerous territory while the others covered their leader’s left and right flank.  Hider did not follow their formation, however. Instead, he trailed the Red Squadron from the rear and kept a safe distance between himself and the squad leader. Suddenly, a loud static noise erupted into Sweetie’s ears. She winced as she heard the voice of Red Leader on the headset’s earmuffs. “Heads up, Red Squadron. We are entering into the warzone now,” he warned. “Remember, our mission. Destroy the gun turrets on the enemy flagships so our bombers can clean up the mess after.” “You really don’t have to repeat the order, Red Leader. We got them a couple of minutes ago,” said Hider bluntly. “It is the duty of a squad leader to make sure that their entire team is ready for action, Louhun. My words may be a bit redundant, yes, but I say this to keep my squad in check.” Hider shrugged. “If you say so, Red Leader. Just make sure you don’t die on us.” “I’d say the same thing can be said about you, Captain. What, you think that hunk of junk will be able to keep up with our ships?” “Oh, is that a challenge I hear, Red Leader? Well then, I accept! Whoever shoots down the most starfighters by the end of our mission will be treated to a drink. Loser pays the tab.” “Challenge accepted.” Sweetie’s jaw slacked. “Are… are you two serious right now? Why in Equestria are the two of you competing with one another? We’re in the middle of a war right now!” she shouted. “I heard yelling on the other line. Captain Louhun, was that you?” “No, Red Leader, it was nothing. Nothing but my conscious speaking out loud,” Hider replied. His apathetic response only irritated Sweetie even further. With her anger reaching a boiling point, she was about to explode and lash out at the human; however, she was stopped when a large explosion caused the ship to tumble. Sweetie yelped. It all happened so fast. Almost as if she were riding a roller coaster in Las Pegasus. If not for the seatbelt she was wearing, she would’ve fallen off of her chair. Yet despite the fear growing inside her, the Private asked her pilot what was happening. She got her answer, however, the moment she looked out the cockpit window. Her jaw slacked once more as she witnessed the absolute chaos happening outside. So many explosions. So many warships. The sheer amount of destruction going on was phenomenal, yet eye opening. As terrified as she was, Sweetie could not help but feel amazed at the spectacle in front of her. In Equestrian history, and perhaps all written history in her world, all warfare was done on the ground with soldiers duking it out on both sides. Aside from the Pegasi and the Griffons, nopony really understood aerial warfare back home. Ponies had airships, yes, but those things paled in comparison to the warships she’d seen. Even the fastest Pegasi and Griffons in Equestria can’t hope to match those things. No wonder that Lyra was so worried. Despite her ties to the Jedi and their philosophy, the mare truly cared for her home. If it weren’t for her and the Republic, Equestria would’ve been destroyed by now. Suddenly, a streak of red lasers could be seen just outside the cockpit window. Sweetie jumped. Those lasers came out of nowhere. They had missed their mark, but the sight of those things left the Private more terrified than before. It was at that moment she heard Red Leader Burke over her headset again. “Heads up. We got some fighters on our tail!” he warned. “I… can’t tell how many are there. Can anybody see who is tailing us?” “I can,” Hider answered as he pointed his finger on a device directly on his navigation computer in an attempt to show Sweetie how his ship worked. “It’s a squad made up of five starships. They’re right above us.” “Ugh, seriously? But we’re so close to the starship,” said another voice on the headset. “Red Leader, what do we do?” “We need to shake them off! Split up, but don’t fly too far away from our position. Hider, I trust that you can watch our backs?” “Way ahead of you, Red Leader,” Hider replied as a smirk grew on his lips. He quickly pulled his steering wheel back, causing his ship to suddenly jerk upward.  “Sweet Celestia!” Sweetie shrieked. For a split second, she found herself upside down before the ship slowly reverted back to its normal position. “D-don’t you dare do that again, you hear! Good gracious, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”  “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with what I did, okay. Lots of pilots use somersaults as an evasive maneuver. You’re probably not used to it because you never experienced anything like this before,” Hider countered. “Besides, how else am I going to get around those starships?” “I don’t know! Fly like a normal person!”  Sweetie groaned. She really wanted to berate the human for his uncaring attitude, but before she could continue her shouting, the sound of lasers firing again made her believe that the ship was being attacked again. Terrified, she held onto her seat for dear life, but to her surprise, nothing happened. “What… what’s going on?” she asked. “Take a good look in front of you, Private Candy.” Hider replied.  Sweetie did what she was told and looked outside. She then saw it. A single starship being chased down. It didn’t look like an allied ship. The coloring of its metal plating was different to the ones Red Squadron flew. “Come on. Hold still ya stupid Mandalorian,” Hider said out loud.  It was at that exact moment that a single-clicking sound could be heard from the navigation computer. When that happened, the Captain grinned as he pressed two buttons on his steering wheel. Suddenly, Sweetie spotted two laser beams appearing in front of the ship again. Only this time, she quickly determined that the lasers came directly from the Omega. The Private watched as the lasers from Hider’s ship tore through the enemy starship, destroying it completely. A spectacular sight that left the mare awestruck. “Just two shots,” she muttered in fear. “Just two shots and that ship exploded.” “Yup. My baby here packs quite the punch, doesn’t she?” Hider replied. “Though I have to admit, some of that is in large part of the tin can. Not sure how the droid did it or when it happened, but it managed to fix and improve my baby’s laser cannons.” “The pilot… the pilot is dead, isn’t he?” “Yup.” “I… thought as much.” “Hey, what’s with the change in attitude all of a sudden? Are you okay?” “No, Hider, I… I’m not. It’s just that, everything is happening so fast. This war wasn’t anything like I’d imagined it to be. I can barely keep up with it all.” “Well, I told you so, Private Candy. Fights like these happen all around the galaxy. Granted, they aren’t as large as the one we are fighting in right now, but they do happen. And believe me, the casualties of these wars are pretty costly.” “I can only imagine,” Sweetie replied, solemnly as she stared at the now destroyed starfighter one last time. She closed her eyes and offered a small prayer for the pilot of the ship, hoping that they could find some peace in the afterlife. But just as she finished her prayer, a loud bang can be heard from within the cockpit. Then the ship itself began to sway violently. “What in Equestria was that?” “Damn. That was definitely a turbo laser we felt just now,” said Hider rather calmly. “Looks like someone is trying to shoot us down.” “What?” Sweetie shouted just as another bang could be heard. Panicked, she clung onto her seat for dear life. “Do something you idiot!” “Way ahead of you, Private Candy,” Hider replied. He jerked the steering wheel to his right, causing the ship to make a sharp turn rightward. This made Sweetie yelp as she felt the ship violently shake back and forth. “Hang on. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” “Trust me. We’ll get these guys off our backs soon enough,” Hider shouted just as another bang could be heard from within the cockpit. “Unless your plan involves getting the ship hit by lasers multiple times, it’s not a very good one!” Sweetie yelled out. “Come on, Hider. You’re a skilled pilot. Don’t you have any more tricks up your sleeve?” “No, I don’t. You see, I’m just stalling.” “Stalling?” Suddenly, an explosion was heard by both passengers. It happened so fast. The noise was so loud that Sweetie clung to her seat’s armchairs out of fear. “Oh sweet Celestia. Did they manage to damage the ship?” she asked. Her answer, however, came directly from her headset as a familiar voice echoed from within the earbuds. “Red Leader to Captain Louhun, come in! Are you alright?” “I’m fine, Red Leader. Aside from a few scratches, there ain’t nothing my baby can handle,” Hider replied into his microphone. “Though you did take your sweet time to save me.” “Sorry, Captain Louhun. I got a bit tangled up with one of my own. Mandalorian bastards somehow managed to get behind her. She’s safe by the way if you are wondering.” “And your kill count? How many ships were you able to take down while we were separated? I got one by the way.” “Three for me, actually. There were two enemy flagships on your tail, and I managed to destroy them both.” Sweetie blinked in surprise as Hider let out a loud groan. She had not expected reinforcements to come one such short notice. Was that why Hider acted so calm during that enemy encounter?  “Dang. Not bad, Red Leader. But don’t think our little contest is done yet. By the time we’re done here, you are going to owe me that drink!” Hider said to Red Leader into his microphone. “Speaking of spaceships, it looks like the way to the enemy flagship is clear. Are we starting our assault now?” “Yes, of course. Form up, Red Squadron. We’ve got some gun turrets to destroy.” “Wow. You too seem to be getting along well, despite the silly competition you’re doing,” said Sweetie Drops. “The guy knows when to have fun. I can respect that,” replied Hider. “But this is war, Hider. You can’t just fiddle around with your allies like that.” “If it means taking our minds away from the possibility that we’ll get shot down at any moment, I’ll gladly fiddle around with my allies. By the way, we’re close to the enemy starship now. You can see it right there out of the window.” Sweetie did what she was told and, to her surprise, saw that the Mandalorian flagship was close. Way closer than she expected. Hider and the rest of Red Squadron had flown so fast that they reached their target in a matter of minutes. And as they drew closer to their target, she could see a barrage of lasers flying straight toward them. Seeing this terrified the Private, but Hider’s quick thinking made it a smooth flight, aside from the occasional barrel rolls. He wasn’t the only one having a relatively smooth flight either. Red Squadron was dodging the lasers with relative ease. So much so that it appeared that the Mandalorians seem to be missing their mark on purpose.  “Something isn’t right,” Hider said. “This… this is all too easy. There’s no way that the Mandalorians would be this careless with their aim nor could I dodge their laser fire at such a short notice.” “Maybe the Mandalorians are just bad at their jobs,” Sweetie suggested. “No, it can’t be as simple as that. The Mandalorians are bloodthirsty warriors, always training for the next fight.” “Then what is it?” It was at that moment when Red Leader spoke up. “You can thank the Jedi Master onboard the Sunrider for everything, Louhun. According to the Fleet Admiral, he’s using a Jedi technique that is boasting the capabilities of our forces. I don’t know the exact details myself, but since you know that Jedi, you probably ask him once we are done here.” “Hey, wait a second. Didn’t Lyra say her teacher would play a part in this war somehow?” Sweetie asked. Her curiosity peaked when the Jedi was briefly mentioned. She looked to Hider for answers, but he was just as clueless as her. “Don’t look at me. I have no idea what’s going on. Would’ve been helpful if she actually explained everything instead of leaving us in the dark, but I guess the Jedi have their secrets.” Hider shook his head and groaned which immediately caught Sweetie’s attention. “Hey, are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t like it when people keep secrets from me,” Hider replied earnestly which only piqued Sweetie’s curiosity even more. There was so much animosity in his voice that it caught the mare off guard. By why did he act like this? Sure, Lyra kept valuable information hidden from the both of them, this did not seem like a big deal. The mare did tell them that her Jedi trainer was gonna help the fleet somehow. Sweetie wondered if it had anything to do with his past. After all, he did work for a criminal organization at one point. His dealings with petty criminals surely must’ve irked him at some point in his career. She wanted to press him a bit for more answers, but Red Leader interrupted her. “Heads up, Red Squadron. We’re just a few kilometers away from the Mandalorian flagship. Stay alert and watch out for laser fire.” “Sir, yes sir,” Hider said into his microphone. The venom that he had in his voice earlier had all but vanished. “Do you have any idea where we should strike?” “The Admiral determined that the best course of action is to target the flagship’s upper exterior. My guess is that their hyperdrive is located somewhere there. Should our bombers hit that portion of the ship, it’ll likely cause a chain reaction that will either destroy or disable the entire ship. The problem is those laser turrets though. We’ll have to clear ‘em out for our bombers first.” “Sounds easy enough. I already have a visual on their laser turrets. Just say the word and I’ll go and swoop in and play my part.” “I see ‘em as well, Captain. Red Squadron, are you all ready to begin our assault?” “I’m ready as I’ll ever be, Red Leader.” “As am I. Let’s take the fight to them.” “Finally! I’m sick of all this do-nothing flying. At least now I can actually shoot something.” “Wanting payback already, Heidi? Well, you can count me in! Those Mandalorian bastards are going to pay in blood for nearly shooting you down earlier!” “Wow, they seem way too eager to get this mission done,” said Sweetie Drops. “Well, you can’t blame them. It’s not every day where you are assigned a mission to blow stuff up. Heck, It wouldn’t surprise me if the bomber unit acted this way too. The only difference is, they constantly blow stuff up on a regular basis,” Hider replied. “That's disturbing.” “Now you’re beginning to see why I left the Navy all those years ago. Anyways, you better hold on tight, Private Candy. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.” Not bothering to ask what he meant, Sweetie did what she was told and clung onto her chair as she felt the Omega slowly began to pick up the pace. She saw the ships of Red Squadron picked up in speed as well as they dove headfirst into enemy fire. The Omega followed suit, matching the speed of the other ships with relative ease. Pretty soon, all of Red Squadron were flying right above the enemy flagship. It had all happened so fast. So much so that Sweetie could not even tell what was happening. Even so, she felt the adrenaline of it all. The high-paced flying. The big laser beams that came right at them. It felt exhilarating, even though she wasn't taking part in the fight. Suddenly, she saw them. The big gun turrets on the flagship that needed to be destroyed. Sweetie tried to ask Hider what he was going to do, but her answer quickly came in the form of laser fire. Dozens of them to be exact. Red Squadron didn’t exactly hold back as they bombarded the flagship with their own lasers.  Soon, all of the gun turrets that Sweetie saw were destroyed; and to her surprise, Hider and the rest of Red Squadron immediately flew away from the vicinity. “Hey, where are we going?” Sweetie asked. “Where else but to fly away from it all,” replied Hider. “Private Candy, the gun turrets are destroyed. Our job is finished. All we have to do now is wait for our bombers to do their thing. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is to stay within the radius of a destroyed spaceship. Especially one that’s as big as that one.” “But isn’t there anything more that you can do?” “Of course. Just sit back and watch the enemy flagship go boom.” “Excuse me?” It was at this point the Omega, and the rest of the ships from Red Squadron, took a sharp turn to the left. Sweetie looked out the window again and, to her surprise, saw no other ships within their vicinity. They had flown so fast in such a short amount of time that they had completely left the battlefield. The only thing Sweetie could see was a now burning spaceship in the distance.    “Hey, Red Leader. Did the bombers manage to attack the enemy ship yet?” Hider asked into his microphone. “I believe so, yes. I mean, why else would we fly away from all the fighting?” “If that’s the case, why haven’t we seen any explosions yet?” Sweetie blinked. “Wait, explosions?” she muttered in confusion. She wanted to ask Hider what he meant, but her answer quickly came when a large explosion had suddenly appeared. Though she couldn’t hear the explosion herself, seeing it occur startled the Private as the seemingly mighty Mandalorian flagship was torn apart by fire.  The Private gulped. Space combat was terrifying, sure, but witnessing the utter annihilation of a spacecraft was a completely different thing of itself. Before she was seeing fireworks, now she was seeing what was equivalent to a magical bomb.  “There’s.... there are still people inside that ship,” Sweetie stuttered. “That’s the price of war, Private Candy. You destroy a ship like that, all of its crewmates are likely dead,” Hider replied. “Try not to overthink it, alright? Those people inside that ship had intended to invade your planet.” Sweetie silently nodded her head. Though Hider’s words were harsh, he spoke the truth. These Mandalorians had planned on invading Equestria. If the destruction of their flagship and the death of its crewmates meant that her home will be safe, then that is for the best.  At the very least she can offer the crewmates a silent prayer. Just as the Private finished her prayers, a loud beeping noise came directly from the navigation computer. She didn’t know what it was, but her answer came in the form of two large Mandalorian flagships dropping out of hyperspace. “Uh oh. Reinforcements,” said Sweetie. “I see that, Private Candy,” replied Hider as he pressed a button on his headset. “Are you seeing this, Red Leader?” “Yeah, I do. Looks like we got our work cut out for us.” “Should we wait for orders from my uncle before moving out?” “There’s no need. We’ll just follow the same plan as before. Clear out the gun turrets on the enemy flagship and let out bombers do their thing. Come on, Red Squadron. Let’s move o—” The man on the other line never completed his sentence. He simply couldn’t when a large blue beam struck the left wing of his ship. Though Hider and the rest of Red Squadron survived, Red Leader perished as a fiery explosion engulfed his starfighter. And as the fire settled down, the only thing Red Squadron could see was a big bright blue moon.