It’s been a couple weeks since we helped the Republic rescue Jabba. Since then, we’ve been transporting supplies to neutral worlds. Now that we’ve saved up enough credits, we traveled to a Atlas Corporation shipyard orbiting a mining planet to give the Friendship a much needed upgrade. After what happened on Christophsis, I talked to Twilight and Rainbow Dash what kind of armaments we can attach to our ship. We brainstormed some ideas, and settled on a powerful ion cannon. That way, if we ever have to fight a CIS ship, we could easily disable it.
As we were waiting for our ship’s retrofit, we discussed plans on rebuilding Rainbow Dash’s starfighter in the lounge area. We drew up a design on what her new starfighter would look like. After working on it designs for a couple hours, we finally completed the schematic.
“So, what do you think Rainbow Dash? Do you like it?” I asked her.
“Like it? I love it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “This will be the most awesome starfighter in the whole galaxy!” She said giddily. I have to admit, she’s really cute when she’s like this.
“Hey, honey.” I heard a familiar female voice. I turned around to see a woman wearing a grey Atlas uniform. She has black hair and blue eyes.
“Mom!” I exclaimed as I got up from my seat and gave her a big hug. “What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I was discussing with some of my construction workers on a starship we’re building here. And I heard that you all were retrofitting the Friendship.” Mom said as we let go of the hug.
“Not only that, but we design a new starfighter to replace my old one.” Rainbow Dash said, excited to get her new starfighter built.
My mom seemed really interested in this. “Really? Mind if I take a look?” She asked. Twilight nodded and showed her the tablet which we drew our ship design on. Mom studied the tablet and smiled. Impressed, she smiled at our designs. “Not bad, everyone. It’ll definitely be an formidable starfighter.”
“Congratulate, Aegis. He’s the one who designed most of it.” Applejack said, slapping my back.
Mom laughed a little. “Then it looks like your brother has some competition.” She replied, knowing some of the impressive designs Leo made. Mom sat down with us as we talked a bit. During our conversation, my comm wrist started beeping.
“Everyone, the ship’s retrofitting is close to completion, but we have an urgent call from General Richard.” Oracle told us. Dad? I wonder what’s urgent.
“Alright, Oracle. Can you patch it through Owl?” I asked. Hearing his name, Owl jump on the table and beeped happily.
“Give me a moment.” Oracle replied. Right after she said that, Owl projected a small hologram of my dad on the table.
“Thank you for picking up, oh… hello dear.” Richard said once he noticed his wife next to me.
“Hello Richard.” Eliza responded smiling at her husband. “Is there a problem?”
Richard sighed in response. “I’m afraid so. During the early days of the war, multiple planets asked for our help training their security forces, to which we obliged. But a couple days ago, the CIS laughed an attack on Ryloth, trapping some of our soldiers. Some of which are from Leo’s Platoon.”
“My brother’s platoon??” I asked. As far as I know, Spartan’s don’t have platoons.
“He didn’t tell you?” My mom asked me, to which I shook my head. “A couple weeks ago, when the CIS attacked one of our colony worlds, Leo rallied scattered Militia soldiers and led a counter attack. After they pushed the CIS off the planet, the soldiers Leo rallied decided to stick together, forming the 141 Platoon.” She explained.
I blinked in surprise. 141 is my brothers Spartan identification number. Not only that, 141 is the same number of the task force from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I still wonder how Leo reacted when he received that number.
“So do you want us evacuate them?” Twilight asked them.
Richard shook his head. “Only if they wish to. But knowing them, they’ll want to stay and help the Twi'leks. And a militia soldier’s duty is to protect civilians, so it would be insulting of them to leave. However, I want you and your friends to break through the CIS blockade and transport food and medical supplies to the Twi'leks. If there are any civilians that want to evacuate, you all can take them to the refugee planet of Haven.” He told us.
My mom next to me hummed in thought. “We can give you those supplies here on the station. But you might also want to take some of our mechanized infantry.”
“Thank you, Mom. That’ll save us some time.” I said before looking at my dad’s hologram. “We’ll take the job, Dad. As soon as our ship’s retrofitting is done, we’ll leave immediately.” I told him, with my friends agreeing to me.
My dad smiled. “Thank you, Aegis. I know they’ll be grateful for the help.” He told us before hanging up.
“Oracle, how much time until the retrofitting is done?” Twilight asked her.
Oracle took a second to calculate. “Estimated time is about one hour. The cannon is attached to the ship, but it needs calibrating and connecting it to our firing systems.” She answered.
Sunset took a moment to think. “Twilight and I should be able to finish up the calibrations on our way there.” She told us.
“Alright then, I’ll have some of the workers and droids help load the supplies so you can leave as soon as possible.” Mom told us
“Then what are we waiting on? Let’s get going.” Rainbow Dash urged us. We all agreed and headed out for our ship.
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After the Friendship and was loaded up with supplies, we headed straight for Ryloth. Along with the supplies, Mom gave us a fifty C6 droids, three C12s, four claw droids, and a dozen of aerial assault droids. All of which are based from the Call of Duty Universe. While I was all for bringing food and supplies to the Twi'lek’s, a part of me was worried about the weapons. Sure they’ll help the people of Ryloth, but I’m worried about us becoming arms dealers.
I was in the cockpit with Rainbow Dash as we traveled through hyperspace. “Rainbow Dash, we’ll be exiting hyperspace in 10 seconds.” Oracle told us.
“Thank’s oracle, let's hope we made it on time.” Rainbow Dash said as we exited hyperspace.
To our horror, it was as bad as we imagined. All but two of the Republic Venators were completely destroyed, with one of them just exploded. The CIS Munificent class frigates move in on the kill on the last Venator.
Quickly, I tapped on the ship’s intercom. “Sunset, Twilight. Is the cannon ready yet?” I asked.
“Yeah, just finished adjusting the firing mechanism. We can fire at anytime.” Sunset radioed back.
“Then let’s show ‘em our new teeth.” Rainbow Dash said confidently as she readied to fire our new cannons.
I looked at the ships heading for the Venator and saw two roughly right next to each other. “Rainbow Dash, target that Munificent frigate. If we can disable that ship, it’ll ram right into the one next to it.” I told her.
“Got it. Targeting.” Rainbow Dash said as she lined the ship towards the frigate. Once she has line of sight, Rainbow pulled the trigger, firing a beam of electrical energy at the CIS ship. The energy caused the ship’s lights to go dark as it drifted towards it’s neighboring frigate. Looking at the beam of electrical light, it was much stronger that I thought. I was expecting the ion cannons to fire bolts instead of a beam.
Just as I was amazed by our new cannon, all of our lights started flickering on and off. “WARNING! MASSIVE POWER LOSS. SWITCHING TO EMERGENCY BACK UP GENERATORS.” Oracle said throughout the cockpit. The light’s flickered on and off a couple more times before it stopped.
“Oracle what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Our ship's power was almost drained when the ion cannon. I’m afraid there was a malfunction somewhere in the gun room.” Oracle explained.
Rainbow Dash and I were horrified this happened. Did something go wrong when Sunset and Twilight were finishing up the calibrations. “How much power do we have yet?” I asked.
“With the emergency generators, about 13% remaining. The hyperdrive is offline. I advice we land planet side immediately and begin repairs.” Oracle told us.
“Okay. Rainbow Dash, get us to Ryloth. Oracle, shut down all non essential systems. I’m gonna try contacting that Republic ship.” I said as the CIS ship we fired on crashed right into the one next to it. The lights around us went off as the emergency red lights turned on.
I attempted to contact the Republic ship on my console and a voice of a clone trooper came through. “Incoming ship, identify yourself.”
“This is Aegis Skiritai of the Friendship. We're here to help but our ship is running on emergency power. We have food and medical supplies for the people of Ryloth.” I told the clone.
After a few seconds a different, a new voice came through. “This is Admiral Dao. Thank you for your help, but I’m afraid that my ship has taken considerable damage. I have to order a complete evacuation.”
So we only barely saved them in time. “Understood Admiral, be safe.” I said as I hung up.
Rainbow Dash flew us past the Venator destroyer as I saw escape pods launching out. Fortunately, the CIS fleet hasn’t sent out vulture droids after us. Perhaps that ship we destroyed had the tactical droid aboard, crippling their command . Rainbow Dash flew us through Ryloth’s atmosphere.
Just then, Twilight and Sunset ran into the cockpit panting. “Aegis, we’re so sorry!” Twilight apologized franticly.
“What happened with the cannon?” I asked them.
“I’m not sure. Maybe we calibrated the cannon wrong.” Sunset said regretful.
“Aegis. I’m detecting multiple battle droids approaching the landing coordinates. I calculate the ally lines will collapse soon.” Oracle informed us.
“Is there anything we can do? Maybe launch an aerial strike at the droids.” I suggested.
“Affirmative, but with little power remaining. We only have enough for one pass.” Oracle said.
“That’ll have to do then. I’m arming the cannons and missiles.” Rainbow Dash said.
The Friendship flew down toward the surface, where we could see a battalion of droids and tanks marching toward the Republic defenses. The defensive line were stationed near the entrance of a rock valley. From the look of it, the Republic and militia were outnumbered four to one. Despite their best effort, it's defenses were close to getting overrun.
I got on the comms and switched to an open frequency. “To all Republic and Militia Forces, air strike inbound. Get your heads down!” I warned them.
“Targets locked, firing.” Rainbow Dash said, letting loose the Friendship’s weapons. Plasma bolts and missiles landed across the droid’s battle line as we flew over them. Our flyover attack stalled the entire droid forces.
“43% of the droid battalion eliminated, but I advice immediate landing.” Oracle told us.
“Got it, Oracle. Looks like there’s an open area where we could land.” Rainbow Dash Said as she flew the ship through the valley.
I got up and turned to Sunset and Twilight. “Can you two head to the engine room and see what you can do. The rest of us will help the Militia and Republic however we can.” I told them.
Both of them nodded. “Of course, Aegis. I promise we’ll fix this.” Twilight said as she and Sunset walked out of the cockpit. Rainbow Dash landed the ship in the narrow valley just wide enough for us.
“Great flying, Dash.” I congratulated. There's not many pilots in the galaxy who could have gotten us through that.
“Well what you expect. I am the best flyer in the Frontier.” Rainbow Dash said cockily.
“Aegis, there is about 12% remaining. Unless Twilight and Sunset finds a way to restore the ship, we will not be able to leave.” Oracle told us.
“Don’t worry, Oracle. I’m sure Twilight and Sunset will figure something out. In the meantime, let’s get the supplies out. Force knows we'll need it.” I said as we headed toward the hanger.
With most of the power out, the elevator was offline, So we had to take the emergency ladder in. It was different than last time I tried going down the ladder. It was roughly difficult to find our footing because of how dark it was. Once we got down, the rest of our friends were already waiting for us.
“Aegis, dear. Oracle told us what happened. Is there anything we can do?” Rarity asked.
“Twilight and Sunset are working on it as we speak, in the meantime. We have to get these supplies off.” I told them. They nodded in agreement.
"Okie dokie." Pinkie Pie opened up the hanger doors.
As the doors lowered the to the ground, we began bringing the supplies. Once outside, some of the clones, militia soldiers and Twi'leks came forward to help carry the supplies. One of the Twi'leks with green skin and orange eyes walked up to me along with a male Kajain’sa’Nikto, whom I recognized was a Jedi General. The Jedi General had scaly orange skin with spikes around the side of his face and has blue eyes.
“I assume your Skiritai?” The Jedi asked.
“I am.” I replied as I carried a crate of medicine. The Twi’lek and Jedi l walked with me.
“I’m General Syndulla. And this is General Di. Thank you for bringing these supplies. With the CIS orbiting Ryloth, I was worried you wouldn't.” Syndulla said.
I sat the crate down and turned toward the Twi’lek general. “I’m just glad we made it here in time. But I’m afraid we can’t use our ship for a while.” I told him.
Syndulla and Di blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?” The Jedi general asked, both of them wondering what the problem could be.
“Recently, we installed an ion cannon onto our ship, but when we fired it on a CIS ship, the discharge partially effected our ship as well. Honestly, it’s a miracle our emergency generators still function after that.” I told him. Syndulla grew even more worried by this. He knew without our ship for air support, we wouldn’t last long. Just then, I noticed Applejack activating the mechanized infantry we brought along. “At least the Militia robots we brought with us still function.” I said as the C12s walked down the ramp with aerial droids hovering over them.
“You’ve brought machines with you as well?” Syndulla asked surprised. It was the first time he’s seen Militia droids before.
“Well, we heard you all were under attack, so we thought those could help.” I told them when I noticed a clone trooper with brown markings on his armor and a blue skin Twi’lek running up to us. This clone trooper had brown markings on his armor.
“General Di, droid reinforcements showed up and the right flank has collapsed. The droids will be closing in on our position.” The clone told him. With the Republic fleet shattered, there's nothing stopping the CIS from sending the rest of it's droids down.
“What about reinforcements?” Syndulla asked.
“Communication has been spotty. I promise you Cham, the Republic will not abandon Ryloth.” Di assured him. Synbulla on the other hand wasn’t having it.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Master Di. When we entered Ryloth, the last Venator was destroyed. Luckily, the ship was evacuated before the it exploded." I told them.
With no reinforcements coming, the Twi'lek general looked angrily at Di. “I’ve heard enough of your promises, Jedi. The fact remains, if we stay here without more reinforcements. We’re all going to die.” Syndulla said angrily. “Gobi, tell the people we’re leaving.” He ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Gobi complied.
“I don’t think you understand. The right flank has collapsed. There’s no leaving. We’re stuck here together.” The clone told them. Syndulla shook his head frustrated and walked away with gobi. I can sense he feels abandoned by the Republic.
General Di looked at the droid infantry we brought along. “Aegis, can you have the militia droids march to the battle lines. They can stall the Separatists long enough for us to regroup our forces.” He told me.
“Understood. But with that many droids, they can only hold them off for so long.” I told them before running over the militia droids. Hopefully, Twilight and Sunset can fix the Friendship soon.
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I ordered them to militia droids to cover the remaining friendly force to cover their retreats. All the Twi’leks were getting ready to leave. By now the militia droids should be holding off the droids so the frontline soldiers can fall back. My friends and I got out the hover platforms so the Twi’leks can leave with the supplies we brought with ease. Some of the Twi’leks took what they could carry and tied them onto the beast they ride on.
“Any chance we can get out of here, Aegis?” Applejack asked me as we were placing the supplies on the hover platform.
I thought about it before answering. “I’m not sure. All we can do now is have faith that Twilight and Sunset can repair the ship.” I replied. As we finished loading the last of the supplies on the hover platform, one of the clone troopers walked up to me.
“Everyone, General Di requests your presence.” The clone trooper told us.
“Alrighty, just give us a few seconds.” Applejack said as she picks up a stack of three heavy crates with ease using her Force Strength and placed them on the hover platform, leaving the clone an other passing Twi’leks astonished. “Now we can go.” She said. My friends and I noticed everyone’s shocked look at Applejack’s strength despite her muscle appearance, causing us to laugh a little.
We walked over to an area of the valley with a rock overpass. There, we met up with Jedi General Di and Captain Keeli. The two we talking with General Syndulla and Gobi. As we walked over to them, we could sense the fear the Twi'lek civilians were feeling.
“Thank you all for coming. As soon as the Militia Sergeant and Corporal arrives, I want to discuss our next move. Ah, they comes now.” Di said as we turned to the approaching soldiers. Two militia soldiers came walking up to us. One was a red skin Twi’lek with part of her right leku missing, wielding a SRS 99 Sniper Rifle blaster. She was actually very beautiful. The second soldier however was someone I instantly recognized. He was a dark skin man with black hair, black mustache, and wielding a BR55 battle rifle blaster.
“You must be the kids who brought those ass kicking droids and blew those Separatists tin cans to kingdom come earlier. I’m Sergeant Avery Johnson, and this is Corporal Gorgo Pico.” Sgt. Johnson introduced. It took every ounce of my will power not to get excited to meet my favorite person from the Halo Universe and look weird..
“Thank you for your help. Without those C12s and C6s, we would have never made it out of those trenches.” Gorgo said smiling.
“But of course, we’re just happy to help.” Rarity told them.
“General, after the boys…” Johnson began saying before Gorgo fake coughed. “And girls fell back, I ordered one of the C12s to fall back with us. Figure we could us it’s fire power in the long run.”
Di nodded in approval. “Good thinking, Sergeant.” He said before we all heard a Twi’lek yelling.
“Come on! Hurry, hurry!” One of the Twi’leks told the others. Some of the Twi’leks were already beginning to leave.
"Gosh. I hope they can get away in time." Pinkie Pie said concerned.
The Jedi General looked at the Clone captain.“Captain Keeli, is the gunship ready?” Di asked.
“Yes, sir. But it’s too small to evacuate the refugees.” Keeli told him, gesturing to the gunship. It could only carry about ten people at a time.
“No escape? But our families are with us.” Syndulla told us. He knows that the droids will show no mercy to them.
“And they’ll never outrun the Separatists.” Rainbow Dash added.
“Ah.” Di said out loud holding a wooden stick and begun drawing the valley we were in on the dirt. “If we reconfigure the fuel system, we can turn the ship into a bomb big enough to collapse the pass here. The enemy will then only be able to engage us on one front from this ravine. While we provide cover, the Twi’leks will have time to escape with their families over the mountain.” He explained to us.
“Brilliant strategy, General.” Keeli said before sighing. “I’ll go tell the men.” He said before leaving us. Keeli knew that even if the plan works, it may be their last battle.
As the Clone Captain left, I activated my wrist comm to check on Twilight’s and Sunset’s progress on the ship. “Hey, Twilight. How goes the engines?”
“Aegis, its Sunset. Twilight’s replacing the power conduits around the core. Most of them got overheated from the power drain. It’ll be a while before we cannot our ship on the ground.” Sunset said.
“Alright, keep us posted.” I said before hanging up.
Cham looked discouraged at our situation before sighing. “I must make sure my people leave as soon as possible. I fear what the Separatists will do to them.” He said as he walked off.
We all understood what Cham was feeling. His home planet is about to be taken by a ruthless army of machines, and there’s very little he can do for his people. So far, the Republic and Militia have provided little support for them.
“Pinkie and I are gonna help with the explosives. Maybe even put a torpedo in it.” Applejack told us.
“Thanks, Applejack. In the meantime, we’ll continue helping the Twi’leks evacuate.” I told everyone, which everyone agreed.
As Applejack and Pinkie Pie were helping the clones and militia soldiers with the explosives, my friends and I were assisting the Twi’leks to leave. I was tying some crate to the side of a blurrg, which are large animals with two short stubby arms and two large back legs. However, the animal kept moving around which was making it difficult.
"Come on. hold still." I said as I was having some trouble with the blurrg. Probably should have had Fluttershy help me.
“Need some help?” I heard someone ask behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Corporal Gorgo.
“Um… Sure.” I replied as Gorgo placed her hand on the animal’s side and calmed it down. As I finished securing the crate, I realized something. “Wait, haven’t we met before?”
Gorgo chuckled a little. “I’m surprised you remember. We only met a few time on Equestria during my shore leave.” She said smiling.
“That’s right, I remember my brother saying you two were old friends.” I said, vaguely remembering her.
Gorgo rubbed her hand on the blurrg’s head, much to the animal’s delight. “Yeah, after I was rescued from slavery. I grew up in a orphanage where your brother hung out with us. Honestly, he was the one who helped me come out of my shell so to speak.” She said smiling. It may have just been me, but I could feel that Gorgo has romantic feeling for Leonidas.
“So, if we make it out of here, do you think you and the other militia soldiers stay or return to the Frontier?” I asked.
The sniper paused for moment. “As much as we would like to return, I don’t think any of us would forgive ourselves if leave these people to fend for themselves.” Gorgo answered. I nodded in understanding. The Frontier Militia are lucky to have soldiers like Gorgo. “Well, I better get going. I have to find a good sniping position for the assault.” The Twi’lek said as she walked off.
Noticing all the other Twi’leks starting leave, I walked over to Master Di and Gobi. “Master Di, the remaining Twi’leks are packed up and are evacuating.” I told him.
“Thank you, Aegis.” Di responded as Captain Keeli walked up to us.
“General, we’re loading the rest of the explosives onto the gunship.” Captain Keeli informed the Jedi. I wonder if Pinkie put more fireworks in the explosives like on Christophsis.
“Very good, captain. Ready the men.” Di told him.
“All units, prepare for attack!” Keeli ordered his men as he headed towards them.
Di turned towards Gobi. “We won’t be able to hold off the droids for long. You’ll have to move quickly to get your families out of danger.” He told him as we noticed the Twi’lek looked over to Syndulla. The Twi’lek general was making sure his people were leaving as soon as possible.
“Cham is still angry. He feels betrayed.” Gobi told us.
“We counted on Republic assistance, and it didn’t come. War turns promises into hope. I wish it wasn’t so. Tell him.” Di asked gobi as he shook his hand.
“I will.” Gobi responded before he left with the other remaining Twi’leks.
The Jedi and I walked over to Captain Keeli. “Captain Keeli, tell the pilots to move the gunship into position.” Di ordered him.
“This is command. Are all the charges in place?”
“Copy that. We’re all ready.” The clone pilot radioed.
We looked at the distance where the rigged gunship was placed. After a few moments, a large explosion went off in the valley. Along with the explosions were colorful fireworks. Guess Pinkie couldn't resist putting fireworks in the explosion again. Two of the huge natural rock pillar formations crumbled from the explosion, blocking the entire valley. With the valley closed off, the droids only have on path they could take to reach us.
“That’s our cue. We better get to the pass.” I said to my friends. They all agreed as we all headed toward the pass.
As everyone headed for the pass, my wrist come started beeping. “Aegis, we almost have the ship’s power conduits repaired. As soon as Sunset finishes the last power couplings, we’ll attempt to restart the core.” Twilight radioed.
I sighed in relief at the good news. “Thank’s, Twilight. I’ll let everyone else know. Do you need Rainbow Dash to head back to the ship?” I asked.
“Actually, I has been learning how to fly the ship from Rainbow Dash.” I heard Sunset’s voice. “With Oracle’s help, I can provide aerial support.” She said.
A smile grew on my face. “Alright, great job you two. We'll hold the droids off for as long as possible.” I replied before running toward the others.
Meeting up with them, the soldiers took cover behind large stalagmites where the pass narrows down. With us was the C12 my friends and I brought with us.
“Everyone, Twilight informed me that they’re almost done repairing the Friendship. We just have to hold off the droids long enough for the ship to lift off.” I told them.
One of the dragon militia soldiers with blue scales spoke up. “Are you kidding? Even with the C12 and you all, we can’t hope to withstand that many droids. We’re better off trying to out run them.” He told us, thinking he'll die soon.
Hearing enough, the Sergeant walked up the the soldier. “You hit, private.” Sgt. Johnson asked as he placed his hand on his shoulder, which the militia soldier answered no. “Then listen up! When I joined the Corp, we didn’t have any Fancy Smanchy giant robot or space magic wielders. We had Sticks! Two sticks and a rock for a whole platoon. And we had to share the rock!” He told us before looking at the private. “Buck up boy! You’re one very lucky trooper.”
One of the clone troopers stepped closer to him. “What about those tanks?”
“We’ve all faced droid tanks before. They’re tough but not invincible.” The Sergeant answered. “As we speak, those robotic sons-o-bitchs are marching here right now. They want to walkover these good folks and take anything they can get their greasy metal fingers on. Well we’re not gonna let them! What we will let them have, is a belly full of laser, as we tear them apart, laughin!” He shouted. He turned toward us. “Am I right soldiers?”
“SIR YES SIR!” The clones and militia soldiers shouted in sync. Thanks to the Sergeant’s speech, all the soldiers are now eager for the attack.
“Mmhhmm. Damn right I am. Now move it out! Double time!” Sgt. Johnson ordered before he put a cigar in his mouth. His speech encouraged all the soldiers to fight with everything they had.
"Wow, that was an amazing speech. Sergeant." Fluttershy said as we agreed with her.
"Yeah. I feel like I can take on the entire droid army." Pinkie Pie said eagerly.
"Hmph, mamma always said I had a way with words." Sgt. Johnson replied with a smug.
We got into position as the droid army approaches. We could all hear their marching mechanical feet as the sound bounced of the valley walls. The soldiers and C12 took cover behind large stalagmites. The Jedi Master, my friends and I walked forward.
“Remember, we have to buy as much time for the Twi’leks and the ship as possible.” Di ordered everyone.
“Yes, sir.” Captain Keeli responded.
As the droid army arrived us, The Jedi, my friends and I ignited our lightsabers. “For the Republic! For the Frontier! For the Twi’leks!” Di yelled to the top of his lungs as the soldiers started firing on the approaching droids. The militia soldiers were firing off their MA5B assault rifles, as Keeli was using his dual DC-17 pistols.
“Say hello to my little friend!” Johnson said as he shot the head off a B1. All the soldiers were firing a barrage of blue and green lasers on the enemy droids.
My friends, Di, and I reflected the droids blaster bolts back at them, taking them down one after another. The C12 marched up and firing off it’s rotating blaster cannon, mowing down any B1 battle droids. The super droids focused fire on the C12, only to be blown to pieces by it’s rocket launcher. One of the B1s was about to throw a thermal detonator at us, but before it left it’s hand, a green laser hit the grenade, incinerating any droids near it. I looked over my shoulder to see Gorgo in a tall tree with a SRS S99 sniper rifle. The Twi’lek sniper as shooting down the super battle droids left and right.
Despite our best effort, the droids continued marching towards us, close enough for us to cut them down with our lightsabers. Rainbow Dash used her speed to swiftly cut down the droids that got to close. Pinkie switched her lightsaber into a lightwhip and twirled it around, slicing apart the droids. Behind the droid battalion, their AAT moved up behind them.
“C12! Turn those tanks into barbecues.” Johnson ordered. The C12 complied and unleashed a couple of missiles at one of the tanks, blowing it sky high. Unfortunately, the other two fired their blaster cannons at the C12, destroying it’s rocket launcher. The giant droid responded in kind by firing of it’s top mounted blaster cannon, destroying another AAT. It’s defiance was short lived however, as it was severely hit shot at from the last droid tank. Raging flames spewed out of the hulking machine.
“Take cover! It’s gonna blow!” One of the militia soldiers yelled. All soldiers got into cover. I created a Force Barrier to protect Rarity and Fluttershy as the C12 charged at the droid battalion. Within moments, the hulking machine exploded, taking out multiple droids with it. That did little however, as the droids continued to fire on us.
Without the C12, the droids started killing one soldier after another through sheer overwhelming force. No matter how many we trashed, they just kept coming. Di, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack rushed forward, sending out a massive force push, knocking down many of the droids. To our horror, we spotted five more CIS landing craft descending. Each one of them were probably holding hundreds of droids.
However, right when our backs were against the wall, we heard the sound of engines above us. Looking up, we saw the Friendship fly over us as it destroyed the landing crafts using it’s twin turbolasers in one fell swoop. “Sorry for the wait, everyone.” We heard Sunset’s voice on our comms.
“Sunset! Twilight! Ya’ll fix the ship!” Applejack said excitedly as she shot down a B1 with her pistol.
“We had to use the last of our power cells to jumpstart the core, but the ship is completely operational.” Twilight said. “Everyone, we can provide air support, but the droids are too close to you all. We can’t do a bombing run unless you all fall back.”
“Copy that.” Johnson replied. “Soldiers, pop smoke and fall back, this entire pass about to light up like fireworks.” The Sergeant ordered. The militia soldiers got out their smoke grenades and tossed them at the droids. The grenades exploded in a cloud of smoke, making it hard for them to see their targets.
Those who were wielding lightsabers and myself were blocking any stray shots as we fell back. Right when I thought we won, the droid’s AAT’s blaster cannon fired near Captain Keeli. The blast knocked Keeli to the ground unconscious with his helmet flying off. Di ran over to his fallen captain and and deflected the droids blaster fire as they walked through the smoke.
Seeing that the Jedi Master won’t be able to block at the lasers, I ran back towards the two and created a Force Barrier around us. Captain Keeli opened his eye’s to see the droids trying to break through my barrier. Noticing I wasn't with them, my friends turned around the see the three of us being surrounded by droids.
“Aegis! Hold on!” Rainbow Dash yell as they tried come back, but were halted by the amount of lasers fire at them.
“Girls fall back.” I told them. “Sunset, I’m pin down with Jedi Master Di and Captain Keeli, but my Force Barrier should protect us from the bombing run.” I told them. If I can hold off an entire droid army like I did on Christophsis, I should be able to protect us.
“What! Aegis that’s crazy!” Sunset yelled on the comms. I looked over my shoulder to see my friends being pushed back by most of the droids. The other B1s and super battle droids were firing everything they had at my Force Barrier.
“Girls, I trusted you two to get the ship flying, now I’m asking you all to trust me.” I told them.
After a few moments, Twilight spoke up. “Alright. We’ll trust you Aegis. Everyone else, retreat as fast as you can.” Twilight said on the comms. My friends didn’t want to leave, but knew there was little they can do with this many droids. They decided to fall back with the rest of the soldiers.
In the sky, the Friendship flew down toward the column of droids. “Commencing bombing run.” Sunset said as the Friendship fired it’s turbo cannons and missiles. I focused all my strength on the Force Barrier as the missiles landed all around us. Thankfully, this was far easier than the time I had to create a huge Force Barrier on Christophsis since none of the missiles landed on us. The Friendship’s weapons completely decimated the droids and AAT, leaving nothing standing. Once the Friendship flew over us, there was nothing but smoke all around us. I kept my Force Barrier up in case some of the droids actually survived. After a few moments, the smoke began to settle, showing almost all the droids blown to smithereens. My friends and some of the soldiers, including Johnson and Gorgo came.
“Aegis, is everyone alright?” We heard Twilight's concerned voice.
“We’re alright, Sunset.” I replied as I dropped my Force Barrier.
We heard Sunset sigh in relief on our comms. “Oh thank the Force. Wait, I see three Republic ships coming in.”
We looked toward the sky to see the blockade runners Sunset mentioned. “This is Republic blockade runner oh-niner-niner. We have broken through.” We heard the voice of a clone pilot. “The supplies have arrived at the drop point.” He said as we saw a couple of drop pods ejected from the ships. The pods landed in the same direction the Twi'leks were evacuating.
“The Republic came through.” Fluttershy said, glad the Twi’leks have more supplies.
Just then, we heard the sound of grinding gears moving behind us. Turning toward the source of the sound, we saw a single smog covered B1 miraculously survived. It slowly stood up in front of a rock pillar and pointed it’s blaster at us.
“One more.” Johnson yelled as he, the clones and militia soldiers opened fire, riddling it’s chest with lasers. “Cease fire.” The sergeant ordered as the droid slid down against the rock pillar. “Rest in pieces.” Johnson said to the now swiss cheesed B1. All of us chuckled a little before we headed back toward the Twi’leks.
After a long walk, we reached where the Republic drop pods landed. The Twi’leks were carrying supplies out of the pods. Combine those with the supplies we brought, they have enough food to last them months. Right now, the Twi'leks feel like they have hope again. Nearby was the Friendship on the ground with Twilight and Sunset running up to us.
“Everyone! I’m so glad your alright!” Twilight said smiling.
“Only thanks to you two. Nice flying by the way, Sunset.” Rainbow Dash complemented.
“Thank’s, Dash. It was only because I had a good teacher.” Sunset replied smiling.
General Syndulla walked up to us. “You’ve survived!” He said excited.
“Of course. Was there any doubt.” Pinkie Pie said.
"Plenty." The dragon soldier commented.
General Syndulla was extremely glad we have survived. He looks at our ship before turning toward us. “ On behalf of the Twi’leks, thank you for all you have done. But I have one more request.” He said, making us wonder what is. “With the Separatists invading, some of my people who can’t fight wish to evacuate. I hoping you can take them off planet." He asked.
“Sure, General. We can take them to Haven. It’s a Militia refugee planet for those who lost their homes in the war.” I told him. “But what about you all?” I asked the Republic and Militia.
“I cannot leave. I promise the Twi’leks the Republic will help them, and I intend to keep it.” Di said as his clone soldiers agreed with him.
“He’s right. The Twi’leks asked us to help, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.” Johnson said.
My friends and I felt couldn’t help but respect them. “Alright. I hope we meet again someday. I know both the UFN and Republic will do everything they can to free Ryloth.” I told them, as I shook their hands.
“Well they better hurry. By the time they get here, there’ll be a lot of less droids for them to trash.” Johnson said, which all of us laughed.
Gorgo walked up to us. “You all take care.” She said before looking at me. “And Aegis, tell your brother I’ll be waiting for him.”
“I will Gorgo.” I replied. Everyone else raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
After saying our goodbye to them, we boarded our ship along with the civilian Twi’leks that wish to leave. With Rainbow Dash’s flying skills, we were able to make it through the CIS blockade with ease. As we entered hyperspace toward Haven, I contacted my brother to let him know about Ryloth.
“Thanks for being there, Aegis. I would have lost a lot of good friends.” Leo said gratefully on the holotable. Though had the feeling he was thinking of a certain someone on Ryloth.
“I get the feeling you and Gorgo are more than just friends.” I teased a little.
My big brother scratched his head a bit. “Yeah. Gorgo is one of the most amazing women. Actually, after her mission, I was gonna ask her out.” He said.
“Well, you can ask her out when Ryloth is liberated. Speaking of which, Do you know when the Militia can mobilize for Ryloth?” I asked.
My brother looked away in thought. “I called our Dad earlier about that and unfortunately we can’t spare any ships to assist Ryloth. It’ll be months before we can gather a force large enough to retake the planet.”
“What about the Republic? If they can work together, Ryloth can be freed.” I suggested, but my brother just shook his head.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. For one, the Republic Forces are stretched then on other parts of the war. And two, many in the Security Council still blames the Republic for starting the war, especially since they invaded a Separatist planet first." Leo explained.
Just then, Twilight and Sunset entered the meeting room. “Aegis, we need to… Oh, hello Leo.” Twilight said.
“Hello, Twilight and Sunset. I hope you all have been keeping my brother out of trouble.” Leo joked, earning a ‘hey’ from me.
“We try.” Sunset teased before she got serious. “But we need to tell you something about the ion cannon. And I think you should hear it as well.” My brother and I looked at each other, wondering what it could be.
“When we were looking over the ion cannon, the malfunction didn’t come from our calibrations. It was mounted on improperly.” Twilight told us.
I looked at her in shock. “But it was mounted on at the Atlas Space station. Wouldn’t the engineers noticed it wasn’t mounted correctly?” I asked.
Both Twilight and Sunset looked at each other with concerned looks. “Actually, we think whoever mounted the cannons did so on purpose.” Sunset told us.
“What do you mean?” Leo asked, now as concerned as I was.
“Leo, there’s no way an Atlas engineer wouldn’t see the fault. Whoever oversaw the attachment made sure that it would drain too much power when it fired.” Twilight told us.
“And they disguised it so no one would notice at first.” Sunset added.
I gasped in shock at what she suggested. “But, why would they do that? Did someone pay them to do it?”
“I’m afraid we don’t know the answer to that. It could be someone forced them to do it.” Sunset suggested.
Leo looked down in thought before looking at us. “I’ll call our Mom, see if she can investigate this. In the meantime, after you drop off the refugees, I suggest going to the nearest Atlas Shipyard and fix the cannon.” He told us.
“Got it, Leo. Take care.” Twilight said.
“You all as well.” Leo said before he hung up.
My friends looked at my with concern. “You alright, Aegis.” Sunset asked.
“I don’t know, girls. Someone went out of their way to make sure to sabotage our ship. And it’s a miracle our ship still functioned after the incident.” I told them. I couldn’t help but feel this wasn’t just a coincidence. This shows someone was specifically targeting us.
My two friends looked at one another with the same worried look. “I know it’s becoming more dangerous, Aegis. But even with the odds against us, we managed to pull through.” Twilight said.
“And were were still able to help Ryloth. If only a little.” Sunset added.
I smiled knowing they were right. Despite what happen, we were still able to help the Twi’leks. “Thank’s everyone. And I think I’ve learned a lesson for Princess Celestia.”
My friends smiled and we left the comm room. I headed to my room and grabbed my tablet. “Dear Princess Celestia, I’ve learned that even in the most dire circumstances, if you perceiver, you’ll find a way through. Your’s, Aegis Skiritai.” I wrote before sending the Princess the message.
After the long day, I felt the exhaustion caught up to me and I laid down on my bed. As I started to fall asleep, one question plagued my mind. ‘Who wanted me and my friend dead. And why?’