Meanwhile,
Level 113, Imperial Complex
Darth Vader was inside his mobile meditation chamber when he was interrupted by a holographic transmission by Admiral Katz. The meditation chamber measured around three meters in diameter, with the chamber itself flattened on the bottom, designed to nestle in a hexagonal dais. It had neither a proper hatch nor a control panel. Instead had two longitudinal seams which allowed the device to open into two hemispheres which were dark coloured outside and brightly lit inside. The chamber also served as a life support system for the Sith Lord, the only place where he could safely remove his mask and breathe. [1] As he sat in his chamber meditating in the Force, he felt a presence. One which he had been expecting. Together with this presence was another one, a relic of a bygone era that was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcomed. It was at this moment when he heard a beeping noise coming from the chambers in the built communicator, indicating the transmission. He had his mask put on before opening up his chamber and answering the transmission. In doing so, a hologram of Admiral Katz appeared in front of him while sitting in the now open chamber.
“What is it, Admiral ?” Vader asked with displeasureness in his tone for being disturbed. “My Lord, we’re under attack by the Offworld Rebels that had infiltrated the system earlier.” Said Katz. “It’s Saw Gerrera and his band of terrorists. They’re fools to attack our installation so openly.” Vader intoned, his tone unchanged. “ The insurgents have broken up into two groups,” Katz continued, “ Gerrera was spotted leading one group to the Command Centre while another group struck the Detention facility, freeing the detainees. Incoming reports indicate that this second group is being led by two females wielding some kind of lightsaber.” The last part caught Vader’s attention. It appeared that what he felt earlier had come to be. “She’s here, I can sense it, and she’s not alone.” He said, his voice now sounding significantly less annoyed than before. “ What do we do now sir ?” Katz asked. Vader got up from his seat from his chamber, facing the hologram, “ Send the rest of the garrison to Gerera’s position. See to it that is his last gambit.” “What about the second team ??” Katz further asked. “ My purge trooper legion and I will deal with the Jedi and their comrades.” Vader added before he continued, “Admiral, bring forward the bombardment of the old settlement to this instant. That should deter the prisoners from escaping and to lower the rebel’s morale.” “Very well, Lord Vader.” Katz said before the transmission ende, leaving only his breathing noise echoing the room. Vader then promptly headed out to collect his master’s prize.
Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer continued to navigate her way to the extraction point,leading an increasingly annoying Trixie Lulamoon with her . Between dealing with stormtroopers and her, she would pick stormtroopers any time. At least stormtroopers don’t constantly ask irritating questions and be sarcastically judgemental all the time. After all, they did run into them several times, after making one wrong turn from another and every single time Sunset would be forced to draw out her lightsaber to deflect blaster shots back at the shooter. They eventually made it to the landing platform after tirelessly navigating through the similar and identical Imperial looking hallways and stormtroopers. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, with Sunset constantly turning her back to make sure no stormtroopers followed them. She also looked around, only finding destroyed AT-ST walkers and fallen stormtroopers. There was no sign of Kara and the rest of the rebels. “ Are you sure this is the right place ?” Trixie asked in a curious tone, her eyes fixated on the fallen walkers and dead troopers. “Positively sure.” Sunset said almost immediately. She was very certain this was the place they landed in and the AT-ST walkers and at least a dozen of dead troopers would affirm that certainty. “Where are these friends of yours ?” Trixie pressed on with her questions. “ They’ll be here... eventually.” Sunset answered, hoping that this would be the last question. “ Even if that happens, how are we gonna get off this place ?” Trixie queried further. However, Sunset didn’t pay much attention to her question. Her attention was instead towards the position of the three star destroyers ahead. They had descended towards Canterlot City directly above the city.
“What are those ships above the City ?” Trixie asked, her attention also now directed towards the Destroyers. “Imperial Star Destroyers.” Sunset answered her before she continued, “Something’s not right. Those destroyers weren’t positioned like that before.” “Why is it I get the feeling something bad is going to happen ?” Trixie intoned anxiously. Sunset couldn’t agree more with Trixie. ‘ Something’s coming, but what ?’ She thought to herself. She soon got her answer. The three destroyers positioned above the city, launched a barrage of green turbolaser fire from its cannons onto Canterlot City. The first shot struck the landmark equine sculpture above the Crystaller Building, destroying them both as the barrage of laserfire laid waste to the other structures of the City, tearing down the skyscrapers along the Central Business district and ripping into their concrete layouts. The other buildings were not spared by the Imperials, with the rain of turbolaser fire shattering roads and countless other homes and smaller buildings located in the suburbs. Sunset was speechless, witnessing the city which she once called home being destroyed in front of her own two eyes. “ They’re bombing Canterlot City to the ground !” She finally gathered the strength to speak as the Empire continued their barrage of fire onto the City. The laserfire even shattered Canterlot High School, the institution so many great memories were made. Sunset turned to Trixie to find her shed a tear, perhaps for the first time witnessing her hometown and CHS being destroyed. [2]
It was at that moment she realized about the other prisoners they freed earlier. She had told them to use the City as a cover to escape into the forest but she had sent them into their oblivion instead. Sunset’s heart immediately filled with grief and extreme guilt with the thought of having led the City residents, some her friends, into their deaths. Not even the strongest of people would be able to bear the guilt that magnitude, having caused the death of hundreds if not thousands of people albeit unintentionally. “I.. lead them to their deaths, right into the Empire’s hand.” Sunset uttered, her voice filled with emotion, perhaps the most Trixie has ever heard from her. “What are you talking about ?” She asked. Before Sunset could answer, they heard multiple footsteps coming from inside base, heading towards them. Sunset grabbed her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, anticipating a dozen stormtroopers to come right at them. “Get behind me, Trixie. These Imperials are gonna pay for what they’ve done.” Sunset said, in a mildly vengeful manner as she awaited the stormtroopers to show up with their blasters blazing blaster fire at them. The source of the footsteps soon revealed themselves, and instead white cladded stormtroopers, it turned out to be the Partisans, who were fleeing the base, with Kara, Karl and Captain Bonthra covering their exit. “ Seal the blast doors !” Karl bellowed to one of the troopers who quickly sliced the door controls sealing it shut, cutting them off from red blaster fire coming from the stormtroopers inside rushing out. “Are you guys alright ?” Kara asked her padawan as she deactivated her lightsaber. Sunset didn’t utter a word as she pointed towards the Imperial bombardment of her home happening ahead as she too deactivated her lightsaber.
The brightness of the green turbolaser fire razing the old city to the ground caught the attention of the others as they could only watch in horror the Empire’s doing. “Carabast,” Karl muttered to himself as he watched the Star Destroyers laying waste to the city. “They must be bombing the city to wipe the prisoners and to lower our morale,” Captain Bonthra intoned quietly as she watched the Imperials bombard the city with sheer might mercilessly . The Star Destroyers eventually stopped the barrage of fire, leaving the once spiraling City down to nothing but crumbles, its remnants letting out smoke as the surviving part burned. In simpler terms, Canterlot City was no more. “Zeko, bring the Gauntlet in for a pick up.” Kara said through her comm link before turning her attention over to Sunset, “ Sunset, are you okay ?” “How could I be okay when I just lead my own people to their deaths ?!” Sunset exclaimed out loud, almost weeping. For perhaps the first time, Kara didn’t know how to respond. She knew exactly how Sunset felt, to see her own people killed in front of her own eyes. She knew from her own experience. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here,” Captain Bonthra said, hoping to cool down the flurry of emotions before she continued, “ Your people are native to this place. That means they’re probably more well versed in finding an alternative, safer route through the forest.” “She has a point. It’s possible they made it out safely.” Karl concurred. “Let’s hope you’re right.” Kara said to Karl before turning over to Sunset. Helena’s theory did help cool down the stream of emotions flooding Sunset’s heart. She slowly pulled herself back together and placed her attention back to the mission at hand. Right now getting out of the Complex alive was more of a priority than grieving.
“ Who are you guys ?” Trixie demanded from everyone else before pointing out specifically to Captain Bonthra, “And what’s with the horns coming out from your skull lady ?” From her point of view, this was all too hard to make sense of. “ It’s part of my biology, kid.” Helena said mildly. Sunset turned around to face the others, finding that the Partisans were significantly lesser than before. She could only dread the cause of their dwindled numbers. “Trixie, this is Karl and Kara. That over there is Captain Bonthra, she and her men helped free everyone imprisoned.” Sunset answered Trixie by providing a brief introduction of everyone present before turning her attention towards Helena, “ There are much fewer of your men now. What happened to the rest ?” Sunset knew the reason why but yet curiosity got the best of her. The Partisan soldiers gave each other an uneasy look before one of them, a human male stood forward to answer. “ The Imperials launched an ambush when we were covering the prisoners' escape. We were forced on the defensive.” He explained before being interjected by Captain Bonthra, “Lost a lot of good soldiers in that ambush.” Helena added, not without a flicker of emotion in her voice. After all, she had just lost soldiers under her command. Just then, Karl noticed the Gauntlet approaching them and drew the attention of the rest, “The Gauntlet’s coming in !” “Let’s get the hell off this Complex as fast as we can,” Sunset said, her tone iced with frustration. Their mission was not a failure yet but it was far from a success.
The group moved a couple of feet back as the Gauntlet piloted by Zeko landed on the hangar. Sunset glanced at Trixie, finding the self proclaimed magician face beaming with astonishment. The ship’s ramp doors opened and extended downwards, revealing Zeko standing by the doors. The Ardennian had a pair of blasters on his left front and back right hands. “Someone called for a pick up ?” He spoke. Trixie’s jaw dropped upon seeing the four armed weapon wielding alien in front of him. She wasn’t scared but instead rather intrigued by his physiology and his species. “You’re definitely a sight for sore eyes, Zeko Mulig.” Karl said, relieved. “Yea, yeah, I know. Everyone get on board quickly before those Tie’s show up again.” Zeko shot back before calling the rest to quickly board. “You heard him, Get…” Kara stopped talking abruptly, as if she had come to some sudden realisation. She quickly turned her attention towards Helena, “Captain, earlier you said the Imperials might have bombed the city to lower morale right ?” She pointed out and continued, “None of us except for Sunset Shimmer have any real sentimental value to this world.” “Unless it wasn’t meant for us,”Karl added, his attention anxiously turned towards Sunset.
Sunset felt her heart skip a couple of beats. She pieced the puzzle almost instantly the moment Kara pointed it out and the glaring eyes only made it obvious. It was her. Sunset felt a cold chill going down her spine with that realization that the Empire was targeting her. Just then, Sunset felt a chilling darkness overcoming her body. She felt a dark presence close, darker than anything she had ever felt. It was as if whoever was emitting this darkness, they were one of it. “Kara, can you feel that ?” She asked, shaken by the dark feeling. Kara seemed visibly perturbed by the sudden feeling of a creeping cold feeling. “The cold.. I feel it too,” She offered a short answer. It was at this moment they saw him. Appearing from the now open blast doors was a tall bipedal figure, standing just short of seven feet tall, clad in jet black armor that was mostly covered by an equally jet black cape. A panel was visible on his chest with several switches and lights. His face and head were entirely hidden by black helmet, the face of it fashioned into a skull-like design with dark crimson lenses over his eyes. A deep chill breathing noise could be heard being emitted by the helmet that concealed his face as he was flanked by troopers of an usual design.
Sunset’s jaws dropped the moment she heard the breathing. It was the exact figure that appeared in her dreams in the past. The very person who had commended her for bringing the people she cared about down to their knees, begging for mercy. The Cold, dark aura of hatred and anger emitted from him, the same feeling she felt in her dreams. Even then, it was enough to rattle her to her core. The figure held a cylindrical object in his hand, to which he ignited his lightsaber, sending a glowing red saber shooting up. Sunset turned to Kara, finding her equally rattled by this figure, who just walked towards the two Jedi , flanked by a squad of this different kind of stormtroopers. Sunset briefly turned behind to find the others also unnerved and had their blaster trained at him. Kara pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it and her gut told Sunset to do the same. The figure then stopped, just a few feet away from Sunset and Kara, his ominous breathing even more heavier and unsettling, with the troopers behind him, flanking the other Rebels with their blaster rifles trained towards them. Sunset could sense the Dark Side’s presence in him, as if it was embedded in him, a part of this Dark Lord.
“It would be wise to surrender,” The Dark Lord intoned in his raspy voice, the same voice Sunset had heard in her dreams. Kara clenched her fist on the saber with no intention to give in to the threat, whoever it may be, “Oh I don’t think so,” Kara intoned before she charged full swing towards him, her lightsaber posed for the strike. Vader stood his ground, unperturbed at the slightest bit at the girl charging towards him. As soon as she was close enough, with one swing, he blocked Kara’s lightsaber strike, holding his lightsaber steadily with one arm as he held the block to his advantage. Kara on the other hand, struggled to break free of his block, her two hands clenched tightly to her lightsaber’s hand grip to hold the red lightsaber. From going on the offensive, she had been pushed to the defensive in one block. The Dark lord whom she was directly facing now, almost seemed like it took little effort on his part to block her. The troopers that he brought along moved on to flank the other Rebels, pinning them down with blaster fire coming from their unique blaster rifles.Karl and the others were forced to take cover from the incoming fire as they attempted to return fire. With their allies pinned down, Kara and Sunset were forced to face him by themselves, something which Vader had planned for. With Kara grappling to hold her lightsaber against Vader’s block which had his attention, Sunset seized the opportunity to strike. She advanced towards him, her lightsaber drawn out and set for a strike. However, he saw her coming and extended out to the Force through his left hand to grab Sunset midway, stopping her advance. Sunset wrestled as hard as she could to break herself free but it was in vain. He was just too strong in the Force. Vader further slightly extended his hand in a forward gesture, Force-pushing Sunset towards a nearby wall, where she slammed onto hard upon impact.
With the Sith Lord briefly distracted by her padawan, Kara managed to break free of his block. With Sunset dealt it for now, Vader turned his attention back to her, and launched his own set of offensive strikes. The dynamic of the duel was unchanged as Kara was forced to parry every single strike launched by him. It was tough as he expertly striked, using the Dark Side of the Force to enhance the blows of his strikes. He also seemed at least not even a bit unsettled in dueling with her, as if she was not worth the time or effort. As they both parried, Kara struggled to find an opening to which she can go on the offensive of her own but there was no opening, The Sith Lord's endless barrage of strikes made it so. Vader then lifted his lightsaber up before bringing it down in full swing towards her, to which she raised her lightsaber to block the incoming strike, with the both blades, blue and red intersecting between one another. Vader then leaned in on his strike, putting even more pressure on Kara to hold it. The Sith Lord had the upper hand and he knew it well. “Who was your master, Padawan ? Someone I killed perhaps ?” Vader taunted as he further leaned in. Kara’s block begins to falter, her lightsaber being pushed towards her chest by him. Kara attempted to relieve the pressure the Sith Lord was placing on her by suddenly swinging her saber in a manner to push away his lightsaber, giving some space between for her to launch a strike of her own, but Vader saw it coming. As soon as she swung her saber, pushing him slightly off balance, Vader grabbed her by the neck using the Force and flung her to the back, slamming her onto a charging crate that powered the E-Web cannon, knocking her out.
Sunset Shimmer pulled herself up, her head and half of her upper body aching from the impact she had earlier. She quickly brushed off the pain aside, setting her focus on the figure that was pinning her master. Sunset watched as Kara attempted to break his attack before being thrown towards a crate behind them by the figure. Sunset ignited her lightsaber and snarled out loudly, getting the Sith Lord’s attention before she charged towards him, her lightsaber up and posed for a strike. But Vader simply extended his hand and used the Force to pull the young Jedi off her feet and shoves against the wall she had slammed onto earlier, pinning herself against it, bringing her hand which held the lightsaber slowly towards her throat. Sunset Shimmer struggled to break free of his restraint on her as the blade of her saber was pushed towards her throat but it was in vain. His hold on her was just too strong to break. “Resisting is futile, girl.” Vader intoned as he moved and pinned her down even more with the Force, her blade even more closer to her throat. Sunset could hear and to certain extent, feel the humming of her lightsaber which now just below her heard and only a couple of centimeters apart. “ Your master has deceived you into thinking you could become a Jedi, Sunset Shimmer,” Vader further added. The fact that this Dark Lord knew her name well got her attention as well as unnerving her to her core. “How… do you.. Know my name ?” Sunset struggled to say the words that came into her mind as she was being pinned against the wall. “ I know everything there is to know about you, your past in particular.” Vader answered, his tone filled with an inquisition tone
Sunset was at her breaking point. She could not resist holding her lightsaber off her neck anymore longer. ‘Maybe he was right about resisting,’ She thought about what he had said earlier. “NO !!!!!” Kara bellowed and snarled out loudly as she charged towards the Sith Lord with her lightsaber up. To counter the incoming strike, Vader was forced to release Sunset of his hold as he brought his crimson red lightsaber to parry Kara’s blow. Sunset, upon being released from his grasp, fell to the ground, barely conscious. For a brief moment,Kara had gone on the offensive, with the Sith Lord retreating under the assault, although he didn’t have any trouble even at the slightest in countering her strikes, as if he was giving an opportunity to go on the offensive. She was determined to not let this Dark servant of the Empire get to her padawan. But it was only temporary. Vader soon countered a strike from her and leaned in on it. “ Consistent use of Form V [3] in your parrys,” Vader continued, “You’re the padawan to Jedi Master Plo Koon,” “Guess you’re smarter than you look, after all !” Kara retorted before she gathered her strength and pushed off Vader’s lightsaber that was pressing down on her, sending the Sith lord slightly stumbling back, though keeping his foot firmly on the ground and his glove-covered fist clenched on his lightsaber’s hand grip. “Like your master, you too will die unceremoniously,” Vader said before he struck again.
Meanwhile, the other Rebels are being pinned down by heavy fire being laid on them by the specialized troopers that accompanied the mysterious figure who was engaging the two Jedi in lightsaber combat. The troopers, flanking them from their left, had successfully killed several Partisan soldiers. “We’re getting slaughtered like Womp Rats out here !!!” Karl yelled to the others as he provided some degree of blaster fire back to the troopers before retreating for cover. Trixie, who was keeping her head down, covering herself from the ensuing battle that was happening managed to poke her head up in a brief second to find Sunset on the ground, slowly pulling herself back up while rubbing her head while the other lady that Sunset referred to as Kara with a blue glowing sword was losing a duel with the creepy looking mask wearing figure with a black cape wielding a red glowing saber. “I don’t think Sunset and your friend over there are doing any better than us,” She brought the lightsaber duel between Kara and Vader to the others' attention. “Anyone got any bright ideas on that ?” Zeko voiced out as he took cover from the Gauntlet.
“You know what we Partisans do in hopeless situations ?” Captain Bonthra sarcastically said before she revealed a pack of thermal detonators to the rest. “ We should have used those a long time ago !” said Karl upon seeing the pack of detonators. Helena took out one detonator and passed it over to Trixie, “Here, kid take this.” “What am I supposed to do with this ?” Trixie asked incredulously upon being handed over some kind of spherical shaped object. “It’s a thermal detonator,” A human partisan trooper answered before being interrupted by Captain Bonthra, “On my mark, throw it towards that guy over there,” Helena pointed to the figure wielding the red sword, to which Trixie Nodded. Meanwhile, Sunset finally gained her consciousness and pulled herself up, massaging her forehead badly. The sound of lightsabers clashing with one another drew her attention towards the duel between Kara and the Sith Lord, with the latter having the upper hand. Sunset ignited her saber and was about to charge towards the two before she noticed Trixie Lulamoon who was with the other pinned down Rebels duck out with some kind of spherical metal object on her hand. She appeared to be aiming towards the figure with the red lightsaber as her hand in which the object, now identified as a grenade, was in a throwing position. It was enough for Sunset to figure out what’s about to happen next.
“KARA ! INCOMING !!” Sunset shouted towards her master, bringing Kara’s attention towards the approaching thermal detonator. Seizing perhaps the only chance to inflict actual harm on this Dark Lord, Kara abruptly released herself from his pin, putting some space between the two before she extended her hand and grabbed the detonator mid air through the Force before releasing it and propelling it towards the the red bladed lightsaber wielding figure. Vader raised his saber up to his chest, intending to block off the incoming grenade from dealing any damage to his life support controls. The thermal detonator exploded as soon as it struck the red lightsaber, sending a shockwave of explosion that catapulted the Sith Lord a few feet away from where he once stood, with Vader perhaps for the first time, struggling to keep his feet on the ground. However, much to Kara and Sunset’s chagrin, the explosion did no damage to the Sith Lord as there was not even a single scratch of dent on his black armor or helmet, but it gave them the chance to make a run for it. It would be pointless to continue fighting this figure if even a literal explosion didn’t seem to do some damage at the slightest if not piss him off even more.
In the brief moment where the troopers were distracted by the explosion, Captain Bonthra and the others used the chance to throw more detonators towards them, scattering them and perhaps even killing one of them, hopefully. Sunset and Kara took the moment to regroup with the rest as detonators provided sort of a cover from blaster fire for them. “Everyone get on board now !!!” Zeko called out as the Partisans and Trixie quickly boarded the Gauntlet as Sunset and Kara, with their lightsaber ignited, covered their retreat, deflecting any incoming blaster shots. As soon as everyone was on board, the two Jedi were about to board the ship before a call from Karl caught Kara’s attention. “Kara, Watch out !!” he warned Kara, who turned behind to find a red lightsaber spinning uncontrollably towards the two of them. As if by instinct, Kara raised her saber and parried the incoming red lightsaber, which as if by call spinned towards the Dark Lord, who was now back on his feet and Sunset could feel whoever that’s behind that mask staring right at her.
The two wasted no time in boarding the Gauntlet to which the doors sealed shut as soon as they entered. “R5, fly us the hell outta here !” Zeko shouted as he made his way to the cockpit to take off from the Imperial swarming platform. Back outside, the purge troopers trained their blaster rifles towards the Rebel vessel’s engines as it ignited and the ship had begun to take off. However the vessel’s shields managed to hold, keeping the ignition turbines safe from blaster fire. Zeko managed to successfully lift the ship off the ground and fly off away from the Imperial Dome. Vader watched as the Rebel ship took off and flew away. d. A purge trooper with a red pauldron on his right shoulder, signifying the rank of Commander approached Vader, “Lord Vader, should I have our fighters pursue them ?” He asked. “Vader turned his attention towards the trooper, “That will be unnecessary, Commander. She will not be leaving the planet yet.” the Sith lord answered before turning his back and heading back inside the Dome. He knew well that his target won’t be making a run for it. There was still unfinished business left.
Back in the Gauntlet,
Having barely escaped from the clutches of the Empire with their lives, the Rebels, battered and badly diminished in numbers, catched their breath aboard the Gauntlet’s common area as the ship flew away from the Imperial Dome. It took some time for Sunset to calm herself down following the life or death ordeal she had gone through. In her time with Kara and the rest, she had risked her life undertaking many missions but they pale in comparison to what she had faced earlier. This time, she was genuinely afraid. The darkness, anger and hate emitted by the figure was perhaps the strongest she had ever felt. Sunset Shimmer had faced individuals corrupted by darkness before, she being no exception but this figure was consumed by it, as if it was a part of him. If not for Kara, this Dark Lord could’ve easily ended her life. What rattled her even more was that he knew her name and her past. That meant he somehow knew of Equestria or the portal that connects the two worlds. Her mind was buzzing with questions and theories, but it all came down to one single thing : He was after her because of her Equestrian roots.
“Kara, who was that guy ? Was it an Inquisitor ?” Sunset asked as soon as she calmed herself down. She had heard from Kara before about the Inquisitors, dark side Imperial agents tasked with hunting down any remaining Jedi remnants, one who had hunted Kara for a time. Sunset thought that this figure they faced was perhaps a member of this elite group but her gut feeling told her that wasn’t the case. True enough, Kara turned her attention to Sunset, her face looking pale as ever as she shook her head to her earlier question about the figure being an Inquisitor, “No, it's worse.” She muttered, her tone iced with fear. “ Worse ? How could it get worse ?” Sunset further asked. “ What we faced back there was a Sith Lord. [4] The ancient enemy of the Jedi.” Kara answered, her tone unchanged. Sunset had not heard of the term Sith before in her learnings. “A Sith Lord ? How do we fight him ?” Sunset asked. Surely there must be a way to defeat this Sith.But Kara looked at her incredulously, as if what she said was nothing more than wishful thinking, “ Fight him ? The Sith draw their strength from the Dark Side of the Force. It makes them stronger. We won’t stand a chance against him.” Sunset felt a chill go down her spine based on what Kara said about this supposed new enemy. “Back there, he said that he knew everything about me and where I come from. Could it be that he’s after me specifically ?” Sunset theorized. Deep down, she hoped for it to be wrong and that Kara would assure her that was not the case but instead her master stayed silent for a moment, staring towards her as she thought for an answer. “It’s a possibility.” Kara intoned.
Sunset’s heart sank in with the thought that this Sith Lord was coming after her, even more perturbing was that he knew about Equestria, maybe even the Empire knows about it too. Not only she had risked her friends and the people of this world but also their pony counterparts in Equestria, all because of one dumb move years ago to satisfy her greedy thirst for power. Her actions that fateful day endangered everyone she cared about. ‘ What have I done,’ She thought to herself. Kara could see the distress being manifested on her padawan’s face. She grabbed her palm and held it tightly, “ Don’t worry Sunset, I will never let anyone get to you, including this Sith Lord. I promise you with my life.” She assured her. Sunset turned to face her master, seeing the sincerity of her promise in her eyes. That did indemnify some of her fears but not completely. If only she had listened to Princess Celestia and not ventured into that mirror, none of this would’ve happened, ‘All because of greed.’
“Apparently he goes by the name of Vader,” Captain Bonthra chipped in, her voice seemingly shaken. Sunset and Kara turned their attention over to her, mildly surprised. “According to Sith tradition, the given name would usually be attached to a title called ‘Darth’, so it's Darth Vader.” Kara then turned her attention over to Helena, “How do you know this ?” “Rumors Mostly,” Helena explained, “They say he’s a ruthless killing machine. Enforces the Emperor’s will without question.” “So he’s like an executioner for the Empire,” Sunset further added. “What I don’t understand is the type of troopers that accompanied him. I’ve never seen that kind of stormtrooper before.” said Helena. “ Well they’re not exactly a common sight in the galaxy.” Karl said to Captain Bonthra, who gave him a mildly surprised look. “You people dealt with these kinds of troopers before ?” She asked. “ Yea, we had before,” Kara answered before she continued, “ They’re called purge troopers, an elite squad tasked with hunting down any surviving Jedi.. They’re made up of former clone troopers.” “I thought the Empire stopped using Clones a long time ago in favor of conscripted soldiers.” A human Partisan trooper interrupted Kara’s explanation. “Not these guys. With their inhibitor chips activated from the start and armed with weapons and armor to combat the abilities of a Jedi, making them the most effective death squad, sent only to worlds where there’s been suspected Jedi activity.” Kara answered. “ And based on what we saw earlier, they’re under the command of this Darth Vader guy,” Karl added. “Do these rumors you’ve heard tell us how to fight this Sith Lord ?” Sunset asked Captain Bonthra.
Helena exchanged a couple of glances with the other Partisans before turning her attention back to the Jedi duo, “From what we’ve heard, this Vader guy is practically invincible. Only one person came close to actually harming him. Ever heard of a Rebel named Cham Syndulla ?” [5] Helena shot a question towards them. Sunset had never heard of the name before but Kara did, as if the name brought about great significance. “The Twi-lek freedom fighter ?” Karl intoned in answering her question. “That’s right,” Helena concurred before she continued, “ His Cell managed to bring down a Star Destroyer with him on it over Ryloth.” “What happened next ?” Sunset asked, her interest in the story increasing. “ He survived the crash and slaughtered an entire village of innocent Twi-leks to get to Syndulla. Many lives were lost and while Cham himself survived, his rebel cell almost got wiped out by this Vader.” [6] Helena ended her narration. Sunset felt her hands getting sweaty as she heard Captain Bonthra’s narration. It unnerved her even more to know that this Sith Lord was capable of committing even the most horrendous acts just to get to his target, which in this case was her. From what she heard, there is almost no plausible way she could fend him off or defeat him. While Kara didn’t say it, she too had the same thought as Sunset did. She isn’t even considered a fully fledged Jedi as she hadn’t had the chance to be Knighted. It was basically two Padawan’s against a powerful Sith Lord. The odds were against them.
“Excuse me,” Trixie called out to the rest, bringing their attention towards the white haired girl, “Can someone care to explain to me what the HECK just happened ? I’m kinda at a loss here,” She added, her pitch higher than usual with a very confused look on her face. “ To simplify, a lot of bad things are happening right now.” Sunset summarized. “ Yea, you think ?” An unconvinced Trixie shot back. Sunset was about to say more before she was interrupted by Zeko, who approached from the Cockpit of the ship. “Well the scanners are all clear, so it's a safe bet to say that the Empire isn’t coming after us.” The Ardennian updated the rest about their current situation. “ That’s some good news, at least.” Karl breathed in relief. Zeko had a feeling that he was being unusually scrutinized by a pair of eyes. Sure enough, he found Trixie staring towards him rather curiously instead of expressing uneasiness or trepidation shown by Sunset’s other friends. “ So I suppose you too are intimidated by my appearance and my two pairs of arms ?” He said in a sarcastic manner. Trixie’s expression did not change as she regarded him, “On the contrary, I think it’s kinda cool to have more than one pair of limbs. Makes things easier.” [7] Zeko was briefly surprised for a moment, he didn’t expect that kind of answer to come from her. “I like this one. You can call me Zeko. What’s your name kid ?” Zeko said in a much friendlier voice as a smirk shot across his face. “It’s Trixie Lulamoon, but I prefer the phrase, the great and powerful Trixie,” Trixie continued in her usual egoistic voice, “ By the way, if anyone in this ship is intimidating I would say it would be that lady over there.” Trixie pointed out towards an unsuspecting Helena. “She literally has a set of horns on her head.” Trixie further added, referring to Captain Bonthra’s horns sticking out from her almost bald head. “Well that’s a bit degrading,” Zeko muttered, but he was still pretty impressed with this new girl, thinking of how great of a smuggler she could turn out to be. “One thing is certain,” Helena said, drawing the others' attention to her, “All of us onboard should be considered lucky to have survived that encounter with this Vader guy. From what I’ve heard, those who face him, they don’t usually live to tell the tale.” Helena ended her sentence grimly. An eerily cold silence befell the rest as Captain Bonthra lamented on how lucky they were. Kara didn’t stand to protest or to counter her.She, like the others all knew too well that what Captain Bonthra said couldn’t be any more true.
Meanwhile,
Star Destroyer ‘The Avenger’
The Ruins of Canterlot City
On the Command bridge of the Star Destroyer The Avenger, Admiral Katz stood overlooking the burning remains of the former city, with large clouds of thick black smoke rising from the heavily bombarded town. The high rise structures that once stood there were now nothing but crumbled parts. Just then, the ominous breathing noise of Lord Vader could be heard echoing throughout the deck as the Sith Lord had entered the deck through the main blast door which was flanked by two ordinary stormtroopers. Vader headed straight towards the Admiral, who submissively gave way for his superior officer to view the shattered and smoldering settlement below from the windows of the Command bridge. “Sir,” Katz addressed him in a yielding manner, “the former settlement has been completely razed to the ground as per your orders. Its site will soon be utilized for the construction of an ideal Imperial Class City, the start of our Occupation of this system.” Katz said as a small smirk appeared in his face, feeling a sense of pride within him as he gave the much feared Darth Vader, known for mercilessly executing those who failed him, good news. Vader was silent for a moment, his breathing being the only noise that could be heard coming from his mask. Katz felt his body tingle for a second, fearing he may have unintentionally angered the Sith Lord and was now going to be terminated from his services, like the others.
“Very good, Admiral.” Vader finally spoke, acknowledging what Katz had earlier mentioned. Katz’s heart sank in relief upon hearing Vader’s commendation, a rarity indeed. It was a sign that he was still in the Sith Lord’s favor, for now. “ Lord Vader, Coruscant is attempting to make contact with you,” Said one of the lower tier technician men stationed below the bridge to Vader. “Clear the bridge,” The Sith Lord ordered in response to the incoming transmission as he headed towards the back of the destroyer’s Command bridge, where a holotable sat between a set of two blast doors. The Imperial officers and technicians that were within the vicinity of the holotable promptly made their way out as soon as Vader gave the order to clear the bridge. They knew the consequences that would happen if he were to repeat. As soon as Vader entered the chamber, the blast doors behind sealed shut, separating him from the rest of the Command Bridge and leaving the Sith Lord alone with the holotable. He pressed a button on the holotable to play the incoming holographic transmission before kneeling down with his face facing down onto the ground as a sign of submission to his master. (Darth Sidious Theme)
“Lord Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin informs me that there has been an unfortunate Rebel incursion during the Annexation process of Utthar.” The hologram of Emperor Palpatine intoned in his usual papery voice. “The Offworld Intruders have been broken and defeated, my master. The Utthar system is now firmly under our Control. '' Vader kept his head down as replied to his master subserviently. “Very good, Lord Vader.” Palpatine said in a wicked manner before he continued, “What of your special mission ?” “ I’ve encountered Sunset Shimmer but she has managed to escape with the help of the offworld Rebels whom she was in league with. However, I sense that she still has unfinished business on Utthar.” Said Vader. “But yet I sense something more to this ?” Sidious further queried. “ Indeed my master. Besides the intruders, she was with the presence of a Jedi survivor. I believe that this survivor has been training her in the ways of the Force.” Vader answered his master, who became more vested in the matter the moment his apprentice had mentioned the involvement of a Jedi, the institution that he had successfully corrupted and wiped them out to near extinction and utilized their most sacred temple as his palace. “To become a Jedi ?” The Dark Lord of the Sith intoned sinisterly. “That is what I believe, my master.” Vader replied. The Emperor was silent for a brief moment before he chuckled in a manner that was iced with sheer menace. “An interesting development. I don’t sense the qualities of a Jedi in Ms Shimmer but perhaps the desperation of this survivor in keeping the religion alive has indeed clouded their judgment.” Palpatine mused as he poked fun at the fallen order. “ Should I continue our pursuit of Sunset Shimmer,my master ?” Vader asked compliantly. “If what you sensed is true, you shall face Ms Shimmer again, and this time she will give in to the darkness within her. When that happens, bring her to me.” said Sidious. “ What of the Jedi ?” Vader asked, “ She has shown to be quite protective of her.” “Kill this Survivor, she is of no use to us.” Palpatine said almost instantly to which Vader replied with, “As you wish, my master.”