The Vapiren Terra of Fogra, a terra under the control of King Benirus and a mining kingdom whose main product were the various different metals and ores found there.
Currently, said terra was suffering a few issues due to their mining operation being disrupted. Jedi had been called in to investigate the situation and currently, half of those Jedi were riding an elevator leading up to the kingdom's surface. Skybreaker, Iron and the droid Springer were still reeling from what had just happened, the three having been attacked by relgarians and forced to flee. It didn't help that they had also lost two of their team.
"We have to speak to the king straight away," Skybreaker announced. "If we don't, who knows what'll happen to Flash and Shining." But as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, they found they weren't the only ones inside the building.
A bunch of single horned vapirens were currently getting into gas suits to protect themselves from the toxic gas inside the mine. One of them, was the Fogra Chief of Security. Calvaris. "Ah," he spotted them, "you're back." He then noticed the smaller number. "Where are the other two?"
"We need to talk to the king," Skybreaker stated. "We know what's attacking the mining droids."
"Good, you can tell me then. What is it? Is another terra trying to ruin us so they can steal all our business?"
"No," Iron stated. "It's the relgarians. They're the ones that attacked the droids and they attacked us as well."
"Well we don't know that for sure," Springer hovered up. "All we now is they attacked us. We shouldn't go jumping to conclusions. For all we know, them attacking us and the droids being destroyed could be completely separate."
"Even so," Calvaris put on his suit and lifted up a rifle. "If the relgarians are attacking, they need to be shown why they need to stay out of our mines."
"I've been wondering that," Skybreaker spoke up. "You said the relgarians live on the surface outside the mines. So how did they get in? From what I read in the info you gave us, the gas vents shouldn't be big enough for them to climb through. And they don't have the technical knowledge to make something that could dig through such a strong rock. How'd they get in."
"I don't know," Calvaris stated. "And I don't need to know. I'm going down there with these men and stopping them before they bankrupt our kingdom." He pushed past the Jedi and the soldiers started filing into the elevator. Once they were all inside, the doors closed and the lift was sent down into the mine.
"That guy's gonna get those men killed," Skybreaker stated. "Come on. We need to talk to the king." They nodded and headed out. "Springer, I've got a different job for you." Springer turned to him. "Go to the ship and use it to try and boost the signal to Shining's com. Or better yet, get a lock on his location."
"Got it," Springer nodded as they headed off in different directions. As they did, they hoped they could find Flash and Shining before it was too late.
What they didn't realise, was that Flash and Shining weren't actually in the mine anymore.
Flash let out a moan as he opened his eyes, his vision a little blurry but slowly stabilising as he centred himself. When he did, he realised he was in some kind of cone-shaped tent. A large wooden post was in the centre of it, which Flash was currently chained to.
He heard another moan and looked around the post, where he saw Shining sitting on the other side with his hands chained above his head as well. "Shining. You okay? Wake up?"
"Flash?" Shining began to look around, realising where they were. "Well, this isn't good."
"You don't say," Flash groaned.
"What happened? Last thing I remember, we'd just caught a trio of relgarians in their own trap."
"Yeah. Then you got hit by some kind of stun weapon."
"Great. These force-fields can protect against gas and radiation, but not getting hit by an energy bullet. The designer and I are gonna be having some serious words when we get out of this. But how long have we been out?" Flash didn't know, looking up at his power gauge and seeing around twelve and a half hours remained.
"Not too long. But..." Flash suddenly remembered who it was that shot them. "Princess Shiroara!"
"What about her?"
"She's the one working with the relgarians. She shot us." Shining hummed at this, then looked up at the metal shackles currently locking them against the wooden post.
"Any sign of our Lightsabers?" Flash looked around, but couldn't see a thing in the tent. Either the relgarians constructed it just for them, or they emptied the place out before putting them in there.
Flash was about to give up, but then he noticed a part of the tent looked a little loose. The tent was made of leather and the wooden post, but it had metal pegs hammered into the ground. And one of those pegs were half sticking out of the ground.
Taking a deep breath, Flash focused on the peg and reached out with The Force. As he did, the peg started shaking and slowly rocked itself out of the ground and the whole in the tent. And finally, it came flying towards Flash and he caught it. "Yes!" He reached up and started fiddling with the lock. But before he could unlock it, a clicking sound made him look around and see Shining's shackles fall off him. "How did you-"
"A little trick I learned from another Jedi master," Shining stood up. "If you know how it works, you can use The Force to pick a lock without needing any tools. I'll try and teach you it if we managed to get out of this alive." Flash rolled his eyes, as Shining undid his manacles.
Once the pair were free, they headed out of the tent once they were sure nobody was around. And when they did, they found they were still inside the badlands of Vapire. The fog still filled the air and there were many tents located around them.
They rushed towards the next closest tent, looking inside and seeing it was empty. They headed to the next tent and heard cries, making them glance in and see a baby relgarians laying on the ground weeping. They rushed away before a parent showed up and as they did, they heard a bunch of clattering and banging.
Following the noise, they weaved through the tents until they came to an area in the very centre of the village they were in. And when they reached it, they found an open area with many different droid parts piled up on top of the other.
Many relgarians were throwing the parts onto the pile, whilst a table could be seen at the very bottom of it. A table that Princess Shiroara was standing at as she took a droid apart.
"No," she groaned as she past the droid to a relgarian to throw on the pile. She brought up another droid and started digging through it, Flash and Shining sharing a look and wondering what she was doing. "No!" She let out a cry of annoyance, throwing the droid onto the ground. "None of them have one."
A relgarian stepped over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We find one. Just keep looking till find one."
Shiroara sighed as she opened up another but didn't find what she was looking for in that one either. "We need to find it and fast. If we don't, who knows what'll happen."
Flash and Shining shared a look. "What are they looking for?"
"I'm not sure," Shining replied. "But it can't be good. We need to get our Lightsabers and get out of here fast." But as he said that, they sensed something and looked around to see a relgarian had stepped up behind them and spotted the pair.
It growled at them before raising its arms and smashing them down towards the pair, who both leapt back as the large fists smashed into the ground and caused it to break apart. This caught the other's attention and made them look up, spotting the pair and all getting into a fighting stance.
"Who released them?" Shiroara cried, as several relgarians rushed ahead and attempting to punch the pair. But both leapt straight up and landed on the head of some relgarians, using them to bounce out of the surrounding crowd.
As they did, Flash spotted their Lightsabers on the table next to Shiroara. He quickly raised his hand and summoned them both to him, Shiroara attempting to grab them before he could. But she wasn't fast enough and Flash quickly tossed Shining's weapon back towards him, Shining catching it as the pair ignited the blades and landed on the edge of the relgarian horde.
Shiroara staggered away from them and reached down to grab her stun blaster, but Shining wasn't going to fall for that and used The Force to pull the blaster away from her. And before it reached him, he used his Lightsaber to cut the weapon in half. "Nobody move!" He then cried, pointed his sword at the relgarians attempting to get close to him. "Now we want some answers."
"Why are you destroying the mining droids?" Flash asked. "And why did you attack us." He turned to the princess. "And why are you working with them?"
"I'm not telling you anything," Shiroara stated. "We can't let them escape." The relgarians charged Shining swinging his blade attempting to scare them away. But the relgarians weren't buying that he would actually cut them and charged, Shining turning to Flash and gesturing for him to run.
He nodded and the pair began to run, the relgarians right on their tail as they tried to find a way to outrun them. But they were just too fast and there didn't appear to be any bridges or some convenient means of escape they could use.
But as they kept running, they noticed something in the mist. A figure.
"Who's that?" Flash asked, as they kept running towards it. The relgarians also saw it and skidded to a stop, letting out several roars of rage.
"Whoever it is, these guys clearly don't like them." The figure finally got closer enough for them to see what it was, shock appearing on their faces at the sight of a mining droid. "What the heck is that thing doing here?" The droid reached them and swung his body around, trying to cut their heads off using its shovel.
The pair ducked under the shovel as the machine continued rolling forwards at high speed, its pick-axe being replaced by a drill that it started thrusting at the relgarians.
The gas breathers roared as they leapt back, unable to fight against this machine which started spinning again to transform into a tornado. And as it did, it headed back towards the village. "Protect home!" One yelled, the lot rushing towards the droid and attempting to throw rocks and trees at it.
Flash and Shining was completely shocked by this, but knew they had to do something to help these creatures. So they ran forward and as they did, Shiroara came into view and gasped. "Try and disable it without causing too much damage. It'll have what we need." The relgarians tried to knock it over, but the droid was able to stay upright and attacked one of the tents.
Flash and Shining finally reached it, Flash being the first to reach it as it detected his presence. He then jumped down to his knees and skidded along the ground, using his Lightsaber to slash at its arms and cut them off. At the same time, Shining leapt above the droid and thrust his Lightsaber into its head.
The droid let out several whirring noises as it's electronic brain was melted, whilst Shining kept moving through the air and causing the Lightsaber to cut through more of it. The machine began to shake and rattle until its body went completely dead, Shining landing on the ground next to it and pulling the sword from the droid.
The relgarians stared at the destroyed machine, whilst Shiroara rushed up to it. "No, no, no, NOOO!" She inspected the machine and found its head was completely fried. "You idiots! You better hope what I'm looking for is in its chest." She opened up the area that held rocks and ore, opening up a panel inside of it and digging through its circuitry. "It's not there."
"What's not there?" Flash asked, "what the heck are you looking for?" Shiroara turned to glare at them, but Shining stopped forward and spoke first.
"We just saved all your hides, not to mention your village. Now we want some answers or else."
Shiroara looked like she wanted to argue, but a relgarian stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We tell them. Maybe help, like Shiroara."
"They're Jedi. They don't want to help. They just want their mining operation to continue."
"Well, you clearly know nothing about Jedi." Flash crossed his arms. "If there's something happening here, we want to know about it. Our duty is to help and if something more is happening here, we're honorbound to assist." Shining nodded at this, agreeing wholeheartedly as Shiroara seemed unsure.
"Just tell us what's happening," Shining replied. "And afterwards, if you don't think we believe you, feel free to attack us. Just know, we will be defending ourselves if you try."
Shiroara sighed. "Alright."
Back in the city, Skybreaker and Iron had gained an audience with King Benirus and had explained everything to him.
"The relgarians attacking?" Benirus repeated. "That's...that doesn't make any sense. What would they have to gain from stopping our mining efforts? We've been living in harmony with one another for generations."
"There's no telling why they're attacking," Skybreaker stated. "Our droid also brought up a good point. They might have attacked us, but there's no guarantee they attacked the droids. We never actually saw them attack any droids."
Iron nodded. "But the damage done to them, certainly look like they were smashed apart by a powerful punch of hit by a rock."
"I must contact the relgarians chiefs," Benirus stated. But then he sighed. "But I don't want to go accusing them of something without proof. There are many tribes down in the badlands. If I accuse one of them of attacking us, every tribe could be outraged and our relations could be severely strained."
"Maybe," Skybreaker nodded. "But you also can't let them continue doing this. If they think they can get away with it, they're not gonna stop. You need to put an end to this, before it's too late."
Benirus nodded, standing up and turning to Shelora. "Bring me the communication pad for the relgarians." The maid nodded and headed out of the room, Benirus turning to the Jedi. "I hope I can smooth things out between us and the relgarians. I'd hate to have to send Calvaris down into the mine in order to attack." This statement confused the Jedi, both tilting their heads.
"But...he's already gone down into the mines."
"What?" Benirus looked shocked by this. "I never gave him permission to do that. He was supposed to wait until you returned and gave your report."
"Well he went down," Iron replied. "And he took a bunch of heavily armed soldiers with him. They looked ready for a fight." Benirus frowned, clearly not happy about this development. He would need to have a word with his security chief.
But as he thought that, Shelora returned with a confused expression. "My apologies, your majesty. But the pad we use to talk to the relgarians is missing." The three turned to her. "It's not in its normal location. I looked all over, but it doesn't appear to have been placed around the area it should be in."
"What is going on?" Benirus asked. "Did someone else take it? What would they want to talk to the relgarians about?" Iron and Skybreaker were also curious, but also had other worries to think about. Mostly, Flash and Shining's loss in the mine. They needed to be found and quickly.
Back on the Shooting Star, Springer was hard at work trying to find Flash and Shining.
He had increased the signal to their coms and was scanning the area below the ship for said signal, but nothing appeared. "Come on," he groaned as he messed with the settings. "This ship's scanners should be able to pick you up from the other side of the planet. Why can't it find you?"
"Springer?" The droid hoped that was Flash, but then realized it was Skybreaker. Please tell me you've found some sign of Flash and Shining."
"Sorry," Springer told him. "I've got the scanner on high, but it's not detecting Flash or Shining anywhere inside the mine."
"I see. Then you need to change your tactics." Springer wondered what he meant by that. "Try doing a scan of the area around the mine. It's possible they found a way out and are in the badlands. If they are, we need to get them out before the relgarians find them."
"Alright. What did the king say?" Skybreaker told him he would explain later and to focus on Flash and Shining. As such, the droid connected to the flight controls of the ship and used it to take off. As he did, he reconfigured the scanner to increase range in exchange for strength. Hopefully, Flash and Shining were only on the surface. If they had followed the mine's paths to an area below the badlands, he might not be able to find them.
Back down in the cloud, Flash and Shining were now sitting in a large tent, Shiroara and the relgarians sitting around them.
Shiroara stared them down, as she started explaining. "I've been friends with the relgarians since I was young. Whilst my brother simply continued our peace agreement, I wanted to get to know them." She held something up. A tablet. "So whenever I had the chance, I'd sneak this communication pad out of its usual place and message them. After a few years of this, the relgarians invited me to come visit."
"So you've been sneaking out of the castle and found a way down here without anyone noticing?" Shining asked, with Shiroara nodding. "Okay. But what does this have to do with the relgarians attacking the mines and that droid?"
"That droid isn't the first one to come here," Shiroara stated. "The first came about two months ago. It rampaged through the village and did serious damage to the place until the relgarians managed to take it down."
"Seriously?" Flash was starting to wonder if these things had a design flaw.
"That was only the first. More droids started showing up. Every time they did, the relgarians barely managed to stop it. Eventually, they followed the tracks of one back to the source. Our mine."
"So they're attacking these droids to stop them from attacking them?" Shining asked. "I guess it's understandable then. But why did they attack us? Why not just contact the king and tell him what's been going on?"
"I tried," Shiroara told them. "I spoke to Calvaris about it and he said he would look into it. He did and found none of our droids were missing, so it couldn't have been us. But I felt like he was hiding something. When I tried to tell my brother, he stopped me saying Benirus had more important things to worry about."
"So you're saying Calvaris might be behind this?" Flash asked.
"I don't know," Shiroara sighed. "I've known him my whole life. I don't want to believe that the man who's been protecting our terra for so long, would do something that might bring us into conflict. That's why we've been doing this."
"What does attacking the droids and us accomplish?" Shining asked.
"I wanted to inspect the droids. I thought maybe someone had added something to our droids to make them hostile towards the relgarians. But Calvaris has had them strictly guarded ever since I spoke to him. The only time they've not been watched was when they were sent into the mines."
Shining nodded. "Okay, I get it now. You've been knocking out the droids and bringing them here to study, hoping to find something that would explain why they've been attacking you."
"Exactly," Shiroara nodded. "But every droid we've found looks completely normal. I hoped we could capture the one that attacked us to dissect. But, you two completely destroyed it and now we have no idea what's causing them to go out of control."
The Jedi actually felt a little bad about this. However, Flash suddenly remembered something and turned to Shining. "We got attacked by a droid in the mines." Shining realised he was right and reached into his pocket, pulling out the combat droid chip they had removed from their attempted killer.
"You found this inside one of our droids?" Shiroara asked, the pair having explained where they had gotten it from. "Then this is the proof. If we show this to my brother, there's no way he'll be able to deny what's going on. He'll start to investigate the droids."
"Maybe," Shining frowned, "but that doesn't explain how the heck these chips got into some of the droids. Someone had to have placed them into the droids. Do you think it could be Calvaris?"
"I hope not," Shiroara sighed. "But I can't say it's not a possibility. I'm sure my brother will be able to figure it out." She gestured into the fog. "My transport's just over there. We can use it to get out of here and talk to my brother." The pair nodded but as they were about to follow her, Shining's com system suddenly beeped.
"Hello? Flash? Shining?" It was Springer, Shining laughing as he held up his gauntlet.
"Springer, is that you?"
"Yeah. You managed to get out of the mine?"
"You bet," Flash nodded. "Where are you right now? We could use a lift."
"Way ahead of you." Some of the fog was suddenly blown away, causing the relgarians to cough and rush back into it, as the Shooting Star flew down from above.
Flash and Shining smirked and watched the ramp come down, both turning to Shiroara with Flash picking her up. The two leapt up into the ship before it quickly took off, heading back towards the terra. Once inside the ship, they all took off their suits. Flash and Shining gasped at getting to breath actual air, removing their helmets whilst Shiroara had to struggle out of her hazmat suit.
They headed into the cockpit and found Springer along at the controls. "You two okay?" He asked as they left the clouds. "We were worried you might have died or something."
"We're good," Flash assured him. "Thanks for finding us."
"Thank Master Skybreaker," Springer replied. "He told me to search the areas around the mine. How'd you get out of there anyway?"
"We'll explain later," Shining stated. "We have something to show the king."
"Okay. But why is the princess with you?" Shiroara whistled, clearly not wanting to let slip what she had been doing. They headed back to the castle and landed in the hanger once again." Shelora was waiting for them and when she saw Shiroara, her eyes went wide before turning to a glare.
Shiroara laughed and nervous laugh as they were led back to the throne room, where Iron, Skybreaker and King Benirus were waiting. "Shiroara?" Benirus stared at his sister, "what are you doing here?"
"She was on the Jedi ship," Shelora stated. Benirus' eyes went wide at this, the king giving his sister a shocked look as the girl let out a nervous laugh.
"I can explain." Benirus crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. Iron and Skybreaker gave the other two Jedi a confused look, clearly wanting to know what was going on. "Well...you see..." She tried to think of a way to explain everything that wouldn't get her in trouble.
"She's been helping the relgarians destroy your mining droids." Shiroara gave Flash a horrified look, whilst the others looked shocked. "She's been in secret contact with them for a while and she was the one that got them to start destroying the droids."
"Shiroara?" Benirus turned to her, "is this true?"
"It's a lot more complex than that," the princess told him before glaring at Flash. "Why did you do that?"
"We don't have time for you to beat around the bush." Flash turned back to Benirus, "something's happening with the mining droids. Something other than them getting damaged. When Shining and I were down in the mine, we ran into some of your droids and they tried to kill us."
"It's true," Shining nodded. "We dissected one and found something inside."
"What?" Benirus asked, as Shiroara showed him a chip. He took it and looked the piece of machinery over. "What am I looking at?"
"A combat chip," Flash replied. "Used in battle droids when they need to attack something. If it had one of those within it, even the most peaceful and harmless droid would attempt to kill anyone it saw. And it's been put in a lot of your mining droids."
"You can't be serious," Benirus told him.
"Deadly," Shiroara stated. "That's why the relgarians have been attacking the mines. To find one with a combat chip in order to show you how much danger they're being put in."
"And you knew about this?" Benirus asked, Shiroara nodding. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried," Shiroara stated. "But Calvaris wouldn't let me. He said I couldn't waste your time without any proof. So I tried to get proof. And now I have it."
Benirus stared down at the chip, whilst letting this new information sink in. "So the only reason the relgarians attacked our droids was because they were trying to find proof of them being attacked."
"Mostly," Shiroara nodded. "And also to protect themselves. The droids they destroyed didn't have any of these chips inside, but we couldn't know that. Sorry about them destroying so many droids. But we didn't have a choice."
"Yes, you did." Benirus stepped up to the throne and sat down. "You could have come to me. I would have listened to you."
"I told you. Calvaris wouldn't let me." Benirus frowned at this.
"Yes, you did. Did the relgarians at least try to contact us? Our communication for them is missing, but did they at least try and get in contact with us?"
"Communication pad?" Flash turned to Shiroara. "Don't you have that?" Benirus glared at her, as she let out another laugh and slowly held the device out. Shelora took it from her and moved over to hand it to the king, who looked it over and frowned.
"If the relgarians really were being attacked, they should have contacted us and made a statement. We would have looked into it. "
"Calvaris did look into it," Shiroara stated. "He said the attacks had nothing to do with us, but the relgarians tracked one of the attack droids to a hole leading into our mine."
"Sounds like Calvaris is hiding something," Skybreaker stated. "Why else would he not tell the king any of this and head down into the mine?"
"Calvaris is heading into the mine?" Shining asked, the others nodding. "But if he runs into the relgarians, they'll open fire and could start a war."
"We can't let that happen," Benirus stated. "Shelora. Attempt to get in contact with the assault squad and get them back up here right now." Shelora nodded and was about to head out, but stopped when they heard a strange beeping sound.
Said beeping was coming from a communication pad. The one Shiroara had just returned to her brother. The one that was only able to connect to the relgarians. "Why are they contacting us now?" Springer asked, as Benirus answered the communication.
"Shiroara!" A relgarian voice called out. "We being attacked. Soldiers attack village. Booming sticks. Huts on fire. Help!"
"What's going on?" Shiroara asked, but the Jedi had already rushed out of the throne room with Springer. As they did, Benirus frowned.
"Calvaris. What have you done?"
As soon as they were in the ship, Springer got it flying whilst the Jedi began strapping their suits on.
Like an action movie, the four pulled their gloves on, stepped into the metal boots and placed the helmets on their heads. Once the force fields were activated, the Jedi grabbed their Lightsabers and were ready to leap into action when Springer got the ship over the village.
As it descended over the village, the Jedi stepped over to the docking ramp as t began to open.
Down below, the relgarians screamed as the lasers came flying at them.
Their homes were being destroyed, several of their tribesmen had been hit and knocked down and nothing seemed able to stop the invading force of soldiers. "That's it men!" Calvaris stated. "We cannot allow these creatures back into our mine. We will drive them off, or dispose of them once and for all.
"YES SIR!" They all cried, though several had upset looks on their faces. It was clear they didn't want to do this, but it was an order from their commanding officer.
One of the soldiers aimed at a relgarian, who seemed to have chosen to fight. It had just picked up a large rock and threw it towards them, the soldier raising his blaster to destroy it. But when he tried to fire, something happened.
His blaster refused to work. It made several sounds, but no laser launched. "What?" But then he remembered the rock and cried out as he leapt to the side. The rock smashed into the ground, sending rubble flying everywhere.
Many of the soldiers barely managed to escape getting hit by these rocks, as Calvaris ordered them to keep shooting.
The soldier picked up his weapon and looked for signs of damage, but it appeared perfectly fine. What the heck was going on?
He didn't get to wonder this long, as one of the relgarians rushed over to try and crush him with a single punch. But at the last moment, Calvaris appeared and fired at the creature's back. This made it roar and fall to the ground, hurt but still alive.
Calvaris stepped forward and pointed his weapon at the creature. "You won't be harming my citizens again." He was about to shoot him in the face. But then, something happened.
The sound of a ship's engine made them all look up and see the Shooting Star flying down towards them, stopping just high enough so it didn't blow the smoke away and choke the relgarians.
From out of the ship, four figures leapt out and fell towards them. As they did, blue lights appeared by their sides and they soon landed without injury, despite the thirty foot drop they had just done.
The four Jedi stood in a circle, back to back glaring at the soldiers around them. The soldiers looked happy, clearly thinking the Jedi were there to help. But Calvaris looked worried. Horrified, even.
One of the soldiers pointed a blaster at a relgarian and fired, but Iron Core somehow moved in the blink of an eye and got between them. As the blaster fired, he used his Lightsaber Spear to deflect the attack. This shocked the soldiers, who started firing but the other Jedi leapt into action and fought against the laser blasts.
"What are you doing?" One of the soldiers asked, as Skybreaker leapt in front of him and spun his Double-Edge Lightsaber around. The next thing he knew, his and several other blasters were destroyed.
"The Jedi have turned their backs on us!" Calvaris cried, "shoot them down!" They all fired their weapons, but the Jedi easily blocking them all with their blades.
Flash rushed forward as he deflected the blaster fire, then slid on his knees when he got closer and used his sword to cut through the barrels of the blasters. The soldiers cried out as Flash slid behind them, whilst Shining used his blade to do the same to other members of the attack squad.
Skybreaker spun his weapon around, his arms a blur as he sent the shot that he deflected right back at the ones that fired them. But some incredible stroke of skill, or maybe Skybreaker using The Force, each blast ended up hitting the blaster that fired it and destroyed the weapon.
Up on the ship, Springer was watching all of this and spotted a group of soldiers aiming at Iron, who was rushing right at them. And when they tried to fire, the soldiers suddenly found their weapons weren't working. "Huh?" Springer asked, as he watched Iron cut up several guns with his spear's laser blade whilst also using the metal parts to knock some of the guns out of the soldier's hands.
When they were out of their hands, Iron thrust his hand forward and the soldiers were all sent flying backwards.
The Jedi continued to cut their way through the blasters, the soldiers being no match for them. It didn't help that some of their blasters started malfunctioning before the Jedi got to them, making it impossible for them to fire and defend themselves.
The only one whose weapon didn't break was Calvaris, who kept firing at them. One shot almost hit Flash's shoulder, the Padawan leaping to the side and glaring at him. "Hey!" He rushed forward, Calvaris continuing to fire but each shot got deflected. Eventually, Flash leapt into the air and did several spins as his Broadsaber hummed. The next thing Calvaris knew, his blaster had been cut into seventeen individual pieces, which fell to the ground in front of him.
"No!" He cried, as Flash landed behind him. When he did, Flash noticed some rope from one of the destroyed tents and used The Force to grab it. Before Calvaris could respond, the rope wrapped around him and his arms were bound to his side. "Let me go!" Flash soon had him tied up and when the other soldiers saw their commander in trouble, they looked ready to fight to the death. However.
"ENOUGH!" A voice echoed through the air, everyone looking up and seeing a small transport shuttle fly down and land in the middle of the field.
The back of the shuttle soon opened, revealing a pair of figures wearing gas suits. Benirus and Shiroara, both stepped out of the shuttle and looked around and the damage done.
The Shooting Star also landed, Springer flying out as the royals stepped through the fog. Benirus did not look happy, as he spotted Calvaris tied up by the Jedi's hands. Several soldiers rushed over and surrounded them. "Your highness, you can't be here. The Jedi have betrayed us and-"
"Oh, be quiet." Benirus pushed his way through them and stepped over to Flash and Calvaris. He also saw some relgarians walking closer, Shiroara running up to them.
"Are you alright?" She asked them. Several relgarians were looking a little beaten up, but the ones that had been shot were recovering with no signs of permanent injury. "Thank goodness."
"Your majesty!" Calvaris cried, "what are you doing here? The relgarians-"
"Are not our enemy," Benirus held up the combat chip and threw it to the ground in front of him. "They were only attacking our droids because someone turned them into makeshift attack bots."
"Really?" Calvaris asked. "That's...interesting."
"Stop it!" The king cried. "Shiroara told me she told you about this and you ''looked into it''. But all you did was cover your own back." He turned to the Jedi, Shelora used a scanner on the chip and found something. A fingerprint. Calvaris' fingerprint"
"I see," Skybreaker frowned. "He was the one behind all this. He had access to the droids, the authority to make sure nobody walked in on him when he was installing the chips and was able to get rid of any evidence he had tampered with them."
"Yes." Benirus stared down at Calvaris, a look of disappointment and shame on his face. "Why?" He asked. "Why did you do this? Risk war with the relgarians. What possible outcome could you be hoping for?"
Calvaris sighed. "Your majesty. You are a just and loving king. You care about our people and their wellbeing. But not enough to do what is needed." Benirus tilted his head, wondering what he was talking about. "Do you remember last year, when I suggested we improve our terra's security."
"Yes," Benirus nodded. "And I agreed with you. We improved our security. Upgraded the weapons we had and modernised the scanners."
"But you didn't agree to all my suggestions."
"What suggestions?" Shining asked, as Benirus let out a sigh.
"He wanted me to approve a purchase of combat droids. Robots strong enough to fight an army." Flash and Shining remembered how dangerous those mining droids had been, and that was only with a combat droid's chip. If the chip had been in a robot actually designed for fighting, there was no telling what kind of damage it could cause.
"Your majesty," Calvaris stated. "We need more firepower. Our terra is in great danger and if we don't make preparations now, it'll be too late when we need them."
"Need them for what?" Iron asked. "What would you possibly need combat droids for?"
"Our terra is the richest terra on this side of the planet. And that's not just a coincidence. Our mines are still choked full of raw materials. We've been mining for generations and we haven't even scratched the surface. But the other terras aren't so lucky. They're mines are starting to run dry. They've been having a harder and harder time meeting their quota."
"Yes," Benirus nodded. "I remember hearing about this."
"And you remember what I told you when we learned about it. That when they finally run out, they're gonna search for a new mine. And the best mine to take on this side of the planet is ours. They're going to come and take the mine from us."
"I see," Skybreaker nodded. "So you think they'll try and conquer you, take your mine and steal all your business."
"I don't think it. I know it. Once they get desperate enough, they'll attack. And we have to be ready to defend ourselves when that happens."
"That still doesn't explain why you attacked the relgarians," Flash told him. "How would wiping out an entire tribe prepare you for an upcoming invasion." But Springer was the one who answered.
"You were planning on losing this fight." They all turned to Springer, who flew over to one of the guns Flash had destroyed and scanned it. "Yeah, I thought that was strange. The gun was designed to fail. That's why it didn't fire. You sabotaged it." He scanned another one, then another and another. "You made it so all these guns would fail. You wanted to lose this fight and force Benirus to buy the combat droids you wanted."
"Seriously?" Flash asked. "So if we hadn't shown up when we did, all your men would probably have been beaten to death by the relgarians or something." The soldiers that heard this looked shocked, each of them turning to Calvaris as if asking if that was true or not.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Calvaris sighed. "Those soldiers will likely be the first to die when the other terras attack. And when that happens, we'll be forced to subscript the civilians into fighting because we don't have enough manpower. But if we had the droids, they could fight instead. These soldier's deaths would allow thousands of innocent people to survive. It had to be done."
Benirus barely seemed to recognise his friend, as he went over everything he had just learned. "You attacked these innocent relgarians, threatening to destroy our relationship with them, so that they would attack our mines. Then you would head down, attack and lead our men into certain death. Then, once you were the only survivor, you would rush back to me and state the only way to stop the relgarians would be to buy the combat droids."
Calvaris sighed, "yes. I'm not proud of this, but it had to be done." He glared at the Jedi, "and it would have worked if you fools had just minded your own business."
"You attacked innocent creatures and threatened to start a war," Iron growled.
"That is our business," Skybreaker nodded.
"Besides," Flash stated. "Even if we didn't come, your plan never would have worked." Calvaris turned to him. "Benirus was going to contact the relgarians. The only reason he didn't is because Shiroara had the communication pad. He would have called the relgarians, they would have told him about the droid attacks and you would have been found out."
"Please," Calvaris smirked. "You really think his majesty would have believed them over me?"
"Maybe not," Shiroara stepped forward. "But he would have believed me. I was there during the last droid attack. Your little stunt might have resulted in my injury or death." Benirus glared at his, whilst Calvaris looked away.
"Calvaris," Benirus sighed. "I understand you care about the terra and want to protect it. But you've gone too far. Instead of telling me about your worries so that I could try and find a diplomatic solution to the situation, you attacked the innocent and threatened to start the war you feared would start. You didn't have any proof the other terras will one day attack us, but you went ahead and prepared for that situation anyway."
"What would you rather I do?" Calvaris asked. "Sit around and wait for them to be at our doorstep before taking action. We must protect ourselves from the enemy."
"But that's the point," Skybreaker stated. "You have no idea whether or not you even have an enemy." Calvaris glared at him. "If all you ever see are enemies, then that's all you'll ever have." The others nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly whilst Calvaris clearly didn't believe that.
He turned to the king. "Your majesty. I'm begging you. You have to add to our terra's defences. Please, what harm is there in getting a few combat droids. Even if the Jedi are right and nobody attacks us, isn't it better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them?"
Benirus sighed. "I don't know. I fear allowing any more war machines into our terra is just inviting something to show up and justify their need." He turned away from him. "I may consider adding combat droids to our defences." Calvaris smiled. "However, I have more important things to focus our terra's wealth on."
"Like what?"
Benirus turned to him, a glare on his face. "First I have to work on rebuilding relations with the relgarians, repairing all the damage you caused in your mad campaign. Then I'll have to replace all the mining droids that you made them destroy, not to mention rearming the soldiers thanks to you getting their weapons destroyed. That's assuming they even want to continue as guards. I know I'd be hesitant if my commanding officer tried to get me killed."
Calvaris looked down, shame clear on his face.
"As for you, Calvaris. I have no choice but to imprison you until I can decide what punishment is good enough for the pain you caused. It's only for your years of loyal service that I'm not throwing you into the worst dungeon I can find and throwing away the key." Calvaris frowned as Benirus turned away from him. "Get him out of my sight." The guards pulled him away, the three disappearing into the mist whilst Benirus' body shook with rage and betrayal.
Skybreaker stepped over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. Even if his intentions were for the best, his actions can't be justified."
Benirus nodded before turning to the relgarians, stepping over to them. Once he was in front of the group, he shocked everyone by falling to his knees and bowing his head. "I beg your forgiveness! I allowed this conspiracy to go on under my nose and your people suffered for it. I can do nothing but plead for mercy on behalf of my terra. And if you need someone to blame and punish for this attack, I offer myself in penense."
This shocked everyone, the relgarians the most shocked. "You give up life for those ruled by you?"
"It is a king's duty to put his people's needs before his own," Benirus stated. "These soldiers attacked you, but they were only following the orders of another. If you must take a life to forgive them, then take mine."
The relgarians glanced at one another, each trying to figure out what to do.
Then, one stepped forward and loomed over the king. Flash reached for his blade, but Shining stopped him. "This matter is out of our hands." Flash frowned, not liking the idea of letting someone be killed right in front of him.
The relgarian raised its fist, looking ready to end the king's life forever. But instead of slamming it down on him, the alien placed it on his shoulder. "Good king. Cares for all. Bad to make suffer for other's mistake." Benirus looked up in shock, as the relgarians turned to his clan and started growling and roaring. The others all seemed to agree with whatever he was saying before he turned back to them. "We good. But no let happen again."
"I promise you," Benirus picked himself up. "I'll make sure nothing like this happens again." He then turned to Shiroara, who rushed over and hugged him. "And to make absolutely sure, I'm making my sister here the official ambassador to the relgarians."
"Really?" She looked shocked, as Benirus nodded.
"Yes. It's clear how much you care for them. I can't think of a better person to be the bridge between out people. And if anything should ever happen with them, you can come to me and I'll listen. No matter what the problem might be."
"Thank you," she smiled before turning to the Jed. "And thank you all. Who knows what might have happened if you hadn't come when you did."
"No problem," Shining assured her. "And if Calvaris' wild fears actually do come true, always know you can call us for help." Benirus and Shiroara smiled, happy to hear that. This situation might not have started out the best, but now that things had calmed down they could focus on improving relations between the terra and relgarians. Soon, vapire's mining industry would be restored and all would be well.
Hours later, The Shooting Star left the planet's atmosphere with Springer and the Jedi aboard.
Flash stared out the window and smiled as the gassy planet grew smaller. He then turned to Shining, who was working on flying the ship. "So, how'd you think I did for my first mission?"
"How do you think you did?" Shining asked, Flash having a feeling he wanted to maybe tear the Padawan down when he started getting a little cocky. But Flash wouldn't give him that chance.
"Well, I could have done better. I let myself fall into that hole and get separated from the others. Can't make a rookie mistake like that again. It'd just be embarrassing." Shining glared at him, since he had also fallen into that hole. "I also need to work on my reaction time. Letting myself get hit by Shiroara's stun gun was just lame."
"Seriously?" Shining was starting to wonder if he should ask Flash to go inspect the airlock.
"But I did manage to find that combat chip in the droid. Who knows what would have happened if we didn't have that. Plus, I totally saved you from a deadly fall. So...I think I did about even."
"Yeah, sure you did." Shining decided to focus back on flying before Flash said something that would make the man want to crash them into a meteor. "But seriously, you did good kid. Keep that work up and you'll be a Jedi in no time."
"Really?"
"Really." As he said that, Skybreaker and Iron arrived with Springer right behind them. The four sat in the cockpit, staring at the vast emptiness of space. Shining had finished locking in the coordinates for Canterlot and once they were far enough away from the planet, he kicked the hyperdrive into action and the ship zoomed off into galactic corridor.
Their task completed, the Jedi would return to the temple in order to give a report on what had happened. And the Jedi Council would have nothing but praise for them, especially Flash since this was his first mission. The first of many, Flash hoped, as he continued his journey to become a Jedi Knight.