Flash and Shining were on a mission. A mission to save their friends and stop the invaders that were up to no good.
The two Jedi made their way through the trees, riding upon their speeder bikes in hopes of finding a way to free the captured Jedi. But as they drew closer to the area the other speeder's signals were coming from, Shining made a motion to halt.
"What's up?" Flash asked, as they slowed the vehicles to a stop.
"Our bikes are gonna draw too much attention," Shining replied. "We'll need to travel the rest of the way by foot." Flash frowned, but knew Shining was right. They quickly found a large rock in the middle of the forest and hid their bikes behind it, using some leaves and other foliage to cover them before making their way towards the valley that Luna and the others had gone to investigate.
As they got closer, they both went into stealth mode. They knew the soldiers were likely patrolling the area and if they were spotted, their element of surprise would be lost.
And sure enough, a trio of insect troopers walked past. Flash and Shining hid behind some trees, both doing their best to keep their breath steady so they didn't make any noise. They had to wait a good while, but the soldiers soon walked out of sight and the pair got down onto the ground to shuffle along it.
They made their way towards the edge of the cliff, Flash not seeing anything whilst Shining nodded.
"There's a holographic field, keeping the camp hidden." He pointed to parts of the valley, explaining what he had seen. "And in the middle of it all is the anti-aircraft cannon. I don't know how many more they have in the area, but that one looked pretty powerful."
"So our friends are trapped down there and the only way to save them, is to fight through a few hundred bug fighters."
Shining sighed. "It's times like this, I wish Cadance and Thorax were here." Flash turned to him in surprise. "Thorax is surprisingly good at disguising himself. If he were here, he'd find a way to get a replica of their costume and stroll right into the camp without issue."
"Well he's not here," Flash sighed as he looked down at the valley. Then, he noticed the river running through it. "That waterfall. The image showed it was split in half."
"Yeah, but the river still flowers through the camp. They redirected it back into the river, so that the area not in the hologram was unaffected."
Flash smirked, "then I think I know how we get into the camp." Shining gave him a quizzical look.
Down below, trapped inside a metal box of a cage, the other Jedi were hard at work trying to escape.
Whilst still strapped to the metal Y-shapes, the Jedi were all focusing on Luna's restraint. They had their eyes closed and groaned as they tried to use The Force to rip the metal apart, but even with all of them together the metal was just too strong. "It's no good," Trixie gasped.
"She is right," First sighed. "The only way we are getting out of these is if someone lets us out." As soon as he said that, the doors of the containment cell opened and a soldier stepped inside. He walked around, checking their restraints. And when he got to Luna's, he seemed to notice something had happened to it.
Luna glared at him, then focused. "You will release us from these restraints and return our Lightsabers to us." They all smirked, knowing Luna's will could dominate almost anyone. But to their shock, the insect soldier didn't respond. They just kept checking on them. "You will release us from these restraints and return our Lightsabers to us." Again, the insect did nothing but keep working.
"Their will is stronger than master Luna's?" Fluttershy whispered, as First frowned.
"We did not sense any emotions from them either," he pointed out. "I do not know if it is their armor, or a natural state of their species. But they appear immune to any Force based ability." They all frowned at this, only for Trixie to notice something hanging from the soldier's belt.
She glanced over at the restraint next to her, which had a control panel on the side along with a section that looked like a card slid between it. A card like the one on the soldier's belt.
Trixie waited until the soldier wasn't looking and focused on the card, which began to shake and wobble. The others besides noticed this and realised what Trixie was doing, so looked over at the ones opposite them and mouthed three words. "Keep him distracted."
They nodded and Luna called out to him. "Why do you work for that Solara woman?" She asked, the soldier looking up at her. "If you're immune to The Force, why let yourselves be slaves to her? Do you owe her some kind of debt? Did she threaten your family? Answer me!" But the soldier just stayed quiet and turned away from her, making them gasp as Trixie was forced to drop her attempts to get the card.
He stared at them and Trixie tried to look as innocent as possible, the soldier eventually leaving the containment cell and making them all sigh. "So much for that?" Trixie groaned, only to hear Fluttershy giggle. She looked up and saw the card floating in front of the pink haired girl. "How..."
"Thanks for loosening it out of the slot," Fluttershy smiled. "When he turned around, I was able to pull it out without issue." Trixie smirked, as Fluttershy turned to Luna and slowly moved the card towards her control panel. But getting it to slot into place wasn't going to be easy. And even after they freed themselves, what next?
There was an entire army between them and their escape. And even if they tried to steal some of those ships, that cannon would blast them out of the sky before they could get very far. This wasn't going to be easy.
Back outside, the soldiers continued to do their duties.
Some continued to patrol the camp, whilst others were doing maintenance on their ships and weapons. Others were simply standing around, waiting to act at a moments notice should the need arrive. But none of them thought about looking towards the river, which continued to flow through the camp. Several bridges had been set up so they could move over the water, but there had been no defences set up to prevent assault from the water.
As such, Flash and Shining were using this chink in their armor to sneak into the camp.
The pair were swimming up the river, using The Force to weaken the current around them so they were swept down stream. The pair had a rebreather in their mouths, allowing them to filter out the hydrogen in the water they were breathing in and leaving them with nothing but pure oxygen.
They continued to swim as fast as they could, staying as close to the bottom as possible to the bottom so they didn't splash above the water. And eventually, they reached the area of the river closest to the air cannon and found a bridge to hide under before surfacing. They glanced out from under the wooden panels, focusing on the cannon and spotting a door leading into the interior.
"That's where we need to go. If we can get in there, we can disable the cannon and it'll be safe to fly in and save everyone."
"Alright," Flash nodded, "but are you sure both going in's a good idea? Two people are a lot more likely to be spotted than one."
Shining frowned, "you're right. I'll head in there and disable it. You see if you can find the others." He turned towards the waterfall, which was still split to allow the entrance to the mysterious cave to be revealed. "Try in there. I don't know if there's anyone in there, so it might be a bit dangerous. But-"
"Don't worry," Flash assured him. "I'll be fine. You just make sure we can get the heck off this planet." Shining nodded as they looked around, making sure nobody was looking. There were a lot of soldiers, so someone always seemed to be looking in their direction.
"New plan," Shining replied as he pointed to a large stack of crates. "Distraction." Flash nodded and turned his focus on the crates, holding his hands out to mimic a hand grasping one of the lower crates. He then pulled it forward.
Shining spotted a bunch of crates in the opposite direction and did the same. He wasn't sure if two crate stacks falling would look suspicious, but it was the best option he had right now. They both pulled at the same time, the lower crates moving out with the ones on top toppling after them.
The soldiers all turn to this, Flash and Shining rushing into action as they did.
Shining jumped out of the water and ran for the door, using The Force to open it so he could get inside as fast as he could. He slammed the door behind him, the soldiers not noticing him whilst Flash headed towards the tunnel.
"Did you hear that?" A Jedi asked, as Fluttershy floated the card over to Luna's controls. "Sounds like something's happening outside."
"Most likely our friends," First stated. "Flash and Shining must be trying to help us escape. But against that many soldiers, it is going to be impossible for them." The Jedi frowned, only to hear a clicking noise and look back to see Luna's shackles coming undone.
The Jedi Master stepped forward, rubbing her wrists as she smiled. "Then let's try and even the odds." She grabbed the card and quickly started freeing them, the Jedi smiling as they were able to step away from the restraints. And no sooner was the last member free, the doors opened up with a soldier coming in to check on them.
But no sooner did he see them free, Luna pulled his blaster from his hands and fired at him.
He cried, falling to the ground with the soldiers nearby turning to see this. But the Jedi rushed outside and Luna started firing at anything that moved, the rest of them pulling their blasters towards them as the insects fell.
The soldiers around them saw this and once the shock had worn off, they pointed their weapons at the Jedi. But the Jedi quickly replied with their own attacks, blasting at them as they fanned out to not get boxed in. And as they did, First spotted a nearby tent that looked important.
"Fluttershy!" He cried, his apprentice following him as he ran towards the tent.
They shot their way to it and got inside, First smiling when he saw a bunch of Lightsabers on a table within it. That included theirs, First dropping his blaster and grabbing his duel weapons. Fluttershy doing the same. And as they picked the others up, First saw something on the table under them. A diagram of some kind.
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, as First picked the diagram up and saw it was some kind of circle with a square within it. The square appeared to have an image on it, a symbol First couldn't quite decipher.
"I do not know," he replied. "But I am sure the council will want to see it." He folded it up and stuffed it into his robes, then switched his weapons to their blaster mode. "For now, let us focus on escaping this place." Fluttershy nodded as she held the Lightsabers in hand, the pair rushing back out.
First had to protect his student, as they made their way back towards the others to deliver the weapons. She threw Luna's towards her and as soon as she caught it, the Jedi Master dropped the blaster and rushed forward. She swung her duel ended blade around to deflect multiple blasts, then split the saber and began an elaborate dance in order to destroy the many blasters around her.
This distracted the soldiers, allowing Fluttershy to return the rest of their Lightsabers. Soon, the Jedi were once again armed with the thing that made them the most deadly.
The blasts and explosions had caught the ear of Flash, but he had already made it into the cave before the other Jedi left.
He turned back to the entrance, fearing that Shining had been found and was now fighting to stay alive and un-captured. But then he heard multiple Lightsabers, which made him smile as he realised the other Jedi must have escaped. Or more Jedi had shown up to help.
He was about to go help, but then he happened to look back at the end of the tunnel and see something.
It was a large round hole, sat perfectly in the centre of the square wall. The circle was so perfect, a very small alien could use it to drive a very small ground vehicle around without feeling a single bump.
Curiosity got the better of him and Flash stepped towards it, placing a hand on hole and looking through it. He found there was another chamber behind the hole, which had previously been sealed up by a round seal that was currently floating off to the side of it.
He climbed through the hole and realised he was at the top of a stone staircase, descending down into the darkness of the chamber. It was so dark, Flash couldn't see two feet in front of his face. He quickly took out his Lightsaber and ignited it, the chamber filling with blue light as he began to make his way down the stairs.
With nothing else to do, he counted the steps and found himself reaching the bottom after the one hundredth. He lifted his blade higher, allowing him to fill more of the room with light. And as he did, he saw something straight ahead. Some kind of altar in the middle of the room, sitting atop a raised platform.
Stepping up to the platform, he noticed a bunch of stone goblets in each corner. He climbed up onto the platform and looked within a goblet, the light of his sword illuminating some kind of liquid within it. "Huh?" He looked at his Lightsaber and carefully placed it closer to the liquid, keeping his head back as the sword touched it.
Flames exploded out of the goblet, filling the room with light and making him smirk.
Quickly igniting the other three goblets, he let the chamber grow bright and turned towards the stone table. There was nothing on it. Nothing but dust and a few cobwebs. Flash wondered what the point of it was, but then he noticed something in the middle of the table. More specifically, an absence of something.
A spot that was perfectly clean, lacking any dust or passage of time. And that could only mean one thing. "Something was on here. Something that was removed recently."
It was then he felt a presence behind him. A strong surge of emotion, coming from a still dark corner of the chamber.
He slowly turned towards that area and when he did, a red light slowly extended out of the darkness and illuminated the area. Doing so also illuminated the figure holding the Lightsaber, Flash staring into the masked eyes of the one commanding the insect soldiers.
Flash slowly stepped down off the platform, his Lightsaber at the ready as the figure stared at it. "Nice sword," Solara laughed. "Interesting design."
"Thanks," Flash smirked, "shame I can't say the same for you. Red. So cliche. Just screams, 'I'm trying too hard to look badass.' Maybe you should try a more refreshing colour. I hear yellow is all the rage these days."
"Funny," she replied. "Enjoy your last words. I can't let you or any of the Jedi leave this place. Not after everything you've seen."
"Honestly, I have no idea what I've seen. This just looks like an old Jedi temple."
"It is. But I'm sure, once you told those fools on the Jedi Council, they would figure it all out. I can't let that happen." Before Flash could respond, Solara rushed forward and swung her blade towards him.
Flash barely had time to block, the red and blue sabers clashing as the pair were inches from one another. The surprise caused Flash to lose his footing and he ended up staggering back, but managed to stay on his feet as Solara chased after him and slashed at him again. This time, he was ready and swung his blade to meet her's.
The dark room was illuminated with many different flashes of light, as the red and blue Lightsabers were constantly smashed into each other. Flash quickly realised that whoever this was, she was clearly a skilled duellist. She moved with incredible grace and precision, Flash barely able to keep up with her movements.
'This isn't good.'
Back above, as the Jedi continued to fight against the insects, Shining was inside the laser cannon working to disable it.
He was busy rewiring different sections of it, but it was a slow and difficult process. "Come on." He removed one wire and connected it to another, then pulled one circuit out and swapped it with another. As he did, he heard the sounds of fighting outside.
"I really hope that's not because of Flash." He quickly activated his gauntlet, trying to get a signal to Springer. It was weak, but he was able to open a channel to him. "Springer, you hear me?"
"I hear you," the droid replied. "Were you able to find the Jedi?"
"Yeah. Flash and I are in the enemy camp right now. I'm working on disabling the cannon. Once it's down-" He stopped when he heard footsteps and spun around, as an insect soldier appeared.
"Halt!" He started firing and Shining barely managed to dodge the attack, grabbing his Lightsaber as he did and using it to block the next laser. The area they were in was rather cramped, a metal corridor full of wires and other pieces of machinery. This meant Shining had very little room to maneuver, as he used his Lightsaber to block all the incoming blasts. It also meant he accidentally cut through wires and machines, causing several alarms to go off.
He finally reached the soldier and cut his blaster in half, whilst also gouging a large section of the wall next to him. He then pushed the soldier backwards, slamming him into the back wall and making him groan as multiple explosions filled the air as well.
"That's not good," Shining gulped as he began to run for the exit. "Springer, this thing's about to blow. You'll be free to fly in when I give the word."
"Roger."
Shining leapt out of the door and into a warzone, the Jedi spotting Luna cutting her way through several soldiers as the rest of the Jedi did their best to defeat the few attacking them. "Shining!" He turned to see Trixie, as she cut another soldier down. "Where's Flash?"
"That's what I was hoping you'd tell me," Shining replied. "Isn't he the one who freed you?" Trixie shook her head as she ducked, a blast flying overhead that Shining deflected. "Then where is he?" He turned towards the waterfall tunnel, "have you been in there?"
"No," Trixie deflected another blast, "why?" Shining didn't answer and ran towards it, fighting his way through the horde of soldiers as he wondered what could have held Flash up whilst he was in there.
He cut another soldier down and leapt to the side, the insect's armor beginning to beep. And his wasn't the only one. Whenever a soldier was killed or disarmed, their suits exploded. Shining didn't know why, but he assumed it was so they couldn't be captured, interrogated or studied. Information was key in anything and even a body could give away important intel.
This made travelling through the camp rather dangerous, since Shining had to be careful not to step into the path of an explosion. "Hold on, Flash!"
Flash was still having trouble fighting against Solara, the Sith's skills clearly overshadowing his.
He blocked one of her strikes, but then she spun around and tried to cut him at the waist. Flash leapt back, the tip of the sword missing his stomach as he did so, but Solara was instantly on the attack and leapt forward to perform a downward slash.
Flash blocked her strike, groaning as he was forced onto one knee. Solara pushed down and he groaned. "You should have trained more. If you're the best the Jedi can do, defeating you fools isn't going to be a very difficult task."
Flash smirked. "Actually, I've only been a Jedi for a couple of weeks." Solara tilted her head, "it's a whole thing that I won't get into." He quickly used her confusion to push her backwards, then started attacking as hard as he could. He used every trick and manoeuvre he had been taught, by both Grand and Shining. But nothing he did took Solara by surprise.
She deflected a slash and didn't fall for his feint, her red blade knocking the blue one away before she tried to cut off one of his legs.
"Wow!" He jumped back, checking his leg to make sure he still had it. "Geez, who taught you to fight like this?"
"A powerful Force user," Solara replied. "One who will one day rule this galaxy, once we have destroyed all vestiges of Jedi filth from it." Flash frowned. He wasn't sure why, but something didn't feel right about the way she said that. He was reminded of himself, when Celestia had asked him to recite portions of the Jedi code perfectly. That was the sound of someone who had those words drilled into their head, with no emotion behind it whatsoever.
He ran forward and slashed at her, Solara quickly slashing back in an attempt to cut him down. Once again, Flash found himself outmatched. He had the speed advantage, but Solara had the skill, training and a bunch more experience than him.
At the final moment, she knocked Flash's Lightsaber away from her and thrust her hand forward. Flash suddenly felt a wall of force slam into him, knocking him flying backwards as his Lightsaber was thrown from his grasp.
"Gyah!" He crashed into the back wall and fell to the ground, his head spinning as he tried to pick himself up.
The world was swirling around, with multiple copies of Solara walking towards him with her Lightsaber pointed at him. When she finally fused into one, Flash realised he was in serious trouble. "Goodbye, Jedi." She raised her weapon, ready to cut him down. But before she could, a blue light appeared behind her.
She had obviously sensed this too, spinning around and blocking the incoming Lightsaber with her own. She soon found herself staring at Shining Armor, the two pushing against one another until Shining leapt back and glanced around her.
"You okay?" He asked, as Flash started picking himself up.
"Peachy." He looked around, trying to locate his Lightsaber. But the chamber was so dark, he had no idea where it might have fallen. "She's got something. We can't let her get away with it!" Solara attacked before Shining could ask any more questions, the Sith attacking with everything she had.
Shining fought back, the Jedi Knight having a much better time against her than Flash did. Flash frowned, feeling a little insulted by this. But he knew he had to focus on finding his weapon and helping his master out.
Once again, red and blue flashes filled the air as the pair danced around one another. Shining's more defensive style of swordplay, allowed him to block and deflect each and everyone of Solara's attack without losing any ground to her. And when she gave a rare opening, he capitalised on it and struck.
"Gaaah!" Solara had to leap back, to avoid getting slashed by Shining. "Now we're having fun. Good to know not all Jedi are completely useless in a fight. There'd be no fun in beating you if it was easy."
"Don't underestimate Flash," Shining replied quietly enough not to be heard. "He might still be learning, but he's a quick study. Give him time and he might be the strongest Jedi the order has ever seen." Solara tilted her head. "And that's not somebody you want as your enemy. Especially after what your little soldiers did to him."
"Oh. And what did my soldiers do to him?" As she said that, another Lightsaber ignited and she turned to see Flash had found his weapon. The Padawan moved towards her, a hard look on his face.
"They attacked the forest moon that I was born on. They attacked me and my friends, without reason or mercy. I don't know what happened to the rest of the people I grew up with, but my master died protecting me. It's only thanks to him that I'm alive right now. Because of the attack you performed on us."
"Is that so?" Solara chucked, "then I guess that makes him the first casualty of this war. A war that will end with the rest of the Jedi, as dead as he is." Flash's glare hardened, his grip on his Lightsaber tightening.
"Flash," Shining called out to him, "calm down. She's just trying to rile you up. Rage will only blind you, let you become sloppy. Tune out whatever she says." With that, Shining rushed forward and slashed at her. Solara started fighting back and as she did, Flash also charged.
Flash and Shining had trained for just such an occasion, the pair having memorised each other's movements through countless duels. Because of this, they were able to fight side by side without getting in one another's way. As such, Solara was forced to protect herself from twice the attack. And even with her skill, she quickly realised she was now outmatched.
She blocked Flash's slash and dodged Shining's stab, her Lightsaber swinging wildly with Flash leaping back before Shining blocked with his sword. Solara quickly used this opening to Force Push Flash, but the Padawan was ready this time and only got pushed back a few feet. She then pushed Shining back with her saber before leaping into the air.
The blue bladed Force users watched her flip through the air, eventually landing halfway up the stairs leading back outside. "Well. this has been fun. But I really need to get going. Things to do and all. Maybe we'll meet again some day." She gave a two fingered salute. "Ciao." With that, she rushed up the stairs as the Jedi followed behind her.
When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw Solara standing at the hole. She was pointing her hand towards the floating circle, which had several square sections sliding around. As it did, the circles started moving towards the hole and she leapt through it. Flash and Shining ran to escape, but the hole was sealed before they could get through.
Flash pulled on the rock, trying to pry it open. Shining tried to cut through it with his Lightsaber, only to be shocked when he found the stone wasn't even burned by it. "What's this thing made of?"
"We've gotta get out of here!" Flash cried, continuing to pull on the stone with little success. "What the heck did she do?"
"It looked like she moved something on the other side. Probably some kind of locking mechanism." He placed a hand on the rock and closed his eyes. When he did, he was amazed to find the stone was hollow. Inside were a bunch of moving parts, creating an elaborate lock that Shining couldn't hope to crack. "If we don't find a way out of here, who knows how long we'll last."
"I just hope the others are okay," Flash gulped.
Back outside, the camp was a complete disaster.
Multiple craters and burns littered the ground, resulting from the many explosions that had occurred when the soldiers blew up. Several ships had been destroyed, but there were still many more that had survived. And the tanks that had been patrolling around the surrounding area had returned and were now firing upon the Jedi from above.
Luna and the rest of the Jedi were starting to feel tired, the constant fighting having worn them all out. But they didn't have time to rest, the lot of them taking shelter from the tanks by hiding behind the cannon. "What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, Luna unable to think since another blast came down and shook the ground.
Luna frowned as she glanced around the cannon, spotting the tanks up on the cliff above. She then noticed movement and looked around, where she saw Solara running out of the tunnel. "Where's she going?" The Sith looked around, then gave an order to the remaining soldiers before they ran over to where the remaining fighters were standing. "They're making a run for it!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Trixie asked.
"They came here for a reason," First pointed out. "If they are leaving, it means they must have found what they came for. And I have a feeling it is not something we want a Sith to have."
"He's right," Luna used her gauntlet to connect to the Shooting Star. "Springer, are you there?"
"Yup. Ready for pick up?"
"Not yet. We need you to get over here. There are some ships about to take off. You can't let them get off the planet."
"Got it. I'll do what I can, but the Shooting Star isn't exactly built for combat." Luna frowned, knowing her was right. She quickly ducked back into the behind the cannon, as a blast from the tank exploded and debris was sent everywhere. She then heard the sounds of ships beginning to power up, Solara preparing to fly up into the air to attempt to escape with whatever she had taken from that hidden temple.
Speaking of the temple, she looked back at the place and realised both Flash and Shining were still in there. If they hadn't come out yet, then something bad must have happened.
"First," she looked back at the knight, "I need you to go check on the temple. If Flash and Shining are okay, I want to know right now." First looked over at the temple, realising that getting to it wasn't going to be easy.
"If the tank sees me head inside, it will likely blast the entrance and trap us all inside."
"Leave the tanks to us," Luna told him. "Jedi, we're going to head in the opposite direction. Attack the fighters and make it look like we're trying to stop them from taking off." They nodded and rushed out from around the cannon, charging at full speed towards the ships.
The tanks quickly started firing at them, but the Jedi were too quick and managed to get towards the fighters. This meant the tanks could no longer fire, since they clearly didn't want to destroy their own ships.
The fighters were still in the process of taking off, some of them already hovering in the air. But as they saw the Jedi approaching, they began to turn their guns on them.
The Jedi all stood in a line and as the fighters shot at them, they swung their blades in unison and deflected the blasts. The impacts were strong, meaning they were also staggered, but the lasers were still repelled and some struck the fighters.
Those that didn't deflect a blast kept running forward and slashed at the grounded fighters, damaging them so that they couldn't take off. But one of the fighters managed to get into the air before it was too late. Solara's.
The Sith took to the air, glaring back at the destruction those Jedi had caused. But she had escaped and that was the most important thing. Or that's what she thought, until she suddenly felt her ship shake. "What?" Her console blared, showing a ship that had appeared behind her.
She glanced back and saw the Shooting Star flying behind her, its guns firing at her but whoever was firing had a terrible aim. The guns fired in random directions, whilst the ship looked like it was having trouble flying in a straight line.
"Clearly not a woman at the controls," she laughed. "If it was, they wouldn't have such a hard time multi-tasking." She wanted to swing around and destroy the ship, but she couldn't risk a lucky shot disabling her.
She quickly did several barrel rolls to get out of the ship's line of sight, then floored the engines to pick up speed.
"Circuits!" Springer cursed, taking his systems out of the guns and placing them in the scanners systems.
The ship wasn't designed to be piloted by one person and even a droid couldn't do everything, Springer only being able to interface with two of the ship's systems. As such, he lost sight of Solara's ship and tried to pick her up with the radar. But by the time he got the system loaded, Solara was out of range.
"Oh, man. I'm so getting dismantled for this." He flew into the atmosphere, hoping to maybe find her there. But when he did, he sent out a wide range scan and found nothing. She was gone.
Back in the tomb, Flash and Shining continued to push and pull against the seal. Having no clue how the locking mechanism worked, this was all they could think to do.
"There has to be some way to undo it from this side," Shining groaned.
"Unless it was specifically designed not to be," Flash pointed out. They both sighed, thinking this might be the end for them. However, they soon heard a clicking and turning sound, coming from the seal. Both shared a look and stepped back, igniting their Lightsabers ready to defend themselves if something happened.
Then, the seal began to move out of the hole and float away from it, revealing someone behind it. "First," Shining sighed, "am I glad to see you."
"Just be thankful I found these instructions earlier," First showed them a diagram of the seal they had just been trapped behind. "If I had not, I might have never known how to unlock this door. It appears that there is something inside the seal, that can only be moved using The Force. If I had not found this diagram, I would not have known which part to lift in order to shift the pattern into place."
Another explosion filled the air, making them all look towards one another before running out the tunnel.
When they got outside, they saw the tanks up on the cliff continuing to fire at the Jedi. Said Jedi were attempting to get back towards the cliff, the other fighters having been destroyed in the battle. But the tanks were preventing them from getting close enough.
"They need our help!" Flash cried, only for a tank to notice them and turn its guns on them.
"We need to help ourselves first!" Shining cried as they ran for it, seconds before the tank fired at them. The blast caused the cliff to explode, the tunnel collapsing whilst the waterfall was unleashed and crashed down into the valley. The Jedi barely made it out of the blast range and as they kept running, the tank prepared to fire once again.
But before it could, it was suddenly bombarded by lasers from above.
They looked up and saw the Shooting Star flying towards them, its lasers raining down on the cliffs and damaging to thanks. This allowed the Jedi to escape, as the cannon started moving around to aim at the space ship. "I thought you took that thing down!" Flash cried.
"I disabled its firing system," Shining cried. "But I guess its targeting system was undamaged."
"So what will happen if it tries to fire?" First asked, the three getting their answer when the machine powered up. But when it did, many small explosions started ripping through the cannon's barrel and sparks flew out of the hole.
"It's gonna blow!" Flash cried, as the Shooting Star flew down towards the valley and opened its doors. The Jedi all rushed towards it, as the cannon started building up more and more power.
Luna's group reached it first, the Jedi Master the last to climb on board once she was certain the rest of the Jedi were on board. "Go, Springer!" She cried, the droid lifting the ship into the air and flying towards the other three. They all ran as fast as they could, as the cannon's systems went into overdrive.
As the ship got close, they all leapt into the air and landed on the loading door. "Go! Go! Go! GO!" Flash yelled, the three pulling themselves inside as Springer gunned the engine.
The loading door shut as they flew higher and higher, the cannon finally reaching its breaking point.
The explosion was huge and consumed the entire valley, along with everything within a two mile circumference of it. A massive dome of energy, which rocked the entire continent and would likely cause planetary devastation that would not be undone for millennia or more.
The Shooting Star raced to outrun it, Springer pushing the engines to their limit as the shockwave chased after them. But eventually, the blast hit them and the entire ship was sent spinning whilst those on board held on for dear life. They screamed, Springer having a hard time getting away.
They groaned as the ship finally levelled out, though it took a few minutes for the rest of them to recover. "Is everyone okay?" Luna asked, only for one of the Jedi to rush to the bathroom in order to not stain the ship with puke. "Nevermind." She let out a sigh, then headed towards the cockpit with Shining and First following.
When they got there, they looked out the window as Springer turned the ship around.
Even from space, the massive crater could be seen on one of the northern continents. The Jedi frowned, Shining especially upset since he was partly responsible for the damage done to the planet. But the brunt of the blame had to go to Solara and her minions, Luna turning to Springer.
"What happened to her?"
"I'm sorry," Springer replied. "I tried to follow her, but she's a really good pilot. I lost her and she escaped." Luna sighed, but didn't blame Springer. This Solara girl was a mystery and a half. The Jedi knew this likely wouldn't be the last time she or her mysterious master would make an appearance.
She turned to Shining, "what did she get?"
"No idea. Flash!" A few moments later, Flash stepped into the cockpit. "Any idea what she got from that temple?" Flash frowned as he tried to think.
"I didn't actually see it, but I know it wasn't that big." He held his hands up and showed a space between them. "Maybe about this big. And I think it was triangular. Like I said, I didn't see it. All I saw was a dust pattern left on the table. Sorry." The Jedi frowned, wishing they knew what Solara was after.
They had come to this planet to investigate a missing team of Jedi. But they may have uncovered something else entirely. Something that could spell danger for the entire galaxy.
Many light-years from the planet, Solara's space fighter came out of hyperspace.
Not being very large, the ship could only travel a certain distance. But as she came out of hyperspace, she was greeted by a larger ship that asked for a clearance code. And after giving it, she shut down the engine as the tractor beam grabbed hold and pulled her into the ship.
Once aboard, the Sith made her way through the stellar cruiser with the insect soldiers saluting whenever she passed. She eventually reached a room inside the ship and headed in, where someone else was waiting for her.
That someone was a tall female alien with black skin, long blue hair and large green bug eyes. On her forehead was a long black horn, that was zigzagged and covered in holes. She was wearing a black leather dress that was covered in silver web patterns that was open at the side, allowing her black legs freedom of movement. Her legs were inside leather boots that went all the way up to her mid-thigh and had metal webbing around the bottom and knees. A pair of blue insect wings could be seen on her back, with holes in them that should have made flying impossible.
She turned to Solara, revealing a Lightsaber attached to a silver belt around her waist.
Solara removed her helmet, as the insect woman appeared. "Where are my soldiers?"
"They're not your soldiers," Solara stated.
"I'd like to see you lay a few hundred eggs and not say the same thing. But that's besides the fact. Where are they?" Solara glared at her, only for the room to suddenly go dark as a holographic image appeared in the room. Said image was of Sombra, the dark Sith sitting on his throne.
"My lord!" The two knelt down, their heads lower as Solara spoke. "I was able to acquire the item we were searching for. But there were...complications."
"What kind of complications?" Sombra asked, raising an eyebrow as Solara reached into her cloak.
She then took something out. A strange metal object, which was a flat triangular shape that was about two or three inches thick. A round red gem could be seen in the centre, whilst the three points were made out of a differently coloured gem. One point was red, one point was blue and one point was yellow.
Solara placed the object onto the table, allowing Sombra to examine it. "Jedi appeared on the planet. They were already there when we arrived, so we were forced to capture them before we could begin our search for the temple."
"I see. And what did you do to these Jedi when you found the artefact?"
"I had originally planned to bring them to you. I thought, maybe, you could educate them and show them the true power of the dark side. But..."
"But?"
"More Jedi arrived," Solara stated. "They attacked whilst I was in the temple. They defeated our soldiers and freed the captured Jedi before attacking me. I barely managed to escape."
"You fled?" The other woman growled, "leaving my soldiers to be captured!"
"Calm," Sombra stated. "Relax, Chrysalis. Their suits should have disposed of anything that the Jedi could use against us." Chrysalis frowned.
"Don't go blaming me," Solara told her. "You should have trained them better. They were defeated by a bunch of Jedi."
"If losing to the Jedi is something to be ashamed of, why are you looking so proud?"
"My priority wasn't defeating the Jedi," the girl replied. "It was making sure the relic was safely delivered into our master's hands. I couldn't risk a Jedi getting a lucky shot in and disarming me, taking the relic once I was captured." Chrysalis frowned, whilst Sombra stared at the relic.
"So the Jedi survived and now know of us?"
Solara looked a little worried, "yes."
"What did you tell them?" Chrysalis growled, "do they know about us? About the relic?"
"They know of me," Solara stated. "Whether or not they know I am simply the apprentice, I cannot say. They may end up deducing that fact, but they might not. They never saw the relic, but they obviously know I took something from the temple. Also, they already know about Chrysalis' troopers."
"What?" Chrysalis asked.
"I didn't get all the details, but it appears your soldiers attacked somewhere important to one of these Jedi. His name was Flash Sentry and apparently, his master Grand Hoof was killed during an attack by your soldiers. The Jedi already knew about the troopers, but now they know who's controlling them."
"I see," Sombra nodded. "We'll need to be careful how we approach our objectives in the future. I'll inform Doom, Tirek and Armalum. We cannot allow the Jedi to know of our intentions. Not until it's too late for them to do anything. Chrysalis, continue your work increasing our number and bring the relic to me. Solara, you have done well. But you still have two more relics to find. Once the keys have all been gathered, the doors to the Jedi's destruction will open." They nodded, as the hologram ended.
The two shared a look before Solara turned to leave, clearly exhausted and wanting to rest before she had to begin the next part of her mission.
Once she was gone, Chrysalis sat at her desk and stared at the relic in front of her. If it was truly as powerful as Sombra believed, then she looked forward to seeing the kind of devastation it would bring to the Jedi.
Back on Canterlot, the Jedi had returned to the Temple and made their report.
Shining, Luna and First were standing in front of Celestia, the omni Jedi Grand Master not looking happy about the news they had to give. "An actual Sith?" She asked. "You're sure of this?"
"Yes," Luna nodded. "I could sense the power of the Dark Side within her. She's an apprentice, but she's clearly been trained in the Dark Side of the Force."
"Which means she's not the biggest threat," Shining frowned. "There's another Sith out there and they're up to no good." The others nodded, as Celestia sighed.
"I had prayed this day would never come. I'd hoped the Sith were well and truly extinct. But it seems I was foolish to believe such a thing."
"Darkness is an important part of keeping balance," First stated. "Where there is light, a shadow will always be cast. No matter how many times the Sith are wiped out, a new one will eventually arise to take its place."
"Which is why we need to continue to train the next generation," Celestia agreed. "So that they are ready to take on any threat that might reveal themselves in the future." She looked up at the others. "It appears our time of peace is under threat. We must do whatever it takes to protect it."
"Which means we have to increase our student's training regiment," Luna announced. "To make sure they're prepared to handle this threat if it shows itself after our time."
"But we also have to figure out what that Solara woman took from the temple," First pointed out. "Has the Education core managed to decipher the symbols we gathered from the temple?"
"I'm afraid not," Celestia shook her head. "I've had Twilight looking through every piece of text she can find that might give us a clue, but nothing has shown up yet. Whatever this text is, it's old. Ancient. I don't know what they took, but it is definitely something the ancient Jedi feared. And considering the threats our ancestors faced in the dark ages, I'm sure it's not something we want to face ourselves."
"Then we have to stop them," Shining stated. "Even though we have no idea what they're planning."
Celestia nodded, then had a thought. "How is your apprentice doing? Based on your report, he must be having some troubled feelings given who you faced."
"He's...I'm not sure. He didn't let his anger get the better of him when we faced the soldiers. But Solara managed to get under his skin. If she hadn't left and kept speaking, I'm certain Flash would have lost control. He's yet to learn Jedi detachment."
Celestia nodded. "I may have to speak with him myself. Don't take this the wrong way, Shining. But teaching something like that isn't easy, especially for someone who's never tried before. He may need more help learning to detach himself from the world." They all nodded, Shining sighing at the thought of his student having trouble that he can't help with.
In his room, Flash lay upon his bed whilst Springer recharged himself in the wall outlet.
The young Jedi stared at the ceiling, thinking about the soldiers that had attacked him all those years ago. He had managed to keep his anger in check, but it hadn't been easy. The only thing that had kept him from attacking them in the camp, was the thought of his friends getting hurt because he rushed in. If they hadn't been in danger, he didn't want to think what might have happened.
Then there had been the Sith girl, who had beaten him. If those soldiers were working for her, had the forest moon he had grown up on had something hidden there? Was that why they attacked? Or did they just do it because they were Sith and hurting people was what Sith did?
Flash clutched his sheet and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that one day, he would face those villains again. And when he did, he was gonna need to be stronger in order to make them pay.