//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Two: Aggressive Negotiations // Story: STAR WARS / FiM: Realms of the Heavens // by Tathem_Relag //------------------------------// Everfree Imperial Garrison 8:46 P.M. “‘The first duty of any prisoner is to escape.’ Or do you not have that in your military doctrine?” Aerin’s arms were crossed over his chest, and he glared at the Royal Sisters, Element-Bearers, and guardsponies assembled in front of the fence’s gate. As if he was the one who had been wronged. Beside him stood Gavrisom, who looked nervous, and Orramas, who just seemed resigned. “I thought we had agreed that they were criminals, not prisoners of war,” Celestia reminded him. “Unless, of course, you mean to say that we are at war?” “That doesn’t give you free rein to do whatever you want to them! They told us everything! You starved them! Deprived them of clothing! Tried to brainwash them!” “So you admit you defied our treaty to break them out?” Luna demanded. “Damn the treaty! Damn the peace! And most of all, damn you. These are my men we’re talking about. I’ll send them all to their deaths if need be, even personally execute them if they do something deserving of it, but I won’t leave them to suffer in the grip of alien monsters like you.” Gavrisom cleared his throat. “Now, Dav, let’s try to be civil about this…” “What is there to be civil about?! They tortured my boys. Doesn’t that deserve retribution?” “Hardly ‘boys,’ Dav. Biologically, they’re almost as old as you are.” “They’re still my responsibility! I’m not going to abandon them to these creatures!” Celestia again sighed, and she shook her head in disbelief. That the humans could hold such hatred in their hearts and engage in such violence, yet still consider ponies the monstrous ones, continued to baffle her. Their sense of morality was truly twisted. “We cared for them to the best of our ability. Any privations they may have experienced are only due to the fact that they refused to work with us, even for their own benefit.” Aerin looked back to her, and he smiled his chilly grin. “I’m glad to hear they upheld the codes of conduct.” Celestia was stunned. “You don’t let your soldiers care for their own wellbeing?” “Answer no questions. Give up no information. Continue to resist in every way possible. Accept no special treatment. Attempt to escape and aid others in escaping. It’s our code for prisoners of war – not that we ever expect to be taken alive. We have standing orders to fight to the death.” “We weren’t trying to get any of your secret plans from them; we just wanted to know what they needed to survive!” “If you know what keeps us alive, then you know how best to kill us.” “We wouldn’t do that!” “How tiring. Should I read you the names? I think I will.” He pulled a small datapad off his belt and pressed a few buttons. “Ahem. Commander CC-8156, a.k.a. ‘Coldcase.’ Captain CC-8448, a.k.a. ‘Doubles.’ Captain CC-8616, a.k.a. ‘Horns.’ Captain CC-8765, a.k.a. ‘Downer.’ Captain CC-9483, a.k.a. ‘Mynock.’ Lieutenant CL-7131, a.k.a. ‘Nek.’ Lieutenant CL-7343, a.k.a. ‘Sparks.’ Lieutenant CL-7531, a.k.a. ‘Odds.’ Lieutenant CL-7820, a.k.a. ‘Atto.’ Lieutenant CL-7824, a.k.a. ‘Dev.’ Lieutenant CL-7911, a.k.a. ‘Fuzz.’ Lieutenant CL-7986, a.k.a. –” “Enough!” Luna cut him off. “Would you like to hear the names of every pony your soldiers murdered?” He met her gaze and put away the datapad. “Go right ahead. If you intend to watch me cry, however, then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t mourn over dead aliens.” “General, please,” Orramas begged. “Don’t talk like that. You’re only driving us closer to war.” “Good. I prefer the maneuvers of war to those of peace. I’d rather buy this planet with blood than kind words.” Celestia shook her head. “You can insult us as much as you wish. But breaking into Canterlot, freeing our prisoners, and abducting ponies is going too far. Release them back to us immediately.” “Or what?” Aerin sneered. “You’ve proven time and again that you’re too much of a coward to declare war.” “I have struck the first blow before, if my little ponies were in danger. And there is no greater danger than falling into your sadistic clutches.” Aerin grinned again. “I’m flattered, Your Royal Failure!” Luna flared her wings, her horn and eyes glowing. “Silence, fool! You will do as we say, or you will face the rage of an alicorn!” Gavrisom’s eyes narrowed. “That sounded like an ultimatum. The Galactic Empire does not give in to ultimatums.” “Are you saying,” Celestia asked quietly, “that you won’t let my ponies go?” “Yes.” “And that’s your final answer?” “Here’s my answer, schutta!” Aerin shrieked, pulling his pistol out of its holster and aiming it at Celestia. A guardspony threw himself in front of her just in time to catch the bolt in his chest. The other ponies watched, paralyzed with horror, as he dissolved to ash, his scream of agony fading as his remains were swept away in the wind. At the behest of a sudden, inexplicable urge, Twilight leapt on Celestia, tackling her to the ground. Less than an instant later, she felt heat on the back of her neck, and she looked up to see the tip of Malen’s lightsaber where Celestia’s head had just been. Luna dove out of the way of his follow-up slash in time to avoid losing her head, but not her left ear. The scene dissolved into chaos. The company of guardsponies charged at the would-be assassins. The red energy field reappeared in the gate, cutting off the three Imperial officers from the battle starting outside, and the troopers in the towers and on the walkway opened fire. Malen hacked apart the first seven guards to reach him, then pulled a second lightsaber from under his cloak and went on the offensive. Twilight stared at the second blade, transfixed. There was something about it, something familiar. It was almost as if it called to her, asking her to… reclaim it? That couldn’t be it; she never had such a weapon before. Even if she learned how to make one, it was far too lethal to ever be used, as Malen demonstrated by cutting another pony in half with it. Aerin raised a finger to his earpiece. “Raise the shields!” Malen did a high backflip over the fence just before a translucent blue dome appeared around the Imperial base. As Twilight clambered off Celestia, the base’s heavy cannon turrets unleashed their power, ripping huge gaps into the mass of ponies. “Fall back into the forest!” Celestia ordered. She wasn’t actually ready to fight – the Imperials had always seemed just as desperate as her to prevent war from breaking out, and she had expected that they would concede to her demands like usual. Apparently, something had changed. When the gates disappeared in the trees and the beams finally stopped coming, she looked around at the ponies with her, and her heart broke. Of the one-hundred-and-sixty guardsponies she had brought with her, only twenty-seven had made it back. “Oh, Luna!” Twilight called sadly. “Your ear!” Luna glanced up at the stump. “It will grow back.” “Huh?” “Do you remember my first Nightmare Night? How I scared the foals by taking the form of Nightmare Moon? My sister and I have rather… fluid bodies. It may take a few hours, but I will heal.” “Oh, thank Celestia!” The Princess of the Sun smiled. “I had nothing to do with it. It’s just how we are.” Her expression turned far more serious. “Twilight, you and your friends should return to Ponyville. I suspect it will be in need of its heroes soon. Take the guards with you. Luna and I will return to Canterlot, and send out messengers to warn the other cities. War has returned to Equestria, and I fear it will be the worst our fair land has ever suffered.” Location: Everfree Imperial Garrison The base was a flurry of activity. Troopers dragged dead and injured ponies inside the shield, to either the morgue for dissection or the holding cells for interrogation. The base was only protected by a ray shield, not a particle shield, so physical objects passed through freely. It wouldn’t defend them at all from ponies just charging through it, but sometimes the illusion of strength was just as good as its actual presence. Aerin tossed his pistol to Orramas. “Here’s your disruptor back. Sorry I didn’t hit the target.” “No worries. Here’s your blaster.” Gavrisom had his finger to his ear. “Implacable. Implacable, put me in contact with the Line Captains.” He went silent a few moments. “Gentlemen, we are now in a state of war with the Kingdom of Equestria. Captain Cortess, I want their rail lines bombed. Captain Rann, support Captain Cortess’s assault, then blockade Cloudsdale. If anything tries to fly in or out, kill it. But don’t level it just yet; you try it, and you’ll draw the alicorns in. Your Carracks can’t handle that, and I’m not committing our Vindicators to in-atmosphere engagements. Captain Cenik, focus your surveillance on the Canterlot, Ponyville, and Crystal Empire regions. That’s where their forces are concentrated, and that’s where their attacks will come from. Captain Hurada, stand by to land troops once I’ve consulted with General Aerin and our native allies.” Malen bent down and picked something off the ground. He stared at it for a moment, then marched into the garrison building. Planet: Coruscant Location: The Imperial Palace Palpatine finished reading the report, then set down the datapad on his desk, a smile growing on his face. It was now abundantly clear that none of the alicorns would become his apprentice by choice. But perhaps he no longer needed them…