STAR WARS - EMPIRE'S EDGE

by Chadbane

Chapter V - "The Strangers from the Stars"

Author's Note:

New chapters every week! Should be posted every Monday morning. Bonus chapters could spring up during the week, though! Depends on how much time I have to write. :)

Chapter V - "The Strangers From the Stars"

Ezra Bridger rolled onto his side in Fluttershy's bed as the sun peeked through the window in her room and lit up his hair like a fiery halo. As his eyes fluttered open at the warm touch of the morning sun, he gave a yawn and slowly sat up in bed allowing his long, raven hair to fall gracefully down his neck. The smell of fresh air mixed with greenery filled his nostrils as he took in a deep breath and sighed in contentment. The serenities reminded him of the wide open plains of Lothal where he used to spend his days just lying about or running with the loth cats through the grassy fields. Unfortunately, it was this very realization that brought Ezra back to reality. He wasn't on Lothal, anymore; nor was he in his own bed, for that matter. No, if he remembered correctly, he was stranded on an alien planet in a talking equine's cottage...

...with a giant brown grizzly bear snuggling into his chest.

"What the—?!" Ezra cried, before realizing his mistake and shutting himself up. The room around him as well as the bed he was lying on was covered in alien wildlife sleeping together in perfect harmony. Fluttershy herself lay at Ezra's feet with angel bunny curled up in her hooves snoring quietly. Ezra considered himself fortunate that his initial verbal expression of surprise hadn't woken up any of the creatures around him, but he still didn't know how to react to the situation. Ezra's brain did its best, but the onslaught of visual information was hard to process. However, before complete bafflement could overtake him, Fluttershy's eyes blinked open and locked onto the teenager's in a way that made his heart stop.

"Oh," Fluttershy whispered as she gave quiet, adorable yawn. "...Good morning."

The boy's expression twisted into that of uncertainty as he tried to give the mare a proper answer.

"Uh... morning?" he replied, staring into the equine's turquoise eyes. He looked away for a brief moment and glanced at the room around him before turning back to the yellow pegasus. "Umm... there's a lot of animals in my bed."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide as realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

"Oh, my!" she squeaked. "I'm so sorry! Please don't wake them up! I tried to stop them last night, but they wouldn't listen! Could you give them five more minutes? I'm sure they would really appreciate it."

Ezra glanced over to his left and felt the warmth radiating off the bear's body. The grin plastered on the big lugs face was all Ezra needed to see to understand what Fluttershy was asking.

"Um, okay." Ezra smirked, relaxing backwards onto his pillow. "I guess five more minutes wouldn't hurt."

With that, the boy closed his eyes and accepted his warm, cuddly fate.

---

Meanwhile, Kanan smacked a mosquito on his neck and frowned. A small spot of blood stained his hand in the place where he whacked the pest, indicating that the insect had indeed stuck him with it's needle like beak and extracted a small portion of his internal red fluid.

'Here's hoping that I don't contract an incurable alien virus,' Kanan thought to himself as he pushed through a mess of tree branches. It was around eight in the morning, and Kanan along with the rest of his crew were trekking through the forest in search of their lost comrade who had disappeared the night before.

"Ezra!" Sabine cried out in the front of the group. "Ezra, where are you?! Ezra!"

Kanan shook his head. At this point Sabine might as well have been whispering. The alien forest surrounding them in every direction didn't carry their voices much further than the nearest tree, and the density of it made it hard to navigate through.

"Sabine," Kanan sighed after she called Ezra's name for the hundredth time. "That's enough. We'll find him."

"How do you know?!" Sabine snapped. "It seems to me like I'm the only one really searching for him! How can you be so calm when your own padawan is missing?!"

"He's more to me than a padawan," Kanan replied with a frown. "You know that. The only reason I'm calm is because I know that he's alive and that we'll find him. We will find him, Sabine. I promise."

Sabine huffed and looked away.

"Kanan..." came the voice of Hera who was trailing behind him. "You know I trust your instincts... but how can you be so sure that we'll find him? Is there something you know that we don't?"

"The Force," Kanan simply put it. "I have a strong connection with Ezra. I would have known if something happened to him."

Hera nodded her head and continued to follow Kanan through the woods. As they proceeded through the dense alien forest, they came to a spot where Sabine suddenly stopped and went pale.

"Ezra!" she cried, breaking into a sprint.

"Sabine!" Kanan called. "Wait!"

But Sabine didn't listen. Instead, she took off and disappeared through a bush some feet of head of the group and emerged on the other side.

"Guys!" her voice called back a second later. "You might want to look at this!"

The remaining members of the Ghost crew exchanged glances then broke into into a sprint. After making their way through the foliage, they glanced to their right and spotted the imperial buzzdroid that they had been in pursuit of the day before. Its two halves were laying on the ground beside an oak tree with a large noticeable slice down its middle and a piece of hardware spilling out of its left side. At first this was the sight that the crew gravitated towards, but after spotting Sabine kneeling over something a half dozen feet or so away, they made their way over to her and gathered around it.

"What is it?" Zeb asked, leaning over Kanan's shoulder to get a better look.

"It's Ezra's comlink," Sabine replied, picking up a few pieces of the broken device. "Or rather what's left of it."

Hera gasped and covered her mouth as Kanan frowned and scanned the area around them for clues.

"I don't see any blood." he mused. "Or much signs of a struggle. Whatever happened to Ezra's comlink must have been an accident."

Chopper spoke up from behind the group in an annoyed, dismissive tone and interrupted their investigation.

"No, Chopper," Hera frowned, glaring at the droid. "You cannot stop scanning for human lifeforms just because we found Ezra's com."

The droid grumbled and reluctantly continued to use his scanners.

"I don't think it was an accident," Sabine muttered, ignoring Chopper's comments as they continued their investigation. "I think something took him... "

Kanan nodded slowly. His eyes drifted from the pieces in Sabine's hand to the ground beside them.

"Something, or someone?" he remarked, running his hand over a strange indent on the ground. "These are unusual footprints, don't you think? Looks like they belong to an animal of some kind. Maybe a cow. They lead that way along with Ezra's through the bushes over there. Maybe he followed a creature to shelter?"

Kanan closed his eyes and reached out his hand over the footprints. He inhaled once sharply then began to meditate.

"Uh... Kanan?" asked Zeb with an uplifted brow. "What are you doing?"

"Using the Force to read Ezra's footprints." the ex-Jedi replied. "Master Vos called it Psychometry. It allows a force user to read an object's past and predict its future."

"Okay..." the Lasat watched Kanan work for a moment. "Have... have you ever actually used psychometry before?"

Kanan opened one of his eyes and glanced in Zeb's direction before closing it again in order to concentrate.

"No, but I'm optimistic." he replied. "How hard could it be?"

The crew stood around Kanan for several minutes as he knelt over the footprints and concentrated. As the minutes rolled by, Kanan continued to stay perfectly still and give the impression he was truly deep in meditation. Finally, after a grueling five minutes or so, Kanan finally stopped and opened his eyes.

"Well?" prompted Zeb, crossing his arms.

"Nothing," Kanan muttered, standing up. "Not a blasted thing. Guess psychometry isn't all it's cranked up to be. Alright, plan B. We'll do this the old fashioned way. Let's follow the footprints."

Sabine gave Kanan an unimpressed look.

"Really, Kanan?"

"Yes, really! You have a better Idea? Because I'm open to suggestions."

Before Sabine could reply, Chopper rolled up behind the crew and got their attention with a whistle.

"What was that, Chopper?" Hera asked. "You found something?"

The droid replied with a sequence of words in his binary language.

"What? You did?!"

Chopper gestured in the direction of the footprints that Kanan had suggested they follow and gave Hera his report.

"A human life form approaching from the north?" Sabine gasped. "Ezra!"

Kanan smirked and gave the mandalorian teen a look. Sabine caught his gaze and gave a sigh.

"Okay, shut up." she muttered.

"I didn't say anything." the ex-Jedi replied.

"Yeah, but you were about to."

Kanan chuckled.

"And here I thought I was the Jedi."

"Alright you two--let's get a move on." Hera said, standing up. "The sooner we find Ezra, the better. Sabine, gather that buzzdroid's remains. They could still be useful if it's memory core is intact."

"Sure. I'll be right back."

"Thank you. Kanan, Zeb, have Chopper follow us. We'll need him to show the way."

Kanan nodded.

With these tasks completed, the Ghost continued onwards through the dangerous forest.

---

Several hours later, the Ghost crew pushed through a mess of tree branches and scanned the area ahead of them. The footprints Kanan had suspected belonged to Ezra and another creature of some sort had vanished some time ago, but the human life form coming up on Choppers readings continued to read strong. Kanan couldn't feel Ezra's presence growing any closer, but he suspected that the forest had something to do with that. He knew there was something was off about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. The dark side of the force was strong, but the light side was strong as well. There was almost a perfect balance between the two. It didn't make any sense, and Kanan didn't like it.

"How much further is that life form, Chop?" Kanan inquired, turning to their droid as he rolled along.

Chopper gave his reply and earned a disappointed sigh from Kanan.

"'Life form?'" Hera frowned, lifting a brow at Kanan. "Not, 'Ezra?'"

Kanan ignored the look Hera was giving him and replied, "I'm not so sure it's him anymore. I can't feel his presence. I'm starting to worry what we're going to find."

Hera glanced ahead and watched Sabine tug along ahead of the group.

"The scanners wouldn't be picking up on his signal if he were dead." Hera said, her voice just beneath a whisper. "We have to hope."

"Hope?" Kanan chuckled. "We're stranded on an alien planet, the Ghost is dead, and you want us to hope?"

Hera frowned.

"Weren’t you the one saying the same thing to Sabine just a moment ago?

Kanan took a deep breath and gave a sigh.

"You’re right. I'm sorry. It's this place. Something about it is throwing me off. The sooner we find Ezra, the better."

Hera offered a sympathetic smile and placed a hand on Kanan's shoulder.

"We'll find him, Kanan. Just like you said.”

Kanan smiled back and patted Hera's it hand with his own.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that."

Before Hera had the chance to reply, the crew stopped in their tracks when Sabine cried out in pain from the front of the group and fell onto her rump.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, rubbing her forehead. "Who—"

"...Sabine?" came a familiar voice.

The mandalorian teen paused and looked up. Sure enough, there, in front of the group, was Ezra Bridger, likewise sitting on his rump and rubbing his forehead.

"Ezra!" the Ghost crew exclaimed collectively. The young boy gave a goofy smile and stood up as Sabine did the same.

"You're alive!" Sabine cried in relief, pulling Ezra into an embrace. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Ezra blinked a few times before chuckling and returning the hug.

"Uh, thanks. I missed you too, Sabine."

Sabine smiled and held their embrace a little longer until she realized what she was doing.

"Wait a minute!" she said, pushing away angrily. "I'm not happy to see you! Where have you been? Do you know how worried we’ve been?!"

Ezra chuckled and took a step back to the foliage he had emerged from just moments before.

"Oh, me? I was just, y'know... making a friend."

Ezra pulled back a couple of branches and revealed the timid figure of a butter-yellow pegasus. Upon making eye contact with the unusual yellow equine, the rest of the crew froze and stared for an unsavory amount of time.

"Uh..." Kanan managed to say after a few moments. "Hello."

"Um... hello." the creature replied bashfully.

"Wait a minute," Zeb lifted a brow. "That thing speaks basic?"

Ezra nodded and took a step forward.

"Everyone, I want you to meet Fluttershy. Last night she rescued from an angry manticore and gave me a place to stay. I think she can help us get off this planet.”

Sabine gave a doubtful look and studied the equine from head to hoof.

“She recused you from a manticore?” asked Sabine, raising a brow. “Hmm. Must be tougher than she looks.”

“Did I miss something?” Zeb asked, looking around. “Or am I the only one who doesn’t know what a manticore is?”

“Whatever the case,” Hera said, stepping forward to greet the timid equine. “We owe her our gratitude. Thank you for saving Ezra.”

The equine managed a give a small smile and gave a nod.

“Where did she come from?” Kanan asked, scanning the forest around them. “She live here in the forest?”

“She has a cottage outside the meadow,” Ezra said. “Its a just few miles from here in that direction.”

“So this is a civilized planet, then?” Sabine asked, crossing her arms. "That's... kind of surprising, to be honest. I’ve had Chopper scanning for radio signals since we got here. He hasn’t found anything worth mentioning.”

“Sabine's right,” Kanan said. “Something feels off about this situation.”

Ezra chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, about that... I don’t think your definition of the word ‘civilized’ is the same as theirs.”

Hera lifted a brow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... let's just say that, uh..." Ezra rubbed his neck. "Y'know... they don't have space travel."

The crew was noticeably taken back with surprise.

“What?!” they cried together in unison.

"No space travel?!" Kanan exclaimed in disbelief. "Oh, great! We're stuck here, then."

"It isn't so bad," Ezra said. "This is planet is kind of nice."

"It won't be nice when the Empire shows up." Kanan frowned. "We still have no idea if they've been able to track our signal or not."

"I'm sure we'll figure that out when the time comes, Kanan," Hera said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "In the mean time, we should look for new ways to repair the Ghost. Maybe we can salvage some parts from the phantom to get her up and running again."

"M-maybe I can help." Fluttershy spoke up. "One of my friends lives in the village not too far from here. I'm sure if there's anypony who can help you, it's her."

The members of the ghost crew exchanged glances as Hera tapped her chin.

"It's not the worst idea..." she said.

"I agree," sighed Kanan, crossing his arms. "It's worth looking into."

"Well, I guess it's settled, then." Sabine shrugged. "We're off to see Fluttershy's friend."

"Seems like it," Zeb agreed. "Eh... I just have one question... can anyone tell me what a manticore is?”

Ezra chuckled and gave Zeb a look.

“Trust me, Zeb—you don't want to know."

---

High above the planet, looming menacingly in the cold vacuum of space, the Imperial Star Destroyer the Resurgence buzzed with activity. Agent Kallus stood on its bridge along with a handful of Imperial Officers (including Admiral Constantine and Lieutenant Lyste), studying the images coming up on the holoprojector in front of them. As the doors to the bridge whooshed open behind them, the Inquisitor entered the bridge with his hands folded behind his back.

"And just what do you have for me, gentlemen?" The Inquistor asked as he approached the hologram. "How goes the initial scans of our mysterious planet?"

"We seem to have stumbled upon a primitive world, Inquisitor." Lieutenant Lyste answered as the Inquistor came up and stood beside him. "All initial scans of the planet below have come up inconclusive. The system doesn't match anything on record."

The Inquisitor 'humphed.'

"A new planet? Hardly a surprise, considering the vastness of the so called, 'unknown regions.' What of our rebels friends, Lieutenant?"

The Lieutenant pressed a button on the holoprojector in front of them and brought up the image of a black buzzdroid.

"According to the final transmission from TS-25D, the rebels seem to have crashed in a sizable mass of greenery on the planet in its western hemisphere. The area seems to be secluded from the thriving civilizations of the planet, but it is not uninhabited. We believe a detachment could easily swoop down and extract the traitors without detection."

The Inquisitor nodded slowly.

"Yes... a detachment will do, for now. Lieutenant Lyste, since you suggested the plan, I'm placing you in direct authority over the mission. You will accompany a platoon of stormtroopers to the planet's surface where you will be supplied with two light-division hover tanks. Utilize their weaponry to carve a path through the forest to the rebel's position and force them to surrender."

The officers on the bridge exchanged glances. The Lieutenants face grew pale as he realized what he had just been ordered to do.

"If I may, Inquisitor," Agent Kallus interjected, sensing the lieutenants fear. "Lieutenant Lyste is hardly qualified for this mission. It would be my honor to see to the matter personally."

The Inquisitor regarded Agent Kallus with a cold stare.

"I heard no objection's from the Lieutenant." the Inquisitor replied. He then turned to Admiral Konstantine. "Did you, Admiral Konstantine?"

The Admiral swallowed hard.

"Well... no, Inquisitor..."

"Good. It's settled, then. Lieutenant Lyste, prepare your troops."

Lieutenant Lyste nodded numbly.

"Y-yes, Inquisitor. It will be done."

"See that it does."

Lieutenant Lyste bowed humbly and walked out of the room. Agent Kallus frowned in disapproval and turned to Admiral Konstantine as the cowardly man cleared his throat.

"Begging your pardon for the injection, Inquisitor, but what of the primitive inhabitants of this backwater world? What should be done about them should they intervene?"

The Inquisitor chuckled, eerily.

"What is done to all those who stand in our way. Kill them."

Once again, the officers around the hologram exchanged glances.

"You're suggesting deliberate civilian casualties?" Agent Kallus asked, pointedly.

The Inquisitor waved his hand, dismissively.

"Rest assured, Agent Kallus, there will be no civilian casualties. Civilians are protected by the Empire. These creatures are merely primitives of a backwater world, nothing more. Do I make myself clear?"

The Inquisitor turned to Agent Kallus, glaring at him with a look that dared him to push back. But Agent Kallus maintained a perfectly consistent expression. After a few moments, he gave a subtle bow and replied, "Crystal, Inquisitor. The primitives will be dealt with accordingly, should they intervene."

The Inquisitor humped and turned around.

"Good. In the mean time, Agent Kallus, I expect you to make yourself useful and gather what you can for me about this backwater world. I wish to have a full report by the time I return. I will be in my chambers. Do not disturb me unless you have news that renders my immediate attention."

With that, the Inquisitor disappeared through the doors of the bridge and left it in silence.

"Your wish... is my command." Agent Kallus growled beneath his breath.

---

Back on the planets surface, Kanan, Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and Chopper followed at a distance behind Ezra and his new friend as they continued their trek through the forest towards what the equine had called "civilization." The group had been following the pair for several hours now and Kanan was beginning to question the sanity of their mission.

“This is crazy, right?" said Kanan to his nearby companions as they trudged along.

Sabine, Zeb, and Hera turned to the ex-jedi with upraised eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" asked Hera.

"Think about; here we are—stranded on an alien planet with absolutely no knowledge of its culture or species—and now we're trusting one of their kind to lead us to someone who can supposedly repair a starship, despite the fact that their "civilization" doesn't even possess the capability to space travel. I mean, that is crazy, right? Or did I miss something?"

"No," chuckled Zeb. "That about covers it."

"Besides," Sabine added. "I think the word "desperate" more accurately fits that definition."

"Regardless," Kanan rolled his eyes. "It doesn't bother you? Any of you?"

"I'm sure it bothers everyone just as much as you," Sabine answered. "But what are we supposed to do? It's not like we have a lot of options."

Kanan scoffed.

"Credit for every time I've heard that one before..."

"I hear what you're saying; but Sabines right, Kanan." said Hera. "Whether we like it or not, this... Fluttershy is our best option. If she thinks she can help us—knowing everything Ezra has told her—then we should let her try. If for nothing else, as a sign of good faith. We could be stuck here for a while, after all."

"I'm not disagreeing with you," Kanan replied. "I'm just saying it's crazy."

"Crazy is jumping to lightspeed without a nav-computer," Sabine shot back.

Kanan chuckled.

"Okay, you got me there."

"Hey, guys! Fluttershy says it's just up ahead!" Ezra called back to his friends, waving them over. "Come on!"

The four members of the Ghost crew quickly exchanged glances before sprinting towards the pair. As Chopper lagged behind the five Rebels arriving at Fluttershy's side, the mare opened up a mess of foliage in front of them and revealed a charming rural road leading to what they could all make out to be a large village in the distance. Kanan whistled to himself in an impressed tone.

"Alright. I'll admit it. It's not what I was expecting."

"Heh, yeah," Zeb agreed. "You can say that again."

"It's like a piece of art." Sabine concurred.

"I'll second that!" Ezra added.

"It certainly is more lovely than I imagined," Hera smiled. "You live in a beautiful village, Fluttershy."

The yellow pegasus blushed and returned the smile with one of her own.

"Thank you. Everycreature, welcome to Ponyville!"

The group continued to stare in admiration. It was truly one of the most colorful, and beautiful settlements they had ever seen in their lives. Rolling green hills, coupled with dark purple mountains in the distance accentuated the village marvelously in such a way that it made it feel like the very heart of the planet itself. Dozens and dozens of the prettiest little houses any of them had ever seen peppered the town as well, along with a massive crystalline structure in its center which sparkled like a diamond in the landscape.

"Wait a minute, Ponyville?" Zeb said to himself, registering the name of the village for the first time since he had heard it. "That name is a bit odd, isn't it? That's like calling a human village humansville or a Lasan village Lasanville."

Sabine crossed her arms.

"I kind of like it. Its nice."

Zeb shrugged.

"If you say so."

"What's that big crystal tree thing in the middle of the village?" Ezra asked Fluttershy, pointing to it curiously. "Is that a castle?"

"Mmmhmm," Fluttershy confirmed. "That's Princess Twilight's castle—she's the one I'm taking you to see right now. If anypony can help you, it's her."

Chopper rolled up beside the group and whistled an opinion of his own before coming to a stop and chuckling.

"Shut up, Chop." said Kanan, rolling his eyes. "Let's see what she can do before we criticize, shall we?"

The droid whistled a reply in its strange binary language and crossed its extending mechanical arms.

"Aww, is somecreature grumpy?" Fluttershy asked, trotting over to the droid with a friendly smile. "I'm sure you must be tired from all that hiking, but that's no reason to take it out on your friends."

The other members of the ghost crew exchanged glances as the droid answered the Pegasus promptly as she patted his dome.

"There, there. I know it can be frustrating not to be appreciated for all the hard work you do; but I'm sure deep down inside they love you just as much as I'm beginning to."

The ghost crew exchanged glances once again as Ezra asked in fascination; "Wait, you can understand Chopper?"

The mare gave a bashful nod and continued to pet the droid.

"I may not understand everything he's saying word for word, but in a way I can feel him speaking to me like any other animal."

"That doesn't make any sense," Zeb muttered, stubbornly. "Chops not alive. He isn't even an animal."

"Uh, Zeb?" said Sabine, pulling the Lasat closer. "A word to the not-so-wise: Let people enjoy things they want to enjoy and believe things they want to believe."

The Lasat rolled his eyes.

"What? So I'm supposed to play along if Chopper starts believing he's a Jedi? Give me a break. He's only a few compliments away from actually believing that to be true as it is."

"Be that as it may," Hera said," I think it would be a good idea for now. We need to put on a positive attitude in front of the locals here. We don't know how long we'll be stranded on this planet. Best if they think we're friendly."

Zeb scoffed.

"Fine. I'll play nice."

"Good man," Hera said with a smile.

"Speaking of playing nice..." Kanan said with a cough. "Hey, Fluttershy! Do you think we could get a move on? We're not getting any younger here!"

Kanan flashed Hera a coy smile. The deliberate defiance was playful in nature but also communicated urgency.

The Pegasus turned to the man over her shoulder with a soft, oblivious smile.

"Hmm?" she asked politely.

"I said, do you think we could—"

"What Kanan means to say," Interrupted Hera sweetly, casting a glare at Kanan before turning to the mare. "Is that we're grateful to you for taking us this far. Do you think we'll be with your friend by midday?"

The pegasus gave a nod.

"Oh, yes! Ponyville isn't far from here. You'll be with Twilight before lunchtime."

"Well, that's a relief." Zeb sighed, happily. "I was getting hungry."

"I could go for something to eat, too." Ezra agreed.

"Oh, my," Fluttershy remarked. "You poor things! We better get moving, then. Nopony likes to be hungry."

"Thank you, Fluttershy." Hera said, casting another look at Kanan as he shrugged with a playful smile. "You're too kind."

With that, the Pegasus started ahead of the rebels and began to lead them towards the village once more.

---

In the hanger bay of the Victory Class Star Destroyer The Resurgence , Lieutenant Lyste oversaw the inventory for his mission to the planets surface with a worried expression. As a fellow Officer came up to him and offered him a datapad to go over, the Lieutenant waved him away in distress, saying, "Yes, yes, it's all fine, thank you." As the troubled man continued to begrudgingly carry out his tasks, Agent Kallus arrived in the hanger and made his way towards the Lieutenant.

"Lieutenant Lyste!" Agent Kallus called out as he calmly approached the man. "A word, if you please?"

The Lieutenant quickly waved away another officer and folded his hands behinds his back, formally. Although he was clearly doing this out of decorum, the expression that came over the Lieutenants face when he saw Agent Kallus was that of relief—a rare expression not often seen in the Imperial Navy these days.

"Ah, Agent Kallus! Yes, of course. How may I help you?"

Agent Kallus regarded the transports behind Lieutenant Lyste with a frown. The forces the Inquisitor was sending to the planets surface with the Lieutenant were minimal at best. If this is what the Inqusitor meant by "valuing" his resources, then Agent Kallus shuddered to think what the reverse would look like.

"I see preparations for your mission are already underway," Kallus remarked as he arrived along side the Lieutenant.

The younger man watched as a hover-crane loaded a light-division hover tank into one of the transports and gave a worried look.

"Yes, well... this would be the first time I outfitted myself for a potential combat mission." He replied. "Unfortunately, with the limitations stipulated, I can only do so much so far as inventory is concerned. "

Agent Kallus folded his hands behind his back and stood at ease.

"I see. Then you will be relived to know that I've come to offer my services."

The Lieutenants head snapped in the agents direction.

"You what?"

"I've come to offer you my services." Kallus repeated. "It isn't right that a supply officer would be put in charge of a mission this dangerous. Given that my new orders are to gather information on the planet and relay it to the Inquisitor, it only makes sense that I accompany you to the surface for a more thorough investigation."

The Lieutenant nodded, thankfully. It was clear he was exceedingly grateful for the offer.

"I... I don't know what to say..." he answered. "Thank you, Agent Kallus."

"Think nothing of it, Lieutenant." Agent Kallus replied, placing a hand on the Lieutenants shoulder. "You're a good officer. I'm sure with our combined efforts we can complete both our missions simultaneously."

"Yes. Yes, Indeed!" Lyste agreed. "However, I must inform you that our supplies are extremely limited for such an ambitious mission. I've only been granted a small platoon and two hover tanks per the Inquisitors instructions."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Lieutenant," Agent Kallus smirked. "Since I will be joining you on the mission, I can request additional munitions. Those rebels won't know what hit them."

---

Far below the Resurgence in the picturesque lands of Equestria, the Ghost Crew found themselves arriving in Ponyville at long last. The first thing the ragtag group of rebels noticed as they entered the village was the striking rustic beauty that existed around them within the architecture of the community. It seemed that these "ponies" were quite talented, in spite of the fact that they lacked opposable fingers and thumbs. Every structure was a work of art. The second thing the crew noticed as they went along was the population itself. A diverse range of colorful equine creatures greeted their eyes with curiosity as Fluttershy led the group through the village. With so many different shades of color and such a range of features like horns, wings, stripes, and mane, the Ghost crew could only further be amazed by the visual onslaught that assaulted their eyes.

"Looks pretty civilized if you ask me," Zeb remarked as they walked through the village.

"You were looking at a basket of fruit when you said that," Sabine smirked, bumping Zeb on the shoulder.

"Hehe, yeah, well..."

"There's so many of them," said Ezra as he scanned the many faces staring in their direction. "I don't think they've ever seen anything like us before."

"Its more than likely they haven't," Kanan replied. "Most species don't evolve to walk on two legs, let alone without scales or fur."

"I don't think that's the reason they're staring," Hera observed, tucking her personal blaster in the back of her jumpsuit.

Kanan watched as Hera did this and did the same to his blaster, realizing the wisdom of her tactics.

"They recognize we're carrying weapons," Kanan frowned, turning to the others. "Probably best if we cover them up."

Sabine nodded and tucked away her blasters as well. Zeb did nothing as he felt his rifle looked more like a metal hiking poll, anyway. As soon as these things were done, several of the ponies began to gather behind the group and follow them through the village.

"Uhh... Kanan?" said Zeb. "We're picking up a tail."

The ex-Jedi glanced over his shoulder at the forming crowd and gave a small sigh.

"It's fine, Zeb. Just ignore them."

"Great idea, don't you think?" Sabine smirked, teasing Kanan as she followed his gaze. "Group of aliens, marching directly through the village? That wasn't going to attract any local attention at all."

"Hey, I didn't come up with this plan." the ex-Jedi answered, defensively. "This one's on Ezra."

"Technically, Fluttershy came up with the plan," Ezra rebutted. "But I'll take credit for it. These ponies are nice." The boy showed off a flower necklace around his neck. "Look at what one of the small ones gave me!"

Kanan lifted a brow.

"Uh, Ezra? Are you sure she wasn't expecting you to pay for that?"

The boy looked over at the Pegasus who had given him the necklace and paused. The young filly was obviously selling the necklaces out of a basket on the side of the main road. "Uh..." Ezra chuckled, nervously. "I'll be right back..."

The crew managed to laugh at that as they watched Ezra sprint back to the young filly to return the merchandise. Hera smiled proudly at the scene and hugged Kanan from the side.

"We did good, didn't we?"

Kanan looked down at the Twi'Lek in surprise.

"...Huh?"

"With Ezra," Hera clarified. "We did good, didn't we?"

The Jedi chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, well, we got him to stop stealing, so that's a plus."

"At least not from civilians," Sabine pointed out. "The Empire's missing a lot of gear these days."

"Eh, I wouldn't call that stealing." Zeb said, somewhat more seriously. "More like, trophies won in battle."

"If you say so," Sabine shrugged. "But most people just call that stealing."

Zeb gave Sabine an unimpressed look.

"Most people are stupid." the Lasat humped.

As the crew watched on, Ezra sprinted back towards them and held up the necklace once again.

"She said I could keep it!" he proclaimed, triumphantly.

"Good for you," Kanan smiled. "Maybe that's a sign our luck is changing."

"I think our luck started to changed when Ezra met Fluttershy," Hera pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we'll see how our meeting with this Twilight Sparkle goes first." Kanan replied.

"Ugh," Zeb groaned. "Please tell me that isn't her actual name."

"What's wrong with her name?" asked Ezra.

The Lasat frowned.

"You telling me you don't feel a little ridiculous just saying it?"

"Someone's getting hangry," Sabine chuckled.

"What if I am?" Zeb muttered. "Haven't eaten since last night."

Chopper laughed in his mechanical voice.

"Quiet, you!" Zeb growled.

"Everycreature, eveyrcreature!" Fluttershy said ahead of the group, excitedly. "We're here!"

The members of the Ghost crew followed Fluttershy's gaze and found themselves approaching the massive crystalline palace they had seen in the distance a half-hour before. The sparkling structure was now but a few hundred feet away, glimmering brightly in the sun like a pane of stained glass.

"Whoa," said Ezra as they approached it. "Kanan, do you feel that?"

The ex-Jedi gave a nod.

"I feel it, I just don't believe it."

"Feel what?" asked Hera, turning to the man.

"The palace—" Kana explained. "It's alive. It's like a giant Khyber crystal emanating the light side of the force."

"I have a really good feeling about this." Ezra said with a smile.

"You know what?" said Kanan, turning to his padawan with a smile of his own. "I'm beginning to feel that way, too."

With that, the crew continued towards the crystal palace with a new and exciting hope.

---

Inside the palace, the library was a mess. Twilight Sparkle had never felt so disorganized before. Having studied throughout the night with no discernable direction to take her inquires, the mare had decided to go through every book on strange magic and dreams she could find. However, as she went through a particularly dry section of the library, Spike had dozed off and fallen to sleep on one of the stacks of books the Princess had made as she was going through her erratic motions.

"Nope..." The alicorn sighed, glancing briefly at a book before tossing it over her shoulder with a weak voice. "Nope... that's not it."

Spike awoke quite suddenly as a book Twilight had carelessly discarded over her shoulder landed squarely on his head. Due to the smaller nature of the book and the thicker nature of Spikes dragony skull, it bounced right off his head and did little more than smack him awake.

"Huh?! What?! I'm awake!" the young drake explained as he sprung into action. However, as he scanned the room and noticed that Twilight hard barely moved from her spot where she had been going through books the whole night, he gave a defeated sigh and made his way over to her.

"Hey, Twilight? Maybe we should take a break. "

Twilight snorted.

"Take a break? Yeah, right. Good one, Spike."

"I mean it," Spike frowned. "We've been at this all morning. The books aren't going anywhere! Let's order in and eat a nice brunch."

The lavender gave a frown of her own.

"Spike, we can't give up now—not when we're so close!"

The young drake rolled his eyes.

"Close to what, Twilight? Dying of exhaustion?"

"No!" the mare protested. "To discovering the truth! It's obvious there's something that we're missing here. What do you say we go through the mysterious magic section one last time?"

"Twilight, we've already been through the mysterious magic section!"

"Yeah, but not twice!"

Spike gave a defeated sigh and shook his head. Twilight read his expression and gave a sympathetic one of her own.

"I'm sorry, Spike. I know how I must sound right now. It's just that, I don't know what to do! It isn't like the answers to my questions are just going to walk up to the front door!”

At that very moment, a loud knock echoed throughout the castle. The two siblings exchanged glances.

"Well, it could be the backdoor." Spike smirked.

Twilight rolled her eyes, playfully.

"Very funny, Spike."

A few moments later, the pair was at the door to the castle, peeking it open slightly to see who had knocked.

"Yes, can I help you?" Twilight answered.

"Hello, Twilight." Fluttershy greeted timidly.

"Fluttershy!" the alicorn exclaimed happily, opening the door a bit wider. "What brings you here so—" The mare froze in the middle of her sentence at the sight of a nervously grinning teen in an orange suit waving his hand. After pushing open the door the rest of the way, she was greeted by six alien figures and a crowd of ponies behind them.

"Yeah, hi. Twilight, is it?" the tallest human said with an awkward smile. "We need your help."

---

Agent Kallus held onto the handle above him inside the landing craft as he glanced over at Lieutenant Lyste. The inexperienced man was holding on for dear life as the craft shook violently, indicating that it had indeed entered the planets atmosphere and was beginning a quick descent towards the ground. As the man squeezed his eyes shut and whispered what sounded like a prayer, Agent Kallus chuckled to himself, observing the Lieutenants outfit. Most imperial officers had a vest and helmet that they were expected to wear during combat operations. Lieutenant Lyste wore his very own armor at the moment, although it was clear he had not worn it since officer school as he had forgotten to fasten one of the latches below his right elbow.

"Lieutenant," Agent Kallus said, smirking.

The officer peeked open one of his eyes. "Y-yes, Agent Kallus?"

"Your armor is not properly fastened."

The officer glanced down at his vest and gave a quick nod.

"S-so I see. Thank you, Agent Kallus."

The man quickly latched his vest and proceeded to hang on tightly as the vessel continued to shake. After a few more moments of terror, the young man observed Agent Kallus and made note of his neutral expression.

"You don't seem worried," the Lieutenant commented.

"It's not my first military landing," Agent Kallus chuckled.

The Lieutenant nodded, nervously.

"Do you think you we'll capture them?" he asked.

Agent Kallus smiled to himself and reached into his utility belt, retrieving a small holoprojector.

"Don't trouble yourself with thoughts of failure, Lieutenant," Agent Kallus replied. "Just focus on your job..." the holoprojector in Kallus's hand switched on, projecting a holocapture of a certain Lasat by the name of Garazeb Orrelios. "And I'll focus on mine..."

---

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

"Nope..." The unicorn sighed, glancing briefly at a book before tossing it over her shoulder with a weak voice. "Nope... that's not it."

Alicorn.

[Chadbane]

11305229
Thanks! Totally missed that

[zmg]

great story. I hope to see more soon because it is epic.

[Bronycommander]

i kinda like how Kallus tries to reassure the young officer