Star Wars: The Blockade Runner

by Barrobroadcaster

Chapter 2: The Mission

The trio of Y-Wings from Dice Squadron landed in the middle of Ponyville Town Square to a festive celebration. Ponies cheered as the orange-jumpsuited pilots disembarked from their craft. Bretton waved to the crowds- from the assembled unicorns and earth ponies gathered around their ships on the ground to the pegasi filling the sky overhead all the way to Cloudsdale. Far above Cloudsdale, Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Prince Shining Armor took turns casting spells that covered all of Equestria in a massive shield, a shield that had only briefly lowered for the pilots.

"You just love this, don't you?"

"I love meeting the locals! You know that- remember that time back on Barkesh?" Brett said, waving while standing on on their ship.

"No, I mean playing the hero," Gary said, accepting Brett's help as he pulled himself out of the gunner's chair. "You do this because you love playing the hero."

Brett shrugged. "Well, that's not the only reason I do this."

"Yeah? What's the other reason?"

A pair of pegasi flew down and hung a wreath around his neck. An earth pony hoofed him up a drink while a unicorn levitated a cupcake for him. Brett accepted all these gifts with a natural fluidity in his movements. One moment he was a fighter pilot, the next he was a celebrity. He smiled back at Gary and said, "I do it for them!"

A gray mare with a yellow mane hovered gracefully down to their level. Slung over her back was a satchel of mail, her iconic and trusted method of delivery. She reached in and pulled out a letter. "Heya, guys!"

"Derpy!"

"Hey Derpy," the pilots greeted her.

"Got some mail for ya. Here ya go!"

"Thanks Derpy," Brett said, accepting a letter. The mailmare saluted and took the skies again.

"Who's it from?" Gary asked.

"Eh, another letter from Grex at Sigma Base. He hasn't had much luck since he bombed that soap factory."

"Ah. I'll have to send him and Reena a care package when I get a chance," Gary remarked.

"Yeah, they're gonna be happy to get these supplies. I heard Sigma's down to reconstituted protein rations."

"Bleh. Brutal."

Brett climbed down from his fighter. "Welp, time to play the delivery boy. Let's get these supplies loaded off and get back to base."

"Uh, we already did that," Jana, one of their wing mates said. "Tovin and I unloaded everything while you two were busy basking in glory again."

"Hey, hey, it was just Brett. I don't do that," Gary said. "Or at least, I wait until I have some real glory first."

Brett slapped him on the back. "What's more glorified than a job well done? And now, we don't have to do any work, either."

"Great, we can get back to base and maybe get some R&R before-"

"Can't hear you over the crowd! Sorry, Gar! You need me, I'll be at Sugar Cube Corner signing autographs!" Brett said. He practically let the crowd carry him through the streets, all the way to the bakery.

---

After a couple customary hours of celebrating, Dice Squadron returned to their ships and made the trip back to the Rebel Alliance outpost on Equestria's moon. The moon's revolution around Equestria was largely controlled by Luna herself but because she was preoccupied, the moon matched the planet's rotation. The pilots fully expected to have to fight their way back through the blockade, a task that was usually easier for them having broken it before, but the Imperial warships were not in their positions.

"Huh," Brett remarked at the site of vacant space, "the cruisers are gone."

"We must've hit 'em harder than we thought!" Tovin, Dice-three commented.

"Haha, yeah, probably!"

"All this means is they'll put something bigger in their place, like a Star Destroyer or a Golan," Gary said.

"Eh, they'll never stop us. We're the best blockade runners in the galaxy!"

"You said that once already," Gary reminded him.

"Heh, well, it's true, isn't it? We just took out a blockade without even trying!"

Gary shook his head. "The cruisers probably hyperspaced out for repairs. They're probably switching them out, but at least we made a nice window."

"It'll be one to tell 'em back at base," Brett said. The three ships flew around the moon, banking around the satellite to the dark side. They were briefly engulfed in the shadow and only the flares of their engines were visible in the darkness.

From the outside, Equestria's moon looked the same as it always did, until the three Y-Wings approached it and broadcast the Rebel clearance code. Then, the surface transformed. The outer layer of dust shifted and a part formed in the rocks. A line split apart in the side of the moon, right in the center and opened outward. Dice Squadron flew their Y-Wings into this opening, which quickly closed behind them. Though the dust had shifted, it wouldn't be noticeable to any other passing ships on the dark side of the moon.

The interior of the moon was a stark contrast to the outside. The walls were illuminated with gold-colored light which lent color to the matte-black floor beneath. Dice Squadron passed through the pink-blue magnetic containment field that protected the hangar from the outside of space and landed in the center of the vehicle poole. Flight crews of mixed pony and rebel technicians jogged up to the fighters to service them, remove the astromechs and give them the congratulatory back-slaps and high-fives/hooves. Such rituals were a happy obligation.

Bretton triumphantly led his squadmates through the corridors of the Rebel moon base. He saluted most of ponies, rebels and even droids that passed them by, even the ones that didn't really notice them. Gary shook his head; his squad leader was still 'victory mode', which would probably last until the next mission started. It was routine, more or less, something they'd been through dozens of times by now. But it wasn't something Gary or the others complained about; being able to go through it again meant they had survived.

They arrived at the control center deep inside the moon's surface. Massive window-like monitor screens lined the high walls of the dome-shaped room broadcasting feeds from Equestria and a few other hotspots from neighboring planets. One monitor displayed a feed of the arcade game Galaga for some reason. Ponies and droids hovered in front of the screens, jotting notes or keeping an eye on the activity. The entire room was a wave of constant motion, almost resembling the inside of an enormous hive.

In the center of this was Commander Spitfire. With the princesses on the surface, the duty of monitoring activity and managing the fighter squadrons fell to her. Dice Squadron saluted as they reached her command chair in the middle of the room.

"Commander," Brett began, "we're happy to report another successful supply run has been made."

"I saw that," Spitfire said, not turning around to them. Her attention was focused on a monitor on the back wall. "You did an excellent job getting through that blockade, very commendable."

Brett smiled. "Well, ma'am, that's what you get when you roll with Dice Squadron."

Her chair spun around. Spitfire's face was contemplative, one of consideration. "What I didn't see was what happened to the blockade after you got through it." The words hung in the air for a few moments. The pilots shifted a bit, none of them having any answer to the question she hadn't asked. "Your attitude hasn't exactly been the most professional thing I've seen," Spitfire continued. "But you do get results. I'm advising you all to be cautious."

"Ah-of course," Brett peeped out.

"We're sending you on another mission. Another supply run, bigger this time. We've got three automated transports loaded with some special munitions, we need to get them to Ponyville," Spitfire explained. She turned around again and gestured to one of the monitors. "While you were getting here, it appears the blockade has already reformed. Same makeup as before, so it doesn't seem like they've been able to tighten their defenses yet. This is the time to really reinforce our troops on the ground, so we need to get this done now while we have the chance."

Brett smiled. "Dice Squadron's always a safe bet, ma'am."

She nodded. "Let's hope so. We're taking a pretty big risk with these supplies. They're critical if we want to eliminate the Empire's presence on Equestria soon. Punch a hole through that blockade again for our transports and we'll be that much closer to freeing the planet. Questions?"

"No, ma'am. You can count on Dice Squadron to-"

Her chair spun around again. "Dismissed."

They dropped their salutes carefully. Without another word, they exited the control room as quickly as they had entered and made their way to their quarters for a little rest while the mission was prepped. Before long, their ships had been re-prepped and they were deployed again, making their way back to the hangar.

"Hey guys!" Derpy said, passing them on the way.

"Hey Derpy!"

"Hey Derpy." Gary turned back, looking over his shoulder. "Derpy?"

"What about her?" Jana asked, right behind him.

"How did she get up here that fast?"

Jana shrugged. "Maybe she caught a ride while the blockade was broken and we were partying."

"Maybe..." Gary said, picking up the pace again. They arrived in the hangar and got aboard their ships again. One at a time, they lifted off and proceeded out, leaving the glowing-gold interior of the moon behind to enter the inky blackness of the night once again.