Star Horse: Empire's Sunset

by Neal Wolf

Chapter 3

Sunset Shimmer sat quietly in the cell that had been assigned to her. If she knew Imperial procedure (which she did, intimately), the Duty Officer currently in command would have to wait for both this office's commander and a senior representative of the Imperial Navy to arrive before any questioning could begin. She'd known the possibility of her discovery and capture was high - she was amazed that her true loyalty had remained hidden this long - and had vowed long before to remain stoic in the face of their interrogation. After all, there wasn't much more pain the Empire could cause her than what they already had...

Her musing was disrupted by voices outside the energy field that served as her cell door; they were coming from the open door of the Duty Officer's office. "I'm here to collect your latest prisoner," one said. "Lord Vader wishes to question her personally." This statement sent an involuntary chill down the mare's spine... until something in the voice registered as oddly familiar.

"I wasn't notified of any transfer," argued a second voice, the Duty Officer's.

"You want to question Lord Vader and tell him you're delaying the execution of his orders?" asked the first, a mix of flippancy and incredulity in his tone. "Be my guest; personally, I rather enjoy breathing."

After some grumbling Sunset didn't quite catch, two figures emerged from the office. One was a green pegasus, the Duty Officer, and the other was a gray earth pony in a Magistrate's uniform that almost didn't fit quite right. Though her face remained passive, her heart quickened; it was the very same stallion she'd been talking to in the bar when she was captured!

"Shall I have a transport prepared?" asked the pegasus, waving a pair of stormtroopers over before keying in the sequence that deactivated the energy shield.

"That won't be necessary," the earth pony replied. "I've arranged private transport from a nearby hangar." When the Duty Officer gave him a mildly suspicious look, he continued, leaning conspiratorially toward the officer. "Lord Vader wants this kept as quiet as possible. I probably shouldn't tell you this - I don't know what level of clearance you have - but we have intel that the Rebels have found a way to intercept our transports in hyperspace. If the charges against her are true, they'll want her back; if not, can you think of a better prisoner or hostage for them than Lord Vader's personal assistant?"

With a grudging nod, the Duty Officer stepped aside. "Would you like additional escort?"

The other stallion waved a hoof dismissively. "I really don't need these two; I'm pretty sure I can handle one unarmed mare from here to the landing platform."

"There is the matter of procedure..."

"This whole operation is against procedure," the earth pony scoffed, "unless you count following Darth Vader's orders." He thought a moment, scrutinizing the pegasus's face. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll take one of them with me," he conceded.

The trio, earth pony, unicorn, and stormtrooper, were soon making their silent way to the landing pad. At one point, when she knew the escort wasn't looking, she arched one eyebrow questioningly at the stallion; he replied with a barely perceptible wink and grin.

Upon reaching a somewhat beat-up-looking freighter, the earth pony placed his right forehoof on a sensor pad, unlocking and lowering the boarding ramp, then turned to the trooper. "You're dismissed, soldier," he said simply.

The trooper, however, didn't budge. "With all due respect, sir, my orders are to escort you and the prisoner to your rendezvous with Lord Vader's ship."

"Your orders are being countermanded," the false Magistrate growled. Seeing a potential problem, Sunset decided to help matters along. She looked toward the trooper, her horn glowing very faintly, as the earth pony continued. "I have more than enough security on board."

"You have more than enough security on board," the trooper repeated in a dull monotone.

For a split second, the stallion seemed surprised, but he recovered quickly. "That's right, so you can go back and resume your normal duties."

"I can go back and resume my normal duties." The trooper performed a perfect about-face and started walking back toward the Magistrate's office.

It was Sunset's turn to wink at her rescuer. "If you forget any of this happened when you get back, he'd appreciate it," she called after the departing soldier.

"If I forget any of this happened when I get back, he'd appreciate it," the stormtrooper muttered, continuing on his way as the other two boarded the Shadowdancer.

"Name's Mon-Teel Cray; some just call me Parody,” said the stallion, discarding his stolen Magistrate's uniform and setting about releasing the binders hobbling the unicorn's front legs. "I'll have you out of these in a sec, Ms. Shimmer. By the way, how'd you do that... with the stormtrooper?"

"Sunset's fine," she replied, stretching her forelegs once Cray had them free. "As for our chaperone, well... Lord Vader has taught me a couple of things about the Force and how to use it... plus some studying I've done on my own." As they made their way toward the cockpit, she continued. "So, I have to ask: did you rescue me because I'm his assistant or because I might be a Rebel spy?"

Cray snorted. "I don't care if you're Emperor Sombra's concubine; I wasn't gonna leave you in the hooves of those... uh-oh." He leapt into the pilot's seat, his hooves flying over the controls to bring the engines to life. Looking over his shoulder, Sunset could see why: several stormtroopers were pouring onto the landing pad, along with the Duty Officer and another officer sporting a very recent black eye. "Guess that Magistrate at the bar sobered up faster than I thought he would..."

Cray lifted the Shadowdancer off the platform and aimed her nose skyward, the ship's atmospheric plating easily absorbing the gathered stormtroopers' blaster fire. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as the ship rocketed toward the heavens. "That was too close."

"We're not out of the asteroid field yet," Cray told her, nodding off to his right with a concerned look. In the distance, Sunset could see a trio of TIE fighters closing on them.

"Unregistered craft, return to the landing pad for boarding and search immediately," a voice droned through the ship's com.

"Blow it out your exhaust," Cray muttered, stretching to the right to reach one of the controls. The ship dipped slightly when he finally hit the switch he was reaching for, but he quickly righted it. "I really need to hire a co-pilot one of these cycles..."

Sunset slid into the co-pilot's seat, noting the switch Cray had used and making adjustments on a nearby panel. "Deflector shields up; ninety-seven percent power to starboard bow quadrant."

Cray shot her a quick look. "Force training and you can co-pilot a ship?" he asked. "Anything else I should know?"

"You'd be amazed at what I can do," she told him with a sly grin. Cray allowed himself a small chuckle under his breath, then returned his attention to the matter at hoof, shooting past the fighters' formation and continuing for the edge of Coruscant's atmosphere as the interceptors-turned-pursuers opened fire.

The brief levity in the cockpit was disrupted as the ship rocked violently, an alarm klaxon sounding from Sunset's side of the control panel. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "A stray shot got through while I was re-angling the deflectors." She studied the flashing instrument panel to her right. "Minor hull breach in dorsal cargo bay three... bulkhead is sealed and holding."

"She's taken worse," said Cray dismissively, his eyes scanning the panorama of ships, orbital stations, and small moons opening before them.

Sunset's eyes, however, were sweeping over the console directly in front of her. "Do you have fire and targeting controls over there?"

Cray shook his head. "Don't have 'em at all," he said, angling their course toward a relatively nearby moon.

Sunset was so stunned, she almost forgot to adjust the deflector shield. "You don't have any weapons on this crate?!" she asked incredulously.

"Nope," he told her simply. "I needed the power cells for something just as useful. Do me a favor: keep the deflector between us and them and let me know the instant they lose visual on us."

The unicorn stared at him, slack-jawed. "What could possibly be 'just as useful' as defending yourself?"

"Not needing to," said the pilot, a bit cryptically. He could see out of the corner of his eye that his new co-pilot was about to argue further. "Sunset, you asked me to trust you; now I need you to return the favor."

The mare started to open her mouth, then sighed; she had no idea what this possibly crazed stallion was up to, but she really couldn't argue the point. She returned her attention to the deflector controls and the small monitor showing the TIE fighters' positions behind them. Slowly, the horizon of the approaching moon came into view on the monitor as well; she realized he was trying to put the orbital body itself between them and the fighters. Thinking a second, she turned on a second monitor and brought up a topographical map of the moon that was now below them. "There's a wide canyon coming up, fifteen thousand meters ahead and four degrees to port," she informed Cray. "If you can somehow duck into it, we might lose them sooner."

Cray nodded, making the necessary course adjustment. Sure enough, the beginning of a wide chasm soon loomed ahead. Several tall, craggy hills jutted out from its lip. "Perfect," he thought aloud, sliding to one side of the formation.

Sunset guessed his intended maneuver, then focused on the monitor showing their pursuit. "Whatever you plan to do when they can't see us, stand by."

The stallion nodded again, resting his left hoof on a control bank Sunset didn't recognize while skillfully navigating the rocky terrain with his right. The instant they passed the ridge line, he banked hard behind it, angling the ship slightly upward.

"NOW!"

Cray quickly nosed back down, activating the control bank at his left and throwing all power into reverse thrusters, bringing the Shadowdancer to a near-immediate stop. The sudden change was too much for the ship's inertial dampers, and both ponies were thrown forward a bit before the fighters shot past overhead and Cray brought them into a stationary hover just above the lunar surface.

Sunset eyed the departing craft warily. "Y'know, it won't take them long to spot..." She stopped, noticing the odd shimmer just outside the cockpit, as if she were looking at a holovid from the wrong angle. She turned to Cray, who had a smirk plastered on his muzzle as he keyed up the ship's communicator.

"Group five-seven-seven-four, return to your patrol route," a voice said. "Craft are being notified of the fugitive vessel along their last known trajectory."

"Okay, clever colt," she said, returning Cray's smirk with one of her own as he turned off the com. "What did you just do?"

The smuggler bowed politely, though the smirk never left his face. "Ms. Shimmer, allow me to officially welcome you aboard the Shadowdancer," he said in a mock polite tone, "possibly the smallest ship in the galaxy with a cloaking device". He pointed out the cockpit window. "At this very moment, strategically-placed holo-projectors are re-creating above the ship images from cameras below it. Also, this particular cloak emits a half-second, false hyperdrive signature just before it activates."

"So they think we jumped to lightspeed," said Sunset, her smirk slowly fading into a grin. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you, milady." Cray could feel his own smirk becoming a grin, but it faded as he looked out the window. "Now, while we wait for them to get well clear, I need to figure out how to get back down to that bar." He sighed as he turned to Sunset. "If you want me to drop you somewhere first, just say so... but... I'd really like to keep you around for a while..." Suddenly feeling very self-conscious, he cleared his throat. "As my co-pilot, I mean..."

Sunset tilted her head curiously. "Why would you want to go back? The drinks aren't that good."

A soft chuckle escaped the earth pony. "Got a job to do," he told her. "An acquaintance of mine is paying me to meet someone there and give her a ride."

Cray then turned back to the window, so he didn't notice the curious expression creeping into Sunset's features. "Can I ask a dumb question?" she asked.

He shrugged, not turning around. "As long as you don't mind a dumb answer."

"Have you ever been to the cantina in Mos Eisley?"

Cray slowly turned back to Sunset, eyes wide and one eyebrow raised. "I've been there twice," he recited.

Those enchanting aqua eyes smiled at him as much as the rest of her face. "The band's okay, but I've heard better."

The look on Cray's face made it obvious that he was very pleasantly surprised. "You're the Rebel informant I'm supposed to pick up?!"

Sunset's smile widened, a hint of pink coming into her cheeks as she keyed the coordinates for her destination into the ship's computer. "Small galaxy, huh?"

Cray just laughed, jumping out of his seat and hugging the mare beside him, which made her blush even more. Realizing what he was doing, Cray pulled away quickly, clearing his throat loudly as he sat back down and looked at the new course information. He made a point of not looking directly at Sunset, trying to hide the red that had come into his own facial fur. "That patrol group should be far enough away in a few minutes for us to leave," he told her, his voice quavering slightly from nerves. "Once we're in hyperspace, we should make these coordinates in about fourteen hours."

The pair sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Once the TIE fighters were well out of sensor range, Cray finally broke it as he guided the Shadowdancer out away from the moon. "Um, there are a couple of bunk rooms off the main cabin, if you want to grab some sleep..."

"I'm okay, thanks..." Sunset replied hesitantly, then turned toward him. "Thanks for getting me away from the Magistrate, too, since you obviously didn't know I was your passenger at the time. I promise I'll get someone to fix that hull breach when we reach the fleet..."

"I'd appreciate it," he gave her a small grin, looking in her direction but not quite making eye contact. Outside, the pinpoints of stars became streaks of light as the Shadowdancer leapt into hyperspace. "So... if you don't mind me asking... what prompted Vader's personal assistant to start helping the Rebellion?"

"Being Vader's personal assistant, for one thing," she replied ruefully. "The things I saw him do... helped him do... I just..." Squeezing her eyes shut to push back tears from the memory of Imperial atrocities she'd both witnessed and been party to, she shook her head with a sigh. "It was more than my conscience could take." She felt something touch her hoof softly. Glancing down, she realized it was Cray's; as she faced him, he looked into her eyes, sympathy and concern in his own. She turned her hoof over, giving his a small squeeze while a sad smile played at the edges of her lips. "The last straw was when he let Governor Tarkin destroy my family... my entire homeworld..."

Cray's head jerked back just slightly, one eyebrow raising. "Your home... you're from Alderaan?"

Sunset nodded. "Actually, Princess Twilight Organa was one of my best friends growing up..."

The stallion's whole body jerked back at this revelation, though (despite him not really realizing it) his hoof never left hers. "W-w-wait, THE Princess Twilight?" he asked, "the figurehead of the Rebellion?"

"Mm-hmm; she was my first contact in the Alliance," she told him. "Lately, though, I've been working with a group of Bothans, taking whatever intel they gather, following up on it, and relaying to whoever needs it. Sometimes I'd ask them to check on rumors that I'd draw suspicion looking into, which is how I got the data I'm carrying now; fortunately, they were able to get it to me before the Magistrate caught up with them."

"So they've been captured?"

Sunset looked away, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "The Empire doesn't bother taking prisoners who fight back," she said, her voice cracking slightly, "especially non-equines".

"You mean they... your friends are...?" Cray swallowed hard as the mare slowly nodded, the tear in her eye sliding down beside her muzzle. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't know," said Sunset, wiping the tear away with her free hoof and subconsciously squeezing his a bit tighter. "Most civilians don't; Emperor Sombra keeps close tabs on what all becomes common knowledge." She took a deep breath to steady herself, letting it out in a sigh. "That might soon change, though."

Cray's eyebrow went up again. "Something to do with the data you've got?"

"They're building another Death Star," she said with a nod, her tone grim, "nearly twice the firepower of the first one, by all reports. If they finish it..."

"The Rebels' cycles are numbered," the smuggler finished for her. "On the other hoof, if they destroy it like they did the first one, it might get more systems to side with them."

"It could do more than that," said Sunset. She leaned a bit closer to Cray, not entirely aware that she was doing so and oblivious to the fact that he was leaning toward her as well. "According to reports, Sombra is planning to oversee the final stages of construction personally. If the Alliance can blow it up with him on it..."

"The war's all but over," a grin came into Cray's lips... until he realized how close they'd gotten to Sunset's. Apparently, she noticed how close they now were also, and both ponies virtually jumped back to their prior positions, hooves going to their respective laps. "That'd be great," the earth pony chuckled nervously, not noticing the furious blush coming into the unicorn's cheeks.

"Yeah," the mare squeaked, then cleared her throat. "Um, not to sound rude or anything, but do you have anything to eat?"

Cray hopped from his seat, then took a few steps toward the main cabin. "Yes, food, yes... galley's right this way." He continued on, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that she was following. He guided her to a galley table, then went to a nearby storage cabinet to pull out some rations. "So... um... you mentioned you've been looking into the Force?"

"Yes," the mare smiled as she watched him at the rehydration unit. "Vader had started teaching me... I think he wanted me to be his apprentice... but I snuck into the Imperial archives' sealed section and started looking up the old Jedi order. While Vader's view of the Force - and Sombra's - focuses on using your passions to gain power, the Jedi followed the Path of Harmony, or Light Side for short. Gaining understanding through things like generosity, kindness, loyalty... that mindset resonated with something in me a lot more than Vader's Sith teachings."

"My mom used to tell me stories about the Old Republic and the Jedi," said Cray, setting a plate of food in front of her and taking a seat opposite. "She said the Jedi turned on the Republic at the end of the Clone Wars and tried to take over..."

"That's what Sombra wanted everypony to believe," said Sunset after swallowing a small nibble. "I found evidence in the archives that the Purge... Executive Order Sixty-Six... was part of the clone army's training from when they were first created."

"A government official lying to everypony," Cray deadpanned. "Gee, what a shock." He had barely even glanced at the rations he'd prepared for himself; most of his focus was on appearing nonchalant while his mind was racing. He'd run out of small talk, and what he should say or do next completely eluded him.

This fact wasn't completely lost on Sunset, who tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No," the stallion blurted a bit too quickly, then stood and stretched, forcing a yawn. "I think I'm gonna grab a snooze," he told her, then pointed down one corridor. "If you change your mind and decide to do likewise, spare bunk rooms are the first doors to either side down there; if you need me for something, my bunk room's the second on the left."

An hour later, Cray was lying on his bunk, staring at the floor. "C'mon, get it together, willya?" he admonished himself, loudly smacking his head against the nearby wall; countless hours alone in space had caused him to think nothing of thinking aloud. "Sure, she's cute... okay, gorgeous... and smart... and talented..." He sighed. "And she's been through a lot, and has a lot more riding on her withers; the drop-dead LAST thing she should have to worry about is a goofball smuggler with an instant crush..." A knock sounded from his door. "Uh, come in?"

The door panel slid open to reveal Sunset. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Yeah... I mean no... I mean..." He sighed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," she said; she stepped into the room, the door sliding closed behind her. "I just wanted to ask you something... if you wouldn't mind telling me... why did you agree to come get me? Was it just the money, or...?"

Cray considered making something up, trying to appear more noble than he felt; instead, he just shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said that the money wasn't part of it... but only part. Truth is, I've been trying to figure that one out myself ever since I did. Something just... told me it was what I was supposed to do. I'm certainly not complaining..." A small grin began to play at his muzzle, but it faded quickly as he smacked himself, covering his eyes with one hoof. "Sorry, that was corny..."

Sunset just chuckled softy, taking a seat on the edge of his bunk. "Maybe it was the will of the Force; maybe you were destined to be the one to carry me away from Coruscant and to the Alliance fleet." A slight blush came into her cheeks as she smiled at him, those beautiful aqua eyes sparkling. "Guess you're contagious; now I'm being corny."

Cray shook his head. "Nah, the way I understand it, believing in destiny is a part of Force training; I just never really bought into it. If our lives are pre-destined, we don't really have free will, do we?"

"Not necessarily," she said with a yawn. "You can have a destiny and choose to not follow it." She stretched languidly, then glanced down at the bunk. "Is it okay if I...?"

"Um, sure," said the stallion; he scooted back as far as he could to give her space to stretch out, though it didn't leave him with much. Even pressed against the wall, the mare was close enough for him to feel the warmth from her back. "Comfy?"

"Mm-hmm," she sighed contentedly, nuzzling the pillow under her head, then raised her head enough to partly turn and look at him. "Do you have enough room? I can go to one of the other bunks if you'd prefer; I just... it's nice to have someone close by, y'know?"

"No, you're fine," Cray told her, again a bit too quickly, he thought. "You were saying you can choose not to follow your destiny?"

She nodded, nuzzling the pillow again. "If it doesn't feel right to you, you can always defy it; then again, if it doesn't feel right, maybe what you think is your destiny really isn't." She couldn't help but laugh quietly, feeling the earth pony fidget around to try to get comfortable without "encroaching on her space", as it were. "Do whatever you need to get settled; I don't mind." There was a brief pause, then she felt his weight settle against her back, one foreleg tentatively slipping around her barrel, then relaxing when it encountered no resistance or tension. She let out another contented sigh; feeling his slow, rhythmic breath blowing through her mane put her at ease. She drifted off to sleep as she mumbled, "I know I never thought I was destined to have a 'goofball smuggler' help me carry out my mission..."