Star Wars: The Clone Wars Elements

by Barrobroadcaster

Chapter 2: Warm Reception

The B1 Battle Droid was not designed to think for itself. It wasn't programmed to think at all, which was sometimes a bit of a disappointment to the pilot B1 Battle Droid designated Unit 74809J. Although he wasn't programmed to think, he sometimes did, and sometimes would tap along to the music the admiral played from time to time. It earned him the nickname "Taps."

Taps thought that it would be nice to think independently. The crystal ponies seemed to do so, which is why some of them had decided to join the Confederacy rather than the Republic. He thought that was pretty neat, and sort-of wished battle droids had been designed the same way. But would they join the Republic, he wondered? Probably not. The Confederacy of Independent Systems was way better, and it made them, after all.

He watched, unlike all the other battle droids as the crystal ponies took to the sky. Then, as they flew beyond the range of his visual receptors, he boarded his MAF, or Mechanized Assault Flyer, recently painted with blue livery and emblazoned with the CIS insignia, and took to the skies himself. The rest of the MAFs in his squadron rose up as well, and together they flew in formation to the battle. The time for pondering was before and after battle, not during.

---

R.A.S. Arbitrator, port hangar bay
In low orbit above Equestria

"You've done this before... right?" Ahsoka asked.

"Once. In a simulation," Master Krace replied. "Roughly an hour ago."

"An hour ago?" She looked over at him.

"Relax, padawan," Anakin said, voice cool and even. "Calm your mind."

"I'm calm," Ahsoka said, though both she and Anakin could feel she was feeling nervous. "I'd be a lot calmer if I had been invited along to the simulation."

"There's not really much to it. We're jumping out of a cruiser into hostile territory. The simulation didn't even take the weather into account," Captain Rex said.

Ahsoka leaned forward to look at Rex. "So you were in this simulation, too?"

"I wasn't, if that makes you feel better," Anakin said.

"It doesn't. It really doesn't. This is reckless, you know that, right? That's what Master Obi-Wan would say."

Would he? Anakin was beginning to wonder. Training his own padawan, he couldn't help but feel like he must be going through what his own master went through from time to time. Obi-Wan was a good master, but privately, Anakin hadn't felt he was really a great teacher. He couldn't remember anything beyond the basic lessons he kept spouting... and now, he found himself spouting those same lessons. So did that make him a great teacher or not?

"Focus on the present," Anakin said, something else Obi-Wan would have said. It was also likely Qui-Gon would've said that, too. "We have a job to do."

Shining Armor finally joined them. He was wearing an environmental suit, like the rest of them, just one modified for a pony.

"Are you sure you want to come along with us, your highness?" Master Kent asked.

"Yes," the prince said firmly. He stared out the hangar bay, past the shimmering wall of the magnetic containment or magcon field into space. His world, Equestria rose to eclipse half the starfield as the Venator angled itself properly for the maneuver. It was clear Shining Armor's mind was on only one thing.

Anakin didn't ask anything further. He knew already what the prince was going through, knew it all too well. Master Krace asking made it clear, as Anakin knew, that the other Jedi Master did not understand. How could he? He spent almost his entire life as a Jedi and swore off attachment of any romantic kind long ago, before Anakin was even born. Ahsoka was too young, possibly on the road to a similar situation and Rex was focused on the mission.

No, Anakin was the only one among them who could have understood. He wondered, as he did sometimes, how Ahsoka would react if she knew about Padme. Part of him wanted to go back to the lake country on Naboo, where no one else went, secluded from the galaxy and away from the war. Just him and Padme alone among the cool breezes, clear waters and green fields. But then, there were more folks out there like Shining Armor who needed him to stand. He did this for them. He did this for all of them, himself and her included.

"Infiltration team is ready," Kent announced. "Begin launch sequence."

"Launch sequence?" Ahsoka asked. "What does he-"

"Get ready, snips, here it comes."

It was then Ahsoka finally put things together. There were no ships in the hangar currently- there was just them, the empty hangar and the magcon field generator. And Equestria right in front of them.

"Oh no."

"Decompression in five..."
"...four..."
"...three..."
"...two..."

"Brace yourselves!"

"...one..."

The magcon field disappeared. All five of them were blasted out of the hangar directly at Equestria.

---

Ahsoka didn't know if it was the sheer velocity or the cloud layer, but for the first few seconds after being shot out of the hangar, she couldn't see a thing. Her helmeted head was buffeted but stayed mostly centered, forces unseen at speeds too high to calculate whipping past her. She and the rest of the team were racing into Equestria's atmosphere like bullets.

"Calm yourself, padawan."

"I-I-I'm... c-calm," Ahsoka said, trying to sound as calm as she could. More than she actually felt.

Finally, they punched through the cloud layer and Equestria came into view.

"Trajectory is good. No need to adjust," Kent's voice said. He was in the lead, Rex and Anakin close behind him, Shining Armor between them both.

Sprawling out far beneath them was the glittering Crystal Empire. Some of the buildings shimmered, sticking out of the ground like enormous crystal stalagmites. It was quite beautiful, Ahsoka thought, almost like the naturally-occurring crystal deposits in the caves of Ilum, different colors and clusters all arrayed before her.

The largest one, of course, was the Crystal Palace. It was also their target, and it dominated the landscape and their view as they descended.

Flashes of fire and trails of smoke rose from the southern part of the massive city-state. Zeta Squadron and the clone troopers were doing their job. A bit north and in the sky above were the Y-Wings of Archer Squadron engaging the few Vulture droids that remained.

"Looks like the tanks are doing their job. They're on schedule." That was Rex's voice. He was good at keeping tracking of things and being aware of details. Whether it was because he was a clone or not was unknown; he was invaluable to the team and to Anakin either way.

"Target is coming up."

They slowed their descent as they approached the palace, using their limbs as air brakes. Slower, slower, slow enough as they fell. Then, one by one, they deployed their chutes. By the time they did, it was only moments before they were level with the top of the palace.

"Jedi precision," commented Rex.

"On me." Kent found their insertion point, grabbing on to the side of the palace. His gauntlets and boots had special spikes, known to clone troopers as "spider gear" but it was actually based on Jango Fett's armor. It was one of the many things the bounty hunter had personally integrated into specialized types of armor during his time on Kamino.

Kent's chute retracted into its pack seamlessly. Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex and Shining joined him as he cut a hole through the walls to the palace with is lightsaber. They couldn't use jetpacks, jet boots, fusion cutters or anything that would possibly trigger the Separatist sensors. Lightsabers, fortunately, were not easily detectable by the droids.

"We're near the observatory. It should be, uh... above us," Shining Armor remarked. He looked around, getting his bearings. It was his first time entering the Crystal Palace from a heist-style hole in the wall and, to be honest, he didn't go to the upper levels very often. Once or twice to get decorations for Hearth's Warming was about it.

"Observatory's a good place for a command post," Kent said.

Shining spun around. "We're here for my family." His voice made it clear he didn't want to waste another moment, regardless of how important a target it might be. Even if it helped the mission, he wanted to see Cadence and he wanted to see her now. Once again, Anakin fully understood.

"Master Krace, you can check it out. Ahsoka, Rex and I will go with Shining."

"As you say," Kent said, before turning to depart.

Shining Armor locked eyes with Anakin for a moment. "Thank you." Anakin said nothing, just nodded, and they descended to the lower levels together silently.

The spiral staircase down to the lower levels of the Crystal Palace seemed to go on forever. The palace was divided into three sections: the upper section was space for the observatory and storage, the middle section was the quarters for the royal family and royal guards and the base housed larger rooms for gatherings, ceremonies and the throne room.

Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex each had different thoughts about the Crystal Palace. Ahsoka still marveled at the palace's beauty and how the colors were different shades and combinations on each floor. Anakin wondered what would happen if the Separatists continued their occupation of the Empire, what they could do with these kinds of crystals... and why they came here specifically in the first place. Rex usually considered things from a tactical perspective, and did think about what kind of cover these crystals might offer the droids, and what sort of explosives might cut through them. He also thought to himself, How did they even build something like this? They didn't dig this whole thing out of the ground this way, did they?

After what seemed like more flights of stairs than should have been necessary, they reached their destination. The throne room was in the center of the palace base, situated at the core of the palace itself. Directly underneath the base and the Crystal Palace was the Crystal Altar and the pedestal where the Crystal Heart was kept.

"It's right behind here," Shining said, steel in his voice.

"You're certain the hostages are held here? In the throne room?" Ahsoka asked.

Shining nodded. "The place has many hidden passages. This is one of the only rooms where it would be easy to keep an eye on prisoners."

Anakin nodded. "Alright then. Rex, cover the prince."

"On it." The clone captain drew his blasters.

"Padawan." Anakin glanced at Ahsoka. Both of them activated their lightsabers at almost the same time. "Let's make this quick."

They carved their way through the wall to the throne room. The exit to the throne room was on either side of the wall they were cutting through, but Anakin wanted a clear path. He also knew that obvious routes were more predictable places for traps. Best to make your own. That, and it was something he enjoyed doing.

They cut through the walls. Two holes appeared, and the sections cut from them fell to the ground inside the throne room with a dull thud. Thankfully, the walls were thick enough that they didn't shatter. Anakin and Ahsoka stepped through, sabers held in a defensive stance. Droids tended to shoot at any anomaly they detected.

But the room was empty. No droids, no hostages, nothing. Rex and Shining Armor stepped through a split second later.

"I'm not picking up anything. No movement, no thermals," Captain Rex said.

Anakin kept his lightsaber up. "Stay alert. Prince Shining?"

Shining Armor backed away. "I..."

*clap *clap* *clap*

"Oh, I don't like that sound," Ahsoka said.

In the middle of the throne room were two thrones. Simple, high, elegant chairs of crystal. One of them turned around.

"Well now. You certainly do now how to make an entrance."

"Who is that?" Ahsoka asked. But Anakin already had an idea.

Atop the throne was a Sullustan, a mouse-like alien race with large ears known for their keen navigational skills. This particular Sullustan wore long-sleeved shirt under colorful robes with no sleeves and the hood folded down. He also wore a tinted visor on his forehead just above his eyes.

"Dua Ningo, baby," the Sullustan said. "Admiral Dua Ningo... of the Confederacy of Independent blah-blah-whatever. Took you Republic turkeys long enough to find out what was goin' on in this corner of the galaxy. Not used ta bein' this close to nature, are ya?"

Anakin gripped his saber tightly but didn't move. "Admiral Ningo... you're supposed to be dead. Captain Dodonna and Screed destroyed your fleet over Anaxes."

Admiral Ningo shrugged. With a grin he said, "Well, as they like ta say, news of my death has been a-greatly ezaggerated." The Sullustan talked, looked and clearly dressed like some kind of beatnik. He would have fit in perfectly with Jedi Master Djinn Altis and his group of hippy Jedi, but Dua Ningo was no fan of Jedi or the Republic. Ningo's accent sounded like something from the bayous of southern Equestria to Shining's ears, like New Horseleans.

"Where are the hostages?"

"Oh, they're safe, don't you worry." Ningo smiled and added, "You'll be joining them quite soon."

And that was when they heard the droidekas. From both sides of the front of the throne room, six droidekas, droids that rolled and then deployed three legs and two arms with dual blasters alongside a powerful shield generator, rolled right up to them and deployed. From behind the thrones, commando droids fanned outward and took aim at Skywalker and his group. Finally, two more commando droids popped in through the holes Anakin and Ahsoka had just made... along with two more droidekas that came around from the other side of the wall.

After all that, there was still yet another surprise the CIS had for the Republic.

The other throne flipped around revealing an armored figure, one Anakin actually new before. That fact alone, this final revelation caused Anakin to briefly waiver from his guard, if only briefly.

"No..."

"Allow me ta introduce Mista Cydon Prax. But of course, I believe you and uh, Mista Jivewalker are already acquainted, so ta speak."

Cydon aimed his blaster casually at the group. "Not officially. But he does owe me a tank."

"You," Anakin said, more an accusation than statement, "You're supposed to be dead. On Thule."

Cydon shrugged. "Yes, well, as they like to say-"

"News of my death has been greatly exaggerated, yeah, we get it," Ahsoka finished for him.

To say Dua Ningo was prepared would be an understatement.

"Y'all put those glow sticks down nice and easy, now. We don't need ta make a mess a things."

"What are you even doing here? We blew up your shipyard in this sector already."

"Heh heh heh, didja now? All you turkeys did was take out our little side hustle. The real game's been going on here for quite some time now," Ningo said. He leaned to the side, looking past Anakin and Ahsoka at one person in particular. "Ain't that right, yo highness?"

Shining Armor stepped forward, and a sly smile slowly formed on his face as he walked casually past Anakin and Ahsoka. He joined Dua and Cydon, and turned around to face them. And his eyes were glowing an eerie green.

"I have a feeling... that's not Prince Shining Armor," Rex said.

"It never was," Anakin added. Only just now did they fathom the depth of the trap they had just walked into.

The form of Shining Armor melted away into green flames that rose from the ground to engulf his body. In his place was a new form, that of a taller, slender black insect-like pony with a bluish-green mane, bug-like wings and holes in her limbs.

"Welcome to the Crystal Empire," Queen Chrysalis said coolly. "Under new management."

Comments

[Heraldo3091]

you will continue with halo: two mantles

[Barrobroadcaster]

11082063
I think about that one from time to time. My idea for it actually was something like Halo: Infinite. Might do something different now, don't know. I want to finish Dan Vs. Season 1.

[Barrobroadcaster]

11082063
For the record, shit has been busy for me today but I have written more in Two Mantles.

To be honest, my idea for it was kind of like Halo Infinite, but with Fred and some OCs instead of the Chief. Maybe some other Spartans, too, but the problem with using canon characters is that they're easy to screw up, when people expect OCs to be screwed up already. Either way, progress was made today.

[Bronycommander]

Quite a surprise.