Rainbow Dash's First Trial: Clone Wars Year 1

by Hikarikurai24587

Last Minute

Chapter Fourteen: Last Minute

Rainbow Dash rolled over in her cot her wings twitching as dreams filled her mind.

A prison, boring, the same walls, the same barrier keeping him from the other prisoners. ‘Beats fighting. Wonder why they just didn’t kill me.’ a thought, it was always the same. Everything goes dark except for the yellow lights of the cell doors. Climbing to my feet as I look around cautiously. Am I going to be killed for my failure now? Well they’re going to know that I don’t go down without a fight. That is when I see it, a figure, standing at the barrier, cloak covering her face. Though I could tell this person about the same height as that girl from Christophsis.

“You’re the assassin they’ve sent after me? I was expecting more of a challenge.” I scoff, though I was worried about how they managed to get past all of the guards.

“Assassin? No. I am here to offer you a chance.” the cell barrier vanished, the voice was soft and feminine, an arm was stretched towards me. “Come with me, you can start a new life. Far away from this war, where you can heal.”

“Heal? Look lady, I don’t need to heal.” I retort taking a seat on my bed and I feel her approach. She sits next to me placing a hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her, she was hard to make out in the dark, especially with that cloak covering most of her features.

“Everyone who is hurt lashes out, you have been hurt by this war. You have lost so much and no one considered you to have a free will. Yet those who offered you freedom left you here. I want to help.” the female said, holding out her hand as she stood up, I look at it. “I will take you to a forgotten place and there you can find peace in yourself. If you wish to return I will not stop you.”

I look at the dark cell before looking at her outstretched hand before taking it. I pulled her close saying. “There is quite a drop, how do you plan on getting me out of here?”

I hear her hide a small nervous chuckle before she steps back. She’s a lot stronger than I thought as she pulls me with her. I close my eyes before realizing we didn’t fall that far.

“Got him?” a deep voice asked and I see an even shorter form, the female nods her head. “Right, hold on tight.”

We start moving just as alarms start going off just as a voice speaks through a communicator. “Sorry, they found me, had to get out of there. Meet you at the ship.”

“Understood, Asriel. Meet you there.” the girl answered as we began to move quicker. This transport feels odd, it doesn’t feel like metal underneath my feet. I kneel down pressing my hands against the surface blindly feeling around. Bone. Well this day just got more interesting.

Rainbow thrashed sweat began to drip down her face. She shot up panting just as Ash turned around saying. “Understood sir.”

“What’s going on?” Crossbones asked and Ash took a deep breath saying. “Someone just broke Slick out of prison.”

“Are you serious? Why would anyone do that?” Crash commented as Doc spoke up. “Was anyone hurt?”

“No, but most of the guards don’t remember anyone even coming to the prison. Or anyone leaving. Cameras and power were disabled.” Ash replied as the Clones began to gear up. Rainbow Dash swallowed, fear clenching her mind as her eyes squeezed shut.

Down, towards the Old Galactic Markets. Huh, seems that they know all the good places to hide.

“Don’t worry about us.” Crossbones told her and Rainbow opened her eyes to look at him. “We’ll get him back in prison. All the ports and pads are locked down.”

“What about the ones in the Old Galactic Market?” Rainbow questioned and Ash’s eyes widened as he said. “Everyone let’s move!”

The Clones moved towards the elevator and Rainbow felt her shoulders slump as she grabbed her head. She wondered why she had connected with Slick and was seeing through his eyes. Taking a deep breath she decided to let the Clones handle the situation while she prepared for her first day. That was when she realized, she had no clue when that was.

“Best to find out then.” She told herself walking to the balcony, the door opening right away. “I just can’t forget to lock the door.”

She pressed a button hearing a beep then a click. Nodding her head she was about to take off when she paused. “How did I get in last night? I don’t remember going in… maybe that was a dream.”

Shaking her head, Rainbow took off towards the building she had gone to the previous day. Landing she walked in seeing a large group of people crowding around in one area. Getting a feeling Rainbow walked over to the desk saying. “My name is Rainbow Dash and I….”

“Oh good you made it, we couldn't get in contact with you to give the details including when training started. I will get you processed. In the meantime please wait with the group for Colonel Pir.” The receptionist said barely even glancing up from his screen. Rainbow nodded her head before walking over to the edge of the group. She glanced around seeing many different species, some a little more strange looking than others.

“Line up!” A voice barked and all the recruits scrambled to attention. Rainbow Dash, having gotten lucky in her placement, scooted next to one of the recruits. She noticed that it was the cat man from the day before. ‘Cathar,’ she corrected herself in her mind as Cym Pir walked up to them.

“I am Colonel Cym Pir, I am your instructor. Even though many of you have volunteered to serve not all of you are able.” Cym Pir spoke loud enough that all were able to hear him as he walked in front of line. “My job is not only to train you but to make sure that all of you are able to handle any and all situations that will come at you. These first three days I will be testing you and no I will not be saying anymore than that. I take it you all know how to march, so get to it and follow me. Rows of two!”

The group filed in and Rainbow Dash heard the muttering begin again. This time it was barely above a whisper.

“We have Pir? I hear that most recruits don’t make it past the first few days.”

“I hear it because he rides them hard.”

“Nah, it’s the tests. Even though they change every cycle, they’re known to be really hard.”

“Seriously, ugh, why did we get placed with such a hardass? The Clones are going to do all the hard work anyways.”

Rainbow’s fists clenched as she looked for the one who said those words. She had just spotted him, a rather tall looking alien with a row of horns, brown markings on his skin. Another alien with a similar appearance, except with red skin, leaned towards him saying. “Careful what you say, you might just get sent home if he thinks you’re going to slack off.”

“Can it, both of you.” This recruit caught her attention, despite the Cathar appearance he had a row of horns and stripes of orange and yellow in his red hair. Shrugging her shoulders she saw him glance at her, his gold eyes narrowing before he looked forward. ‘What was that all about?’

As the recruits and Colonel Pir exited the area they all blinked as they saw a battleship waiting for them.

“I’ve heard about that ship. It’s a decommissioned attack cruiser used in his training sessions. A lot of recruits that came back call it Dead Man’s Bargain.” a young female with light red skin, her appearance reminding her of Ahsoka yet her skin was a deeper red and her eyes were bright red as well. The white markings on her face were around her eyes but the edges were gray. A twinge of familiarity ran through Rainbow as she glanced at her. The girl looked at her and gave her a small smile saying. “Don’t worry, I’m sure if we work together we’ll be able to make it through. I’m Kory, Kory Zavros.”

“Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you Kory.” Rainbow grinned holding out her hand and Kory shook it before they continued their march towards the ship.

Ash and his team ran through the Old Galactic Market seeing a ship powering up. He signalled Tinker and Crash to move ahead to stall it. Crash slid ready to stun the driver when he saw that it was about the height of a child. He could tell it wasn’t a Jawa as his head turned revealing a white muzzle. Amber eyes widened as he shouted at the communicator. “They found me! What should I do?!”

“Tinker, Crash, hurry it up!” Grimm called and Crash looked at him as Tinker yelled. “It’s a kid!”

The being let out a bleat hiding behind the seat as a large skull landed in front of the ship. Three figures, one of them being Slick climbed off before it vanished. The first ran in calling out softly. “Asriel!”

“They’re still out there!” sobbed the child clinging to the robes of the cloaked figure near them. The short one that had arrived was looking at the Clone Troopers carefully as Slick made his way towards the ship.

“Slick!” shouted Ash moving away from his hiding spot causing Slick to pause in his movement. “You’re just going to run away? Just like that? Run from your punishment?”

“You’ll never understand.” Slick said before continuing his route, Ash lifted his weapon and fired a single shot. It didn’t make contact. Instead the cloaked figure who had been inside was standing there. The blast barely hitting, almost touching an outstretched hand, it wobbled for a moment before the fingers curled into the palm. The bolt vanished and the figure nearly collapsed. The shorter cloaked figure ran towards her, Doc noticing bone poking out from under the cloak. It seemed to talk to the other one before heading into the ship. The one who stopped the bolt looked up revealing turquoise eyes as she lifted her hands. The Clones grabbed their heads as their memories began to get a little fuzzy just as the last person was pulled into the ship. The door closed, the ship took off, and they were gone. The Clones shook their heads wondering what had just happened.

“What… where’d the ship go? It was just here!” Rocky asked, looking around raising his hands into the air before he dropped them. “It couldn’t have just vanished!”

“Looks like it did.” replied Ash shaking his head. “Or we’re dealing with some powerful individuals.”

“I just hope Rainbow Dash is having better luck with her training.” Doc spoke up shifting slightly as he looked around.

“I still think it’s weird that they got her in that quickly and that close to when training would start.” grumbled Crossbones crossing his arms. “Guess this means we’re getting reassigned until she’s done.”

“I’m sure the Chancellor we’ll keep us on Coruscant until she needs us.” Tank replied patting him on the shoulder. “We all agree, it is strange.”

“Lock it down, we have to report in.” ordered Ash looking at the group before leading them back towards the automated speeders. He looked over his shoulder before tapping his helmet knowing that they were going to have to get them checked.

Rainbow Dash looked around at the bunks seeing who she was rooming with. To her surprise it was Kory and one other. A tall human female with short red hair, her eyes and ears were more like a Cathar. She looked at them with her green eyes giving each of them a nod as Kory asked. “Where’s your bag Rainbow? Do you like to be called Rainbow? Would you prefer if I call you Miss Dash or Rainbow Dash?”

“Rainbow works just fine.” Rainbow Dash answered before looking at her hands. “I didn’t know we were starting training. Looks like I got in by the skin of my teeth and last minute.”

“It doesn’t really matter, none of us have our uniforms yet.” the unintroduced female spoke up as she opened the case revealing just some heirlooms. “I’m… Lexxi, Lexxi Jorgan,”

“Nice to meet you Lexxi.” Rainbow said with a grin just as the door opened and a female with headtails poked her head in saying. “Hey, Colonel Pir says lights out are soon.”

“What’s your name?” asked Lexxi, the girl looked at her with blue eyes. It wasn’t just her irises, but her sclera as well that were blue. The girl smiled saying. “I’m Zenith. Night everyone.”

“What about the test?” Kory looked at the other two and Rainbow frowned. “From what I researched Colonel Pir always does a test on the first day.”

“Maybe it would be the first day once we arrive at our next location. I mean, we’re just running on engines. This ship doesn’t have a working hyperdrive.” Lexxi pointed out causing Rainbow Dash to raise an eyebrow. “I did my research, anyone who joins the Republic Navy should know about this ship and Colonel Pir. His tests are a complete mystery as is this ship. The hyperdrive engine and any replacement has not worked since it went down. It’s why this ship was decommissioned and used as a training vessel. It’s a complete mystery.”

“Do you think we should try to solve it?” Kory asked, laying down on her bunk, Rainbow doing the same. Lexxi shrugged her shoulders as she laid on hers all three taking a deep breath. Rolling onto her side Rainbow tried to tune them out wanting to just get some sleep.

A cave, so dark. Why did I come? I hold my torch up high as I see a large looming figure in the distance. I pull out my blade feeling it vibrate in my hand. An imposing statue appears in front of me. Oh, is that it? I stab the ground in front of the statue as I look up at it seeing the face covered by a mask. I tilt my head to the side, that’s when I feel heat behind me as flames rise up. I pull out my other blade. There is someone beyond the flames coming towards me. I threw my torch to the side pulling my vibroblade from the ground, steeling myself for an attack. I was struck in the back by lightning, but I refuse to go down to this assailant. I let out a roar as I move forward allowing the vibroblades absorb the lightning.

Alarms go off causing Rainbow Dash to sit up quickly, she got out of bed shouting. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know!” Kory replied as the entire ship jerked. “It feels like someone is trying to activate the hyperdrive!”

“An idiot who wants to get in on the action I’m guessing.” growled Lexxi as they moved outside of the room. “Come on! We’re heading to the bridge to put a stop to this!”

Rainbow Dash began to follow them when she saw the group of boys from before running in a different direction. She waved at them, only the big guy from before running over to her.

“Where are you heading?” Rainbow asked, unsure what his name was as recruits rushed past them.

“Engineering, we’re going to see what’s going on. You?” he asked nodding towards the other recruits.

“They’re thinking that whoever is doing this is planning on joining the battle by turning on the hyperdrive. Do you think there’s a bigger problem?” Rainbow asked and the recruit nodded saying. “Yeah, the hyperdrive, we think it’s the original one. The one that broke, it’s too dangerous to use, we have to shut it down.”

Rainbow Dash paused knowing that everyone wasn’t communicating with each other before looking the recruit in the eyes saying. “You go to the bridge, tell them what’s going on in engineering. I’ll go to engineering and do the same.”

“Right, hey is it true you bribed your way into this?” the recruit questioned and Rainbow said. “No! I… don’t know how I managed it. Engineering?”

“Just follow those recruits. Oh! I’m Verga, it’s to let Sparky know you talked with me.” the recruit said before heading towards the bridge. Shrugging her shoulders Rainbow headed after a stream of recruits heading in the direction that Verga was before. Some of the recruits glanced at her just as they made it to the engineering bay.

“Give me a timeframe!” snapped the Cathar looking male from before as he looked at the screen.

“I would say thirty minutes, if we can’t shut down the hyperdrive or if someone attempts to activate it we’re all dead!” Zenith informed him before noticing Rainbow Dash. “Hey, here to help?”

“Verga sent me, I’m supposed to tell you guys that some of the recruits went to the bridge to stop whoever did this from activating the hyperdrive.” Rainbow said and Zenith nodded her head before looking at the recruit asking. “Got that Sparky?”

“It’s Kimble, and yes I did. You can go up to the bridge with the others. We have this under control down here.” Kimble said not even looking at Rainbow Dash. “You’re just going to be in the way down here.”

Rainbow’s fists clenched and red lightning struck out close to Zenith who glanced it saying. “Actually she might be useful.”

“What do you mean?” Kimble groaned and Zenith took Rainbow’s arm gently as she pointed out. “She generates a form of electricity. If she can send out a high pulse of this we can overheat the engines, causing the failsafe to kick in.”

“Yeah, I see one problem with this, I don’t know how to control this stuff let alone give you an exact burst. You guys will end up getting hurt.” Rainbow Dash pointed out and Kimble frowned.

“We don’t have a choice.” Zenith pointed out with a sigh. “Even if we don’t explode when we make the jump we might end up in the middle of nowhere. We’ll be vulnerable to attacks from pirates, Separatists, we could even crash land on a planet. We have to get the hyperdrive shut down.”

“Isn’t there the possibility that this could also make the hyperdrive activate quicker?” the horned alien with the tan skin questioned and Zenith looked at him saying. “It’s a 25% chance that the hyperdrive would activate sooner, 25% chance that we’ll be destroyed, and a 50% chance that she’ll shut it down! If she doesn’t do anything there is a 100% chance that we’ll all be in trouble.”

“Xestu, you and I will begin to gather the other recruits to a safe area. We’re not taking the risk, Zenith. Find another way to shut this down.” Kimble ordered before waving the other recruits. “Everyone get to the hold.”

“Gah! He’s so stubborn!” Zenith grumbled as she typed away at the computer. “It’ll work, I know it.”

“He’s just looking out for the others.” Rainbow Dash pointed out and Zenith sighed. “I know he is, but we have to be creative. I haven’t seen something like this happen before. Do you really think someone is trying to bring this ship into the fight?”

Rainbow Dash paused as she thought about it. She hadn’t sensed anything unusual, no loyalties were out of place. No one seemed loyal to the thought of glory or making themselves stand out. Other than Xestu.’ Rainbow grumbled mentally before looking at the hyperdrive.

“Don’t worry, I’ll figure something else out.” Zenith told her typing at the computer before it sparked violently, causing her to get shocked. She let out a scream as she was forced backwards. Rainbow heard alarms go off and looked at the hyperdrive. She grabbed Zenith carefully and pulled her out of the room. Once she was sure she was far enough she ran back in and slammed her hand against the button watching the door slide shut.

“Okay, I can do this. I want to protect them.” she said as she rubbed her hands together producing the red lightning. “And I’m going to do it whether you like it or not!”

She let out a shout pushing the lightning out, instead of the fiery and angry red from before it was an indigo shade that shot out. It hit the machines surrounding her and they all lit up for a moment. That was the last thing Rainbow saw before a white light filled the area and she was knocked back hitting the door.