Chapter 2: Arrival Of A Sith Lord
An explosion ripped apart metal, the noise lost in the great expanse of space, save for two individuals. Flames that quickly died due to the lack of oxygen sputtered from side of a ship, its surface beaten and barely holding together. Another ship, as black as the night sky, followed close behind. Volley after volley of red blaster fire shot forth from its cannons, each narrowly avoiding the damaged vessel with the odd laser hitting its mark. Another explosion rocked the ship, causing it to zig-zag off its course.
Atam knew he was going to die. He knew the moment Palpatine took interest in him, and his activities to help the Rebels, and he was at peace with this. He was tired of running and hiding, of living in a galaxy where his order had nearly been wiped out and every day he lived as an outcast.
Piloting in the Unknown Region was a difficult undertaking, made all the more challenging by the fact there was no navigation or map for the hazards that inhabited some systems. Even in such a large expanse, Atam was being pushed into a corner that he wouldn’t escape from. The grizzled Jedi Master couldn’t go on for much longer, and his pursuer knew as well.
Atam could barely function at this point, exhaustion seeping into his very being. Soon, his ship’s controls started to blend together and the darkness of space grew even wider. The old Jedi’s face was drenched in sweat, but his calm expression almost made it seem that he wasn’t on the edge of his death.
Darth Vader, in turn, was emotionless as always. His hoarse breathing and croaking from his respirator constantly pumped oxygen to his ravaged lungs. The numerous lights from the ship's control panel reflected off his polished helmet. Even when both pilots were flying and maneuvering at breakneck speed in the vast expanse of space, a certain tranquility had descended upon their actions, each for a different reason. The predator was hunting his prey, and sooner or later he will go in for the kill.
Over the course of his escape from Vader, Atam had been studying his attacker at all times, looking for any weakness. However, piloting-wise, Vader was one of the most impressive fliers Atam had ever witnessed. He completed maneuvers in practiced ease, along with navigating space like it was a second-hand nature to him. But it was after witnessing a double-barrel roll with a hard bank to the right that Atam finally pieced the puzzle together. Only the best pilot in the galaxy could pull off a move like that.
Atam switched on his communicator, Vader’s ship picking up his transmission right away. “This can end right now, Anakin,” Atam said, ducking his ship hard to the right in a maneuver to dodge blaster fire from Vader’s cannons. “You don’t have to be a slave to your master any longer.”
There was no reply on the other end. Just Vader’s ship switching position to gain better aim over Atam’s ship, his pursuit speed almost doubling in haste.
“Skywalker, please, listen, you don’t have to do this. Look at what the dark side has reduced you to. Something less than human, something evil,” Atam said, leaning down so his mouth was closer to the communicator’s receiver. “Do you not see what the dark side has corrupted you to? How it’s made you slaughter your entire Order? Its twisted your soul in its power and your only chance at redemption is to cast it off.”
Vader’s ship fired, each volley of laser blasts approaching closer and closer to Atam’s ship as the Jedi rolled and banked to avoid the worst Vader could throw at him.
“Anakin, we don’t have to do this!” Atam said, his ship shuddering as laser fire nicked the edge of his thrusters. “You still have a chance! You can still change!”
Atam struggled to increase his speed, but Vader’s ship was a custom job used from the finest parts the Empire could provide, while Atam’s was scraped together from barely functioning junk. Atam closed his eyes, his ship shuddering when another shot from Vader’s blasters was narrowly avoided by inches.
Until the Force spoke to him.
His sensitivity to it snapped him back into the present. Atam had just felt a ripple through the Force, like a shockwave of energy passing through him. He reached out with his Force sense and guided his ship towards the disturbance. Another volley of hastily dodged laser fire indicated that Vader was in hot pursuit.
Atam was susceptible to attacks from Vader’s ship even at lightspeed, and he very nearly lost his neck on several occasions. Despite his continuing miraculous luck in avoiding Vader’s attacks, Atam knew it couldn’t last forever. With skill and precision he managed to dive headlong into a nearby asteroid belt, hoping that his luck would last a bit further.
While the odds of actually navigating and dodging multi-ton boulders in an asteroid field were extremely slim, he didn’t have much of a choice. It would be Atam’s only cover from Vader, along with the fact it led to a straight shot to the disturbance he was searching for.
As he rolled past a large piece of rubble in his path, Atam’s brief reprieve ended when he sensed Vader still tailing him. A cold bead of sweat traveled down his neck as a laser blast obliterated a rock mere feet away and peppered his shields with shrapnel.
With a desperate pull he positioned his ship to avoid another incoming attack by circling around an asteroid. The top of his starship groaned in protest as its surface scraped against the rock, but it didn’t give way. His teeth rattled, but he held strong on the steering stick as his ship finally cleared.
Vader wasn’t far behind as he banked his ship downward on the underbelly of the large asteroid. This caused the Sith’s vessel to slingshot forward using the asteroid’s own gravity once his ship reached the other side in an attempt to close the gap.
Now the chase was drawing to a deadly close as Atam barely managed to dodge another pair of lasers from Vader’s cannons, the superheated projectiles managing to brush his ship’s hull and cause it to shake at the seams.
Atam was near the edge of exhaustion, his breath ragged as his oxygen grew thin, alive through sheer willpower and luck alone. If not for his Force-sensitivity, he would’ve been crushed by the countless spinning rocks hurtling around him. It became almost rhythmic: sense approaching debris here, use it as cover there, continue to dodge laser fire in a desperate dance. A single mistake on his part, even the slightest twitch out of sequence, and it would mean the end. All the while, Vader just continued to stay to with him, effortlessly dodging through the debris in a casual manner. The Dark Lord was toying with him, already confident in his victory.
Finally, with a sigh of relief Atam emerged from the belt with a ship that resembled a scrap heap. Most of the hull was abraded down to bare metal, with large burn marks peppering it. The ship, much like Atam, was on its last leg. Yet despite his ship nearing its final breath, it stubbornly continued onward, defying all odds to survive.
After such a death-defying flight and near escape, Atam almost missed the disturbance he picked up. With the asteroids no longer obscuring his vision, he was finally able to see the what he had sensed before.
It was a planet: mostly blue with greenery, which clearly indicated an ocean and plant life. The disturbance meant there was obviously some form of Force-sensitive life down there. And clearly in a large enough number to elicit that type of large disturbance.
With renewed vigor he sped towards the planet, Vader not too far behind.
As Atam was lost in his thoughts about the possibilities for this planet Force-wise, the right wing of his fighter pilot disintegrated from an excellently-aimed blast from Vader’s cannon.
Vader closed in, waiting for the perfect moment to make the killing shot. He seemed to be ignoring the halo of fire that formed around both their ships as they descended closer to the planet, his attention solely focused on the wreck of a ship in front of him.
Atam gritted his teeth and desperately used his only remaining engine to aim his ship starboard, the left thruster going at full power to escape the gravitational pull of the planet. But it was in vain, for his ship had lost too much propulsion to escape the planet’s pull. All it garnered him was more damage against his shields as Vader blasted away.
With a broken wing, Atam was unable to correctly maneuver his ship, its movements clumsy and wild at best. And with another cannon burst of lasers that hit the back hull of his ship, the heat shield was down. In a few minutes the steadily-increasing heat was going to burn his ship into a crisp. All the Jedi could do was grimace and pull hard at his handle in a last-ditch effort to not be killed.
Atam coughed, smoke filling the cockpit as red warning lights flashed. He finally keyed his communicator, taking in a smoke filled breath as he prepared to meet his end. “You may defeat me here, Sith, but the dark side will never prevail.”
Vader fired his cannons again, successful in taking out Atam’s remaining wing in a large explosion of scrap metal and super-conducted heat. The wingless ship could only drift on a one-way course with the planet below. “Says the old fool about to meet his death,” Vader said, his harsh, metallic voice sending a shiver down Atam’s spine.
A smile formed on Atam’s lips as his worried expression seemed to melt off his face. Not a smile of happiness, but one touched with sadness, yet determination. “I have already accepted my death. Just like so many of my fellow Jedi, which you had so heartlessly killed,” Atam muttered, the ship’s oxygen alarms blaring as he struggled for each breath. “So it is a comfort that I choose how I pass on.”
“Then you chose well,” Vader said, as he pushed through the dense upper atmosphere of the planet to prepare the final shot.
“And it is even a greater comfort that I kill the slayer of my Order,” Atam said weakly, barely heard over the communicator as he flipped the cover off a large, red button. “Maybe in another life, Anakin, we will meet.” Atam pressed the button, eyes closing hard. In less than a second’s wait, he was obliterated in a blazing inferno as the ship exploded in bright flash of light. His final sacrifice to his Order was now completed.
“Hey Twilight, when are the shooting stars going to appear?” Pinkie Pie said for what felt like the hundredth time.
Twilight sighed wearily, rubbing her brow with a hoof. “Like I said before, Pinkie, when Luna raises them,” she said, shivering slightly as she pressed her hooves into the scarf, shielding them from the chilly night air.
Pinkie stared attentively at the sky, her wide eyes reflecting the untold multitude of stars twinkling in the vast expanse of space. The new moon was hanging high overhead, a black circle in the star-filled sky that made them shine brighter than ever, like someone had dropped a bit of black paint on the great canvas of the night sky.
“Remember, Pinkie, a watched pot never boils,” Rarity told her, dressed as extravagantly as ever in a velvet coat with a sparkling white scarf wrapped around her slender neck.
“Then what about the Big Dipper? That counts as a pot, right?” Pinkie said, pointing to the distant constellation. “Actually, can stars even boil if you don’t look at them?”
Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled as Rarity attempted to explain to Pinkie that stars don't do that.
Reflexively, Twilight stretched out her wings, having grown used to their weight and movements in the past few weeks after her princess coronation.
“Hey, looks like someone has finally been hitting the weights,” Rainbow Dash said, chuckling as she poked one Twilight’s outstretched wings.
Immediately, Twilight's wings snapped to her sides, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Y-yeah, just like you said."
Dash nudged her shoulder playfully. “That’s great, Twi! Your new wings were so weak, they wouldn’t have been able to lift a butterfly.” Dash shot her a smug grin, which quickly turned devious as she said, “Hey, remember your first time flying?”
“Dash, please, don’t remind me,” Twilight said, trying her best to hide her blush behind her hoof.
“What? It isn’t every day you see a newly-appointed princess fly off a cliff!” Rainbow Dash said with a laugh, earning a groan from Twilight.
“Twilight, have you remembered to preen and wash your feathers correctly?” Fluttershy said, peering past the head of Rainbow Dash to smile kindly at Twilight.
Twilight returned her smile with a wave of her wing to show off her proper grooming. “Yes, Fluttershy. Your techniques have been a great help.”
Dash rolled her eyes, adjusting the rainbow cap she wore on her head. “Okay, now that we’re done with all this lovey-dovey stuff, are we going to see an awesome shooting star show or what?”
“And there ya go, bein’ overeager again,” Applejack said, chuckling as she joined the group, half of her coat concealed beneath a woolen sweater.
Dash huffed. “Well duh, of course I’m overeager! It’s a shooting star show! That beats out fireworks any day of the week!”
“Not to mention it’ll be done by none other than Luna,” Twilight said, looking over to where Luna was chatting with several ponies. This was her day afterall, the Winter Moon Celebration. The opposite to the Summer Sun Celebration, it was to celebrate the coming of winter on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
The occasion had not been celebrated during Luna's exile, and this year was the first since her return that it was to be held. Ponyville was the natural choice for its venue, having been the site of her return and home to the ponies who had redeemed her.
It was a good chance for Twilight to forget her royal duties for a day and hang out with her friends, and for Luna to better acquaint herself with her subjects. And so far, everypony was enjoying themselves. The festivities were organized by none other than the town’s premiere party pony, Pinkie Pie, who was still having a staring contest with the sky
Luna walked by her subjects and bid them farewell, then made her way to Twilight and her friends, vigor in her step and a beaming smile on her face.
Dash smirked. “You seem awfully happy, Princess.”
“Indeed, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said. “It is just so wonderful to see so many of my subjects enjoying the night as much as myself.”
“So, are we going to see shooting stars now?” Pinkie said, appearing before the princess in the blink of an eye. “Also, are meteors, comets, asteroids and meteorites going to be involved too? Actually, what is the difference between a meteor and meteorite anyways?” Pinkie tapped her chin in thought to the question.
“Meteors are chunks of interplanetary debris that get into the atmosphere, and meteorites are meteors that manage to hit the surface of a planet,” Twilight said, hastily pulling her friend back and smiling awkwardly at Luna. “Heh, sorry Princess. Pinkie can get a bit... carried away sometimes.”
“Not a problem, my dear Twilight,” Luna said. “The show will begin when the moon is at its highest.
Luna concentrated, gathering magic into her horn, its cobalt blue light washing over the entire town center as she prepared for the show. Everypony quickly got prepared for the show, bundling up tighter in their clothing as they all gave their undivided attention to the great big yonder of space.
Suddenly, a single streak appeared in the sky. It flashed out of existence in an instant, but many of the ponies still gasped at the spectacle.
The first streak was then followed by a second, along with a third, until what seemed to be like hundreds of streaks of light lit up the sky. Ponies oohed and aahed, transfixed by the dazzling display of magical ingenuity and light.
Luna was practically gushing, a wide smile prevalent on her face as she clopped her hooves gleefully on the icy ground. That is, until the first explosion in the sky was seen.
At first, the townsponies thought it was part of the show. The red flash of light high in the sky was quite a spectacular performance. Then the two trails of crimson light appearing side by side were cheered for. An interesting shake-up to an already impressive show.
“Ooh, what do you think those two shooting stars are for?” Pinkie said to Rainbow Dash.
Another flash of light flashed across the sky, giving the blackness of space a momentary red hue. “Looks like those two are gonna crash head-on,” Dash said, as the two shooting stars approached one another, closer and closer together, until they were nearly touching.
“Maybe a–” Pinkie never got the chance to finish her sentence because one of the shooting stars suddenly detonated with a blinding flash.
“Princess, was that supposed to happen?” Rarity said, blinking several times to clear her vision.
Luna shook her head, a cold sweat running down her neck. “N-no. That shouldn’t have been possible. I didn’t make those two stars.”
“Then what the heck are they?” Rainbow Dash said, still peering at the sky to get a better look at what happened. “Because that was a total wipeout.”
“I’m not sure,” Luna said, the combined effect of using so much of her magic along with the night’s confusion putting her in a daze.
“Well, whatever they are, there’s only one of ‘em left,” Applejack said. “And it’s comin’ right for us.” There was only one remaining shooting star in the sky, out in the distance near the Everfree Forest, so low to the ground that it appeared to almost touch it.
Which it did ten seconds later, with a thundering boom that shook the town to its very foundations.
Vader had not expected this type of desperation to come from a Jedi. His overconfidence had gotten the better of him, which resulted in him lowering his guard, falling into a last-ditch suicide plot by a crazed zealot of a Jedi. But Vader was still one of the greatest starship pilots the galaxy had ever seen, and with lightning quick reflexes he managed to barrel roll and dodge the blast.
There was still the matter of the shrapnel, flung violently outwards from the exploding starship. The molten pieces of metal overwhelmed Vader’s shields, spattering over the hull as the shields deactivated.
Now the Sith Lord had a badly damaged starship with no shields, and currently descending on a crash course to an unknown planet. Vader prepared for impact, not bothering to curse his bad fortune as the planet’s gravitational pull drew his ship nearer to the surface.
Vader gripped the flight stick tighter, only to growl when it snapped in his robotic grip.
It wasn’t like steering could save him at this point anyway. The explosion had taken out his shields and both his wings, leaving him defenseless to the heat of the atmosphere and having any way of steering his vessel. He’d either die from being cooked in a tiny hull-like oven, or be squished against the surface of the planet going several thousands of miles per hour. Both were intolerable options to Vader.
The Sith did not lose, did not die, and he sure as hell wouldn’t meet his end in such a pathetic way. So he was going to crash-land on the planet in one piece. He’d done harder aerial maneuvers as a child. As a Sith Lord, this would be a walk in the park.
He raised both arms at either of his sides in the cramped hull, his hands wide open and fingers fully extended. He called upon the dark side of the Force, his only salvation in this crisis, which flooded into him in a welcoming embrace.
It came to him as easily as a predator to a fresh kill, fueled by his hatred and anger. Hatred at the Jedi scum that got him into this mess. Anger at being so easily tricked and caught off guard. The dark side raged inside him like a hurricane, raising his already impressive strength to unprecedented levels.
Using the power of the Force, he pulled the outside of the hull inward, closing off the gaps and breaches that were caused by the flying shrapnel. The exterior bent and crumpled, making the cockpit even more cramped.
After a few seconds, Vader had created enough protection to keep the worst of the heat out, but just enough to keep him alive. The high temperature he was experiencing was strong enough to make him grunt in pain, the feeling reminding him of his defeat at the hand of his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
This memory filled Vader with such rage that his power increased twofold, the near-death experience filling the Sith Lord with such unbridled hate that those with Force-sensitivity could feel it from miles away.
His broken starship crashed through a cloud bank, resulting in a reduce in heat enough for Vader to look past the flame covering his window. Outside the ground approached at an astounding pace, the impact already upon Vader in a few short seconds.
He jittered and rocked in his seat, holding the craft together with his enraged Force powers. Gravel and dirt sprayed from the sides, and the occasional hard knock and bump would send bits and pieces of the ship flying.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of back-breaking effort his ship came to a rest. Vader released his hold, the starship almost dismantling instantaneously as the wreckage groaned in protest. Surprisingly it still held, the ceiling did not fall inward and the sides of the ship remained intact. His survival was miraculous, a true testament to the power the dark side provided. He’d survived an explosion, made it through re-entry without heat shields, and survived what should have been a fatal crash-landing.
But there was still the fact his starship was in literal pieces now. Vader cleared the smoke filling his cabin with a hand and managed to find the button to activate his communicator. The only sound it produced was the sharp crackle of static, along with sparks and even more smoke.
Sighing, he tried the button that would open the door. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t work either. A Force Push, however, did.
With the door open and lying several yards away, Vader carefully got out of his ship, his gloves sizzling as they touched the surface of his spacecraft. Jumping to the ground, the Sith examined what was left of his vessel.
It definitely wasn’t spaceworthy. Both its wings were missing, its hull looked like a crumpled ball of clay, and it was still on fire. It would need a lot of work. And a lot of time I don’t have, Vader thought, turning away from the wreckage.
His first order of business was to find civilization, if there was any. The second would be to discover if they had the means or technology to fix his ship. Third would be repairing his starship, and hopefully getting the communicator back online to reach the Emperor. He was still out in the Unknown Region of the galaxy, which meant a rescue would take at least a week or two if he was lucky, or months if he wasn’t.
Taking a few steps forward, he looked around at his new surroundings. There was snow beneath his feet, although his landing had turned most of it to slush. The sky was a normal shade of black, with stars and what seemed to be a new moon in the distance.
Suddenly, he sensed a presence in the immediate vicinity. Multiple presences, in fact. Soon enough, he could make out glowing eyes and shadowed figures along the the treeline, and low growls were audible over the crackling fire.
Vader drew his lightsaber; a meter-long beam of red light sprang forth from it and filled the air with a low hum. The saber's light shone on the surrounding area, revealing the shapes of several predators. They were too well-concealed to make out clearly, but Vader could sense they were hungry.
Unfortunately for them, their intended prey was a far deadlier predator.
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Yes, just yes.
Use the force to get this to the feature box, Luke!
2695297
Agreed.
2695297
Screw Luke. Vader and his dark side badassery.
~Darth Skeeter
Dude
It's Darth! Omg can't wait to read this :o
Also, you put Dark Vader in the description...
i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee222/merc_the_jerk/Grantremoves-glasses-1_zpsac07cdb2.jpg
And so it begins.
By the way, very first word "DARK Vader"? Darth Vader
2695322>>2695316>>2695315
I could've sworn I fixed that in the description before I submitted it.
gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/You-Didnt-See-Anything-Madagascar.gif
2695338
What did we see? Also, gunna add this to the small group I admin if that's cool with you
Yay!
2695338 Didn't see what? What the heck are you talking about?
Oh dear, you actually made this?
Bobby, i swear to god... You deserve all the win this site can muster!
Keep writing!
2695340
Sure, go ahead bro.
2695346
God, I hate fimfic sometimes.
Hmmm... "Cutie Mark Crusader Jedi Knights, yay!"
Well, alright, no cmc tag, and no Jedi to teach them. Pity...
Okay, I only found one error I think
I think that it's the Delta-7 you're thinking of.
images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090410213129/starwars/images/1/11/Jedistarfighter.jpg
2695395
Nah, this one.
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20051103161918/starwars/images/thumb/1/14/VadersActis.JPG/250px-VadersActis.JPG
It's more of a backwards "v", but whatever.
2695398
I told him to start the story off with that image.
I'm so glad he did.
~Darth Skeeter
I liked your first chapter: short, sweet, and to the point.
Give him another lightsaber...no, five, FIVE LIGHTSABERS to slaughter ponies with!
The only problem I had with this is the fact you call the planet equestria when equestria s only the country the ponies are from.
2695297 It is done...
Well, I'm sold.
Fuck me sideways, hell yeah, OMFG FUCK YEAH!
2695557
Did the show ever explicitly say that? I don't recall it saying that anywhere, although I haven't watched an episode in a few months.
2695659 Yes they did in the ending of "Dragonshy" Also your first chapter is missing some words.
MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woooohooooo! More please!
Especially since he's... well... mostly machine.
will they be timber wolfs? manticores?
either way, i feel sorry for them...
Oh yes. This is good, very good. I so want to read more of this. Keep the chapter coming dude. I mean if that's ok with you.
Loved the chapter. Haven't read a crossover with star wars before so I have no idea how this could go. Things could go very bad very quickly for Ponyville.
MOAR!
2695659 the one where the horses from saddle Arabia came, celestia said she welcomed them to the country of equestria.
I am loving this story.
continue.....
Whoa he just vaporized vapor...
>attempted to explain to Pinkie that stars don't do that.
>having a staring contest
Ummmmm......what?
reason he hadn't died already.
2695466;2695713
Hopefully he will be fighting Manticores, because Timberwolves wood be no challenge to him. Also, why would he start killing ponies at all? If Sidious was able to infiltrate the government and convince Anakin/Vader to trust him, he would have needed at least some skill in diplomacy and at least acting nice. Darth Vader, as his right hand man/cyborg/thing should at least have some training in talking to new species without resorting to threats instantly.
Vader should at least be able to convince the ponies that he's a 'good' guy when no one else is around to refute whatever story he makes up. Maybe he could act similarly to how Captain Barbossa did when he came to Equestria. Give the ponies the whole "I was chasing a government criminal who was part of a group of terrorists" propaganda spiel.
Also, Lyra might get ideas for building cybernetic hands.
equestrian betta get ready to suck a crispy dick cause vaders comin to fuck everything up!
2695961
Thanks for the help, bro! Also, really nice suggestions there. But I will keep my devious plans a secret until the right moment.
First Star Wars crossover worth reading since Grievous is magic.
Fuck YES!!! MORE!!!
Does evey damn story on fim start with a meteor shower? Real original.
2695961
Pfffffft, hahahaha.
Oh god, you made my day.
2696229
).
First off it was a shooting star show, ad secondly it's a traditional part of the Winter Moon Celebration when the moon is new and allows the greatest visibility in the sky to see the stars (FYI, I totally pulled this out of my ass
Shit's about to get real! :D
Not bad, better than a lot of Star Wars crossovers I've read. Good luck with the next chapter!
Awesome!
2695809
It's all coming back to me...
Now we just have to figure out how large Equestria is.
Yes
damn, why are all the stories about the sith generally more badass that the ones about the jedi?
must be the black capes....