Sith in Equestria (1) : A Needed Change of Scenery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmhjaFbpkIE

>“I lied when I told you the cloning process had not been perfected”

>You watch in silence as he falls to ground, a black hole embedded in his chest, left by the plasma of a lightsaber

>Your lightsaber

>His head soon falls to rest against the cold steel of the spire, but still he clings to life

>Starkiller... It had once been the tactical codename for Galen Marek, the Original

>This clone had adopted the name because he had refused to take the title of a deadman

>You had not taken the name either, but for very different reasons

>As you stood beside your Master, looking down at your dying foe, you swiftly retract your hood

>Revealing to the dying Starkiller a face that perfectly reflected his own

>You both were clones, his clones...

>Finally, you sense what little life-force he had left evaporate into space, leaving his body cold and unmoving

>With his death brought the end of your training

>You had been dreaming of this moment ever since you were born, nearly 4 months ago

>Starkiller and the Jedi legacy were dead. For good.

>”You have faced your final test”

>Darth Vader’s words causes your body to instinctively genuflect, your head bowed in submission

 

“What is thy bidding, my Master?”

>”Take his starfighter. Scour the far reaches of the galaxy. Find the last of the Rebels and destroy them.”

>His voice, cold and rigid, entrusts you with the duties that the others had been too weak to undertake

“As you wish...”

>I will not fail you, Master

>Finally you rise and make your way to his ship... your ship

>Beyond Starkiller’s body were the corpses of fallen rebels who had managed to infiltrated the Kamino facility with him

>You pause as your eyes become fixed on one in particular, a blonde female whose body laid prostrated in the rain

>Juno Eclipse

>Galen Marek’s former pilot and love

>From the great number of clones the Kaminoans had molded from the corpse of Galen Marek, all had retained his skills and abilities

>But also his memories and weaknesses

>One by one, each went mad trying to live on the life of a deadman, each properly disposed

>The one defect lying a few meters from you had become particularly attached to Marek’s fondness for the girl

>Staring into her lifeless eyes, you confirm they were the same blue as you had always known them to be

 

>You were no different from the others in the beginning

>Plagued by the thoughts and dreams and memories...

>But you rose above his weaknesses, you endured, progressed

>You were no longer bound by his flaws

>Finally, you pull back the hood over your head and continue on towards your ship

>Not a single piece of Galen Marek had been permitted to survive in your training

>All you shared was his body and his skills, and even those you had surpassed

>You didn’t even share the name Starkiller

>You had no name

>You were simply a tool created to do your Master’s bidding

>And that was alright, it was all you had ever known

>However, every living thing has a name, whether or not others invent it for them

>You were always known by Darth Vader as ‘Apprentice’

>But you had forged your own name to call yourself in the recesses of your mind

>A name to give you a tiny sense of individuality and to represent your place in the galaxy...

>In front of your starfighter lay a crippled rebel, who was currently reaching out to you in the hopes of mercy

>A torrent of Force Lightning brings a swift end to his moans

>You are Anonymous

>And you are Sith

 

>The Rogue Shadow breaks through Kamino’s outer atmosphere with easy, several Tie Fighters escorting you along the journey

>Not that you needed them, the Roque Shadows’ cloaking system was nearly a decade ahead of its competitors and would have easily kept you hidden from the Rebels

>The charred pieces of a Rebel Alderaan cruiser drifting pass your portside window only goes to further validate your point  

>The entire Rebel fleet had been wiped out before you had even reached the troposphere

>The Tie Fighters peal off as your starfighter enters into the clear vacuum of space

>Dantooine, the rumored home of a secret Rebel base

>It was a good place to start

>You were to rendezvous with some elite imperial spies, learn what they had uncovered on rebel activity there, and then execute them

>You were still the secret Apprentice of Darth Vader

>No one could be allowed to know of your true existence

>You wait until you’re about 1 visvia out from the planet’s atmosphere to chart the course in the hyperdrive

>The Rogue Shadow silently locks its wings into place as you feel the enormous amount of energy being pulled into the hyperdrive field guide

>For the time being, you allow yourself to sink back into your cushioned seat

>Dantooine was more than just a couple of light years away, you wouldn’t be arriving for at least 2 hours

>While your skull forms a comfortable impression into the foam of the headrest, your fingers bring the two hyperdrive toggles together

>Then the unexpected happens

>Instead of watching the stars ahead stretch outwards before you, the starship lets out a mechanical whine and remains motionless

>Before you can get a chance to run maintenance, the hyperdrive motivator’s display sounds an ear piercing alarm

>Soon the whole cockpit is alit with red hazard lights

>You sensed no leakage from the hyperdrive field guide, meaning it had to be a path-calculation error

>Quickly, you pull up the motivator’s collective network hologram

>You... You didn’t recognize any of these systems

>There was no Hutt Space, Corporate Sector or-

>Suddenly the Rogue Shadow begins to shake violently as the field guide begins firing without a charted course

>You hold onto the armrests as the stars ahead of you instantly turn black and fizzle out from existence

>The last thing you remember before blacking out is sensation of falling...

 

Meanwhile on Kamino

>”What do you mean you can’t find him?”

>”My Lord, our sensors were in disarray! We can’t possibly know- ”

>The young Imperial officer’s spine snaps as he is violently thrown into a nearby console, moved by an unseen force

>”I did not ask for excuses...”

>The next officer speaks much more slowly and quieter than the previous one

>”My Lord, the last flight log reads that the starfighter’s hyperdrive had reached full charge but before it could jump, we received some unknown interference. By the time communications were re-established he was gone, Lord Vader.”

>The officer flinches as the metallic giant walks past him to look out the observation window

>”Any signs that our sensory arrays were jammed before the starfighter entered hyperspace?”

>”No my Lord, the entire system was temporarily taken down. The technicians said it looked like the result of an unshielded solar flare, but there have been no reports of sizable solar activity in the past week.”

>A brief silence overtakes the Control Station, all except for the occasional beep of a terminal and mechanical breathing

>Vader had believed that this latest clone would be the last

>Galen’s treacherous behavior had finally been weeded out. Leaving the Sith Lord with the perfect apprentice, the perfect pawn.

>But there always existed doubts, of course

>To even spare a glimmer of trust was to make oneself a corpse

>It was simply the way; All Sith betray their masters

>Even the cloned ones

>However, Vader knew this not to be an act of treason

>The original Starkiller had been a rebel, yes, but not an idiot

>Why would he even bother to try and escape the first time off the leash when he should reasonably expect that a tracking device had been planted on his starfighter?

>No, another force was at work here

>But what Vader sensed was neither Rebel nor Jedi...

 

30 minutes later, Location Unknown

>Your headaches

>Your arms sting

>You taste blood

>But you are alive

>Slowly, the cries of dying hazard alarms begin to reach your ears once more

>You wait another 30 seconds to open your eyes to make sure you weren’t actually dead

>A thin, heavy smoke lines the top of the cockpit and its main window is obscured with deep cracks and earth

>No normal person, not even a trained stormtrooper, could have survived this crash

>But you were far from normal

>However... where exactly had you crashed?

>With only a minor grunt of discomfort, you raise from your seat, bracing your hand against a wall to keep yourself from falling in the unleveled starfighter

>You bring your hand into a fist and slam it into the emergency eject button

>The action promptly triggers two hissing jets of steam on both sides of escape hatch above

>The hatch pops off with easy and you manage to squeeze through the porthole

>You accidentally lose your balance and tumble out of the ship, falling a good 3 meters to the ground

>The stunt jolts you of your senses temporarily

>Finally, you grip the grass under fingertips and begin to rise

>...

>Nothing

>You feel... nothing

>Your eyes dilate as you stare across the forest landscape you had stumbled upon

>Forcing every midi-chlorian in your body to reach out...

>But you couldn’t sense anything!

>Not even the slightest vibration of the Force

>You could see the trees and grass, but this place felt like the very vacuum of space!

>Desperately, you attempt to Force-Grapple a nearby rock

>Nothing

>To Force-Push a branch

>Nothing

>No matter how hard you tried, you could not manipulate the Force around you... let alone sense it!

>Was this even possible? Was this some kind of test by your Master?

>You attempt to stand up, but a sharp pain in your ribs causes you to fall to one knee

>Dammit, not only were you injured but you could no longer use the force because of it

>That had to be the reason

>As you catch your breath, a plan formulates in your head

>This planet certainly wasn’t Dantooine, and there were about 2 dozen habitable planets in between there and Kamino

>Assuming the Rogue Shadow’s transmitter was fried with the rest of it, you decide it best to leave the ship before anyone had time to come and investigate it

>You were in no condition to fight anyone who got too curious about you

>You’d simply have to kill the first responders later when you had had time to heal

>Slowly, but surely, you stumble your way through the forest while clutching your side

>This forest... it did not seem familiar to you

>During his life, Galen Marek had traveled to the far reaches of the galaxy, setting foot down on nearly every planet that could be named

>Rural areas such as this forest had been key locations for him when hunting Jedi

>But this place... you could not recall of it from his memories

>What was more surprising was the lack of-

>The tiniest snap of a twig causes you to freeze

>If it had been louder, you would have probably passed it off as the carelessness of some wandering herbivores

>But its intentionally muffled volume told your instincts a different story...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uV2ZFHowEU

>You force yourself to roll to the left as a clawed paw comes crashing down where you had once been standing

>The impact leaves the earth shaking as you struggle to face your opponent

>Your eyes follow the large paw up to its owner

>Standing at nearly the size of a rancor was a bear like creature, armed with long pearl white claws and similar canines

>The oddest thing about it, besides you never seeing anything like it before, was the semi-translucent blue texture it had

>Was this some kind of hologram?

>An angry roar and another paw in your direction puts your suspicions to rest

>You clumsily roll to the left, again missing its claws by inches

>Your body was aching from pain but you do not let it stop you

>Instead, you refocus your pain and fear

>Even without the Force, your passion still gave you strength

>You roll on your side for a good couple meters before springing up to take cover behind a tree

>Another roar is followed by a strike, taking half the tree with it and leaving you exposed

>For a solid minute you roll in and out of cover, never convincing the giant bear to give up

>Dammit, you didn’t want to fight in this condition... but you had no choice

>Suddenly, you slide into plain sight of the bear, throwing a handful of dirt into its eyes

>Enraged, it stands up on its two legs in order to bring both its front paws down ontop of you

>You manage to vault back far enough to avoid the hit, but close enough to make your move

>With the twitch of your thumb, your crimson lightsaber screeches alive

>The creature recoils in terror as you cut clean through its one limb

>The hot plasma instantly cauterizes the wound, leaving its dismembered paw right where he left it

>It stumbles back a few steps in shock before howling in pain

>Now was your chance

>Without hesitation, you charge forward and leap off the detached paw, flying straight at the bear

>But it is quick to react and now is the one driving for cover

>Your blade buzzes through the air without hitting its target; you landing safely on the ground

>As you turn around to try again, the backside of a paw manages to catch you off guard

>Before you can bring you lightsaber down to parry it, it connects with your midsection

>You are abruptly winded and thrown into the air

>After about a year of hang time, your body finds the ground again, doubling the damage

>Fighting past the agony, you look up to see the bear still standing there clutching its stub of an arm

>Before you can get to your feet and retaliate, you watch in awe as the creature seemingly regenerates its limb from nothingness as the paw on the ground simultaneously fades into dust

>This thing was definitely supernatural, a Force Spirit perhaps?

>You had heard of them before

>Without warning, the bear leaps over and pins you to the ground

>The force of the blow knocks your lightsaber from your hand, sending it rolling off to the side where its blade promptly extinguishes itself

>You defiantly stare into the beast’s eyes as he bares his fangs

>To think you’d die from something like this

>Maybe this was the real Starkiller acting out his revenge on you from the beyond...

>Before the bear can leave its bite, a ball of pastel blue explodes in its face

>The blast causes the bear to topple backwards, freeing you of its grip

>”Come on, then! Don’t just sit there! We need to-...”

>The voice, one of a feminine and enlightened tone, calls to you from behind

>You look over your shoulder to see... it.

>A white four legged creature, with a horn on top of its head

>Reaching nearly half your height and staring at you with its huge orbish eyes, you feel your hairs stand on end

>“...What- What are you?!”

>And now it was talking