Author's Note: This is my first story, guys, so I want to hear your feedback on this!
During the Clone Wars, hundreds of Jedi found themselves leading armies of clones, many of them not much older than the clones were biologically. Some Jedi quickly discovered that they were not cut out to lead large forces into battle. Others were much better in that regard. Some of those Jedi still prefered to command smaller strike forces, and usually were found fighting alongside their troops.
[Unknown Regions]
"Sir, what do you expect to find out here anyway?" A white and black armored human questioned the hooded figure standing in the bridge of the Ventor-class ship, the Judgement.
"Well, to be honest its more what the Council expects me to find." The figure replied with a shrug, his voice carrying an insectoid undertone. "And as for what that is... no idea. Master Windu was sort of vague."
"We're lost, aren't we?"
"If I find out where we're supposed to go, Dirk, you'll be the first to know." Shaking his head, the clone departed, leaving the Jedi alone to his thoughts.
What do you want me to find, Master Windu? He thought as he paced the deck, glancing out of the view port from time to time, watching the familiar blue tunnel of hyperspace. It certainly isn't that important, since you're sending me... Anakin or Obi-Wan would put in a lot more effort than you expect out of me...
A while later, he got his answer.
"Take us out of hyperspace, we're going to run into a star." He called out to the commanding officer. Ignoring the crew scrambling to draw the Judgement back to sub-light speeds, he watched as the tunnel disappeared to reveal a large planet that had a sun orbiting it. "And.. that's a new one for us..." Shaking his head, he turned to one of the clones. "Scan for lifeforms."
"Right away sir." The clone nodded, turning to his console. Dirk arrived several minutes later, stepping up to the Jedi's side and gazing out at the planet.
"That's not natural, sir." He muttered, frowning as the sun slowly circled.
"Its because of the Force... The entire planet's drowning in it. I think I know what Windu wanted me to find now." Chuckling, he shook his head. "Get a squad prepped for me, I'm going down there with Ri'meer once we're done scanning."
"Right away sir." Saluting, Dirk made his way to the elevator, leaving the Jedi alone once again.
[Canterlot]
"You sense them too, don't you sister?" Princess Luna questioned as Princess Celestia strode out onto the balcony. "I fear that we are no longer in isolation."
"I do, Luna." Celestia said with a sigh. "I only hope that they have come with peaceful intentions, we likely couldn't stand up to them if they came to conquer." The two took a moment to raise the sun and lower the moon, before heading back inside. "I'll send Twilight and Cadence a summons to the castle. If these beings can land on the planet, they'll likely come here." Luna nodded and headed off to the courtrooms while Celestia went to her private chambers to write.
[Judgement]
"Sir, scans are complete, there's life all over the planet, and it's a Type I atmosphere so its safe to breathe. We found a lot of settlements, mostly focused on the main continent. We sent down a couple probe droids to get a better scan on some of the larger towns, though I think you're going to visit this one in particular." The clone talking to the Jedi swapped from a holographic view of one of the continents to what appeared to be a castle resting on the side of a mountain.
"Interesting architecture... this could be the capital. I might as well stop there first, just in case what I'm here for is there." Nodding, he waved a passing clone over. "Go find Ri'meer and let him know I'm waiting on him in the landing bay." The clone saluted and departed at a brisk pace. "Commander, keep orbit above the planet, but out of the way of that star. We're no use burnt to a crisp."
"Right away sir, and we have several gunships loading up for transport as we speak, if you feel more than one squad is needed."
"I'll let you know if that'll be necessary, commander." Giving him a pat on the shoulder, the Jedi made his way down to the hanger.
The hanger was void of the usual buzz of activity, and it was pretty easy for him to make his way over to the gunships. There were a dozen clones milling about, until one spotted him and they all snapped to attention.
"At ease. Delta and Echo, stand by, I'm taking Alpha down with me. I don't really expect any trouble, but you'll be in here for the next couple hours just in case." The clones relaxed and went back to what they were doing, while Alpha grabbed their gear.
"Alpha squad reporting for duty, sir." The squad leader, sergeant Vox, said with a lazy salute. "We're taking Caster's gunship down, if you don't mind. Even if we're not bringing all of our ordinance, it's a good idea to-"
"Have intimidation. Don't worry, I wasn't going to change ships. Besides, he's been itching to do something for weeks now. All we're doing is waiting on Ri'meer, then we can get going."
Several minutes later, Ri'meer arrived. "Sorry I'm late, Master." The young Shashay apologized, a feathered hand over the translator on his neck. "Just got out of the medbay again."
"Thought you got checked on when we left?" Shrugging, the older Jedi motioned to the gunship. "We're just about to take off, just waiting on you." Nodding, Ri'meer hopped on as the door closed, sealing the six in. "Caster, head to Zone 14RT3, there's a parade ground of sorts that we can use as a landing pad."
"So we're dealing with primitive intelligent life forms, then. Don't even have a bloody spaceport..." Caster groaned over the gunship's intercom as he started the engines. "Well, you six strap in, it'll take a while to get there. Ol' bucket of bolts has been acting up recently." With an uncharacteristic jolt, the gunship took off, the interior vacuum sealing itself before leaving the safety of the hanger bay.
"Calm yourself, padawan," the elder Jedi said after a moment, "I don't think you'll have to worry about getting sick from pollution here."
"I always have to worry, Master." Ri'meer replied evenly, glancing around. One of the clones coughed, causing him to flinch away.
"Calm your nerves, Ri'meer. It would make a bad impression on the locals to be nervous." The Shashay nodded and took a couple deep breaths, steeling himself for the meeting in the future. The trip down to the planet was relatively peaceful, until they entered the atmosphere, where the LAAT started shaking.
"Sir, we're breaking up." Caster calmly stated, shoving panic to the back of his mind as he tried to keep the craft from killing all seven of them. The two Jedi didn't even glance at each other as they closed their eyes and sighed, channeling the Force through them and kept it from exploding.
"Commander Whickers, we're crash landing." The Knight calmly spoke into his comlink. "Send down Delta squad in a couple hours if I don't tell you we're alive."
The next several moments were extremely tense, before everyone was thrown off their feet when the ship smashed into the ground, creating a long furrow as it skidded for almost fifty meters.