A/N: This is an AU( Alternate Universe) story. Basically it's "She-ra and the Princesses of Power" characters with a Star Wars reskin. It won't be the same story though. It also won't be in any specific timeline of Star Wars so that I can have freedom of story. So consider this an alternate timeline especially since I will be drawing inspiration from canon and legends. Although if I were to compare, it would most resemble the Original trilogy era as you will see. So let's get started.
Bold: Important
Italicized/ single quote: thoughts
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A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away….
She-Ra
Episode I
Legend of Grayskull
It is a time of galactic conquest and tyranny. After the destruction of the Old Republic, The Horde has taken governance across the known galaxy. The Jedi and Sith order all perished in the conflict and so the new Sith Emperor, Horde Prime, is left unchallenged.
Hope still lives as an alliance of Rebels dare to stand against the Horde. The resistance movement spreads whispers of the Legend of Grayskull to stir the dreams of a Jedi resurgence that will restore balance once more. However, the rebels are continually overwhelmed by the Horde's top enforcer, Lord Hordak, and his witch, Shadow Weaver.
In an effort to assure victory, Hordak searches for an ancient superweapon rumored to have the power to destroy entire planets hidden on the outer rim planet of Etheria. At the request of Queen Angella and Princess Glimmer, the rebellion sends a rebel spy codenamed: She-Ra, tasked with reaching Etheria to destroy this terrible weapon before it is too late…
We begin in the dark void of space; filled with stars twinkling in the ever expanding abyss that is the universe. Residing in it is a large cruiser known as a Horde Star Destroyer hovering over a desert planet. Most Destroyers have the red Horde insignia across their hull, but this one was special as it held the visage of a large skull above the Horde mark. It's accompanied by a smaller ship known as an Interdictor cruiser that wields our large mounds across its sides. Energy begins to spark across the mounds revealing them to be gravity wells that have started to charge up. This caused a small rip across space as a small ship was forcefully pulled from a hyperspace lane.
The craft was a silver, angular shaped vessel with two large engines on its sides. Inside there were alerts signaling the abrupt exit out of hyperspace. A tan skinned woman ran into the command deck then sat in the control chair. She had a waist-length braid and was dressed in light blue robes with a purple belt. She began inputting commands on the panels attached to the resting arms of the chair.
"Light Hope! What hit us? That wasn't a purgell." She called out.
A hologram of a regal woman appeared to answer. "Indeed it was not. It appears that a Horde Interdictor cruiser used its gravity well generators to pull our vessel from hyperspace."
"That can't be right. Enhance image on screen." The glass window of the control center zoomed in on the Horde ships. "This can't be right. How did they know I would take this lane?"
"I am not aware of this fact, but it appears we are being hailed. Shall I establish communication?" Light hope questioned.
She did not answer. "Respond Mara." Light Hope requested.
Mara steeled her features and nodded to her friendly computer system. An image appeared on the large window display. It was of a pale, armored alien who was currently snarling his fangs at Mara. His cloak covered what she assumed were metallic gauntlets connected with his armored suit. His chest plate bore the Horde symbol; the red matching the color of his eyes and bloody fangs.
"Attention rebel vessel. You are interfering in Horde Empire operations. Under the command given to me by Horde Prime himself, I am arresting you as a terrorist as well as confiscating your bygone ship." He was stoic through the practiced speech but then grew a smirk. "There is nowhere to escape, She-Ra."
"Hordak." Mara narrowed her eyes, but then smirked in return. "Are you sure you want to do this? Last time didn't work out so well for you. How's the new ship?"
Hordak growled at the remark. "There will be no rebel intervention to save you this time. Final warning: surrender and maybe you will live to bow before the grace of Prime."
"I'll think about it." Mara ended the transmission. "Light Hope, increase power to the forward shields and give me control of the Starseed." Mara referenced the ship's name as she ordered her AI companion.
"Are you sure that is wise?" Light Hope asked almost rhetorically. Although her stoic expression remained the same.
"Trust me. It'll be fun." Mara smiled.
A piloting station rose from the floor to reveal the steering controls. Mara grabbed the controls and pushed them to send her ship speeding forward. She knew that with the Interdictor's gravity wells she would not be able to jump to hyperspace. With that in mind, her plan was to run the makeshift blockade in the hopes of outpacing the larger, slower vessels. After reaching a certain distance, she would be able to hyperspace again.
It would not be that simple as a squadron of TIE-fighters flew out of the star destroyer. The Starseed was too small a vessel for the Star destroyers' turrets to accurately hit so fighters were sent out. They broke off into three groups of four as one group was heading directly in front of the Starseed to attack. Green laser bolts were fired from the TIE-fighters as Mara rolled the ship to avoid the fire. A few glancing blows hit the ship, however it still passed by the group of fighters.
The first group broke off to circle back around their target. The second TIE group was firing into the Starseed's forward shields.
"Give me some power to the turrets." Mara asked.
A blaster turret was lowered out of the bottom of the ship to fire energy bolts at the fighters. Two were destroyed as the rest changed direction to avoid fire.The Starseed continued to advance as the first group was regrouped behind it.
"I recommend power to the rear deflector shields." Light Hope advised.
"No offense, but the ship is a glass cannon. If I take power away from the front deflector shields one glancing blow from those destroyers would end us." The vessel shook as laser bolts bombarded the stern or rear.
The third group of TIEs were making their attack run on the right flank. In response, Mara drifted the ship to the left to break away from the incoming fire. The fighters scrambled as they regrouped to follow her. She arched the Starseed into a downward spiral and turned the turret around to fire backwards. A fighter was hit and crashed into another, but the ship was still receiving energy bolts as more TIEs focused fire.
"Do we have any more seismic charges?" Mara asked.
"There appears to be only one left in stock. I was saving it at your request." Light Hope replied.
"Thank you, but now I'm using it." Mara released the seismic charge to float in the direction of the fighters. A wave of concussive energy erupted outward from the charge as it detonated between Mara and the TIEs. Several of the fighters survived by halting or swerving, but most were shattered by the attack.
"Woah! Alright. See? I said this would be fun." Mara was cut off by a flashing light notification. "Problem?"
"The problem is that a TIE fighter wing has been skewered into an engine from the blast." Light Hope answered.
The ship began to shake and buck as a fire erupted from the engine room. It began to drift left as it was the right engine that has been cripplied. This made the Starseed an easy target as the surviving TIEs began another attack run.
"Okay so maybe those rear shields would've been good. You can tell me you were right after we survive this. What are my options?" Mara asked.
"At this rate, the Starseed will surely be destroyed. Escape is the most logical option." Light hope responded as her projection began to blink as the ship received more damage.
"I can set this thing into a dive to throw them off our escape." Mara explained as she lowered the console to engage autopilot once more.
Mara stumbles from the command chair as the vessel shook from more energy blasts. She ran across the glossy interior of the ship to her living quarters. She grabbed a DC-17 hand blaster then placed it in her thigh holster. Mara opened her sliding closet to reveal a sealed metallic case with a Jedi sigil on the side. She placed the case inside a shoulder bag, and grabbed a command key before leaving her room.
Mara ran back into the control room. The lights from all the displays were flickering as sparks erupted from the panels. She placed the command key into the chair and it began to download.
"Mara, what are you doing? You must evacuate." Light hope insisted as her image flickered.
"I'm not leaving without you." Mara explained.
"There is no time. My file is much too large for the command key to download before the ship is rendered inoperable." Light Hope explained as a ceiling cover fell from the roof when the ship shook more violently.
That last hit was from a destroyer energy blast that struck the front shields. The star destroyer was now targeting the spacecraft as it began to freefail into the planet's atmosphere. The Starseed's turret has been destroyed by the fighters so they were in pursuit.
"I can install several command codes for future use, but this construct must stay with the Starseed." Light Hope insisted.
"No, Light Hope! I can't do this without you." Mara pleaded to the construct.
Light Hope's face displayed emotion for the first time in this conversation. "Please go, Mara." It was sadness.
Mara stared at Light Hope's expression. "That's not fair." The ship shook again as she nearly lost her balance. She glanced almost longingly at Light Hope before shutting her eyes and grabbing the command key. Mara ran out of the control room as Light Hope looked on. Her projection fizzled out as the lights on the ship turned bright red.
Mara ran to the escape pod in the bowels of the ship. She could see from the pod's window that the Starseed was entering the atmosphere of the desert planet. She ejected the escape pod as it sailed in a separate direction from the crashing ship. The fighters failed to notice Mara as their attention was on the free falling ship. Her pod streaked across the desert sky like a shooting star descending from the heavens as it made entry.
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Tatooine
The evening was approaching as the twin suns were beginning to drop from their place in the sky. A figure was scaling the rocky terrain of a canyon wall. She threw a bag topside onto the sandy cliff edge and pulled herself up. The girl wiped her brow then began to search through the bag to see if anything fell out. Her clothes were styled for the extreme heat as they consisted of baggy white robes, but were styled with a red tunic.
"Those Jawas sure drove up the price for this junk. Master Ajul will hopefully be pleased with this. Why he likes trinkets I don't know." She spoke to herself.
The girl sat on the ground placing the supplies back in the bag. She instinctively lifted her head when she felt a feeling overcome her. It was like a cold wind had hit the nape of her neck. She turned her head and saw a distant shape creasing across the sky, then stood up in surprise.
"No way! Is that a shooting star?" The girl had always heard of shooting stars, but this was the first one she had ever seen. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes to make a wish.
'I'd like to see the ocean someday.' She wished.
When she opened her eyes the falling object was gone from her sight. "Pfft. Look at yourself, Adora. Like that will ever come true." Adora picked up the supply bag and began her trek back to her speeder.
Technically, the x-34 landspeeder belonged to her master but it was borrowed on these excursions. Adora was always diligent and brought the speeder back in one piece; it was considered a privilege. As long as she worked hard, Adora knew that everything would always work itself out even for a slave. After walking the distant back she saw the speeder with a figure leaning on it. A dark-skinned girl with braids wearing white robes called out to her.
"Hurry up, Adora! It's too freaking cold when it gets dark." She exclaimed.
"Calm down, Lonnie." Adora jogged over to her fellow slave. "I got the goods. Did anything happen while I was gone."
"Yeah a womp rat scurried by but no dinner. Sorry." Lonnie jokes.
"It's not funny if you've actually done that." Adora scowled.
Adora did not care for the taste of womp rats. It's a long story involving being left in the wastes. Only Adora knows the details because the only thing she would say about the event was that she hates womp rats.
"Those sleazy Jawas give you any trouble?" Lonnie began to look through the bag as she spoke.
"Nah, they're mostly harmless. Although I think one of them called me a…….nevermind I think my Jawanese just needs improving." Adora mused.
As Adora was talking, the same feeling from earlier was creeping again. She had the sudden instinct to look around. At first, she could not see anything but it's like there was a nerve pulsing in her head. It's like she was being warned of something.
"Alright, full sack means full stomach, lets-"
"Get down." Adora shouted as she grabbed Lonnie.
Adora pushed her down to avoid a rifle shot. A moment later, they both rolled behind the speeder for cover from incoming fire. Lonnie quickly separated form Adora but still remained cowering near her.
"Tusken raiders." Adora announced as she spotted a pair of sand people on a low cliff face.
"They followed you! Those nasty peddlers probably pointed them in your direction!" Lonnie exclaimed as she blamed the Jawas for their predicament.
Adora peaked her head up then crouched back quickly to avoid an energy slug that bounced off the speeder. "One issue at a time. We got to get rid of these guys." She explained.
"Let's just speed off." Lonnie claimed then winced as another shot hit the speeder.
"Great suggestion. You first." Adora remarked sarcastically as she gestured to the speeder they were using as cover.
"Alright, not a great plan. You got something?" Lonnie asked.
"Let me try this." Adora reached into the bag and pulled out a large, crystal skull. "I don't think anyone will miss this." She pitched the item at the raiders.
The skull missed the mark, but the sand people still flinched from the unexpected throw. This gave Adora enough time to run from under the speeder. When the tusken raiders refocused fire on her, she had taken cover by a large rock formation. Getting frustrated the two raiders jumped down to get close to the annoying targets. They each separated to go after the two girls.
Adora pulled out a dagger from her boot as the raider was yelling a war cry while charging her position. She vaulted over the rock to kick her attacker which knocked away his cycler rifle. However, she was met with a gaffi stick that knocked her down and she dropped her dagger. The raider roared and shook his melee weapon before slamming it downward. Adora was rolling out of his strikes until she rolled on top of her dagger then shoved in in the bandit's knee. The raider cried in pain as it limped away from her.
Lonnie has sneaked around the speeder and slammed a rock on the other tusken's head. They aimed the rifle but Lonnie grabbed it in a tug of war. She was stronger in the struggle with a more physical build, however the raider kicked her shin then butted her head with the rifle. They were about to shoot her until Adora threw a rock that knocked his aim off. Then, Lonnie kicked their knee which sent the bandit down as she stood up. Lonnie reached for the dropped rifle, but leapt back as he swung wildly with his gaffi stick.
The wounded raider was picking up his cycler rifle until Adora charged them both to the ground. Adora was trying to stab them, but the raider grabbed her wrist then twisted it so she dropped the knife, again. They began to wrestle over the rifle as the raider rolled on top of Adora while she still gripped it. The Tusken shoved the rifle down to pin Adora by her neck. She was struggling to breath so she lashed out and kicked their wounded knee.
The Tusken Raider screamed and reached for its gaffi stick to bash Adora's head, but she quickly retrieved the knife then stabbed at their ribs. Adora kicked their face then they began to crawl away from her, however she quickly stood up and smacked the tusken with the butt of the cycler rifle. She turned around to aim it at the other raider currently beating Lonnie.
"Stop!" Adora cries out while holding the rifle at the tusken.
The tusken lurched it's head up at the command. They couldn't understand her words, but she knew threats were a universal language.
"I'll shoot, I swear!" She was motioning with the weapon for the raider to back away.
They moved away from Lonnie who was nursing a bruised face. Then, the raider barked and pointed at their companion kneeling on the ground. Adora pointed at them and moved the rifle away from her to signal a direction. She began to step back as the tusken cautiously walked to the injured comrade. They shoulder carried the other as they both walked away from the girls; Adora was holding her breath until they were gone.
"That was exciting." Adora huffed as she lowered the cycler rifle.
Lonnie stood up while rubbing her jaw. "Damn, Adora. That was kinda cool. How's my face look?"
Adora winced. Lonnie had a bruise on her jaw, a cut lip, and some swelling on her brow. "Well you have looked better. For the most part."
"Shut up." Lonnie began walking to the speeder. "I would've come out just as fine if Ajul trusted me as much as you. We don't all get daggers during these road trips."
"I mean if he really trusted me then I would get a blaster. Speaking of which-" Adora tossed the rifle. "-we'll get into trouble if we show up with that." Adora picked up the supplies and climbed into the speeder's passenger seat to let Lonnie drive.
"If given the choice you would take the knife. I mean when do you not have that thing? Do you sleep with it?" Lonnie questioned the dagger.
"It's my pillow dagger." Adora pouted. She wasn't kidding; safety of mind is a luxury.
"You're crazy." Lonnie activates thrust and the X-34 landspeeder took off.
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Ajul's compound
The drive back to their master's compound was mostly uneventful. The twin suns were beginning to set as the girls were gone for most of the day. Eventually, they spotted the large granite walls that surrounded the compound. The walls were usually patrolled by humanoid guardsmen covered in wrappings and using mismatched metallic armor. As they pulled up, one of the guards signaled for the gate to open as the metal gate lifted for them to proceed.
When they entered Adora observed that most of the market stalls were now closed for the night. Various aliens were still around the area performing tasks like polishing rare metals and jewels, fetching water, herding the dewback into their pens, etc. Noticeably, a twi'lek woman was crafting pottery; Adora knew the alien just by association, but found out that she was another one of Ajul's "favorites". She's not really sure what that means but tries not to think about it. The duo parked the speeder into a nearby garage that was currently housing two other speeders and a dismantled pod racer where they were greeted by a meek, human male and a trandoshan.
"Guys, you're back! What happened? You've been gone for so long!" Asked the boy.
Lonnie rolled her eyes. "Chill out, Kyle." She turned to the trandoshan. "How do you put up with this guy, Rogelio?"
Rogelio simply grunted although with his biology it sounded like a hiss. It's pretty rare to find a trandoshan servant since they are known to be very aggressive hunters. Rogelio was the exception as he was born into slavery so he maintained a calm demeanor. While he was considered a friend he was pretty distant as he never learned galactic common. Although Adora has her suspicions that he does know it, but refuses to speak since otherwise how could he understand them?
Kyle ignored Lonnie's comment and exclaimed. "Yikes! What happened to your face? It looks like a bantha stepped on it." Adora snorted at the comment while Kyle reached his hand out to poke the bruises.
Lonnie smacked his hand away. "Back off. We ran into some Tusken Raiders. Lucky for Adora, I was there to drive those punks off." Lonnie flexed an arm.
"Oh yes, I was under such duress. That's why I don't have a bruise." Adora rolled her eyes while gesturing to herself to emphasize the point.
"You're welcome." Lonnie replied sarcastically.
"Well that explains the scorch marks, too. This isn't good." Luke gestured to the speeder.
"Would you just chill out, man? The gear heads will have this fixed up by tonight. Won't you boys?" Lonnie called out.
She was referring to the DUM-series pit droids. Adora internally laughed as she realized what that name sounded like. There were at least half a dozen always around and some were currently fumbling with pod racer parts. One saw Lonnie then replied with a high pitched noise and a head nod.
"Alright, that's what I thought. Now make yourself useful and take this." She shoved the pile in Kyle's hands. "I'm tired; put the trash in storage."
Kyle almost dropped the bag until Rogelio grabbed it for him. Kyle nodded in thanks to him then turned back to the girls. "Actually some shift changes went down and, long story short, one of you has to clean up some Ronto poodoo from the stalls."
"Not it!" Lonnie ran off.
"Wai-stop I don't wanna-" Adora turned to the boys and smiled. "Ssssooooo you guys want to help a girl out?"
"Sorry, Adora." Kyle said honestly. "We've got our own chores to handle. See you later, okay." Kyle walked off while Rogelio nodded to Adora then followed behind.
Adora waved at them as they walked away. "That's okay. I'll just clean up. Alone. All by myself, again." Adora groaned then walked off.
Adora knew that this particular chore would take awhile, but she had a rough day so she decided to walk past the sanitation closet for an early break. She sneaked further into the back area of the compound where she had a little hiding spot. Adora went behind a small tower or turret where she pulled up a wooden ladder and placed it on the wall. Adora climbed up the ladder until she was inside the turret, then she hopped onto the ledge for the best view.
Other than the star and fight with the raiders today had been normal for Adora. She would wake up and watch the suns rise for as long as she could. Then, complete a task like excursions in the waste, cleaning around the compound, or serving her master when she was ordered. At the end of the day she would come here for the twins suns to set. Adora found it was almost a calming effect; the ritual reminded her that the world was far more vast than she's ever seen.
Adora pulled her dagger out again to clean it. She poured some water from a water skin onto it then wiped the blood away with her sleeve as that was her only rag. This revealed several inscriptions on the side of the blade. Adora couldn't read them and, as far as she knew, no one understood the language. Even the metal itself was a mystery; the blade looked like durasteel and the handle was colored like Haysian smelt, but the blacksmiths said the actual composition was unknown.
This weird, mystery tricket was Adora's longest held keepsake. The only reason her master let her keep it was because the item was such an anomaly that he couldn't sell it and Adora was one of his most hardworking servants. She learned that as long as you do what you're told, good things will happen like keeping her only known possession. Adora took one last look at the twin suns as they colored the usually dim sky a beautiful shade of orange and red. She knew that was her cue to get back to work so she climbed back down and hid the ladder.
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The next morning
Mara's eyes shot open as she woke up, and quickly shut them closed as the sunlight was almost blindingly. Her head felt like it was filled with lead and her throat was like sandpaper. These were symptoms of dehydration as the last thing Mara remembered was the search for water in a desert. Mara sat up then felt a tug as she noticed her wrists were chained to the floor. She quickly scanned the area to see that she was in a cage being pulled by a dewback led chariot. A weequay was riding the chariot that she was attached to.
"Where am I?" Mara called out to him in a raspy voice.
He did not respond and Mara cleared her throat to speak higher. "Where am I?"
"Quite." He ordered without looking back.
Mara huffed as she tried to stand up, but her chains prevented that. She gripped her neck as she noticed there was a shock collar there. Mara searches herself to see that her blaster, holster, and even her bag of supplies were gone. She quickly calmed her rising panic as she noticed her sack sitting next to the weequay. She steadied her breathing then began to wave her hand slowly.
"You will let me out of this cage." Mara suggested.
"No I won't." He grumbled.
Mara furrowed her eyebrows in concentration and reached out. "You will let me out of this cage."
The weequay did not respond. Instead he lifted a remote and clicked the button. Electricity ran throughout Mara as the shock collar was activated. He clicked the device off after a few seconds.
"Now shut your mouth." He turned his head forward.
Mara shook her head to clear her thoughts. 'I guess that can't work all the time.'
Mara knew she would be a part of this haul regardless of choice so she fixed her legs into a meditation pose. She began to focus her mind and ignore the ailments plaguing her exhausted body. The journey across the sands was long, but Mara could feel that they were close. She scrunched her face as she felt an odd presence. It felt oddly familiar but she wasn't sure why so she looked up, and instead saw the unfamiliar sight of Ajul's compound.
The gate opened for them as the weequay requested entry. Once they were let through Mara observed the many workers doing manual labor and her stomach turned at the sight. She was mentally preparing for what was about to happen. Her suspicions were confirmed when they reached the castle at the center of the palace. It was colored granite like the outer walls, but with many flags from various cultures swaying in the wind on the rooftop, and long tarps draped over the sides of the walls.
Mara thought the process would be long, but in no time she was led out of the cage in cuffs then dragged by the weequay into the castle. The guards let them pass into the open entryway as they made their way through several lit corridors. Eventually, they stumbled onto what Mara assumed was the throne room as there were many well-robed and bejeweled individuals enjoying pleasantries. This was opposed with the simply dressed people, who she assumed to be slaves, that were lining the walls while awaiting instruction. A path was cleared for her and the captor as they made their way to the throne at the far side of the room.
Mara was not surprised to find a finely dressed Zygerrian sitting on the throne. His ears were decorated in gold rings and his fingers were adorned with different colored gems. His silk robes were covered by silver armor as he sat in his throne while smirking. He clapped his hands and the room went quiet at the command. Then, he stood up from his throne to slowly walk towards the pair.
"Urgra. What has my favorite hunter caught for me today?" He turned to Mara. "At first glance, she appears to be premium stock."
"I found her half dead in the crimson wastes. Carried some interesting toys with her." Urgra shook the bag and showed off her blaster.
"How very interesting. How much do you want?" He asked.
Mara choose to speak up. "Sir, if I may-"
"Ajul. Please call me Ajul. I insist." He smirked.
Mara could tell the kindly smirk was fake, but she still needed to try and talk her way out of this situation. "Ajul, my ship crash landed here and I was merely finding my way back to civilization. I'm not some slave girl to be traded." Mara proclaimed.
"Of course. Your ship crashed? Tragic. Where exactly is your ship?" Ajul questioned.
Mara looked nervous at that. "Well I escaped via pod so I'm not sure where exactly-"
"So you crashed onto this desert planet with a ship that you can't prove exists. Sounds suspicious to me." He scratched his chin.
"Don't do this. You have no right to treat me this way." Mara stated with furrowed brows as Urgra jerked her cuffs to reprimand her.
"My dear, I believe I do. Well after I buy you and if I decide to keep you I will have the only right." Ajul looked at Urgra. "How much?"
"3,000 but 1,000 more if you want this." He gestured to the bag as he placed her blaster among the items.
"Very well." He snapped his fingers as a scantily clad twi'lek walked up and handed him a chest. "I figured that would be the price. Consider this a kindness since you've been so good to me." Ajul really did consider himself benevolent.
"Whatever you say." Urgra finally reacted by smirking as he handed the shock remote to Ajul and took the chest from the twi'lek.
Urgra exited the room while counting his coins to himself. Ajul snapped his fingers and the twi'lek began to remove Mara's cuffs. As they came off Mara started to rub the irritated skin on her wrists while glaring at Ajul.
"You won't be needing those. Your skin could become chaffed and we can't have that. I'm afraid the collar will have to remain until you can prove yourself to be reliable " Ajul talked down to Mara.
"Believe me. You will regret this." Mara warned.
"I think I like you already." Ajul snapped his fingers. "Adora." Adora stepped out of the line of slaves. "Please give this girl some water and clean clothes then show her the ropes. I can count on you, yes?"
"Yes, sir." Adora answered stoically.
Ajul waved them off as he returned to his throne and the festivities resumed. Adora grabbed Mara by the hand as she led her out of the castle. Mara remained quiet even when they left the castle. She was studying this blonde girl to try and get an internal read on her. Mara couldn't really decipher her so when Adora led them into the barracks she spoke.
"I assume you're a slave?" Mara tried breaking the metaphorical ice.
"Yep. What gave it away?" Adora jokingly asked as she grabbed a water skin. "Thirsty?"
Mara snatched it away as she began to desperately gulp the water. She coughed a little as some went down the wrong pipe. Adora smacked Mara's back to help her not choke.
"Calm down, there's enough if you actually drink it." Adora chuckled.
Mara nodded to Adora then drank the water much slower as Adora continued speaking. "It's always pretty hot here like…….every single day. We keep water on standby so that way no one goes into heatstroke. You can't really work if that happens." Adora began to dig around for extra clothes that Mara can wear. "Sorry, I only have white and…..well even more white robes."
"That won't be necessary." Mara pulled away from the waterskin to speak. "I like my clothes."
"Oh, yeah I get that. I wear this pretty much everyday." Adora quickly sniffed her tunic then winced. "Though maybe I should clean them more."
Mara smirked at the remark, but then her face refocused. "What happens now?"
"Not sure. The master might decide to sell you if you don't do a good job and we can't have that." Adora said seriously. "There are some bad slavers out there."
"I thought all slavers were bad?" Mara quirked a brow.
"I mean you make do with what you can, right? C'mon, I'll show you It's not so bad here." Adora walked out expecting Mara to follow.
Mara pouted and tugged at her shock collar. "I doubt that."
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Star Destroyer "Skeletor"
A force captain was making her way down the bowels of the star destroyer. Octavia was moving stiffly as she was nervous about the news that her boss would definitely not like. She stopped at a large door with the Horde Insignia on it and slipped her command key into the control panel. It opened to reveal a dimly lit chamber with a metallic revolving chair at the center.
"Report, Force Captain Octavia." Hordak commanded with his back turned while sitting in the chair.
"Y-yes, Lord Hordak. We have found the crash site on the planet's surface. However, it appears the escape pod was launched during entry and missed our scans." Octavia reported while sweating.
A scratching sound was made as Hordak scrapped the sharp nails of his gauntlet across the armrest. "Did you find anything of use to me? He snarled.
"N-no sir. The s-ship-" she swallows and speaks higher. "The ship was heavily damaged and couldn't reveal any valuable intel. Also, any contraband was most likely in the escape pod with the spy."
"Get out!" Hordak snapped.
"Yes sir!" She all but ran out of the room while closing the door.
Hordak inputted coordinates into his chair as a projection was broadcasted in front of him. It was of a red cloaked woman. She had a mask that obscured her face with a red crystal in its forehead.
"Lord Hordak." Her gravely, low voice called out.
"Your plan has failed me, Shadow Weaver." Hordak snarled at her.
"My lord, my magicks were only able to track down the girl known as She-Ra. Her capture was your role to play." Shadow Weaver explained while trying to maintain a voice of respect.
"Silence. If your illusions were so potent I would've been done with that nusicane long ago." Hordak blamed his subordinate for Mara's continued escape.
Shadow Weaver lowered her head. "My Lord, even I can only do so much. Tracing her signature without obtaining anything of her person would have been impossible if not for her strong connection with the force. The effort, as low as I am to admit it, was very taxing." Shadow Weaver gestured to the crystal in her mask.
Hordark clenched his fist as he started breathing heavily. "That doesn't matter now. You are to leave Dathomir and regroup at Etheria. We can not afford to waste any more time. Horde Prime demands that the weapon be his and it shall be so. Do I make myself clear?"
"Of course, Lord Hordak." Shadow Weaver bowed as the hologram cut off.
Hordak selected another frequency as a smaller hologram of a Force Captain was projected. "Force Captain Titus, have the Interdictor remain over the planet. If any shuttle tries to escape, have them processed. If they defy you then they are traitors. Do you understand?" He asked rhetorically.
Titus quickly saluted. "It will be done, Lord Hordak. Count on it."
"Good." Hordak cut the feed.
The Skeletor moved away from the desert planet as it's engines blazed blue from the hyperdrive activating. Soon, the cruiser slipped out of normal space into hyper space on a course for Etheria. Once there he would fulfill his orders and assist in the blockade of the planet Etheria.
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Etheria- Bright Moon
The planet was currently under blockade from three Horde Star Destroyers and four Arquiten light-cruisers. An inevitable assault was being planned but for now the vessels were just there to secure the atmosphere. The Horde was positive that any Rebel attack force would be repelled and that none would try for rescue aid. This was assuranced by the news of an arrival of more ships including Hordak's vessel.
On the planet surface, there was a meeting taking place in the capital city of Bright Moon. Specifically, a brightly lit room that had been recently renovated as the war room. Several representatives, some real while others were holograms, sat around a large round table for discussion. At the head were two large seats with one remaining empty while the other was occupied by Queen Angella.
The queen's name was appropriate as Angella was actually a Diathim, a literal angel with glowing skin and vibrant wings. They are usually found around the moons of Iego and treated like myth so seeing one be the queen of a foreign planet is definitely strange. This of course means that her daughter Princess Glimmer, who was seating on the other side of the table, was part Diathim. However, while Glimmer's skin would sparkle occasionally at random she was not luminous and if she did have wings they were well hidden. The one oddity about the two of them was that they shared pink hair which isn't a common trait amongst either Diathim or Etherians.
"I can see not every is not happy with the turn of events, but I will not risk open war with the Horde." Queen Angella stated.
Glimmer stood higher in her seat at this. "There are literal battleships at our borders. You may not want open war, but the Horde definitely does."
"Glimmer, please calm yourself." Angella said.
"Now hold on." Glimmer's Aunt and Representative of Mystacor, Castaspella, chose to speak through hologram. "Glimmer's right, Angella. While we have become well established pacifists, I thought you would be more willing for a conflict after what they did to my brother." She almost glared.
"That is besides the point. The whole galaxy is watching and they need to see that we are not the instigators of this war." Angella proclaimed.
"They are gonna see the Horde ravage our lands and take our kingdoms. All in desperation of finding some superweapon!" Glimmer exclaimed.
"Yeah so there's that." Mermista, Princess of Salineas, was also a hologram. "If you guys have been hiding some top secret super weapon then that's not cool. Especially cuse we need that like right now." Mermista spoke in monotone.
Netossa, a general of Bright Moon, interjected. "What a great idea. Let's use our magic weapon to wish our problems away. Oh, wait it doesn't exist!"
"Please stay calm, darling ." Spinnerella, another General, put her hand on her partner's shoulder to calm her down. It worked as Netossa signed and crossed her arms.
"You make a valid point, Mermista. If the weapon is real then it poses a great danger. With that being said, the option to use it is out of the question." Angella proclaimed.
Glimmer looked insulted at this. "How can you say that? It's on our planet so it's ours to use. Doesn't the rebellion want this. Bow?" She turned to the dark-skinned boy sitting next to her.
Bow was dressed in a bright yellow crop top with a red heart that revealed his midriff and growing abs. He wore armor shoulder pads and strapped on his back was his personal weapon of choice; a bowcaster. Bow is Etheria's connection to the rebellion as he is a rebel agent. He remained mostly quiet throughout the meeting, but now Glimmer was calling him out.
"Actaully, the Rebellion doesn't want anyone to have this kind of power. When we find the weapon, which we are positive exists, the plan is to destroy it." Bow explained nervously.
"I can't believe you're not on my side." Glimmer said indignantly.
"Right now, I'm on everyone's side." Bow assurances Glimmer before turning to the rest of the room. "Look we can worry about what to do with it later. That won't matter if the Horde finds it before we do. Please, have there been any leads?"
"My scribes haven't been able to discover anything." Castaspella stated.
"Of course not." Angella rolled her eyes.
"Got something to say, Angella." Castaspella narrowed her eyes at her sister-in-law.
"Oh nothing." Angella forced a smile.
"Nothing under the sea." Mermista said while looking at her nails.
"Sorry, but I haven't found anything." Perfuma, the princess of Plumeria, spoke through hologram. "By the way, where is everyone?" She gestured to the vacate chairs.
"Yeah, like I thought this was a mandatory meeting. Y'know with all the doom and gloom here lately I figured this was kind of life and death." Mermista stated while still monotone.
Angella signed. "Apparently there are complications. The Kingdom of Snows monarch just passed so they are in a transition period of preparing the young princess Frosta for rule; they are unable to attend. We have lost contact with The kingdom of fire. Scouts are reporting that their lands are abandoned so they must be hidden where we can not currently reach them. As for Dryl and the Fright Zone I have some alarming news. It has been confirmed that they are in league with the Horde." As Angella finished her sentence the royalty from other kingdoms held a look of surprise even Mermista.
"That can't be right." Perfuma denied. "There's no way an Etherian would betray their own home."
"It's true." Netossa intervened. Her hands were clenched on the table as she spoke. "With their royal lines in flux and not having very good relations with Bright Moon it only makes sense they would seek outside support for more power."
Spinnerella continued for her. "It could be possible that they're the ones who told them about this weapon. Which is why we believe it must exist. If they were to lie directly to the Horde their kingdoms would be burned for certain. The conquest of Etheria is undoubtedly being used as a power play by their kingdoms." She looked upset as well but maintained composure.
"Uuuuuggghhhh." Mermista groaned. "You can't rely on anyone these days. Look we're keep searching for whatever this thing is, but only in my borders. My people stay within our shield's protection."
"Those shields won't hold out against star destroyers." Bow pointed out.
"Mermista, please you can't run. We have to fight together." Glimmer insisted.
"Don't try to guilt me just because I want to keep my kingdom away from the Horde. Besides, I'm not the only one." Mermista gestured to Perfuma.
"Perfuma?" Glimmer questioned.
Perfuma was brushing her hair while looking away awkwardly. "Well I would love to help but I don't really believe in violence so-"
"Then what are we doing here?" Glimmer stood from her seat. "If we're not going to stand together, if we're not going to fight the Horde with the Rebellion, then what are we even debating?!"
"Glimmer that's enough." Angella ordered. "You are a princess so act like it."
"I think I'm the only one acting like it. I'm the only one who doesn't want my entire planet to become a war machine." Glimmer marched out of the room.
"Glimmer! We are not finished here. Young lady, get back here now." Glimmer ignored Angella's mom orders as she slammed the door.
Bow quickly stood up as well. "I'm just gonna make sure she doesn't run away…..again." Bow followed behind Glimmer.
Angella signed heavily with her hands on her chin as the room remained quiet until she finally spoke. "I suppose we can move to recess."
Bow had found Glimmer in her room throwing her many pillows off her huge bed. He ducked under one she tossed haphazardly.
"Please stop, Gimmer. Those pillows did nothing to hurt you." Bow joked.
Glimmer flung herself onto her bed. "Argh, this is the worst case scenario. I thought you were gonna back me up?" Glimmer glared at her friend.
"No, I said I would be there for you. Don't put words into my mouth." Bow argued.
"Whatever. The point is that the Horde is going to land on our doorstep, maybe find whatever weapon this is, and who knows what'll happen to Etheria let alone the whole galaxy!" Glimmer yelled. She then puffed out air and wiped her face with her hands. "I don't understand why I'm the only one who sees reason. How could they all be so selfish?"
"That's not fair, Glimmer." Bow sat next to her on the bed. "Even though I'm part of the Rebellion that doesn't mean Etheria is involved. Your mom wants it to stay that way. If Etheria joined the Rebellion then we would have been attacked a long time ago. That and everyone just wants to keep their people safe. Can you blame them? I hate to admit this because it sounds like I'm giving up, but the Rebellion is losing this fight."
"That's my point. We can turn it around. End all the suffering, all the violence for good." Glimmer willfully stated.
"Don't worry we will. Everything that's going on, a warrior named She-Ra coming to help, it's almost like the old legends we used to hear as children are coming true." Bow said almost nostalgic.
"Do you really think this one person can make a difference? Is it true that their a Jedi? That they can find find the weapon?" Glimmer frantically questioned.
"Yes. Maybe, and I don't know." Bow answered. "All I'm saying is that with everything that's going on we have to be brave. The rebellion sent her here for a reason, right? It's a slim chance but if she can destroy this weapon then maybe the Horde will move away from Etheria. Without joining the rebellion that's all we can do." He finished.
Glimmer looked down as he said that. She began thinking as she looked out of her window into the Etherian sky. She wondered when she would see Star Destroyers hover above her home. She turned back to Bow.
"Then I guess She-Ra is our last hope."
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A/N: Well that was a lot. Btw, most of the characters look the same so I'll only go out of my way to describe the characters that have a new wardrobe or are a different race. Btw, while Glimmer is technically part of a different race she will not look very different and has her season 4-5 appearance. Everyone is slightly aged up with Adora being 19. Also, Mara is in her mid-20s, and will be very important in this story.
Next time: Broken chains
