Fallout Equestria: Across The Stars

by The Corrupted Champion

Found...kind of...

Fallout Equestria: Across The Stars
chapter 2: Found...kind of...

Goldenshine's breathing was heavy as she sprang up with a starteled yelp. She looked around sharply to see that her attackers were gone... next to her was a simple 10 mm pistol and a couple clips... but why? she never collected them...

Wait...that hooded pony... did the hooded pony with the rifle leave it for her? but why?

Finally she'd had a moment to take in her surroundings. a bombed out city loomed around her; charred and bombed out buildings almost seeming to sway around her, like the whole thing could come down at any moment... the sounds of gun fire could be heard in the distance. she couldn't even discern where she'd originally come from in this gigantic forboding labrynth of concrete, metal and rebar.

"...where am I?" she asked, more to herself to anyone else. She looked up; the sky a blotchy swamp of vibrant blue and murky grey. Goldenshine grunted with effort as she hauled herself back to her hooves, and looked ahead of her. the corpses of the desicated ponies littered the otherwise abandoned street.

She'd also noticed spent shell casings from a high powered rifle. A sniper rifle that apparently packed bullets that looked lke they could drop a dragon if the shot was well placed... that hooded pony was carrying some major fire power. "...you're getting sidetracked again, Goldy..." she said to herself.

It felt so sureal, being on the surface. Like in her dreams or premenitions. it just didn't seem real. She conituned to look in all directions. "well...just pick a direction and start walking i guess..." she said glumly as she started walking down a street.

..............................................................................................................

The clone troopers Bly and Rex had finally managed to pry the escape hatch door open and look outside their grounded ship at the planet they'd crashed on. Around them was a barren waste covered in brown wilting plants; Rex looked through his range finder to see bombed out cities... "...there used to be people here..." he said sadly.

Aayla Secura took a moment to look around herself after tending to Anakin, carefully laying him down on a spot on the ground that didn't look too bad. she was silent for a moment before speaking up. "...and I sense they might still be, Captain..." she said sagely. "we just need to figure out how to find them..." she also sensed that this world was scarred and warped by the dark side, but she held on hope that it wasn't completely consumed by it.

Ashoka rushed to her master's side once more. "Okay, you and the clones go for help, and I'll stay with Anakin." she said a little more harshly that she'd intended.

Aayla shook her head disapprovingly. "No, Padawan Tano, I need you with me so we can cover more ground." she said sternly. "Captain Rex will stay with him."

Ashoka scowled. "I won't just leave him!" she shot defiantly.

Aayla imediately spun on her heel and glared at the young Tegruta. "We aren't just abandoning him Ashoka!" the Ti'lek jedi barked back without missing a beat. "If we don't get him to a doctor of some kind, then He. Will. Die!" Ashoka recoiled from the woman's words as though she'd been slapped in the face. She said nothing, but whimpered softly as she shrank back and her gaze fell to her injured master.

Aayla sighed as she walked over to the pair and knelt next to the girl. "I am sorry, Ashoka..." she said softly as she put a hand on her shoulder. Ashoka flinched at the contact and looked up dejectedly at the Twi'lek woman. "I don't like it any more then you do, but we need to find the people who live on this world and convince them to help us..."

Commander Bly finally broke his silence as he watched the tension continue. "...we also need to figure out a way to contact the republic." he said solemnly. "...if we don't get some kind of signal out, then we're as good as gone and forgotten by the rest of the galaxy..."

"What about Admiral Yularen?" Ashoka asked. "Surely after what happened, he'll come looking for us?"

"I'm sure he will, but he will still have no idea where to look if we don't set up a beacon." Aayla said somberly.
...............................................................
The remaining clone survivors were filing out of the reckage; five in total. Ace, Lucky, Cruncher, Bishop and Sander had been ordered to try and salvage a distress beacon from their demolished ship. they had salvaged several pieces that, theoretically could be assembled into a transmitter, but they didn't have any of the proper tools to even begin!

"Form up boys!" the voice of Commander Bly rang out. "We're moving out!"

"What's the mission, Sir?" Bishop asked, pieces of machinery still in his arms.

"We're heading out to find whatever passes for locals on this rock." the commander replied.

"...and hope that they will help us." Aayla added.

"Very good sir!" Bishop nodded.

"What have you got there, Bishop?" Rex asked.

"We've collected a few parts, per Commander Bly's orders, that could theoretically be pieced together into a makeshift transmitter, but we couldn't find any tools to properly assemble them..." Cruncher answered.

Rex walked over. "give em' here." he said holding out his arms. "...I'll see if i can do something with em while you boys and the general are scouting."

Bishop did as instructed. "...well, good luck then, Captain; we can't even figure out where to start."

Commander Bly waited as his men...well a couple of them came with General Skywalker and technically answered to Rex rather then him, passed off their salvage to Rex and regrouped in front of their Twilek commander. "Okay, men; we all know our mission, so let's move!" Bly declared.

And so, they set off down the seemingly abandoned road, unaware that their crashed vessel would soon garner attention...

.........................................................................

Good bye looming city ruins, hello, bleak and desolate fields. The grass, if you could call it that, was tall, but brown and prickley. The trees on either side of the road were gnarled and dead, and the road itself was overgrown, riddled with potholes, and lined with what probably passed for vehicles back in the day. Wagons and-is that a tank?! was this the site of some kind of battle?

Goldenshine trotted uneasily through the graveyard of wagons and transports that cluttered the road, many of them still carried the remains of their occupants. The dry, withered bones of ponies sat in the seats and scattered about the wagons.

That's when images started flashing in her mind. Everything was intact the wagons aroound her had living ponies in and around them. Ponies in what looked like military uniforms stood by the tanks stopping every group that went down that road... No, not a battle; this was... a millitary checkpoint?

That feeling of approaching danger had returned, but it more subtle; easy to miss if you weren't actively alert. With only the sounds of her breath and heart beat to keep her company, she took a deep breath to try and releive the tension that wracked her whole body.

A shiver ran up her spine as she exhaled. She levitated the pistol out of her bag and looked at it, realising that she'd never shot a gun before...

She pointed the pistol at a near by wagon and pulled the trigger... or she tried to. It seemed to be stuck. "Huh?" the trigger wouldn't budge. She pulled again, a little harder; still nothing... "Is it broken?"

<...CHECK THE SAFETY...> a metallic voice stated from just behind her, making her jump and shreik in terror.

"Hyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!" the young unicorn wailed as she spun on one hoof to see who or what had snuck up on her. In her panic, she dropped the pistol and it clattered to the ground.

the sight that greeted her was a strange looking...robot? a spherical metal machine that looked more like a flying radio hovered before her silently with insect like wings. <SORRY, DIDN'T MEAN TO SCARE YOU.> it spoke again in its matallic monotone.

"What are you?" Goldenshine asked shakily. "and...where am I?"

The strange machine hovered silently for a moment. <HM...HOW SHOULD I ANSWER THAT?> it asked aloud. <FOR YOUR FIRST QUESTION, YOU CAN CALL ME WATCHER...> Watcher, as it had called itself turned back to the ruins behind them. <AS FOR WHERE YOU ARE, YOU ARE IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VANHOOVER RUINS.> it turned back to her. <FRESH OUT OF THE STABLE, HUH?>

"Uh...yeah."she said awkwardly. The reason for leaving the stable resurfaced in her memory. "...I was...banished from the stable..." she said, her somber gaze falling to the crumbled pavement.

Watcher was silent once more. <...I SEE...> the two sat in uncomfortable silence for a while before it spoke again. <...WELL , I WON'T PRY FOR DETAILS THEN, BUT I CAN HELP YOU LEARN HOW TO USE A GUN.> It looked down at the dropped pistol. <...PICK IT UP, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RECEIVER, THERE'S A LITTLE SWITCH BY THE GRIP. THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED A SAFETY...>

...............................................................................................................

Aayla, Ashoka and their clone troopers continued down the path. It wasn't long before unfamiliar sounds could be heard ringing out in the distance. the sounds of explosions were peppered through those other sounds however. "...The sounds of battle..." Master Secura mused.

"Then there ARE lifeforms on this planet..." Ashoka confirmed.

"The twilek looked at her; a slightly amused expression on her face. "You cannot sense them?"

the young padawan averted her eyes awkwardly. "well, this planet..." she stammered. "...it's like Nar Shadaa; alive with the force, and yet, dead to it at the same time..."

Aayla nodded approvingly. "Indeed, Padawan. like trying to see through a thick fog; but if your senses are keen enough, then you can peer through the interference for brief moments." she returned her gaze to the road ahead of them. "This is an opportunity for us both to better hone our senses and adapt to the inherent chaos of this world..."

One of the clones, Cruncher looked through his range finder. "General, there appears to be some kind of camp ahead." he offered the device to the commanding jedi, who took it and peered through it herself. "I could see glimpses of a fire, and you can see the smoke from here..."

Aayla nodded. "...yes, Cruncher. Well done." She herself had caught a glimps of movement in between what appeared to be a series of crude barricades. As she lowered the range finder, something tugged at her senses. her eyes whent cold and focused as she quickly turned to look out into the desolate wasteland. An anomally in her senses. she could feel it was somewhere near by, but... it was as though it could activly conceal itself from the force... that was a disconserting thought...

"Is something wrong, General?" Sander asked.

"Yeah, you trailed off a bit." Ashoka observed. Everyone was now looking at her expectantly.

The twilek jedi leveled a serious look at her comrades. "We are being watched..." she said quietly, earning nervous looks from the clones and Ashoka. "Everyone, don't let your guard down, we could find ourselves in the midst of some less then desirable company..."

Commander Bly hefted his blaster. "From the look on your face, general, I'd imagine that's barely the half of it..."

...................................................................

Not far away, they were indeed being watched. Next to a large gnarled tree, a shape shimmered in the light, and seemed to slowly materialize out of thin air. The shape of a pony was obscured by a dark cloak that billowed in the wind. A leather mask covered her muzzle and a pair of reflective goggles covered her eyes. strapped across her back was a worn but well maintained sniper rifle.

she raised one armored hoof to push the goggles up to her forhead. Her cold crimson eyes locked on the bizarre new wanderers that were slowly approaching a raider camp. She'd made a mental note that the blue skinned one almost seemed to sense that she was watching them, and would not be easy to sneak up on them and discern their purpose if they were ready for her.

something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. she leveled her rifle in it's direction and looked through the scope.

She smirked as the figure of one of the most enygmatic ponies in the wasteland slowly made his way toward them from the opposite end of the road. The stallion wore an armored trenchcoat, millitary grade combat gear and heavy breather helmet with a hole in the front to accomadate his battered horn. She could even see the red glow of his optic lenses.

Her smirk turned into a grin. It was possible that she was in for quite a show, depending on how they reacted to eachother. she would continue to watch them for a while longer...

.........................................................................................................

Goldenshine's talk with Watcher had been informative, to say the least. She now had a basic rundown of the great war two hundred years ago, the Baalfire bombs used by both sides, the lingering side effects of said bombs which included all manner of mutated abbarations, he'd also informed her that those horrific dessicated pones that had attacked her before were refered to as 'feral gouls'.

then was an abridged version of more current events. The "Light Bringer" who was named Little Pip who had orchestrated the defeat of and earth pony warlord by the name of Red Eye, and the grand pegasus enclave both, only to sacrifice herself for some kind of wheather control machine.

Another pony named Blackjack, who'd been dubbed "Security" by the local surface ponies who had taken down a criminal syndicate run by somepony named Sanguine and then merged with the spirit of Princess Luna? it got very convoluted after a while. she was starting to think that half of those stories were embelishent.

Lastly, he told her to stay clear of the Smokey mountains as apparently both a murderous revenant and a crazy raider cult were lurking around there...

Goldenshine continued along the abandoned road until a she neared a massive structure that was dotted with small fires that trailed smoke into the air. could this be...? she remembered her vision. The large metal thing that had fallen from the sky; this was it!

It was getting dark now, if she didn't find shelter soon, then she'd be poking around in total darkness. it was this big thing or she was screwed.

As she got closer and closer, she had to squint her golden yellow eyes to see the darkening road. finally she'd reached it. "Holy shit!" she whispered to herself. "this thing is HUGE!"

She marveled at the massive structure's utter enormity as it towered over her. She took a moment to look it over from side to side. This thing had to be twice the size of the stable, maybe even bigger! "...now, to find an opening while there's still enough light to see..."

She trotted and trotted for what felt like an eternity just to get around the blasted heap of scrap. hunger and exhaustion made her whole body weak as she became more and more aware that she hadn't eaten anything since her exile... her stomach growled loudly.

Cold, hungry, and tired, the young unicorn whimpered softly. "I'm beginning to think that there is no way in there..." she whined as she stumbled through tall grass trying to find the road again. "...and I'm gonna die out here..." she sobbed quietly to herself.

She'd managed to make her way around one end of the massive object as she continued through the tall brush. "If I could just find the road again..." she grumbled before she finally found a break in the tall grass that seemed to coincide with a... slight dropoff... "Hwaaaahhh!!!- Ooouughh!!"

.....................................................

Captain Rex was fiddling with a spare blaster that had been found in the wreckage, when he heard something approaching through the tall grass that surrounded his makeshift camp. A small group of hideous insect like creatures had attacked them already. They were easy enough to dispatch, of course, but he couldn't help but feel that those were hardly alpha predators on this planet.

He readied his blaster and scanned the surrounding area until he could see the grass shifting almost directly across from him. with no time to pich up his helmet, which had been on the ground next to him, he focused down the sights of his weapon with his naked eye. Closer and closer it got. wait... a voice? "...if I could just find the road again...". A female voice. Not much older then Commander Tano, he'd guess. then it came out of the brush.

An odd pink quadroped had stumbled out of the bushes only to slip down the drop off and faceplant into the dirt. It had a Mane and tail of firy yellow with pink streaks through them and It seemed to be wearing a blue jacket of somekind. But a distinguishing feature that caught his eye was the mark on its flank. the image looked like a child's drawing of a galaxy map.

The pink quadroped uttered a pained groan as it slowly hauled itself to its hooves. that female voice from before...came from this creature? was this the native species of this planet? "...Ugh..." she shook her head and took a moment to brush the dirt from her muzzle before she saw him and froze.

..........................................................................................

Author's Note:

Sweet Celestia's mercy! this took WAAAAAYYY too long! I'll have to make a policy of working only on one project at a time instead of trying to do several at once, cause that certainly hasn't done me any favors. well, that's chapter two of Fallout Equestria: Across The Stars. The next update will be on my other story, The Great And Powerful Fairy Tail. if you haven't read it, give it a look.

Comments

[Silver Echo]

Not a bad start, Good choice of an episode to bring into FoE.

[The Corrupted Champion]

8780173
thank you

[Imperial-Arstotzka]

Obi-Wan doesnt need to be on the high ground, the high ground just needs to exist within the battle; Obi-Wan knows that when he has the low ground, he really has the high ground, from a certain point of view.

Look at his battle record:
Maul: Has low ground, wins

Dooku: No high ground, loses

Dooku rematch: No high ground, loses

Greivous: Has low ground, wins

Vader: Has high ground, wins

Vader rematch: No high ground, loses

Obi-Wan with the high/low ground is canonically the most powerful Jedi. This is fact. Had Yoda not denied his request to battle The Senate with typical Jedi arrogance, Obi-Wan could have defeated Palpatine in the Senate building, which housed a variety of different altitudes; this was designed so that the Chancellor could always have the moral high ground in political debates. But Obi-wan didn&#39;t fight The Senate, and Yoda soon learned that you cant cleave the Sheev in a normal 1v1. It took the Tusken Raiders years of conflict against Old Ben Kenobi to grasp his superiority in terrain advantage, as you see them visibly flee in ANH when they realize he holds the low (inverse-high) ground; this was the optimal strategy against a near-invincible opponent.

Yoda is shorter than virtually every other fighter, which gives him a permanent low-ground disadvantage; however, his saber-fighting style utilizes a flipping-heavy technique in order to negate this weakness for a temporary window. Youll notice that, after falling from the central podium in The Senates building, he immediately retreats upon realizing he is on the lowest ground. Youll also notice that, while training Luke, he rides on him like a mount, to gain the intellectual high ground and accelerate Lukes training. Obi-Wans defensive Form III lightsaber style synergizes with his careful military maneuvers; as he only strikes when prepared, he can always hold the strategic high ground. (The business on Cato Neimodia doesnt count.) Youll come to realize that this is why Commander Codys artillery strike failed against Obi-Wan, when hundreds of Jedi were killed in similar attacks. Cody failed to grasp the strategic situation, as the Jedi Masters elevation was superior to his by hundreds of meters, making him virtually unkillable. (Youll notice that all the Jedi killed in Order 66 were on level ground with the clones, thereby assuring their demise.) Had Cody taken his time and engaged the Jedi on even terrain, he would have succeeded. Obi-Wan subsequently retreated under the surface of the lake, so that he could maintain the topographical low/high ground. This is why Obi-Wan is so willing to fight against impossible odds to the point where he thrusts himself in immediate danger; when your probability of victory is 1-to-10, you have the statistical (and therefore strategic) low ground, a numerical advantage when you use your point of view to flip the value to 10/1 . Almost losing is, in Obi-Wans case, certain victory.

As we all know, spinning is a good trick. However, only the Chosen One can spin outside of a starfighter. Palpatine tried spinning, but he lost due to this technique (but this was intentional, as losing gave him the emotional high ground when Anakin arrived). The reason for this is that spinning provides a yin-yang approach to combat (based in Eastern philosophy on balance), giving the spinner the high ground from above and below. Only the Chosen One can master the spin, as it is their destiny to maintain balance in the universe. This is why Obi-Wan was so emotional after defeating Vader on Mustafar; he expected to lose the high ground to the spin, but Anakin fell to the dark side and could no longer use his signature trick, becoming the very thing he swore to destroy. Additionally, Anakin told Obi-Wan that, from [his] point of view, the Jedi are evil. This broadens Anakins mind to the concept of relativity in the context of the moral high ground, a mere step away from tactical comprehension.

Anakin doesnt hate sand for the reasons he told Padme; all Jedi hate sand, as the battlefield can rapidly change between low and high ground on multiple vectors, so your perspective must be from a certain three-dimensional point of view in order to comprehend who holds the high ground. This is the only reason why Obi-Wan killed Maul in Rebels. This is also the reason why Obi-Wan hates flying; there is no gravity in space, therefore there is no high or low ground from any frame of reference (This also negates the spinning trick). In ANH, Vader proves his newfound mastery by engaging Obi on perfectly even ground. However, Obi-Wan intentionally sacrifices himself on the Death Star, so that he could train Luke from a higher plane of existence, thereby giving him the metaphysical high ground.

Why was Vader so invested in the construction and maintenance of the Death Star? Because he knows Obi-wan cant have the high ground if theres no ground left. As seen through the events of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan was known to be on friendly terms with Senator Organa, whose homeworld held large quantities of mountainous terrain, the perfect habitat for a Jedi Master. Grand Moff Tarkin was already in position to destroy Alderaan as a first target, as the distance from Scarif to Alderaan was too vast to reach between the escape and recapture of the Tantive IV, even at 1.0 lightspeed. Alderaan had been the initial target all along, as Obi-Wan with the high ground was the primary threat to the Death Star. How? Because a moon-sized space station would have some form of gravitational pull, thereby negating Obi-Wans zero-gravity weakness; Obi-Wan with the perpetual high-ground in a low-orbit starfighter would easily be able to fire proton torpedoes through a ventilation shaft, although the Empire was uncertain of the specific weakness of the Death Star planted by Galen Erso (who was a good friend).

<p>In Return of the Jedi, you can see that the Throne Room contains a variety of different altitudes; Palpatine placed these there to ensure Vaders defeat. However, Sheev failed to realize that his weakness was no ground, and should have covered that useless gaping pit which does nothing.

<p>A common misconception is the idea of a prostrate position version of the high ground, wherein Obi-Wan lies flat on his back, giving him tactical superiority from his point of view. However, this strategy is futile, as for the high ground to come into effect, there must be a differential between parties on both the x-axis and y-axis to a moderately significant variation from both absolutes (Angles only a Sith would deal in). For Obi-Wans high ground powers to be in full effect, he must stand between 15 and 75 degrees (π/12 to 5π/12 radians) diagonal from his opponent(s) on any quadrant of the area circle; this has been dubbed the Trigonometric Perspective Diagram. The total effect for conventional high ground advantage can be calculated via the MetaComm Equation, or f(x) = lim 0→x π/12 | 7π/12 5π/12 | 11π/12 Ʃ(x) (2tan(x) / 3sin(x) + (log10Δ)) * cΦ

Δ = distance on hypotenuse (meters)

Φ = Surrounding Force [c (variable) * β (Earth Gravity) * (pressure (psi)/2.2)]

<p>&#39;x&#39; refers to the angle of contact between the two parties on, with advantage being based purely on position on the Y-axis, as the vast majority of force users base their perception on elevation rather than spacial relativity. The power of gravitational force has great effect on the high ground; too weak, and the high ground holds no traction; too strong and the ground becomes the real enemy. Experimentation has proven that the high ground typically holds significant value between .8 and 1.4 β (Earth Gravities) with maximum impact standing roughly equal to 1.05.</p>

Pressure is equally important, as it is a surrounding force attached to gravity (the high ground has famously low impact in aquatic environments). Pressure(λ) is measured in pounds per square inch (psi), to be used as a gravity multiplier (or division if pressure is sub-atmospheric; Φ (Surrounding Force) is a variable defined as β * 2.2λ , with no metric value assigned due to its singular application in the MetaComm equations.

In situations regarding Obi-Wan and his relativistic point of view, you must substitute the Quadrilateral MetaComm Equation (the Jedi Master function), f(x) = lim 0→x minmaxƩ (2tan(x) / 3sin(x) ) * (1.2)cΦ [min = (|cos(x)| = 1) | (|sin(x)| = 1) + π/12 ), max = (|cos(x)| = 1) | (|sin(x)| = 1) + 5π/12 ].

The viable Φ field is expanded, as Obi-Wan has taken advantage of the high ground in so many different environments that he simply uses it more efficiently, and the min/max values apply due to his multidimensional point of view, evidenced by the Trigonometric Perspective Diagram. Additionally, the distance factor does not affect Obi-Wan, as spacetime can be perseptively compressed, giving him the ideal Δ value from his point of reference.

In conclusion, Obi-Wan abuses spatial relativity and Taoist doctrine in order to always invoke his high-ground powers. To properly analyze the strategic genius of Kenobi, one must hold advanced knowledge in Philosophy, Mathematics, and Calculus-based Physics, and be able to integrate these topics together.