Jedi Master Shak Toln sat silently in the cockpit of his ship, The Masters Refuge, as it drifted through space, currently aimless. These moments were often, but brief, and he liked to use them to reflect upon his life. He would often times rethink moments where he had acted less than in accordance with the Jedi code, times when the dark side had called to him, and how the many padawans he had trained had fallen to the temptation he so stalwartly withstood. He stood and sighed, pacing about the ship for the fifth time that day. He was currently in orbit around Tatooine, the sandy planet of the Jawa’s and the Tusken raiders. He was currently waiting for the latest assignment from the Jedi council, which was taking much longer than he had anticipated. He had completed his mission here weeks ago and reported back to the council, via hologram projector. He had been told to stay close to the planet until further notice, which was taking far longer than it should have. “Have I failed them somehow?” he asked himself as he paced. “No, they would have said so. Maybe they have a new padawan for me to train…. No, no, I told them I would never train another padawan.” he said, stopping to look at himself in the mirror for a brief moment. He was a decent specimen, in fine physical condition for his age, which was about fifty-three. His hair and eyes were both grey, the former usually kept in a long ponytail. He also wore a goatee, though it was difficult to pick out due to it’s color. His skin was a pale tan hue, and anyone could tell he hadn’t slept in quite some time. He sighed as he brought his humble dark brown robes closer around him, covering his traditional shirt, and not so traditional armor that was overtop of it. He was about to walk to the cargo hold to find some nutrient sticks when his communications unit came to life with a distress call.

“Hello? Hello? Is there anyone out there?” came a feminine voice, sounding hopeful. Master Toln answered immediately.

“Yes, hello? Who is this?” he asked.

“Who I am is not important, who you are, on the other hoof, is.” came the voice. At first he was confused by the reference to a hoof instead of a hand, but pushed it aside.

“I am Master Shak Toln, of the Jedi order. Where are you, and why is your signal classified as a distress call?” he asked calmly.

“I am sending the coordinates now. As for the distress signal, you’ll see when you arrive. You may very well be my only hope, Master Toln.” said the voice before the channel was disconnected. He was confused. Why would they send a distress signal and not tell what was causing them to require aid? He sighed as his astromech droid Spoke to him in its language of ambient sound.

“You got those co-ordinates, R3?” he received a reply and walked towards the combat information center of his ship, where the hologram projector was housed. “Good, set up a com link with the council, and transfer those coordinates. I want to know where I’m going, and why.” he said as he began powering up the projector. Soon the projector was alive with the forms of the Jedi council. Master Vandar was the first to speak.

“Master Toln, it is good to see you are well.” said the short brown colored being. His species had been in existence almost as far back as the Jedi archives could remember, yet there was no record of their official name or home planet, which was odd.

“And you as well, Councilor. Did you receive the coordinates I sent you?” he was answered by a fellow human, Master Kroton Shaknar.

“Yes we did. I searched the archives for any mention of this planet, but there is none. It is likely uncharted, and thus uninhabited, if it exists at all. Where did you receive these coordinates, Master Toln?” he asked, a strange look on his face.

“I received a distress signal moments ago from an unidentified source. They transferred the coordinates to me, asking that I come to their aid. I would like leave to investigate the situation, and render what aid I can.” he said, his arms folded into the opposite sleeves. The council spoke amongst themselves for a moment before Master Vandar turned back to Toln with an answer.

“You are herby granted leave to investigate the distress signal issued by the uncharted planet, Master Toln. Report back to us with your findings. May the force be with you.”

“And with you as well, Councilor.” he said as he deactivated the projector and walked back to the cockpit. “R3, pull us out of orbit and prepare the ship for light speed.” he said as he entered the coordinates that his trusty droid had relayed to him earlier. But something deep down told him he should be wary, and it put him on edge.
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Lyra was pacing back and forth in the living room, not knowing what to do with the energy her excitement gave her. Years of research, studying, and testing had all come to this moment. She had finally finished her long distance communicator, that she believed could reach beings far off into the galaxy. She still had yet to test it, but she had a good feeling that it would work. She knew she would be able to contact an extraequestrial, and maybe even a human if she was lucky, but she didn’t bother get her hopes up. “You know, if you keep pacing like that, you’re going to wear a hole into the floor.” said her roommate, and original owner of the house, Bon-Bon.

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just so excited! Do you have any idea what it will mean to all of equestria if I actually manage to contact something!?” she said, barely able to contain the excitement in her voice.

“That you’re not crazy after all?” she said, instantly regretting it. They had been best friends since foalhood, but Lyra had always taken other ponies calling her “Crazy” or “Odd” very hard. At this moment, her look of joy instantly turned to one of depression, her sparkling yellow eyes losing the shine they had just moments earlier. “Oh, Lyra, I’m so sorry, I-I-I-I didn’t really think about what I was saying, I didn’t mean it, it’s just….” she tried to explain, trailing off at the end, not knowing where to go from there.

“No, no, you’re right. I am crazy, aren’t I?” Lyra said with a sad chuckle. “I mean, seriously, what are the odds of me being able to contact a being thousands of light-years away?” she said, yearningly looking out the window into the star filled night sky, looking beyond Luna’s moon, far into space. Bon-Bon only sighed, knowing how hard the words would hit Lyra, especially coming from her.

“Well, I’m going to bed, alright? Don’t stay up to late, you’ve been up all night the past few days, and it isn’t good for your health.” she said as she walked towards her bedroom. Lyra continued looking out the window, a mournful sigh leaving her lungs as she did so. She waited until Bon-Bon was asleep before returning to the communicator, a large box shaped machine with an old looking microphone, and activated it. She took a deep breath as she set it to a random frequency, and began to speak into it. “Hello?” at first all she received was static. “Hello? Is anyone out there?”