Bounty Hunter Anon

Chapters

On the Trail
A Dangerous Addiction
The Pursuit
Payday
Phoning a Friend
Rarity
Just This Once
A Darkness in the Desert
Recovery
Getting Back on Track
Digging Around the Dugs
Setting a Trap
Trixie
Dark Secrets
A Favor for a Hutt
Intervention
Bygones
Old Wounds and New Fears
Bad Blood
The Force
Rescue Mission
Well Enough Alone
Monsters
Uncomfortable Silence
Hide and Seek
The Bridge
Home Stretch
Last One Out, Get the Lights
Aftermath
That New Upgrade Smell
Making Amends
Going for a Drive

On the Trail

Opening Crawl:
https://starwarsintrocreator.kassellabs.io/?ref=redirect#!/CMHwLJoxqcdWrMGewnMU

The sounds of various speeders zooming above and below you, accompanied by the hustle of people all around, was enough to drive anyone unfamiliar with it mad. Known for its infamous reputation, along with its stench, Nar Shaddaa was definitely no place to tread lightly.

You grin as you take a deep breath through the nose. Man, you love this place.

Turning a corner, you take a quick scan at all the luminescent signs and platforms that occupy the building adjacent to the walkway you're currently on. Your helmet's rangefinder zooms in on a few signs that catch your attention, but unfortunately, your search bares no fruit, and you continue along the walkway.

You press a button on your gauntlet and speak into your comms. "Sunset, you got your ears on?"

Your lovely partner's static voice comes back through your earpiece. "For you, Anon, always."

"I'm having a bit of trouble finding the place." You say. "Read me Adagio's bio again. I might have missed something."

She chuckles. "Sure thing. As usual, I have to come in and save the day."

You grin. "Where would I be without you?"

"Probably on your ass somewhere on Raxus Prime or something." She replies matter-of-factly.

You give her a laugh at that. She's probably right.

Your target's picture and bio come up on your helmet's HUD, and Sunset reads it to you. "Adagio Dazzle. 20,000 credits, wanted alive. Works as a dancer for various nightclubs, entertainment outlets, and crime lords. She's stolen a variety of goods from her clients through some form of... hypnosis, and is gone without a trace the next morning. Wanted for questioning. Bounty was posted by Senator Hoity Toity on Coruscant."

You hum as you look at her picture. "Looks like our dear senator got more than he bargained for with her."

"Ain't that the truth." Sunset replies.

You read her bio silently for a few seconds before replying. "Is that all the info we have on her?"

"Looks like it." She says.

'Damn it.' You think.

You take a right and head down another walkway. This one, like all the others on this planet, is crowded with all manner of alien species. Speeders are flying to and fro overhead as well. You push past a few people as you continue talking to Sunset.

"Why not come back to the ship, Anon?" She says. "She might not even be here yet. We can brainstorm and come up with another plan."

You shake your head. "No. Sonata Dusk said that Nar Shaddaa was her next hit."

Sunset hums. "Well, even if she was lying, at least we got her bounty."

You just shake your head again. "Sonata was terrified when we caught her. She didn't seem too bright, but she knew enough to know that a lie would get her killed. Adagio is here. I know it. We just need to find her."

She sighs. "Alright, if you say so. Going off what we know about her, it sounds like she only goes after high-up, posh places and people."

There's a cantina coming up on your right. "I agree." You say. "She wouldn't be able to do that right away though. She would have to work her way up. If what Sonata said is true, then it's not likely that she would be up there yet."

You head toward the cantina and move past a few more people gathering around the entrance. It doesn't look five-star, but it isn't a dive bar either. You enter the club and tone out the chatter around you.

"Anon, there are tons of clubs in this district alone." Sunset says. "It would take forever to find her."

You head towards the bartop. "I know. But she doesn't seem like the kind of person who lowers her standards too far. I'd start somewhere in the middle if I were her. I'm in a middle-tier club right now. I'm going to look around for anything out of the ordinary. We've got to start somewhere."

Sunset sighs again. "If you insist. There's another club near me. I'll scope that place out."

"Alright. Let me know what you find." You switch off your comms and take a seat at the bar. Taking off your helmet, you tap the Ithorian bartender's shoulder and set a few credits on the counter. "Get me a Bantha Blaster." He takes the credits and turns around to prepare your beverage, saying nothing.

You turn around to look at the club around you. There are dancers providing entertainment, but none of them are Adagio. Most of them are Twi'leks. Around them, patrons are drinking while others are cheering and whooping at the assorted screens along the walls. Podracing, Swoop Racing, Duels and various other sports are playing on them. Nothing seems out of the ordinary for a cantina.

You sigh. 'This is going to take a while...' You think to yourself.

The Ithorian gets your attention after a minute and you turn around to see your pink and green drink on the bar in front of you. You take it and give it a small swig. It's got a tangy taste with a little kick, but nothing too strong. You're on a job right now.

On your right, you see a human come up to the bar, clearly inebriated. "Hey bartender! Ge'me 'nother one!" The Ithorian replies in his native language, pointing at him accusingly. The man raises his hands in front of him. "Nono! Thish'll be m'last one! I promise!" The Ithorian sighs and starts making the beverage. The human giggles and sloppily sets a hand on your shoulder, going up to you and whispering loudly. "Thesh guys'll buy anything y'tell 'em... Gullible pricksh, I tell ya."

"Right..." You take his hand off your shoulder and he starts laughing again. His breath stinks.

"You Mandosh need to stop being all serioush all the time! Lighten up, bud!" He slurrs. This part of the job is your least favorite: dealing with the locals.

"Well, when I want to party hard, I'll definitely go to you first, alright?" You take another sip of your drink. "How long have you been partying like this tonight?"

His smile fades some and he looks at you. "Oh no... Nononono... The real party hasn't even shtarted yet.." He sits down on the stool next to you and pulls out a few red and yellow tubes from his pocket. "You know what these are?"

"Death sticks." You reply flatly.

He smiles and nods. "Yeah buddy, but these are special kinds of death sticks..."

You narrow your eyes at him. You don't like how he said that. "Special?"

He nods and holds out a red one to you. "Makesh ya really know how to party. First one's free!"

You take the drug and look at it. A 'special' kind of death stick seems peculiar. You decide to humor him and act interested. "Sounds fun. When did these pop up?"

"Thes'ns have been going around for a little while and they're all the buzz around here! If you wanna party, this is how ya do it!" He says as he stumbles.

No way in hell are you going to ever take death sticks, but you've got a funny feeling about this one. One of Mandalore's lessons is to trust your instincts. Right now, they're telling you that these are very bad news.

You set the vial in a pouch on your belt and look at the man, setting your hand on his shoulder. "You know what? You're right. I do need to lighten up a bit." You grab your drink and hold it up, grinning at him. "You get started, bud. I'll finish this and join you later."

He laughs and grabs his new drink, clinking it against yours. "Alright! Thatsh what I like to hear!"

He gets up and wanders away, taking a few big gulps of his drink as he does. He stumbles and falls down over a chair a few seconds later, causing a few other patrons to laugh at him.

Your smile fades and you set your drink down. Putting your helmet back on, you walk out of the club and make a left, heading back to your ship. You contact Sunset. "Sunset, are you at that club yet?"

She replies after a few seconds. "Almost. Find anything?"

"Maybe. This guy gave me a free hit on a 'special' kind of death stick, and it gave me a bad vibe. I'm going to head back to the ship and analyze it. See if you can find a similar story."

"How does this relate to Adagio exactly?" She asks.

You shake your head. "I don't know if it does, but I'm going with my gut on this one."

She sighs again. "Alright, you're the boss." She clearly doesn't buy it.

You switch off your comms and continue on your way back to the docking bays.

Author's Note

Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler's Moon.

A Dangerous Addiction

Making your way to the docking bays took a lot longer than you thought. Your search for Adagio took up the majority of your attention before, so you didn't notice it. As you enter the docking bays, you head to platform 34 and spot your IW7C-1RD class fighter vessel, your pride and joy.

You step aboard and make your way to the main hold's computer, closing the ramp behind you and removing your helmet before you take out the death stick. Pressing a button on the central terminal, you insert it into the analysis chamber. It will take a couple minutes to fully analyze its chemical makeup, so you decide to review your hit list on the screen to your right.

Adagio has two other associates, each with prices on their own heads. One of them, Sonata Dusk, you already turned in for 2,500 credits about a week ago. On your way back to Coruscant, you interrogated her and she spilled everything she knew about Adagio's plans. The next one, Aria Blaze, has a 5,000 credit price on her head. Sonata knew next to nothing about her; she said she was mean and always kept to herself. You'll ask Adagio about her when you get her.

Your comms beep and Sunset's voice comes on in your ear. "You were right about those death sticks, Anon. They really do sound like bad news." She says. "I asked the bartender if he heard anything about them. He said that they had started popping up about a week ago, and they make people act weirder than normal death sticks do."

You put a finger to your earpiece. "Were there any vendors there?"

"A few." She says. "I got my hands on a couple to analyze. I'm literally walking up to the ship now."

"Good work." You hum. "How did you get a hold of them?"

"I was charming." You hear the smile on her face as she speaks.

You grin. "It's a shame I missed that. You're good at being charming."

She chuckles. "Well let me in the ship and I'll give you a little private show..."

"Oh my." You smirk. You glance at the screen on the wall to see Sunset at the base of your ship, looking up at the camera with her sideways grin and waving. Her helmet is in her hands. You press a button and lower the ramp for her. She steps aboard, holding three death sticks in her hand. You shoot your eyebrows up some. "Three of them?"

"All for free." She says as she approaches you. "They were passing them around like candy." You take them from her and hold them up to the light. "I knew death sticks were addictive, but not this addictive."

"Normally, they aren't." You reply. You take them over to the computer and insert them into the chamber. As you press the button, you get the analysis results from your first sample and look it over. "I knew it. Death sticks are made from the common ixetal plant, but this one is loaded with a powerful neurotoxin. It looks like it can deteriorate the brain and inhibit the user's ability to think rationally until eventually, they just go brain-dead after a short period of time."

Sunset rereads the results again very carefully. "If it inhibits a person's brain functions, it could probably make them very open to something like hypnosis."

You nod. "That's what I'm thinking too. Either that, or Adagio is a rogue Jedi using her mind powers and this is just a freak coincidence."

Sunset smirks. "I don't believe that."

"Neither do I." You think to yourself for a moment. "I'd like to see exactly what goes on in a person's head with these death sticks in effect. We should test it." You look at her again. "See if any lesser bounties are posted on Nar Shaddaa. Preferably those wanted dead."

She nods. "Oh, I see what you're thinking. Good idea, Anon."

She goes to the computer and starts searching the Bounty Hunter Guild's database while you head into the ship's armory to equip some possible necessities you'll need to get Adagio. With the chance of her working with, and dealing out death sticks as fast as they're going around, she'll probably have enough cash to buy guards. You grab some blaster packs, thermal detonators, your jetpack with the built-in missile launcher, and an extra fuel tank for your flamethrower.

You finish loading a few more darts into your wrist bound dartcaster when Sunset calls to you. "I've got a bunch on here. Most of them are dead or alive though."

You walk out into the main hold. "Anything in common with them?"

She shakes her head. "Not really, as far as offenses go. Lots of them are relatively low on the chain to be worth the effort... Looks like quite a few on here enjoy the pit fights and duels though... I'll send them all to your ID scanner."

You nod and don your helmet as you make your way to disembark the ship and swiftly walk back toward the docking bays. After a moment or two, a picture of a male Trandoshan with white and light-red scales pops up on your HUD.

Sunset reads his description to you over your comms. "Okay, this guy stuck out to me. It was posted by the Hutts a few hours ago. His name is Fizzle, worth 700 credits, wanted dead for extortion. It says here that he used to be one of the Hutts' best 'negotiators', using that term loosely, no doubt, when he started overstepping his boundaries and demanded more than what he was promised. He, too, likes the dueling rings and pit fights here."

"Posted by the Hutts, huh?" You look up at the murky brown planet you're currently orbiting. "Nal Hutta is right there. We could grab this guy and test our death sticks on him until he dies. Then we can find Adagio, and make our way to Coruscant and get paid."

"That's what I was thinking too." She says. "Any idea where to start looking?"

"There's a dueling arena not too far away from here." You say. "I'll try my luck there."

"Okay. I've already sent you the rest of the bounties I found." She says.

Already, your HUD indicates that your systems info has been updated. "Thanks, love."

You cut your comms and break out into a jog as you head through the building toward the arena. Once you make it out into the open, you run into the usual crowd of people you're used to on this planet. You move through them as you slowly but surely make your way to the arena.

You bump into a green Twi'lek and he starts cursing you out, but immediately stops when he actually looks at you. The T-shaped visor on a Mandalorian's helmet strikes fear into the hearts of so many. He continues on his way, saying nothing else as you continue on yours.

After a few minutes of walking, your comms beep again and Sunset starts speaking. "I just got the results back from my three death sticks, Anon. Same story as yours. They're all loaded with that neurotoxin."

"That's not good." You reply. "Hopefully this lead doesn't turn into a wild Bantha chase. If Adagio really is behind this, I'd like to try and shut her production down also."

"Isn't being the good guy going a bit out of your way?" She asks.

You scoff. "I'm only going to look into it if this lead is legitimate. If it isn't, then I guess we'll have to swear off drugs forever."

She giggles. "Shouldn't be too hard. Death sticks are disgusting... You almost there?"

You nearly bump into someone else as you continue walking. "I'm going as fast as I can, but there are a lot of people in my way. I may have to use a more..." You look up to the nearby rooftops. "...scenic approach." You grin and head over to a relatively open spot on the walkway.

"Anon, if you go using your jetpack around the arena, you'll stick out like a sore thumb." She cautions.

"Then I'll just stick to the rooftops and look from afar until I find this guy." You reply as you get to the base of a nearby building. "Why be just quick or just stealthy when you can be both quick and stealthy?"

She giggles again. "Whatever, Anon. I'll get the medical stuff prepared for our lab rat."

You shut off your comms and look up to the nearest building's rooftop. Pressing a button on your gauntlet, your jetpack rumbles for half a second before roaring to life and propelling you into the air. It takes a matter of seconds to reach the rooftop. Once you set foot on the roof, you shut off your jetpack and then jog over to the opposite edge of the building.

Looking down, you see the entrance to the arena a few buildings away. There are even more people crowded around there than there are on the walkways directly below you. Getting there will be exponentially easier with your jetpack. You activate it again and fly over to the next closest building.

As you fly, you look all around at the ecumenopolis you're in the middle of. Speeders, lights and skyscrapers cover this whole entire city, and this city covers the whole entire planet. It's no wonder why they call Nar Shaddaa "Little Coruscant".

Once you land on the upcoming building, you quickly make your way over to the edge to look down at the crowd once again. Using your ID scanner, you zoom in to do a quick sweep of the random faces in the crowd. With nearly every face you view, your scanner tells you that no bounties have been posted. One or two pop up with a bounty posted on them, but they're wanted alive. You consider going after them for a moment to bide your time, but finally, you find your Trandoshan.

"Gotcha." You whisper to yourself. You mark him as he makes his way along the walkway toward the neon-lit door to the arena.

You're about to take off toward the next building over when something else catches your attention, forcing you to double-take. Just for a second, you thought you saw a strange, bright orange spot somewhere in the crowd. You carefully sweep over the gaggle of faces again, but see nothing of immediate interest.

Then, you see the orange spot again. Its on a higher walkway, just above the crowd, inside the arena building behind some glass. It's someone's hair. A female's. You zoom in on her, but you can't see her face. She's making her way to your left, and you see that she's talking to a few armed guards.

Finally, she turns around, speaking directly to the guards while giving you a good look at her face. You quickly zoom in closer and scan her.

Your HUD lights up as it recognizes her face. ADAGIO DAZZLE: WANTED ALIVE BY SENATOR HOITY TOITY FOR A SUM OF 20,000 REPUBLIC CREDITS.

Author's Note

Mandalorian Sunset Shimmer

The Pursuit

You grin under your helmet as you mark Adagio. "Well aren't I the lucky one?" You zoom out and stand up, both her and Fizzle are highlighted on your HUD. You activate your comms. "Sunset, I found her."

There's a slight pause before she replies. "Who? Fizzle?"

"Both him, and Adagio. They're here at the arena right now." You continue watching Adagio's movements.

"She's the priority, Anon." Sunset reminds you. "If you can get Fizzle too, great. Just make sure you get her."

"Don't worry, I know." You reply. "She's surrounded by guards. Warm up the ship, and be ready in case I need you. This could escalate real quick."

You turn off your comms and take a deep breath before leaping off the edge of the building, going into free fall for a few seconds as your altitude drops. Before you pick up too much speed, you activate your jetpack and fly across the gap between the two buildings. After a few seconds of flying, you land on the walkway just curving around the building right next to the arena. The landing was a bit harder than you intended it to be, but you shake it off and start jogging toward the arena.

A few bystanders stare and point as you proceed, no doubt eyeing your jetpack. You either run past them or shove them out of your way as you move toward the arena. No time for manners.

As you approach the entrance, you slow down to a brisk walk, trying to look as casual as you can as you head inside. There's a big crowd of people waiting in line to see a pit fight against two Rancors. It looks like a championship series.

Your HUD has marked and is still tracking both Fizzle and Adagio inside this building. It will continue to do so until they get out of your range, or you manually shut it off. Fizzle is in a line conversing with a few others close to you, and Adagio's marker is on the next floor up. You're standing directly beneath her location.

On your right, you walk towards some stairs leading up to the second story bar and head up. This room is crowded with patrons, all of them laughing, drinking, passing around death sticks and getting ready to watch the fight. The perimeter of this room is surrounded by armed security guards.

Acting casual, you follow Adagio's marker through the crowd of people, making sure to move both discreetly and quickly until finally, you spot her. She's dressed in a skimpy two-piece outfit, and she's doing a little dance for some rich-looking human male, who is currently holding a drink, and seems to be having the time of his life. She gives a sexy dance move and hands him a death stick, which he happily accepts. Looks like your hunch was right. Adagio is the one dealing the death sticks around the city.

You could go right in, capture her now and fight your way out, but that could be risky with her as cargo. She could get hit, and she's no good to you dead.

That's one option. The other is you could play with her for a bit and have some fun. Maybe get a chase going on. It would make it easier to kill her security escort. She wouldn't be in the way as much if she's sending them after you.

The latter option sounds more appealing. It's been a long night, and you're bored. You could use a bit of excitement.

You remove your helmet and hold it under your arm. Leaning up against a handrail with a smirk on your face, you make sure you are standing behind the man she's dancing for, so you're within her line of sight. All you need to do now is wait for her to spot you.

After a few sultry turns, spins, and twerks, she faces her client, getting a quick glance at you while she does. She does a double-take at you, and her smile slowly fades as you stare at each other. You just sit there, your smirk never fading as you continue to look into her eyes.

As she stares at you, her client starts slurring at her. "Hey! Hey, gorgeous! Why'd ya stop?!" She ignores him and slowly tenses up. Now that she's alert, you give her a sinister grin. Her eyes go wide open with horror.

Suddenly, she bolts off in the opposite direction toward the back door. You whip your helmet back on and book it right behind her. She angrily points at you and screams at two nearby security guards. "Kill him! Kill that bounty hunter!"

The guards to your left and right raise their blasters at you. "Stop!"

In one motion, you remove your blaster pistol from your hip holster and shoot the guard on your left in the chest. He immediately goes down and the other guard shoots at you once. He misses, and you shoot back at him, hitting him in the face and killing him instantly.

As he goes down, the room explodes in a frenzy of panic and screaming. A few guards from behind you make their way toward you, but you ignore them as you proceed after Adagio. The panicked bystanders should distract them long enough to buy you time. You vault over a railing and onto one of the stages. A few other dancer girls who were once using it are now running away from you or cowering in fear as you run past them and head back to the changing room after Adagio.

She reaches the back door and runs through it into the next hallway. You're just seconds behind her. She turns her head to look at you as she runs, her eyes filled with anger and fear. If she could see your face under your helmet, she'd be even angrier at the fact that you're smiling right now. This part of the job is always so much fun.

She faces forward and continues down the hallway as fast as she can. You shoot a few blasts at her left and right, intentionally missing in hopes of scaring her enough to make her trip. She shrieks in terror as your blaster fire hits the floor and walls around her, but continues running. "Leave me alone!"

She makes a left down another hallway and heads straight into a group of her guards. You slow your pace and she turns around as she reaches the middle of the group, using them as shields.

"I'm going to my speeder!" She points at you. "Triple pay to whoever kills him!"

You growl under your breath and ready the blaster rifle on your back, watching her continue down the hall and heading outside. The guards around her all face and charge you. A few of them begin firing.

You spray blasterfire back into the crowd, hitting a few of them in the process. Some of them go down. In turn, a few of their blaster bolts hit you as well. Your armor is strong enough to prevent any significant harm, but even Beskar won't protect you forever. Especially under this much fire.

You activate your jetpack and fly over the crowd, still returning fire. Now that you're an aerial target, you are much harder to hit, and nearly every one of their bolts misses you. You fly directly over them and, using your non-firing hand, you grab one of your thermal detonators and arm it. You drop it into the bulk of the crowd as you fly over them. They start yelling as you land behind them and run after Adagio again. Just as the door closes behind you, you feel and hear the explosion on the other side.

You're now in a public space, somewhere in the rear of the building. A few bystanders are here and looking at you in fear and confusion. They likely heard the explosion. You look around for Adagio's marker on your HUD. She's running around a corner to your left down a corridor labeled 'Parking'.

"Oh no you don't..." You grit your teeth and continue your pursuit.

As you round the same corner, you see her frantically pressing buttons on a terminal and pounding on the thick glass door in front of her. She's locked in. "Come on! COME ON! LET ME OUT!"

You grin and slow your pace, your blaster rifle at the ready. "Quit running, Adagio. You're done."

She whips around to face you and presses her back against the door. Panting heavily, she backs up further against the door, as if doing so will cause it to magically unlock. "Stay back, Mandalorian... I'm... I'm warning you."

You ignore her command. "Empty threats won't do you any good. Just come along quietly."

She scowls and reaches up to a red jewel that's around her neck and touches it, causing it to glow. Then, she shrieks. "NEVEEEEEEEEERRR!!!"

Adagio screams at you louder than anything you've ever heard before in your life. The volume and intensity makes you instinctively try to cover your ears over your helmet, and you drop your blaster rifle in the process, but of course, covering your ears is impossible right now. You cry out in agony and drop to your knees as the entire world around you is drowned out by the sound of her intense shriek. The glass door behind her shatters into pieces as a result. You fall over and writhe on the ground as her shriek continues for a few more seconds.

Finally, she stops and you're left with this horrible ringing in your ears. You open your eyes to see that Adagio is gone. Your HUD indicates that she's just outside and getting further away.

'How the hell did she do that?!' You think to yourself. You shakily stand back up, grab your blaster rifle and head outside to the parking lot after her. Your ears are going to be ringing for a while, you can already tell.

On your left, you see her making her way towards a long black speeder that's parked on the opposite side of the lot. It looks like a nice ride. Playtime's over though.

You activate your helmet's targeting system and lock on to it. A second later, you press a button on your gauntlet, and the short-range missile on your jetpack launches into the air and heads straight for it. Adagio skids to a stop as the missile screams past her and explodes into the speeder. The shockwave from the explosion sends her flying backwards and she lands on her back a few feet away. As the fire from the explosion rises into the air, she flinches and curls into a ball.

You press a button on your gauntlet and send a signal to Sunset before you launch yourself into the air and fly over to Adagio. She uncurls herself from her ball and stares at the explosion in horror. She then looks up to you as you descend right in front of her.

Once you land, you take a few steps toward her, your rifle aimed between her eyes the whole time. She pants and starts to reach up to the jewel around her neck again, but before she reaches it, you fire at her left arm and she cries out in pain.

"Oh no, you aren't doing that again..." You growl.

She grabs her injured arm tight and tears start to flow down her cheeks. She stares up at you, her eyes brimming with hatred. When you reach her, you stoop down to grab the jewel around her neck and yank it off.

"No! That's mine!" She protests.

You stand up and hold the jewel in your hand. Adagio grabs your leg and starts hitting you. In return, you turn your rifle around and hit her on the head, just hard enough to bruise. She cries out again and falls backwards.

You point your rifle at her head again. "Don't move, Adagio. Or else I'll blast your other arm."

She starts sniffling and whimpering. "Y-You... You bastard..." She looks up at you with that same spiteful look.

You shrug. "In this galaxy, you have to do whatever it takes to make a living." You put away your rifle and grab a non-lethal tranquilizer dart from your belt. "You give out deadly drugs, and I capture people like you. That's my job." You load the dart in your wrist-bound dartcaster and aim it at her neck. "This is nothing personal, it's just business." You fire it right into her neck.

She gasps and goes tense for a second or two before her eyes flutter and her body starts to go totally limp. Her breathing slows and she slumps over onto her side.

You just look at her for a few moments and sigh. "About damn time." You open your palm and look at her jewel that you took. You're going to have to check it out more thoroughly later, but for now, you put it away and turn on your comms. "Sunset, we are now 20,000 credits richer."

Sunset cheers on the other end. "Great job, Anon!"

You grin as she talks. You love it when she's this happy. "Where are you?" You ask.

Just as you say that, you hear the familiar rumbling of your ship. You turn around to see it rise up from below the edge of the building. Sunset is smiling at you from the pilot's seat. "Right here! Get her aboard and let's go cash her in."

"Oh, yes ma'am." You reply.

You grin and pick Adagio up, carrying her over your shoulder, but you remember that you had also marked Fizzle, so you turn around to check if you can still see him, but you don't. He's too far away now. The commotion you caused must have spooked him. Oh well. He was hardly worth your time anyway.

You head to your ship. It's hovering above the ground and the ramp has dropped. You step aboard and it closes behind you. When it's completely shut, you take Adagio to the cargo hold. The engines roar and the floor rumbles beneath your boots as Sunset takes off.

This ship isn't big enough to have an actual brig, so you had to make one. There was a cot behind a cage a bit smaller than a closet in the back corner of the cargo hold. It's cramped and uncomfortable, but that was kind of the point. The people you go after usually don't deserve five-star treatment.

You lay Adagio down on the cot and leave to grab an instant use medpack and a blanket for her when she wakes up. You return to treat her wounded arm that you had blasted before leaving her and closing the cage behind you. Once the cage is locked, you leave the cargo hold and make your way to the cockpit to join Sunset and sit down in the co-pilot seat next to her, sighing and feeling accomplished.

She looks over to you and smiles. "How you doing?"

You chuckle and smile back at her. "I'm doing much better now."

She chuckles and faces forward. "Well good. Imagine how you'll be feeling when we reach Hoity Toity's."

You grin at the thought. "20,000 credits." Sunset looks at you sternly. "Split 50/50, of course. Like always."

She smiles. "Just making sure."

You chuckle. "Aww, come on Sunset. You know I would never try to swindle you."

She giggles. "Yeah, I know. I just like to tease you."

You smile and look outside. You're almost out of the atmosphere. A few ships pass you as they both enter and leave Nar Shaddaa, but as you get further into space, traffic clears up. You set a course for Coruscant on the ship's navicomputer and lock it in. Sunset hits the throttle and the ship's hyperdrive blasts you off into lightspeed.

You stand up and stretch. "I'm going to go lay down for a bit. Try to sleep off the night a little.

Sunset looks up at you and smiles. "Sounds good."

You smile back and squeeze her shoulders. "You try and get some shuteye too, love."

She reaches up and squeezes your hand. "I'll try."

You release her and walk back to your room. Removing your armor and equipment, you lay down in your bed and shut your eyes. Despite almost going deaf, tonight was a great night.

Author's Note

Adagio Dazzle: Wanted Alive

Payday

"Ugh, I hate traffic..." Sunset grumbles.

Flying down to the surface of Coruscant is an absolute joke. With it being the Republic's capital, a popular tourist spot for off-worlders, and tons of other things you don't have the time to list, the number of ships coming and going was extremely high. The sky was already clogged with ships, and you were just barely entering the atmosphere. There was definitely wiggle room. This is a planet, after all. Sunset just didn't have as much as she wanted. She's not the most patient girl, and she really wanted to get to Senator Hoity Toity's.

She's sitting at the controls with her cheek resting on her fist, looking more frustrated than a Miraluka with a child's "I Spy" holodisk. You stand up out of the co-pilot's seat and head back into the ship. "I'm going to get Adagio ready."

She nods, not looking away from the viewport window. "Okay."

You approach the door to the cargo hold and it automatically opens. Inside the makeshift cell, Adagio is sitting there on her cot, wrapped in her blanket, looking tired and very angry.

"We're almost there." You announce. "You ready?"

She just scoffs under her breath, not making eye contact. You're going to take that as a yes.

You're about to turn and leave when you remember her jewel. You take it out of the pouch on your belt and hold it up to look at it for a moment. "Explain this to me, please."

She looks up at you and gets visibly angrier when she sees her jewel in your hand. She gets to her feet and presses against her cage. "Give that back to me! It's mine!"

She wouldn't be able to reach anyway, but you hold it away from her. "Tell me what it is and maybe I'll give it back. How did you do your... screeching thing before? I almost went deaf. I don't appreciate that."

She grits her teeth. "That's for ME to know! Now give. It. Back."

You raise an eyebrow at her. "You're really in no position to tell me what to do, you know." You start pacing back and forth in the cargo hold, holding the jewel up and acting like you're really interested in it. "You know, come to think of it, I do remember Sonata having a jewel like this around her neck too."

There's a momentary pause from Adagio. "...You got her?"

"Oh yeah." You nod. "She spilled her guts out about you being on Nar Shaddaa. I'm willing to bet that Aria has a gem just like this one too."

Adagio slams her hands on the cage. "Where is she?!"

You look back at her. "Where's Aria?"

She bangs on the cage a few more times, throwing a borderline tantrum. "Tell me where Sonata is!"

You just shrug. "I don't know. In prison, dead, maybe worse. I don't get paid to ask questions, I'm just the delivery boy." You lean forward and put your face directly in front of hers, making sure you have a good smug-looking grin on your face.

She's trying to find the best words to properly convey just how angry she is. "I'm... I'm gonna..." She's staring hate-filled daggers into your eyes and clenching her fists. She's actually shaking with intensity at how angry she is.

"Like I said before, this isn't personal." You flash an actual smile at her and turn away. "Like you, Aria is just business. I'll find her in one way or another. If you tell me where she is though, I'll be nice to her when I get to her. If you don't, then I can't promise anything." You hear her breathing hard behind you, still not saying anything. "I'll let you think about it until we reach the Upper City."

You step out of the cargo hold and shut the door behind you before walking up to the cockpit. Looking outside, you see that you're past all the traffic congestion.

"How's our little jailbird doing?" Sunset asks.

You smirk. "She's absolutely giddy."

Sunset grins and continues to fly toward the planet. You look at the jewel again and twist it around in your fingers. You're legitimately curious about this thing.

"How long until we reach the senator's building?" You ask.

"It won't be too much longer." Sunset presses another button. "We still have a little ways to go."

You nod at her and proceed back into the main hold. Approaching your computer, you open your scanner and set the jewel inside. "Scan." The computer whirs and hums as it analyzes the jewel. The screen in front of you loads for a few moments as it processes the information before turning up as [UNKNOWN]. You furrow your brow and scan it again. The result is the same. Now you're even more curious about this thing.

You take the jewel out and visually examine it again, feeling it with your thumb and turning it around a few times. "What are you?" You ask it, not expecting it to answer.

You stare at it for a moment longer before Sunset breaks your concentration from the cockpit. "Anon, we're almost there."

"Alright." You reply.

You give the jewel one last glance before putting it away again and heading back to the cockpit. Outside, the glistening skyscrapers and enormous buildings that make up the entire planet move around you as you approach the senator's apartment building. Sunset maneuvers the ship down to a platform and lowers the ship's landing gear. The ship slowly descends until it finally touches down.

She kills the engines and stands up to stretch, smiling at you. "We're here."

You smile back and head into the main hold to grab your gear. Putting your smaller jetpack on, you grab your helmet and head to the exit. "I'll let them know we're coming."

Sunset walks into your room, leaving your sight. "Want me to get our precious cargo ready?"

You shake your head. "No, not yet. She's still thinking about a secret she wants to tell me."

"Whatever you say." She replies.

You turn and press a button on the wall panel and lower the ramp. As you walk onto the platform, you don your helmet and head out into the sun, taking a look around at the massive city you're in the middle of. Buildings, skyscrapers, speeders, and ships as far as the eye could see. It was always a surreal experience being here.

A long walkway connects the landing platform you're on to an apartment building just ahead. You head toward the large door on its face. The door automatically opens as you approach, and you step inside to meet two Republic security officers standing in front of an inner door.

They turn to you and approach, tightening their grip on their blaster rifles as they do. "What's your business here?" One of them asks.

You stop and hold your hands out to your sides. "I'm a bounty hunter. I'm here to see Senator Hoity Toity. I've got something for him."

The guards look at each other before turning back to you. The one on the right stepping forward. "Who exactly are you?"

Maybe he didn't hear you the first time. You take one step toward him and look into his eyes. "A bounty hunter. Specifically, the one with Adagio Dazzle."

The guard looks a bit frustrated at you avoiding his question, but he eventually turns around and walks to a wall terminal. The other guard stands firm with his eyes glued on you. You merely glance at him and he immediately locks up and grips his rifle tighter, clearly nervous. A part of you wants to scare him and have some fun, but you resist that temptation in the name of professionalism.

The first guard presses a few buttons on the terminal and waits a moment or two before speaking quietly. "Senator? There's a Mandalorian here to see you... He says he's with an 'Adagio Dazzle'." You can't quite make out the reply, but the guard looks at you for a second before speaking again. "No sir, he's alone."

"Adagio is back on my ship." You motion toward the closed door behind you as you speak and the guard turns back to the terminal.

"He says that Adagio is on his ship..." He pauses. "But sir, I-... Yes sir." He turns off the terminal and walks back to you. "The senator says that he will be here in a few minutes. He wants to see Adagio with you when he arrives."

You give him a silent nod and do an about-face, heading out the door you came in through. Outside, you make your way across the walkway and head up the ramp back into your ship. Sunset is in the main hold and she's finishing getting herself ready. She's sporting her own Mandalorian armor as well.

Her armor is black with red and yellow secondary colors, and a purple accent. On her arms, she had designed some flames to make her look more intimidating. Her helmet was beside her. It was also black, red, and yellow. Her T-shaped visor had a purple tint. She rarely leaves the ship without it on. She looks damn good with it.

"That's what I'm talking about." You grin. She looks up at you and giggles.

You walk to the cargo hold and open the door. Stepping inside, you see Adagio sitting on her cot and brooding, right where you left her. "So! Decide on what you're going to share with me about our mutual friend?" She just looks up at you with a scowl. You stare back at her, waiting for a few moments in silence. When she doesn't give you an answer, you sigh and shake your head. "Well alright, if you're going to be like that. I don't think Aria will appreciate it though."

You walk over to the cage. "I want my jewel..." She says.

"Yeah? Well, I want a billion credits, my very own planet, and information about Aria, but apparently, none of those things are going to happen either." You press a few buttons on the panel to open the cage. "Don't you try anything..."

Once you open the cage, Adagio bursts to her feet and charges you. She slams into you, almost making you topple backwards, but you easily catch yourself. She hits you in the chest a few times and punches you in the face. Your visor absorbs the impact of course, and you instinctively block or take all of her hits without harm.

She clenches her teeth and prepares to swing at your face again, but you grab her fist and counter with a punch to the nose. She squeals and topples backwards, holding her nose.

You stand over her and hold your arms out questioningly. "What did I just say?" She looks back up to you with tears forming in her eyes. In a panic, she turns to her stomach and tries to bolt away from you on all fours. She barely reaches the doorway before an armored boot stomps in her way, making her scream again.

Sunset, now fully clad in her armor, stands over Adagio with a blaster rifle of her own pointed at her head. "I wouldn't try that if I were you, sister." She warns.

Adagio gulps and looks back at you. "I told you." You say.

She looks back up at Sunset before sighing and slumping down. "It's not fair... It's not fair..."

Sunset bends down and grabs Adagio's arm while you reach into one of your pouches and produce a pair of binders. You link them onto Adagio's wrists and grab her arm from Sunset. She's offering no resistance now.

The three of you head down the ramp and onto the walkway. You lead with Adagio in your tow and Sunset following behind her.

As you walk towards to the building ahead, the door opens and Senator Hoity Toity steps outside with the two guards on his left and right. A big smile is on his face. "Welcome, bounty hunters! Welcome! Welcome!" He exclaims jovially.

You meet each other halfway on the platform between your ship and his building. "We'll collect our reward now, Senator." You say.

"Oh yes, of course!" He snaps his fingers and the guard on his right approaches with a small metal case. The senator opens it and removes a handful of credits. You hold out your hand and he counts out 20,000 into it. "There you are! I trust you'll enjoy it."

He gives a smile as you hand them all to Sunset. "A pleasure doing business with you, Senator. She's all yours." You remove her binders before jerking your arm forward and throwing Adagio onto the ground in front of him. She looks at the senator and starts to shake somewhat. She shrinks away from him like she's a terrified animal.

His countenance darkens as he looks down at her with a more sinister smile than he had before. "Guards, take her inside."

The guards behind him come forward and pick her up to her feet as the senator watches. Adagio gives you one last look. It looks like she's begging you to save her. It's a look that almost makes you feel bad for turning her in. Almost. She's a manipulative drug dealer. She'll likely deserve whatever punishment she gets.

Out of nowhere, you ask, "What exactly did she do?"

He whips his gaze back to you, his smile immediately transforming into a hateful scowl. "You have your money, bounty hunters." He spat. "Our business has concluded, now leave."

That kind of disrespect really gets under your skin, but he's not wrong. Your business has concluded. You stand there for another small moment before turning away and heading back to your ship with Sunset. Hoity Toity and his guards don't move until you both walk back up the ramp. It closes behind you and you both head into the main hold.

She takes off her helmet and sets it on the large table in the center. "Well, that was rude of him." She runs her fingers through her hair until it bounces back to its original shape.

"Yeah it was, but he's right. It was none of our business." You say, taking your helmet off as well and setting it next to hers.

"Still, he could've been nicer about it." She says. "I mean, we did do as he asked."

You overexaggerate a sniff and grip your chest. "You're right... He... He hurt my feelings..." You quiver your lip and pretend to start crying, which makes Sunset laugh.

"Aww, poor baby. Lemme kiss it better." She giggles and leans in to kiss you on the cheek.

You drop the crybaby act and laugh, grabbing her arm before she can back away and steal another kiss from her. This time, on the lips. "Mmm, that's much better."

She smiles and pats your cheek before turning back to the table in the main hold. "At least his money's good, right?"

"Very true." You say.

Sunset reaches into one of her pouches and pulls out the handful of credits. She spreads them all out on the table and counts them all out before handing you half. "There you are. 5,000 for you, 5,000 for me."

You take the money and smile. "Thank you very much, love."

She nods and sits down on a stool, looking over her credits. You sit next to her and get a good look at yours as well. You start to imagine what you'll spend them on. Your blaster rifle needs a bit of a tune-up, and there's a few power couplings on the ship that need to be replaced too. Choices, choices.

"Think we should take a break?" Sunset asks, breaking your concentration.

You look up at her. "Like a vacation?"

She nods. "After we get Aria, yeah. We've been working really hard lately, and we've earned a lot of money. We might as well spend some of it on something fun for a change."

You think for a moment. It doesn't sound like a bad idea. These three girls have been leading you on quite the chase. If anyone could use a vacation, it's you two. "That doesn't sound very bad, I have to admit." You reply.

"Right?" She scoots her stool closer to you. "Think about it. We could turn Aria in, get her reward, then we could check out some of those pit fights back on Nar Shaddaa, or maybe a podrace or two Malastare. Hell, we could even just relax and do nothing on Naboo or something."

You nod and think as she explains her idea to you. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the thought of that... The galaxy doesn't work like that though. We can't just stop."

She reaches over and puts her hand on your shoulder, rubbing it. "You work too hard, Anon. You deserve a break."

You chuckle. "You sound like Rarity." You reach your hand up and take hers in it."Life doesn't take breaks though, unfortunately."

"There will always be bounties to hunt Anon." She presses. "You can't just run from one to the other and not stop to collect yourself in between. It's not healthy."

You think for a moment. You don't like the idea of just stopping for a period of time, but at the same time, it sounds like just what you need. You sigh. Maybe she's right. Maybe you do work too hard.

"Alright, deal." You look at her and grin. "We'll catch this girl, then we'll head off somewhere together and enjoy ourselves for a while. Okay?"

She smiles and gives you a half-hug. "Good. I'm looking forward to it."

You hug her back and smile. "No problem, love." You release each other and reach into your pouch to pull out Adagio's gem. "Before we do that though, I want to find out what this is."

You set the jewel on the table and Sunset looks at it. "You kept that?" She asks.

You nod. "Adagio touched it when I caught up to her. It lit up and then it made her screech impossibly loud. I almost went deaf. My ears are still ringing a little bit from it."

Sunset picks up the jewel and inspects it more. "You think it could lead us to Aria?"

"I don't know." You reply. "I tried scanning it earlier, but it turned up as 'unknown'. I want to find out what this is and where it came from."

She holds it in between her fingers and squeezes it slightly. You almost bring your hands up to cover your ears, but the jewel doesn't glow this time. She looks at it up close again. Bringing it up to her ear, she shakes it a few times before putting it back.

"Maybe it's a one-off." She suggests as she gives the jewel back to you.

"Not likely." You say. "She looked like she was going to use it again. I stopped her before she could though."

Sunset thinks for a few moments. "Tatooine has all kinds of people. Maybe we could go there and ask around to see if anyone knows anything."

You stand up after a moment and put the jewel back in your pouch. "That sounds like a good place to start. The Hutts are disgusting, but smart. They might be our best bet."

"Maybe. But the Hutts won't just let you walk into their palace without something they're interested in." She says.

'That is true.' You think to yourself. 'Hutts aren't easily swayed. Literally and figuratively.'

You pause for another moment. "Well, what if we brought one of them a gift? They always have beef with someone."

Sunset nods. "True. A lot of Hutts have a lot of issues with a lot of people on Tatooine though. It might be hard to narrow it down to someone they'd really like to see caught."

"Well," You begin. "We might need some help finding someone really good then..."

Sunset smirks and there's a slight pause between you two. She stands up and heads to the cockpit. "Alright, fine. Let's give her a call."

You grin and follow her. "Get us into the atmosphere first. I don't think the Senator likes us taking up precious space on his landing pad."

Sunset groans as she sits in the pilot's seat. "I'm not voting for him in the next election."

You sit down in the co-pilot's seat. "No one should. He's as corrupt as they come."

Sunset starts up the ship and takes off. Turning the ship around, she flies her way through the Upper City and ascends up over the skyscrapers. She continues through the traffic of speeders and ships until she reaches the edge of space. As she flies out, you pull up the video comms channel and contact your and Sunset's mutual friend. She's someone who's heard all kinds of gossip and rumors all through the galaxy.

"Rarity, it's Anon. You there?"

She answers a second later, her face beaming with a big smile as she looks at you. "Anonymous! Darling, it's good to see you! How are things?"

Author's Note

Coruscant, Upper City.

Phoning a Friend

Rarity was the owner of a large chain of clubs and expensive clothing outlets that her family originally started on Taris. It was all but destroyed when Darth Malak and the Sith bombed the planet hundreds of years ago, but someone survived and got it started up again on Cato Neimoidia. She had lived up to her family's name and expectations, and her businesses were now the most popular ones on the whole planet. She sometimes uses this large influence to find rare bounties for you and Sunset in exchange for a finder's fee.

You smile at her when she comes up on your screen. "Things are good, Rarity. We just cashed in on a drug dealing hypnotist, but we need some help to get her friend."

"Ah, I see." She says. "Well, what can I do for you then?"

You continue. "This woman we took in, Adagio Dazzle, had this jewel that meant a whole lot to her. I tried to analyze it, but my computer didn't recognize anything about it. Sunset thought that maybe the Hutts on Tatooine might know something about it."

Rarity gasps and puts a hand to her chest. "You run across some jewelry, and your first thought was to go to the Hutts with it instead of me? I'm offended!"

You smirk and Sunset leans over to look at her. "In his defense, he was the one who decided to contact you before heading off to Tatooine."

Rarity smiles and places a hand over mouth.

"Anonymous, you do know me!"

You chuckle at her. "Well, I don't think it's a real piece of jewelry. She did something with it and she was able to make her voice... really loud, and she almost got away. It's difficult to explain unless we're in person, but either way, I think this gem is actually some kind of device."

She hums and thinks for a moment. "So you need help to see the Hutts, hmm? Let me look around and see if I can't find anything out. In the meantime, why don't you two come over so I can take a look at that gem of yours? Just to be safe." She says with a wink.

You look at Sunset and both nod in agreement. "Sounds good to me." You say.

"We'll be right there." Sunset adds.

"Wonderful!" Rarity claps her hands together once. "We'll see you two when you get here!"

You switch off the comms channel and start locking in the coordinates for Cato Neimoidia.

"She's so flirty. I swear, she likes you." Sunset says.

You chuckle. "Well, she's not going to steal me from you, so don't you worry your pretty little head."

Once the coordinates are locked in, Sunset hits the throttle and the ship jumps into lightspeed toward Cato Neimoidia.

Author's Note

Rarity: fashion mogul, entertainment organizer, friend to Anon and Sunset, and secret bounty hunting researcher.

Rarity

Cato Neimoidia was one of the few planets in the galaxy where you felt somewhat at ease. Being the business tycoon that she was, Rarity had a large influence over the Neimoidian population, and it was well-known around her building that you were friends with her. She is strict and has high standards, but she is also generous and very respectable. Because of this, you were never given any trouble by the locals. They treated you and Sunset like honored guests.

So it was no surprise when a few of Rarity's personal security guards welcomed you as if you were on the Galactic Senate when you stepped off your ship. The fact that you were allowed to land on Rarity's personal landing pad in the capital bridge city of Zarra was all the more impressive to them.

After a few moments of being surrounded by her welcoming committee, you see Rarity step out of her building and onto the landing pad to greet you herself. "Anonymous and Sunset! Welcome back!" She gleefully walks up to you and gives you both a hug.

"It's good to see you too, as always, Rarity." You say with a smile.

She releases you and ushers you both to follow her. "Come inside and relax for a while! I'm sure you must be tired!"

The two of you head inside and follow her through the hallways of her main corporate building until you reach her personal office. You walk inside and look around at all the different fashion posters and alien artwork, along with the extremely expensive-looking furniture, wall designs, and overall ambiance of the room.

She walks over to her large desk, humming to herself as she sits down and presses a button in front of her. "Aieta, please be a dear and hold all my calls for the next little while. I'm conducting a business discussion with a client."

"Yes, Miss Rarity." The alien woman replies over the speaker.

She releases the button and invites you and Sunset to sit down in the seats in front of her. You both sit down and she leans forward to rest her chin on her hands with a smile on her face. "So! What is this I hear about a gem you have?"

You reach into your pouch and pull out Adagio's gem. "This is it."

Rarity holds out her hand and you give it to her. She gives an "Oooh" in fascination as she looks at it. "It's very beautiful, darling. Where did you say you got it?"

"From our last target." You reply. "She was selling some poisoned death sticks to lowlifes that deteriorated the user's brain alarmingly quicker than usual."

"The death sticks were loaded with a neurotoxin." Sunset adds.

Rarity looks back and forth between you two while she examines the gem. "I see... How did she use this gem against you, exactly?"

You shake your head slowly. "I'm not sure. She touched it and it started to glow, then right after that, she... screeched at me louder than what should be physically possible. It almost made me deaf."

Her eyebrows raise slightly at you, but she stays silent.

You continue. "Sunset and I think that gem will somehow help lead us to her accomplice. We just need to know what it is, and where it came from."

Rarity feels the gem with her thumb slowly before holding it up to the light to look through it. "Interesting... You said you think it's some kind of device?"

"If it was able to make her do that, then I don't know what else it could be." You shrug.

She looks at it closely before bringing it back down. "Well, I can tell you right now that there is no device of any kind in this gem. None that I can see, anyway." She takes out an electronic loupe and looks at the gem up close for a few long seconds. "No, there's definitely no device in here. This is all gem."

"You're sure?" You ask.

She looks back up at you and raises an eyebrow. "Anonymous, I've spent my entire life inspecting and studying all kinds of gems, rubies, and diamonds. I'm 100% positive."

You just give her a grin and she continues looking at the gem.

"It looks like..." She twists a small knob on the side of her loupe to zoom in further. "This gem wasn't formed naturally..."

You and Sunset look at each other for a moment. "Like, it's a fake?" Sunset asks.

Rarity doesn't look at you and keeps examining the gem. "Not exactly. It looks like a real gem in almost every way, but the way in which it was formed is completely unnatural. I'm fairly certain that this is synthetic."

"How can you tell that?" You ask.

She takes a deep breath and looks away from the gem. "It's difficult to explain... The best way I can describe it is it lacks the shine and sparkle that naturally-formed gemstones have. This gem is relatively dull." She looks up at you with an apologetic look on her face. You give a large sigh and she gives the gem back to you. "I'm sorry, Anonymous. Because it's synthetic, I can't tell you where it came from. It could be from anywhere."

"It's alright, Rarity. Thanks for looking at it, anyway." You stare at the gem in contemplative silence for a moment.

"You know... Logically, the best thing to do would be to move on and look for someone else..." You and Rarity look at Sunset. Her face is one of conflict. "This is turning into a lot of work to find out what's behind this gem. The best thing to do would be to let this go and find another lead."

She's right. This lead seems like a dead end.

"But... I kind of feel like we need to find out what this gem is... From what you've said, Rarity, it's kind of unnerving to really think about it..." Sunset says quietly.

"How is it unnerving, darling?" Rarity asks her. "Fake jewelry is all over the place."

Sunset shakes her head and looks at her. "I don't know... it's just..." She reaches out and takes the gem from you, looking at it closely. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

"A bad feeling? About this little gem?" You ask her. "Are you sick or something?"

She scoffs and gives a little half smile, but she keeps looking at the gem. "No, I'm fine, I just... I think we should keep this gem and see if we can't figure out what it is."

Seems a bit pointless, honestly. However, you can't help but be a bit curious about its origins as well. Especially after what it made Adagio do. Maybe there's a way to weaponize it.

"Well, alright then." You say. "We'll keep it handy and ask around. Maybe we'll find out what it is later." Sunset looks at you and smiles softly.

"I'll do whatever I can to assist you as well." Rarity adds. You both look up at Rarity and she smiles. "I, for one, think it's wonderful that you've found a motive to look into something that isn't about money. You make it sound like this little thing is dangerous, and I think it's admirable that you're going so far to see the end of it."

You smile and give a little chuckle. "Money's important, Rarity, but that doesn't mean other things aren't important too."

She stands up behind her desk. "Well, if you think the Hutts on Tatooine are your best bet at finding this whole thing out, then you're in luck. I heard that one of the Hutts there, Diamond Tiara, has put a bounty on one of her former smugglers for holding out on her payments." She presses a button behind her desk and the holographic image of a female human appears. She has bright blue hair and pale skin, and she looks very smug. "She even has a title: 'The Great and Powerful' Trixie."

"Seriously?" You scoff. "Who calls her that?"

"Herself, mostly." Rarity replies. You scoff again and shake your head. Rarity giggles a little. "It is rather childish... Diamond Tiara would prefer to have her alive, but won't mind if she dies. The reward for her capture is 5,000 credits."

"Not too bad." Sunset comments.

"Where is this Diamond Tiara located on Tatooine?" You ask.

"Her palace is somewhere by the town of Anchorhead, I think." Rarity tries to remember. "I've been to Tatooine only a few times, but I'll look into it and let you know."

You nod at her and stand up. "We better get going then. Thanks for the tip, Rarity."

She smiles and nods back. "Of course! Is there anything I can get you before you go?"

You take a quick look at Sunset and shrug. "Some fuel and some supplies would be nice." She says.

"Consider it done!" She nods. "I'll contact my supply manager down in the docking bay and he'll get you squared away on what you need."

You smile at her. "Thanks, Rarity."

While she starts to contact her supplies manager, she looks up to Sunset. "Sunset, darling, would you please head down to the docking bay so you can make sure you get everything you'll need? My supply manager will meet you there and they'll do the loading and everything."

Sunset nods and heads to the door. "Sure."

"Just turn right, head down the stairs and follow the signs. You can't miss it." Rarity instructs.

You stop Sunset before she leaves. "Make sure you get some more medpacks. Oh, and see if they have a new or extra hydrospanner too. Remember, ours is busted."

She cocks an eyebrow at you and grins. "I remember that it's not my fault it's busted."

You chuckle. "I know, I should've let you handle those repairs on the lighting in the armory."

She giggles. "See you back at the ship."

"See you." You grin.

Sunset turns and leaves the room. The door shuts behind her and you turn back to Rarity. "So Rarity, is there anything else you need?" You ask.

She smiles and stands there in front of you, in the middle of the room. "Well, darling, I actually have a personal inquiry I'd like to make." You nod at her and she continues. "Lately, I've been rather bored with work. I want to try something else. Something exciting."

"Okay..." You slowly nod at her, not completely understanding.

She turns around and holds her arms up to present her office to you. "Look at this place, Anonymous. Look at my fashion empire. Look at the legacy I have maintained on this planet. Tell me what you see."

You take another look at Rarity's over-the-top posh office. All the same intricate gold designs that cover the walls and ceiling, the fancy, rich furniture, the top brand fashion posters, and the whole ambiance of what a few lifetimes of hard work, sacrifice, and creativity can bring.

"I see your expensive office, Rarity." You reply. "It's everything you've worked for, and then some."

She nods. "You're right. It's the culmination of everything that I and my family have achieved over centuries of work. I'm very grateful for my upbringing, and I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish, but, to be quite frank with you, it's become quite repetitive and dull."

You just stand there silently and listen to her as she explains herself.

She continues. "Every day, I do the same thing. I sit here, I manage everything that happens with my company, I make calls and hold conferences with other businesses on other planets, I make new designs to create and sell, and I host shows and expos for the public on a regular basis."

That does sound boring to you, but you figured that it sounded perfect for her.

"Do you know what I lack from all of this?" She asks. "Adventure. Excitement. Danger, even! Something more than just making clothes and being in charge of clubs."

"Is that why you started helping me with bounties?" You pry.

She turns to you and smiles. "Yes! Exactly!" She looks back at her office again. "I decided I wanted to do this shortly after I posted my first one. Do you remember?"

You think back to when you first met Rarity. "It was a trio of guys in a small gang. I think they called themselves the Diamond Dogs."

She nods and faces you again. "Bringing them to justice gave me such a feeling of excitement that I had never felt before, and I loved it. So I looked around for more bounties; more people who needed to be brought to justice. I bought shares in multiple clubs, set up eyes and ears in them, listened to the rumors and whispers, and tracked down targets for you to hunt. The rest is history."

You think for a moment. "So, what are you proposing then?"

She gives you a small smile and steps forward a couple steps. "I've been curious about what exactly you do out there... I'd like to see it firsthand."

Oh, wait.

"I'd like to accompany you on this hunt, Anonymous." She gives you a hopeful smile. "Please?"

You shake your head before she's even finished asking. "No. No, no, no, no, no. That's a bad idea."

She exhales and starts to whine a little. "Aw, come on! Why not?"

"Because, it's dangerous, Rarity." You look at her. "You wouldn't be able to handle it out there."

She gasps a little and puts her hands on her hips. "Excuse me, Anonymous, but I'm more capable than you might think! Besides, I could use a challenge!"

"No, Rarity, you don't understand." You say. "It's physically demanding, it's messy, and you could die. You're pretty, but that won't stop a few people from killing you if they get the chance."

She smirks at you. "Flattering me won't work this time, darling."

You sigh and shake your head. "I'm being serious, Rarity. No offense, but you would be useless out there."

"No, I can be useful! Give me a blaster! I'll be able to handle myself! Just give me a chance! Please, Anonymous!" She's not smirking or anything anymore, she's being serious too. She legitimately wants to go with you.

You just stay there, silently thinking about what to do. You're not sure that Sunset will be completely fine with her tagging along. Three is a crowd. Not to mention, it is Rarity. How much nonessential fashion stuff would she bring with her?

You fold your arms and look at her. "If I were to say yes, how long would it take you to be ready?"

She looks into your eyes. "If I make calls, move appointments, pack, inform others of my leave of absence, and load everything onto your ship, less than an hour, if I rush."

You continue to stare at her. "You'd be going to Tatooine. It would be dangerous, messy, and hot."

"I understand." She nods.

"All that sand, too." You continue. "Course, rough, irritating, and it will get everywhere."

She nods again. "I know, Anonymous."

You shut your eyes and take a deep breath. She's been an invaluable ally and great friend to you. You suppose it's the least you could do for her. You're going to regret this though...

"Fine." You conclude. "Pack what you need, only what you need, and be ready within the hour."

Her eyes widen and she smiles wider than you've ever seen it. "YES! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" She jumps over to you and hugs you tight. You lean back and grab her shoulders, forcing her to stop. "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited!"

You give her a contempt half-grin and release her. "Alright, good. You'd better start getting ready then."

She smiles and gives you a salute. "Aye aye, captain!" She giggles again and you turn to head out the door behind you.

You shut it with a sigh and lean up against the wall and shake your head. Anon, what did you just get yourself into?

Author's Note

Some of the many massive bridged cities that are found on the planet Cato Neimoidia.

Just This Once

After leaving Rarity's office, you head down to the docking bay to look for Sunset. Neimoidian workers pass you by as they continue loading and unloading the shipments of goods and materials necessary for whatever Rarity needs them for.

After looking around for a little bit, you see Sunset talking with the Neimoidian supplies manager next to a few crates near one of the bay doors. She spots you as you make your way over to her, but continues talking.

"...Just this much will be good for us now. Get it on our ship in the rear cargo hold." The Neimoidian nods and walks away, and Sunset turns to you. "We should have more than enough medpacks to last us for a good long while. I also got us a good supply of water, food, and a few spare power cells. I even got us some spare parts for our cloaking device in case it goes down again."

"Terrific." You reply. "How long until we're ready to go?"

"They're about to load it onto the ship." She answers. "We should be ready soon."

"Good." You pause. "Uh, we need to talk."

She cocks her head slightly. "What's up?"

You sigh and cross your arms. "Rarity is coming with us to Tatooine."

Sunset's eyebrows shoot up. "What?"

You nod. "She wants to come with us this time. She says she wants to see what we do."

Sunset takes a frustrated breath and licks her lips. "Anon, that's a bad idea. She's going to slow us down, get in our way, and probably complain the whole time."

"I know." You nod again. "You're absolutely right. That's what I told her."

"Then why did you agree to bring her along?" She asks.

You shake your head. "She says she's been bored lately. I think she's going through a crisis or something. She says things have been too repetitive and she needs a change of pace for a little while. She's been a good asset to us, so I decided to let her tag along, just this once."

Sunset sighs again and shakes her head. "Fine. Whatever. If she wants a share of the reward though, she's getting it out of your half, not mine."

"That's fair." You agree.

She gives you another judging look for moment with her arms crossed before turning and leaving. "I'm going to get a drink and then head back to the ship." She doesn't stop to wait for a reply.

You stand there, thinking to yourself as Sunset leaves from your sight. She's right. Rarity will be a handful. You shouldn't have agreed to let her tag along. It kills you to see Sunset mad.

On one hand, you want to find Rarity and tell her this is a bad idea and that she should stay. That would make her feel bad though.

On the other hand, maybe it will be kind of nice if she tags along. It's just one hunt. What's the worst that could happen? Once you catch Aria, you and Sunset will both head off somewhere to relax and enjoy each other's company.

You grin to yourself at the thought. It will be fine. Like you said, it's just one hunt. You're going to head to Tatooine to get information from Diamond Tiara the Hutt about this Great and Powerful Trixie, then you'll go from there.

You turn around and head back into Rarity's building, proceeding through the hallways and corridors until you reach her landing pad and head back aboard your ship.

Inside, two Neimoidians are just finishing with loading the last of the supplies into the cargo hold and you begin taking an inventory of your contents. A few crates of medpacks, food, water, a new liquid filtration system, power cells for lights, life support systems, electronic equipment, spare parts for the cloaking system, ammunition, and a new set of tools. Sunset did a good job. She got a lot of stuff.

You hear some footsteps behind you and you turn to see Sunset boarding the ship. "Good job with the cargo." You say.

She walks past the cargo hold and barely glances inside at you as she proceeds toward the cockpit. "Thanks." She says. She's still mad.

You sigh and take a couple small crates of ammunition and head to the ship's armory to organize it. As you set it on the workbench, you hear Sunset call to you from the cockpit. "Anon, come here!" You make a brisk walk to the cockpit where Sunset is hovered over the control console. She turns to look at you. "Did you ask for a new sensor array system?"

A new sensor array?

"No." You say as you look at it.

"Ah! That was a little gift from me!" Rarity says behind you.

You both turn to see Rarity walking toward you both with a smile on her face. She's dressed in, what you can only describe as, "brand-new, beaten up clothes". She's wearing some light chest armor, combat boots, and she has some work goggles resting on her forehead. She looks like a wannabe smuggler.

You give her a quick look and motion toward the console. "This was you?"

She nods happily. "Well, as you know, I have clubs all over this planet. And I'm able to listen in on the chitchat that happens in nearly every one of those clubs. When something interesting comes up, I record and save it so it uploads to my personal databank. So, as a little gift, I had my boys connect this ship to that databank. Now, whatever I hear around the planet, you'll be able to hear as well!"

You and Sunset both look at each other, impressed. "Not a bad hookup."

"Yeah." She agrees. "Thanks, Rarity."

She smiles again hugs you both. "Anything for my two favorite bounty hunters in the galaxy!"

You grin and endure the affection. Sunset does too, but her grin is full of mostly contempt.

Rarity releases you and claps her hands together. "Now! We're off to Tatooine, yes?"

Sunset nods and goes back to the controls. "Yeah. We're ready to go now, if you are."

Rarity nods again. "I'm all set!" She says with a smile.

You usher her to take a seat and you sit in the co-pilot's seat. "Then let's punch it."

Sunset presses a few buttons and flips a few switches, and the ship's engines rumble to life. Rarity buckles her seatbelt and grips her hand rests in excitement. The ship wobbles some as it lifts off the ground, and turns around before Sunset flies the ship out of the city, and into the atmosphere.

Rarity looks out the window in wonder as the planet's details below get smaller and the vacuum of space comes into view. You bring up Tatooine on the navicomputer, and lock it in. Sunset hits the throttle and the ship blasts off into lightspeed a moment later.

You stand up and look back at Rarity. "How you doing?"

She's smiling wide and she looks at you. "That was so exciting! I've never been on a ship this small with a hyperdrive before!"

You smile at her. "That's the easy part. It just gets more difficult from here on out."

Her smile gets smaller, but it doesn't leave completely. "That's fine, darling. I'm ready."

"Fantastic." You reply. "Now come with me. I'll get you settled into your bunk."

She takes her seatbelt off and follows you back to the crew quarters, leaving Sunset alone in the cockpit. "So, 'captain'." She begins. "How often do you let Sunset fly your ship?"

You give her a chuckle. "I think the better question would be 'how often does Sunset let me fly my ship?'"

You enter the crew quarters and stop to look at her. "Really?" She asks.

"Yep." You nod. "I bought it, but it's pretty much hers. She knows this thing like the back of her hand."

"Interesting." She hums.

You grin and look at the bunk on your left. "Here's your bunk." You slap your hand on it. It's a bit old, worn, and not very comfortable, but it's comfortable enough to sleep on.

Rarity looks at it for a moment in silence. "Oh."

You cock an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"Um, no. It's just..." She sits down on the bunk, giving it a little bounce to test it out. "It's just a little different than what I was expecting."

You shrug. "Yeah, the ship's not quite big enough to accommodate five-star sleeping arrangements, like what I imagine you're used to." You say, secretly glad that she's not thrilled about the bunk. Hopefully, it talks her out of wanting to come with you again.

She looks at it and rubs the light blanket. "Well, I suppose I should've known that..." She looks back at you and smiles again. "I'm sure it will be satisfactory though. Thank you very much, Anonymous."

"You're welcome." You nod. " We won't be to Tatooine for a few hours. Sunset and I are in the captain's quarters next to the main hold if you need us."

"I understand." She smiles. "Thank you again."

You smile and leave her, making your way back to the armory. You open the new crate filled with ammunition and begin organizing it for storage and for what you may need when you get to Tatooine.

After doing some looking around on the ship's computer, you discovered that Diamond Tiara's palace was near the spaceport of Mos Espa, on the edge of the Dune Sea. Not Anchorhead. Sunset had landed in one of the city's docking bays, and you got yourselves ready.

You've armed yourself with your missile jetpack, your blaster rifle, some thermal detonators, your flamethrower, and a couple blaster pistols, while Sunset had grabbed her twin vibroswords, her blaster rifle, and two blaster pistols. Rarity said she could handle a blaster pistol and a backup short vibrosword.

Once you finish, you don your helmet and the three of you step down the exit ramp and off the ship. The heat of the twin suns hit you as soon as you were out of the ship's shadow. All of the sudden, you remember that this planet was not one of your favorites to be on.

"Oh goodness." Rarity exclaims. "I forgot just how hot this planet was."

You look back at Rarity as she fans herself a few times. "We'll go as fast as we can." You reassure her.

You continue out of the docking bay and onto the streets with Sunset and Rarity. Even though it's a sparsely populated planet, Tatooine always has sights of all kinds wandering around. Not the scenery, as this place is just one big desert, but the aliens, droids, and speeders of all kinds that crowded the streets. Almost everyone you see has a weapon of some kind.

"Keep on your toes." You announce to your party. "This planet is extremely dangerous."

Rarity nods and pulls her goggles down over her eyes and you all continue through the sandy streets and navigate your way past the domed buildings and moisture evaporators in the city. Passing cantinas and bars, you hear the upbeat music from within them, along with a few laughs from their patrons.

"Sunset, where is the closest door out of the city?" You ask.

She brings up her wrist and presses a few buttons to bring up her map. "It shouldn't be too far ahead. I'll mark it for us." Within a few seconds, you see the blip on your HUD pointing to a location behind some buildings on your right.

"Okay. Lets make our way there. Quickly." You say.

The three of you proceed forward when a sharp voice on the opposite end of the street stops you all in your tracks. "Bounty hunter!"

You tense up as all three of you turn to face the source of the voice. Across the street, with an armored Sith trooper at both his right and left, stands a man dressed in long black robes and a hood covering his face. He's walking towards you.

"What are the Sith doing here?" Sunset quietly asks, setting a hand on her blaster.

"I don't know..." You stand and face him, ready to grab your weapon.

"Lord Sombra is displeased that you have meddled with his operations on Nar Shaddaa!" The Sith growls. "He desires that you be exterminated!"

Operations on Nar Shaddaa?

"What the hell are you talking about, Sith?" You demand.

He doesn't answer. Instead, he produces a metallic cylinder from his belt and holds it in front of him. He presses a button on it, and it makes a sharp cracking sound, followed by the signature low hum that always accompanied the red energy blade of a lightsaber...

Author's Note

A Neimoidian, native to Cato Neimoidia.

Rarity in her "combat" outfit.

Mos Espa.

A Darkness in the Desert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD-TOXoIaWQ

There's only a split-second of silence before you raise your rifle and fire a barrage of blaster bolts at the Sith. The ones that do not fly past him are deflected by his lightsaber with incredible ease as he makes his way toward you.

Most of the deflected bolts whiz past you, but a few hit the ground in between you and him. Finally, he deflects two that hit you in the arm and leg, but your armor takes the brunt of it. Other than a sharp sting that makes you stop firing for a moment, it just makes you angry.

You quickly shake it off and raise your rifle at the Sith once again, but from your right, Sunset lunges at him. Wielding her two vibroswords, she engages him in a clash of sparks a few seconds later. Meanwhile, the two troopers on the Sith's left and right move forward to engage you, raising their blaster rifles and firing.

You growl and activate your jetpack, flying into the air and raining blaster fire down onto the two Sith troopers. You swerve left and right as you gain altitude, making yourself a harder target to hit. Two of your bolts hit the left trooper in the chest and leg, and he goes to his knees. Another bolt hits the right trooper in the face and he falls to the ground. You immediately take advantage of this and quickly descend toward the left trooper.

Positioning the butt-end your rifle in front of you, you swoop down and fly into him at full speed. He cries out as he's thrown backwards beneath you.

You double over in the air and descend to the ground, landing beside him. You point your rifle in his face and pull the trigger. He doesn't have time to react before you kill him.

Sunset is still expertly dueling the Sith warrior a short distance away, while Rarity is nowhere to be seen. You curse under your breath and hope that she's alright.

The shower of sparks and crashing of blades is quite the spectacle. Sunset blocks, counters, and parries the Sith's lightsaber with incredible skill. However, in an aggressive move, the Sith pushes her blades back with his lightsaber and gives her an extremely hard kick in the chest, making her cry out and momentarily drop her guard.

In that moment, the Sith pushes his arm towards Sunset and she goes flying backwards, dropping her vibroswords in the process. The sound that accompanies her launch is almost identical to a loud thunderclap in a rainstorm.

"Sunset!" You cry out. She falls to the ground a few meters away and rolls a few more times before stopping on her side.

In a rage, you fly into the air again and raise your rifle at the Sith, raining down another barrage of blaster fire on him. He faces you and deflects more blaster bolts with his lightsaber.

He lands a good shot directly back to you and it hits your rifle, making it explode in your hands. It doesn't do any significant damage to you, but the rifle is now completely useless. You drop it and pull out your two sidearm blasters, pointing them both at the Sith and pulling the triggers in quick succession.

They obviously do not fire as rapidly as your rifle did, and the Sith begins running closer beneath you. He's about to jump. You grit your teeth as he approaches and you fly backwards, ascending higher into the air to get more distance between you two. You stop firing with the blaster in your left hand and quickly go to your gauntlet to prepare your missile.

You lock onto the Sith warrior but hold your fire for now. As he approaches, you continue firing your blasters at him in a poor attempt to distract or overwhelm him before, suddenly, he leaps high into the air and throws his lightsaber at you. The spinning blade flies toward you at an alarming speed.

In a split-second decision, you cut the engines to your jetpack and fall towards the ground. When the lightsaber whizzes just barely over your head, you reactivate your engines and fly down toward the Sith as he falls back towards the ground as well. He's so focused on using the Force to return his lightsaber that he doesn't make a good attempt to block or avoid you as you crash into him.

He grunts as you grapple and hold him tight and you both quickly descend back to the ground together. It's now when he starts fighting against your grip and punching you in the head or arms. You're able to return a punch or two, but you focus on keeping hold of his waist. You twist around in the air so he is between you and the ground before cutting your engines again.

The two of you hit the ground with a hard thud, but the Sith takes the full brunt of it. He exclaims and you both roll forward onto the hot sand. You come to a stop on your stomach and groan as you look at the Sith. His hood has been lowered and you get a good look at his face. He's a Chagrian with grayish-red skin, yellow eyes, and two short horns on his head.

You quickly get back to your feet before he does and kick him in the jaw, which makes a loud crack. He falls on his back with the left side of his jaw hanging limp and bleeding. You turn around and get ready to land another blow to his face but, he holds his hand up and you freeze where you are. A second later, he roars and pushes his hand forward. That same thunderclap sound erupts out of nowhere, and you suddenly feel yourself thrown backwards by the Force.

You cry out as you fly through the air and land hard on the ground a few meters away. You grunt again and look up. A few feet away, you spot one of Sunset's dropped vibroswords.

Risking a quick look behind you, you see the Sith rise back up to his feet. You squirm over to her vibrosword as fast as you can. When you get to your feet again, you hear his lightsaber activate again behind you. Swinging an arm down, you scoop the weapon up into your hand and whip around just in time to clash your blade against his. He was right there within a matter of seconds.

He's very strong, and you find yourself straining to keep your blade held tight against his. You grit your teeth as you both engage each other in a series of metal-on-saber strikes. He hisses through his bloody teeth and glares those hate-filled yellow eyes at you as his attacks become more feral, but also more sloppy. His anger is getting the better of him.

Stay focused, Anon. He'll mess up eventually.

You try to stay collected and block his relentless attacks, but with each strike, you notice that you're straining harder to keep yourself in a strong defensive position. He finally forces you to your knees after a few more blows. You breathe heavily as you keep blocking his unnaturally powerful attacks.

"Die! Die! DIE DIE DIE DIIIIIIE!!!" He's full on screaming at you now. When he raises his saber above his head for a killing blow, you act.

He brings it down, but you roll out of the way, and he barely misses you. You spin around and plunge the vibrosword directly into his back, gripping his thick neck as you do. He gasps sharply as the blade impales him completely and exits through his chest.

"...You first." You growl.

Releasing him, you kick him away and press a button on your gauntlet, unleashing a spray of fire from your flamethrower and engulf him in it from head to toe. He screams in agony and fury as his flesh begins to burn.

Once he's fully engulfed, you turn around and find Sunset's other vibrosword close by. You pick it up and whip back around, swinging the blade as hard as you can at his neck. His screams suddenly cease as his head flies off of his shoulders and his flaming body falls to the ground.

You stay standing there for a moment longer and stare at the seared, flaming corpse of the Sith warrior, panting heavily. You eventually lower your weapon and drop it to the ground.

As you give the body another kick, you turn around to see his lightsaber laying beside him. It catches your attention, so you decide to jump at the opportunity to have one. You pick it up and look around at the area around you where you fought. A small crowd had gathered to watch, but only a few individuals seemed genuinely interested in the fight. Most of them act like they had seen it many times before. Unsurprising. Tatooine is pretty much a lawless wasteland, after all.

The fight had left quite a mess. Most of it was your mess though. Sunset didn't have a chance to make much of a mess before she-

Sunset!

You whip around to see Sunset slowly moving toward you, holding her stomach. You quickly limp toward her. She coughs a few times as you approach. "Sunset... Sunset, are you- AAH!"

You take a wrong step on your injured leg, causing the pain to intensify greatly and you trip in front of her, landing on the hot sand.

"A-Anon!" She breathes out.

You grab your leg and let out a loud, frustrated growl and Sunset reaches you. She holds your head up and takes your helmet off. The sudden light from the twin suns overhead blinds you for a second and you shut your eyes.

"Anon, just... just hang on! You're g... You're going to be fine!" She sounds wheezy, almost out of breath. It looks like she had the wind knocked out of her.

"I... I know." You grunt. "I'm fine... I just..."

"Are you okay?!"

You open your eyes and look to your right to see Rarity hiding behind a building a good distance away. She had run away at the first sign of danger, and only returned when the fight was over.

You just glare at her and breathe hard through your teeth.

Sunset looks at her. "Rarity, go back to the ship to get some medpacks!"

"Me?!" She exclaims. "But what if there's more Sith here?! What if they find me?!"

You clench your fists...

"You've got a blaster! Fight back!" Sunset says.

Rarity stammers. "Sunset, I can't! I-I just can't! What if I-"

With a growl, you sit up and practically roar at her. "Dammit... RARITY, GET BACK TO THE SHIP!!"

She squeals and jumps backwards, startled, before running back toward the ship a moment later. "Okay! Okay, I'm going! I'm sorry!"

You stare daggers at her as she quickly returns to the ship. When she's out of sight, you lay back on the ground.

Sunset watches her leave as well before looking back at you. "She's going. Can you stand?"

You grunt and prop yourself up with your arm. "Yeah... Give me a second..." You take her hand and she pulls you up. She supports you as you wrap an arm around her shoulders and put most of your weight on your good leg before she leads you toward one of the nearby buildings that has an awning.

Once you're in the shade, she sets you down and starts inspecting your wounds, but you stop her. "I'll be fine. Go get our stuff."

She insists. "Anon, let me-"

"No." You interrupt. "This is nothing. Rarity will be back soon with those medpacks, just... go get our stuff before someone steals it." You pause for a moment before adding, "...Please."

She doesn't want to agree, but she nods and quickly heads back into the sun to retrieve your gear. You take a deep breath and rest your head back against the wall.

Yelling at Rarity like that probably wasn't good, but you are too angry to care right now. Sunset was absolutely right. She's just dead weight out here. She's not a warrior, she's a coward. A business associate. She's a damn fashionista for hell's sake, and you're the idiot who agreed to take her out here!

You growl and rub your temples with your fingers. Where the hell is she with your medpacks?

Author's Note

Sunset with her vibroswords.

A Chagrian Sith (for refrence).

Recovery

After a moment or two of brooding, Sunset returns with her swords, your blasters, and helmet. She crouches beside you and sets them down before turning back to you. As she inspects your blasted leg wound, you hear her still straining a little to breathe. She's still inhaling in wheezes. Getting the wind knocked out of you is one of the worst feelings a person can ever experience.

You wince in pain as she touches your injury wrong. "Ah!"

She pulls her hand back quickly. "Sorry."

"It's fine... Leave it be, we'll get stuff to fix it in a bit." She nods and sits down next to you, giving a slight whimper as she holds her chest. "You alright?"

She nods. "I'll live." She sits there in angry silence with you for a second. "What did that Sith mean by 'plans on Nar Shaddaa'?"

You shake your head. "I have absolutely no idea. I didn't do anything except get Adagio, and I doubt that the Sith would work with a druggie like her. Even they have some standards."

"Maybe you created some collateral damage to them when you were getting her." She suggests. "That still doesn't explain how they found us here though."

"I don't know how they could have." You reply. "We were in and out on Nar Shaddaa, it was just us on Coruscant, and Rarity doesn't tolerate the Sith much on Cato Neimoidia."

"That doesn't mean it's impossible for the Sith to be on Cato Neimoidia though." Sunset says.

You nod, but say nothing for a long moment. "Speaking of Rarity, you were absolutely right about her." You look at Sunset. "And I knew you were right about her too. She's absolutely useless out here. She's great for finding wanted people and getting us paid, but that's it. She didn't even try to fight the Sith off, she just ran away and hid." You clench your fists and lean back, looking back up at the awning you're sitting under. "A part of me knew she would do that though..."

She scoffs at you and throws her hands in the air. "Then why did you agree to bring her with us, Anon?"

You give a frustrated sigh and pinch between your eyebrows. "I don't know. It seemed like the friendly thing to do at the time..." There's another long moment of silence between you two and you feel yourself calm down a little. "That fight put me on edge though. Seriously, how did the Sith find us here?"

She slowly shakes her head. "I don't know."

You contemplate to yourself. The Sith's presence means something is definitely going on.

"I've taken a few jobs from the Sith before, so I'm damn sure that more will be coming for us soon. Especially since we've killed one of them." You pause. "I don't know how or when they'll find us, but I know that they will eventually."

Sunset looks at you.

You clear your throat and look at her again. "We have two options here: we can either quit this job now and go to someone else, or we can risk it and find Trixie as fast as we can before more Sith catch up to us."

She thinks to herself for a moment. Her wheezing breaths have pretty much stopped now. You wince as you readjust your injured leg.

Finally, she looks to you again. "It's only 5,000 credits, but I'm always up for a challenge." You grin at her and she continues. "We'll take Rarity back to Cato Neimoidia right after we're done here. We made it this far, and I didn't help fight off a lightsaber-wielding Sith warrior for nothing. I say we go to Diamond Tiara, then take her back before we go after Trixie."

You nod at her. "Rarity is going to wait in the ship until we're done here."

"I was just going to say that." She smiles.

You chuckle at her before looking back to see Rarity finally jogging over to you with an armful of medpacks. "I'm here, darling! I'm here!"

You groan and stretch your leg out in front of you, wincing a little. It's about time. Rarity crouches next to you, panting as she takes one of the medpacks and opens it. She pulls out a bit of bacta and pours it onto a cloth before rubbing it on your wound. There's a small sting as the cloth comes into contact with your open flesh, but it's immediately followed by a cool feeling that makes the pain fade away. After a couple moments, she removes the cloth and sticks a bacta patch onto your injury. Already, your leg feels much better.

You sigh with relief and look at her. "Thank you."

She looks back at you and gives a little grin, but says nothing. She still looks nervous, which is understandable, honestly. As she sets the medpack to her side, you rub your leg with your hands. You don't feel any major pain anymore so you stand up and put some weight on it.

Bacta is a wonderful thing. The injury is still there, you can feel it, but it hardly hurts anymore. You grab the cloth that Rarity used and start to rub your injured arm as well. Just like your leg, there's a small sting on contact followed by a cool, refreshing feeling. You then discard the cloth, grab another patch from the medpack and place it on your arm, pressing it down.

After some time, you wiggle your arm and test it out. "Much better."

Rarity stands up and faces you, rubbing her hands together nervously. "So, um, are we leaving now? Please?"

You and Sunset both stare at her, giving her an incredulous look. "No." You say. "We haven't even got to Diamond Tiara's yet."

Her face twists into one of despair. "Yet?! Anonymous, we could've just died!"

You take a step toward her, eyeing her intensely. "No, me and Sunset could've just died! You just ran away!" You point a finger at her to emphasize your words. She slowly backs up out of the shade as a result. "You wanted excitement? Adventure? This is it!"

She just looks up at you as you yell, her lip quivering. "B- But... I-"

"But nothing!" You snap. "You had no excuse to just run off like that!"

"I'm not a soldier, Anonymous!" She yells back at you before she starts crying.

You don't flinch. "I know. I am acutely aware that you're not... And I was so stupid to bring you along with us out here. You're through."

She gasps and looks taken back at your words, like she's shocked. She probably misinterpreted what you said. You don't want to get rid of her completely.

"You're through out here, I mean." You continue. "On the ground, actually seeing the action." She sniffs and exhales, looking slightly relieved but still distraught. You firmly hold her shoulders and speak to her a bit softer. "Rarity, you are an invaluable asset to us as intel for bounties, events from around the galaxy, and a friend, most of all. But out here, you're just dead weight. You're slowing us down. I can't have that, especially now that I know the Sith are in the picture. If they find you with us, you're dead. I cannot let that happen to you."

She sniffles and searches for a reply. "So... What happens now?"

You release her and rest your hands on your hips. "You're going to go back to the ship and wait for us to return. Once we do, we're going to take you home and everything is going to go back to how it was before."

She looks down and sniffs again. "Okay..."

You take a deep breath and stand up straight. "Thank you very much for grabbing the medpacks. We definitely needed them. Now, go back to the ship and wait for us. We'll let you know when we're on our way back."

"Alright..." She just nods and turns around, slowly walking back toward the docking bays.

As she gets further away, Sunset walks up beside you. "That was brutal."

You nod. "But necessary." You sigh again and pause before facing her a moment later. "Come on. We have to get going. If we weren't on the clock before, you sure as hell are now."

The both of you head back under the awning and start gathering up your gear again. You put your helmet on and holster your two blasters while Sunset puts her helmet back on as well and sheathes her vibroswords. You also pick up the Sith's lightsaber off the ground next to where you were sitting and inspect it in your hand. It has a large black grip that rests just beneath the silver controls. Two flat black metal pieces rest on either side of the blade's emitter, giving it a somewhat menacing appearance.

You turn back to Sunset. "Think we'll run into any Sand People out there?"

You can't see her face behind her visor, but her shoulders slouch. "You're really going to keep that?"

"Yeah!" You say as you toss it up in the air and catch it. "I've always wanted a lightsaber, but I could never find out how to make one. I figured I'd have to steal one, but this is better. That Sith is dead anyway. He won't care."

She chuckles and shakes her head. "Turn it on. Let's see."

You look at the grip and turn it around in your hands until you find and press the little silver button. The crimson blade instantly extends outward with a crackly hiss, followed by a low hum. It's literally a beam of hot energy, so it's practically weightless.

You grin and give it a few small swings. "Cool."

Sunset just watches. "Yes, yes, it's very impressive. Now put it away."

You scoff and deactivate it. "You're just jealous because you don't have one."

"Oh don't you start that with me." She points at you sternly.

You chuckle and hook the saber onto your belt before heading out into the sun with Sunset walking beside you.

"But it's true though, isn't it?" You say with a smirk.

"No, it's not." Sunset says flatly.

"You're jealous." You pester.

"Shut up!" Her voice raises an octave.

The two of you laugh with each other as you tease her and continue down the street that leads to the city's wall. Upon approaching another crowd of people, you both cut the laughter to keep up your 'tough Mandalorian' look.

Time to get back to work.

Author's Note

A common medpack.

The Sith's lightsaber.

Getting Back on Track

Your ship's ramp lowers onto Rarity's private landing pad and you walk down after her. She smiles as she steps off the ship and takes a deep breath of the Cato Neimoidia air. "Ah, it's so good to be back home." You step off the ship and follow her toward the door to her building. Once you're both inside, you head to her office and she looks around with a smile before turning back to you. "Well Anonymous, thank you very much for the adventure, in spite of everything."

"You're welcome." You reply with a nod. "Please hesitate to ask the next time you want to come along."

Her smile dampens a little at that and she nods. "Again, I do apologize for everything that happened, and for everything I said."

"I'm sorry too." You extend a hand forward and grin. She looks at it for a moment before smiling again and shaking it with her own. "We still good?"

She nods. "Of course, darling."

"Good." There's a bit of a pause between you two as you shake hands. Finally, you release hers and back up. "Well, I've gotta run. We've got to get Trixie before more Sith find us."

"Right." She clears her throat. "I'll, um... I'll listen around and help you out, if I can."

"Thanks, Rarity." You turn around and head down the hallway back to your ship.

"And Anonymous?" You stop and turn around to see Rarity sticking her head out of her office and looking at you. "Please be careful."

You pause for a moment before turning around again. "Don't worry, I will."

You don't turn around again as you walk away from her office and head through the building towards the landing pad. Once you're back outside, you take a deep breath. You hate awkward situations like that. Glad it's finally over. Now things can go back to normal. Just you and Sunset, taking on the galaxy together. You grin at the thought and head up the ramp.

Shutting it behind you, you press the intercom button on the wall panel to your right. "Sunset, we're good. Get us into orbit."

"Sure thing." She replies.

You head into the main hold as the ship's engines whir to life. Now that the immediate crisis has been averted, you need to think to yourself for a moment. Trixie needs to be found as quickly as possible. Only question is where should you start looking for her?

Naboo, perhaps, but Trixie doesn't sound like the patient kind of person. Her insistence on using a title like 'Great and Powerful' shows evidence of a massively inflated ego. If you were her, smuggling spices for a profit, you'd want to go somewhere else as quickly as possible for the best deal. You walk over to the computer terminal and pull up everything you have on Trixie. You need to see the information, rather than just think about it.

A few minutes later, Sunset comes walking out of the cockpit. "We're in orbit. Should we go to Naboo?"

You shake your head. "No, I don't think that would be the most efficient move."

"How come?" She comes over and looks at the terminal beside you.

"Well, I admit, I'm kind of be taking a shot in the dark here, but I wager that after Trixie picked up the chak-root, she would go off-planet and sell it to the highest bidder as quickly as she could. It fits her profile." You pull up her info and read it aloud. "She's described as self-absorbed, narcissistic, and has a complete lack of empathy for others. She's clever, but impulsive. She doesn't think things through to the end."

Sunset thinks as you turn back to her. "She could also be trying to start up her own trade system."

You shrug. "That's a likely possibility. You can't do that overnight though."

Sunset nods and taps her chin. "You said she's impulsive and that she would want to start things up as quickly as possible..." She thinks for a moment. "If I were her, I'd probably be searching nearby systems for a good deal."

You hum and think to yourself. Chak-root is highly taxed, and is usually processed into liquor and snuff for a select few bars in the galaxy.

You turn to the galaxy map and look at nearby systems. "Well, it looks like the most likely systems of interest that are in relatively close proximity to Naboo are Tatooine, Malastare, and maybe Sullust. Tatooine and Malastare are both really big on podracing, among other things."

Sunset nods. "Lots of people like to drink and do drugs while they're at the races too."

You point to her and smirk. "Exactly."

Sunset comes up to look at the map. "Trixie wouldn't go back to Tatooine this soon though. Not with Diamond Tiara looking for her. Sullust seems like a bit of a long shot too."

You nod. "I agree." You look at the map once more before clapping your hands together and turning back to her. "Let's head to Malastare then. That's our best bet."

"You got it." Sunset heads to the cockpit while you follow close behind her.

The two of you sit down in your usual seats and Sunset steers the ship into position. You lock in the coordinates for Malastare and she hits the throttle, blasting the ship off into lightspeed.

As you travel through space, Sunset turns to you. "So where should we start looking when we get there?"

You think for a moment. "I say Pixelito. It's the capital city. We'll split up and hit some of the more prestigious clubs and cantinas around the racetrack. We'll ask around and get information on where they get their shipments for chak-root liquor. Let's also ask about snuff; see if anything good's going around."

"Sounds good to me." She turns back to the control console and presses another button before standing up. "I'm going to get ready."

"Alright." You nod. "I'll look up a few good places to start searching."

She heads back into the ship, leaving you alone in the cockpit to contemplate to yourself about everything that has recently transpired. Adagio, the death sticks, the run-in with the Sith warrior, everything. It's weird, but you can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong about all of this.

You take out Adagio's gem and look at it again. "What are you?"

After everything that happened, this little gem is making you feel very uneasy. Rarity said it wasn't formed naturally. Which is strange, but not very surprising, seeing as how it made Adagio screech as loud as a Krayt Dragon. You haven't heard of regular rocks doing anything like that before.

It's also very strange that the Sith were able to find you on Tatooine. Maybe this gem had something to do with it.

Thoughts like that make you want to throw this thing out into space, but your curiosity makes you want to find out what this thing is first. Hopefully, the Sith are smart enough to figure out that you're just a simple man trying to make your way in the universe, and they'll leave you alone when they realize you're actually not trying to sabotage their plans at all, whatever they are. If they aren't that smart, then you're not above killing more Sith. They're scum.

You place the gem back into your pouch and take a deep breath before standing up and heading back to the armory to grab your blaster pistols, some toxic darts, and a few mini rockets for your wrist. You also grab your new lightsaber and conceal it onto your belt. Subtlety is the key here, at least until you know exactly where Trixie is.

You walk over to the other side of the armory and grab your standard jetpack without the missile. After putting it on, you exit the armory and head back up to the cockpit. The console beeps rapidly to let you know that you're coming up on Malastare. Taking a seat, you decrease the throttle and come out of lightspeed.

Author's Note

Trixie.

Malastare.

Digging Around the Dugs

The blue-green planet comes into view, and you scan the planet for the most densely populated places. Cross-referencing them with areas with high numbers of imported goods, and, after a few moments, the computer concentrates its search on the planet's capital city of Pixelito, which is where most of the planet's podraces are hosted.

After searching more thoroughly, the computer highlights a good-sized area of the city close to the main track, where the highest concentration of chak-root is consumed, be it drugs or otherwise. It's times like this that you're especially glad you have Sunset with you. Apart from obviously being your most trusted friend and partner, Pixelito is pretty large for walking around, and it would take a long time to track down a single person if it was just you.

You take the controls to the ship and make your way to the planet's surface as Sunset comes into the cockpit, fully armored, save for her helmet.

"Find anything good?" She asks as she sits down beside you.

You nod. "Yeah, there's a few good places near Pixelito's racetrack. I'll transmit the info to you when we land." Maneuvering the ship, you enter the atmosphere and make your way to the spaceport.

Pixelito was located on a rocky, empty part of the planet's surface, with little vegetation growing nearby. Malastare had various landscapes. Some parts of the planet were rocky and desolate wastelands, while others were lush, green forests teeming with life. You've only been here a couple of times. Tatooine has podracing too, but it only comes into season once every few months. The hype there is nothing compared to Malastare.

You fly over the city until you see the spaceport, then begin your descent. Spotting an open hangar on the ground, you position the ship over it and slowly descend until you land.

You kill the engines and stand up. "Showtime."

The two of you exit the cockpit and you turn to the computer in the main hold. You send the coordinates data to yourself and Sunset before grabbing your helmet and placing it on your head. She's already got her helmet on and is waiting for you by the ramp.

The both of you step outside and look around. The hangar is quiet, but nothing looks out of the ordinary. You can hear some of the hustle and bustle from the commoners just outside.

You head to the exit and are met by a Dug, who's holding a datapad and looking up at you. "Mandalorians, welcome. How long are you two planning to stay?"

"Not long." You reply. "A day or two, at the most."

He glances at your ship before turning to his datapad and pressing a button. "Very well. The landing fee will be 200 credits." You take out the amount and hand them to the Dug. He takes them and grins at you. "Big race coming up in about a week. Think about coming back. Races are always fun to watch."

You need more information, so you decide to go along with him. "That's the plan, but we wanted to scope out a place to get a good drink. Where's the best place to go in town?"

The Dug goes to his datapad once more and hums as he looks through the listing. "The bars by the track are always good. A few bars nearby are good too. A couple have got really good reviews recently, but they're a little further away from the track."

Sunset gives you a small nudge and steps toward the Dug. "Can I take a look at that?"

While she distracts him, you press a button on your gauntlet and bring up the scanner on your HUD. Identifying his datapad, you remotely hack into it and copy all the information he has stored. While it's downloading, you move next to Sunset and look at the datapad as well. A large chunk of red dots that indicate the location of bars surround the racetrack, while a few others are more dispersed as the distance from the track increases.

"Quite a few locations you have. I've never been to Malastare before, but my husband has been here a few times." She looks at you, so you roll with it.

You wrap your arm around her and give her a squeeze. "Nothing but the best for you, love. Tatooine's got some decent racing, but it's nothing compared to here."

She giggles and turns back to the Dug, giving him a respectful nod. "Thanks for your help. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch that race."

The Dug smirks and returns the nod. "Glad I could help. Enjoy your stay."

He walks off and turns a corner. Once he's out of sight, she looks at you. "You download everything?"

You nod. "Yeah. I'll send you the info."

"Okay." She replies.

You grin and set your hands on your hips. "So, you played the 'husband' card, huh? You trying to tell me something?"

"I dunno. Maybe." She says. You can hear the grin on her face beneath her helmet as she talks.

You chuckle and give her a little pat on the ass, which she returns with a giggle. "Let's go. We've got work to do."

You nod at her and the two of you head to the exit together. Once you're on the streets, you look around to see people, mostly Dugs, walking around and going about their business. Most of the buildings are either grey or bronze in color. A few of them even resemble Diamond Tiara's palace. There's more greenery and plant life inside the walls of the city than outside, and it really adds color to the otherwise bland atmosphere of the planet.

You turn to Sunset and send the datapad's info to her. "Okay, how about you head to a few of the bars around here? Check out the ones that have the good reviews first. I'll head to the ones by the racetrack."

She nods. "Sounds good. I'll let you know if I find anything."

Both of you part and go your separate ways. You head toward the large cluster of bars highlighted on your map and begin scanning for any information about chak-root beverages or recent shipments.

Hopefully, you'll be able to narrow your search a bit further. This is the most boring part of your job. There's rarely any action involved, it's just you going from place to place on a massive search for someone that usually takes a long time before it bears any fruit. It almost feels like detective work, rather than hunting. But then again, they both have similar aspects.

Every once in a while, you'll get a job where you just have to chase or fight someone. Those are your favorite jobs. They don't come along too often though, unfortunately. Best you can do is just tolerate the fact that this is another step you have to take in order to find your target. You've been tempted to start fights or cause trouble before, just so you can get your heart pumping. But that's a risk, it's always reckless, and it's just downright unprofessional, so you've ignored those temptations.

You sigh through your nose as you make your way closer to the racetrack, passing various Dugs on the streets as you do. After a while, you finally come upon one of the highlighted bars that are marked on your HUD. It's in a medium-sized building a few streets away from the racetrack. You can hear the podracers' engines revving from here.

You head inside and look around. The bar is nothing fancy, but you have to start somewhere. Patrons, mostly Dugs, are socializing or watching races on various screens along the walls. It isn't too crowded, so you easily make your way to the bar.

The Dug bartender comes up to you. "What can I get you, human?"

"Information." You set your hands on the bartop. "When was your last shipment of chak-root liquor delivered?"

He's taken back by your question somewhat. "A few days ago, I think. Why?"

You press him further. "Who and where did it come from?"

He scoffs and shakes his head a little. "Why does it matter? Do you want a drink or not?"

You lean in to intimidate him. "Just answer my question, Dug. I'm looking for someone."

He leans back and looks you up and down before growling and rolling his eyes. "I don't know, some nearby station somewhere. Hang on."

He walks off, leaving you behind and staring at him as he leaves. You walk around the bar and follow him so he doesn't leave your eyesight, but he goes into a back room, so you wait for him.

After a minute or so, he returns, looking a little angry. "We get our shipment from a brewing station orbiting Polith. They come twice a week. Now, I'm very busy, so unless you want to buy a drink, get out." The Dug just glares at you from behind the bar.

You simply nod at him and turn around. "I appreciate the information."

You exit the bar and look at your map. The Polith system isn't too far away from Malastare. It's possible Trixie is there, but you'll ask around a bit more, just to be safe. There's still a bunch of other places to look that are a bit closer to the racetrack.

You groan to yourself and head toward another bar. Today's going to be a long day.

"Straight from Naboo, huh?" You ask.

The human bartender nods again. "Yes, that's where the chak-root is brought to and brewed into our liquor. It's then delivered to us, along with a few other nearby systems, I'd wager."

You are Sunset Shimmer. Right now, you're talking with the bartender at one of the other places on your map that could be taking shipments from Trixie.

You press further. "When do you get your shipments?"

"Once a week." The bartender replies. "We should be getting our next one later today."

Later today. Trixie just might be making that delivery. It's nothing solid, so there's no real reason to let Anon know about it yet, but you make a note of it in your head.

You nod and place your helmet back on before turning around to leave. "You've been very helpful. Thank you."

You step outside and head toward an alleyway just across the street. It's a good idea to do some recon on this upcoming shipment, so you press a button on your gauntlet and activate one of the probe droids that you have aboard the ship. This is just one of the bars close to the spaceport, so your ship isn't far away.

When you reach the alleyway, you turn around and get a good view of the bar. After a few minutes, the small probe droid comes hovering out of the hanger bay doors and over to you. Once it reaches you, it stops and you open a panel on its side, revealing its computer so you can program it manually. You program the droid to watch the bar and scan for information on any cargo surrounding it. If anything comes up, it will alert you and give you a live feed through your HUD.

Your gauntlet had been damaged a while ago, and the programming software in it was now corrupted. You hadn't gotten around to repairing it yet, so you had to program the droid like this. All your gauntlet really could do now was activate the droid or recall it back to you.

Once you've finished programming the droid, you close the panel and it flies up a few feet. It twists 90 degrees before it latches itself to the wall and turns its camera toward the bar. You view the feed through your HUD, watching yourself as you wave your hand in front of the camera to make sure it's live.

Feeling content, you close the feed and head down the street toward the next closest bar. This is one of the bars that the Dug said was doing very well lately, so you're going to find out what's so special about it. It's a little way's away, so it takes a minute to get there, but once you do, you head inside the entrance and look around at the patrons of Dugs and other aliens inside.

This one is surprisingly crowded for a bar that has some distance from the racetrack. It must be a very fun place to hang out. You wade your way through the crowd of people, looking around for anything that seems out of the ordinary. Everything seems pretty normal though. Patrons are drinking and socializing, and the screens are flashing with various sporting events.

Then, you notice something disturbing. A few of the patrons are using death sticks.

Curious, you head over to the small group of people sitting down at a large table and spy on them. Most of them are human, but there is also a Rodian and a Twi'lek with them. They each have at least one death stick in their hands.

You turn around and head into a quiet corner of the bar. "Anon? Come in. I think I found something."

The static from the comms in your helmet is followed by Anon's voice. "What's up?"

"I'm in one of the bars with a good review." You say. "I haven't found anything solid on Trixie yet, but a few patrons here are passing around death sticks. Just like on Nar Shaddaa."

There's a silence on the other end of the comms for a moment. "Find out where they came from. If you can, get a sample so we can see if it matches the one we found before."

"I will." You reply, looking around. "How are things on your end?"

"Could be better." He sighs. "I haven't found anything too good. Best lead I have so far is a space station orbiting Polith. I'll keep looking though."

"Alright." You shut off your comms and look back to the group of people with the death sticks.

You eye the one in the middle, a human male who's holding a red death stick and laughing with his friends. He's pretty attractive, despite his obvious drug problem. You decide to use that to your advantage. Taking off your helmet, you grin and walk around the group so you're behind him.

You put on your best flirty face and lean in close. "Excuse me?" He turns around to face you. You smile and point at the drug in his hand. "I'm wondering, do you have any more of those on you?"

He looks at the death stick and grins at you. "I'm sure I can spare a few for you, gorgeous."

"Oh, aren't you sweet? Handsome, too." You place a hand on his shoulder and move your fingers in small circles, biting your lip as you talk to him.

He smiles wider and his friends begin to whoop and cheer as they watch you. He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a few more death sticks. "You know what gorgeous, I like you. I'm going to give you something special." He grabs an individual yellow one and hands it to you. "This one is a new kind of death stick. Extra spicy, makes you feel even better than the regular ones do."

That is exactly what you wanted to hear.

You feign awe and take the little tube in your hand. "Oooh, you've really got it all, don't you?"

He clicks his tongue at you and smiles. "I'd like to think so."

You force a laugh and playfully push his arm. "And you're funny too!"

He turns and smiles at you, chuckling a bit. "I never caught your name, gorgeous."

"Sunset." You reply. "Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer... That's a beautiful name for a beautiful Mandalorian girl like you." He grins wider and takes your hand in his, kissing the top of it. "I'm Flash. Flash Sentry."

You smile and bite your lip. "You're quite the gentleman, Flash." He releases your hand and you make circles on his shoulder again. "I think I'd like to see what else you have to offer a girl like me..."

You make eye contact with each other and he raises an eyebrow. "You name the time and place, sweetheart."

You look around the bar and notice a supply closet in the back. You turn back at him and grin as you motion toward it. "Meet me back in there... I'll show you just how good it is under this armor."

Without waiting for a response, you get up and walk over to the supply closet, brushing a finger along his back as you do. You swing your hips provocatively as you walk until you reach the supply closet and step inside. You close the door behind you and shut the lights off. You laugh to yourself. Boys are so easy to manipulate.

After a short minute or two, the door opens and Flash steps inside. "Sunset?"

"Lock the door." You command.

He grins and does as he's told. You hear the mechanical locking mechanism on the door. "So, heh, how do you want to-"

You turn on the lights, grab his collar and press him against the wall. His face twists from one of excitement to confusion and finally to fear as he sees your blaster pistol pressed against his forehead and your glowering face staring at his. "You scream, you die, hot stuff."

Author's Note

Podracing on Malastare.

A Dug.

A probe droid.

Setting a Trap

"Tell me about these." You hold up the death stick he gave you in your other hand. "Who did you get them from?"

Flash just stares up at your blaster pistol, still horrified. You lift the pistol up and tap it on his head a few times to get his attention. He gasps and looks you in the eyes as you shake the death stick in your hand and raise an eyebrow at him.

He gives a nervous chuckle. "Heh... Wow! You... You got me good, Sunset! I mean, I shouldn't be surprised a hot Mandalorian girl is so-" You remove the blaster from his head and give him a good smack across the face. "Ah!" He cries out and falls to the ground, holding his cheek.

He looks up at you and you press the blaster against his head again. "This can either go really well for you, or really well for me. Patience isn't my strong suit, and I'm already taken, so you better choose before I choose for you."

He just looks at you with an expression of both fear and slight anger as he holds his bruised cheek.

Again, you hold up the yellow death stick he gave you. "Tell me everything about these 'special' death sticks."

He pauses for a moment before exhaling. "They're... They just feel better than regular death sticks! They're stronger. They-they give you more of a high. They started popping up here about a week ago, and they've been going around fast." As he talks, you notice that he goes into a trance and relaxes as he starts to shut his eyes. "They feel incredible. They're almost hypnotic. The taste, the feeling, the sensation, its all just so... awesome..."

He stops talking and goes limp. He snores once.

"Did..." You blink once. "Did you just nod off?" You smack his cheek a couple times to wake him back up. "Hey!"

He gasps and looks up at you like nothing happened. "...The thing is, the good feelings get shorter after a while, but they also get better. Way better. It's basically a 'quality or quantity' battle at that point."

You sigh and hold up your hand, exasperated. "Alright, stop. Where did you get them?"

Flash visibly strains to remember for a moment. "There was a chick who was handing them out to people here almost every day. It was great, but I hadn't seen her around here before that."

"Was her name Aria?"

Flash shakes his head. "No, it was something else... 'T' something... Tricky?"

Your eyes widen. "Trixie?"

Flash snaps his fingers and points at you. "Trixie! Yeah, that's it!"

You slowly lower the blaster from his head. Trixie is involved with these new death sticks. How? Why? They were on Nar Shaddaa and now they're here on Malastare. What the hell is going on?

You look back at him. "Do you know where she was going? Where her ship was parked? What she looked like? Anything."

Flash shakes his head. "No, she kept to herself. She would show up about the time the sun went down. She was here yesterday, but I never saw when she left."

"Damn it..." You say under your breath.

You're going to have to check the cameras to find out where she went. There's bound to be a terminal somewhere in the back. You holster your blaster and activate your suit's personal beacon via your gauntlet to let Anon know you need him. You'll check out the security footage in the meantime.

Flash clears his throat and sits up. "So you're not going to blast me?"

"No Flash. You've been very helpful and I'm grateful." You prepare a non-lethal dart. "Word of advice though, real quick. These death sticks, do you know why they're extra spicy?" He shakes his head. "They're filled with a neurotoxin that literally disintegrates your brain within a very short time. Do you understand me? You WILL die very, very soon if you keep this up." He just stares at the drug as you point your gauntlet at his neck. "They're called 'death sticks' for a reason, genius. It's a filthy, disgusting habit and they make you look like a filthy, disgusting person. When you wake up, rethink your life."

You press the button on your gauntlet and the dart shoots into his neck. He gasps and grabs his neck before his eyes roll back and he goes completely limp in an unconscious heap on the ground.

You stand up and put your helmet back on. Placing the death stick in one of your belt pouches, you shut off the lights, unlock the door and slip out of the closet and back into the main room of the bar. You stick to the edge of the bar and scan for the bartender behind all the patrons, who are continuing with their socializing.

Your comms flicker and Anon speaks in your ear. "Sunset, what's going on?"

"I just got a huge lead on Trixie." You say. "She may not even be smuggling chak-root at all. It sounds like she's dealing that same type of death stick that Adagio was involved with."

Anon pauses for a moment. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yeah." You reply. "I got a tip from a junkie who said he got his fix from a girl named 'Trixie'. It can't be a coincidence. I'm going to see if I can get the security footage on the bar's terminal to clarify what he said."

"Good work." Anon says. "I'm already on my way to you."

You shut off the comms and head to the bar, weaving your way through the crowd of people until you reach the counter. Hopefully, you won't have to 'persuade' the bartender to help you out like you did with Flash. No, you'll just give him a little scare.

You slam your hands on the table and the Gran bartender jumps in surprise as you stare at him behind your visor. "Hi there. I need you to do me a small favor."

You make your way out of a cantina close to the racetrack. After dealing with frustrated bartenders, suppliers and a few drunks, you finally got some good news from Sunset. Sounds like she found some dirt on Trixie.

You push your way past the patrons and make it back outside. Sunset's beacon is blinking on your HUD. She's not too far away from you; about a mile or so. From here, all you can see are a couple of taller buildings among numerous smaller ones in between you and her. You could probably see her from the air very easily.

You jog past a few other bystanders and press another button on your gauntlet. Your jetpack launches you into the air and you make your way toward Sunset's location. The city streets whiz by below you and a few of the bystanders look up at you and point. You easily move around the taller buildings and continue your flight. After a few minutes, you descend toward a cantina. Sunset's beacon is coming from within.

You land in front of the entrance and head inside the building. You move past a few patrons until you see Sunset behind the counter. She's alone, and she's looking at a terminal on the back wall. As you make your way over to her, you also notice that the bartender is nowhere to be seen. Maybe he ran off, or he tried to give her trouble and she dealt with him. If so, that's a bad move.

"What'd you find?" You ask as you walk up to her.

She turns to you for a moment before looking back to the screen. "Nothing yet. I'm going over the footage from the security cameras. Flash said she was in here last night."

You cock your head slightly. "Flash?"

"Oh." She chuckles. "He's my junkie admirer. He's been taken care of, don't worry."

You go behind the counter and look at the terminal over her shoulder. On screen, you see nothing out of the ordinary. Drinking, cheering at the podraces being broadcast, a sexy dancer or two, the usual.

"There." She quickly points to someone on the screen. "That's Flash."

He's a human male. A few years younger than you. He's got friends with him and he seems to be enjoying himself. Sunset speeds the feed up a little, but you keep watching Flash on the screen. After a few minutes he gets up and walks over to the edge of the screen, out of the camera's view. Sunset presses a button and the screen switches to another camera. You see Flash again as he walks over to the bar's back wall. He stops for a moment and stays still. It looks like he's just waiting there for something. Then, you see someone else walk up to him. A female.

Sunset slows the feed down to normal speed. The female comes from below the screen so you can't see her face. She and Flash exchange words for a bit longer before he smiles and takes something from her.

"Come on, turn around." Sunset whispers.

He laughs and puts what you assume to be death sticks in his shirt before he walks back to his friends. The female stands and watches him for a little bit longer before turning around and walking beneath the camera again.

You smile as she inadvertently reveals her face, just for a moment. "It's Trixie."

"We've got her." Sunset says. You can hear the grin on her face.

"Did Flash say how long she had been dealing here?"

"He said the death sticks showed up here about a week ago." Sunset replies. "He also said Trixie had been here almost every day at sundown." She pushes a few buttons on the terminal and exits to the main screen. "She's probably got a ship. No doubt she'll try to make a getaway when she realizes she's been caught."

You nod. "I agree."

Sunset turns to face you. "I'll head back and check to see if the spaceport has any records on her or her ship."

"Sounds good." You reply. "I'll stay here and wait for her to show up."

You both turn around and leave from behind the counter. One or two patrons were giving you strange looks for being back there, but you ignore them. The two of you move through the crowd of people and exit the bar.

Sunset looks at you as she walks. "I'll be waiting for your transmission."

You nod at each other and she heads back to the spaceport. She won't have to wait too long, hopefully. The sun will be down in about an hour or so. Across the street, you spot a building that overlooks the bar. You activate your jetpack and fly up to the roof. Once you land, you survey your surroundings and then sit down, watching the bar's entrance below for any sign of Trixie.

You take a deep breath. "And now we play the waiting game..."

Author's Note

Flash Sentry.

Death sticks.

A typical cantina.

Trixie

After waiting on the roof for about an hour, night had finally fallen on Malastare. You continue to peer down at the cantina as alien species of many kinds begin to flock at the entrance. This place gets popular at night. Using your HUD's night vision, you carefully sweep across all the faces in the crowd and wait for the facial recognition software to spot her.

Now that you're actively looking for her, you're starting to think that you're not going to be able to spot her from up here. There's a lot of people down there. She may have blended in with the crowd and gone inside already.

You get to your feet and walk to the opposite side of the building. You turn your jetpack on to its lowest setting and gently descend to the ground. Once you land, you walk into an alley that leads back to the bar and casually head toward the entrance. You're forced to slow down as you get near, due to the amount of people here, but you gently push past them.

Maybe Flash told Sunset something else. Some other detail about Trixie.

You activate your comms. "Sunset."

She comes on a second later. "Find her yet?"

"Not yet. If she's here already, I'm having trouble spotting her in the crowd. This place gets busy at night." You finally reach the actual entrance and head inside. "Is there anything else Flash told you about her?"

Sunset pauses for a moment. "He did mention that she hangs out by the outer walls of the bar and keeps to herself, but that's it. He was pretty stoned when I was talking to him."

You look around at the edge of the bar for any loners, but no one really sticks out right now. "Alright, I'll keep looking around. Get any info on a ship that may belong to her?"

"I don't think so." She says. "I did find records of a couple of ships that have been here for a few days, but neither of them looked too promising. I had one of our probe droids check one of them out, but it came back with nothing."

You make your way toward the area where the security camera caught her. "Alright, well, I'm inside now and sticking to the shadows. I'll keep you posted."

You cut your comms and move past a few people, getting a good look around. You spot the area of the bar where you saw the security footage. You can see the camera on the ceiling. Just below it though, you see two people talking to each other. One of them, you recognize as Flash, who looks a little tired and very nervous.

The other is Trixie.

"There you are..." She whispers.

You hide yourself behind a few people, your helmet's rangefinder moving down in front of your left eye to listen in on, and record their conversation.

Flash rubs the back of his neck as he looks at her. "...she kept asking about where I got them."

"What did you tell her?" Trixie asks.

"I-I told her I got them from you." He replies.

"WHAT?!" Trixie goes from fear to extreme anger and she punches Flash in the face. He reels back and grabs his nose. "How could you tell her about Trixie?! What if she was a mercenary or a bounty hunter or something?!"

She's still whispering as best as she can, but you can tell she wants to explode. She's also speaking in third person, which really irks you.

Flash stammers and starts to back up. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you wanted to keep it a secret! I thought she may have wanted some death sticks!"

She grabs him by the collar and gets in his face. "When someone asks for Trixie by name, then you never, EVER tell them about her! Trixie should kill you right here!"

Flash gulps. "Please! P-Please, Trixie, I-I'm sorry!"

Trixie scowls at him for a few moments before pushing him away. "As much as she'd like to, Trixie mustn't. Not here, not now. Trixie must leave before this bitch finds her. Trixie must leave right now! Her work on Malastare is done!"

She shoves Flash out of her way and angrily heads toward the exit, getting about two feet away from you as she walks. You mark her on your HUD and wait for her to get further away before you start to follow her.

"Sunset, did you get all that?" You whisper into your comms.

"I did." She replies. "She called me a bitch. That's kind of rude."

You chuckle. "Don't you worry, love. I'll let you know when I have her. Get the ship ready to go."

You shut off your comms and continue to follow behind Trixie as she exits the bar. Once you're outside, she leads you down one of the darkened streets. You're walking about ten paces behind her and she's sped up a bit, but you don't let her out of your sight. She's being very cautious. Occasionally, she glances behind her and looks directly at you.

You notice that she isn't glancing at the rooftops much when she looks around and so you decide to take advantage of that. To ease any suspicions she may have about you, you make a left down a different street and wait for her to continue forward.

Once she's a bit further away, you activate your jetpack and fly up to the rooftops. You land and follow her from above, quietly hovering over to the next building whenever a gap comes your way. She still isn't paying much attention to the tops of the buildings at all. Good.

"The ship's all ready to go, Anon." Sunset says in your ear.

"Alright, hang tight." You reply. "If she heads to the spaceport, come out and we'll give her a good scare together. If she goes somewhere else, then I'll go in and you come pick us up."

You continue following her down the street and watching her movements. She makes a few lefts and rights but ultimately gets closer and closer to the spaceport. Upon reaching a fork in the road, she stops and looks both ways. You're on the left side of the street. If she goes right, you'll have to risk her seeing you by flying over to the other side.

She looks right and then she looks left. You can see half of her face as she does. She waits there for a moment before suddenly turning her attention up to the roof and right at you. You hold completely still and stare back at her. There's no way she's able to see you up here. It's too dark and you're above any streetlights.

She stares at the rooftop you're on for a moment or two before walking to the right. Her eyes never leave you. You remain motionless and hope she isn't onto you. Your hopes start slipping away as she speeds up into a jog, moving further away from you. She can't see you, but she knows she's being followed. It looks like it's about time to go introduce yourself.

"Sunset, she's running back to the spaceport." You run off the edge and fly into the air after Trixie. "I'll patch you through to my video feed. Get ready."

"Okay. Stay on her." Sunset says.

You press a button on your gauntlet and fly over the street, your rangefinder swinging down in front of your helmet again. Your jetpack roars as you get closer to Trixie.

She turns around and spots you in the air, which makes her eyes widen in horror. "No!"

It's then that she takes off into a full-on sprint down the street. She pushes and shoves people out of her way, making a few of them fall down in the process. You start to descend and close in on her, but you don't want to catch her just yet. She's too far away from the spaceport, for Sunset to get the jump on her, and the chase is one of your favorite parts of this job.

She turns back to look at you for a moment as she runs, and you see her take out a blaster pistol. You fly back into the air and create some space between you two as she fires a couple desperate shots behind her. They miss you by miles of course, and you keep hot on her tail.

She suddenly makes a sharp left down a narrow alleyway. You screech to a stop in the air and descend low to the ground before continuing after her. It's a bit difficult to maneuver down here, but you've done worse. Pipes and various pieces of junk and refuse scatter the area, but you are able to move around them with relative ease.

The alleyway ends and leads out to another street. Trixie skids and tries to make a sudden left turn, but she falls onto her side. She frantically gets back to her feet and takes off into another sprint and the chase resumes. This time, in the opposite direction of the spaceport. You exit the alleyway and continue your pursuit from a higher altitude. Just for fun, you take out your blaster pistol and shoot at the ground around her feet. She screams and nearly trips again, but manages to keep her footing.

You hear Sunset laugh over your comms. "Anon, you're such a jerk."

You laugh with her. "I know I am."

You both continue down the streets for a few moments and again you close in on her. She looks back at you again, clearly out of breath.

You're just about to reach her when she screams and whips around, throwing something in your face. "Leave Trixie alone!"

It smacks against your helmet and explodes into a cloud of smoke. You shout and immediately fly upwards and expect to leave the cloud behind you. However, as you ascend, the cloud doesn't get any thinner and you still can't see. You reach up and rub all around your helmet's face for a moment before you feel a foreign object, stuck just above your visor. It feels like its puffing out air.

Sunset obviously can't see your live feed either. "Anon! What did she do?!"

You growl. "She threw some kind of smoke pellet and it stuck to me. I can't see anything. Switching to thermal."

You feel around and press a button on your gauntlet and your HUD flickers before turning dark blue and illuminating the world around you with red spots, indicating the heat from the life forms below. You can see again, so you quickly look around for Trixie.

You can see a red spot running away from you on your HUD and you take off after her at full speed. Your jetpack roars loudly as you catch up to her much faster than you did before. Playtime is over.

As you approach her, you activate your suit's targeting system and prepare your whipcord. You raise your wrist and aim at her legs. With every second, you get closer and closer to her. You wait until she's in mid-stride, so her ankles are right next to each other.

"3...2...1..." You fire.

The whipcord whistles through the air as it wraps around Trixie's ankles, tripping her instantly. She screams as she falls onto her face and rolls a few times. You fly over her and double over in the air, turning around to look down at her.

"We got her, Sunset." You say on your comms.

"Nice work, Anon! I'll be right there." She replies.

You descend to the ground and walk over to Trixie. She grunts and desperately tries to undo the whipcord around her legs as you approach, taking your helmet off in the process.

"You know, I really don't appreciate you screwing up my vision, Trixie." You hold your helmet up and look at the tiny sphere that's still shooting out little puffs of smoke, even if it's just barely. You grab it and yank it off before throwing it at Trixie's face. "Doing that, on top of bailing on a Hutt so you can deal drugs is all the evidence I need to deduce that you're a damn idiot."

Trixie glares up at you in a fury. "Don't you dare insult the Great and Powerful Trixie, bounty hunter! You are an insignificant-"

You swing your foot into her stomach to shut her up and she wheezes in pain before looking up at you in anger. "Shut up. I'm sick of your 'high and mighty' attitude."

You bend down and bind her hands together before standing her up. She just stares at the ground as you put your helmet back on and walk her toward the spaceport. A small crowd has gathered around you and is watching.

After a minute or two, you look up to see your ship flying toward you. "There we are."

Trixie also looks up at your ship and gets a look of determination on her face, but stays silent. Then, when Sunset starts to lower the ship, Trixie stops and lurches herself backwards. "Illusion! Fire now!"

Your gaze turns to Trixie for a second before the sound of a blast makes you turn back to your ship. Out of nowhere, another ship materializes behind yours and fires a missile at your engines.

It hits and Sunset screams over your comms. "What the-?!"

The ship lurches forward and over your and Trixie's heads as it begins to spin out of control. You run out into the street to keep the ship in your view as it flies behind a building.

"Sunset!" You shout.

In your comms, you hear the ship's alarm blaring in the background, along with her straining to regain control of the ship. "I can get it! Hang on, I can get it!"

Once the ship begins to show signs of control again, you turn around to see Trixie hopping away toward her ship, which is nearly on the ground now and you are in an open spot. It's a terrible place to be right now. As her ship gets closer to ground level, it turns in the air so that it, along with its laser cannons, are both facing directly at you.

"Damn!" You activate your jetpack and fly into the air just in time before the ship unleashes a barrage of blaster fire toward you.

The ground directly beneath you explodes and the following shockwave messes up your flight path and you twirl out of control in the air. You scream as you fly directly into a wall before falling back down to the ground hard.

You grunt and get back to your feet as fast as you can. You look at Trixie's ship for a second and run into a nearby alleyway. You hug the wall between you and the ship and take your blaster out. After a second or two, you turn around the corner and fire a few bolts at the ship, hoping to hit Trixie before she boards. Your hopes are in vain though, as every shot misses her and she finally boards. Once she does, her ship takes off and begins to ascend. She's getting away.

You bolt out of the alleyway and fly back into the air toward the ship. You fire a few more times at it but it does nothing. You approach the ship in the air, but it fires its sublight engines and flies away faster than your jetpack can go.

"No!" You shout.

On your left, you see your ship fly beside you with the exit ramp lowered. Sunset is looking at you anxiously from the cockpit. "Anon, get in!"

You fly over to the ramp and grab a hold of it. You're a bit off-balance at first, but you manage to pull yourself aboard and set foot on the ramp as Sunset stays behind Trixie.

You press a button and close the ramp. "I'm aboard! Go after her!"

Author's Note

An angry Trixie.

A Mandalorian using his jetpack.

Darth Maul's ship, the Scimitar, had a cloaking device.

Dark Secrets

You jog toward the cockpit, but lose your footing once you get there and fall down as the ship suddenly accelerates. "Haar'chak!" <"Damn it!"> You look up at Sunset, who is tightly gripping the controls as she flies after Trixie. You grunt as you get up and sit in the co-pilot's seat. "How's the damage?"

"We'll be fine." Sunset says, staying focused on Trixie. "Where did her ship come from?"

"She was waiting for us." You power up the ship's main guns.

"Where? I didn't see anything when I flew up!" She exclaims.

"She has a few tricks up her sleeve. It had cloaking panels, or active camouflage, or something. I don't know. She called it 'The Illusion'. Either way, the fact that it's a stealth ship means that it's fast. I'm powering up our tractor beam." You press a button on the control console in front of you. "Get as close as you can to her. We have to be in range before she leaves the atmosphere or else we'll never get her."

Sunset guns the engines and the ship gets closer and closer, until you're finally in range. You flip another switch and the ship lurches and rocks in response but you never falter from Trixie's tail. She's not going anywhere now. The tractor beam is active.

As your ships break through the atmosphere, you activate the ship's forward cannons and fire a few warning shots at Trixie's ship, just to see if she'll ease up. The bolts explode around her ship but she turns and rolls around in a hopeless attempt to shake you. The tractor beam holds firm and you stay right on her tail. That was her chance to do this the easy way, and she just blew it.

She's out in the open with nowhere to go and she can't make the jump to lightspeed while you've got a hold of her. You switch to your ship's ion cannons and aim them at her. Hopefully you can take her down before she gets the idea to lead your ship into a piece of space debris or something. She's moving erratically and desperately trying to shake you, but she generally stays in your crosshairs.

Once the cannon is fully charged, you fire a few shots at her ship. Seconds later, her engines completely fail and electricity starts arcing along the hull. Her ship has been deactivated.

You turn off the Ion cannon. "Okay, get on top of her. I'm going to fire the docking clamp and reel her in so I can board."

Sunset nods. "Let me know when you're ready."

You stand up and head to the ship's docking clamp station. It's right next to the exit ramp. You bring up the view of Trixie's ship on the terminal and move the clamp so it's pointed at her. Once you have a lock, you fire the clamp and it flies toward her ship and latches onto it.

Sunset comes on the intercom next to you. "Nice shot. I'm reeling her in now."

Trixie's ship starts to get closer, and within a few seconds, it vanishes from your view and you feel the floor rumble as you make contact. Your ship's mechanical systems latch onto Trixie's and magnetize them together.

You had modified your ship to have a docking port on the ground for situations just like this. That way, you can literally drop in on your targets and mess up their ship, just to add insult to injury. You grab a blaster rifle from the armory and your new lightsaber before making your way to the ground docking port.

Sunset comes on your comms again. "I know she pissed you off back there, but don't rough her up too much, Anon. I don't have to remind you, but we need her alive."

"Exactly how alive do we need her?" You reply.

She doesn't answer you as you open the docking port and drop down into it so you're standing directly on the hull of Trixie's ship. The magnetic clamp should keep everything pressurized, so you're not worried about flying off into space.

You activate and plunge your lightsaber through the hull of her ship and begin to cut a hole big enough for you to fit through. Hopefully, this is scaring the hell out of her right now. Once you're halfway through your cut, you take out your blaster pistol and aim down toward the hull, ready to fire when the section you're cutting drops to the floor. You also preemptively activate your helmet's night vision. With the electrical systems disabled on her ship, it's going to be dark in there.

You continue cutting through her ship until you reach the end. The cut piece falls inside with a loud clang, and you immediately fire a barrage of shots into the ship to scare her off, just in case she's waiting to attack. Among the sounds of your blaster bolts, you hear a scream come from inside.

After a few seconds, you cease fire and deactivate your lightsaber before dropping down inside. Your pistol in one hand and your lightsaber in another.

Trixie runs behind a corner away from you and you quickly bolt after her. "You're only making this harder for yourself, Trixie!"

You turn a corner in the darkened ship right after her and see her again at the end of the corridor. She whips around and fires a few bolts from her own blaster at you, and you instinctively take cover behind the corner.

She stops firing after a moment, so you move out into the open and begin to fire at her. She tries to move out of the way, but fails and you hit her twice in the leg, making her scream and fall to the ground.

You stop firing and activate your comms as you walk over to her. "Sunset, I've got her. Come on down."

It would be pitch black in here, but thanks to your night vision, you can see Trixie's face as she holds her leg and looks up at you in fear. "Please... Please don't kill me..."

"Don't worry, I won't. I'll let Diamond Tiara have that privilege." She gulps and pants as you stand over her. "I will say this, I was wrong about you. You're a lot smarter than you come off. Cloaking your ship and waiting? I'm impressed."

You put away your weapons and move over to bind her wrists together again. You hear footsteps behind you and glance over your shoulder to see Sunset walking up to you both.

She looks down at Trixie. "Nice work."

You turn your attention back to Trixie, who takes a couple shaky breaths, but doesn't fight you. Once you're done, you stand her up and hand her off to Sunset. "Get her situated in the holding cell. I'm going to see if she's got any info on employers or something."

"Will do." Sunset takes Trixie and they both return to the docking port, leaving you alone in her darkened ship.

You head into the main hold and look around. It's a lot smaller compared to yours. It's just a room in the middle of the ship with a table in the center. You walk through another doorway and enter the cargo hold, which is also relatively small. A few crates inside seem to be filled with scraps, parts, and various other things that seem pretty worthless. You're almost confused about the amount of garbage she has here for a moment until you remember that she's a smuggler.

You look down and begin knocking the toe of your boots on the ground. Since she is a smuggler, she might have a hidden compartment or two somewhere. You walk around the ship for a bit and carefully listen for a hollow sound or something to indicate a hidden compartment.

Upon reaching a floor panel in the corridor leading to the cockpit a few minutes later, you hear it. A hollow clang. You knock a few more times and listen to the slight echo coming from below the floor. You crouch down and feel for a place to lift the panel, but find none.

After a few minutes of a fruitless search for a way to open it, you take out your lightsaber again and cut a small circle into the panel, being careful not to puncture it too deep. You don't want to damage anything inside.

Once it's open, you holster the lightsaber again and lift the halves of the panel up and out of the floor. Looking inside, you expect to see death sticks, but you find something else instead. An amulet shaped like a winged creature with a red jewel in the center. Strange.

Adagio's jewel looks a bit similar to this one. You take it out and compare them side by side. You give a thoughtful hum before you pocket the jewel again and place the amulet aside to look back in the smuggler's hole.

Past a few electrical wires, you come across a datapad and set it next to the amulet. That will come in handy. You reach back in once more and feel something long that stretches out beneath the floor. You can't see what it is, but you grab a hold of what feels like a metal cylinder and slide it out.

To your surprise, you pull out a sword.

"Woah..." You breathe.

It's an ancient sword that looks like it belonged to some kind of royalty. It's intricately designed, black as night, and very sharp. What the hell is Trixie doing with something like this?

You set it aside and continue to rummage through the smuggler's hole for anything else, but it feels empty. After quickly confirming that you got everything, you take the sword, along with the amulet and the datapad, and proceed to back to the docking port. You set the objects inside your ship before climbing back up yourself and closing the port behind you.

You head into the main hold where you see Sunset giving you an expectant look. "Find anything good?"

"You could say that." You set the sword and amulet down on the table and turn on the datapad.

"What the hell?" Sunset walks around the table and picks up the sword. She stares at it for a few moments while you take off your helmet and the datapad hums to life. "What is Trixie doing with stuff like this?"

There's a single message on the datapad. "I have a feeling we're about to find out."

You open the message and a few lines of text appear, but it doesn't say from whom. There is absolutely no indication of where it came from. Literally, the only thing on here is the text you're reading.

It reads:

You finish reading and hand the datapad to Sunset. "It looks like we're doing Trixie a favor by taking her in."

Sunset takes it from you and reads it herself. "Substance. Most likely the death sticks." She reads more before switching off the datapad and setting it down on the table. "Mustafar..."

"Not a bad place for a hideout." You shrug.

Sunset nods. "Yeah. Unfortunately, all we have is a location. Diamond Tiara won't accept that alone. I don't think we'll be getting a bonus on this one."

You sigh a little. "Oh well. We can't win them all. At least we have her."

Sunset nods again and sits up. "I'm setting a course for Tatooine. Let's go get paid."

You grin. "Good idea."

Sunset sets the amulet down and walks to the cockpit while you walk to the exit ramp and prepare to release the docking port off Trixie's ship.

You turn to the intercom and press the button. "You all set?"

"Yeah." Sunset replies. "Go ahead and release it."

You hang on to something and press the button next to the terminal. A second later, the entire ship rocks and rumbles as it detaches from Trixie's. On the terminal, you see Trixie's ship start to float away with a few objects from inside being sucked out of the hole you made into the vacuum of space.

You walk back to the cockpit and sit down in the co-pilot's seat next to Sunset. Trixie's ship is floating away right in front of you.

"Should we blast it?" She asks.

You nod. "Yeah. There's probably more stuff on there we missed. The galaxy doesn't need it though."

Sunset presses a few buttons and targets the ship. She pulls the trigger and two of your ship's missiles fly toward it, before impacting a second later. Trixie's ship goes up in a ball of fire. Pieces of scrap begin to scatter in every direction.

Sunset smiles. "That's always fun."

You chuckle. "Yeah it is."

She switches to the navicomputer and presses a few more buttons on the console. The ship adjusts its direction in space. She pushes the throttle forward and the ship takes off into lightspeed.

She takes a deep breath and reclines in her seat with a big smile on her face. "Tatooine, here we come."

You look over to her and smile. Despite how happy she looks, you can tell that she's tired. You should give her some good news.

"Back on Nar Shaddaa." You begin. "Remember what were you saying about taking a break?"

She looks over to you. "Oh, about after catching Aria?"

You nod. "I've kinda been thinking... Aria's not worth it. Trixie was worth the same, and this whole situation with the jewel is just curiosity at this point." She sits up slightly, the smile on her face becoming more genuine. "You were right. Once Diamond Tiara pays us, let's just take a break from this for a while. Like you said, there will always be bounties to hunt and we've got lots of money as it is. We might as well spend some of it."

Sunset stays there for a second before reaching over and taking your hand in hers. "Thanks, Anon. We both have really needed a vacation. Especially you."

You're taken back at that a little. "Why me?"

"You work so hard." She smiles again. "You're the best bounty hunter I've ever known, but even you need to take a break every now and then. You're not invincible."

You stay silent and think. As much as you'd like to believe you are invincible, it would be pure hubris to actually think so. Sunset's right and you know that she is.

You nod at her and smile again. "Where would I be without you?"

She giggles. "Like I said before, you'd probably be on your ass somewhere on Raxus Prime."

"Oh, that's right." You laugh and stand up to face her after a minute. "You're tired. Go to sleep and I'll stay up here."

She yawns and stretches her arms in front of her before also standing up. "Okay."

She faces you and you both hug each other tight. Neither of you speak, you just stay silent in each others' embrace and listen to each others' breathing.

You feel her rest her head against yours and take another deep breath. "Thank you."

You smile. "You're welcome, love." You turn and give her a soft kiss on the head, and she tightens her hold on you. Finally, after a few moments, she pulls back and you smile at each other. "Now, go to bed."

She smiles. "You sure you can handle it up here by yourself?"

You nod. "I'll find a way."

She giggles. "Alright, fine." She walks away, but continues to hold your hand loosely until she gets past arm's reach. "Goodnight, Anon."

Your hands stop touching as she walks away. "Goodnight, Sunset."

She turns and walks out of the cockpit, leaving you there alone. You sigh and turn around to sit in the pilot's seat. It's a good time to think about where you're going to go for your vacation. Naboo? Coruscant? Maybe head back home to Mandalore? You don't know, and you don't really care either.

As long as you get to spend your time with Sunset, you're happy with wherever.

Author's Note

The amulet found on Trixie's ship.

The sword.

A Favor for a Hutt

The massive door of Diamond Tiara's palace creaks ominously as it slowly slides upwards. Armed and fully clad in your armor, you and Sunset stand on either side of Trixie, who looks down to the ground in grim acceptance of her inevitable fate. Two Gamorrean guards escort you through the palace toward Diamond Tiara's throne room.

As you turn a corner, you're greeted by the same protocol droid from before. Silver Spoon.

"Welcome, bounty hunters. The illustrious Diamond Tiara has been expecting you. Please, follow me."

The droid turns and leads you down the large corridor of the palace for a few meters before making a left into a large room. Upbeat music plays from inside and you can see a thin layer of smoke coming from the entryway. As you enter, you see a variety of alien species applauding a Twi'lek singer in the center of the room who had apparently just finished a song. On a large throne in front of the Twi'lek, that is perfect for a Hutt, sits Diamond Tiara herself.

You tug on Trixie's arm and she reluctantly follows you and Sunset into the center of the room. "Greetings, oh Great and Powerful Diamond Tiara." Trixie turns and glares at you, obviously angry at you for addressing the Hutt with her title. You just push her forward and continue. "We've come to collect the bounty on this one."

Trixie looks up at the light purple Hutt as she begins chuckling heartily. "Chobaso, Konbouaheon. Ree jotke, tee poy Trixie gee nan banki danko. Jee hatkocanh faee wamma uba bu bie see donocha don keemon dokwacha phabeka che uen."

Unfortunately, you can't understand any Huttese when it's coming from an actual Hutt. You do recognize the word 'Konbouaheon' though. It means 'Mandalorian.'

The silver droid beside her speaks up to translate. "The generous Diamond Tiara bids you both welcome, Mandalorians. She will gladly pay you the sum of 5,000 credits for bringing Trixie back home."

The droid motions for two guards to come and retrieve Trixie, who is now desperately trying to bargain for her life. "Diamond Tiara, wait! Trixie was… I was going to pay you more! I-I had a deal that was worth a lot! It's why it looked like I vanished! I swear!” Two Gamorrean guards grab her and she begins squirming and fighting against them in vain as she’s dragged away. "Please, you have to believe me! I was still working for you!"

You just watch as she’s dragged toward a doorway on the other side of the room, kicking and squirming the whole time.

Diamond Tiara's booming voice echoes through her chamber. "Jee cha gee bai phaba kaa, Trixie. Uba doth bokeue bankop uba jot, um ateema uba doth ritke Bantha poodoo." She just laughs again, and you watch Trixie one last time before she disappears through the door, screaming the whole time.

You turn to Sunset and you both shrug at each other. Just another day in the life of a bounty hunter.

Diamond Tiara looks back at you. "Bo see mah lohba hatkocanh baumahka mee uyat, Konbouaheon. Um uba doth chobaso bai bidkana an panwa kae."

You take a small step forward and look at the droid. "The hospitable Diamond Tiara says that one of the palace guards will be here momentarily with your reward, Mandalorians. But you are both welcome to stay and enjoy yourselves for as long as you wish."

You look back at Sunset and whisper. "You want to hang out for a bit?"

Sunset looks around a little. "Not really. This place isn't my style."

You nod at her. "Okay, good. Same here. Plus, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can start our vacation." She huffs a small chuckle and you turn back to Diamond Tiara, pulling Adagio's gem from your belt pouch. "We appreciate your invitation, Diamond Tiara, but I'm afraid we'll have to decline. We have other matters to attend to. But, while I'm here, I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something else."

You hold out the gem and one of her servants takes it from you. She gives it to Diamond Tiara who brings it up close to look at it.

"I got it from an... acquaintance of mine, and I'm curious about where it came from." You lie.

The Hutt looks at the gem in her massive digits for a moment before looking back at you. "Haku woy uba can'ta Jee gee bla kaa vehpobaee tah, Konbouaheon?"

The droid speaks up again. "The Powerful Diamond Tiara wonders why you'd think she'd know anything about this, Mandalorian."

Ugh. You're going to have to flatter this thing...

"Well, I just assumed that because of your great wisdom and..." You can't believe you're about to say this. "...beauty, you might've heard a few things about what's going on in the galaxy."

Behind you, Sunset stifles a laugh, which she covers up by coughing.

You think you see a smile appear on Diamond Tiara's face and she starts laughing again. "Jee bacaka tah murishani. Goo banpop gee wa setkenu apiua che woute dauag."

She licks her lips and begins to rub her enormous slug-like body with her other hand, like she's showing herself off to you. It's revolting. You are so happy that you can't understand Huttese. She's probably flirting with you.

She hands the gem back to her servant and she brings it back to you. "Kouwaueve, Jee cha bla kiuke vehpobaee heee dan see dheueonka. Jee gee neu hoohah ata wa kouciukoee tee-tocky. Jee gee babau da paupe dheueonka doth camiuoy cay Jeedai pionpoe."

You take the gem back and put it back in your pouch. Silver Spoon speaks again. "The wise Diamond Tiara regrettably does not know much about this kind of gem, I'm afraid. She has heard that certain kinds of gems are popular with the Jedi. Perhaps they might be able to answer your inquiry."

"Ugh..." You groan in disgust.

Jedi.

You don't care that much about the gem. The very thought of going to the Jedi for help is absolutely repugnant. Even more so than the thought of sleeping with this Hutt.

Diamond Tiara's servant walks away while another one of her Gamorrean guards comes up to you and hands you a case. Sunset comes up beside you as you open it to inspect the contents. There sits your hard-earned 5,000 credits.

"Payday." You whisper under your breath. You close the case and give another respectful bow to Diamond Tiara. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Diamond Tiara."

Diamond Tiara chuckles and rubs her massive body again. "Bu cuova doth tytung bidwata, Konbouaheon. Jee dotmay bai woy yanee maee. Uba doth vee chobaso wata."

Silver Spoon translates once again. "The divine Diamond Tiara says that the pleasure is hers, and she hopes to do business with you again, Mandalorian. You are always welcome here."

You simply nod again before leaving the same way you entered with Sunset. The both of you are silent as you make your way out of the palace and back outside under Tatooine's binary suns.

It is only then that Sunset starts laughing. "HA! Look at you, Anon! Hitting on the Hutts!”

You shudder in disgust. "Oh, that was disgusting. The things I do for this job..." You just grumble to yourself as you head to your ship, which is parked next to Diamond Tiara's palace.

Sunset laughs at you a bit more as you both enter. "Well, I can appreciate you doing whatever it takes to get what you need, but come on, Anon! Have a little self-respect!"

"Shut up." You take off your helmet and set it on the table in the main hold before looking at her with a smirk. "Do you want to go on vacation or not?"

She chuckles again as she takes her helmet off as well. "Oh come on, you know you love me."

You grin and roll your eyes at her before taking a seat. "Yeah, you're right I do." You groan as you think back on your encounter with Diamond Tiara. What was even grosser was the fact that it seemed like she was into you as well. "We are never doing business with Diamond Tiara again."

You hear Sunset chuckle as she walks over to you and places her hands on your shoulders to give them a little massage. "Well I sure hope you don't. Especially if I'm here with you. She might get jealous and do something."

You grin and look up at her. “Well, I can’t take that risk, now can I? You’re way too special to me.”

”Aww, shucks.” She smiles.

You chuckle and she sits down on your lap, still holding your shoulders and looking into your eyes. You place your hands on her waist, just above her buttocks and hold her close.

“You thought of a good place to go?” You ask.

She hums as she thinks to herself for a moment. ”How about Alderaan?”

There’s an option you hadn’t considered.

“Alderaan...” You repeat.

You’ve only been there once before. It’s a very beautiful planet.

You nod at her and smile. “Good idea, love. Let’s head to Cato Neimoidia to give Rarity her finder's fee and then we'll head out.”

She smirks at you. "By 'we', you mean 'just you and me', right? She's not tagging along this time?"

You laugh. She's going to hold this against you for a while, you can already tell. "I'm sure we've both learned our lesson. I know I have."

"Good." She smiles and leans in close. "You and I need some quality alone time together for once."

You chuckle and squeeze her butt once. "I couldn't agree more."

She smiles and gets off of your lap, running her hand across your back before she heads to the cockpit. You watch her leave before taking the case of credits you were paid with and dividing them evenly. 2,500 for you, 2,500 for Sunset. Once it's done, you stand up and head toward the armory as you feel the ship’s engines begin to rumble.

The ship takes off and you unload all your gear before heading back into the main hold to grab the old sword and amulet that you had left there. You bring them back into the armory and set them in a footlocker before you sit down at your workbench. You aren't sure what to do with them right now, but you'll figure it out after you get back from Alderaan.

You’re about to start tuning up your blaster when you hear Sunset’s voice on the wall intercom. ”Anon? Get up here. Now.”

You stare at the intercom and a sudden sense of suspicion comes over you. Something’s wrong. Sunset sounded anxious, almost nervous.

You quickly get up and make a brisk walk to the cockpit. “What’s wrong?”

She looks back at you quickly before looking forward again. ”We’ve got company.”

You look ahead into space and see a single Republic capital ship facing right towards you.

Author's Note

A Hutt.

Mandalorian love.

A Republic Hammerhead-class cruiser.

Intervention

“We’re in the Outer Rim." You clench your fists. "What the hell is the Republic doing all the way out here?”

Sunset shakes her head. ”I don’t know. They just barely came out of hyperspace. I was just about to make our own jump.”

You’re about to reply to her when the cruiser starts to override your communications, and the video feed of a Republic Captain comes on your screen.

"Give me your attention." He commands. "I am Captain Shining Armor of the Republic Army.”

He's a blue Twi'lek. He looks fairly young, but his disciplined stance shows a high level of maturity.

You glare at him and get up close to the camera so he can see you clearly. “You’re a bit outside of your jurisdiction, Captain. What do you want?”

He studies you with a determined look on his face. ”This is a special outing, Mandalorian. We want you to come aboard, peacefully, so we can have ourselves a little talk.”

You cross your arms at him. “What if I don’t want to come aboard?”

He doesn't flinch. ”That’s too bad. You’re coming aboard whether you want to or not.”

You feel the ship rock slightly and you look at Sunset as she smacks the console in frustration. ”Tractor beam.”

Damn it.

You look back at Shining Armor. “What if I don’t want to be peaceful, Captain?”

Again, he doesn't flinch. ”Then you’ll be detained.”

You growl slightly as you look at him. “This is extremely uncalled for. You know that, right?”

He just stares at you silently for another moment before the transmission cuts and the screen goes black. Outside, you see yourselves get closer to the Republic cruiser as it pulls you in.

You quickly stomp back into the armory and Sunset follows. “Hide any of your gear that you don’t want to lose. They’re probably going to search the ship for whatever it is they’re looking for once we land.” You go to your workbench and grab your blaster pistols, rifle, and lightsaber, and equip them onto your person in their respective places.

Sunset is right behind you. ”Anon, we can’t fight and expect to win by ourselves. They’ve got all kinds of soldiers in there.”

You glance at her. “That doesn’t mean a fight won’t come looking for us. I’d like to be ready, just in case.”

You give a low growl as you start to grab and lock the majority of your valuable weapons in a locker on the back of the wall. You turn around to see Sunset also gearing up. She looks angry, but not as angry as you do. She’s probably feeling what you’re feeling, but knowing her, she's also thinking about things more rationally than you are.

“What do you think they want?” You ask.

She looks at you and shakes her head. ”I have absolutely no idea, but they’re not after us. We’ve been doing what we’ve always done, so they’ve made a mistake somewhere.”

"Damn right they have." You mutter.

She continues. ”I say we gear up, but we go in peacefully, just like they said. Keep up appearances and go along with what they say. They’ve got the wrong people, so unless we go in and shoot everything up, we’ve got nothing to be afraid of.”

She’s right. The Republic is fully armed and have you outnumbered a hundred to one. Going in guns blazing would be suicide. You’ve just done your job hunting bad people who have made stupid decisions and turning them in. You haven’t done anything wrong.

“Alright, good plan." You reply. "We’ll play their game. This is just a minor inconvenience.”

”Exactly.” Sunset nods.

You both finish gearing up and you feel the ship rumble and move slightly. You head back to the cockpit to kill the power to the engines. Outside, you see yourselves being navigated into the portside hangar bay of the Republic cruiser and lowered onto the ground. A large number of armed Republic soldiers are stationed below you or can be seen jogging over to where you’re landing.

“Oh boy…” You mutter.

You head back to the main hold, where Sunset is and grab your helmet.

”Maybe we should leave those here.” Sunset interrupts you.

You pause. “Our helmets?”

She nods. “It might help ease their worries a bit and get us out of here faster. We don't exactly have the best history with the Republic, after all.”

Good point. You set the helmet back down on the table.

“Maybe that’s what this is about." You suggest. "This Shining Armor prick is pissed about history and wants to take it out on us.”

She grins and shrugs a little. ”I sure wouldn’t put it past them.”

You feel the ship shake as it touches down on the hangar floor. You take a look at Sunset and take a deep breath to try and cool down. “Okay, here we go.”

You both head to the doorway to the exit ramp as it automatically opens. The expected echo of a starship’s hangar bay, accompanied by the sounds of men and women giving orders are present. The floor is a shiny dark grey and reflects the lights that shine from the ceiling above, along with the image of the two armed soldiers that are approaching the ship. They both come into clear view and look up into the ship to you.

You and Sunset calmly descend down the ramp as they raise their weapons. Neither of you make any sudden moves as you clear the ramp and step onto the floor of the cruiser itself. You stop and stare at the two soldiers, expecting them to say or do something other than stand there with their guns trained on you.

From behind, someone shouts. ”Big Mac! Now!” You're surprised, and you try to turn and see who it is, but you’re too late.

You’re struck hard in the back of the head by something blunt and you fall forward, hitting the ground. “AAAH!” You shouldn't have left your helmets behind.

It’s not a second later that you feel someone land on top of you and wrestle to grab your arms. You squirm and try to turn onto your back so you can see who you’re fighting, but another Republic soldier falls on you as well and keeps you on your stomach. “What the.... What the hell?!”

With your face pressed against the ground, you open one eye and see Sunset also being wrestled to the ground by two Republic soldiers. The cowards struck you from behind.

One of the soldiers struggling to detain Sunset is a young woman with a brimmed hat on her head and she’s wearing a brown leather jacket over some clearly worn Republic armor. She almost looks like a mercenary.

”Stop resistin’!” She commands. She has an accent.

Sunset struggles underneath them and glares daggers up at the woman as best she can. ”No! Get off me, you damn coward!”

You keep on trying to fight as well, but eventually you realize that it’s no use. You stop and they forcefully bind your wrists together behind your back.

You look over to Sunset as the two soldiers on you begin disarming and searching you. “Sunset, stop fighting.” You grunt. She growls and looks at you for a moment before sighing and relaxing as well.

The woman binds Sunset’s wrists and stands up, looking at you while the other soldier searches Sunset. ”Smart call there, Sith.”

Your eyes shoot wide open. “WHAT?!”

Sith?!

Sunset looks back up at the woman. “We’re not Sith!”

You then feel a hand tug on your shoulder and force you to turn and look at the soldier searching you.

He’s holding your lightsaber and glaring at you. ”Oh really? What's this then?”

Oh damn.

You try to search for an answer. “It's... It's a...”

”Heh… Yeah, that’s what I thought.” The woman says with a smirk. You were about to say it was a trophy, but she cut you off.

She heads back to Sunset and helps her to her feet. Once she's standing again, the two soldiers also help you up. Your head hurts like hell. Once you’re on your feet as well, you turn around to see who hit you.

Standing behind you is this behemoth of a man, with a large rifle in his hands and a damn minigun strapped to his back. Like the woman with Sunset, he’s also dressed in obviously worn Republic armor, and he’s wearing a patch over his left eye. You only go up to his chest when you compare his height to yours. He’s huge.

He just stares at you for a moment as he holds your lightsaber in his hand. You look at the saber before glaring back at him and growling a bit under your breath. Probably best to stay calm and try to explain, especially since you're handcuffed and the only thing separating you two is just a couple inches of air.

You take a deep breath. “Look, I know this looks bad, but this is just a misunderstanding. That lightsaber isn’t mine. I can’t even use the Force!”

You hear the woman in the hat shouting orders behind you. ”Corporal! You ‘n Noteworthy search the ship and find those artifacts!”

You turn back to face her as two soldiers walk up to the ramp and step aboard. “Do you mean the sword and that amulet thing? They’re both in a footlocker in the armory next to the workbench. Take them. I don't want them.”

It doesn’t matter how valuable they are, they’re making you look like a Sith. No reward is worth that.

The woman looks at you for a second before nodding at the soldiers to continue. ”Take ‘em to the detention center, Big Mac. I’ll be there soon.”

The giant man speaks. ”Eeyup.”

He bumps your back with his gun and you walk out from beneath your ship toward the rear wall of the hangar, accompanied by two more soldiers. Sunset is a few paces behind you. You can hear her, along with the booming footsteps that most likely belong to Mac. You take a quick glance at her and try to slow down some so she can catch up to you, but Mac makes you keep a constant pace.

You look forward again and stay silent as you head to the doorway at the rear of the hangar. The soldiers guide you through the doorway and down a series of hallways and corridors for a minute or so before going through another doorway that opens up to the detention center. It’s a small, yet open room with a few force cages in the back.

Mac leads you both over to a couple cages and moves behind you. ”Just cooperate with me, ya hear?”

You nod, but stay silent. You take a quick glance at Sunset and see that there’s a small trickle of blood coming down the left side of her head from behind her ear. That must be where she was hit. Republic scumbags...

He removes your binders and you grudgingly step into one of the cages. You turn around as he activates it and begins removing Sunset’s binders. You take a quick look around at your little bit of space you have here. Captured by the Republic. This is definitely a new low for you.

Sunset’s binders are removed and she’s placed into the cell to the left of you. Mac clears his throat and looks at you both. ”Now listen up. Applejack’ll be here soon, and she wants to talk to y’all. Give her truthful answers if she asks questions and you can get outta here a lot faster.”

You both just nod at him. ”Fine." You reply.

He turns around and walks out of the room, leaving both you and Sunset alone. There’s a stiff silence in the room between you and Sunset before you finally break it. “How you doing?”

She grunts a little as she rubs the back of her head and looks at the blood on her hand. ”I’ll live. I can’t promise that every other one of these jerks will live when I get out of this though.”

You have no doubt that both of you are feeling the same amount of anger and frustration right now. The two of you were supposed to start your vacation. Instead, you're here, in a holding cell on a Republic cruiser, and they think you're Sith.

You rub the back of your own head and inspect your hand to see just a small amount of blood smeared along your palm. Mac got you good. That’s what you get for not taking your helmet with you.

You take another look around the small room you’re currently in. It’s a little smaller than the main hold on your ship, and it’s bluish-grey in color. There’s a terminal on your right next to Sunset’s force cage that you imagine is used for interrogations, among other things. You don’t think you have to worry about that though. This is just a huge misunderstanding, after all.

You try to pace back and forth in your cell, using what little room you have, but you can't even take a step in any direction. It's too confined.

You take a glance at Sunset, but she doesn’t look back at you. She’s tapping her fingers on her crossed arms and brooding. You can barely hear her breathing loudly. You have nothing to say right now. Neither of you do.

After a few minutes, the door opens again and the young woman in the hat comes walking in. She’s followed by Mac. The door closes as she approaches you and you get a better look at her rank. She’s a lieutenant.

She looks you both in the eyes, before turning her full attention to you. ”So… What’s your story?”

You take a deep breath and cross your arms as you glare at her. “What do you think my story is?”

She turns around and takes the sword and amulet from Mac. ”Looks to me like y’all are a couple of undercover Sith smugglin’ artifacts somewhere, or somethin’."

“Looks can be deceiving, Lieutenant." You reply. "We're Mandalorians. We don’t affiliate ourselves with the Sith.”

She gives a contempt smirk as she looks the sword over. ”So, you don’t have anything to do with Trixie Lulamoon?”

Lulamoon?

“Is that her last name?” You cock your head.

Applejack smirks. ”Oh, so you do know her?”

You give her a scoff. “Hardly. She had a price on her head and we collected it from the Hutt, Diamond Tiara after we turned her in. We’re bounty hunters.”

Applejack sits there and stares you both down another moment before humming and grabbing your lightsaber. ”Where’d you get this then?”

You take a deep breath. “A few days ago, we went to meet Diamond Tiara for more information on Trixie. While we were there, the Sith met us and decided to attack us. We killed two troopers and a Sith warrior who used that lightsaber. I figured he wasn’t going to use it anymore and I’ve always wanted one, so I took it.”

Applejack stares at you. ”Why did the Sith attack you?”

"That doesn't matter right now." You reply. You don't need to tell her everything.

Applejack lowers her eyebrows and puffs out her chest a bit. "I'll decide what matters and what doesn't, Mandalorian. Answer the damn question."

You take a step toward her, still trapped inside the force cage. "Look, the bottom line is that we’re no friends to the Sith. You’ve made a mistake by locking us up.”

Applejack is just about to respond when the door opens behind her and someone walks in behind her. ”He’s telling the truth, Lieutenant. The fault is on us. Neither of these people have any connections to the Sith.”

You all look to see a violet-haired, grey-skinned woman slowly walk into the room. She’s wearing Jedi robes.

”Master Jedi, are you sure?” Applejack asks.

The Jedi stops beside Applejack and nods at her. ”Yes. Please call a medical unit down here to treat their injuries.”

Applejack looks back at you and steps behind the Jedi. She looks sort of… apologetic?

As she begins talking on a comlink, your attention turns to the Jedi as she stands there and faces both you and Sunset. There’s something off about her, even for a Jedi. She’s completely expressionless. Everything about her screams 'boring'. Despite that, she carries herself with the strength and authority that is becoming of a Jedi Master.

She speaks to you and Sunset after a second. ”I am Jedi Master Maud Pie. I would like to personally apologize on behalf of the Galactic Republic for this unfortunate misunderstanding, Mandalorians.”

Author's Note

A male Twi'lek. (Shining Armor)

Applejack.

Force cages.

Maud Pie, Jedi Master.

Bygones

You cross your arms as you look back at the Jedi. “Well at least you’re polite…”

Your eyes shift back to Applejack and Mac as you think of the pain in the back of your head. It's only now started to sting.

The Jedi speaks again. "I understand your frustration, Anonymous. However, I do ask that you calm yourself."

You look back to the Jedi, surprised. You know for a fact that you didn’t tell anyone here your name. How did she know?

She continues. ”Do not be angry with them. Rather, try to understand their perspective. They could not have known if your allegiance was with the Sith, so they acted as if you were for their own protection.” She just continues to stare at you with those same, expressionless eyes of hers.

Then it clicks. “Oh, you’re doing that Jedi mind-reading thing…” You are never going to get used to that. “Well, I appreciate you being all ‘Defender of Peace’ with your mind games and psuedo-sympathy, but they could’ve handled our capture a lot better. If this is how all Republic officials treat suspicious activity like these two did, then you’re all no better than the Sith. At least we Mandalorians give our enemies a fighting chance.”

The Jedi nods once. "I know. As I said, the fault is on us.”

You’re taken back at her reply. Applejack and Mac seem to be as well.

The Jedi turns around to look at the two soldiers. ”…They did not handle it as well as they should have. They should have shown more restraint by not giving into their anger and vengeful feelings like they did upon your arrival.”

Applejack and Mac look at each other for a few moments before Applejack removes her hat and they both step up beside the Jedi.

Applejack looks at you apologetically and clears her throat. ”I... I truly am sorry for our display of unnecessary force… uh…”

You cross your arms again as you remind her of your name. “Call me Anon. That’s Sunset.” You tilt your head toward Sunset’s cage and Applejack looks at you both.

”…Anon and Sunset." She continues. "I’m sorry. Big Mac ‘n’ I both are.”

He nods as well and replies with a simple “Eeyup.”

Applejack squeezes her hat in her hands once before speaking again. ”It was unprofessional, and not up to par with the Republic’s standards, and we’re going to submit ourselves to disciplinary action to try and correct it for the future.”

A part of you wants to put her down more to make sure she’s got it in her head, but at the same time, you know you’re not perfect either. She does look like she’s genuinely sorry, and you're feeling surprisingly generous, all of the sudden.

You unfold your arms and clear your throat. “Well, you… you don’t need to beat yourself up about it too hard. Everyone makes mistakes. I mean… you’re only human.” You see Applejack’s face show the slightest glimmer of hope as you take another deep breath. “I’m still not a big fan of you guys, but I think I’m willing to overlook this little incident. In the name of good relations.”

You smile at each other a little before you look over to Sunset. She hasn't said a word during this whole exchange.

“Sunset, you’ve been awfully quiet. You okay?” Sunset’s just standing there, staring off into space, almost like she’s in a daze. You clap your hands to get her attention. “Hey. You alive in there?”

Sunset blinks and shakes her head, snapping herself out of it. ”Huh? Wh-… Oh… y-yeah… Yeah, I’m okay…”

You raise an eyebrow and pry a little more. “You sure?”

”Yeah… I feel really, really good.” She smiles and looks over at you all. ”It’s strange. I was so angry just a little while ago, but it just feels gone all of a sudden. Like that.” She snaps her fingers for emphasis.

That’s unusually mushy of her, but she seems to mean it. She looks at you and smiles a real smile, which you return.

You notice Applejack walk over to the terminal and press a button. Your force cages deactivate a moment later. You and Sunset step out and face Applejack, Big Mac and Maud.

"Forgiveness is a step on the pathway to inner peace." The Jedi says. "Holding grudges only brings you down to wallow in anger and unnecessary hatred, whether it is for someone else, or for yourself. For Jedi, it is one of the pathways that lead to the Dark Side of the Force.”

The Force was always a topic you had trouble grasping a real understanding of. Sure, the Jedi and Sith can move objects without touching them and jump high and stuff, but the whole idea of everyone in the universe all being connected by an energy that links us all together seemed like a big pill to swallow. You just figured it was all some sort of invisible magic. Nothing more.

You look to Applejack and Big Mac as they extend their hands out to you and Sunset. Sunset takes Applejack’s hand and shakes it, but you hesitate a little while looking at Big Mac’s. This is the guy who knocked you on your head, after all.

After a moment, you decide it would be best to take his hand and shake it before shaking Applejack’s as well. Once you’ve finished, the door opens again and two doctors enter the room. A male and a female.

Maud turns to them and gives a respectful bow while Applejack tips her hat. ”Hey there, Doc. Miss Redheart.” They both smile at her and she points to you both. ”Patch these two up, if you could be so kind. I’d appreciate it.”

The female smiles at her. ”Right away!”

The doctors go over to you and Sunset and get to work while Applejack looks over at you and assumes a professional stance. ”Mr. Anon, I’d like to borrow a few more minutes of your time, if you’d be willin' to help us out with some questions we have.”

While the doctor is checking your injury, you look at her and sigh. “Maybe. I’ve kind of had a busy day. What are your questions about?”

Applejack clears her throat. ”I’m a bit curious if you’d heard anythin' about death sticks?”

Your eyebrows rise at her inquiry and you stare at her for another moment before answering. “I might know a few things. Talk to me again once we're patched up.”

Author's Note

Applejack, honest soldier for the Republic.

Nurse Redheart.

Old Wounds and New Fears

Once the doctors had finished bandaging you and Sunset up, you both were asked to wait in the detention center. Applejack, Big Mac, and Maud had left to attend to some other task they had to perform, but they told you that they would be back. So you and Sunset were here now, waiting for them to return. Luckily, neither of you were locked up this time.

Now that the tension had died down and you weren’t seen as a Sith anymore, you were curious as to how the Republic tracked you down. The whole thing with the death sticks seems strange, especially now that you know the Republic is conducting their own investigation about it. You just figured it just delivered a stronger buzz while simultaneously destroying your brain in the process, but apparently, there’s a larger game afoot. You’re just not seeing the whole picture yet...

…

Woah, why are you thinking about this? Why should you care?

Whoever is making this stuff has gotten so low that they’ve stooped down to the junkies’ level. Big deal. You’re not here to pick sides, you’re here to do your job, make money, and live a successful life. If the rest of the galaxy decides that they want to kill each other or get high and kill themselves, that’s their own damn fault. It only concerns you if someone is willing to pay you to have someone else killed or brought in. That's your job.

You blame the Jedi. She used her mind powers to try and make you think about things that aren’t important.

You take a deep breath and pace back and forth in the detention center as you wait for Applejack to return. You’re starting to get impatient.

”You okay?” Sunset asks.

You look at her. She’s leaned up against the wall with her arms folded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little frustrated is all.”

She nods and you continue pacing. ”I understand. We were supposed to be on our way to Alderaan right now.”

You sigh. "I'm starting to think that this vacation is never going to happen."

Sunset pauses for a moment. “How do you think they found us?”

”I have absolutely no idea." You shake your head. "We’ve been sticking around the Outer Rim for the past few weeks, except for going to Coruscant and Cato Neimoidia. The Republic shouldn’t even exist out here.”

The door opens and Applejack walks in. You both look at her as she enters before Sunset walks over to you, leaning close to whisper in your ear. ”Hopefully, we’re about to find out.”

You give a slight nod and Applejack stands there in front of you. The door closes behind her. "Howdy, you two.”

“Where’s Mac and the Jedi?” You ask.

"Big Mac had somethin’ to do down in Engineering and Master Maud is off doin' some Jedi thing. I think she’s talkin’ to the other Jedi on Coruscant.” She replies.

You just grunt softly in response.

She clears her throat and rubs the back of her neck before speaking again. ”Look, uh, I just want to apologize again for what happened back there... I should’ve been more civil and calm and I shouldn’t have shot first and asked questions later. I’m sorry. I just… I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with the Sith… Sometimes I let my want for revenge get the better of me. Me and Big Mac both do.”

“You and Big Mac both?” You cock your head at her, a little confused.

”Oh. He’s my older brother.” She clarifies. ”Back when we were kids, we lived on Corellia. Our parents were in charge of a farm and we sold agriculture to folks. It was a pretty small farm, but it was a family business and it worked for us.” Applejack’s expression becomes grim as she continues. ”…But then, one day, we came back home and saw a Sith destroyin’ our farm… Dad tried to fight him off with a blaster for a while, but… the Sith killed him... Ma ran out to try and stop him... He saw us watching and… he killed her too... Killed 'em both… Right there in front of us…” She looks down and her lip quivers some. ”…To this day, I have no idea why he killed them… I was just a little girl when it happened…”

She stays silent for a long time. It’s apparent on her face that she’s trying to fight back tears. Now you understand why she acted the way she did. Hell, that’s probably why she joined the Republic in the first place. She wants justice for her parents’ deaths. Vengeance.

“I’m sorry, Applejack. I really am.” She looks up at you. “That’s not fair what happened to you. He knew you couldn’t fight him at that age, but he did it anyway. It was just cruel.”

She nods again. ”That’s what I want to prevent for others in the future. I don’t want anyone else to go through losin’ a loved one the same way me ‘n’ Big Mac did."

You take a few steps forward and look into her eyes. “Revenge is a dish best served cold, Applejack. You’ve come this far, and waited for so long. If there’s one thing that I hate more than anything in this galaxy, it’s a coward. I’d be more than willing to help you take him down. You deserve this. You’ve waited long enough.”

As you speak, Applejack’s expression slowly switches from sadness to anger.

You continue. “I’m good at finding people. I can help you… For a price of course… But it would be worth it.”

She's doing her best to keep her emotions under control, but you can tell she's fantasized about taking her revenge more than a few times before.

"I'd be lyin' if I said I hadn't considered it..." She takes a deep breath. "What I wouldn't give to find the Sith scum that took my parents from me and just go ballistic on him. I'd absolutely love to find him and kill him for what he did to us. For what they all did to everyone in the galaxy... This place would be a whole lot better if the Sith were destroyed, I tell ya..."

Her lips are closed, but you can tell her teeth are clenched. She wants to kill something.

While she softly huffs to herself, the door opens and the Jedi Maud walks inside. She takes a long look at each one of you before turning her attention to Applejack. ”What’s going on in here, Lieutenant?”

Applejack looks back at you for a moment before turning to her, clearing her throat. ”Uh… Nothin’, Master Jedi.”

The Jedi turns her attention to you. ”It certainly doesn’t feel like nothing.” Her deadpan eyes stare into yours for a moment. You just stare back at her in defiance.

Applejack continues. ”Well… uh…. I was just about to ask him about the-“

”I will take over your responsibilities for asking questions to our… guest, Lieutenant." She looks back at her. "You’ve been relieved from this task, as it is obviously taking a toll on your emotions.”

Applejack looks surprised. ”M-Master Jedi?”

The Jedi turns to Sunset, but continues talking to Applejack. ”Instead, I would like you to take Miss Sunset down to the medical bay. There’s something the doctors wish to-“

The Jedi stops talking mid-sentence and stares off into space. She’s actually showing a little emotion on her face. It’s… worry? Fear? She’s nervous about something. She stays in her daze for a few moments.

Applejack steps toward her with concern. ”Master Jedi? Maud? Are ya alright?”

The Jedi looks up at her and breathes slowly. ”I’ve just felt a… a disturbance in the Force…”

You and Sunset look at each other for a moment before looking back at the Jedi.

”What is it?” Applejack asks.

”I sense…” The Jedi closes her eyes again and concentrates on something in her head. "…Extreme fear… and terror… Twilight and Fluttershy… Something has happened…”

Applejack’s eyes widen in horror. ”Is it the Sith?”

The Jedi shakes her head. ”No, but... there’s certainly something happening right now. Something terrible.”

Applejack bites her lip with worry and tries to think of something to say. ”I’m sure they’ll be fine… Th-They’re with some of the best guys we’ve got... Maybe it’ll all wash over soon.”

”Perhaps…" The Jedi nods her head slowly. "Even so, let us be wary and ready for anything." Applejack nods again and the Jedi clears her throat. ”As I was saying, Applejack... Lieutenant... Take Miss Sunset down to the medical bay. The doctors wish to see her.” She turns her attention to you. ”I will deal with our friend here…”

You give the Jedi a contempt look and Applejack starts to exit. ”Alright, Master Jedi… Sunset?”

Sunset pauses for a moment before she walks toward Applejack. She looks back at you as she exits the room and you nod at her for reassurance. The door closes behind her and Applejack, leaving you and the Jedi alone together.

She stares at you with that deadpan expression and places her arms behind her back. ”Before I get to my questions, Anonymous, there’s something I wish to address to you.”

You glare into the Jedi’s eyes as she stands there. “Alright…” You take a deep breath and place your hands on your hips, ready for anything. “…Shoot.”

You watch the door to the detention center shut, leaving Anon inside alone with the Jedi. She’s probably going to chew him out for talking to Applejack the way he did. Jedi aren’t too keen on revenge. It’s against their code of conduct. You’re not too worried about him though. He’s fought both Jedi and Sith before. It’s unlikely, but if something does happen, he should be able to handle himself against her. Even if he is unarmed.

You’d prefer that he didn’t fight her though.

This Master Maud was being very cordial and respectful. She didn’t pick sides, she just doused a fire and resolved a misunderstanding. Still, Anon doesn’t like the Jedi much, and he can be very stubborn. You, personally, do not have any quarrel with the Jedi. They’re good people, even though you don’t agree with everything they preach.

You want to kick yourself for not stopping him when he was talking to Applejack about exacting vengeance. You knew what he was doing. He knows that the Jedi don’t like thoughts like that. He was just trying to get under her skin for the sake of doing it.

However, you also know that Applejack is part of the Republic, and can probably pay good money if you help them track the Sith down. Killing her parents’ murderer would also bring her a good sense of closure. You can see both sides.

That good feeling sweeping over you like that wasn’t nothing though. You noticed an actual change inside when Maud was talking. You felt calm and content; even happy afterwards. It was probably the Force working on you. Maybe the Jedi's connection to it has a secondhand effect on other people around them.

As you're thinking, Applejack clears her throat a little to get your attention. ”C’mon. Medbay’s this way.”

“Right.” You follow her down the corridor and through the ship on your way to the medical bay. She’s still got that nervous look on her face.

After a few moments of silence, you speak up. “Who are Fluttershy and Twilight?”

She looks at you for a moment before looking forward again. ”They’re, uh, friends of ours. Captain Shining Armor is Twilight’s older brother.”

Lots of family members on this ship. Applejack and Big Mac, and now Captain Shining Armor and this Twilight. It's interesting.

“Shining Armor is the one who contacted us when you found us, right?” You ask.

She nods. ”He’s the commandin' officer of this ship.”

He’s also kind of a dick, but you'll keep that little opinion to yourself.

You pry further. “What were they both doing?”

Applejack clears her throat again. ”They’re both on this team of people helpin’ to clean up the planet Taris and restore it back to its former glory.”

You’ve only heard stories about Taris. It sounded like a fun place. You would’ve loved to have seen it in person before the Sith destroyed it all those centuries ago.

She continues. ”It used to be an independent group, but the Republic decided to partner with ‘em and help out with the restoration. Probably to make a public statement that says ‘the Sith can’t keep us down’ or somethin’ like that. A morale booster.”

You nod, impressed. “That’s pretty cool that they decided to help out.”

”Yeah, it is…” It’s obvious that she’s still nervous about what Maud said about that 'disturbance' in the Force.

“Why don’t you contact them and make sure everything’s okay?” You suggest.

She shakes her head. ”We’re at lightspeed right now. We can’t contact ‘em.”

Lightspeed?

You cock your head. “Where are we going?”

”Kashyyyk." She answers. "We’re doin’ somethin’ there before we do some other stuff someplace else.”

Kashyyyk. Homeworld of the Wookies.

"That was pretty vague." You say. “Is it classified?”

She chuckles and nods. ”Eeyup.” You roll your eyes and sigh, grinning as well. ”Don’t worry. You and Anon will be able to leave to wherever you’re goin’ once we get there.”

“Good.” You reply. You’re ready to get out of here and start your well-deserved vacation.

Another small moment passes as you both proceed down the corridors of the ship. You pass Republic personnel, soldiers and scientists and whatnot. Occasionally, a protocol droid walks past you two as well.

You decide to reassure her. “Well, don’t worry too much, Applejack. I’m sure both this Fluttershy and Twilight are safe. Maybe they just had a little malfunction with something and it’s all resolved now.”

”Maybe…” She clearly doesn’t really have faith in that.
You pass a few more soldiers, officers and droids as you walk toward the medical bay. Some of them give you a double take when they pass, but they all mind their own business when they see who you're with. Applejack clearly has a bit of pull around this ship, as far as authority is concerned.

Finally, you turn another corner and see the medical bay. It’s through an open door on your right. It's a much larger room than the detention center is. Everything is all clean and shiny. It’s a lot brighter compared to the rest of the ship. There are a few large bacta tanks lined along the back wall. One of which contains an extremely injured Republic pilot.

You and Applejack are met by a protocol droid as you enter and it directs you to the back of the room to the left of the bacta tanks. There’s another open door back here that leads to another room of the medical bay. You go through it and enter a small operating room where Nurse Redheart is helping a soldier to his feet off the table. He’s got an eyepatch over his left eye, with a minor burn mark underneath it.

”Now be more careful when working in the engine room." She says. "They have goggles down there for a reason, you know.”

The soldier chuckles and rubs the back of his head nervously. ”Heh… Right… Thanks again, doc.”

She smiles at him as he passes by you toward the exit. ”Sunset Shimmer." She says as she focuses on you. "Just the one I wanted to see.”

You step forward and set your hands on your hips. “What else did you need? Is something wrong?”

Redheart grabs a medical datapad and skims through it. ”Oh, no, nothing is wrong at all. However, while we were patching you up, I scanned both yours and Anon’s blood for infections. You’re both fine, but I also picked up something… interesting that you might like to hear. Especially since you’re a Mandalorian.”

Your eyebrows raise slightly. “Like what?”

”Well…” She looks up at you with a half-grin. ”…Do you know what Midi-chlorians are?”

Author's Note

Hallways of a Republic cruiser.

A line of bacta tanks in a medical bay.

Bad Blood

As Maud begins to walk in circles around the room, her eyes never leave yours. ”Do not lull yourself into a false sense of satisfaction, Anonymous. I know what you are doing.”

You begin to walk opposite of her so that you’re both moving in a circle around the room. Like a standoff. “I’m just trying to make an opportunity for some work, Jedi. I need money.”

”Do not lie to me." She replies. "You are trying to plant little seeds of temptation and revenge into Applejack's mind and heart, simply to spite me. It will not work.”

You give her a little smirk. “Well, yeah, that too.”

She’s good, you have to admit.

”This is not a political issue between our two peoples, Mandalorian. I do not hold you personally responsible for the way your kind treated mine in the wars all those years ago." She says. "This is merely a misunderstanding that I regret not being able to stop in time. Nothing more.”

You continue to stare daggers into her eyes as she speaks.

She continues. ”As much as I disagree with your beliefs, I do admire your dedication to your old Mandalorian ways. I can appreciate your enthusiasm and pride for your people and history, but you must see a larger view of the galaxy around you. The past is over. The days of the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War are over. The days of Revan are over. The Republic, as well as the Jedi, have no quarrel with the Mandalorians of today. These feelings of anger and vengeance inside you benefit no one. Including yourself.”

You both stop pacing, but continue to stare at each other. You hate being told that you’re wrong.

“I don’t appreciate you telling me how to live my life, Jedi.” You growl.

”These feelings of hatred will only bring you down, in the end. In time, they will make you do something you can’t hope to have control of, and you will have brought about your own destruction.” She replies calmly.

If she didn’t have the entire Republic backing her up right now, you would’ve killed her right there. Her and her Jedi Order have been a blight on the galaxy ever since their foundation all those millennia ago. The Sith as well. The countless wars fought, all the lives lost, most, if not all of them, stem from these Force-sensitives and their command over the unseen power that supposedly flows all around you.

But, despite your feelings on the Jedi, you can't help but see her point, to a degree.

She continues. ”Learn to let go of your negativity, Anonymous. I have no quarrel with you, and I do not wish to have one.”

Your pride, or maybe your arrogance, is telling you to ignore her counsel, but you can't deny the logic behind her words. All this pent-up anger isn’t getting you anywhere. It’s just stressing you out.

You sigh and break eye contact with her to look at the wall after a few moments.

She steps forward. ”Applejack may be able to teach you a few lessons on humility. She’s not just a good officer, she’s a very good person.”

You don’t want to say it, but you know you have to. “Maybe you’ve got a point… Maybe it is time to let bygones be bygones…” You pause before pointing a finger at her. “I still don’t like you Jedi though…”

She gives a slight nod. “You are entitled to your beliefs.” You put your arm down and she places her arms behind her once more. ”I just want you to see that I’m doing this for your benefit. Letting go of this negativity will help you live a more fulfilling life.”

You give a small scoff and fold your arms. “Yeah… I guess…”

Whatever...

She nods again and clears her throat. ”Now, onto the topic at hand…”

“Right…" You say. "The death sticks.”

”Indeed.” She nods.

“I’m assuming you think that the Sith are involved with them somehow.” You suggest.

”That’s what we are trying to figure out, yes.” She replies.

You take a deep breath as you recount your hunt for Adagio and Trixie in your head before speaking. “Me and Sunset were on Nar Shaddaa hunting a junkie thief with a sizable price on her head. She was selling a kind of death stick that deteriorates the brain so quickly that they end up going brain-dead after a short time.”

”How did you find that out?” She asks.

“I analyzed a sample aboard my ship. It was loaded with a neurotoxin that did this.” The Jedi nods her head as you speak. “Anyway, her name was Adagio Dazzle. Her bio said that she’s worked for nightclubs and crime lords and that she used a form of hypnosis to steal goods from her clients before vanishing without a trace. I thought that the death sticks were her way of inhibiting the user’s common sense and made them more susceptible to suggestions.”

She ponders to herself for a moment. ”Interesting… What about Trixie?”

“Trixie worked for Diamond Tiara the Hutt on Tatooine. She missed her payments and practically abandoned her job, and Diamond Tiara didn’t care for that much. You know how the Hutts are." You say. "Anyway, I tracked her down to Malastare and brought her in. Trixie was also passing around the same kind of death stick. She got off the planet, but we followed her and took her down. I boarded her ship and found those artifacts on board, along with a datapad full of instructions from someone. It didn’t say who.”

The Jedi nods again. ”We had been tracking Trixie for some time. We found her ship’s debris just outside of Malastare’s orbit. After that, we managed to track you down to Tatooine. I assumed you were an accomplice of hers.”

“How exactly were you tracking her?" You ask. "And me, for that matter?”

”Those artifacts are very strongly imbued with the Dark Side of the Force. I sensed that same Dark Side energy trail leading away from Trixie's ship when we caught up to it. We followed it to your ship, and I instructed the soldiers to bring you aboard. It was not until after we searched you that I found this to be a source of the same kind of dark energy.” She reaches into a pouch on her belt and pulls out Adagio’s red gem. You’d almost forgotten about that.”Do you know what this gem is?”

You shake your head. “No. I took that from Adagio when we captured her. I've been trying to figure out what it was, but had no luck.”

”It is a synthetic crystal that has been infused with the Dark Side of the Force.” She replies.

You raise an eyebrow. “A Force crystal?”

”More or less." She says. "Crystals are used in the construction of lightsabers. For the Jedi, we instruct our initiates to find crystals that are naturally formed. The Sith regularly use synthetic crystals in the construction of their lightsabers, however. For this reason, the Jedi discourage their use in our own lightsabers.”

The Jedi reaches for her belt and grabs her own lightsaber. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you instinctively feel a sense of alertness. You're ready for a fight, just in case.

She continues. ”The crystal contains an essence of the Force within them that acts as a conduit between the Jedi and the weapon. Once this happens, the lightsaber becomes an extension of the Jedi’s physical body. Through the Force...” She activates her lightsaber and it hums while giving off a light turquoise color. ”…The Jedi and the lightsaber become one.”

She holds her blade in her hands and stares at it for another moment before deactivating it and clipping it back onto her belt.

“Well, that’s all very beautiful, Master Jedi, but how does that relate to tracking me?” You ask.

She looks up at you again and holds the crystal in her hand. ”Whoever forged this crystal was very strong with the Dark Side. I was able to sense its darkness through meditation and instruct the Republic on where to look next. The Sith artifacts aboard Trixie’s ship were also strong with the Dark Side. Once I could no longer feel the darkness on her ship, I sensed it heading toward Tatooine. That is how we found you.”

You nod slowly, but you’re still unsure of how that all works. This Master Maud is essentially a magnet, and Adagio's gem is a needle in an infinitely large haystack.

That crystal almost made you deaf when Adagio used it against you. Maybe there’s more to this whole thing than you know. You don’t know everything about the Force. In fact, you know next to nothing about it. It’s a topic that was so big and irrelevant to you that it blew right over your head. But with everything that’s happened lately, you’re legitimately curious now.

“Can I ask you something?” You look at her.

”Of course.” She says.

“I don’t get the whole concept of the Force. It doesn’t make sense to me and I’ve had a hard time understanding everything I’ve heard about it." You explain. "I’ve got some time now, so could you… explain it to me? Help me understand it from a Jedi's point of view?”

For the first time since you’ve met her, the Jedi does something that catches you off-guard. She gives you a small smile. ”I would be more than happy to, Anonymous. Come. Let us take a walk.” She turns and heads toward the door and it opens automatically.

Humility, letting go, not killing anyone, and now you're going to learn about the Force. You’ve had a full day, Anon.

You take a few steps to exit the detention center with Master Maud and the both of you begin walking down the corridors of the ship.

She turns to you. ”What questions do you have, Anonymous?”

Author's Note

Jedi Master Maud Pie.

The Force

“Well, let’s just start out with the basic question, Master Jedi. Build from the ground up." You say. "What is the Force?”

You’ve heard about what the Force supposedly is, but you don’t really know what it ‘is’ is. You’re confused. Hopefully, she can shed some light on this subject for you in a way you can understand.

”That question has no simple answer, I'm afraid." She replies. "The Force is a metaphysical, omnipotent power that emanates from all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and holds the universe together.”

“So it’s just a huge ball of… invisible power?” You ask.

She tilts her head back and forth once. ”In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“But how does it make it so you can make objects float or shoot lightning from your hands?" You ask. "That’s all I thought the Force was. That, and you being able to… ‘sense’ when someone was nearby.”

”Those are just two different aspects of the Force that you’ve described, Anonymous.” She says. ”There are four philosophies of the Force that the Jedi teach. There is the Living Force, the Unifying Force, the Cosmic Force, and the Physical Force.”

"I've never heard of those." You reply. “What about the Light and the Dark?”

”The Light Side and the Dark Side are aspects concerned with the moral compass." She explains. "The Light Side emphasizes using compassion and selflessness with the Force, while the Dark Side emphasizes selfishness, anger, and hatred. The aspects that you’ve observed and described are the Physical and the Living.”

Okay, so, moral compass…

“So, there’s more than one Force?” You ask?

She shakes her head. ”Not exactly. The Force is a single body. These aspects are simply different parts of it that do different things. Much like your own body; you have arms, legs, and a head, but they all connect to each other to form your one, single body.”

You hum as you nod at her. That makes much more sense.

“So, is the Force is alive?” You ask.

”Yes.” She nods.

“So how do you sense others and use your powers? What do these aspects have to do with that?” You ask.

”As I said, each aspect of the Force plays a different role." She continues. "The Physical Force deals with one’s ability to manipulate the environment around them, the Living Force deals with the energy of all living things in the universe, the Unifying Force deals with the entirety of space and time, and The Cosmic Force deals with the being becoming one with the Force after their death.”

You hum. “I see…”

You’re not quite sure what to think about all this. It is some pretty deep stuff, after all. While it does seems far-fetched, at the same time, it kind of makes sense. You still don’t understand how it all works, but you'd like to understand it. Unfortunately, you probably never will. You are not a Jedi. It is nice to have her explain some aspects of her beliefs and practices though.

”Have I answered your questions Anonymous?” She asks.

You think for a moment. “A few. I do have another question though. What if someone uses both the Light Side and the Dark Side? Is it possible to use the Dark Side for good?”

She gives a small sigh before answering. She's probably been asked this question before. "The biggest difference between the Light and the Dark is that the Light Side focuses on tranquility and compassion toward all beings in the galaxy. In contrast, the Dark Side focuses on individual passion and strength.”

“Being strong is important and necessary for survival in this galaxy.” You say. "I know that fact personally."

”There are many strengths that exist, Anonymous." She replies. "Strength in the desire for control, power, and glory for the sake of simply having it, however, is a path to the Dark Side.”

“That doesn't answer my question though." You say. "What if someone uses that power and control for good?”

”The intentions for desiring more power may be good at first, but it can quickly lead to temptation. All who receive power fear the thought of losing it to another. It is this fear that eventually drives the individual to become angry with others that they see as potential usurpers to their power. That anger eventually leads to hatred. It is then that many will most likely suffer from the user’s hand, which is contrary to the Jedi way of the Force.”

You hum again and ponder on her words. Biased as they may be, she does make a good point.

She continues. ”While the Dark Side may give the user quick, immediate strength in a dire situation, it is like a drug. One time may feel right and will not do much, but that one time can lead to a self-destructive addiction if you feed it any more. The temptation for power by giving into the Dark Side for even a small moment is simply too risky, and the Jedi oppose using it under any circumstance.”

You look back at her. “Too risky?”

”The lure of the Dark Side is difficult to resist." She says. "It takes a greater form of strength to resist it and continue on the path of Light.”

You pause as you think this over. You don’t agree with everything she’s saying. Power and strength have gotten you far in life. You'd like to think you're a good person, if on the aggressive side a bit.

Then again, this is the Force you’re talking about. It’s not like everything she’s saying applies to you completely.

You nod. “Alright, I can see how that makes sense.”

”The Force is ultimately the one who gives the Jedi his or her power." She explains. "Without it, there would be nothing in the universe. The Dark Side makes one think that they can possess all power; and by extension, all of the Force, which is impossible.”

You stay silent as you think about this whole thing. Absolute… Total power sounds good, you have to admit, but if the Force is the one who grants this power, and the Force is everywhere, then the ones who follow the Dark Side want something they can’t ever have.

It does make sense.

“…I still don’t understand everything, but I think I can start to see how it all works out.” You say.

”Fear not." She replies. "I do not expect you to understand it all after one conversation. There are many aspects of the Force that even the Jedi do not understand, and may never truly understand.”

It is a big subject. That doesn't surprise you.

Thinking about it more, you’d probably be one of the biggest tyrants in the galaxy if you could use the Force. Which, that brings another topic to mind.

“I do have another question." You begin. "How come everyone can’t be a Jedi? Or, at least, sense the Force? Why can’t I sense the Force like you?”

She hums and stops walking. You stop as well and look around. You’re standing in front of the medical bay.

”I believe the answer to that question can better be answered in here.” She says.

You look inside to see Sunset, Applejack, and Nurse Redheart exit the back room of the medical bay. Sunset looks a bit confused.

Applejack smiles a little at you when she sees you. ”Hey there, Anon.”

You give her a little nod. “Hey Applejack… Sunset?” Sunset looks up at you, but she still has that look of confusion and disbelief on her face. “What’s wrong?”

She just shakes her head slowly. ”Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

You look to Nurse Redheart and she steps forward. ”When we patched you two up, we took samples of your blood to check for infections. We found nothing wrong with either of you, but we also ran a Midi-chlorian count and found something interesting.”

You shake your head. “I'm not a biologist. What’s a Midi-chlorian?"

Maud turns to you. ”Midi-chlorians are microscopic life forms that reside in the cells of every living being in the universe. These Midi-chlorians are connected to the Force itself, and, when their numbers are high enough, allow their host to detect the Force as well.”

You pause for a moment to think this over. Microscopic beings inside your body that are connected to the Force…

You turn back to Nurse Redheart and she’s looking at you with a small smirk on her face.

"No way…" You begin. “…Are you saying I'm sensitive to the Force?”

She takes a deep breath and pauses before answering. ”No.”
…
“Oh…” You say.

Well… That could’ve been interesting. You're almost dissapointed. Nothing special about you.

She pulls out a datapad and looks at it. ”Your Midi-chlorian count was just over 2,500. That’s about average for humans. Sunset on the other hand…”

You both turn to look at Sunset, who is simply staring at you. ”I’ve got almost 5,000.”

You raise your eyebrows at her and Nurse Redheart chimes in. ”Which means that she is sensitive to the Force. In theory, she could sense it and use it like the Jedi do if she was extensively trained.”

Maud speaks to her. "If you had been born in the Republic, you would have been considered for Jedi training when you were a child."

Wow. Lucky her, not being forced into the life of a Jedi. Still, that's pretty amazing.

She gives you a confused look. She's clearly uncomfortable with all the attention about this. "…It’s not a big deal, Anon. I’m still me.”

You chuckle. “I know you are, but still, this is kind of cool.”

You just had a huge lesson on the Force. This is all a bit fascinating.

Maud picks up on her apparent confusion and steps forward. ”Sunset, Anonymous and I just had a good talk about the Force. I explained a few things to him.”

She turns to Maud, looking shocked. ”You got HIM to listen to you about the Force?”

The Jedi nods. ”He actually asked me to explain it to him.”

She looks even more shocked and turns to you with this wide smile on her face. ”Look at you, Anon! Getting an open mind!”

"Oh boy..." Now you're the center of attention. She giggles as you pinch your eyebrows together. “Look, it’s been a very strange, very eventful day, alright?”

She smirks and folds her arms. ”Alriiight, whatever you say.”

You scoff and grin at her sarcasm before looking back at Applejack, Nurse Redheart, and Maud.

Applejack stands there with a smile and her hands on her hips. ”Well, I'm glad we got this whole thing all sorted out, you two. Sorry again about everything.”

You hold up a hand and wave it. “No need to apologize. It was a misunderstanding. Nothing more.”

Maud gives you a small smile and Applejack clears her throat and claps her hands together. "Well, we should be comin’ out of lightspeed about any time now. Ya’ll can head back to your ship and go on your merry way.”

Wait, lightspeed?

“Where are we going?” You ask.

Sunset turns to you. “Kashyyyk. They’re doing something there.”

You hum and nod. A bit inconvenient for you, but it’s fitting for everything else that’s happened today.

You turn back to Maud and Applejack. “How do we get to the hangar?”

Maud tilts her head slightly down the corridor. “This way. Lieutenant Applejack and I will escort you.”

The four of you head down the crisscrossing corridors of the cruiser until you walk through the large door to the hangar that you came in through prior. Along with the multitude of soldiers and workers repairing ships or doing their business, you see your ship on the opposite side, along with the energy field separating you from the vacuum of space outside. As you enter the hangar, you see the blue backdrop of hyperspace fade as the cruiser slows down to enter realspace. Once the ship slows down, the lush green planet of Kashyyyk, home of the Wookies, comes into view.

You take a deep breath at the sight of your beautiful ship, sitting there all ready to go. It could almost bring a tear of joy to your eye. Despite everything that’s been brought to your attention in the last few minutes, you’re tired and still want to get the hell out of here.

”I instructed my guys to put all your confiscated stuff in the main hold of your ship, Anon.” Applejack says.

You turn around to face Applejack and Maud, giving them a thankful nod. “Thanks. Thank you both.”

Applejack smiles and gives you a nod in return. Maud just stares ahead blankly as if in a trance. You’re about to ask her what’s wrong when a communicator on Applejack’s wrist beeps.

She looks at the tiny screen and hums. ”That’s Captain Shining Armor, I gotta take this… Real quick though, Anon, Sunset, it was a pleasure to meet ya’ll.”

You and Sunset shake her hand once more. “Likewise.”

She smiles and turns back into the corridor. ”Safe travels!”

You grin as you watch her leave before turning to Maud. ”Take care, Anonymous and Sunset. May the Force be with you.” She gives a small bow before walking over to another part of the hangar rather quickly.

She didn’t give either of you a chance to speak.

“That was weird.” You comment.

”Yeah.” Sunset nods.

You pause for a moment before turning back to her. “Did you sense anything wrong with her?”

She smacks your arm hard and scowls at you. ”Don’t you start with any of that, Anon. This changes nothing about me.”

You just laugh at her and make that cute little grin appear on her face again before she laughs a bit as well. You love teasing her.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” You say with a smile.

”What?” She asks.

“Let’s go to Alderaan for a vacation together.” You reply.

She smiles and claps her hands excitedly. ”That’s a great idea!”

You both smile and start walking toward your ship, passing soldiers and crew members alike on the way.

You let out a sigh and crack your neck. “Oh, what a day…”

You’re about halfway there when a small, one-man ship enters the hangar to your left, right next to your ship and lands rather abruptly. Something is up.

The ramp lowers and, not two seconds later, a young woman with pink hair comes scrambling out. A Mirialan. Her yellow skin and facial tattoos makes that obvious. She's wearing a labcoat that appears to be torn in a few places. She reaches the deck of the ship and collapses onto her hands and knees before looking around the hangar frantically.

”A-Applejack! Applejack, where are you?!” The look on her face is one of complete and utter terror.

You hear the stomping of feet behind you and you turn to see Applejack and Big Mac both running over to her, each with looks of panic on their faces as well. ”Fluttershy! What happened?! Where’s Twilight?!”

You and Sunset both look on at the scene, but continue toward your ship. Fluttershy and Twilight… Those were the ones Maud talked about when she sensed the disturbance in the Force before.

”What do you think is going on?” Sunset asks.

You shake your head. “No idea… It doesn't concern us though.”

Applejack crouches beside her to help her onto her feet. She’s panicking so loudly that you can hear most of what she’s saying, even from this far away.

”W-w-we were… we were d-doing our routine checkup when they broke free… -started attacking a-and killing everything…” She stammers.

The noise of the few Republic personnel gathering around her starts to drown most of her speech out. You’re just a few steps away from your ship now.

She continues. ”…infecting whoever they could find… about to pass Mandalore when I…”

You stop dead in your tracks as you reach the exit ramp. She said something about Mandalore. You turn to Sunset, who has the same look of concern on her face as well. She heard it too.

Immediately, you both run over to the girl, shoving people out of your way until you reach her. “Hey!” Once she’s in your sight, you crouch down in front of her and stare directly into her tear-stained eyes. “You! What did you just say?!”

”Eeep!” She squeals and squirms backwards at you startling her.

You grab her shoulders and pull her back to face you. “What did you just say?! About Mandalore! What’s happening?! What did you just say?!” You’re practically screaming at her and she whines as another tear rolls down her cheek.

”Anon! Get back!” You feel Applejack try to pull you away, but you shake her off and stay in front of the girl. You hear Sunset trying to hold her back as well.

“It’s Fluttershy, right?” She looks at you and nods while trying to hide herself behind her long pink hair as best she can. You try to lower your voice a little. “Fluttershy, I have to know. What is going on? Is Mandalore at risk?”

She quickly nods again. “Y-yes…”

You stay locked onto her. “From what? What is threatening Mandalore?”

She sniffles and her lip quivers as she stares at you with the purest expression of dread and fear in her eyes. ”R-Rakghouls…”

Author's Note

A Jedi meditating on the secrets of the Force.

A Midi-chlorian.

Fluttershy, timid Republic scientist with a kind heart.

Rescue Mission

Rakghouls...

The word resonates inside your head as you stare at the frightened girl who just uttered it to you. You've heard of them from stories you assumed were just to scare children, but you never thought that there was any truth in them. They seemed too bizarre to be real.

Then again, you had thought the same exact thing about the Force up until a few minutes ago...

You grasp the girl's shoulders and stare into her tear-stained eyes. As gently as you can, you ask her, "Fluttershy... Please. What happened?"

Before she can answer, you feel a large hand on your shoulder pull you away. You can tell right away that it's Big Mac.

"Come on, give her some space!" He yells as he pulls you away. "Fluttershy, come with us. You can tell us all what happened."

She looks up at him and nods while wiping her eyes. "W-We have to hurry, Big Mac!"

You recover and push him aside to see Fluttershy again. "Tell us now, then! What’s happening? How are Rakghouls threatening Mandalore?"

From behind, you hear a scuffle of feet and you turn to see part of the crowd of soldiers spread out. "Captain on deck!" One of them yells.

Big Mac turns and stands at attention, holding you in place on his right side. You look around him and see Captain Shining Armor quickly jogging toward Fluttershy with the same nervous look on his face.

"Fluttershy!" He exclaims. "Fluttershy, where's Twilight?!"

Fluttershy starts to hyperventilate as she panics. "She- She stayed behind! She said she would find a place on the ship to stay safe and told me to go get help!"

He gets right in front of her and grabs her shoulders like you did. "Why didn't you force her to go with you?!"

She breaks down into full on sobs. "I-I'm sorry! I-I wanted her to come, b-but she... Angel forced me onto this ship, and-"

"SHE'S MY SISTER!!" He yells as he shakes her angrily in his hands.

Fluttershy is inconsolable now as he screams at her. Maud Pie runs up behind him and grabs his shoulder, practically throwing him back as she pulls him off of her.

"Captain, stand down!" She commands. "Yelling will only make things worse."

Shining Armor recovers and stomps toward Maud in a rage. "Master Jedi, YOU stand down! I'm in charge here, and what I say-"

"Silence..." Before he can finish his rant, she places her hand on his face and he draws a shaky breath. "There is a situation at hand. Fluttershy is clearly distraught, and yelling will worsen this for everyone involved. None of it will bring Twilight back."

Fluttershy huddles behind Maud and whimpers as Shining Armor takes a few more breaths before Maud removes her hand. "Y-You're right..." He stammers. "I know, and I'm sorry... It's just..."

She nods at him. "I understand, Captain. Your care for your sister compelled you to react this way, however, that is no excuse for this behavior."

"I know... I know... I- I'm sorry, Fluttershy..." He breathes. Fluttershy whimpers still, but nods at him.

Maud turns to Fluttershy and calmly asks her, "Fluttershy, will you please tell us what happened?" You take a step toward her and she looks at you with uncertainty. "Do not worry, he is no threat to us. His home is potentially in danger, and he wants to know what the situation is as well."

Fluttershy looks back and forth between you and Maud before nodding again and taking a deep breath to try and calm herself. "W-We had caught a couple to study a few days ago and had them in the laboratory cells... But-but something happened and they got free... They must've infected or killed the ones in the lab who were testing on them, because we heard screaming over the comms… We... We tried to save them, but we couldn't-"

You step in "How did you get off the ship?"

She looks at you worryingly and gulps before returning to Maud. "I-I was near the hangars when a couple of them broke in and started attacking us... Angel grabbed me and forced me into this ship. He told me to get you for help and that he would be able to hold himself off with the soldiers that were with us... I tried to get Twilight, but he roared at me and made the ship take off before I could get a chance... He said he would protect Twilight, but I don't know how long they can last against the Rakghouls! They're there now and in danger! We have to help them!"

You pant softly as she recounts her story. "What about Mandalore?"

"We-We were close to Mandalore when it happened!" She says. "The bridge is close to the lab, and there are usually a lot of people in there. I bet it's where some of the Rakghouls went to first, because the ship came out of lightspeed too soon! It happens automatically if there's a disturbance on board the ship. It's a security thing."

Your mind starts racing. This isn't good. If they're still alive, then you would assume that whoever was in charge of that ship would try to land on the planet or call for help. The Mandalorians would probably try to kill everyone aboard once they saw that it was a Republic vessel trying to land. If that wasn't enough of an excuse to fire upon it, then they sure as hell would once they found out that Rakghouls were on board.

You have complete faith in your people, but if the ship or its debris manages to break the atmosphere to the planet, then there's a chance that the Rakghouls could survive the crash. If what you've heard about Rakghouls is true, then that means there's also a chance that Mandalore could become a planet full of mindless monsters if that ship reaches the surface.

However, everyone could already be dead and they could also just crash into the planet.

What if a few Rakghouls survive though? They obviously survived the Sith bombings on Taris, so why couldn’t they survive crashing into a planet?

While your brain fires on all cylinders, Shining Armor looks around and activates his comlink. “Bridge, this is the Captain! Set a course for Mandalore immediately!”

That catches your attention, but Sunset steps toward him before you can. ”No! Mandalorians hate the Republic! If they detect a cruiser like this one enter the system, they’ll assume it's an attack!”

You step forward as well. “If that happens, this cruiser will be under very heavy fire! There is no way you'll have a chance to stop that ship from crashing! You’ll have started a war with Mandalore, Twilight will die, and our planet will be at risk of getting Rakghouls too! You can't go there!”

He looks at you both, agitated and about ready to break down at the thought of his sister dying. None of that matters to you though. Your only concern is Mandalore. That ship is possibly rampant with a monstrous infection, and you'll be damned if you let your people get wiped out by a monstrous plague like that.

You and Sunset look at each other. Neither of you say anything, but you know exactly what she’s thinking, because you’re thinking it too.

Mhi solus tome; Mando’ade. We are one together; Children of Mandalore.

Mandalore always comes first.

You turn back to Shining Armor. “We’ll go.”

He looks at you both, bewildered. ”Y-you will?”

The two of you nod and Sunset speaks. ”We’re not going for you or anyone else except us. We’re not asking permission either. It’s happening. That ship needs to be destroyed before it hits the planet.”

He shoots her a look, but you pitch in. “If you want to help us, you’re more than welcome to. We’ll go and rescue Twilight and any other survivors we find first, in return.”

He stares at you both silently as he thinks. Either threaten the lives of his crew, the Republic, and Mandalore by going there himself and fail to save his sister, not to mention the political repercussions this would create in the Senate, or let a greasy Mandalorian like you go to save her and avoid a giant mess.

Maud must pick up on his apparent conflict and she steps forward. "Captain, Anonymous and Sunset do make a good point. Much more is at stake here. Look at this from their point of view."

He looks nervously between Maud and you two, remaining silent. He has no choice and he knows it.

Finally, his shoulders slouch and he sighs. ”Alright, fine. You win, Mandalorian… What do you need? We’ll provide any support we can. Any at all if it means we can get Twilight back here safely.”

You love it when you win, and you do all you can to avoid grinning at his admittance of defeat. However, now is not the time to gloat. As of this moment, for a little while at least, you are in charge of this Republic vessel.

You think to yourself for a few moments. No sense in cutting costs or being restrained on this one. Big things are at risk here. Take advantage of the Republic's generous decision to do anything to help you.

You look at Shining Armor. “Move this cruiser just outside of the Mandalore system. We’ll go in my ship to intercept and destroy the vessel. When we’re done, we’ll bring the survivors to you.”

”A- Alright.” He says nervously.

Shining Armor activates his comlink while you turn your attention to Big Mac and Applejack. “Applejack, I need soldiers. Special units, volunteers, I don’t care, as long as they're the best. We'll also need a medic or two to start treating the survivors once we bring them aboard.”

Applejack puts her hands on her hips. "Me ‘n Big Mac will go with ya, Anon. We'll be all the volunteers you need. We're the best. I’ll see if Nurse Redheart is willing to come along too.”

Big Mac nods. ”Eeyup.”

Excellent.

Behind you, Fluttershy speaks up softly. ”Um… I have some medical training too…”

You turn to Fluttershy, who immediately covers her mouth at the realization that she spoke out loud. You could also use her as a map to traverse the ship as well, seeing as how she's familiar with the layout. How convenient.

“Perfect." You say. "You’re coming then too.”

She whimpers and looks down in fear, mumbling something about being a ‘loudmouth’ as you turn around.

Applejack goes to her comlink as you look to Maud. You hesitate as every fiber of your being is telling you not to ask her this, but you know that she would be a great help to you. Mandalore is at risk, and you’re not willing to take any chances of not ensuring that you are as well prepared and equipped as you can possibly be. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Master Jedi… Maud…" You begin. "I would appreciate it if I could get your help as well.”

She stares at you blankly for a moment before she nods her head softly. “Your people are at stake. You’ve shown that you are willing to act for the well-being of others. I will help you, Anonymous."

You give her a small smile. “Thank you.”

She gives a small bow before walking back toward the interior of the cruiser. “Prepare yourself then, Anonymous. I sense that we will make the jump to lightspeed in a matter of moments.”

You sigh and turn to Sunset, who’s looking at you with the same nervous expression that is on your face. ”That was… probably a smart thing to do…" She says. "Asking her for help.”

You slowly nod at her.

So much has happened within the past few hours. Maud has really opened your eyes about some of your lifestyle habits and thoughts. She's wise, you'll give her that. Now you'll get to see if her skills with a lightsaber are also impressive.

You clear your throat and turn to Big Mac. “Big Mac, gather up everyone once they’re ready and meet on my ship. We’ll go over the plan then.”

”Eeyup.” He says.

He turns and jogs back to the interior of the ship and you turn to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, come with me.”

She looks at you in disbelief. “M-me?”

Ugh, her timid demeanor is really getting on your nerves.

“Yes, you." You reply. "You’re going to tell me everything you know about that ship and the monsters on it.” You begin walking toward your ship with Sunset, but look back at her when she doesn’t immediately follow you. “You don’t want to keep Twilight waiting, do you toots? More importantly, you don’t want keep me waiting.”

”Anon, stop it.” Applejack snaps.

Fluttershy tenses up as she scolds you, but you continue toward your ship without giving either of them another glance.

Author's Note

A hangar bay.

A female Mirialan (Fluttershy's species)

Well Enough Alone

You step inside your ship and enter the main hold. For the most part, everything is right where you left it. Yours and Sunset’s helmets are on the table in the center of the room, next to all your formerly confiscated weapons, except your lightsaber, you notice. Maud must have kept that. The Sith artifacts are gone as well, but you knew that they would be.

You grab your helmet and weapons and bring them all into the armory. Sunset follows behind you. ”Do have a plan?”

“I’ve got the gist of one." You reply. "I need Fluttershy for the small details."

You set your gear down on your workbench and go to the back wall to your weapons locker. "Mind running it by me real quick?" She asks.

You open the locker and browse through it. "We're going to go board this ship, find whoever is still alive, get them back here, then destroy the ship before it crashes into Mandalore."

"Sounds simple." She says.

You grab a blaster rifle from the locker and inspect it. "We'll also have to kill any Rakghouls we find along the way before they kill or infect us."

Sunset nods slowly as she thinks to herself. "Vibroswords are a last resort then... We should distance ourselves as best we can."

"Good idea." You nod.

You take out an assault blaster rifle and toss it to her. She holsters it onto her back and looks back at you, concerned. "Anon, do you really think it's true what they say about the Rakghoul disease?"

You pause and stay silent as you ponder to yourself. You don't want to believe that a simple disease can turn you into one of those monsters. Taris has been gone for a long time, so some of those stories may just be wild rumors and fantasy.

But if they are true...

"I don't know for sure... I just don't know..." You shake your head. "Either way, these monsters are dangerous, and we need to know all about them if we're going to kill them." You grab another assault blaster rifle and holster it onto your back before heading back toward your workbench. "If there's even a chance that Mandalore could be plagued by a monstrous infection like this, then I'm going to do everything I can to prevent it from happening. Even if it ends up just being a rumor."

Sunset nods. "Shoot first, ask questions later in these situations."

"Exactly." You grab your helmet and follow Sunset into the main hold where you see Applejack and Fluttershy enter your ship.

Applejack looks around and gives a little whistle while Fluttershy huddles close behind her. "Nice ship ya got here, Anon."

"Thanks." You set your helmet back on the table and look at Fluttershy. "Alright, you. Talk. Tell me everything about the Rakghouls and this ship. I need to know as much as you can tell me."

She gulps and Applejack steps aside, ushering her forward, but staying with her.

"Um... Right... The Rakghouls... Well, they're monsters that have been living on Taris for thousands of years. We don't really know how they got there."

"What can they do? How tough are they?" You ask.

"Are the rumors about their disease true?" Sunset adds.

She nervously looks back and forth between you two and nods slowly. "They are very true..."

You and Sunset both exchange a concerned look. It seems your worst fears have been confirmed.

You sigh and look back at her. "How long before the infection turns the victim into a Rakghoul?"

She takes a shaky breath. "W-We read old reports from people who lived on Taris that the transformation happens between six and forty-eight hours after infection, but these Rakghouls have evolved over time... They're stronger and faster than they used to be. I've seen transformations happen anywhere from between three hours to just minutes after being infected."

You stare at her in disbelief. "Minutes?"

She nods again.

"Oh my goodness..." Applejack looks visibly worried. More worried that you and Sunset look, incredibly.

"How did that happen?" You ask.

Fluttershy gulps. "Well, um, After years of being able to roam around Taris, they've evolved to become bigger and smarter than before the planet was bombarded by Darth Malak. They can think and even solve simple problems. They're not mindless, but they are still bloodthirsty monsters... I don't use that term loosely."

"Why in the world did you capture them in the first place?" Sunset asks.

"Well, uh, Twilight wanted to study them." She twiddles her fingers in front of her. "She was interested in their biology."

You groan and shut your eyes. Damn science types. Some things just need to be left alone.

You look at her again. "Where do you think Twilight would've gone on the ship?"

Sunset speaks up as well. "Better yet, how do you know she's still alive?"

Fluttershy gulps and whimpers some. "W-we had a safe room on board in case of a break out. Twilight helped design it, so she should be safe, along with any others who got there... Oh, I hope Angel got there too..."

"Who's Angel?" You ask.

"Oh... Uh, he's my Wookie friend." Fluttershy says. "He's big and has a rare condition that gives him white fur. He's, uh, a bit aggressive... even for a Wookie... But he's good! He said he would protect Twilight from the Rakghouls, but the food in that room won't last forever... He needs his six square meals a day too, or else he gets really, really cranky..."

You hold up a hand and stop her, groaning a little. "Alright, I get it. He's a Wookie and he's hungry. We'll rescue all of them before he runs out of food."

She takes another small breath of relief. "Thank you so much, Mr. Anon."

You cross your arms and feel the ship rumble a little beneath your feet. Applejack speaks up. "We're in hyperspace."

"Find out where your brother and everyone else is and get them back here. I'll explain the plan when they arrive." You say to her.

Applejack nods. "Alright." She goes to her comink and you head back into the armory.

Sunset follows behind you. "You should probably get your lightsaber back from Maud."

"Good idea." You say. "I'll ask her about it when she gets here."

Along with your assault blaster rifle, you go to another weapons locker and grab two heavy blaster pistols, a few thermal detonators, your jetpack, some extra flamethrower fuel, a few rockets, and a backup vibrosword that you hope you won't have to use. Sunset grabs her dual vibroswords first, then a heavy blaster, some wrist-mounted rockets, and her jetpack. Better to be overprepared than underprepared.

Once you've grabbed everything, you lay it all out on the workbench so it's ready for you to grab and go once you land on that ship.

Applejack calls to you from outside. "Anon, they're all here."

You and Sunset exchange another glance before you both head into the main hold of the ship. Maud and Nurse Redheart stand beside Fluttershy while Big Mac takes up room in front of the doorway to the exit ramp.

He's carrying two extra rifles in one arm that, you assume he brought for Applejack. It also looks like he's carrying a portable turret on his shoulder, along with his minigun still strapped to his back. This man is a walking tank. Maud has removed her Jedi robe and is dressed only in a simple, dark-brown tunic with her lightsaber on her belt.

Nurse Redheart clears her throat. "Well Anonymous, we'll do anything we can to help you."

She gives you a nervous smile and Maud steps forward. "Tell us the plan."

You look at everyone and sigh as you gather your thoughts together. "Alright, here goes..."

You, Sunset, and Applejack are sitting in the cockpit of your ship, while Shining Armor is speaking to you from your screen. "Okay, we're coming out of lightspeed in three...two...one."

From inside the cockpit, you see the bluish hue of hyperspace fade as the cruiser enters realspace once again. Right then, Sunset turns on the engines and your ship whirs to life. You teeter slightly as you lift off the hangar floor and gently float outside into the vacuum of space.

You turn on the navicomputer and mark the derelict ship's coordinates. Fluttershy wasn't kidding. It's dangerously close to the planet. It's a relatively small ship compared to the Republic cruiser you're currently on, so Mandalore shouldn't pay it much attention unless it gets much, much closer to the planet. Looks like you've got a bit of time before that happens though.

Once you set the coordinates, you turn back to Shining Armor. "Alright Captain, we're on our way. We should be there in about five minutes."

Shining Armor gives you a small nod. "Please, Anon. Please find Twilight."

You nod at him. "I'll do all I can, Captain. You have my word."

He gives you one last look of desperation before the feed cuts. Sunset flies you away from the cruiser's hangar and adjusts the ship to face the direction of the Mandalore system. She hits the throttle and once again, you're thrown into hyperspace. You all then get up and head into the main hold where Big Mac, Maud, Fluttershy, and Nurse Redheart are waiting.

"We'll be there in about five minutes, so let's review the plan one more time." You announce. "Once we land, Big Mac will set up the automatic turret just outside the ship. Redheart will wait here for any injured survivors we find. Maud will wait here as well and defend the ship from any Rakghouls that may get too close. Fluttershy will remain here as well, keeping contact with me, Sunset, Applejack, and Big Mac as we move through the ship to find survivors, killing any Rakghouls that get in our way. Once we've found everyone we can, we'll head to the bridge and activate the ship's self-destruct. Then, we'll get the hell out of here and head back to the cruiser."

Everyone nods in agreement, except Fluttershy. She just looks down to the ground with worry ever-present on her face. You ignore it though. She'll be fine.

Sunset steps forward to address everyone as well. "Now that we're all clear, let's all gear up as fast as we can. We'll be there soon."

Applejack and Big Mac start to grab their respective weapons while you and Sunset head into the armory. You arm yourself with your weapons and jetpack. If everything goes according to plan, you won't even need to fly, but it's still nice to have.

Once you're armed and geared up, you grab your helmet. You look at your reflection in the visor and give a small sigh as you bring it around and place it over your head, seeing the familiar HUD come to life. It feels good to be in one piece again.

Once Sunset is geared up, she heads back to the cockpit to bring the ship out of lightspeed. You step out into the main hold and look at everyone. Applejack has a rifle on her back and a pair of twin blasters strapped to her sides. She also brought some extra pieces of armor for her shoulders, knees and shins. She's still wearing that hat of hers though. Big Mac has the turret ready to deploy on his shoulder and he stands near the exit ramp, waiting for it to lower.

You head into the cockpit after Sunset and get there just as you come out of hyperspace. Directly in front of you, you see the small Republic cruiser drifting toward the familiar yellow-tan planet you call home: Mandalore.

You stand behind Sunset and place a hand on her shoulder. "Home sweet home..."

Sunset guides the ship into the starboard hangar bay and you get your first look inside.

https://youtu.be/GQOUeZcurHo

There are a couple of small ships on the right side of the hangar, one of which is on fire in a spot near the rear. Most of the lights inside the hangar are darkened. Only a few of them are on. The cruiser must be on emergency backup power. On the ground, you see a few scattered bodies. Some of them are human, some of them aren't, some aren't even recognizable, but all of them are lifeless.

You've seen your fair share of death before, but this time, for some reason, it puts you on-edge.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Sunset breathes.

You nod slowly. "Yeah, I do too..."'

Sunset turns the ship around and slowly lands in the darkened hangar bay. The ship begins to whir down as she stands up. "Alright, let's do this."

She lowers the exit ramp and you both head out to the main hold. Big Mac heads down the ramp and Applejack follows right behind him, holding Fluttershy's hand behind her for comfort as she does.

Sunset goes after them while you go to Maud. "Master Jedi, do you still have that Sith's lightsaber you took from me?"

She nods once. "Yes I do, Anonymous."

"Oh good." You reply. "I'd like to have that back, please."

She lets out a breath through her nose and reaches behind her to reveal the familiar cylindrical weapon you looted from the dead Sith you killed on Tatooine. "Due to the evil intentions behind this lightsaber's creation, I cannot allow you to keep it after this mission, Anonymous. Under the current circumstances however, I will allow you to use it, but I must have it back when we have finished here."'

You say nothing, but you do nod at her as you take it and hook it to your belt. You grab your rifle and make your way to the ramp.

Maud calls after you. "May the Force be with you, Anonymous."

You stop and turn back to her. "May the Force be with you, Maud."

There's something you never thought you'd say. It was surprisingly comforting coming from her just now though.

You head down the ramp and pass Big Mac as he sets up the turret just outside. Fluttershy is waiting right beside him, looking paranoid. To your right, you see Sunset and Applejack huddled around something. You jog over to them and see a Republic soldier laying on the ground. He's moaning in pain and holding his stomach as he lays on his side. Applejack pats his shoulder encouragingly.

"Hey now, you listen to me, soldier. You're gonna be alright, ya hear?" She says with a nervous smile. "Stay awake, we'll get you on our ship."

He cries out and looks up at her. "No!... N-No... D-Don't.... Y-you need t-to get out of here... Right n-now..."

"We ain't leavin' you here! You're gettin' help!" She replies.

You crouch down beside Applejack and look at the soldier. "What happened?"

He gasps and breathes erratically as he grips his chest and looks up at you. "Th-They came... out of n-nowhere... started... started biting, and... and scr... scratching... I... I was..."

You lean down and lift up his arm to get a look at his chest. You, Applejack, and Sunset all freeze as you see a pair of deep scratch marks leading from one side of his body to the other. How long did Fluttershy say it took? Minutes?

"Uh oh..." You say blankly.

All three of you stand up and slowly back away as the soldier begins to begins to trail off in his speech. You clutch your rifle tightly in your hands.

Suddenly, he grabs his stomach and lets out a scream. "N-No... No! I... I can't be- NooaaaAAAAAHHH!!!"

He shrieks and begins to squirm uncontrollably on the ground. You all gasp and take a few more steps away from him.

Shocked, you all watch in horror as his flesh seems to churn beneath his skin. His arms and legs twist and bend all the wrong ways, making his bones crack and pop disgustingly loud. His screams echo through the hangar as he spasms on the ground. You see his face morph and his mouth open wider than humanly possible.

His skin becomes extremely pale and deformed and he grabs his face, his screams becoming very coarse. Blood begins to seep out of his fingertips as his digits morph together and three claws poke their way out of each of them. His clothes tear and pieces of his armor pop off as his body changes from its original shape.

He moves to his hands and knees and you can see three more claws poke out of the tips of each of his boots, accompanied by small streams of blood. He coughs and spews blood from his mouth and gives one last hopeless cry for help before it fades into a monstrous roar. It will be the last human thing he ever does.

Now, it stands upright with its back to you, panting hard and resting on its knuckles. It slowly turns around and you stare into its dark, piercing gaze as it gives a low growl. You're in shock at what you just witnessed. You've never seen anything like it before. You can't move.

Sunset stammers beside you. "A-Anon?"

It's a mere fifteen paces away from you. It turns to face you and takes a single step forward, growling.

"Kill it..." You breathe.

That step turns into a full-on charge as it heads straight for you. Its roar reverberates off of the walls of the hangar as it closes in. You still haven't moved! What the hell are you waiting for?!

"KILL IT!" You raise your rifle at the Rakghoul and open fire.

Author's Note

Mandalorians, ready for battle.

The planet Mandalore.

Abandoned hangar bay.

A Rakghoul.

Monsters

You take a few frantic steps backwards as you spray a barrage of blaster fire at the charging Rakghoul. Many of the blaster bolts hit its arms, legs, and body, but it doesn't even seem phased by them as it continues to charge at you, roaring with fury.

"It ain't stoppin'!" Applejack screams.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see her turn around into a full-on sprint away from it. Fluttershy shrieks in terror behind you somewhere.

Once it gets close enough, the Rakghoul leaps into the air in a pounce directly toward you. You stop firing and dive out of the way just in time, feeling your foot bump against its body in the process. As you hit the ground, you hear the familiar roar of engines behind you. Sunset utilizes her jetpack and begins firing at the beast from the air.

The Rakghoul gets to its feet and growls at Sunset before crying out in pain as more bolts hit its body and it collapses onto its back. The fury from its sudden transformation must've died down. You get to your feet and sprint over to it, spraying more blaster bolts at it the whole time. Giving a war cry, you raise your rifle and smash the butt stock into its head.

You hammer your weapon against it again and again and again, effectively crushing its skull before slowly standing back up, panting as you stare down at its now lifeless body. You keep your blaster trained on it though, just in case. You don't want to lower it.

"It's... It's dead..." You pant.

You notice that a few drops of blood have splashed onto your visor, and you quickly wipe it clean.

Sunset lands beside you and keeps her weapon trained on it as well. "That was... That was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life..."

You look at her and holster your rifle after a few long moments. You both take another look at the body before Applejack comes up to you, looking worried.

"Is it dead?" She asks.

You nod slowly. "Yeah..." She gives a relieved sigh and covers her mouth as she looks at the body. "Where's Fluttershy?" You ask.

"She's with Big Mac." She doesn't stop looking at the Rakghoul.

From behind, Maud asks. "Is everyone alright?"

You all turn around to see her walking toward you with Fluttershy huddled close behind and Big Mac with her as well, his minigun at the ready.

You nod at her. "We're a little spooked, but we're fine."

She looks at the body and pauses for a moment. "I sense great fear and anger here... There are more of them on board this ship... Many more..."

You all wait in silence as Maud closes her eyes and uses the Force to search the ship. Fluttershy softly clears her throat. "Um... Master Maud? I-Is Twilight alive?"

Maud closes her eyes and takes a slow, deep breath. After about ten seconds, she speaks. "...Yes."

Fluttershy and Applejack both audibly sigh. "Thank goodness..."

Maud continues. "She's scared, but she's alive... The Wookie is alive as well..."

Angel.

"Where are they?" You ask.

She pauses again, visibly trying to concentrate. "I'm... I'm not sure... There is too much discord and panic all over the ship. I cannot sense where they are exactly..."

"Damn it..." You whisper and take a deep breath. "Well, Fluttershy said the medical bay was where she was likely holed up. We might as well-"

Just then, a sudden noise to your right that cuts you off. You and Sunset immediately raise your weapons in its direction and brace yourselves for another fight. It's quiet though...

You hear the noise again a moment later. It sounds like the faint crackling you'd hear on an old comlink. It pops and whirs softly. It's coming from the door on the far side of the hangar. You look harder and see a small intercom box on the right side of it.

It pops and cracks before you hear a faint voice echo through the large empty room. "H-Hello?! Hello?! Is anyone there?! Please! Help us!"

Fluttershy gasps. "Oh my gosh!"

"That's Twilight's voice!" Applejack exclaims. The both of them take off running toward the door.

"Wait!" You shout.

There could be more Rakghouls hiding in here! They're going to get themselves killed! They don't slow down at your cautionary tone though, so you, Sunset, and Big Mac head after them, your eyes scanning the darkened area ahead, ready for anything.

As you all approach the door, the girl continues begging for help. "Whoever you are, please! I am Professor Twilight Sparkle! We're trapped and in desperate need of assistance!"

Applejack runs up to the door and frantically presses a few buttons on the keypad. "Twilight! Twilight, it's Applejack! We're here!"

"Applejack?! Oh thank the Force it's you!" Twilight exclaims.

Applejack nods. "Big Mac and Master Maud are here too! Fluttershy said that you were in trouble. She's here too and we brought some extra help!"

Twilight sounds hysterically grateful on the intercom. "Oh Fluttershy, thank you! Thank you so much!"

The two girls break out into relieved nervous laughter with Twilight over the intercom.

You catch up to them and move in front of Applejack to speak into the intercom. "Twilight Sparkle, my name is Anon. I'm with Applejack."

"He's a Mandalorian, Twilight." Applejack adds.

She's silent for a second. "A... A Mandalorian? The Mandalorians are helping the Republic?"

"Let's not get political right now. This little out-of-control science experiment you have here is a threat to my planet." You explain. "This agreement we have is only temporary. Leave the questions to me, alright? Where are you, exactly?"

"Uhm... H-Hang on..." You hear some clattering on the other side of the intercom followed by some footsteps. She's whispering now. "...Are they still out there?..." Someone else is in there with her. "...Okay... Uh, we're in engineering. Near the rear of the ship."

You nod. "Give me a very brief explanation of what happened here."

"Uh, okay." Twilight gulps. "I was doing something in one of the auxiliary science labs when I heard a commotion. I headed back to the medical bay by the bridge when a few members of the crew came storming around the corner followed by one of the Rakghouls. I ran away as fast as I could... I heard them screaming and I looked back to see the Rakghoul biting and clawing someone... It was horrible..." You hear her voice crack a bit as she speaks. "I ran away with a few others as fast as I could, but the safe room was on the other side of the Rakghoul... I couldn't get- WAAAH!"

Twilight is cut off by the sounds of her screaming along with other people and a few roars accompanied by blaster fire. Applejack pushes you aside and leans against the intercom. "Twilight! Twilight, what's wrong?!"

You hear Twilight scream again and run somewhere. "Run! Get away from there!... Applejack, they just got through the doors!... No! No, get back here! We need to close the-" The intercom cuts and all you hear is static.

Applejack frantically bangs on the intercom as she tries to get it back on. "Twilight! TWILIGHT!"

Oh no.

Fluttershy whimpers behind you and you turn to Sunset. You can't see her face behind her helmet, but her posture is enough to tell you that she's worried. You turn around to see Fluttershy grabbing Big Mac's arm and sobbing into it while Maud stares at you with a small hint of worry on her face as well.

Applejack is on the verge of tears as well as she breathes heavily while attempting to bring the intercom back online. "Come on... Come on! Work, dammit! TWILIGHT!"

She resorts to just hitting and kicking the intercom and wall out of frustration and fear. "Applejack, knock it off!" You command. She ignores you and starts sobbing uncontrollably as she's on the verge of destroying the intercom.

Suddenly, Maud perks up and rushes to pull Applejack away.

"No! Get off me! I gotta-" Applejack squirms and fights against her.

Maud easily restrains her and covers her mouth before speaking in a hushed tone. "Silence! There are more of them approaching us from the hallway just outside the door! They can hear you!"

Applejack immediately stops fighting and you hear a muffled roar on the other side of the door, making you and Sunset ready your weapons and take a few steps backwards. Maud activates her lightsaber behind you and the small space around you lights up in a lightish-blue glow. If you weren't on edge before, you sure as hell are now. Any second now, Rakghouls will come through that door.

A thought pops into your head. You're all in one place. It will be easier for them to charge you. You need to surround them from all sides; overwhelm them.

"Everyone, disperse! Now!" You command. "Surround the door! Fluttershy, get back to the ship!"

You activate your jetpack and fly over to the right side of the door. Sunset follows your lead and flies to the left. Big Mac moves over to the right side of the door, but distances himself from it. Applejack takes Fluttershy and runs halfway to the ship before running back adjacent to Big Mac on the left with her pistols drawn to the door. Maud stays in the middle of you all and moves away, still facing the door with her lightsaber raised and ready for combat in the Soresu stance.

The monstrous roars grow in volume until you hear a loud bang on the other side of the door and it slides open. Three Rakghouls come bounding out on all fours, snarling wildly.

"Shoot them!" You shout as you open fire.

You and Sunset strafe around either side of the group of monsters and blast at them all from above. Big Mac's minigun whirs to life and he begins to spray them and close in. Applejack is taking small, yet precise shots at them from the left.

The monsters seem taken back, stunned by the sudden wall of firepower and begin to run around in circles, as if completely unsure of what to do. Maud begins to move slowly from side to side, playing crowd control. There's too much blaster fire within the group of monsters right now for her to get involved. All three of the Rakghouls shriek and whine as they take more damage.

After a few seconds, two of them fall. There's just one more. Your combined concentrated fire is borderline overkill as it falls in a lifeless heap seconds later.

You cease fire and descend to the ground with Sunset. Just as you both touch down, you hear another roar from the hallway and a final Rakghoul comes charging into the hangar. It bounds in a zigzag movement toward Maud.

It's only now that you notice that, unlike the rest of you, she hasn't dropped her guard at all since the initial attack started. She knew about this one.

As the Rakghoul closes in, it pounces at her. She immediately reacts by leaping into the air on the monster's left and twirling her whole body. It's almost graceful. With her lightsaber activated, she becomes a living saw blade as she cuts through the monster a few times before landing on her feet behind it. She moves her left hand down and back and you hear a sound like thunder echo through the hangar as the Rakghoul's body goes flying toward the wall behind her.

She stands up straight and shuts off her lightsaber before slowly walking toward you. You and Sunset both just stand there, bewildered just a bit. "That was impressive, Master Jedi." You comment.

Applejack runs back to the door as Maud clips her lightsaber onto her belt before stopping just in front of you and Sunset. "I will keep Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart safe from the Rakghouls, Anonymous."

You nod at her. You're confident in her abilities. Fluttershy is a hysteric mess right now. No doubt she'd slow you down, if you took her. Still, you'll need her help navigating your way through the ship.

"There's a comlink in one of the compartments on the wall next to the computer in the main hold." You say. "Tell Fluttershy we'll be in touch. Let us know if you can sense anything happening with Twilight."

She nods her head and walks back toward your ship. "Very well. May the Force be with you, Anonymous."

You say nothing as you watch her leave for a second before turning around and heading back to the door. Applejack is trying to get the intercom operational again while Big Mac is covering the open door that leads into the darkened hallway from where the Rakghouls emerged.

You join his side while Sunset goes with Applejack. "Here, let me take a look."

She taps the small intercom box on the sides a few times before opening it up to look at the hardware inside. You can hear the speaker crack and pop as she works with the wires.

She leans back and stares at the box after a few moments. "Okay, the intercom itself is fine. This one is, at least. Something is wrong with the signal."

You press a button on your gauntlet and scan for a communications signal on your HUD. With the exception of your ship, you're picking up nothing reliable, but there is one very weak signal coming from the rear of the cruiser. That must have been where Twilight was broadcasting from. There are no other short or long range signals at all from anywhere else in the ship though. They must've been deactivated during the outbreak.

You'd like to be able to stay in contact with Twilight, but you have no time to turn the cruiser's connections back on. Maybe you can use your ship's sensors to intercept and boost the cruiser's signal though.

"Sunset, see if you can open a wireless connection to our ship. I'm going to try and use our sensors as a relay for Twilight's signal." She goes back to tinkering with the intercom while you run back to your ship. As you get aboard, you see Maud sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Probably meditating or whatever. You run into the cockpit and activate the computer. "How we looking, Sunset?"

You hear her voice in your ear as you find your communications menu. "It looks like I can reprogram it, but I need a source frequency."

"Hang on." You navigate through the computer until you find the comms scanner.

You send out a signal and find one just outside the ship a few moments later. It's the intercom where Sunset is at.

"Almost got it... Aaaand, we're connected." She says. "Good thinking, Anon."

You press a button on your gauntlet and sync with the ship's computer. Since you're now connected with the intercom's radio frequency, and the intercom is connected to the rest of the cruiser, you now have control over the cruiser's speaker systems. You bring up the communications on your HUD and search for the nearest access point; the intercom just outside.

"Can you guys hear me?" You ask.

"Loud and clear." Sunset replies.

"Excellent." You say. "I'll be right there."

You head back into the main hold and pass Fluttershy. "A-Anon? What is it?"

"We've got a way to contact Twilight. You'll be able to hear everything on that comlink." You say as you point to the device in her hand.

She gasps with relief and covers her mouth, but you don't stick around to hear what else she has to say. As you head back to the group, you scan the cruiser for an intercom box near the weak signal's location you saw before. You find it, along with all the others throughout the ship. You've programmed the display on your HUD to have a top-down view, so all these access points together create a very simple map. Too simple to be of any significant benefit though.

"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle, can you hear me?" The comms go silent as you wait for a response. "Professor Twilight Sparkle, can you hear me?" Again, the comms go silent.

After a few seconds, you press a few buttons on your gauntlet and override the intercom's default security settings to activate her microphone. Over your speakers, you hear some disorganized growling and banging. Rakghouls, obviously, but they don't sound as ferocious as they did when they were attacking you. They're there though.

"Sunset, you hearing this?" You ask.

"Yeah I am." She nods.

You regroup with her, Applejack and Big Mac while you wait for a response. Applejack looks to you for hope. "Did ya find her?"

"Not exactly..." You reply. "Fluttershy, where's engineering?"

You hear her voice a second later. "Uh, it's toward the back of the ship... On the lower levels..."

Just double-checking. That's where the signal is coming from. The bridge is in the opposite direction though. That's your primary objective. Still, if all these access points say anything to you, it's that this cruiser's layout is like a labyrinth.

"Anon, I have an idea." Sunset says.

You keep looking at the access points on your HUD. "What is it?"

"Remember our one recon drone that I set up on Malastare?" She begins. "What if we used their proximity sensors kind of like a sonar? They can go through the whole cruiser and chart its layout."

You look at her. "Would that work?"

She shrugs. "I don't see why not. We can program them to continuously send their info to the ship. As long as we're synced, we'll be able to stay updated too."

Sunset, you are the best.

"That is a brilliant idea." You reply. "Do it. We'll go inside with the droids at the same time."

She presses a few buttons on her gauntlet and you mark the access point on your HUD. You walk to the open door beside Big Mac and Applejack. "Alright, we have a direction to go. Stay with me and Sunset. We'll keep trying to reach Twilight as we walk, but be on the lookout for survivors and Rakghouls alike."

"What if we find someone infected, but hasn't turned yet? Do we save 'em?" Applejack asks.

You look at her and pause. "Yeah. Save them from a fate worse than death and put a blaster bolt in their head." She gasps and Big Mac looks over at you. You motion toward the dead Rakghouls behind you. "I promise you, you'll be doing them a favor."

She shakes her head worryingly. "I-I don't wanna kill 'em if we can save 'em..."

Oh good hell, why is she being like this?

You give an exasperated sigh. "Then point him out to me, and I'll kill him! There's no cure for this, so I've got no problem with killing people who are already dead!"

Applejack looks down in shame as you yell at her.

Fluttershy starts talking in your ear. "Um, actually Anon, there is a Rakghoul serum."

Applejack looks back up at you. You pause for a moment, staring at her with a spiteful look that she can't see before turning your attention to Fluttershy on your comms. "Where?"

She replies. "Um, there are a few vials of it in a safe in the medical bay."

Right next to the bridge, if you've been paying attention. That's convenient.

"Huh..." You reply. "Well then in that case, we should head there first. Just in case Twilight is already infected by the time we get there."

Applejack cringes at that. "P-Please don't say that, Anon... I'm already worried as it is..."

You may have said that a bit harsher than you meant to.

"Yeah, right. Sorry..." You turn your attention back to Fluttershy. "I'll check in with you once we reach the medical bay."

As you deactivate your comms, you hear the familiar whirring of the recon drones behind you. All four of them float past your group and head through the door that leads deeper into the cruiser. One by one, they each activate a small flashlight and disperse down an individual hallway as they reach them. On your HUD, you see their little blips spread out through the ship, highlighting different corridors and hallways as they reach them.

"It's working." You look at Sunset and give a small grin under your helmet. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

She gives a forced chuckle as she grabs her rifle. "It couldn't hurt for you to say it a little more."

You chuckle back at her and take a deep breath.

You deactivate your HUD, and stand beside Big Mac at the entrance. "We goin'?" He asks.

"Yeah..." You activate your comms and connect to the access points at the rear of the cruiser. "To everyone who can hear this. If you are able, fight the Rakghouls off to the best of your ability. If you can't, find a place to hide and we'll deal with them when we get there. We are here to rescue you, so just sit tight. We're on our way."

You deactivate the comms and look back at Sunset and Applejack behind you. Sunset nods once at you and they both raise their guns. They're ready.

"From here on in, if we have to talk, keep it quiet." You say cautiously.

You turn back to the open doorway and take a deep breath as you get your first actual look inside. It's empty. Completely devoid of life, which is unsettling.

A few emergency backup lights illuminate the top of the hallways, so it's not dark enough that you can't see, but you might have trouble seeing anything too detailed. Below a set of flickering lights, you can make out torn up floors, scratched walls, some metal debris, and some macabre smears of blood on various surfaces. The only sound you hear within is the constant low hum of the ship's power generators and an occasional clang or distant low rumble.

A monstrous roar bellows out from somewhere deep within the cruiser, but it's too distant for you to feel too alarmed. You don't think there's anything else still alive directly ahead, but you're not letting your guard down. Not even for a little bit.

You take a deep breath. "Let's go."

You take your first step through the doorway and lead your party inside, a chilling sense of dread suddenly coming over you.

Author's Note

Rakghoul.

A Jedi in the Soresu stance (Lightsaber form III)

The heads-up display (HUD) for a Mandalorian helmet.

Darkened hallway of the cruiser.

Uncomfortable Silence

It gets darker as you progress deeper into the ship, so you turn on your twin headlamps that you have on the outer edges of your visor. They allow you get your first good look around at the hallway. The place is a wreck.

Along with spots of blood, the floor panels have dents and scratches in them. They're probably where a few of the Rakghouls' claws hit when they were running. The walls look relatively untouched, for the most part. There were a few nicks and scratches in places, but nothing too extreme. That changes though. As you continue onward, your foot bumps against something soft and you look down.

"Oh damn..." It's an arm. A discarded, bloody, human arm laying in a pool of blood.

Applejack gasps behind you. "Oh my goodness.."

You crouch down to take a closer look at it for a while before glancing ahead to find who it belonged to. Laying face down in a puddle of gore and guts is a man. Or, what remains of him, anyway. He looks like an engineer of some kind. His head is nearly hanging off of his shoulders at the neck and parts of his back have been ripped open. You can see parts of his spine.

Sunset whispers behind you. "You okay, Applejack?"

You turn around to Applejack, who has her head in one of her hands and is bent over, taking a few deep breaths while Big Mac rubs her shoulder. "No... No I ain't..." She's about to be sick.

You shine your lights back onto the mutilated body and inspect it further. "Turn around while I take a better look at this. We don't need you throwing up or passing out on us."

She takes another breath. "How can you look at somethin' like that?"

"I've seen worse." You reply. "You know what a Nexu can do to a person? This is like a flesh wound in comparison."

It doesn't matter how pretty the forests are or who the target is that's hiding out there, you never want to go to Cholganna ever again.

Sunset crouches beside you to look around at the various splotches of blood and guts on and around the body as well. The floor around his body is absolutely covered in blood, except for his feet. There's hardly any blood there or anywhere behind him. The blood on the floor just in front of the head looks like it splashed out and ahead. He hit the ground running.

The little bit of his neck that remained looks like it was chewed through. What wasn't ingested was flung all over the place.

Sunset points to a pair of deep gashes on both his shoulders. "He was tackled from behind. See the claw marks?"

You nod. "There might've been two of them chasing him. The one that didn't tackle him bit his arm as he was doubtlessly flailing around."

A growl from somewhere ahead gets your attention and you and Sunset sit up with your blasters at the ready. You both pan your lights down the abandoned hallway, holding your breath as you wait for a Rakghoul to come charging around the corner, but nothing happens. After a few seconds of waiting, you exhale and slowly get to your feet. Your eyes never leave the area ahead.

"Let's keep going." You whisper. "I don't want to end up like this guy."

You take one last look at the body before you continue down the corridor with your party. As you reach a fork in the hallway to your left, you notice a few scratches and dents on the wall to your right that go down to the floor and head back toward the hangar behind you. It looks like whoever that man was that the Rakghoul was chasing tried to shake it by pulling a quick right and hoping that it would hit the wall and black out. Clearly, it didn't work.

You peer around the corner to check if the coast is clear. This hallway looks pretty similar to the one you're currently in, but it's a bit bigger and it has a couple of lights on toward the middle, giving the entire hallway a yellowish tone.

"How we lookin'?" Applejack asks.

You squint your eyes as you carefully scan the entire area ahead for a moment before ushering your party to follow. "We're good. Applejack, walk beside me. Sunset, watch our six with Big Mac."

"Got it." Sunset says.

You continue down the hallway, swiftly and silently. You occasionally look behind you to see if Sunset is still okay.

You activate your HUD and select the intercom closest to Twilight's last location. "Applejack, try contacting Twilight again."

She looks at her comlink. "Is it good to go?"

You nod. "Yeah, it's connected to the intercom she was closest to."

She clears her throat and activates the comlink. "Twilight? It's Applejack. Can ya hear me?" She turns it off and waits for a response for a moment, but all you hear is static. "Twilight, please. Please come in." Again, nothing but static.

You exhale. "We'll try again later."

You deselect the intercom on your HUD and creep down the hallway, staying silent the entire time. You pass by a few rooms as you walk. Most of the doors are open, with one or two of those rooms containing a body, or at least their remains. According to your map, you should be heading in the right direction. This is the way to the bow of the ship.

As you continue, you hear a sound and you stop.

"Shh. Listen..." You command.

Everyone behind you stops and you concentrate on the sound. It's a low, gruff panting coming from somewhere just ahead of you. It's obviously a Rakghoul, but you can't see it anywhere.

You raise your weapon higher and slowly continue onward, sweeping the area ahead of you intently as you approach the sound of the breathing. After a few feet, you discover that the sound is coming from a locked door on your left. There is a Rakghoul just on the other side of it.

Applejack is barely audible as she whispers and holds her pistols. "We gonna kill it?"

"I don't think we'll be able to." You examine the door more closely. "This door locks from the inside. See? I don't think it's connected to the ship's system either."

Sunset moves in front of you and inspects the door as well. "I'd guess that whoever is in there knew they were infected, and they locked themselves in there to protect everyone else."

"Wow." Applejack breathes. "What a guy."

You hear the monster on the other side rub up against the door and give a groan as you stand there for another moment.

"Come on." You usher your hand to everyone and you continue down the hallway.

You pass a few more doors, hallway forks and wreckage until the end of the hallway is in sight. As you approach, however, you hear a loud snarl directly in front of you and you all freeze. Immediately following the snarl, you see a Rakghoul dart down the upcoming fork from right to left. It's gone in a second.

You raise your rifle at the hallway ahead and wait for it to come back around the corner. Applejack charges up her blasters beside you as she holds them out in front of her. You crouch and run stealthily to the corner and whip around it with your rifle poised and ready.

You see just another dark and empty long hallway ahead of you. The Rakghoul is nowhere to be seen.

"Do ya see 'im?" Applejack asks.

"No..." You continue to stare down the hallway just in case he comes back into view.

After a few moments of silence, nothing has happened. You turn around and face the other direction to see if anything is there, but like the left side, the right is dark and empty. It's much shorter and you see a flickering light that is hanging by a wire from the ceiling. It's still silent though.

"I think he's gone..." You breathe.

"You sure?" Applejack asks.

No, you're not.

"Wherever he is, he's not around here anymore..." You reply. "Let's keep going. Quickly."

You turn back around toward the left side of the hallway. Not a second passes by when you hear the deafening roar from the Rakghoul that is currently in the process of lunging directly toward you...

Author's Note

Heading into the ship.

Hide and Seek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvjO-UhCyHw

You have hardly any time to react before the monster crashes into you and makes you fall onto your back. You grunt loudly as you hit the ground and you hold your rifle out in front of you, keeping it away from you as it snarls and tries to bite at your face.

"Anon!" Sunset shouts.

"Shoot it!" You yell and push against the Rakghoul more. It's surprisingly strong. "Shoot it!"

"But I might hit you!" She cries.

You release your rifle with one hand and punch it in the face a few times. You feel its claws dig into your shoulder armor and left gauntlet. It roars once more and fogs up your visor. You release your rifle with the other hand and grapple its head, pulling it down and butting it with the front of yours.

The Rakghoul yelps and releases you. You hold its shoulders and shove it off of you before bringing your legs up to kick it hard in the chest. "NOW!"

It yelps again and stumbles backwards a couple of steps before you see Sunset unload her blaster fire into its chest.

In one motion, you get to your feet, grab your lightsaber and activate it, and charge at the beast. Sunset stops firing just as you reach it and you slice through its torso in a single swing. What little breath it has left leaves its lungs as it falls over and splits in two on the floor.

Gasping and panting hard, you stand there and stare down at the creature. You deactivate your lightsaber and groan as you lean back against the wall. Your heart is pounding in your ears.

Sunset runs over to you and grabs your shoulders. "Anon! Anon, are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." You reply, out of breath. "I'm alright..."

Applejack comes over to you as well. "He didn't getcha, did he?"

You shake your head. "I don't think so..."

Sunset looks at your shoulder where you felt its claws for a moment before she inspects your gauntlet. Suddenly, you hear another monstrous roar come from just down the hallway.

Big Mac quickly moves past you with his minigun at the ready "Don't relax just yet..." He growls.

The roars grow in number and volume and you all turn to look where he's looking. At the end of the hallway, three more Rakghouls are staring straight at you and roaring on their back legs. As they come down to all fours once more, they charge.

Big Mac's minigun whirs to life and he sprays a barrage of blaster fire at the oncoming trio of monsters. Sunset releases your hand to grab her rifle and also fire at the monsters alongside him.

You stand up straight and quickly look around for your rifle on the ground. It's a few feet to your right, where the first Rakghoul tackled you. You dash over to it and pick it up before turning around to face the oncoming Rakghouls. They don't seem to be slowing down. They're moving out of the way of the barrage of blaster fire.

It's Big Mac. He's either concentrating his fire too much, or the minigun is too awkward to fire in a space this narrow. He's not fanning out.

"They ain't stoppin!" He shouts.

You think hard and fast. You're going to have to run away, but they will be able to outrun you easily. You need to slow them down and get a head start somehow.

You put your rifle on your back and run up to Big Mac and Sunset. "Mac, hold your fire and get behind me! Sunset, get your flamethrower ready!"

They both stop shooting and you step in front of him. Sunset holsters her rifle and raises her wrist up at the Rakghouls. Their screaming and roaring get louder as they swiftly get closer.

"Now!"

When they're about thirty feet away, you and Sunset both activate your flamethrowers and the hallway immediately lights up brighter than the suns at noon on Tatooine. The Rakghouls' roars turn into howls and shrieks as the flames engulf them. Past the fire, you can see them skid to a stop and run away.

Their bodies are still ablaze in some spots, but they don't seem to be too affected by it. They're only startled by the flames. Their skin is tougher than you expected.

"This isn't going to stop them, Anon!" Sunset shouts.

"I know! Run!" You both deactivate your flamethrowers and book it in the opposite direction.

Applejack and Big Mac are already at the entryway to the next hallway, and they both take off running when you and Sunset approach. You both take a left and follow them as fast as you can go.

Applejack looks behind her to face you two. "Where are we goin'?!"

Sunset frantically presses a few buttons on her gauntlet as she checks her HUD. You hear more angry roars from behind you. The Rakghouls must've recovered from the initial surprise of the flames. You reach another fork in the hallway and take a right, heading down another long dark hallway.

"Take a left up ahead!" Sunset shouts.

You all continue running as fast as you can, passing a few closed doors and a couple of open ones along the way. Hopefully she's reading her map right. You reach another fork in the hallway and take a left, as she said. The roars behind you grow louder. They're getting closer.

The hallway zigzags and you make an immediate right. "The central corridor is just ahead!" Sunset says.

You continue running as fast as you can. You should be tired, but you're so pumped full of adrenaline that you can't think of doing anything else. Risking a quick look behind you, a Rakghoul skids to a halt at the right turn before bounding in your direction, its mouth open wide and roaring.

"They're right there! Go!" You shout.

All four of you sprint down the hallway until you reach another door at the very end. The left half of it is jammed closed. You snake through the open half and frantically look around. This hallway is much larger than the ones you were in before.

"There!" On your left, Applejack points to an open door with a terminal on the inner wall.

The four of you scramble inside as fast as you can. Sunset smacks the door controls with her fist and the door shuts behind you. After doing a quick check to verify that this small room was empty, she quickly locks it and you all shut your lights off.

Apart from your heavy breathing, you all stay quiet as you listen to the quickly approaching Rakghouls. A few seconds later, you hear the familiar roars and bounding footsteps of the monsters directly outside as they run from right to left down the hallway before they fade away.

You wait for a whole minute in absolute silence until you hear nothing from outside and Sunset exhales. "I think they're gone..."

You gulp. "Me too..."

You turn on your lights and Applejack exhales as well. "Big Mac, wh... Why don't ya go out 'n check?"

Big Mac sighs and steps toward the door. "Okay."

You ready your rifle and walk with him. "I'll check too."

Sunset presses a few buttons on the terminal to your left and the door slides open again. You and Big Mac step out and point your weapons down either side of the hallway. You see nothing down the left side. No movement whatsoever.

This hallway a bit brighter than the ones you were previously in. More backup lights are on and you can see fairly clearly down to the other end. It's a lot messier though. Rubble and blood is present on the walls and floor and a few bodies lay in heaps in numerous places. You see no Rakghouls though.

"See anything?" You ask.

"Nnope." Mac replies.

After a few moments, you take a deep breath and lower your rifle. That was a close one. You look back to the girls and give them a nod.

Applejack turns around and looks at the stuff inside the room while Sunset moves toward you. "You sure you're okay? You're not infected?"

You shake your head and look at your shoulder plate. There's a cut in the armor where the Rakghoul's claw hit, but nothing else. "I don't think I'm infected. It just hit my armor."

She inspects your shoulder and gauntlet again, more closely this time. After a second, she lets out a sigh and grabs her chest. "Oh, what a relief... I was worried..."

You stare at her and take her hand after a moment, giving it a squeeze. "Good thing you're here though, huh?"

You can't see her face beneath her helmet, but she gives a slight giggle and squeezes your hand back. That wasn't the first time she's saved your life, and it probably won't be the last.

"I think this is a medical supply closet." Applejack says.

You and Sunset turn to Applejack as she holds up a small bacta tank. "You sure?"

Sunset joins her side and also looks around at the shelves and lockers on the back wall.

"Looks like it." Applejack says. "We got small bacta tanks, spare surgical tools, all kinds of good stuff."

"Then that means the medical bay is close by." You say.

On the ground, you notice a few different colored lines with arrows that head in either direction. There's a sign on the wall in front of you that displays all the colors and their meanings. Yellow is the bridge, red is engineering, blue is crew quarters, purple is the hangar, and white is medical.

You look down either side of the hallway at the blood and damage to the ship. On your left, there seems to be a bit more blood and damage than on the right. You slowly walk down the hallway and look around. There are a couple of open doors up ahead on your left. Most of the blood and gore is present around there. A white colored arrow on the ground leads into that room as well.

"There's the medical bay." You say as you walk toward the room with everyone following behind you.

You look inside and see a completely wrecked medical lobby. A few bodies lay sprawled out on the floor, lights are hanging from the ceiling and flickering wildly, and there are destroyed tables and chairs all over the place.

You activate your comms and contact Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, we're at the medical bay."

She replies immediately. "Oh thank goodness! Are you all okay?"

"We ran into a few Rakghouls, but we lost them for now." You reply. "They could be back any time though, so where's this cure?"

Sunset walks into the medical bay behind you, listening to Fluttershy as well. She's followed by Applejack and Big Mac.

"Uhm, okay." She begins. "In the back room with the bacta tanks, there's a safe on the wall."

You see the small back room she's talking about. You walk inside and look around until you spot a small safe above a messy desk. As you approach it, a small keypad appears on a screen right next to it.

"I see it." You say. "What's the access code?"

"It's, uh, 0852." She replies.

You enter the code and the safe beeps, clicks, and opens. Inside are five vials containing a glowing green substance.

"Jackpot." You take the vials and place them into a few pouches on your belt. "How much will the infected need to ingest before they're cured?"

"It depends on how far the infection has spread." Fluttershy replies. "If they were just bitten, half a vial should counter the virus. A full vial would be needed if the infection has sat for a while."

"This won't affect Rakghouls themselves though, right?" You ask.

"Right." Fluttershy confirms. "Once they've turned, it's too late."

"Noted." You head back out to the hallway.

"Anon? Have you heard anything from Twilight yet?" Fluttershy asks.

"Not yet. We're going to try again now though." You reply.

"Thank you..." She says.

You deactivate your comms and bring up your HUD to browse the access points at the rear of the ship. The access point closest to Twilight's last location hasn't been fruitful. She could be trapped or dead or something else by now. Or maybe she's relocated to another part of the ship and your search has been too narrow.

You select every single access point on the ship and turn on your comms. You hear a few soft pops around you as the intercoms in your vicinity come online.

You clear your throat. "Twilight Sparkle. If you or any others can hear this, make your way to the closest intercom and make it known now. We are here to rescue you."

You shut off the comms and take a deep breath. Nothing to do now but wait. You and Sunset exchange glances with each other along with Applejack and Big Mac. After a few painfully long seconds, there's still nothing. No response.

Suddenly, you hear some soft static. Applejack's eyes open wide with hope and she puts her hand to her ear. "Twilight?! Is that you?!"

The static fades in and out for a few seconds before it clears up and you hear some breathing followed by a roar. This roar isn't monstrous like the Rakghouls' though, it's actually almost calm.

"It's the Wookie." You say.

Fluttershy becomes ecstatic on the comms. "Angel?! Oh my gosh! Angel! Is that you?!" The Wookie gives a few soft roars and pants over your headset. Fluttershy gasps and cries happily. "Oh thank goodness! Angel, I was so worried! Is Twilight there with you?!"

Angel growls and huffs again. "What did he say?" You ask.

"He says that Twilight is alive!" Fluttershy exclaims. "They were hiding in one of the engineering office rooms and Twilight saw two personal Republic tracking signatures appear on her computer."

Applejack speaks up. "Those were me 'n Mac's trackers!"

Angel roars and growls a few more times. "Uh, Rakghouls broke in and they had to escape to another part of the ship. They're in maintenance now."

"Where is that?" You ask.

Angel growls and Fluttershy translates once more. "He says that it's still near the back of the ship, but it's on the main level."

Your level. That makes it a lot easier.

Sunset speaks up. "How many survivors are left?"

Angel growls some more. "Oh my... Not many. Including him and Twilight, there are only seven."

You're about to reply when another monstrous roar cuts you off. You and Sunset quickly turn around to face the far wall with your weapons drawn. You can't see them, but it sounds like the Rakghouls that were chasing you before are starting to backtrack. You hear them roar once more, this time much closer.

You're all clumped together and this hallway is more spacious than the others. They'll all charge and slaughter you if you don't do something.

"Disperse!" You command. "Surround them like we did in the hangar!"

You cut the communications to Fluttershy and Angel as you all split up and head toward different places to hide. Applejack heads into the medical bay while Big Mac heads into the small room you all used to hide in before.

"Anon! The ceiling!" Sunset points up and you look to the ceiling to see multiple support beams that connect the rafters on either side together. She flies up to them and you follow her. "Let's get in between the rafters. Once the Rakghouls are under us, we'll surprise them. Then Applejack and Big Mac can surprise them again on the ground."

"Good idea." You say.

You both fly between the gaps and land on a respective beam before shutting off your jetpacks. The roars and snarls get louder at the end of the hallway as you see one of the Rakghouls turn the corner and head toward you all.

You crouch down with your weapon at the ready and take another glance at both Applejack and Big Mac in their respective hiding spots, activating your comms. "Alright you two. Stay where you are and wait for our signal to attack."

You turn back around and see all three Rakghouls now. They're still moving pretty quickly, but as they approach the medical bay, they slow to a prowl. You can hear their gruff panting from here as they sniff the area and look around.

You take a deep breath as you point your blaster rifle toward them. They slowly make their way closer and closer. They know you're around here, but they don't know where.

"Come on... Come on... Come on..." You whisper.

They walk directly beneath you and you look at Sunset. She looks back at you and begins counting down with her fingers. You grip your blaster rifle tight and get ready. Three... Two... One...

"NOW!" You and Sunset leap from the support beams and activate your jetpacks.

You turn around in the air and start spraying the Rakghouls with blaster fire. The Rakghouls whip around and roar at you as you and Sunset dance around each other in the air and continue your assault. A few bolts hit them and you hear a few of them yelp as they get hit, but they quickly recover from the scare and start bounding on the ground toward you.

You get on your comms. "AJ! Big Mac! Open fire!"

Before the siblings can react though, the closest Rakghoul bounds toward you and leaps into the air toward Sunset.

"Woah!" Sunset stops firing and strafes out of the way, but the Rakghoul reaches out and takes a swipe at her leg.

She screams as she's knocked around and starts spinning out of control in the air before flying into the wall.

"Sunset!" You shout.

She falls to the floor and gives a small scream as she lands, going to her knees before falling to her side. The other Rakghouls screech as they bound toward her.

You growl and fly around and down in front of her. "Oh no you don't!"

You slam into the ground hard, hurting your legs in the process, but you ignore it and bring your rifle up, slamming the side of it into the charging Rakghoul's face. The Rakghoul yelps and slams into you, forcing you to your knee, but you hold firm.

Applejack and Big Mac open fire on them from behind, turning this Rakghoul into your personal shield. The two Rakghouls in front of you yelp and wheeze as the life is blasted out of them while Sunset fires a few shots from behind you.

You look left and see the Rakghoul that pounced at you fall to the floor in a heap as it was in the process of charging toward you once again. You face forward again and push this Rakghoul away. It falls to the floor and you turn your rifle to its head, putting it out of its misery for good. You pant hard as you hear it wheeze its final breath before looking around again. The rest of them are already dead.

You turn around and see Sunset try to sit up. You get down and take her hand, helping her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

She grunts and nods before standing up straight. "Yeah. He smacked my leg. I don't think he punctured though."

You crouch down and look at her leg. There's a scratch in the shinguard, but you can't see any blood. You give a sigh of relief and stand up. "You're fine... But I'm willing to bet that our luck will run out soon though."

She chuckles and shakes the pain from her leg. "It's us, Anon! We don't need luck."

You smile and turn around as Applejack and Big Mac come jogging up to you. "You okay Sunset?"

"Yeah I'm fine." She nods.

You hear your comms click in your ear before you hear Maud's voice. "Anonymous. The vessel is drifting dangerously close to the planet."

"How much time to we have?" You ask.

"We will be in range of their sensors in approximately thirty-seven minutes." She replies.

Dammit. Once you get in range of Mandalore's sensors, they'll identify this ship as a Republic vessel. If they don't hail it and command the nonexistent crew to alter your course, they'll send their ships here and destroy you all.

"We need to move fast, so we'll have to split up." You say. "I'll head to the bridge and activate the cruiser's self-destruct. Sunset, you take Applejack and Big Mac and go get the survivors." You grab the vials of Rakghoul serum from your pouch and give all of them to her.

Sunset takes them and nods. "Alright. Let's go guys." Applejack and Mac both nod at you as well before all three of them turn around and run toward the stern. Sunset turns to look at you as she runs. "Be careful Anon!"

"You too!" You turn around and quickly head toward the bridge.

Author's Note

A Mandalorian using a flamethrower.

One of many darkened corridors inside the cruiser.

The wrecked medical bay.

The Bridge

According to what Fluttershy said, the bridge should be just up ahead. As you run down the hallway, you bring up your comms again. "Maud, I need you to catch up to them in case they'll need your help. I'll remotely lock down the ship so nothing gets aboard."

"Of course, Anonymous. I'm leaving now." She replies.

You press a button on your gauntlet to remotely lock down your ship before you continue running toward the bridge, following the yellow line on the floor as you do. As you approach the small corridor on the far wall, you holster your rifle and take out your pistol in your left hand and your lightsaber in your right.

You ignite the blade as you enter the corridor, turning everything around you red. It whooshes and whirs as you run down the corridor and make a left. You keep an eye open for Rakghouls, but don't see any.

You make another right and continue down the corridor as fast as you can before coming up on a large set of blast doors. You've reached the bridge. You look around for a terminal or something to open the door, but you can't find anything. It must be locked down from the inside. Looking at your lightsaber though, you realize that you have a key to get in.

You get right up to the doors and plunge the blade directly into them to start cutting through. It takes a bit more effort than you thought it would. It looks like it should cut through like it's hot butter, but you're almost surprised by the amount of resistance the steel door is putting up. Eventually, you manage to move the blade up through the door, leaving a glowing hot trail of melted steel behind.

You arc the blade up and around before bringing it down to the ground and arcing it down and under to connect it to the other end of your cut, creating an oval in the doors. Once it connects, you pull the blade out and kick the metal door a couple times. The cut piece slides back and falls to the floor on the other side, making an entrance for you.

You smile as you look at your lightsaber. "Man, I love this thing."

You crawl through the opening and see another set of blast doors in front of you. These ones have a lifeless Rakghoul's arm poking out of the center. He must've got stuck in between them when they closed and they crushed him like a bug.

"Wait a minute..." You're about to cut through them again when something occurs to you.

If there's a Rakghoul arm right here, then that means that they've been able to get in through here. There's more of them inside.

You activate your comms again. "Fluttershy, I'm at the main entrance to the bridge. Is there any other way to get in at all?"

"Um, no there isn't. That's the only way in." She replies.

You groan as you stare at the arm. "Alright... Thanks..." You deactivate your comms and poke the arm with your blaster. "So there's a bunch of you bastards in here too that I've got to deal with, huh? Fine."

You plunge the blade into the door and start cutting again. This cut will be much smaller than the last one. You move the blade down about a foot before you cut a horizontal line over to your right. You cut up and move back to the beginning, making a rectangle.

You push the cut forward and the piece falls to the floor on the other side, making a loud clang as it hits the ground on the other side. Immediately following, you hear numerous roars and snarls from inside.

You grab your rifle and rest it on the opening and quickly scan the room for movement. You see a few flashing lights on the consoles that were still active and a few flickering lights from above illuminate the room slightly, but it's mostly dark. Blood is everywhere, and body parts lay scattered about. It's disgusting.

Up ahead, you see a pale figure move to the left of the nearest console and hear it growl. You point your rifle at it and fire. The shot hits and the Rakghoul yelps in pain. More of them roar in response from within. Three more Rakghouls come into view and start lumbering toward you.

You growl as you turn your rifle on them and fire as well. They get hit in a few places, but one lucky shot hit the nearest Rakghoul in the head and he went down. As you continue firing, they quickly close the space between you and them and you're forced to back up away from the door. A second later, two of them slam into the door and try to crawl through the hole together toward you. You stick your lightsaber through the hole and swing it around, slicing through the monsters like paper.

Limbs fall to the ground and cries of pain are heard as you continue to massacre them. As one falls, another takes its place as it tries to crawl through to you. This continues for a few seconds. Finally, the last one falls. You can still hear a few weak whimpers and growls from inside though. They must not all be dead yet.

You look through the hole to see about ten Rakghouls laying about. All of them are missing at least one piece of their body, but a few of them are still alive. You move your arm through the hole and press a button on your gauntlet, activating your flamethrower. You hear a collective scream and cry as the monsters cook. Their skin is resistant to flames, but obviously not immune.

A few seconds later, you deactivate your flamethrower and step backwards. You holster your rifle and take out your lightsaber to cut a bigger hole in the door for yourself. Once you push the piece through to the other side, you raise your blaster and lightsaber again in case you missed one. All you see are the burning remains of the dead Rakghouls on the floor.

Satisfied, you head through the hole and into the bridge. You step on or over a few body parts and head toward the very front of the room. Out the window, you see your beautiful Mandalore in all her glory. Her yellowish hue lighting up the bridge somewhat. It's a scene that could make you cry, but you have no time for that right now.

You head toward main console and hit a few buttons. You close the "Red Alert" notice on the screen and look for the emergency options. It takes a few seconds of thumbing through the various settings until you see a self-destruct option. You click it and the screen goes red.

<"WARNING. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.">

You look around the bridge for a moment after that announcement but you continue to navigate your way through the options and warnings until you see an option for a timer.

Sunset starts talking in your ear. "Anon!"

"I'm setting a timer!" You say. "Where are you?!"

"We just reached engineering!" She replies. "Maud helped us when we got to Twilight and we're just about to head back to the ship!"

"How much time do we have? Uh... Twenty-five minutes. That should be good." You say out loud to yourself. You set the timer for twenty-five minutes and start the countdown.

Suddenly, everything goes red as the emergency lights flash on and off. The alarm begins sounding all through the ship. <"WARNING. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED. T MINUS TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES TO ENGINE CORE OVERLOAD. ALL PERSONNEL ABANDON SHIP. ABANDON SHIP.">

"Get back to the ship as fast as you can! I'll meet you there!" You deactivate your comms and look back at the console.

There's some text next to the countdown timer that says all the security doors have been opened. Including the cut through blast doors behind you that are currently in the process of opening.

You get back on your comms. "Sunset, stay sharp. All the doors in the ship are open now, so expect some trouble."

"Noted." She replies.

You look back at the planet Mandalore for a second before turning around and running back through the open blast doors.

The alarm continues blaring through the ship as you make your way down the corridor again. You make a left at the end and then a right, backtracking your steps from before. As you reach the main hallway, you can see everything in front of you now. The emergency lights flashing on and off make everything look red, but it's all illuminated now.

You run past the medical center and head back toward the hallway you came through on your right. But just before you enter, you hear another monstrous roar from inside and skid to a stop.

A single Rakghoul comes bounding out of the hallway and charges directly into you. You try to jump out of the way, but you're too late. The monster knocks you off your feet and you fall to the ground. You try to get back up after a second, but you're a second too late. The Rakghoul roars and pounces on you. You hold it back with your feet but it lurches forward and sinks its teeth into your left hand.

"NO!" You scream in pain as you feel and see blood trickle off your hand and onto the floor.

The Rakghoul releases your hand as it prepares to bite again, but you jerk it back and punch it in the face with your right. The Rakghoul yelps and moves back a bit, leaving you room to kick him off of you. He falls backward and you grab your lightsaber. You let out an angry war cry as you activate the blade and bring it down upon the Rakghoul's head, decapitating it. Its body goes limp as its head bounces off to the side.

After a second or two, you deactivate your lightsaber. It's then that you feel the pain surge from your hand and spread out through your body. It stings. More than anything else you've ever felt before in your life. You groan and grip your head as you begin to hear an intense ringing in your ears.

The pain from your hand also intensifies as it spreads through your body. The ringing is now stronger than ever before. Even more so than when you chased Adagio on Nar Shaddaa. It's maddening.

You start to shake and convulse as the pain begins to throb everywhere with every beat of your heart. You can feel it pulse through you. You fall to the ground and shake uncontrollably. You start to hyperventilate as everything suddenly feels hot. Unbelievably hot.

In desperation, you take off your helmet and drop it to the ground. Your vision blurs a bit as your breathing quickens. You feel a little prick in the back of your head. It slowly grows and you get angry.

Anger. Anger and fear: two of your most primal emotions. It's all your body wants to feel right now. The infection is getting stronger by the second, and you gave all of the serum to Sunset! To make sure she was safe!

Stay calm, Anon. Don't give your heart any more reason to pump the infection faster. You refuse to die like this. You will NOT become a monster.

You take a few shallow breaths in a sorry attempt to calm yourself down before you slowly reach to your gauntlet and shakily press a button, activating your comms. "S-S-Suns.... S-Sunset! H-H-Help m-me!"

Author's Note

Lightsaber cutting through a door.

The Bridge.

Home Stretch

"Be careful, Anon!" You say.

"You too!" He replies.

You face forward again and continue running down the hallway toward the rear of the ship with Applejack and Big Mac. You look down as you run and find the red line painted on the ground. It will lead you straight to engineering.

You look at Applejack. "Contact Fluttershy and Angel again. Let them know we're alright and we're on our way."

You nearly trip as you step on your injured foot wrong, but you quickly catch yourself and continue running down the hallway. The pain isn't much, so you'll be fine as long as you watch your step.

"Fluttershy? Angel? Can you two hear me?" Applejack asks.

"Applejack! Thank goodness! What happened?!" Fluttershy says.

"We ran into some trouble, and Sunset got a little hurt, but we're okay." Applejack replies.

You quickly speak into your comms before Fluttershy can start worrying. "It was nothing, I'm fine. Angel! Are you there?" A few seconds pass before you hear the familiar Wookie growl in your ear. "Angel, just sit tight! We're on our way now!"

Angel growls again before he's followed by another voice. "Is that them?"

Applejack becomes ecstatic. "Twilight! You're okay!"

Fluttershy also squeals in delight. "Twilight! We were so worried!"

"It's so good to hear you girls again!" Twilight replies. "Don't worry, I'll be-"

"Alright, shut up! All of you! We'll have time for sentiment later, I need you all to focus now!" You shout. "Twilight! How many survivors are with you?!"

She stammers for a moment before answering. "Uh... Hang on a second..."

The comms cut and you bring up your probes' scanning results on your HUD. There's only one probe still active now. The Rakghouls must've got the others. A good deal of the ship has been highlighted. There are a few dark spots though, which are likely walls or closed doors that the probe just flew past.

"You didn't have to be mean, Sunset..." Applejack comments.

You take a quick glance at Applejack before looking forward again. "We don't have time to be nice. We're in a rush."

You look back at your position on the map. The hallway continues for a ways before branching out as smaller hallways that lead to different parts of the ship. You look back at the line on the floor and continue running.

Your comms come on a few seconds later and you hear Twilight's voice. "There are five of us now... We lost two others..."

"Anyone infected?" You ask.

"No..." She pauses. "Not anymore..."

"Are there any Rakghouls where you are?" You ask.

"Last I remember, there were a few right outside in the main corridor. I don't know anymore." She says.

"Alright, just hang tight and be ready. We'll be there soon." You say.

"We're in the innermost engine room, in the control center. Once you get inside, turn right." She says.

You shut off your comms and turn back to Applejack and Big Mac. "Be ready for a fight, you guys."

After about thirty seconds of running, the red line leads you left and heads into another hallway. Upon entering, you see a single Rakghoul just standing idly by the left wall. You raise your blasters and charge forward, gritting your teeth as you open fire.

The Rakghoul turns to face you, but is caught off-guard as blaster bolts plunge into its flesh. It yelps and cries out as it turns to run, but you keep on firing at it until it falls to the ground. Satisfied, you turn your helmet lights back on and proceed down the hallway with Applejack and Big Mac right on your tail. "Stay alert, you two."

Big Mac speaks up behind you. "Probably best not to shoot any we see unless they're right in front of us."

"That's a good idea." You say. You don't want to provoke them any more than you have to.

You follow the red line, scanning the darkened hallway branches for Rakghouls as you do. You pass one branch on your left that has a couple of them just standing around, but you continue forward. You make a mental note that they're there, just in case you have to deal with them.

The red line leads you down a right hallway and you scan ahead, seeing nothing but flickering lights and destruction, like all the other hallways. As you continue, you hear the low hum of the engines gradually get louder. You're getting closer. You zigzag right and left a few times as the line directs until you finally reach a large doorway. "Engineering" is written above it.

You enter into a spacious corridor that extends far to your right. The hum of the engines is much louder now. You'll have to speak up more than normal to communicate. A few dim lights flicker on and off from the ceiling and you can see all the way to the other end. The ship seems bigger on the inside.

Up ahead, you see around seven Rakghouls walking around one area near the center. That must be where you need to go.

"There they are..." You say.

"Let's give 'em hell!" Big Mac growls.

You pull out your blasters again and charge forward with him. You point one of them at the two nearest Rakghouls and open fire. The Rakghouls all look over as you alert them and they roar in response.

You stop firing and remove your blaster rifle from your back. "Applejack! Gun them down from back here!"

You throw your rifle at her and she catches it. You face forward again and continue firing at the Rakghouls, who are now all charging directly at you. Leaping into the air, you activate your jetpack and fly ahead, firing at the group of monsters from above. You begin to strafe around in circles near the ceiling and continue firing at the Rakghouls below, a lucky shot to the head killing one of them instantly.

You barely hear the familiar whir of Big Mac's minigun for a second before he unleashes a barrage of blaster fire into the group of monsters. Most of them were so focused on you that they paid no attention to him and they yelp and cry in pain as three more of them fall. Applejack has her rifle up and she picks off a stray. That's four down now.

You shoot at or around the remaining three as best you can as they run around in circles, doing their best to avoid both you and Big Mac's assault. You think you've got this in the bag when all of a sudden, you hear a loud roar from behind you.

Turning around, you see another group of Rakghouls come charging through the far left doorway that leads back up to the rest of the ship The leader skids to a stop and turns to face you three before screeching and charging toward Applejack and Big Mac.

"What?! No!" You fly down beside Big Mac and fire into the new group of Rakghouls. There's about ten more now and they're all converging on your location. "Fall back!"

You hear Big Mac growl as he continues his assault on the advancing monsters, which zigzag around the place, evading most of the blaster fire. You're able to get a few shots at two of them. One goes down while another falls to its side and cries in pain.

You and Applejack also continue firing as hard as you can, but only a few of them drop down dead. You're afraid you're going to have to retreat pretty soon. Their snarls and roars only intensify as they get closer.

Suddenly, from your right, you hear a loud thud. It sounded like thunder. A couple seconds later, you hear the thud again as the door that leads back into the ship goes flying to your left and hits two Rakghouls in the head. You all stop firing as you see a blue streak of light come flying out the doorway and decapitating another Rakghoul. The light hums as it flies around the room and moves back toward the doorway.

Just then, you see Maud move faster than you thought possible out of the doorway and leap into the air, catching her lightsaber and pushing the Rakghouls back with the Force.

"Master Maud!" Applejack exclaims.

What is she doing here? She's supposed to be back at the ship!

Eh, it's assistance. Don't question it, Sunset. You were getting close to being hopeless anyway.

Maud falls to her feet with her back to you. You all run up to her, but she doesn't acknowledge you at all. She waits, staring at the group of stunned Rakghouls with her lightsaber poised and ready. "Lieutenant. You and Sunset go retrieve Professor Twilight and the others. Macintosh and I will deal with the Rakghouls. Make haste."

"You got it, Master Maud! Come on Sunset!" You and Applejack look at each other for a moment before turning around to face the large bulkhead door that leads to the innermost engine room.

The two of you run toward the bulkhead as fast as you can. Applejack runs to the terminal on the left and hits a few buttons while you turn around to shoot at the Rakghouls getting to their feet. They screech and roar again as they charge toward Maud and Big Mac. He lets out a war cry of his own as he fires his minigun again at the monsters.

A few seconds later, the bulkhead behind you rumbles and creaks open. "We're in! Come on!" You turn around and follow Applejack inside.

This room is huge. The largest you've seen on this ship yet. You walk onto a large balcony that overlooks the entire back side of one of the engines. Both the floor and ceiling are about a hundred feet up or down, respectively. The engine's reactors are still active, making it very loud in here. You face the massive engine for a moment before turning right and following the walkway.

"There!" You shout.

Up ahead, you see a relatively small room that extends outward and overlooks the entire room. Beyond the few cracked glass windows, you see a Republic soldier, three scientists, and a large white Wookie looking back at you.

"There's Twilight and Angel!" Applejack exclaims.

One of the scientists moves over to the door and opens it. "Applejack! You're here!"

You slow to a stop while Applejack keeps running toward her friend. "Twilight, I'm so glad you're safe! We were worried sick!"

Twilight runs out and meets Applejack to give her a hug, laughing and crying the entire time. "It's such a relief to have you here, Applejack! I thought we weren't going to make it out of here alive!" The other two scientists, the soldier and the Wookie all run out to join Twilight as well. After a moment or two of hugging, they move away from each other and Twilight turns to you. "And... you must be one of the Mandalorians, right?"

You nod at her. "Sunset Shimmer."

You now get your first good look at her. She's a purple Twi'lek, she's got a noticeable bruise on her head, and she's a bit shorter than you. She's dressed in a white lab coat that has a few bloodstains on the sleeves, but that's about it.

She sighs and smiles at you. "Well, thank you, Sunset... We would all be goners if-"

<"WARNING. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.">

The ship's intercom cuts her off and you all look around for a second before Twilight's smile fades immediately and she stares at you. Anon just activated the ship's self-destruct. He's not gonna just blow the ship now, is he?!

"Don't thank me just yet..." You quickly activate your comms. "Anon!"

He talks frantically in your ear. "I'm setting a timer! Where are you?!"

"We just reached engineering! Maud helped us when we got to Twilight and we're just about to head back to the ship!" You reply.

"How much time do we have? Uh... Twenty-five minutes. That should be good." He mutters to himself.

Suddenly, all the lights in the room go out and parts of the engine quickly power down, the loud humming quieting with a whir. A second later, the humming whirs back up again and the lights come back on. Now, however, the lights are flashing red and an alarm is blaring with it.

<"WARNING. SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED. T MINUS TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES TO ENGINE CORE OVERLOAD. ALL PERSONNEL ABANDON SHIP. ABANDON SHIP.">

The whirring in the room slowly rises in pitch as the engine core begins working harder. The fail-safes have been deactivated.

"Get back to the ship as fast as you can! I'll meet you there!" Anon commands.

Your comms cut and you whip around to face the group. "We need to move! Now! Come on!"

https://youtu.be/fUfvPzv8Lgw

You turn around and run back to the doorway. From behind, you hear everyone's footsteps as they begin running after you as well. You make a left and lead everyone out of the engine room, meeting Maud and Big Mac where you left them, surrounded by dead Rakghouls.

Maud turns around and runs into the doorway she came from. "Everyone, this way!"

You all take off running after her. The lights in the corridors and hallways ahead flash red as the alarm continues blaring on and off.

Your comms activate again and Anon's voice comes on. "Sunset, stay sharp. All the doors in the ship are open now, so expect some trouble."

Probably a safety precaution.

"Noted." Your comms shut off again and you continue following Maud down the corridor. You sprint ahead so you're right behind her. "Master Jedi, why did you come to save us?!"

"Anonymous instructed me to provide support, if I could." She explains. "He said he would lock down his ship remotely to keep Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart safe."

That's thoughtful of him.

You don't say anything, but you continue to run. Maud makes a few lefts and rights until you reach the main hallway once again. She leads you toward a damaged door that's been sealed shut and she thrusts her hand forward. The Force makes the door collapse backwards and you all proceed through it as fast as possible.

Upon entering, you see a Rakghoul on the left just ahead. It screeches and begins to charge toward you all. You're just about to grab your blaster when Maud thrusts her hand forward again and hurls the Rakghoul back against the corner of the wall. It hits the wall with its back, breaking it with a disgustingly loud crack and it falls to the floor.

Maud leads you down a right hallway that extends for a long ways. She puts her hand to her ear and activates her comms. "Fluttershy, be ready. We're almost there." She looks back to you. "Can you unlock the ship?"

"Yeah!" You go to your gauntlet and press a button, remotely unlocking the ship.

You continue running for a bit further until Maud leads you left. Up ahead, you see the light from the hangar and a sense of complete joy comes over you.

"We're here!" Applejack shouts.

As you run through the doorway however, your comms turn on and your happiness immediately vanishes as you hear Anon's voice. "S-S-Suns.... S-Sunset! H-H-Help m-me!"

Your eyes go wide in horror as you skid to a stop. "Anon?! What?! What is it?!"

"I-I-I... I w-was... I g-got bit..." He stammers.

"WHAT?!" You shriek.

"I-I-I... I d-don't... d-don't have... H-Hurry... P-Please..." He mumbles.

"No! NO NO NO NO NO!! Anon! Stay with me!" You shout.

You hear him breathe hard and fast as he continues mumbling shakily in his comms. You start to hyperventilate and panic as you look back in the hallway you just came from. You keep him on your comms and sprint back down the corridor, alone.

"Sunset wait!!"

You ignore whoever that was and just run as fast as you can. "Where are you Anon?!"

His speech is slurred. "Uuugh... I... I was..."

"Anon focus!" You yell. "Don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare!"

He groans and murmurs some more as you reach the end of the corridor. "M-Med... M-Medic-cal... C-Cen...ter..."

The Medical Center. You turn left and sprint down the hallway as fast as you can. You retrace your steps from when the Rakghouls chased you down here before and continue toward the main hallway.

You contact Twilight and Fluttershy. "Anon's been bitten by a Rakghoul!"

You hear a collective gasp over your comms. "Oh no!"

"How long does he have?!" You demand.

"Uh... We don't know for sure, but it could be minutes!" Fluttershy says.

"His heart will be pumping the venom through his veins faster if it's beating quickly!" Twilight adds.

That probably won't slow down any time soon.

"How long before the serum takes hold after he gets it?! I've got it with me!" You shout.

Twilight and Fluttershy stammer over your comms for a moment before Twilight speaks up. "Well, if he's staying still, the serum will counteract the venom faster, but if he's moving, there's still a chance that he'll change, even if the serum has been administered!"

You need to move him to get back to the ship though! Right now!

You hang a right and continue running toward the main hallway. "He needs to buy himself time then! What can I do, or what can he do!? Anything!"

Twilight pauses for a moment before replying. "The only option I can suggest is that you... remove the limb, Sunset..."

You gasp as her words hit you. "So... cut off his hand, huh?"

"Uh..." Twilight gulps and clears her throat before answering. "At this point, your best option would probably be to remove his entire arm..." You stay silent as you ponder the reality of the situation. Twilight continues, "...The injection point will be severed and it will slow down the transformation long enough to have the serum take effect while you get back here."

You do nothing but think for a bit longer as you run.

You're in no position to argue with them, or try to think of another solution. They are the experts here, and you only have minutes before this ship explodes. His arm has to come off. It's the only way to save his life, at this point.

You gulp as you push past your feelings about what you need to do, and continue sprinting down the hallway towards the Medical Center. "Hold on, Anon..."

Author's Note

Engine room.

A purple Twi'lek (Twilight Sparkle)

Angel, Fluttershy's albino Wookie.

Last One Out, Get the Lights

Your entire forearm is stinging like hell. The pain... The agonizing pain is unbearable...

...

What's happening? What's going on? There's... a voice... A little voice inside your head... It's angry... And it's getting bigger.

...

How long has it been?

...

Been since what?

...

You don't know...

...

Probably best not to think about it... You should just sleep...

...

There's another voice now... It's in your ear... It's... familiar...

...

You don't like it...

...

But...you do... You do like it...

"..non...ake up...Anon!"

It's her...

...

Sunset!

"WAKE UP, ANON!"

Your eyes shoot open and you take a quick breath as you see the familiar shape of Sunset's helmet directly over you. "Anon! Oh, thank the Force! Anon!"

She reaches for something and pulls out a small green vial... What is that? That's right, it's the serum!

You just mumble and breathe shakily as your vision fades in and out. You think you see her do something to it, but you aren't sure... It's all fuzzy... You feel her grab your cheeks and squeeze as she lifts your chin up.

You feel a pinch in your neck followed by a burning sensation that begins to work its way through your nerves and veins. You groan again as the burning reaches the back of your head. The angry voice begins to slowly fade and you start remembering everything that happened. The ship, Mandalore, Sunset, the Rakghouls...

The Rakghouls... That's right, you were bitten! Sunset just saved your life.

"Sus... Sunset... Y-You..." You mumble at her.

She cuts you off. "Anon, listen to me. I need you to lay down and hold your arm out for me, okay?"

Your arm? The one that was bitten? Why?

Sunset pushes you down to the ground and lays your injured arm out to the side. Your senses start returning and you feel your body begin to work again, but you're still way out of it. Your arm still kills too. What is she doing?

Just then, you hear a crack, followed by a loud hum and everything goes all red. Your eyes focus enough to see Sunset looking down at you, holding a red lightsaber... Your lightsaber....

It comes down next to you and suddenly, the pain in your arm intensifies one thousandfold.

"AAAAAAAHHH!!!!" You scream. Your senses are definitely awake now as you grip your left arm.

Or, at least you try to...

You look over to see your left arm on the ground and you command it to get up and move away from the lightsaber, but it doesn't move. It's only now that you notice that it isn't connected to anything anymore and the realization sets in. Your arm is gone.

Your breathing quickens and you hold your left side tight. Sunset gets down and grabs your cheeks, forcing you to look at her. "Anon, I need you to focus! You have to stand up now! We have to leave NOW!"

You keep panting as you stare back at her. "L... Leave... Right... O-Okay..."

She grabs you by the right arm and hoists you up. You look down at your legs... You still have legs... Do they work?

You frantically try to get Anon back to his feet. It's quite the process. He's gone into shock.

It's your fault. You cut off his arm...

You feel absolutely horrible, but you fight back your feelings and try to focus. You make sure that his lightsaber was on your belt and you grunt as you hoist him up. "Come on Anon... Work with me here!"

You feel the ship boom and rumble beneath your feet as the ship's engine cores begin to exhaust themselves.

Finally, you get him up and he leans against you. "You okay?! You good?! Can you stand?!"

He gives a few more shaky breaths, but he nods. "Y-Yeah... I'm... I'm okay..."

You release him for a moment and bend down to grab his discarded helmet. You put it on his head and lock it in place. "Come on, Anon! Use those legs and let's get back to the ship!"'

You tug and pull him along, making him nearly fall down, but you catch him and he begins to slowly move his legs to keep up with you. You lead him back into the hallway you came in from and proceed back down the darkened corridor once again.

It's a grueling process and you're moving so much slower than you'd like to, but you keep on going. You walk down the hallway as fast as you can and turn left. The ship rumbles and creaks once again and you both lean up against wall to support yourselves.

<"T MINUS FIVE MINUTES TO REACTOR CORE OVERLOAD.">

You grunt and push off the wall, dragging Anon along with you. "Come on! We'll make it!"

He's starting to snap out of it. "Yeah... Yeah we will..." He moves his legs faster alongside you and you lead yourselves back toward the hangar.

Twilight comes on through your comms. "Sunset! Where are you?!"

You make another right followed by a left as you continue to retrace your steps. "Nearly there! Start up the ship!"

You and Anon continue running down the corridors as fast as you can go. You see sparks fly around you as something explodes just ahead, but you push through it.

<"T MINUS TWO MINUTES TO REACTOR CORE OVERLOAD.">

You finally reach the hallway that leads back to the hangar.

"Almost there... Almost there..." You're panting hard and your legs are killing you from running with all this extra weight , but you press onward.

Anon is now awake enough to pull most of his own weight and he runs alongside you, albeit slowly, and still gripping his left side. Everything inside the hangar is rumbling and creaking. Support beams fall from the ceiling and onto the ground beside you as you run out the doorway and toward your ship.

You both run to the exit ramp as fast as you can and see Applejack standing there. "Come on!"

The lights in the hangar flicker on and off for a bit until they burst and shower the hangar in sparks. Applejack runs off the ship to meet you both and pull you aboard.

You practically throw Anon on board and collapse onto the ground next to him. "Go! Get us out of here! Now!"

The ship whirs to life and hovers off the ground. The exit ramp slowly shuts behind you and you remove your helmet, dropping it on the floor next to Anon, both of you panting hard. Once the ramp is completely shut, you hang on as the ship flies out of the hangar and back into Mandalorian Space. Seconds later, you hear the loud boom as the cruiser's engine cores overheat and explode in a massive fireball.

You stay still, panting hard as you roll onto your back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "We... We did it... We're alive..."

Redheart and Fluttershy come over and help Anon to his feet as they lead him into the makeshift medical bay in the main hold.

Fluttershy looks back at you. "Are you going to be okay Sunset?"

You just nod at her, but you don't get up. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine..."

No you're not. You know you needed to do it, it was the only way to save his life, but you absolutely hate yourself for cutting his arm off. His whole arm...

So many thoughts and feelings are spinning through your head right now. Your legs are sore, you're out of breath, and now you have this extra guilt weighing down on your conscience.

You're so tired. You don't even care that you're on the floor right now, you just need to rest for a while.

You take a deep breath and shut your eyes as Big Mac, or whoever, pilots the ship away from Mandalore and back to the Republic cruiser.

Author's Note

Aftermath

Your eyes open slowly and you see a foggy light directly in front of you. Or, above you. After a moment, you realize that you're laying on your back without a shirt on. You groan and blink a few times to try and refocus your vision.

You don't feel like a monster, so the Rakghoul serum must have done its job. Other than feeling sore all over, you feel pretty normal. Your arm hurts the most though.

Your eyes shoot wide open as you start to remember what happened when Sunset gave you the serum. You look to your left and reach over to where your arm should be, but you feel nothing.

"No..." You breathe.

You try to feel some part, any part of your left arm, but your right arm only feels air. It's really gone. You start to breathe harder as you sit up and only feel the bandage wrapped around your upper chest and shoulder.

"Woah! Take it easy there, Anon." You feel a hand press down on your chest and move you flat onto your back once again.

You look and squint your eyes to see who the hand belongs to. "Nurse Redheart?"

She gives you a small smile and takes her hand off of you. "Just take it easy and move slowly. You've been busy."

Yeah, no kidding.

You groan again and cover your eyes with your remaining hand. "How long was I out?"

"About ten hours." She replies. "You passed out once you got back onto your ship."

...Just you?

"Where's Sunset?" You ask.

"She's in the next room." Redheart says. "She had a few minor injuries, but she's all patched up and fine. She's sleeping now."

You give a relieved sigh and relax, finally. After a second or two, you look around at the room you're currently in. You're laying on a bed in a medical bay. Redheart has her back turned to you and she's looking at something on the counter to your right.

"Where are we?" You ask.

She turns back to you. "We're back on Captain Shining Armor's cruiser over Kashyyyk."

You lean in slightly. "And the cruiser over Mandalore...?"

She nods and grabs a nearby datapad. "The ship's reactor cores overloaded and destroyed everything. Your mission was a success."

You exhale a sigh of relief and lay flat on your back again, shutting your eyes.

Mandalore always comes first.

Redheart pulls up a chair and sits at your bedside. "I need to ask you a few questions. It shouldn't take long."

You don't even look at her. "Alright."

"How do you feel, physically?" She asks.

You're sore all over, a bit nauseous, and your arm is gone, but otherwise, you're fine...

"I've felt better. Obviously, I'm not at 100%." You wiggle your empty left shoulder for emphasis, cringing slightly at the pain.

Redheart hums as she records your answer. "Yes, miss Sunset did that. It saved your life." You look over to her and she looks up from the datapad. "The infection was in your veins for enough time that, if she hadn't, you would've transformed into a Rakghoul even with the serum."

"How is that possible?" You ask.

"As Fluttershy stated before, this newer, more evolved version of the Rakghoul plague is so aggressive that it can sometimes turn its host in a matter of minutes. It works harder if the victim's heart is beating faster than usual." Redheart explains. "With everything going on, the serum wasn't strong enough to go through your whole body and counteract the effects in time for you to return to the ship in one piece. It was either cut your arm off and live, or leave your arm on and become a monster."

Huh. The pros do outweigh the cons, you have to admit. Sunset really saved your ass this time. Still, that doesn't mean you're totally pleased with how everything turned out. You understand that desperation warrants sacrifice, but this was your arm. You had it since you were born.

You pause to take another deep breath and start to sit up again.

"Anon, please be careful." Redheart leans forward and places her hand on your shoulder as you push yourself up. If you had your other arm, you'd use it to push her away.

"I'm fine..." You grunt as you strain to prop yourself up to a sitting position. Everything is still really sore.

You exhale before slowly swinging your legs over to the right side of the bed in an attempt to stand.

Redheart leans over and pushes against your legs. "Anon, please stop! You need to rest!"

You growl a little under your breath and glare at her. "Just... Just let me do this! Please! I'm sick of just laying here!"

She looks defiant, and with reluctance, she releases your legs and you set your feet on the floor. She doesn't go more than a foot away from you as you hold yourself steady on the bed and attempt to stand. Your legs shake as they protest to you standing, but you ignore it as best you can as you slowly stand up straight, your arm never leaving the bedside as you hold yourself up.

You keep yourself steady and give your legs a chance to get used to working again before you slowly release the bedside and stand up without support. You take a small, shaky step forward and grab the bed again to support yourself before taking another step. After a minute or two, you're walking around the room by yourself. You're moving slower than usual, but you're doing it. With your left arm gone, everything feels off-balance. You feel like you have to make a conscious effort to lean more to the left if you want to walk straight.

Redheart looks astonished. "Not many people with an injury like yours can bring themselves to even move around after only a few hours, let alone stand up and walk on their own."

"I've always been a quick healer..." You turn around again and face her. This walking is quickly making you very fatigued. You feel weak, and you hate it more than anything. "Alright, I'm finished walking... Now I'll rest."

You appreciate her doing her job, but you're not really in the mood to be understanding and willing to go along with absolutely everything she says right now. Plus, your pride was insistent on you trying to walk your injuries off, despite the pain.

You lay on the bed once again and Redheart stands there, ready to help you if you need her to. Which you don't.

You lay back and take another deep breath. "How much longer before I can leave?"

"That's not my call. Sunset is the one who will decide that. However, it is my professional opinion that you stay here for another day or two, at least."

You wince and let out a little groan. You don't want to spend another second aboard this damn ship.

She continues. "Also, Captain Shining Armor says that he wants to see you before you leave, once you're up and about."

"Well, tell him that he's going to have to wait. I'm taking your advice and resting a bit more." You reply bluntly.

"That's fine. You need it." You hear her get up and head toward the door. "There's a red button on your right. Press it if you need me."

You wave your hand at her. "Will do."

After a second, the light above dims a bit and the door opens and shuts, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You sigh and cover your eyes with your hand as you try to relax.

After what feels like thirty minutes, you wake up in the same room you were in when you fell asleep.

You yawn and sit up in your bed. Surprisingly, you aren't as sore as you were before. You actually feel pretty good. How long has it been since you went to sleep?

You groan and crack your neck as you stand up next to the bed. Looking back at the bedside, you see the red button that Nurse Redheart told you about and you press it.

A few moments later, the door opens and she walks in with a small, tired smile on her face and a grey tunic in her hands. "Feeling better?"

You nod. "Much better, yes."

She grins. "Well, I certainly hope so. It's been a few hours since I saw you last."

Wow, time flies.

She gives you the tunic and helps you put it on. Your left sleeve dangles lifelessly.

You take another breath. "What happens now?"

Nurse Redheart clears her throat. "Well, if you're feeling up for it, Captain Shining Armor would like to speak with you. He has an offer he thinks you might be interested in."

No, you're not feeling up for speaking with some high-ranking Republic slime ball. Especially him. You're an amputee, you're very stressed, and you want to be anywhere else but here right now.

Unfortunately, you don't know what to do at this point. What can you do? You can't go back to work, and you don't think you'll be able to afford a replacement arm, so you're pretty much out of luck right now.

Damn it...

"Sure. Let's go have a talk with him." She smiles again and leads you out of the room. You're grumbling the entire way. "Where's my armor and equipment?"

"Your weapons and jetpack are back aboard your ship." She replies. "We gave your armor and helmet to Sunset. I think she still has them in her room."

"Is she awake?" You ask.

Redheart nods. "She is. She should be waiting just outside the medical bay right now."

Fantastic.

You follow her past a few other rooms and around a corner into the waiting area, where Sunset, Applejack, Fluttershy, and a purple Twi'lek female are all waiting.

Sunset's shoulders slump in relief as she begins walking up to meet you. "One of these days, we're going to have to sit down and tally up how many times I've had to come in and save your stupid ass, Anon."

You smile at her. "I don't think I can count that high."

You both give a small laugh as you meet each other for a hug. It hurts your sore muscles quite a bit, but any pain you endure is worth it for her.

"How are you feeling?" You asks, a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm okay." You reply softly.

You feel her touch the vacant spot where your arm used to be and she hugs you tighter. "I'm so sorry, Anon... If there was another way, I would've done it, but there wasn't, and I couldn't let you die-"

You gently shush her. "Sunset, it's okay. I'm not angry." You aren't happy about the situation, but you definitely aren't angry with her. "You saved my life. The only one I'm ever going to have. I'd much rather be handicapped than be a Rakghoul any day. Plus, and don't take this the wrong way, I would've done the same for you."

She lets out a small giggle before taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Anon." When she releases the hug, she looks back to everyone else and backs up behind them. "He'll survive. He always does."

You see her smile fade and she looks down to the ground a little bit. She's feeling guilty.

You continue to look at her for a moment, thinking to yourself a bit longer before Applejack breaks your focus by patting you on your right shoulder. "Glad to see you're feelin' better, Anon."

She's got a big smile on her face, which you return to her, along with a nod. "Thanks, Applejack. It's good to see you too."

Fluttershy pokes her head out from behind her and smiles as well. "Thanks to you and Sunset, Angel, Twilight, and the others are safe."

She's still so quiet and submissive, even with the danger passed. You don't like that about her, but you take her compliment to heart and nod at her. "Mandalore is safe as well."

She lowers her head, but still looks at you with a smile. "Y-Yes. Mandalore is also safe."

And that's all you care about.

You look around Applejack and see the purple Twi'lek standing there beside Sunset. "You don't look like a Wookie, so I assume that you're Twilight?"

She nods and extends her right hand to you. "Twilight Sparkle." You take her hand and shake it once before pulling away. "I have to admit, I never thought that I would be shaking hands with a Mandalorian and thanking him for saving my life."

You weren't there for her, so she really shouldn't be thanking you. You probably would've just blown the ship up under different circumstances.

"Well, Sunset was technically the one who rescued you." You say.

Sunset grins and turns to Twilight. "But he planned this whole thing. I was just doing what he said."

Yes, because you're such a nice guy, you went out of your way to make sure she was rescued by someone reliable.

Twilight giggles and looks to you both. "Well, seeing as how you're both up and about, my brother would like to see you guys."

You let out a silent breath through your nose and nod. "Very well."

Applejack moves in front of you both. "He's expectin' you both in one of the meeting rooms just down the hallway. Me and Twilight will lead you there."

You and Sunset both turn around and say goodbye to Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart before following Applejack and Twilight down the hallway.

"What's this meeting about?" You ask.

Twilight shakes her head. "I don't know, but I'm sure it's fine. Shining didn't tell us any specific details."

You navigate through the hallways for a while before stepping into a large room with a monitor on the far left wall and a long table in the center. Shining Armor is talking with a Republic officer, but he turns around to face you when you enter.

Applejack stands at attention in front of him. "Here they are, Sir. As ya'll requested."

He nods at her and looks at you both. "Thank you, Applejack. You and Twily can-" He stumbles over his words at that, making you raise an eyebrow and smirk a bit. "...uh, ...you and Professor Twilight can leave now."

'Twily'? That doesn't sound very professional to you.

"Thank you, Sir." Applejack replies.

Twilight giggles a bit behind you as she follows Applejack outside. The officer that was in the room with Shining also exits, leaving you and Sunset with him and two armed guards in two corners of the room.

He stands up straight and looks at you both. "Before anything else, I just want to thank you both so much for everything. You saved my sister and her colleagues from a ship full of Rakghouls. Rakghouls! Not many of my men would have been able to do what you two did. As her older brother, I personally owe you a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to fully repay."

That's disappointing. Some compensation would be nice right now.

He smiles a little and shifts his gaze between you two. "But I'd like to try and repay it. Which is why I've decided to present you both with an excellent opportunity to further yourselves."

You and Sunset look at each other for a moment. "What kind of opportunity?"

He puts his arms behind his back. "Well, firstly, I'm going to have my medical staff get Anonymous a cybernetic limb, completely free of charge. Your sacrifice will not go unappreciated."

Huh. That's a thoughtful gesture.

He continues. "Secondly, I'm presenting you with the opportunity to join the Republic. We could really use both of your skill sets to help us in our effort to destroy the Sith once and for all and help establish peace throughout the galaxy. You would make some of the finest soldiers in our army. I've run this by my superiors and have explained my reasoning behind my offering you this, and I have their support. All you need to do is say yes."

You and Sunset look at each other for a bit before she turns back to him. "Excuse us. We need to talk." He nods and puts his arms behind his back while you and Sunset huddle together with your backs to him. "I'm inclined to say no, Anon. We aren't Republic lap dogs."

You nod. "I'm right there with you... Although, I do want to take advantage of the new arm he's offering."

"I was just going to say that you should accept that." She says.

You look at your empty sleeve and back to her. "But, yeah, I'm not about to switch my allegiance to the Republic just because they asked nicely. If they want our services, they need to make us an offer like everyone else does. Let's let him down easy though. No need to be rude."

She gives you a small smile. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Anon." You grin back at her before you both turn back around to face Shining Armor. "We appreciate, and are honored your offer, Captain, but I'm afraid we're going to have to decline. We're mercenaries. Bounty hunters. But above all, we're Mandalorians."

"Mandalore is the only person in the galaxy with the privilege of having us on-call." You add. "I'd love to take you up on that offer for a new arm, but if you want our services in the future, I'm afraid you're going to have to hire us just the same as everyone else."

His hopeful smile fades and he sighs through his nose, pausing a bit as disappointment comes over his face. Sunset folds her arms and you set your hand on your hip as you wait for his response.

"Well, that's disappointing, but I can sure respect your undying loyalty to your people. It's commendable." He pauses before looking up at you both again. "Very well then. If you'd head back to the medical bay, I'll send word to begin preparing for your new limb's construction."

"Appreciate it." You and Sunset both nod and turn around to head out the door.

"And Anonymous?" You look back to him. "Thank you once again... Both of you... Thank you for rescuing Twilight."

You pause a moment and nod at him again, not saying anything else as you head out into the hallway.

"It was just another job..." You say under your breath.

Applejack and Twilight aren't out here anymore, so you and Sunset retrace your steps back to the medical bay together. She's acting distant. She hasn't looked at you or spoken once since leaving the room, she's just kept on staring at the floor as you've walked.

"You okay?" You ask.

She pauses for a long moment before she slowly nods. "Yeah..."

She's not telling the whole truth.

"You sure?" You pry.

She still doesn't look at you, but she shakes her head this time. "No... I still feel bad about what happened..."

Oh man...

You look at her again. "Sunset, you saved my life. That's what's important, and it's all that matters to me. Besides, I'm going to get a new arm in a little bit."

"I know... This is just kind of overwhelming, emotionally... It's still just a lot for me to take in..." She sighs and stops walking.

The medical bay is just around the corner. You look back at her and give a little sigh. Everything will be better in a while. You don't know why she's so upset.

"Do you want to... talk about it a little?" You ask.

She then looks up at you for a moment before shaking her head again. "No, not yet. I think I just need some more time alone..."

You don't reply right away. "Alright."

She slowly walks around another corner that leads away from the medical bay. You just watch her walk away from you down the hallway and turning a corner, disappearing from your sight.

You sigh and rub your head. What's her deal? She was just fine, literally, two minutes ago. You're not angry at her, you're happy to be alive. You've made that perfectly clear. You're usually so good at brushing dust off and moving forward together, why is this situation so different? Sure, this is the first time you've lost a limb, but the principle is still the same as before.

You don't know what to do.

You sigh and think for a moment. You need some clarity on this.

Clarity...

"Rarity..." You say to yourself. She's a girly-girl and a gossip. Maybe she can help you out.

You make a mental note for yourself to ask her about this later. Right now, you need to be ready for your surgery. First thing's first.

You go back into the medical bay and head into your room. It's the same as when you left it. You take a seat on your bed and just wait for a moment. Nothing else you can do right now.

After a few minutes, the door opens and Redheart comes inside with a smile. "Hello again, Anonymous. Are you ready?"

You get back to your feet. "I am."

She leads you into a nearby room where you see a trio of medical droids surrounding a table in the center. On the counter behind them, you see a few tanks of bacta, some rods, tubes, and other machinery you aren't familiar with. Behind one the droids however, you see a sleek, dark grey, robotic human hand.

That's going to be yours pretty soon.

Redheart turns to you. "Alright, let me help you get your shirt off, then just lay down on the table and we can begin."

You grab the bottom of your shirt and begin removing it while she helps. Once it's off, you move past her and lay down on the table. You jump a bit as you make contact with the cold steel, but you relax after a second.

"How long is this going to take?" You ask.

"Not long. Don't worry, we'll put you on anesthesia and you won't feel a thing." She replies.

You let out a small laugh. She thought you were scared. That's funny.

"I'm not worried." You reply. "I've just got stuff to do."

Redheart looks over you, her smile still there for the most part, but you swear you see concern on her face. "Anonymous, you shouldn't always think of just what you're going to do next. You need to slow down more."

Oh great, another lecture.

She continues. "When this is done, you need to take a few days to get acquainted with your new limb. You won't be able to feel it."

"I won't be able to feel it?" You ask.

She shakes her head. "No. This is a synthetic arm. We'll be able to connect it to your nerves so you can command and control it like your old arm, but no matter what we do, it will never feel like your old arm."

You take another look at your stump where your arm used to be. It's only just hitting you now that your real, physical, human arm will never come back. You'll get a new arm, but it won't be your arm. It will always just be a replacement.

You sigh. "Maybe you're right."

"I am right, Anonymous." She looks at you and gives you a small smile again.

You stare back at her for a moment before nodding slowly and laying back. "Alright. Let's do this."

She motions for the droids to approach and she grabs something on your right. You feel the slight prick of a needle go into your right arm's vein and she looks at you. "Alright, count to ten for me, please."

You've been on anesthesia a few times and you've honed your willpower to be extremely strong. This time, you're determined to get to thirteen before passing out. Your personal record is eleven.

You start counting. "One... Two... Thr-"

Woah, this stuff is new...

...

Author's Note

Shining Armor's cruiser.

A medical droid.

That New Upgrade Smell

You groan as your eyes flutter open and the light from above blurs your vision. How many times has this happened recently? You slowly blink a few times in an attempt to get everything around you to come into focus. You hear steady beeping around you, along with occasional mechanical whirring and clicking.

A figure you don't recognize at first comes into view on your left and looks at you. It's talking, but you can't understand it.

After a few seconds, you groan and blink again, and the figure turns into Twilight. "Anon? Can you hear me?"

You take a deep breath and nod at her. "Yeah... I can hear you..." She smiles and turns around to look at something and you shut your eyes again. "How long was I out this time?"

"About two hours and forty-five minutes." She replies.

You reach up and rub your eyebrows together. It's weird, your fingers feel like cold metal for some reason...

Wait.

Your eyes shoot open again and you see your new appendage for the first time. "Woah..."

Your sleek robotic left hand seems to float in front of you as the fingers slowly move around, according to your command.

You slowly sit yourself up and turn it around to look at the back side. There are a few gaps in the joints between the protective plates that allow you to see parts of the mechanisms inside that allow it to move, and all the way through it in a few places. Your eyes drift further up and you see that your entire arm is just as sleek and robotic as your hand. You slowly turn your arm around and look at it from as many angles as you can.

Twilight turns to you. "Do you like it?"

You look up at a smiling Twilight for a moment before looking back at your new arm with a grin and a chuckle. "Oh yeah..."

It's a strange feeling. You are giving commands to your new left arm like you do with your right, but you really can't feel anything at all with it. You never thought that Redheart was lying when she told you that, but it's surreal to actually experience it. It's almost like your arm is completely numb from the shoulder down.

You bring both of your hands together and interlock your fingers. It feels smooth and cold against your flesh, and your nerves feel off-balance as only one hand experiences the sensation of touch. It will take some getting used to.

"I designed it myself." Twilight says. "Those plates that cover the circuitry are extremely durable. I figured that, in your line of work, you must see a lot of action, so I decided to help you out a bit. You'll be able to take and do some more damage with that arm."

"Well, that will certainly come in handy." You reply. "No pun intended."

She giggles a bit at that and walks over to you. "I noticed on Sunset's armor that she has some extra gadgets and technology on both of her gauntlets, so I took the liberty of adding a few slots on your forearm for some extra auxiliary equipment."

"Well, my flamethrower was on my left arm. My dartcaster too. It would be nice to have those back." You reply.

She thinks to herself for a moment. "Well, I'm not used to working on weapons. I wouldn't trust myself at first. I'm just a tech expert, but I could probably figure it out if I took a look at it."

You're open to her help, but you also want to get out of here as fast as you can. Hopefully it doesn't take too long.

"They were part of the same assembly that was hooked up to my suit. I have a couple spares aboard my ship." You say. "Do you think you could modify one if I brought it to you?"

She nods and hands you the grey shirt you were wearing before. "That sounds doable. I can take a look, sure."

She turns around and you put the shirt back on before swinging your legs off to the side of the table. The gyros and mechanics in your new arm whir and click softly as it does its job and pushes you up to a standing position. You take another look at it and grin as you turn it around a few times to look at it from all angles.

You chuckle a bit as you look at Twilight again. She's holding a small toolbox and a datapad, along with a few other pieces of equipment.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"I'm going with you to your ship!" She replies with a smile. "I figure it will be less of a hassle for you."

You give a little shrug after a bit. It couldn't hurt, and she's offering. So why not? "Alright then. Let's go."

She shows her teeth as she smiles wider and you both head out of the room toward the hangar bay. She walks right beside you as you head through the medical bay and into the hall, her smile never fading.

"Do you know where Sunset is?" You ask.

"I think she headed back to your ship to get everything ready for your departure." She replies.

Which means that she grabbed your armor and helmet from her room.

You look down to your arm as you walk. In this light, it looks sleek and shiny. You can't help but smile as you watch it naturally swing back and forth with each step you take.

"You said you designed this?" You ask.

"Yep." She replies proudly. "How does it feel?"

"It feels good, I think." You say. "I can't really feel anything at all, but I've got no complaints with it so far."

She blushes a bit at your compliment.

You continue through the hallways until you reach the hangar and your ship comes into view. Your beautiful, beautiful ship. It feels like forever since you last saw it. You head up the ramp and look around at the interior. Everything looks like how you last left it, and you can't help but smile as you feel like you're coming back home.

"Sunset?" You call out.

You walk into the main hold and see Sunset come out of the cockpit. Her eyes go wide as she sees your new arm and she starts to smile a bit. "Wow, shiny."

You grin and lift it up to give her a better look. "Yeah, it's nice. Twilight did a good job."

Twilight gives another little giggle behind you and Sunset glances at her. "Uh, we're not taking her along with us, are we?"

"No. She's just here to make some custom adjustments to my arm." This isn't going to be another Rarity situation. You've learned your lesson. "How are we looking?"

"Everything looks good so far." Sunset replies. "I've got a few little things I want to look at real quick, but we're ready to go whenever you are."

She is just perfect in every way.

"Fantastic. This shouldn't take too long. This way, Twilight." You lead Twilight into the armory where you see your armor, helmet, and jetpack all laying on your workbench.

Well, most of it. The left gauntlet and shoulder pad is gone.

You grab it all and set it down on the ground beside the workbench. "Set your stuff here."

Twilight puts her toolbox down and exhales. It looks heavy. Maybe you should've offered to help her carry it.

She takes another deep breath and smiles as she looks through her toolbox. "Okay. Why don't you find your spare gauntlet and let's see what we can do."

You turn around to face one of the footlockers on the ground and open it up to see the various pieces of extra equipment you've stored, just in case. After rummaging through it for a few seconds, you produce an extra left gauntlet. It's unpainted, but it has the attachment for a flamethrower and a dartcaster already installed.

You bring it over to Twilight and she picks it up to inspect it for a moment. "Alright... Yeah, I can do this... Um, is it alright if I use some of the metal from this gauntlet as scrap?"

You shake your head. "If you can make it work, then by all means."

She grabs a device from her toolbox and uses it to take off the armor plating covering the internal hardware in your gauntlet. Once the covering is removed, she takes your arm and tampers with the internal circuitry just above your wrist. You just silently watch her as she does her work.

After exposing a few wires in your arm, she reaches into her toolbox and grabs a small welder and a pair of goggles. She puts them on and you look away, knowing that it will produce a bright light.

A few seconds pass when you see the light create a flickering shadow of you on the wall. You squint your eyes as it reflects off the wall and into your face a bit. You can only hear her work now. Every few minutes, another flash of light appears as she turns on the welder again, so you keep your eyes off of her.

Another few minutes pass, and you hear her set something down and exhale. "Alright, I think I've got it."

You look back to see your left arm fitted with a piece of your armor covering the flamethrower and dartcaster mechanism in your old gauntlet. It looks fairly close to your old gauntlet.

"I used some of the metal pieces to create a makeshift hardware attachment for you." She explains. "It will operate just like your old gauntlet and you can remove it whenever you want to just like this."

She takes the mechanism and slides it down your arm a bit before it just comes off. She slides it back on a moment later.

You're impressed. "Looks simple enough."

"It shouldn't get knocked off in combat or anything, but you'll be able to take it off with ease whenever you want." She says.

You reach over and slide the flamethrower attachment off before putting it back on. "Very nice. I like it."

"Thank you." She smiles. "I'm glad you do."

She smiles again and you slide the flamethrower off and on a few more times before leaving it off and placing it on the workbench. "Well Twilight, I appreciate you helping me out like this. You've taken a huge burden off of my shoulders."

"Oh, it's the least I could do!" She replies. "You helped save my life. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and Sunset."

"Well then, I guess I can count that as my good deed for this week." You say.

She giggles again and begins gathering up her stuff and putting it back in her toolbox. Once it's all full, she moves to pick it up, but you stop her and reach for the toolbox yourself. "Here, let me help with that."

You pick it up and head down the ramp to your ship and back into the hangar with Twilight walking beside you. There's a bit of an awkward silence between you for a moment before she speaks up. "So Anon, do you enjoy being a bounty hunter?"

You shrug. "Well, it's never boring, if that's what you're asking."

She gives another little giggle at that. "Well, I'm sure it's not. But do you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, it's a nice little setup." You say. "It pays well, we're doing a service to the public, and Sunset and I get to make our own hours."

She gives you a little hum as you head back into the hallways of the cruiser. She takes the lead and guides you back toward her office.

"How did you get started?" She asks.

You hate doing backstories, but she's been nice, so you'll humor her.

"Well, Sunset and I were both born on Mandalore and were trained to fight when we were children." You say. "We kept training as we kept growing. Then we fought in a few relatively minor conflicts with other 'groups', I guess you could say, which lasted a few years. Pretty soon, we were old enough to do our own thing. So we worked small jobs chasing people down, or doing whatever, as long as it paid well, until we scrounged up enough money to buy a ship. Now we're some of the best in the business."

Twilight hums as you finish. "It must've been tough growing up in an environment like that."

"This is the way." You reply. "It was tough, but that was the point. Our reputation as the greatest warriors in the galaxy means nothing if it isn't enforced. If we want to continue to be the best, we need to learn to fight as early as possible."

You arrive at Twilight's office and she opens the door for the both of you. "Confrontation and violence doesn't solve anything though, Anon. It just makes things worse."

"Confrontation alone doesn't solve anything, you're right." You reply. "Victory does. The violence, conflict, and collateral damage all stop when victory has been achieved."

You set her toolbox down and turn back to her. "Do you ever get tired of being a bounty hunter? The risks must be awfully high."

"Sometimes I do, I admit." You reply. "Too much of anything is bad, so I'll need a break every so often. I'd never get tired of this job altogether though. It's tough, but it's necessary, and I get to have a bit of fun as well."

You give her a shrug and she gives you a small smile in return. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it then, Anon. It seems a bit too violent for my tastes, but I'm happy for you all the same."

"Thanks." You just look at each other for a moment before you clear your throat. "Well Twilight, I appreciate your willingness to share your technological expertise with me."

You raise your new arm in front of you and she smiles again. "My pleasure. I hope we get to see you again."

You both say your goodbyes to each other before you head back toward your ship. Along the way, you bump into Applejack and Master Maud again.

Applejack whistles when she sees your arm. "Lookin' pretty snazzy, Anon."

You grin and look at your arm again. "Yeah, Twilight really knows her stuff."

"Where are you headed to next, Anonymous?" Maud asks.

You look at her for a moment. You know you shouldn't, but you hate it when she asks you anything. You're grateful for her help back on the cruiser, but you can't help but be suspicious. She is a Jedi, after all.

"Not sure." You reply. "We're probably going to head back out there and see if there's any work to do."

Money isn't going to make itself, and you'd like to see this arm of yours in action.

"I see." She replies.

You both silently stare at each other for a moment. She's probably using the Force right now, trying to snoop around in your head for something. She's had time to talk with her Jedi Council about this whole thing. Is she just as as suspicious of you as you are of her? She should know by now that you aren't with the Sith.

"So you guys are going to handle this business with the artifacts and death sticks?" You ask.

"We will be sure to keep tabs on everyone and everything involved with both. Any information is welcome at this point." She replies, emotionless as ever.

"Good. The less of that garbage there is in the galaxy, the better." You say.

She nods her head slightly, breaking eye contact for a moment as she does. "Thank you for your assistance, Anonymous."

"Thank you for yours as well." She gives you a slow bow and you just nod your head in return. "Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi."

You turn to Applejack and bid her goodbye as well. You and Maud exchange another glance before you turn around and head back to your ship.

Damn Jedi.

Maud was a huge help before, and you're so glad she was there. You'd all be dead if it weren't for her. At the end of the day though, she's still a Jedi. The Jedi cannot be trusted.

You take another deep breath and make your way to your ship. When you finally get there, you remember that you needed to do something.

You don't see Sunset anywhere in the main hold, so you head into the armory and close the door behind you. You turn on the communicator on the screen above your workbench and open up a private channel to Cato Neimoidia. You need to ask Rarity a question.

Author's Note

Artificial limb designed by Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight (Twi'lek) Sparkle.

Jedi Master Maud Pie.

Making Amends

After a couple of rings, Rarity's face appears on the screen. "Anonymous! Thank goodness it's you! I heard about the whole thing with the Rakghouls and I've been worried sick about you ever since! Sunset said you were injured! Are you alright?!"

You chuckle. "Woah, woah, Rarity, I'm fine! I'm alright!"

She persists. "Are you sure?! I've heard about those dreadful creatures! Nothing bad happened to you, did it?!"

You pause a little bit at that. "Well..."

Don't lie, Anon. She'll never forgive you if you lie.

You reluctantly hold up your robotic arm for her to see and she gasps and covers her mouth in response. "Oh my goodness..."

You sigh. "Look, it's not that bad. I'm fine, alright?"

She shakes her head in disbelief. "How did it happen?"

"I was bitten." You say. "Sunset had to amputate my arm to save my life."

It takes a few minutes, but you recount your entire story of getting captured by the Republic after turning in Trixie, then how you got wind of the Rakghoul-infested cruiser that was threatening Mandalore, then how you destroyed the ship, rescued Twilight, and only lost your arm in the process. She listens intently as you do.

When you finish, she speaks. "Well, your mission was a success. I heard that Mandalore picked up the explosion on their scopes, but they couldn't identify anything about who the ship belonged to. It was completely vaporized when they got there."

"That's good." You nod. "I heard that we destroyed it."

"Have you spoken to Sunset at all since you've been up?" She asks.

You shake your head. "Not really. I haven't had the chance. She seems a bit down though."

"Well, I'm not surprised, darling. With everything she had to go through, I'm sure she's very distraught." She says.

With everything she's been through?

"Excuse me, but who lost an arm here?" You say as you hold up your limb again.

She folds her arms and gets defensive. "You did, Anonymous. But who had to cut off an actual appendage of someone close to them in order to save their life?" You say nothing in response. "Who had to remove something that someone close to them has had since they were born? Who is going to have to live with themselves for the rest of their life with that knowledge? Who is probably racked with so much guilt about it right now?"

Wow... You never really thought of how Sunset is taking this.

"Sunset..." You reply softly.

You know she cares deeply for you, as you do for her. She probably does feel horrible for what she had to do. You've just been so selfish that you didn't see it before. Shame on you.

Rarity continues. "Girls are more sensitive by nature, darling. Regardless of whether or not she is a Mandalorian, she probably feels extremely guilty that she had to do what she had to do. I'm sure she's absolutely overjoyed that you're alive, but I'm willing to bet she's never had to do anything like this before in her life."

"She hasn't..." You shake your head.

Rarity takes another deep breath as she looks at you. "You need to talk to her about this. She won't. She probably feels like she can't."

You look back at her. "Why would she think that? We've been together forever."

"Because you're always about business, no matter where you go. It's not good. You never stop and talk about anything except for work lately. 'Who's the next target? What's the next job? Where do we go from here?'" She does a poor impression of you as she speaks. "You need to slow down and understand her feelings and thoughts about things every now and then. This was a hard thing for her to do and you need to make sure she's okay. Prove to her that you're not just a machine, Anonymous."

You shrug a little as you hold up your arm again. "Well, not completely."

She doesn't smile at your joke. Not even a little bit. "I'm being serious."

You take a deep breath and rub your neck a little. "Maybe you're right."

"No, there's no 'maybe' here." She snaps. "I am right. If you want to make sure she's really happy and that she really knows that you're there for her the way she is for you, then do as I say and talk to her. Have an honest heart-to-heart with her about this."

You nod a little. She's right and you know it. You haven't been fair to Sunset outside of work. You take her for granted, and you really shouldn't. Part of you has always known that you do, but you feel like a total ass now that it has been brought to your attention.

"Alright... I'll talk to her right now, Rarity." You say.

Now she smiles and nods at you. "Good. Talk to her, let her know how much she means to you, then let me know how it goes. I like to stay in the loop with these things."

You chuckle a bit. "A gossip to the very end." She giggles a little at that and you shut down communications after saying goodbye.

You just sit there and ponder to yourself for a moment. How should you start?

You press the intercom button on the wall after a few moments. "Sunset, I'm here. Get us into orbit around Kashyyyk."

"Alright." She replies.

You stay where you are and think a bit longer. After a few moments, the ship hums and whirs to life before you feel it move around as it exits the cruiser's hangar.

You get up and head to the cockpit. Sunset is sitting in her usual spot, the pilot's seat, and you sigh as you enter. Kashyyyk is right outside the window in front of her.

"So, where to?" She asks.

"Uh, let's decide that in a second." She looks over to you as you sit down in the co-pilot's seat beside her and take a deep breath. "Can we talk for a bit?"

Sunset turns to face you completely after a moment. She looks a bit uneasy. "Sure. Is everything okay?"

You shake your head. "Not really. There's just something I want to get off my chest." Okay, Anon. Own up to your mistakes. "I just want to say that I'm sorry. I haven't been fair to you lately. I've taken you for granted, and I haven't taken your thoughts or feelings into account when bad things happen. I just keep going without stopping and making sure you're okay as well. That's not fair to you. I care a lot about you, but I haven't shown it as much as I should've, and I sincerely apologize."

She stays silent, but she looks like she's softening up a little.

You clear your throat and smack your metal arm a couple times, emphasizing your next point. "You saved my life before, over Mandalore. Once it was over, I didn't see that it was affecting you this much until now. If it will make you feel better, I'm... I'd like to talk about it, or anything else you're thinking. Anything to help you feel better."

She pauses and looks away after a moment. "Well, in your defense, you did have a lot on your mind..."

That is true, but it's no excuse for your behavior.

You stay silent as she takes a deep breath. "I just... I can't get it out of my head. Seeing you there, on the ground, and completely delirious. Then I went in and cut off your arm, knowing it would save you, but it felt like I was adding insult to injury. It didn't feel like I was helping you, even though I knew I was." She pauses for a moment as she tries to search for the words that can express her thoughts. "I don't know... I guess I was just so shaken up about it, I wasn't ready to calm down after it was over. So many things were going through my head, especially when I first saw you after you woke up." She takes another long breath and looks at you. "I was freaked out. That's the closest I ever came to losing you. I didn't want to lose you, but I didn't want you to lose your arm, and I just... I-..."

She stutters a bit as she searches for the right words again, but eventually she just falls silent. She leans back in her chair and stares out into space. She looks so tired. So stressed. With everything that's happened lately, you're not surprised.

Now that you're thinking about it, you're tired too...

"I think if it wasn't time for that vacation before, it sure as hell is now." She looks over at you and you reach forward to take her hand. "We've been busy lately. We fought some Sith, messed with some drug dealers, got captured by the Republic, survived against a bunch of Rakghouls, and we saved our home. I'd say we deserve a break." Sunset smiles a bit as you rub her hand with your thumb. "We've got nothing else going on right now, and we've got a good amount of money saved up. If we want to go, which I do, now would be the perfect time."

Her smile slowly grows at that. " I wouldn't mind that either... We decided on Alderaan before, right?"

"Yeah." You nod. "Does that still sound nice to you?"

She gives a little giggle and squeezes your hand. "It sounds perfect. I can hardly wait."

You move over and wrap your arm around her in a hug. You stay there for a moment, silent as you both look out into the emptiness of space above Kashyyyk.

"I don't want to lose you either, you know..." You tell her. "I care about you a lot."

She reaches up and holds onto your arm as you continue hugging her. "You won't lose me... I care about you too."

You give her a little kiss on the head and sigh again. After a long moment of silence, you release her and stand up straight. "How about you go and lay down? Unwind for a bit, and I'll get us to Alderaan."

She gives you a little sideways smile. "You sure?"

"Yeah." You nod. "You can go ahead, start the vacation early and rest. Besides, it feels like forever since I actually got to pilot. I want a turn now."

She giggles again as she stands up. "...Thanks, Anon. Thanks for checking in and listening. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Sunset." You reply. "I promise I'll be better about that."

You smile at each other as she slowly walks back into the ship. You tap your robot fingers on the back of the pilot's seat as you think to yourself.

You feel bad for not doing much to help Sunset feel better before. Rarity's right. You do think about work too much. That needs to change a bit. Hopefully, this vacation does just that.

You sigh and sit down in the chair before you set your course. The ship adjusts its direction and you make sure the coordinates are correct before activating the hyperdrive.

You give a long sigh as you look out into the endless void of space and hit the throttle. The hyperdrive whirs and you finally make the jump to lightspeed toward Alderaan.

Author's Note

Rarity.

Sunset.

The end of part one.

Thanks for reading. I know I missed a few "mane" characters in this, but rest assured, they make an appearance later on. This part of the story is finished, but the story itself is not. More will come in the sequel.

Going for a Drive

Sunset checks the map on her wrist and takes the lead. The two of you weave through small crowds and cut through a marketplace before reaching the large opening at the edge of the city that leads to the Dune Sea. The rest of the Tatooine landscape looks unbelievably desolate compared to the city. You'll never get used to it.

Sunset points to the horizon. "Diamond Tiara's palace is out there."

You follow her gaze and spot a small cluster of hills and mountains a few miles away from the city. Hutts really like to be isolated and out of the way of everyone else in their massive fortresses, for some reason. It's such a pain.

On your right, you see a few speeders and swoop bikes parked near the edge of the city under some large open canopies. It gives you an idea. No way is walking to this Hutt's palace an option with your timetable. You need to get there as fast as you can.

"Feel like going shopping?" You ask Sunset as you head over to the store.

"Not a bad idea." She replies as she follows you.

As you approach, the Toydarian store owner spots you and starts flapping his wings. He flies over to you. "Welcome. How can I help you?" He greets you in Huttsese, which you can understand a little bit of, but cannot speak.

You reply in Basic. "I need a speeder. A fast one. Do you do rentals?"

The Toydarian grunts and crosses his arms. In Basic, he replies, "Not anymore, I'm afraid. People would rent them and never come back again. It was bad for business. If you want it, you gotta buy it."

Damn. Makes sense though.

"Fine." You reply. "Point me to a fast one."

The Toydarian smiles. "Of course! Follow me!"

He chuckles and you both follow him toward the group of speeders in his shop. You enter the makeshift garage beneath the canopies and take a look around. A few pit droids are busy working on a couple of them, while others are carrying parts to and from the back. Most of the speeders in here look used. They have a few nicks or scratches, but the majority of them seem to be in decent condition.

The Toydarian stops at one and turns around. "Here. A Zephyr-G swoop. This one is the fastest one I got, and it's brand-new."

It's a good sized speeder bike that's got side pouches for storage and barely enough room for two people. It looks like it was built with speed in mind, because it doesn't look very tough. The panel by the handle bars is equipped with a small map, clock, and various other standard gauges that indicate the status of various functions on the bike.

You bend down and do a quick visual inspection at the engine. "You said its brand-new?"

The Toydarian grunts proudly. "Top of the line. I just got it delivered yesterday. It's yours for 6000."

You think for a moment. If you had more time on your hands, you'd haggle a little bit and try to talk that price down. Six seems a bit steep, especially since Trixie is only worth five, but in all honesty, you're mostly after information on Adagio's gem. Going after Trixie after dealing with the Sith is just for the love of the game, at this point. Besides, you and Sunset could use a speeder bike in the future.

You make up your mind and stand up, turning to him. "I'll take it."

"Excellent!" He says with a smile.

He takes your credits and he gives you the keys, thanking you for your purchase. You hop on with Sunset behind you and start it up. The engine whirs to life and you maneuver it out from under the canopy and beneath the suns. Once you're outside, you slowly drive to the entrance to the city until you reach the edge of the Dune Sea.

You grip the handles tight. "Let's see what she can do."

Sunset grabs onto your waist and you rev the engine. The speeder bike screeches and takes off at high speed in a matter of seconds, leaving a trail of sand and dust behind as you make your way towards the mountains on the outskirts.

The bike is sturdy and it handles very well. You have absolutely no trouble adjusting your direction as you move across the desert. Once you've got a good feel for it, you take a quick glance behind you. Past the thin layer of dust that's been brought up from your bike, you barely make out Mos Espa as it continues diminishing behind you.

You look ahead again and steer the bike in the right direction before opening your comms. "Okay, Sunset. Mark the location on my map for me, please."

Pressing a button on your gauntlet, you bring up your map on your HUD. As your little arrow moves forward along the open terrain, a yellow blip appears a few kilometers in front of you. You continue driving forward, maneuvering over sand dunes and around rocks. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a herd of Banthas migrating across the desert. After a few minutes of driving over the hot sand, you come to the mouth of a canyon and slow the bike down a little.

Sunset starts talking over your comms. "Anon, it doesn't look like there's a trail big enough for us to get our bike up to the entrance of the palace from here. The base of this canyon is way too narrow."

You quickly glance at your map and get a general idea of the palace's location. "We'll park as close as we can, and hoof it to the entrance then."

You continue down the canyon for a few minutes. On either side of you, the mountains get larger and closer as you continue forward until you reach a fork. Turning right, you keep driving for a few more minutes until you eventually run out of space and come to a dead end. You slow the speeder bike down and kill the engine.

You take a deep breath and rub a hand across your visor, clearing off the thin layer of sand that had accumulated. "Not a bad bike. I like it."

You and Sunset both dismount and you check the map again on your HUD. Diamond Tiara's palace is about half a kilometer to your left. That's south. There's a narrow gap between a few rocks in the mountain that leads up to it. There's no way the speeder would have made it up there.

You shut the map off and take a look around. You're at the edge of a desolate box canyon covered with rocks and sand. Apart from a slight howl of the wind above the tip of the rocks, it's completely silent. A few ships are entering or leaving the atmosphere in Mos Espa's direction. You also notice that the sky has just barely started to turn orange. The suns are beginning to set.

"We need to be fast." You say. "I don't want to be out here when night falls."

Sunset shakes her head. "I don't either."

You squeeze your blaster handles at your sides once before heading toward the canyon trail with her. It's a bit cramped between the rocks, but you can walk through them with ease. The two of you stay alert and silent the whole time.

After a few minutes of walking and the occasional climb, you reach a small clearing on the cliffside. On the other side of the clearing, you see where the trail continues through an opening in the rocks. Right behind this wall of rocks, you spot one of the spires on Diamond Tiara's palace.

Just when you start walking toward the opening, a blaster bolt whizzes past you and impacts the ground to your left. You and Sunset immediately whip around and take out your weapons. There's nothing behind you. Nothing you can see, anyway.

Then, another blaster bolt from the opposite canyon wall catches your attention. You quickly step to the side as it also impacts the ground. What follows is the sound of the distant battle cry that every Tatooine native is familiar with.

"Sand People." You growl. Luckily, they aren't the best shots, but you don't want to take any chances. You'd rather not deal with them right now.

Sunset holsters her weapons and quickly heads to the opposite side of the clearing towards the palace. You jog after her, keeping a watchful eye at the canyon wall behind you. Another bolt blasts the rock to your right as you both head between the rocks. Once you're through, you both turn a corner and hide from the sniper's line of sight. The same distant cry echoes across the wilderness as he realizes he can no longer see you.

The Sand People are easy enough to deal with from far away, but they can prove to be a surprising challenge up close. Especially if there's more than one of them. With night quickly approaching, you don't think that's the last you'll see of them today. You holster your blasters and continue up the trail with Sunset. After a couple of minutes, you reach another clearing and get your first good look at Diamond Tiara's enormous palace.

Two spires tower above the palace on either side, practically overlooking the entire planet. It's been built so that it's boxed into the mountain with only one direction to look out of. Not a bad idea, from a strategic standpoint. It's very well-hidden, and if anyone wanted to launch a big attack against the Hutt, they would have a hard time keeping the element of surprise. There's only one direction they can be attacked from.

"Who needs something this big?" Sunset asks.

"The Hutts." You reply. "Hutts are big, remember?"

"Oh, right." Sunset giggles a little before walking with you toward the large open door at the base of the palace.

When you reach it, you are met by a team of Gamorrean guards, armed with their large battle axes. They start grunting and snorting at you both in some pig language you can't understand. No doubt that they're asking why you're here.

You step forward. "We're here to see your master about her posted bounty: Trixie."

The leader turns to the rest and grunts a few times. They snort and squeal back and at each other for a moment before turning back to you. He grunts and beckons you to follow.

He leads you both inside, and you walk next to each other in silence. The air inside the palace is smokey, and you hear the faint sound of music playing. From the corner of your eye, you see a few rooms filled with dancers, bands, and people of all kinds partying or celebrating. Nearly each occupied room has a pair of guards in front of it, Gamorrean or otherwise.

You continue down the main hallway behind the Gamorrean. He turns left and leads you to a silver protocol droid, who approaches you from another room.

"Greetings, bounty hunters." The droid says. "I am Silver Spoon and I bid you welcome to the illustrious Diamond Tiara's palace."

You and Sunset both nod at the droid and come to a stop. Strange that Diamond Tiara has given this droid an actual name instead of just a number. It must be special.

"We'd like to inquire from your master about a bounty she's posted: Trixie." You say.

"Ah, yes." The droid nods at you. "Trixie was one of our smugglers responsible for delivering spices. After some time, her shipments became lighter and less frequent, so the wise Diamond Tiara sent spies after her and discovered that she had been selling and trading the spices to others for her own personal gain. A sum of 5,000 Republic credits will be paid to her captors upon her delivery."

You nod as you listen to the droid recount the tale. "Where did you last send her?"

Silver Spoon pauses. "Her last assignment was to deliver a large shipment of chak-root from Naboo. We received a message from her a short time later, foolishly informing us that she is no longer a smuggler for the noble Diamond Tiara and that she refused to pay what she owed. She referred to herself in third person as 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'."

Sunset scoffs beside you.

You inquire further. "Anything else you could tell us about her?"

"The generous Diamond Tiara has also offered a sum of 1,000 Republic credits for the capture and delivery of any accomplices Trixie has done business with." Silver Spoon replies. "However, this deal is only valid if they are brought in alongside her."

You nod at the droid again. "I appreciate the info, droid. We'll be back later with her."

Silver Spoon nods again. "Best of luck to you both, bounty hunters."

You and Sunset turn around and make your way back to the entrance of the palace. The same Gamorrean guard who led you inside accompanies you once again. Once you're back outside, you notice that the sky had become a darker shade of orange as one of the suns had begun to set behind the horizon.

"Let's hurry back." You say. "It'll get cold real quick once night falls."

Sunset nods and you both break out into a jog as you head toward the trail you had come from. The two of you enter the crevice between the rocks and move down the path toward your bike.

Arming yourself, you hide behind a large boulder and carefully peek around it, using your HUD to zoom in and scan the opposite side of the canyon for one of the Sand People with the sniper rifle. The same one who was shooting at you before. It takes a few moments, but you finally spot him. He's just sitting there, with his rifle in his hands pointed toward you. There's another one to his right armed only with a gaffi stick. From his position, he could easily spot your speeder bike on the canyon floor below. He isn't shooting at you though, which means he hasn't seen you yet. It would behoove you to fix this problem ahead of time.

You lock onto his position and arm the missile on your back. Quickly stepping out into the open, you launch your missile and spray a barrage of blaster fire at the canyon wall in an attempt to scare them. The missile quickly homes in toward the canyon wall and explodes on impact. You cease fire and watch the ball of fire rise above the hillside as you hear the explosion echo back to you. It's followed by the whines and whimpers of the Sand People as they flee in terror.

"That got 'em!" You say with a laugh.

You holster your blasters and Sunset steps past you. "Nice work, Anon. More of them will show up soon though."

She's right. You need to move. The two of you quickly retrace your steps back down the trail until you end up back at your vehicle a few minutes later. Thankfully, there's no signs of tampering or looting. The Sand People must not have seen you until after you had parked. A lucky break.

You quickly mount the bike with Sunset and start the ignition. The bike whirs to life again and you turn it around, beginning your drive back through the canyon and on your way to Mos Espa.

It isn't totally dark yet, but it's dark enough that you need your headlights to see better. You'd rather not wreck your new speeder bike, so you also drive a bit slower through the canyon than you did before.

After a few minutes of driving through the canyon back the way you came, you finally make it back to the Dune Sea. Once you're in the open, you accelerate more and zoom back toward the city. Nothing appears out of the ordinary on the desert as you drive, but you still keep your guard up, just in case. Tatooine can be unpredictable. Especially at dusk.

After a few minutes of driving toward the faint glow of the lights up ahead on the horizon, you're within the city limits again. You slow down as you enter the big door to the city and maneuver around the people, buildings, and moisture evaporators as you make your way back to the docking bay.

You activate the comms and contact Rarity. "Rarity, we're almost back. Open the cargo bay."

There's a moment before she replies. "Alright, darling. Um, how do I do that?"

"There's a panel on the wall in there. Find the controls and it will drop a cargo elevator." You reply.

She pauses for a few more seconds before replying. "Oh, I see it."

You switch off your comms and continue toward the docking bay. Upon entering and seeing your ship, you drive onto your lowered cargo elevator. Rarity is in the ship looking down at you.

You shut off the bike and the elevator begins to rise. Once inside, you and Sunset both dismount the bike and head into the main hold with Rarity. Sunset takes off her helmet and sets it down on the table in the middle, taking a deep breath.

"So." She begins. "Cato Neimoidia?" She's talking to you, but she's looking at Rarity.

You also look at Rarity. "Yep. Cato Neimoidia."

Sunset nods and adjusts her hair as she heads to the cockpit. Rarity sadly looks down at the ground. There's an awkward tension in the room between you two that's so thick, your new lightsaber probably couldn't even cut through it.

"Look Rarity..." You take off your helmet and set it down next to Sunset's. "I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. With the Sith being there and my injury and all-"

"No, no." She interrupts. "You were right... I...I was scared and I let my fear get the best of me and I ran away."

"True, but you were also right." You say as you step toward her. "You aren't a soldier. A warrior. A Mandalorian. You haven't been around fighting and action like Sunset and I have. I lacked perspective, and I apologize to you for that."

She gets a small grin on her face and nods. "Apology accepted, Anonymous." You grin back at her and she approaches you to give you a hug. After a moment, she releases you and smiles. "So, are we good? I can still find bounties for you?"

You chuckle. "Of course. I wouldn't be able to find anyone better than you at that."

She smiles. "Good. Because I do know for a fact that I enjoy doing that."

You smile at her when suddenly, you hear the engines start up. You're taking off.

"Well, I'm glad we got this out of the way." You say. "We'll drop you off back home and then we'll head toward our next target. You can rest in your bunk or come up to the cockpit with us."

She looks to the crew quarters behind her and takes a deep breath. "I think I'll try to rest. I should be able to now that you're back and safe."

You nod at her. "Sounds good." You grin at her and head to the cockpit to meet up with Sunset.

"...And, Anonymous?" Rarity begins. You stop and look back at her again. She smiles at you softly. "Thank you."

You simply nod at her and smile before turning around to walk into the cockpit. You take a seat in the co-pilot's chair next to Sunset and watch the hangar walls outside descend below you as the ship rises into the air.

As she accelerates toward the atmosphere, Sunset looks at you. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." You nod. "She's fine."

"Good." She says, looking back at the viewport window. "This would've been a lot less stressful if she hadn't been here."

"I know, I know." You wave your hand. "You're right. I'm wrong. I'm sorry."

She smirks again and glances over at you. "Apology accepted, babe. Just don't do it again."

You look back at her. "I won't. I promise."

She smiles at you and turns back to the controls. It's nighttime, so you can already see tons of stars, but now you're almost to the edge of space. Once you're finally there, you lock in the coordinates to Cato Neimoidia and Sunset hits the throttle. Seconds later, you're in hyperspace.

The two of you stand up. Sunset grunts a little and holds her stomach.

You look at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah. It doesn't hurt anymore, but I can still feel it. I'll be okay. Getting the wind knocked out of you is awful." She smiles at you and the two of you head into the main hold together. "We've got a few hours. I'm going to head to bed."

You nod. "Alright. I'll be there soon."

You kiss each other real quick before parting ways. She heads to your room while you head into the armory and start to remove your armor and weapons before taking inventory.

Author's Note

A Toydarian.

A Zephyr-G Swoop Bike.

Example of a palace on Tatooine.

Tatooine at night.