Bounty Hunter Anon

by Sunny Solaire


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?"