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.