//------------------------------//
// Hide and Seek 
// Story: Bounty Hunter Anon 
// by Sunny Solaire 
//------------------------------//

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.