"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!"
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..."