//------------------------------//
// Fears and Regrets 
// Story: Bounty Hunter Anon II 
// by Sunny Solaire 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie looks over to you as you slowly begin to patrol the hallway. "What do you wanna talk about?"

You clear your throat. "Well firstly, what was your deal in there? We started talking about the Jedi Enclave and then you looked... troubled. What's going on?"

She looks away from you again and says nothing. She still looks troubled. Almost guilty.

"You aren't a Jedi, are you?" You ask.

She shoots you a defensive look. "No! Of course not!" A second later, she softens and looks down again. "Well, not anymore, anyway..."

Interesting.

"What happened?" You ask.

"Well, basically, I was too rowdy and wild so I was kicked out." She doesn't look at you as she answers. "So, I guess now... 'technically', I'd be considered a Dark Jedi." She raises her hands and makes air quotes with her fingers to emphasize her word choice.

You cock your head slightly. "Technically?"

"Because I was kicked out of the Jedi Order, but I never joined the Sith and I still like to use the Force." She continues talking as you reach the end of the hallway and turn around again. "Me and my three sisters all joined the Jedi at the same time. There was me, Maud, Marble, and Limestone."

So she is related to Maud Pie. Small galaxy.

She continues. "I was there for a little bit. About a year or so. The masters there got after me a lot because I was so crazy. I was always trying to have some fun and make them mad, because they were always super serious and boring all the time." She rubs her arm softly. "It was funny back then. I was just a kid, after all. I kinda feel bad about it now that I'm older though."

She shouldn't feel bad about that at all.

"Well, you were right." You shrug. "The Jedi are too boring. You were doing them a favor by trying to bring them a little personality."

She smiles a little at that, but she still doesn't look up. "Yeah, maybe... Still, I feel bad because my sister Limestone also got kicked out when I did."

"Was she just as rambunctious as you were?" You ask.

She shakes her head. "No... She had a teensy little problem with her anger, even before we joined the Jedi. She may have seemed mean and grouchy to everyone else, but she just really, really cared about me and our other sisters. So once I was kicked out, she got really, really mad. So mad that she hurt her master and destroyed part of one of the rooms in the Jedi Temple before leaving with me."

Damn. Limestone sounds like she has absolutely no love for the Jedi whatsoever. You want to meet her. You'd probably have a lot to talk about.

You pry further. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know where she is now. We took off together and wandered the galaxy for a while. We learned more about the Force together, then we got into theft and stuff, which was pretty fun. I always tried to be more sneaky, but she was always direct and forceful. Kind of like a 'good cop, bad cop' thing, ya know? We would go after chump change and small stuff at first, but she wanted to go bigger and bigger the more we did it. We did things her way a few times, but I didn't really like it after a while. It felt like she was being more and more mean each time we took something from someone. She even started hurting people. I was all for swiping and stealing stuff, but I never wanted to actually hurt anyone for the sake of doing it. She would sometimes try to-"

"Okay, Pinkie?" You cut her off. You'd like her to get to the point.

She looks over at you and blinks. "Oh, was I starting to ramble?"

You nod. "A little bit, yeah."

She blushes a little and smiles softly. "Sorry. I do that sometimes."

Apparently...

Her smile fades and she goes back to talking. "Anyway, we did that together for a few years before we eventually crossed paths Draconequui. I really liked Discord when I met him. He was funny, so I stuck around. Limestone did for a while too, but she thought they were too small-time though. She wanted more loot and more action that she didn't think he could give, so she decided to go her own way. I didn't hear anything else about her for a while until I heard a rumor that she went to Korriban..." Worry washes over her face and she rubs her arm for self-comfort as she continues. "I think about that all the time. I really, really hope that a rumor is all it was..."

Korriban. The ancient homeworld of the Sith.

Pinkie is scared, terrified of the thought of her sister joining the Sith. You don't blame her. The only good thing about the Sith is their money, really.

You can't deny that the Mandalorians and the Sith share a few qualities. You both love to fight, you both have a dislike for the Jedi, and you're not above killing others to get ahead. They're different from you, though. They don't fight for honor or glory. The whole lot of them are power-hungry bastards that kill in cold blood because they like to. You'll kill if it's necessary, but you're no murderer. Not at all.

You think to yourself as you and Pinkie continue walking down the hallway. "That's quite the story..."

She nods slowly, but doesn't look up at you. You should probably say something else.

"Well... It probably is just a rumor." You reassure. "You left the Jedi too, but you didn't join the Sith. She likely didn't either."

More guilt washes over her face. "Yeah, I guess... I still did turn to the Dark Side though..."

"How do you figure that?" You ask.

She finally looks at you. "Were you even listening to my story? Did you even read my bio before coming to find me on Nar Shaddaa? You've seen what I've done."

You shrug. She makes a fair point. You don't understand much of the Force, but her life so far doesn't sound like a product of the Light Side's influence.

"I learned the basics of the Force from the Jedi, but I picked up a few other tricks by practicing in my spare time after me and Limestone were kicked out. How else do you think I'm so good at stealing stuff?" She gives you a small smile and holds up your sidearm in her hand.

"What the-?" You look to your holster. It's empty. "Hey! Give me that!"

When did she swipe that? 

You quickly take it back from her and she starts giggling as you put it away. "Heehee! That's always so much fun seeing people freak out like that!"

You grumble under your breath as you holster the blaster.

You both look forward again as you continue to patrol the empty hallway together.

"I just don't like being around Jedi stuff, I guess..." Pinkie laments.

"Why is that?" You ask.

She takes a deep breath. "Because I can feel the Force whisper to me through them. It's kind of a side effect of being Force-sensitive. Anything strong with the Force leaves an echo of some kind. Lightsabers, old ruins, artifacts, whatever. I felt it really strong like that all the time when I was younger." She sighs again and scratches her head. "Every so often, I feel really bad about being such a pest to my masters. I sometimes wonder what would've happened if I had stayed with them and had been a better Padawan. Feeling the Force like that just brings those guilty feelings up again."

You honestly believe that she's much better off without the Jedi tainting her mind and making her waste her potential. She's got a good thing going for her right now. It's taught her to be tough and not afraid to show it. If she were a Jedi, she would have power, but wouldn't use it for the sake of "pacifism".

"Pinkie, I think you made out better that you realize. You're alive, you're happy, and I'm sure you're having fun with this life. I mean, how could you not?" She looks over to you. "Sure, you have regrets, but that's okay. Everyone does. No matter what, you just need to keep on going and do what's best for you. It's okay that you didn't make it as a Jedi. You can't always control what happens, but you do control your own destiny. Also, you shouldn't worry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having your destiny not be with the Jedi."

Her gaze deepens as you speak. Something is on her mind.

"Why don't you like the Jedi, Anon?" She asks.

You take a deep breath. This is something you're always honest about.

"Because the Jedi are weak and stupid." You say matter-of-factly. "They want peace throughout the galaxy, but they refuse to make an effort to do anything about getting it, even though the Sith have been a huge prick in their side for thousands of years. Whenever it starts hurting, they just try to numb the pain. It only works for a while, but the prick is still there. Eventually, they'll feel it again. The only way to get rid of the pain is to remove what's causing it, which the Jedi will not do. They won't hunt down and destroy the Sith once and for all. That's why the Sith will win in the end. It's inevitable, if the Jedi don't get smart some time soon."

Pinkie glares at you, looking a bit hurt. "The Sith won't win. The Jedi and the Republic will never let that happen. They'll stop them every time they try."

"They will at first. Maybe." You reply. "They're good at keeping the Sith in line for now. The Republic may secretly want to pursue them further, but they won't because they know they'll lose without the Jedi's support. The Jedi will continue to numb and ignore the pain in their side for as long as they can in a vain hope that it will go away on its own. It will only lead to their downfall."

"What do you mean by that?" She asks.

You stop walking and turn to face her directly. "The apparent Sith presence may fade in time, but when that happens, like a virus, it will adapt and begin to destroy the Jedi from the inside. It could maybe even turn the Republic itself against them. I don't know exactly how it will happen, but I do know that if they refuse to act against the Sith, like Revan acted against us, then they will fall, and the Sith will 'rule the galaxy'... All because they were too stubborn to eliminate the problem when they had the chance."

Pinkie breathes through her nose as you stare at each other. The conflict in her head can be seen by the shame and guilt she's showing on her face. She wants to side with the Jedi; the 'good guys', but she can see your point of view as well.

She looks away again, not smiling.

You shrug at her. "Sorry. Just calling things as I see them. If I were a Jedi, then I'd use my Force powers to hunt down and destroy the Sith once and for all. They would never be a problem for me or anyone else in the galaxy ever again."

You look forward again and continue walking.

"You'd make a better Sith than a Jedi..." She says under her breath.

You stay silent for a moment. "Whatever..."

She's probably not totally wrong about that, you'll admit. Sometimes you need to do a little bad if you want to be good. The Sith take things too far, and the Jedi won't go far enough. You'd try to be right there in the middle of the two if you could use the Force.

You and Pinkie reach the end of the hallway again and you prepare to make another round.

"I'm gonna go swap out with Sunset..." She says. "I need some alone time."

You look back at her as she stands there. It doesn't look like she's feeling any better than she did when you started talking. If anything, she looks worse. Hopefully, you've enlightened her on some level and she just needs time to think things over.

"Fine." You reply.

She sighs softly and turns around, opening the door to the meeting room and stepping inside.

Now that you're thinking about it, you are kind of ending this on a bad note, Anon. You don't want any spite or animosity between you two. You still need her help to find Discord. You should probably say something else. At least try to make her feel a little better.

"I actually got to meet Maud, by the way." You say.

Pinkie stops abruptly and stands still.

A moment later, she turns around to face you again. "...No you didn't."

"She's a Jedi Master." You calmly reply. "Grey skin, turquoise eyes, violet hair, a seemingly constant lack of emotional expression?"

Pinkie's eyes begin to widen as you describe Maud to her.

She slowly stammers before replying. "Wh-When... When did you meet her?!"

"A couple weeks ago." You say. "She was on Shining Armor's Republic cruiser. The crew thought Sunset and I were Sith spies, and she convinced them that we weren't." A small smile slowly forms on Pinkie's face as you speak. "She helped us save Mandalore from getting infected with the Rakghoul plague. If it wasn't for her help, would've lost my life instead of just this. "

You lift up your robotic arm and wiggle your fingers a little. She looks at it for a moment before you put it back down. Her hopeful smile stays on her face and you think her eyes start brimming with tears.

"Wow..." She breathes. "How is she?"

"She seems to be fine. She's a bit odd, even for a Jedi, but she's doing okay." You say.

Pinkie giggles a little. "Yeah... Maud always understood the 'There is no emotion' part of the Jedi code really well..." She takes a breath and smiles even wider as she looks at you. "That means so much to me, Anon. I haven't seen or heard anything about her in years." She takes a few steps toward you and surprises you by giving you a hug. You're a bit taken back at first, but you reluctantly return the hug after a moment. "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

"You're welcome, Pinkie." You stay silent as she holds onto you.

"See? Maud helped you!" She squeezes you tighter. "The Jedi are okay!"

You roll your eyes. "My stance on the Jedi as a whole hasn't changed a bit. However, I am aware that everything has an exception. Even them."

She laughs softly and doesn't let go of you.

...

Any time now, Pinkie.

...

"Uh... Weren't you going to the upper level?" You ask awkwardly.

She giggles and squeezes you tighter. "I can't help it! Hearing about Maud made me so happy! You better get used to this, Anon! I'm a hugger!"

You groan a little through your nose. This is so uncomfortable. It's hard to believe that you were trying to kill each other just a few hours ago.

"Alright, look..." You put your hands on her shoulders and pry her off of you. "I appreciate it, but you're going to have to not do that. Especially for that long." She looks at you with a wide smile as you release her. "Let's just stay focused on the job that we're doing now, okay?"

She giggles again and quickly stands at attention while giving you a salute. "Yes sir, Mr. Boss-man sir! Thanks again!"

She spins around and gleefully walks over to the lift at the opposite end of the meeting room. You exhale and shake your head as you turn around to patrol the hallway again. She's a good girl. Weird as hell, but good nonetheless.