The wind whistles through the air above and around you as you all crouch down on a small grassy hilltop, a little ways away from the militia HQ. You use your viewfinder in your helmet's antenna to zoom in and do a bit of recon.
The building looks like it's about two stories high. It's pretty big, compared to the other buildings you saw back at the compound. Sunset is beside you, also observing the building through her helmet, but Pinkie doesn't have a helmet, so she can't see as well as you two.
"What do you guys see?" She asks.
There are two guards by the door on the eastern face of the building. Both of them are armed with simple blaster rifles. There's another door on the northern face, but no one is there. You're going to assume that there are two more on the west side, just to be safe.
"At least two guards. Maybe four." On the second floor balcony, there's a turret. It doesn't look operational though. "An inoperable turret on the balcony. But...." Nothing else noteworthy. These guys are so ill-equipped. "...That's about it. You see anything else Sunset?"
"Not really." She says. "Just like the map showed, there's a bunch of canyons and rocks on the other side of the building."
You pull up your map on your HUD once again to check. Sure enough, the canyons stretch on for a few kilometers in either direction beyond the building. You shut off your viewfinder and your antenna rotates upright again.
"If we want to find these guys, we can't let the militia see us. They'll think we're looters and go after us and probably leave their base defenseless. We can't risk it being destroyed or desecrated until we know the looters are in the canyons, so we have to be stealthy." You turn to look at Sunset and Pinkie. "The easiest way, obviously, would be to fly over the building and land on the other side."
Pinkie turns around and points to her back. "Yeah, if we all had jetpacks."
"I know..." You reply.
You don't want to risk going around on the ground. That would take too long and you could be spotted. There isn't much cover out here in this big, open field.
"What if we carried her between us and flew over?" Sunset suggests.
You look up at Sunset and Pinkie's eyes light up. "That sounds fun!"
"That sounds crazy." You say.
Sunset shrugs at you. "Well, what other options do you have for me? We're on the clock and we don't want these guys to see us, so the three of us going up and over would be the quickest way there."
Pinkie turns to you. "Come on Anon! Pleeeeeease?"
You grumble a bit. That would be the quickest option.
Truth be told, you're reluctant only because Pinkie would probably scream and whoop like an excited child. She's already sticking her bottom lip out and begging you with her hands clasped together.
You sigh and take another look at the building for a moment before turning to her. "I don't want to hear any squeals or laughing while we're up there. We're going for stealth, here. Got it?"
Her smile stretches a mile wide across her face and she jumps into the air. "YESSS! OH MY GOSH, THIS WILL BE SO MUCH FUN! I'M GONNA FLY! I'M GONNA FLY! I'M GONNA FLY!" She squeals and laughs, just like you just told her not to do, in circles around you. After about thirty seconds she looks at you and Sunset and abruptly stops. She then takes a deep breath and composes herself. "Aaaand, it's all out of my system!"
She smiles at you again, blushing a little.
"Good." You grunt.
You really hate that you need her...
Pinkie steps between you and Sunset and you all face the militia HQ.
"Alright, Pinkie, grab our hands." She grabs Sunset's right hand, and your robotic left. She squeezes you tight and Sunset continues talking. "No tricks or fancy maneuvers. We're just going up and over the building, to the ridge on the opposite side."
You take another look around at the field. You can hear and feel the wind around you. It might be a bit turbulent up there.
"Hopefully this wind won't be much of a problem once we're in the air." You say.
"If it is, we'll make adjustments." Sunset replies.
You shrug. "You're the pilot. I'll follow your lead."
Sunset nods. "Pinkie, hold on tight. If you can, also keep an eye out for any movement on the ground. Hopefully, the militia won't see or hear us up there, but if they do, let us know."
Pinkie nods happily. "Okie dokie!"
Sunset takes a deep breath. "Okay, here we go. Three. Two. One."
You and Sunset simultaneously activate your jetpacks and rise into the air. To compensate for the extra weight, you and Sunset lean out and away from Pinkie, and the three of you continue to ascend. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her look down, and she squeezes your hand tighter.
You ascend at a rate of a couple of feet per second for a while before you head toward the building. The roar of your jets is muffled a little as the wind blows at them. You're starting to have a bit of trouble keeping yourself aligned in one constant direction as you move into a stronger air current.
"Keep moving forward, but go slow!" Sunset commands.
As you get higher into the air, you also move closer to the building. From this altitude, you can see the maze of canyons stretch out for miles directly ahead. As you get directly over the building, another strong gust of wind hits from your left and you're knocked off-balance for a split second, but you quickly recover.
"Guys?" Pinkie says.
"We're alright, Pinkie! Don't worry!" You quickly reply.
"No, look! Speeder bikes!" She says.
You and Sunset both look to your left and see four speeders coming over a hilltop toward you. They're closing in fast and you're now directly over the building. If they get much closer, they'll see you. You have to move.
"Descend! Now!" Sunset shouts.
You see a good spot to land on the right hand side of the labyrinth's mouth and point to it. "There!"
The thrust of your jetpacks increase to the maximum and you all dive toward the canyon's wall. Pinkie screams a little at the sudden acceleration, but you don't stop. You keep hold of her hand as tight as your robotic hand is able to without crushing her. The oncoming speeders are dangerously close to you now. At this point, you don't care if the militia sees you.
You move through the air as fast as you can, only slowing down when you're about twenty feet from the surface. Pinkie swings her legs forward and releases you and Sunset. As soon as she lands, she rolls forward once into a crouching position. You and Sunset both deactivate your jetpacks and grunt as you land beside each other.
You look at her. "You alright?"
She nods. "Yeah I'm fine. That was too close though."
The roar of the bikes behind you gets your attention and you turn around to look back at the building. The four speeders slow down as they approach, and the three of you get down and lay on your stomachs. The two militia guards you saw before raise their rifles at them and retreat into the building.
"What do we do?" Sunset asks.
"We can't risk the looters getting away while they're in the open." You say. "Let's wait for when they come into the canyons, then we'll follow them from the air."
She looks at you. "What about Pinkie?"
"I can steal one of the bikes!" Pinkie says. "You guys can ride along and I'll follow right behind them!"
She does have the Force on her side. She could do it.
"That's a good idea." You look back at the speeders again as they rev their engines and alter their direction toward you. "This is it... Pinkie, get into a good position a bit deeper into the canyon. Get to where you know they'll pass you."
"Got it!" She gets up and runs back along the ridge.
You and Sunset wait for another few seconds before you get up and ready your rifles as the bikes close in. You both crouch down, but continue moving along the ridge line as fast as you can. The long grass you're standing on provides a bit of concealment, but not much.
The speeders' engines get much louder as they enter the canyon. You look down as the first bike zooms past you. The second and third ones follow.
"On my signal..." You say, holding your breath. "Now!"
Once the last bike is right beside you, you rise up and sprint along the ridge line, activating your jetpack. Sunset is right behind you. The two of you aim your rifles down at the bike and fire. A few shots hit the front and right side of it, making the Duros driver look around in confusion. A couple seconds later, just as he passes a section of the maze where the rocky wall sticks out a bit into the canyon, Pinkie Pie emerges from behind it, and leaps onto the bike.
The driver looks forward again as she lands in front of him, obviously shocked. In one motion, she pounces, grabs his neck, and throws him from the driver's seat into the canyon wall. You barely hear him scream before he impacts it.
Pinkie gets into the driver's seat and looks up at you two. "Come on!"
You and Sunset descend and land on either of the large frontal fins of the speeder bike and Pinkie revs the engine, accelerating forward after the remaining bikes. You try to stay as balanced in the center of the bike as best you can. This joyride needs to last.
The drivers of the three remaining bikes look back at you for a second before they round a corner to the right. Pinkie hits the brakes and follows behind them around the corner before accelerating once again. The nearest bike's driver looks back at you and fires a single blaster shot at you, which misses.
As the bikes make another left turn, Pinkie is forced to slow down more so she doesn't flip. This bike has too much weight. She can't keep up as easily. You'll need to steal another one.
"Pinkie, get as close as you can to that one!" You command. "Sunset, sit behind her!"
Sunset coordinates her movements with you to avoid rocking the bike as much as possible as you shift positions. She moves to sit behind Pinkie and you move in front of her. You hunker down and spread your arms and legs out to hold yourself face-down between the two frontal fins. Despite the bike's extra weight, the ground is moving extremely quickly directly below you. One slip of the hand and you're history.
She hits the accelerator and closes in on the next bike. The driver turns around and fires another shot, missing you again. You keep yourself as low as you can while Sunset returns fire.
He looks forward again and accelerates away from you. Pinkie stays in hot pursuit as you zigzag left and right down the canyon. She's trying her best, but you just can't get close enough to this guy. Even in this confined space, your jetpack alone won't be fast enough to keep up with him in the air.
Your missile could slow him down...
Once you reach a relatively straight pathway, you look beyond the nearest bike at the other two in front of it. The bike in the middle is a decent distance away. He's staying close behind the leader. He's far enough away that the nearest bike will have time to react and slow down once you blow it up.
Pinkie can not, and must not lose the leader, under any circumstances. You have to get to where they're going. If you get separated from the girls, that's fine. As long as one of you gets to where they're going, then you can all regroup later.
You look back at them for a moment before looking ahead again and turning on your comms. The bike is too loud for them to hear you otherwise. "Sunset, Pinkie, when I give the signal, both of you duck down! I'm going airborne and I don't want to hit you!"
Sunset replies. "What are you doing?!"
"Trust me! I'm going to slow them down!" You reply. "Pinkie, DO NOT lose the lead bike! Stay focused on the lead bike! The lead bike and nothing else! Do you understand?!"
Pinkie nods. "Lead bike! Got it!"
You watch as you quickly approach the end of the narrow canyon path. The front two bikes turn right once they reach a fork. That's your chance!
"GET DOWN!" You activate your jetpack, full power, and push off of the bike.
Your foot narrowly misses Sunset's head as you ascend, but you get clear of her and Pinkie within a second. As you quickly gain altitude, you look ahead and target the center bike as it follows the leader down the canyon. There's still a good bit of distance between him and the bike closest to Sunset and Pinkie.
Once you're locked onto the bike, you press a button on your gauntlet. The missile on your pack blasts off and screams as it flies down to its target.
You don't wait for it. You fly ahead as fast as you can after the missile.
---
"Sunset, what are we waiting for?!" Pinkie asks.
You don't answer her because you don't know, exactly. Anon didn't let you in on his idea.
You look ahead at the line of speeders as Pinkie continues to follow them. Just then, a familiar screeching comes from above. You look up into the air and see a missile flying down toward the second bike.
So that's what he was doing...
A second later, the missile impacts and a large ball of fire consumes the second bike. The nearest bike slows down hard and drifts off to the right a little.
"Pinkie, don't slow down! Move to the left!" You shout.
"Okay!" Pinkie hits the accelerator and moves past the speeder.
She starts to drive up along the steep ridge as she reaches what's left of the second bike. Once you're past the wreck, she evens out onto level ground again and closes in on the last bike. This one needs to stay alive. He's the only one who can take you where you need to go.
"Stay on him!" You say before turning on your comms and contacting Anon.
---
You watch the looter's speeder bike screech to a stop at the other bike's wreck. Pinkie drives hers to the left of it, still chasing the leader. You're only seconds behind them and moving as fast as you can through the air.
The bike starts to curve to its right and turn around. You grab your sidearm as you close in. Once the driver's head is in view, you fire. You're moving so fast that you understandably miss him, so you slow down hard and swing your legs forward to land.
As you reach the bike, you use your robotic arm to grab the lip of the frontal fin, locking yourself in place. Your sudden stop puts significant pressure on your body and you hesitate for a split-second as the g-forces work on you. When you finally recover, you get your first good look at the looter. Another Duros.
You grunt as you swing your right arm forward and smack your blaster across his blue face. "S'cuse me!" He cries out and falls to the side. You release your grip on the bike and grab his throat. "I want to drive!"
He goes flying toward the canyon wall as you throw him into it and you hijack his ride. You rev the engine and turn the speeder around, accelerating as fast as you can after Pinkie and Sunset. They're both out of view now, but you'll find them.
Sunset's voice comes in through your comms. "Anon, did you get the bike?!"
"Yeah, I've got it!" You reply. "Keep following the leader! I'll catch up with you!"
---
"Alright!" You shut off your comms and focus on the last bike. Pinkie stays in hot pursuit as he weaves through the canyon.
After a minute or two of driving, you reach a small field. It's somewhat open with only a couple trees along the bordering canyon walls. A few large boulders are scattered about in the middle of the field. On your left however, you notice a very large crater that has cut into a portion of the canyon wall, leaving only rocks and debris.
There's another large crater just ahead of you too. They look like they've been hit with meteors or large blasterfire or something. Grass and vegetation has grown in them both, so they are very old craters. Curious.
You stay focused on the lead bike as he swerves right and heads into another section of the canyon. Pinkie doesn't slow down and follows right after him. This next bit of canyon isn't as narrow as the one before, but it isn't as open either. You notice another large crater on your right.
Something is off about this place. You don't know what it is, but you're starting to feel uneasy. You feel your chest slowly tighten up as you continue onward. You almost feel nauseous. It's like your instincts are all telling you to be extra alert and cautious. You have a very bad feeling about this place.
"Sunset?" Pinkie's voice snaps you out of your thoughts.
You shake your head. "W-What?"
"I don't like the feel of this place..." She says.
So it's not just you?
"I don't either..." You reply.
Pinkie continues to tail the speeder as he drives around the rocks and through another crevice. That feeling in your gut does not stop. It doesn't deter you from your focus though, so it's not important.
When the bike rounds another bend, the path opens up into a box canyon. Craters and rocks litter the area all over. Directly ahead of you is a large, run down building. You recognize it as the old Jedi Enclave almost immediately. Off to the sides, you notice a few people walking along the perimeter of the building.
"We found them!" Pinkie hits the brakes and your bike drifts to a hard stop.
She turns the bike around and zooms back the way you came. You look back at the Enclave building to see if anyone has noticed you. No one is giving chase yet, but you're positive that they will soon.
Pinkie rounds another corner and loses their line of sight.
"Keep driving, Pinkie! I'll let Anon know!" You say.
---
You drive through the canyons, making various lefts and rights along the way. Sunset's location had showed up on your HUD. So you have an idea of which direction she's in, but this maze is confusing as hell.
Your comms beep in your ear as you make another right. "Where are you?"
"We found the Enclave building, but it's crawling with thugs." Sunset says. "We're doubling back and trying to get ourselves lost in the canyons so they can't find us."
You take another right and enter an open field. You slow to a stop and wait there as you speak to Sunset.
"How many guys are chasing you?" You ask.
"We don't know if anyone is chasing us yet, but Pinkie is trying to get us lost just in case." Sunset replies.
Coming out of another opening on the other side of the field, you see two speeder bikes emerge and turn left, moving away from you. They've got to be looking for Sunset and Pinkie, but they haven't seen you yet. Your HUD indicates that Sunset is still a good distance away, so if you keep chasing her now, you'll never find her.
"You have at least one patrol out looking for you." You inform her. "I just saw it."
"Have you been seen?" She asks.
"No I haven't." You reply. "I'm going to lay low for a minute. You two find a good place to hide and wait it out. I'd prefer to get the jump on them if we can."
"Alright, we'll keep in touch." She replies.
The two bikes drive into another section of the canyon and out of sight. You go into reverse and back into the canyon mouth you just emerged from, staying close to the wall. Once you're as concealed as you can be, you shut off the engine and take out your rifle again.
All you can do now is wait.