//------------------------------//
// Out of the Frying Pan... 
// Story: Bounty Hunter Anon II 
// by Sunny Solaire 
//------------------------------//

"Rainbow Dash, huh?" You look the bounty hunter up and down for a moment. "You must be new to the business."

You turn towards the cockpit and she scoffs. "Why, because you've never heard of me?"

You growl a little. "No, because you're reckless and shortsighted. You could've gotten yourself killed or worse."

You open the door to the cockpit and step inside to be greeted by Sunset. She stands up and hugs you tightly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Force you're alright." She exhales.

You smile and hug her back. "Of course I am, Sunset... No thanks to this one." You motion towards Rainbow Dash and Sunset glares at her. "She got in my way, created a huge mess, and didn't even have an escape plan."

Sunset scoffs and curls her lip at Rainbow. "Damn rookies..."

She turns away from you and takes to the ship's controls. "We have to leave in a hurry. The Republic is on their way here, and we're on their hit list now."

You follow her and sit down beside her in the co-pilot's seat. "What are you talking about?"

Sunset presses a few buttons and locks in the coordinates to Kessel before blasting the ship off to hyperspace. "While you were in there, Rarity contacted us with some bad news. Follow me."

The two of you stand up and she leads you into the main hold. Rainbow tails behind you.

"Uh, hello? Aren't you going to introduce me?" She asks.

You growl under your breath. "Sunset, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Sunset. I'm Anon."

"Charmed..." Sunset says unenthusiastically.

Rainbow sulks a little at the hostility that was apparent in your voices, but says nothing else.

"Where's Pinkie?" You ask.

Sunset is about to answer when Pinkie pokes her head in front of yours from out of nowhere. "I'm right here, Anon!"

You're almost taken back, but you're ashamed to admit that you've kind of gotten used to her and her antics.

Sunset begins pressing buttons on the central console in the main hold and Pinkie goes up to Rainbow Dash, her hand extended. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Rainbow pauses for a moment before smiling and taking Pinkie's hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you."

Pinkie smiles widely and shakes her hand for a moment longer.

Good. Pinkie has a new friend. Maybe she'll give you and Sunset a bit more alone time.

Sunset gets your attention. "Okay, now that introductions are all out of the way, Anon, you have to see this."

You go to Sunset and watch the holographic display on the central computer play a story on HoloNet News. Images from Coruscant appear of recovery efforts around the ruins of Hoity Toity's apartment building.

"...more on the story of the Coruscant bombings that occurred yesterday. The Republic has stated that they received a tip from an unnamed source that they knew who the ones behind this attack were, leaving at least 50 people dead or injured. Among those dead was the Republic Senator Hoity Toity; seemingly the primary target of these attacks."

Hoity Toity's picture comes onscreen before cutting to a Republic official standing on a stage in front of a group of people. "We have received unconfirmed reports that the Mandalorian bounty hunters Anonymous and Sunset Shimmer were behind these attacks. We have also heard that the pazaak player Pinkamena Diane Pie also played a hand in this assassination. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but as of now, they are all persons of interest. We are currently searching for them so we can bring them in for questioning."

The screen cuts away and, to your horror, changes to a picture of you, Sunset, and Pinkie.

"No..." You breathe.

The news reporter continues. "HNN sources say that these bounty hunters have some experience in assisting the Republic in the past. Namely, with Captain Shining Armor and Senator Octavia Melody of Naboo. They helped save Captain Shining Armor's little sister's life, and also saved Senator Melody's life as well. The Senator had a comment on these rumors."

The hologram changes to an interview with Octavia. She still has a few scratches and bruises on her face, but she seems to be recovering pretty well.

"...I don't want to believe that Anonymous did this. He saved my life and I'm very grateful that he did. But, as much as it pains me to say it, if he is the one behind these attacks, then he must be brought to justice. This is something I simply cannot condone. Not in my Republic."

You sigh and rub your neck.

She's a good girl.

Her voice goes silent on the interview and the news anchor talks over her footage. "Senator Melody had worked with Anonymous and Sunset Shimmer previously on Dantooine, where an attempt was made on her life. She, along with many other witnesses say that the two Mandalorians not only tried to prevent it from happening, but also helped pull her and a few others out from beneath the burning rubble."

Well, at least you got a little positive coverage...

The screen cuts to a feed of the news anchor, an elegantly-dressed female human, talking to the camera. "The Republic has asked that if you have seen or heard anything that may help bring these bounty hunters in for questioning, to let them know. A reward has been posted for any helpful information on them."

Sunset pauses the feed and looks back at you. Pinkie is dead silent. She must've not seen the news story when Rarity first contacted Sunset.

You take another deep breath and remove your helmet, pinching your eyebrows together and rubbing them softly.

"Is that the typical Fake News you usually see on HNN, or did you guys really do that?" Rainbow asks.

You don't look at Rainbow, but you don't ignore her either. "No... That particular story was true..."

There's an uncomfortable pause for a moment.

"I wonder how much that reward is..." Rainbow says softly.

At that, Sunset draws her blaster and points it directly at the Chiss. You make no attempt to stop her.

Rainbow backs up a little, her hands raised. "W-Woah! Wait!"

"Stand down, Sunset. She's not that stupid." You say calmly.

Pinkie pulls out a pair of unfamiliar blaster pistols. "Especially since I disarmed her!"

Rainbow looks at Pinkie, a bit confused before reaching to her empty holsters. "What the-" She looks around her body for a second before looking back at the Zeltron. "Hey!"

You, Sunset and Pinkie all laugh a little, Sunset never dropping her aim.

"Good work, Pinkie." You say with a smile.

Rainbow looks around at the three of you. "I-I was just thinking out loud! I wasn't going to try anything, I swear!"

Sunset chuckles. "Damn right you weren't."

She puts down her blaster and Rainbow exhales. "Thank you..."

"Don't thank us yet, Dash." You snap. "You're still in the woods. Once we collect Ahuizotl's bounty and split the profit four ways, you're out of here."

She looks at you, surprised and a bit angry. "Four?!"

"Yes." You walk toward her, aggressively. "There was one, two, three, four of us involved in Ahuizotl's breakout and our escape." You point to all four people in the ship as you count.

Rainbow holds out her hands, exasperated. "That's not fair! I did most of the work!"

You point a finger at her. "You're not getting paid for the quantity of your work, you're getting paid for the quality, which was sloppy as hell, at best. If you don't like it, we can just kill you right now and save you the trouble."

Sunset raises her blaster at Rainbow's head once again, making her visibly agitated.

Rainbow growls and kicks a wall before sitting down on a chair and crossing her arms, pouting. "Fine..."

"Good girl." You say.

Sunset lowers her blaster again.

An alarm comes on in the cockpit a second later.

"We must be getting close to Kessel." Sunset says.

Sunset walks into the cockpit, leaving you and Pinkie with Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie's smile fades and she gives you a serious look. "Anon, what are we going to do, now that the Republic is after us?"

You shake your head and look at her. "I don't know, Pinkie. Best we can do is just lie low until this heat passes. In the meantime, we'll try to come up with a plan."

The ship's hyperdrive whirrs down and you feel yourself drop out of hyperspace.

"Anon! Get up here! Now!" Sunset shouts.

You look towards the cockpit. She sounded worried.

You quickly head up to the cockpit and look out the viewport. There's Kessel, all right. It's surrounded by a small Republic fleet. Three Hammerhead-Class Republic cruisers. You recognize the one in the center as Shining Armor's.

"Stealth mode. Now." You command.

Sunset shakes her head. "They already know we're here, Anon. They were waiting for us."

"What?!"

Impossible...