Bounty Hunter Anon

by Sunny Solaire

A Dangerous Addiction

Making your way to the docking bays took a lot longer than you thought. Your search for Adagio took up the majority of your attention before, so you didn't notice it. As you enter the docking bays, you head to platform 34 and spot your IW7C-1RD class fighter vessel, your pride and joy.

You step aboard and make your way to the main hold's computer, closing the ramp behind you and removing your helmet before you take out the death stick. Pressing a button on the central terminal, you insert it into the analysis chamber. It will take a couple minutes to fully analyze its chemical makeup, so you decide to review your hit list on the screen to your right.

Adagio has two other associates, each with prices on their own heads. One of them, Sonata Dusk, you already turned in for 2,500 credits about a week ago. On your way back to Coruscant, you interrogated her and she spilled everything she knew about Adagio's plans. The next one, Aria Blaze, has a 5,000 credit price on her head. Sonata knew next to nothing about her; she said she was mean and always kept to herself. You'll ask Adagio about her when you get her.

Your comms beep and Sunset's voice comes on in your ear. "You were right about those death sticks, Anon. They really do sound like bad news." She says. "I asked the bartender if he heard anything about them. He said that they had started popping up about a week ago, and they make people act weirder than normal death sticks do."

You put a finger to your earpiece. "Were there any vendors there?"

"A few." She says. "I got my hands on a couple to analyze. I'm literally walking up to the ship now."

"Good work." You hum. "How did you get a hold of them?"

"I was charming." You hear the smile on her face as she speaks.

You grin. "It's a shame I missed that. You're good at being charming."

She chuckles. "Well let me in the ship and I'll give you a little private show..."

"Oh my." You smirk. You glance at the screen on the wall to see Sunset at the base of your ship, looking up at the camera with her sideways grin and waving. Her helmet is in her hands. You press a button and lower the ramp for her. She steps aboard, holding three death sticks in her hand. You shoot your eyebrows up some. "Three of them?"

"All for free." She says as she approaches you. "They were passing them around like candy." You take them from her and hold them up to the light. "I knew death sticks were addictive, but not this addictive."

"Normally, they aren't." You reply. You take them over to the computer and insert them into the chamber. As you press the button, you get the analysis results from your first sample and look it over. "I knew it. Death sticks are made from the common ixetal plant, but this one is loaded with a powerful neurotoxin. It looks like it can deteriorate the brain and inhibit the user's ability to think rationally until eventually, they just go brain-dead after a short period of time."

Sunset rereads the results again very carefully. "If it inhibits a person's brain functions, it could probably make them very open to something like hypnosis."

You nod. "That's what I'm thinking too. Either that, or Adagio is a rogue Jedi using her mind powers and this is just a freak coincidence."

Sunset smirks. "I don't believe that."

"Neither do I." You think to yourself for a moment. "I'd like to see exactly what goes on in a person's head with these death sticks in effect. We should test it." You look at her again. "See if any lesser bounties are posted on Nar Shaddaa. Preferably those wanted dead."

She nods. "Oh, I see what you're thinking. Good idea, Anon."

She goes to the computer and starts searching the Bounty Hunter Guild's database while you head into the ship's armory to equip some possible necessities you'll need to get Adagio. With the chance of her working with, and dealing out death sticks as fast as they're going around, she'll probably have enough cash to buy guards. You grab some blaster packs, thermal detonators, your jetpack with the built-in missile launcher, and an extra fuel tank for your flamethrower.

You finish loading a few more darts into your wrist bound dartcaster when Sunset calls to you. "I've got a bunch on here. Most of them are dead or alive though."

You walk out into the main hold. "Anything in common with them?"

She shakes her head. "Not really, as far as offenses go. Lots of them are relatively low on the chain to be worth the effort... Looks like quite a few on here enjoy the pit fights and duels though... I'll send them all to your ID scanner."

You nod and don your helmet as you make your way to disembark the ship and swiftly walk back toward the docking bays. After a moment or two, a picture of a male Trandoshan with white and light-red scales pops up on your HUD.

Sunset reads his description to you over your comms. "Okay, this guy stuck out to me. It was posted by the Hutts a few hours ago. His name is Fizzle, worth 700 credits, wanted dead for extortion. It says here that he used to be one of the Hutts' best 'negotiators', using that term loosely, no doubt, when he started overstepping his boundaries and demanded more than what he was promised. He, too, likes the dueling rings and pit fights here."

"Posted by the Hutts, huh?" You look up at the murky brown planet you're currently orbiting. "Nal Hutta is right there. We could grab this guy and test our death sticks on him until he dies. Then we can find Adagio, and make our way to Coruscant and get paid."

"That's what I was thinking too." She says. "Any idea where to start looking?"

"There's a dueling arena not too far away from here." You say. "I'll try my luck there."

"Okay. I've already sent you the rest of the bounties I found." She says.

Already, your HUD indicates that your systems info has been updated. "Thanks, love."

You cut your comms and break out into a jog as you head through the building toward the arena. Once you make it out into the open, you run into the usual crowd of people you're used to on this planet. You move through them as you slowly but surely make your way to the arena.

You bump into a green Twi'lek and he starts cursing you out, but immediately stops when he actually looks at you. The T-shaped visor on a Mandalorian's helmet strikes fear into the hearts of so many. He continues on his way, saying nothing else as you continue on yours.

After a few minutes of walking, your comms beep again and Sunset starts speaking. "I just got the results back from my three death sticks, Anon. Same story as yours. They're all loaded with that neurotoxin."

"That's not good." You reply. "Hopefully this lead doesn't turn into a wild Bantha chase. If Adagio really is behind this, I'd like to try and shut her production down also."

"Isn't being the good guy going a bit out of your way?" She asks.

You scoff. "I'm only going to look into it if this lead is legitimate. If it isn't, then I guess we'll have to swear off drugs forever."

She giggles. "Shouldn't be too hard. Death sticks are disgusting... You almost there?"

You nearly bump into someone else as you continue walking. "I'm going as fast as I can, but there are a lot of people in my way. I may have to use a more..." You look up to the nearby rooftops. "...scenic approach." You grin and head over to a relatively open spot on the walkway.

"Anon, if you go using your jetpack around the arena, you'll stick out like a sore thumb." She cautions.

"Then I'll just stick to the rooftops and look from afar until I find this guy." You reply as you get to the base of a nearby building. "Why be just quick or just stealthy when you can be both quick and stealthy?"

She giggles again. "Whatever, Anon. I'll get the medical stuff prepared for our lab rat."

You shut off your comms and look up to the nearest building's rooftop. Pressing a button on your gauntlet, your jetpack rumbles for half a second before roaring to life and propelling you into the air. It takes a matter of seconds to reach the rooftop. Once you set foot on the roof, you shut off your jetpack and then jog over to the opposite edge of the building.

Looking down, you see the entrance to the arena a few buildings away. There are even more people crowded around there than there are on the walkways directly below you. Getting there will be exponentially easier with your jetpack. You activate it again and fly over to the next closest building.

As you fly, you look all around at the ecumenopolis you're in the middle of. Speeders, lights and skyscrapers cover this whole entire city, and this city covers the whole entire planet. It's no wonder why they call Nar Shaddaa "Little Coruscant".

Once you land on the upcoming building, you quickly make your way over to the edge to look down at the crowd once again. Using your ID scanner, you zoom in to do a quick sweep of the random faces in the crowd. With nearly every face you view, your scanner tells you that no bounties have been posted. One or two pop up with a bounty posted on them, but they're wanted alive. You consider going after them for a moment to bide your time, but finally, you find your Trandoshan.

"Gotcha." You whisper to yourself. You mark him as he makes his way along the walkway toward the neon-lit door to the arena.

You're about to take off toward the next building over when something else catches your attention, forcing you to double-take. Just for a second, you thought you saw a strange, bright orange spot somewhere in the crowd. You carefully sweep over the gaggle of faces again, but see nothing of immediate interest.

Then, you see the orange spot again. Its on a higher walkway, just above the crowd, inside the arena building behind some glass. It's someone's hair. A female's. You zoom in on her, but you can't see her face. She's making her way to your left, and you see that she's talking to a few armed guards.

Finally, she turns around, speaking directly to the guards while giving you a good look at her face. You quickly zoom in closer and scan her.

Your HUD lights up as it recognizes her face. ADAGIO DAZZLE: WANTED ALIVE BY SENATOR HOITY TOITY FOR A SUM OF 20,000 REPUBLIC CREDITS.

Author's Note:

Mandalorian Sunset Shimmer

Comments

[Mr Lore miser]

Question why was it necessary to test out the death sticks it it was pretty clear what they did

[Red nova]

How does anons armor look?