Bounty Hunter Anon III

by Sunny Solaire

Home Field Advantage

The hangar shakes violently as the Sith cruiser continues to fire. The lights flicker on and off and crates of supplies and other stuff topples all over the place around you. You yell and almost lose your footing, but you catch yourself. Mandalorians all around begin scrambling to ships and running every which way.

You turn to Thunderlane. "What do we do?!"

He's beside you and frantically looking around. Finally, he activates his comms. "Mandalore, I'm here with Rainbow Dash! What do you need from us?!"

Your own comms pop in your ear and Anon's voice comes on. "I need you to go get the ysalamiri, the cortosis, and everyone else! Evacuate, but not without those supplies!"

"Copy that!" Thunderlane says before turning to you. "Come on, Rainbow! You're with me!"

You follow him as he runs to the door that leads into the cruiser. Pinkie, Limestone, Maud, and Gilda are there, along with a few other Mandalorians. Tempest and her troopers are sprinting to their ships already.

On your comms, Anon continues talking to everyone. "Pinkie, Maud, all of you get into the cruiser and help! Bulk, Coco, lead everyone to the hangar with as much as you can carry!"

Pinkie sees you approaching and starts running with you to the cruiser with Maud, Limestone, and Gilda. The six of you all head into the cruiser and make your way to the armory.

Applejack comes on the comms as well. "Where do you want me 'n Big Mac, Anon?!"

"Get to my ship and get it ready for the cargo! We need to leave immediately!"

Lyra also comes on the comms. "Bon Bon and I will help too, Mandalore!"

You didn't see Applejack in the hangar, but hopefully she's nearby.

Limestone starts speaking on her comms too. "Anonymous, if those Sith are here, I can steal Sombra's navigational data from their computers! I just need to get aboard!"

"One thing at a time, Limestone! Without those supplies and ysalamiri, our edge won't be as sharp!" Anon replies. "Help with what you can, then get us that data!"

"Sure thing, Anon!" Gilda says.

You glance over at them for a moment as you run, but say nothing. You don't trust her or Limestone, but you do trust Anon though. He is Mandalore now, after all. You'll go along with this.

You continue running through the halls. Thunderlane knows the cruiser better than anyone else here, so he's leading the way. He makes a few rights and lefts as he navigates the hallways and pretty soon, you're at the armory again. Bulk Biceps and Coco are there with Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy. They're loading supplies and crates onto a pallet droid as fast as they can. The girls are able to move only one at a time between the three of them, while Bulk is managing to load two at once by himself.

You quickly head to them and help them lift the crate they're working on. They look panicked, unsurprisingly.

The five of you set the crate down onto the pallet droid and go to grab another one. With all of you helping, it doesn't take long to move all the crates onto the droid.

The Pie sisters look nauseous as they set a crate of ysalamiri down. Limestone, especially. She's holding her head and groaning. "Ugh... Get me away from these things..."

You smirk under your helmet as she struggles against the Force-dampening effects from the lizards. That'll be a huge advantage against the Sith.

Once the last of the crates are secured, Gilda heads to the exit. "The precious cargo is secure, Anon. Me and Limestone will get those codes."

Limestone nods and they both take off running away from you all.

"Be careful, Limestone!" Pinkie shouts.

Limestone seems to ignore her as she sprints back to the hangar with Gilda.

Thunderlane assumes the lead again and addresses you all. "Alright, let's get back to the hangar! Quickly!"

You nod and Bulk presses a button on his gauntlet. The pallet droid beeps and slowly begins to hover forward, obviously under strain from the weight of the cargo. It takes a few moments, but it eventually speeds up to a light jogging pace and you're on the move once again.

Beside you, Maud and Pinkie are both struggling to stay focused. They look like they have a really bad headache. Being this close to the ysalamiri must be hard for them.

"Coco, go on ahead with the girls! Get them to my ship!" You say. "I'll stay behind with Bulk and Thunderlane!"

Coco nods and takes the lead. Pinkie moans a sigh of relief as she's able to get away from the ysalamiri, and the five of them head down the hallway, leaving you behind with the two guys.

"Good idea, Rainbow." Thunderlane says.

"Thanks. I can only imagine how much it must suck to try and use the Force while being around these things." You say, pointing to the crate of lizards.

Thunderlane chuckles and the three of you continue down the corridor.

---

The hallway shakes again and the lights flicker on and off. A few pieces of metal fall from the ceiling and onto the ground around you, but you keep running. Coco is leading the way back to the hangar.

The six of you continue through the hallways, making lefts and rights as needed. Once you are further away, you start to finally feel normal again. Those ysalamiri are no joke.

Suddenly, the hallway shakes again, much more violently this time. Rarity and Fluttershy yell and fall over, but Twilight catches herself. You and Maud quickly help them to their feet while Coco gets on her comms.

"What was that?!" She shouts.

Anon comes on the comms. "The Sith Star Destroyers are concentrating all their firepower on this cruiser! They are hitting us with everything they've got!"

Fluttershy is in hysterics. "W-We've got to get out of here!"

As she starts crying, Maud takes her hand and you all continue down the hallway. The lights continue flickering on and off and everything still shakes and trembles pretty regularly.

Twilight looks over at you for a moment before looking forward again as you all run. "The Sith have to know that they won't survive this attack! They are in the middle of Mandalorian territory, surrounded by numberless cruisers, and they are only focusing on us! It's only a matter of time before the remaining Mandalorians destroy them! They have to know that!"

"They're gonna take us out too, Twilight!" You say.

"They'll try..." Coco growls.

You all stop talking as you finally reach the hangar. A few other Mandalorians are running around and getting to their own ships. Many of the lights have deactivated in here. Outside, beyond the energy barrier, you can see two of the three Star Destroyers attacking the Kandosii. Anon wasn't kidding, they are unloading every ounce of firepower they have at you. A couple of smaller Mandalorian corvettes are retaliating, but the Sith aren't paying any attention to them.

Gilda's ship is gone. She must be on her way there now to steal that navigational data with Limestone. Hopefully they'll be okay.

The six of you head to the Sonic Rainboom. It's the fastest ship here, and it has a stealth drive. Hopefully, Rainbow doesn't take too long. You'd really like to leave now.

The ground shakes again as you reach the exit ramp. "Rainbow, we're here! Are you guys close?!"

Rainbow comes on her comms a second later. "Not as close as I want us to be, Pinkie! Leave without us! We'll go on Anon's ship!"

You're about to reply when Anon comes on your comms as well. "She's right, Pinkie! Go! Don't worry about us, we'll be fine! Get Rarity, Twilight and everyone else out of here!"

You're worried, but you nod and board the ship with everyone else. "Okay!"

As you proceed to the cockpit, Rainbow adds one more thing. "Not a single scratch on her, Pinkie! Not one!"

"Don't worry, Dashie!" You reply. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

She cuts her comms with you and you sit down in the pilot's seat. You're not the ace pilot that Rainbow, Sunset, and even Anon are, but you know how to fly.

Maybe.

This is a Chiss ship. It doesn't have the standard layout that most other ships have. The Chiss Ascendancy isn't part of the Republic, they hang out in the Unknown Regions and do their own thing. It isn't really a surprise that they do things differently.

Twilight sits down beside you. "Pinkie, do you know how to fly this ship?"

"Uh, I hope so!" You reply.

You grab the controls and push what looks like the ignition button. Lucky guess, the ship whirs to life. Good so far.

You feel your way around the controls until you manage to activate the engines and hover off the ground. After a few moments, you fly out of the hangar and out into space. Twilight finds and activates the ship's stealth drive and you fly away from the Kandosii.

"Coco, where is Tempest's cruiser?!" You ask loudly.

She walks into the cockpit a second later and points to one of the large, dark violet cruisers in front of you. It's making its way towards the Sith Star Destroyers with a number of smaller cruisers in tow.

"That one." She says.

You nod and accelerate towards her fleet.

---

The ground trembles violently as you try to open the blast door. It's jammed shut and won't get loose. You and Anon are both trying as hard as you can to pry it open, but it isn't working. Even with his robotic arm.

After a few seconds of trying, he exhales loudly and releases the door. "It's not working!"

You look around frantically for another way out. If you had more time, you'd try cutting your way through with your cutting torch on your gauntlet, but blast doors are thick. You'd be here for too long. You need another way out of here.

"Let's try doubling back and finding a different way around!" You say.

Anon nods and grabs your hand before the two of you run deeper into the cruiser. Maybe you can find a maintenance hallway or something.

Another violent tremor and everything goes dark for a few seconds. The lights flicker on after a while, and you two keep running. The Sith aren't holding back. Even if Tempest's fleet manages to destroy them in the next few minutes, you are pretty sure this cruiser is doomed either way.

"There!" Anon points to a small doorway off to the side and you both head towards it. He opens it and ushers you inside before he follows you.

Maintenance hallways are always so cramped and claustrophobic, but you ignore your discomfort and press on. You'd rather be uncomfortable than dead. This should hopefully lead to another hallway that doesn't have a dead end.

As you proceed, your comms flick in your ear and Rainbow starts talking. "Anon, Sunset, we just got to your ship! We're moving everything on board now!"

"Good work! We're almost there now!" Anon replies.

Another violent tremor and the cruiser begins to creak and groan as it takes more damage. You hear an explosion behind you somewhere. It might be a hull breach.

"Hurry!" You say.

The two of you squeeze through the maintenance hallway further until you reach the end. The door panel swings open and you're both out in another regular hallway. The hangar should just be to your right.

You both run down the hallway again, side-by-side. After a right and a left, you reach the hangar. Rainbow's ship is gone, along with most other ships, which means so is Pinkie. By your ship, you see Bulk Biceps holding the last two crates of supplies and carrying them aboard.

"Go, hurry!" Anon says. "Start the engines! I'm right behind you!"

You nod and take off running towards your ship, but you stop after a few seconds. You're getting one of those gut feelings again, and it isn't a good one. Something bad is about to happen.

You turn around and Anon steps away from the door. He might be checking to see if everyone else is gone. As he turns and runs to you, a huge crash echoes all over the hangar. The floor shakes wildly and it's enough to make you both lose your footing. You fall to the ground, as well as Anon as the tremor continues for a second.

Up above, a support beam shakes loose and begins falling to the ground. Your eyes open wide as it falls, and your heart stops.

"No..."

You watch in horror as the beam collapses directly above Anon. He looks up and shields himself as he awaits the inevitable, and the beam falls towards him.

"ANON!"

Instinctively, you get up and hold out your hands.

---

This is it. You're about to die.

As the beam comes crashing down towards you, you shut your eyes as you anticipate it to crush you like a bug. There's nothing you can do.

Then... Nothing happens. You're not crushed, you're not in pain, nothing.

Cautiously, you open your eyes and look up at the ceiling. The beam is... floating. Suspended about ten feet in the air directly above you. You're still very much alive, but somehow, gravity itself has seemingly stopped working.

From your left, you hear the sounds of grunting. You turn to see Sunset standing there with her arms outstretched towards you and she's visibly under strain. Her teeth are gritted and it looks like she's holding a literal ton of weight on her back. Your eyes widen in shock as you realize what's happening: she's using the Force to stop the beam from falling.

"Sunset..."

"Get... out of... there..." She whimpers.

You quickly come to your senses and scramble out from under the suspended beam as fast as you can. You crawl towards Sunset as she continues to strain under the weight. It's a large beam. It can't be light, even with the Force on her side. She shuts her eyes and grunts louder as her legs start shaking. Her nose starts bleeding under the pressure.

Finally, you're out from under the beam and she exhales violently as she drops her arms. The beam crashes to the ground loudly behind you directly where you were. You get to your feet as Sunset collapses to the ground as well.

"Sunset!" You quickly run over to her and turn her over onto her back. She's passed out.

As you cradle her head in your arms, another explosion from your right goes off and you instinctively shield her from any harm.

From your left, Lyra gets your attention. "Mandalore, come on!" You look over at her as she stands at the base of your ship with Bon Bon.

You gather Sunset in your arms and hold her as you run to the exit ramp. Her arm hangs limp as you carry her over. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she was dead. You know she's not though. She can't be dead. She just can't be...

"Please don't be dead, Sunset..."

As you run into the ship, Lyra runs with you and Bon Bon contacts Rainbow and Thunderlane in the cockpit. "Take off! Now!"

The engine roars as the ship ascends off the hangar floor. More explosions happen behind you and the ramp closes. Lyra and Bon Bon both escort you to the cargo hold as you carry Sunset.

You're on the verge of panicking right now. She's completely unresponsive. You're not even concerned about the fact that she just used the Force to save your life, as absolutely incredible as that is. Never in a million years did you ever even imagine that she would be able to do such a thing.

You set her down on the cot and the cargo hold and elevate her head slightly. The ship rumbles beneath your feet as Rainbow and Thunderlane gun the engines. Lyra is still in the room with you, ready to help however she can.

"Where are we going, Mandalore?"

You don't even look at her. You're focused entirely on Sunset and her well-being.

"Get us to Tempest's cruiser. We'll regroup there and plan for our counterattack."

She nods. "You've got it."

She exits the cargo hold and leaves you alone with Sunset. You stroke her hair as she continues to breathe softly. She is definitely still alive, thank goodness. Her use of the Force just drained any and all energy she had left from her.

If she hadn't, you'd be dead right now. That beam would have crushed you.

"Thank you, Sunset."

You sit there and continue to stroke her hair, thanking the Force and anything else out there that she is here.

---

You hit the throttle and fly out of the Kandosii's hangar bay as fast as you can. Thunderlane is in the co-pilot's seat to your right.

"Hang on."

You make it into space alongside a few other Mandalorian ships, all in the process of escaping the cruiser as well. The Sith Star Destroyers are directly ahead and the rest of the fleet is engaging them. Twilight is right, there is no way they'll win in the heart of Mandalorian territory. If anything, this was a way to try and slow you down.

Lyra quickly comes into the cockpit. "Rainbow! Mandalore says to head to Tempest's cruiser!"

You nod and turn your attention back to piloting the ship.

"Where is Mandalore now?" Thunderlane asks.

"He's in the cargo hold tending to Sunset. She's unconscious." Lyra says.

What?!

"What happened to her?!" You demand.

Lyra shakes her head. "I don't know!"

You're about to ask more questions when the ship jolts to the side slightly. You need to focus.

The Star Destroyers are finally paying attention to the rest of the fleet, and have scrambled a few starfighter squadrons to fight back. Mandalorian and Sith ships are engaged in dogfights with each other all over the place. You'll need to maneuver your way through them if you want to reach Tempest's cruiser. With a VIP and precious cargo, you're in no place to fight back right now.

"Okay. Lyra, you and Bon Bon be on the lookout for any quick repairs you may need to make. I have Applejack and Big Mac on the turrets, so they'll keep any Sith off our tail. Thunderlane, you stay here and help me out. Try to contact any more ships and get them here to give us additional cover."

Lyra nods and heads into the ship again. Thunderlane starts scanning for an accurate number on the ships flying around. It might be a bit of a challenge though. There are tons of them out here.

You get grazed by a stray blaster bolt, but the shields absorb it. If only you were in your ship now instead of Anon's. Hopefully, Pinkie isn't going too crazy with it...

---

You fly around the Mandalorian cruisers and corvettes wildly. Not on purpose, you're just having a hard time controlling Rainbow's ship. Plus, the Sith are finally trying to fight back against the Mandalorians, and it's hectic out here.

On your scanner, you see that the Kandosii is falling apart. Explosions are happening all over the hull, and parts of the ship are actually falling off. It's only a matter of time before it's gone completely.

A few other Mandalorian warships are converging on the Star Destroyers from all sides. They outnumber the Sith five to one.

Then, the Force warns you that something bad is about to happen. Something very bad.

Maud probably sensed it too. She's behind you right now and sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and her eyes closed tight. It looks like she's using Battle Meditation.

Your comms activate in your ear and Limestone comes on. "Anonymous, we have a problem!"

Anon's voice comes on next. "What?! Did you get the data?!"

"I have it, but you need to direct the fleet away from the Star Destroyers! Now!"

Beside you, Spike appears on Twilight's bracelet. "Radiation!"

Your eyes widen in shock. The Sith have nukes?!

Limestone continues. "They are overloading the Destroyer's fusion reactors! This attack was a suicide mission!"

Spike speaks up again. "The radiation level is increasing!"

You do everything you can not to panic. Tempest's cruiser is directly ahead. You can see the hangar bay. You're almost there.

---

"All Mandalorian forces pull back! I repeat, pull back! Get away from the Sith immediately!" From behind, Anon frantically enters the cockpit. "Rainbow, give the engines everything we've got!"

You nod and gun the throttle, moving towards Tempest's cruiser as fast as you can. Your comms are going crazy with orders from Mandalorians in charge of their own respective ships, but you stay focused on making it out of here alive. You heard everything Limestone said. The Sith are going to blow up their own ships and try to take you out in the process. A blast like theirs would wipe out many of the cruisers in their immediate area.

The entire ships creaks and shakes as you continue to accelerate toward Tempest's cruiser. Anon grips your seat for support as he continues barking orders.

"Anon, we're aboard the cruiser!" Pinkie shouts on your comms.

"We're almost there!" He replies. "All cruisers, divert power to the shields and engines! Get away from here now!"

Just then, a massive flash of light illuminates everything around you. It's coming from behind the ship. The Sith Destroyers have exploded.

"Tempest, lock down the cruiser!" He shouts.

The cruiser is directly in front of you. You don't bother slowing down much as you enter the hangar bay. As soon as you're inside, you drop the landing gear and kill the engines. The ship falls to the ground and slides along the floor, making everyone around you lose balance. The horrible sound of metal-on-metal scrapes in your ears as you slide towards the hangar wall.

You and Thunderlane grip the controls tight and grit your teeth. Then, the entire ship slips on one side and impacts the ground hard. Anon nearly falls over. The controls blast warning lights that the landing gear has fallen off. It's a devastating blow, but it does manage to slow you down a lot faster. The ship comes to a full rest a few seconds later.

You breathe hard and release the controls. Alarms and warning lights are flashing everywhere on the console in front of you as the ship informs you of the damage it has sustained. Thunderlane takes a deep breath and releases his controls as well.

Behind you, Anon, stands up as straight as he can. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah..." Thunderlane replies. You don't say anything, but you give him a thumbs up to let him know you are fine as well.

"Good... Come on." He turns around and heads into the ship. "We need a medical unit here right away... Is everyone alright? Did everyone make it to safety? Gilda, do you have those codes?"

Gilda comes on a moment later. "We've got them, Anon. As soon as we were clear, we jumped to lightspeed to avoid the explosion. We'll make our way back now."

Before he can reply, Tempest comes on. "Mandalore, we're tracking many losses. Not everyone made it away in time."

"How many lives did we lose?"

"We're figuring it out now. There should be someone down there to help you within a minute."

Anon sighs and pauses for a long time before replying. "Thanks, Tempest. I'll meet up with you when I can."

He cuts his comms and leans up against the lopsided wall for a moment before kicking it and continuing into the ship.

You shake your head and sigh as well. "This isn't good..." Thunderlane looks over at you for a moment before you undo your seatbelt and stand up. "Let's go see if they need help."

He nods and stands up as well. "Sure thing, Rainbow."

The two of you follow Anon into the ship. Outside, it looks like a few Mandalorians from Tempest's command have finally reached you and are trying to help you all escape. In the main hold, the crash had tipped over most of the crates of supplies. Lyra and Bon Bon had managed to secure most of the ysalamiri, but nearly all of the cortosis had spilled out on the floor. Applejack, Big Mac, and Bulk Biceps have all entered the main hold. The Apples look shaken, but they seem to be doing okay.

Anon comes out of the cargo hold with Sunset in his arms. She is out cold. If you had to guess, you'd say that she was dead. It is not a good sight to see. Anon is visibly worried, understandably. He's breathing audibly and shifting back and forth.

"Anon, what happened? Is she okay?"

He looks at you for a moment before turning around. He doesn't answer you.

You frown and follow him to the exit ramp. It isn't lowered, thanks to all the damage to the ship, but you can hear clanging and commotion from outside as the rescue team attempts to free you all. After a few seconds, you hear creaking until the ramp slams open, making a loud bang that makes you jump a little bit. The rescue team used a prying machine or something to get it open.

As soon as it's open, Anon practically runs down it. You follow right behind him with Thunderlane and Applejack. You're met by a team of Mandalorians you've never seen before and Tempest.

She runs up to Anon and looks at Sunset for a moment. "We'll take her to the medical bay. Quickly!"

Tempest leads Anon into the cruiser and leaves the rest of you behind. You want to go after them, but you should probably stay here for a bit and get things sorted out first. With Anon occupied, you assume that either Bulk Biceps or Thunderlane is in charge right now.

"Rainbow, did you see what happened to her?" Applejack asks.

You look at her and shake your head. "No. She was like that when she got aboard. I have no idea what's going on." You look back at Anon as he leaves your sight and heads deeper into the cruiser. "I hope she's okay..."

Author's Note:

My apologies for being absent for so long. Real life stuff has had me occupied to the point that I have had a hard time finding motivation to actually sit down and write again. But I'm going to make time for it more in the immediate future.
Thank you for continuing to read.

Comments

[Toilet Sprinkle]

Glad to see this back! Take all the time you need dood, real life always comes first.