Bounty Hunter Anon III

by Sunny Solaire

Lick Our Wounds

You watch from the opposite side of the glass as the Mandalorian doctors and nurses work on Sunset. It's been nearly ten hours since the attack, and she hasn't woken up once. They said that she's alive, but she's basically comatose. Whatever stress using the Force put on her body was clearly too much.

It has been well over thirty hours since you slept. You are absolutely exhausted, but you cannot bring yourself to relax. Not while she sleeps. You need to talk to her again first. You need to know for sure that she's okay.

The image of Sunset, your Sunset, using the Force to prevent that beam from crushing you has been on repeat in your mind over and over again ever since you arrived. If she was awake, you would be freaking out with her right now. But she's not awake, and as a result, you are absolutely overwhelmed with emotions, and not a single one of them is good.

You sigh and rub your face with your hand. You can't focus on leading your people with Sunset being the way she is. Tempest has been running numbers on your losses, and Bulk has been setting up shop in the armory. Twilight and Fluttershy have been tending to the ysalamiri, but you have been here the whole time. You know you need to focus on the bigger matter at hand, but you just can't bring yourself to leave Sunset.

"How is she?"

You perk up and look to your left. Maud Pie is standing at the end of the hallway and looking at you with those same, boring eyes she always has on.

You look at her for a moment before returning your gaze back to Sunset. "She's alive... Unconscious, but alive."

You set your hands on the railing and take another shaky breath. Maud joins your side a moment later to watch the Mandalorian doctors work.

"Did something fall on her? Was she hurt?"

You shake your head. "No. She used the Force to save my life."

Maud looks over at you. "The Force? Are you certain?"

You nod, not looking at her. "Pretty damn certain, yeah. I was about to be crushed by a falling beam back in the hangar, and she stopped it."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, but returns her gaze to Sunset. "She will be alright."

You believe her, but you are not feeling any better. Your mind is still reeling with questions.

"How did this happen, Master Jedi?" Maud looks at you again and you look back at her. "How did she do that?"

"Sunset is Force-sensitive. She was born with the capability to call upon the Force. It's in her blood." Maud says.

You sigh. "Yes, I know she's Force-sensitive. I know that very well. But she has never had any training, experience, or even desire to learn how to use it before. This is literally the first time she's ever done anything like this." You gulp once and calm yourself down. You're starting to yell a little bit. "I want to know how."

Maud takes a deep breath and sets her hand on your shoulder. "I understand your worries, Anonymous. For Mandalorians especially, I am not surprised that this experience may be a bit unusual."

You glance at her hand for a moment as she speaks. She releases your shoulder after a second and closes her eyes, like she's deep in thought.

"Honestly, I do not know. It is not unusual for untrained Force-sensitive younglings and children to manifest the Force in times of extreme stress, but I personally have never seen it with an adult." She pauses for another moment. "This was a stressful moment for us."

You nod. "True, but it couldn't have been the ship being destroyed. We're Mandalorians. Stuff blows up around us all the time. I can't possibly imagine it being that."

Maud looks off to the side for a moment as she thinks some more. "Well, it may not have been the stress of the cruiser's destruction that did it, but the Force does react to a person's emotions."

"Emotions..."

You think for a moment about what she could have possibly been feeling. You were almost crushed. Your life was in serious danger, but that was hardly the first time that's happened. What was different about this time?

Then it hits you.

You relax and look back at Sunset in the operating room. Her beautiful red and yellow hair drapes over her face, and her eyes are closed. She looks so peaceful, even under these circumstances.

"Do you know what she was feeling?" Maud asks.

"Yeah, I think I do." You nod softly and smile. "It was love... I had just asked her to marry me, and she said yes... The fear of me dying must have triggered it."

Maud smiles a little as well and looks at Sunset again. "Congratulations, Anonymous."

"Thank you."

The two of you continue to watch Sunset in silence together. Your fears and anxieties have been replaced by gratitude and hope. Because of your love for each other, she was able to call on the Force and save you. Even if she didn't know she would do it, it happened.

"You should get some rest, Anonymous. We need your leadership for how we plan to stop the Sith."

You look at her as she speaks. Her suggestion sounds very tempting right now. You don't know how you're still awake after all that you've been through.

"Will you stay and wait for her to wake up? Please?" You ask. "She'll probably have questions about what happened back there, and you'll be able to explain it to her better than anyone."

She nods. "Of course I will."

"Thank you..." You smile a little and turn back to look at Sunset one more time. "I'll see you soon, love."

With that, you turn and trudge down the hallway towards the dormitories. You knew you were tired before, but now that you've left Sunset in Maud's capable hands, it really hits you. Hopefully, you don't pass out and collapse here in the hallway.

---

You mumble softly as your eyes slowly begin to open. The first thing you see is a blinding light that makes you close them again. Where are you?

You have a bit of a headache, but you try hard to remember what happened. There was an explosion... Lots of running around... Anon was there, but he was in danger. You all were. You remember following him into the hangar, and then something happened. Something bad.

Wait... Anon got crushed!

"Anon!"

Your eyes shoot open and you sit up as fast as you can, only to feel a sharp pain in your head that makes you cry out for a moment and lay back down. You squeeze your head and breathe hard as you look around the room you're in. It's a medical bay or something. You've never been here before. What happened? Where is he?

"Easy, Sunset. Easy."

A voice from the side gets your attention. Maud Pie quickly comes to you and places a hand on your shoulder, urging you to relax.

Before she says another word, you grab her wrist and look at her, pleading with your eyes. "Where is Anon? Is he okay? Is he hurt?"

Maud shushes you softly and nods. "Yes, Sunset. He is alright. He is alive and well. Don't worry."

You breathe a sigh of relief out and go limp onto the pillow again. Those words are like music to your ears. You close your eyes before covering them with your hand and take a few deep breaths. The beam falling on top of Anon is the last thing you remember.

"How long was I out?"

"About twenty hours." Maud says. "We've regrouped and are coming up with a plan."

You open your eyes again and look at the Jedi. "Is... Is Anon here? Is he in one of the other beds? Can I see him?"

Maud shakes her head. "He is not. He is discussing some business with Tempest Shadow and the others. He is unharmed."

That doesn't make sense. He was crushed. You saw it. How is he unharmed?

She must've sensed your confusion, because she continues talking. "You saved his life, Sunset. You used the Force to stop him from being hurt."

Your eyes widen for a moment as you think back to the hangar. The beam fell, you screamed, and then...

"I... I did?"

Maud nods again. "You did. According to him, it's the first time you've ever done anything like that before."

He's right. You've never used the Force before. Not like that, at least. You remember being on Myrkr and trying to use it on some rocks when Fluttershy found you, but you weren't successful.

You pause for a moment before speaking. "I felt weird on Myrkr. When we were getting the ysalamiri, I felt... woozy. Kind of sick, almost. I'd never felt that before. When we weren't around them, I felt like I knew everything that was going to happen... I even killed a few vornskr that tried to attack us without even thinking. It was like it was instinct... I... I don't know... I can't explain it."

"You were sensing the Force, Sunset." She says.

You sigh softly. "That's what I figured. But why there? Why then?"

"The Force is generated through all living things. From the largest rancor to the smallest single-celled organism. Myrkr is a wild planet that is teeming with life, so it is only natural that the Force is strong there." Maud says. "In addition, both ysalamiri and vornskr have the unique ability to sense the Force as well. As you know, ysalamiri have evolved over time to produce a Force-dampening bubble around themselves to hide from the vornskr. Vornskr use the Force to track and hunt their prey. They must have sensed your connection to the Force, which is why they attacked you. However, as you noticed, the Force helped you as well."

You hum softly. That makes sense, you suppose. It sounds good enough to believe, if anything. You still feel a bit out of it right now.

She continues. "Regardless, it is good that you were able to call upon the Force when you did. Otherwise, Anonymous would not be here now."

"Yeah..." You smile somewhat as you lay on the pillow again. "He keeps track of how often I've saved his life, you know. I bet he's not going to be happy about me doing it again."

Maud exhales a soft chuckle and sets a hand on your shoulder. "Get some more rest. You need it."

You smile again. "Thank you, Master Jedi."

She nods back at you. "I'll let him know you are okay."

You thank her again and take another deep breath as she walks away. You close your eyes and cry a few happy tears of gratitude that Anon is okay. You don't know what you would have done if he had died back there.

He says he keeps track of how many times you've saved him, and he acts frustrated about it, sure, but you know it's all in jest. He's saved you more times than you can count too.

You take care of each other. That's how it's supposed to work. Now that he's Mandalore, he's going to need extra support. You intend to give him as much as you possibly can, because you know he is going to do the same for you.

As you drift back to sleep, your thoughts dwell on him and of what the future holds for the two of you.

Author's Note:

Hey cool, I'm not dead.
Sorry about the delay.