Bounty hunting is a complicated profession

Battle

At first nothing happened. All was silent and dark, except for a small light on the distance where the explosion had occurred. Suddenly, you felt the branches of the tree tremble and heard a thumping noise that was rapidly getting closer and closer.

That's when you saw the trees falling in its wake. It was coming right to the village, and with it also came the raiders, their shouts deafening in the silence of the night.

Mando and Cara were running from the machine, which was on their heels, shooting and missing. They entered the clearing and managed to take cover behind the barricades, but the AT-ST stopped on its tracks before reaching the pond, and started shooting at the villagers, causing havoc.

Meanwhile, the raiders had also arrived at the clearing and were shooting at the villagers too. They had run right beneath you without taking notice of your presence, so you had the upper hand.

Even so, you were aware your plan was risky. Not only because the raiders would kill you if they had the chance, but because you could easily get caught in the crossfire.

Trying to be as stealthy as possible, you climbed down the tree and rushed to the raider closest to you. Giving him no time to react, you covered his mouth with one hand and slit his throat with Mando's dagger.

Before his body had even hit the ground, you were already running for your next target. Moving behind enemy lines wasn't easy, you had to be fast while keeping yourself low to try and avoid any blaster shots that came your way. Running while bending over made you slower but, as long as the villagers shot high enough, you were safe from the crossfire.

As you struggled with another raider, the AT-ST shot at one of the huts, lighting it on fire. Terrified shouts came from behind the barricades but you couldn't see much from where you were. Knowing you couldn't do anything else other than hoping no-one was hurt, you focused on the task at hand.

The battlefield was such chaos that, in a very short amount of time, you had managed to sneak behind five raiders and finish them off. Somehow, the rest of them had not noticed you yet, probably assuming their comrades had been shot down by the villagers.

Soon, the clearing was filled with smoke and it was harder for you to move around or to see what was going on in the frontline. Then again, if you couldn't see the villagers from there, neither could the raiders.

As you were about to attack the next one, you saw from the corner of your eye a glimpse of light reflecting on a piece of armour. Unconsciously, you turned around to look, and saw Cara running from behind the barricade. She was trying to bait the AT-ST to move forward and fall into the pond.

Your distraction lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough time for a blaster to hit you. It merely scraped your arm, yet the pain made you stumble and come to a halt, catching the attention of the raider you were going towards.

The smell of burnt hair reached your nose before you had time to process the blaster shot — that hadn't blown your face off by mere inches. With no time to bless your luck, you launched at the raider, pinning the blaster to a side so he couldn't shoot again. The two of you struggled, him trying to raise the weapon while you held it down using both hands.

He grabbed you by the hair with his free hand while you kept wrestling for the gun. "Shit" you thought, as you pictured Mando finding your dead body. A sudden surge of pride filled you; if you died there it would be like telling Mando he was right, like this was your fault because you didn't follow his orders.

"There's no way in Malachor I'll let that happen" you thought as you banged the raider's chin with your forehead — luckily, he wasn't as tall as the Mandalorian.