Disclaimer: We don't own Star Wars. If we did, we'd be feeding the entire Walt Disney cast to the Sarlacc and/or Rancor right about now, and blowing Disneyland off the face of the world with a low-yield Death Star laser blast.
November 25th 2020 AD
"At long last the day has come, fellow Jedi, Sith and everything in between!" Said the woman dressed as a Twi-lek on the video screen of a computer monitor. "The long wait for the release of Star Wars Online is just a few minutes away! Copies of the game have sold out across stores around the world, and digital copies are being downloaded so fast that people are wondering if the Internet can take it all!"
"But it has all been worth the wait my friends! After the disaster that was Episode VII, Lucasarts have redeemed themselves with the unveiling of their first VRMMORPG game which fully utilizes the technology behind Nerv Gear! By our best estimates, over 400,000 Physical copies sold, and over 1.7 Million Digital copies downloaded! Meaning that when SWO launches in a few minutes, over two million people will be the first to play!" She then sighed. "I should've gotten a copy when I had the chance!"
A man looking to be in his mid twenties chuckled as he clicked off the TV. "About you and 50 billion other people lady," he said to himself as he stretched out his body before running a hand through his shaggy dark brown hair, his dark brown eyes looked out from behind a pair of glasses as he sat down on his bed, picking up the Nerv Gear Helmet. "I've gotten some downright obscene offers for my copy."
Letting out another chuckle he slide his glasses off before placing them on the nightstand next to his bed before laying back with the helmet on. '5...4...3...2...1…' he counted mentally as the timer for the countdown until launch ticked away. "Link… Start!"
With that, the game launched, and after a brief loading time, the image of an building appeared in front of him. A large banner was attached to the building with the words 'WELCOME TO STAR WARS ONLINE!' splashed across it. Entering into the building he was greeted by a receptionist NPC. "Welcome to Star Wars Online, would you like to hear an explanation on the game?"
The man shrugged. "Sure, why not?" he asked rhetorically as he settled himself for the explanation.
"Very well!" The NPC said. "As you already may know, Star Wars Online is the first VRMMORPG created to fully utilize the Nerve Gear developed by Lucasarts Entertainment, and Argus Industries, founded by the creator of Nerv Gear and the Fulldrive System, Kayaba Akihito. While borrowing many elements from multiple Star Wars games, Star Wars Online was based mostly off of the two most successful Star Wars MMORPG's created, Star Wars Galaxies, and Star Wars The Old Republic."
"The game has been designed so the users are in a perfect nearly to scale representation of the known Star Wars galaxy, including notable worlds such as Coruscant, Tatooine, Hoth, and other worlds which have been known during the current time period between the Battle of Yavin, and the Battle of Hoth. However while many notable locations, and even notable people from the Star Wars franchise have been placed in the world, the creators wanted to ensure that the players would have infinite possibilities, as there are limitless areas where players can make their own locations, their own homes, towns, even entire cities. And with the wide variety of professions types including but not limited to Architects, Smiths, Designers, Politicians, Pilots, and many many more, the possibilities of the players are only limited by their imagination!"
"Players shall begin on a near blank slate, allowed to choose between several different classes including Force User, Soldier, Commando, Officer, Engineer, Smuggler, Trader, Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, Agent, or Entertainer, along with later Advanced Classes they may pick later on as you advance through the game. The players may also choose to align themselves with the many factions of Star Wars, including but not limited to the Jedi Order, Sith Order, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, Hutt Cartel, and many others. If you so wished, you could even form your own faction, and forge your own destiny in the Star Wars universe! It is up you and the players whether or not to repeat Star Wars History, or to change it forever!"
The man grinned as the NPC finished the explanation and a screen popped up in front of him, labeled 'Character Creation', it listed the several class and species options to choose from, selecting the Miraluka species, and after a small mental debate he selected the Agent class and set about customizing his Avatar, a slight increase in height, and lightening the hair color a bit before cycling through the preset options a bit, settling on a simple hood that shadowed his Avatar's empty eye sockets and covered his hair, making his selection moot, but for the heck of it he choose bald with scruff on his face before selecting the simple sleeveless black vest and a pair of black trousers with combat boots and a pair of fingerless gloves.
Satisfied with his selection he hit the 'Confirm' button and let out a slight shudder as a chill ran up his spine as he changed into his Avatar. Looking around, adjusting to the fact that he was now seeing using Force Vision, non living things looking like dark shadows, while the 'living' were either shades of blue, grey or red, depending on their alignment.
"Thank you for making your selection!" the NPC informed cheerily. "We at LucasArts hope you enjoy SWO!"
With a grin, the man stepped forward and opened the door, walking into a mass of noise as he walked into a large open area, his HUD activating, showing the basics and the planet, Corellia, and the city, Coronet. "Well now…" the man murmured to himself as his Username, DragonKnightRyu, along with the Character Name, simply Ryu, appeared above his head. "Let's see what I can find for Sniper Rifles now, shall I?"
Meanwhile, in another part of the Galaxy.
A man with military buzz cut and a moustache goatee, and brown eyes and standing at a height of 6'2" was walking through a street in a town which looked to be Spartan in nature. Flags showing the skull of a creature were adorned on a few of the buildings.
The man smiled as the username Patriot-112 was above his head.
"Yes! I'm on Mandalore," he said with satisfaction as he looked around seeing other people who selected the Bounty Hunter class. He then looked at this current attire which was a khaki jump suit, brown calf length boots, a black vest with four pockets with a belt over that, and brown leather gloves.
"Hmm, not bad… can't wait to get some Mando Armor soon, though," he said, and then began to look around. "But first, need to get some weapons and beginner armor."
With that, he checked his inventory, more specifically, his credit account and saw he had a total of 10,000 credits as a starter account. Satisfied with the amount, he then walked to the nearest shop.
Meanwhile - On another world
In a short flash of blue light, a new figure appeared on the surface of a barren world. He stood at about 5'11, his hair short, spiked and black, and his eyes both a crimson red. His skin was also deep red in color, with small tentacle-like beard appendage near his lower chin.
He glanced around, before he saw what looked like a mirror next to him, as he grinned, taking in his appearance, as well as his current attire - that being a black set of cloth and leather robes, attached to his side being a small Durasteel blunt katana-like blade. He drew the blade, as he inspected it himself.
'This will do nicely,' he thought to himself, as he glanced at his username hovering above him '117Jorn' next to it being his character name 'Jaden Takeo'. He then glanced around the area, as he grinned once more, looking at the barren world around him, surrounded by mountains, however he currently stood in a small valley, surrounded by stone structures and pillars.
"Welcome to Korriban, young one," a voice behind him said, as he spun around, his hand on his Training Saber as he looked at the hooded figure behind him, leaning on a stone pillar. "The taste of the Dark Side has caught another… and you are no ordinary acolyte… no… you are a true Sith… one very potent in the Force."
Jaden grinned a bit, lessing his stance, but keeping his hand on his blade for quick retrieval. "Korriban has much history to my people," he said, playing his role to the NPC before him. "Many consider it to be yet another dead Sith World… but there is still some power here."
The NPC laughed a bit at that. "Oh yes, there is still some power to this old world." He said, "Many secrets long forgotten… maybe some that should remain Forgotten…" He shook his head "But that aside, allow me to introduce myself… I am Denen Khan, a fellow… scholar to the Dark Side."
"Jaden Takeo," Jaden said, nodding with a smile. "It is good to meet those like myself who find no fear to the Dark Side. Though this begs the question… why are you here?"
"To learn, my friend," Denen said, as got up from the pillar and walked towards Jaden. "Just as you have come here to do. Here in the Valley of Dark Lords, there is much one can learn about the history of the Sith… as well as our future. The tombs of the countless Sith Lords of our past lie here on this world. Ajunta Pall, Ludo Kressh, Marka Ragnos, Naga Sadow, Tulak Hord, XoXaan, and Bane. Though many of these tombs have lost their power… there is one Tomb which I have been seeking for many, many years… and I may have found it at long last."
"Which is…?" Jaden asked, and the figure chuckled at that.
"Well, the Temple of Darth Revan of course," he said, causing Jaden's eyes to widen in surprise "The Strongest Sith to ever exist."
'Wait… this wasn't part of the game manuel…' He thought in surprise, 'I thought the first mission was to investigate the tomb of Naga Sadow…' His eyes glanced around 'Well… there's no one else here… maybe this is some special intro for being the first Sith player?'
Continuing his Role, Jaden spoke up. "Darth Revan… but didn't he ultimately become a Jedi?" He asked, and Khan laughed at that.
"Oh, so naive to believe the stories the Jedi tell you," he said. "Oh yes, Revan did 'Redeem' himself to the Jedi after the Civil War… and even fought with them in the Great Galactic war. But can you honestly tell me that the man who went against the Jedi's orders to not go to war against the Mandalorians would remain loyal to them forever, especially after already gaining a taste of the Dark Side?"
Khan shook his head. "Oh no, though he may be considered 'Grey' to Jedi Today… we will always remember him as the perfect example of who a true Sith Lord should always be. He will always be Darth Revan, and his Tomb here on Korriban proves it as his final resting place."
"And you want my help to find it?" Jaden finished, and the Sith Scholar chuckled at that.
"Oh, I've already found it," he said, "but I have yet to go very deep into it. Those who built the place made sure to keep the final resting place of Revan well guarded. It is a… two man job to successfully pass the tests of Revan. Only those who truly follow Revan and the Force may make it through."
At that notion, Jaden smirked a bit at that. 'A chance to see the tomb of Darth Revan, and maybe get his awesome armor?' he thought. 'What true Star Wars fan would refuse?' "I believe I can help you," he said. "Lead the way."
On yet another world…
Another figure appeared in a forested region, though he could see mountains a short distance away, and what looked to be ruins directly ahead of him. He had chocolate brown hair, amethyst eyes, and asian skin, with what looked like a scar running diagonally across his left cheek from just to the left of the bridge of his nose down to above the corner of his mouth (1).
He was dressed in a dark blue shirt, with black pants, boots, and fingerless gloves, and a black leather vest with a few utility pouches. On his back was a Durasteel katana-like blade.
'Yeah…' he thought to himself as he found a pool of water, and could see his reflection in it. He drew the blade, and took a few practice swings. 'This will do just fine…' Above his head was his Username, Takeshi103, as well as his character name, Takeshi Yamato.
"Takeshi!" A voice called out, as Takeshi turned to see a young boy run up to him. Since he was lacking any username, he identified him as an NPC. "Come on! We gotta get back to the temple, the Masters are gathering again!"
Takeshi nodded. He remembered from the backstory thing he'd read when creating his character that a small group of Jedi who'd escaped Order 66 had rediscovered Tython, and had set about refurbishing the Temple that had originally been used in SWTOR. "Thank you very much, young one," he said, slipping into his role. "Let's get going - we don't want to be late."
The youngling nodded as he ran back, with Takeshi following in tow towards the old Jedi Temple. Takeshi smiled as he saw the Temple, looking just as it did during the Old Republic with very few changes.
He smiled slightly. 'The sight of that Temple never gets old…' he thought. 'Well, let's see just what fate has in store for me!'
Meanwhile - yet again elsewhere in the galaxy
A beam of light startled off several creatures of the night on the world as the shape of another figure took form. The woman that appeared was in her early twenties with short messy brown hair and a single brown eye while the other was covered with a patch of some kind, a scar visible above and below the patch a little. She wore a uniform of some kind with a blaster rifle secured to her back, and on her lower right arm was a shield generator. She looked around and smiled. "Good. Things are in the green."
Above her head was her username, JMiller1941, as well as her name, Jessica Miller. She could see several trees that were scorched, and she took the time to examine them before swinging her rifle off her shoulder and aiming it. She pulled the trigger a few times to test her aim, hitting the trees dead center. In the real world, she had a very good accuracy rate on shooters, and her aim reflected that.
She slung her gun back on her shoulder as she turned, just as the brush rustled a bit. She tensed, ready for anything that was going to come her way. But she had no idea as to just how much fate had in store for her and her fellow players.
Meanwhile - With Ryu
Ryu sighed as he sat on a ledge of a skyscraper, delicately balancing himself on the edge of it as he held a listening device in one hand, the other one holding the headphones to his ear as he listened to the NPC Event Activated Conversation for one of the starting quests as an Agent. As he listened to them drone on, one part of his mind filed the information away for his report as his other considered the Agent Class he'd chosen, while in SWTOR the Agent was an Imperial Class, in SWO it was a freelance class with the chance to officially choose a side later on.
As the conversation winded down he put away his listening device and stood up on the edge before activating a grappling hook and dropped himself down several stories to where a rented speeder before speeding away to turn in the quest, some nobleman who suspected his wife of cheating on him.
Arriving at the Cantina where the Nobleman was waiting, he strode into the Cantina, being greeted by an onslaught of noise, making him wince slightly, being a member of a blind species meant his other senses were enhanced to superhuman levels, even with his 'Force-Vision', heading to the private room, he entered into the event area.
"Ah, so you've returned," the Nobleman in question said, a large and fat Rutian Twi'lek male in noble robes, large enough to give a Hutt a run for its money in size. "So what did you find out about my wife? I hope she has been dealt with."
Ryu sighed as he took a reclining seat from across the Nobleman, his hooded eyes looking over to the noble as he inspected his Force Signature. 'Greedy, opportunistic, but not exactly evil, just self-centered, but… I am a contract abiding Agent…' he told himself as he placed a detonator on the table. "Well, good news and bad news for ya, good news, she ain't cheatin' on you," he announced to the Twi'lek, scratching at his scruff. "But, Bad news is, she's a Rebel… from the looks of it, she'll be at the meeting for a while, that detonator will blow a bomb that will ensure her death, I ain't no trigger man though, hire a Bounty Hunter for that next time."
"What?" The Nobleman shouted, as he shot up to his feet… or at least tried to as he was so fat doing anything quickly was impossible for him. "She was…" He then groaned "Damn rebel scum… I should have known… I must contact the others, give the Imperials a warning! This won't go unpunished!"
Ryu coughed into his fist. "My payment?" he supplied. "I believe you promised me a ship for my troubles?"
"Ah, yes yes, of course." The Nobleman said, "As promised, I have transfered 2,000 Credits to your account, and I will now also transfer ownership of my old HWK-290 Light Freighter, its a bit old, but it fulfills the requirements you requested. I hope it serves you better than it did me. You will find it in hangar bay D-5 of the local port."
"And like that our contract is closed," Ryu announced, as he slipped a small explosive onto the underside of the table. "You won't be seeing me again."
With that he walked away, not even paying attention to the reply as he left the room, once he was out he activated his commlink and placed a call, it was quickly picked up by a blue-skinned female Twi'lek. "Device has been planted," he informed in a bored voice. "Like my contract states, up to you to detonate or not, I ain't no hit man, just a… delivery boy, my payment?"
"Done and done," the Twi'lek said, smiling. "3,500 Credits are being sent to your account… plus a little bonus on my part. Thank you for this… if you're in the neighborhood again… give me a call, drinks on me… and maybe a bit more?" She added the last part with a wink.
Ryu smirked slightly before shrugging. "Perhaps now that the contract is closed," he informed, rubbing his chin. "I don't drink or fraternize with clients when in contract… but out of them… maybe I'll be by."
The Twi'lek chuckled at that. "I can understand that, just don't be a stranger," she said, as she held up a detonator. "Hope to see you again, Ryu." The Comm-link went dead, and a few moments later there was a short explosion coming from the private lounge, as the rest of the Cantina panicked, but Ryu paid no mind as he drank out of a shot glass.
"No matter what, even if I were to be blind, deaf, and dumb with a face of a Rancor, I would have game like no other," he chuckled to himself as he walked to the exit of the cantina, ignoring the local law enforcement that came rushing into the cantina. "I got so much game, it hurts."
Meanwhile - With Takeshi
Takeshi currently stood in the Jedi Council Chambers in the Temple on Tython - it had been a rather interesting series of Intro Quests, mainly some 'final lessons' from each of the Masters, as well as taking the Jedi Trials. He'd also built his first Lightsaber, which was now clipped to his belt - and the level of customization at even Weapon Crafting in this game had been amazing, as he designed it to look like the Defender Hilt from the Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Game, and had used a Purple Focusing Crystal.
He now stood before the Jedi Master NPCs, having just finished the last of the intro quests, and engaging in the final 'prologue conversation', as he considered it in his mind. He was smiling up a storm as he found himself surrounded by the Jedi Masters in a circle, each of them with their Lightsabers activated, the Grand Master standing before him. Takeshi recognized this scene from the old Star Wars: Clone Wars TV series from 2003, when Anakin Skywalker was named as a Knight.
"Step Forward, Padawan," the Jedi Master NPC, Minos Fel'Kona, spoke. Takeshi did as instructed, stepping forward as he bowed down. Minos rose his Lightsaber, while the other Jedi Masters lowered theirs.
"Takeshi Yamato," he spoke out, as he lowered his Lightsaber just above his shoulders "By the right of the Council, and by the will of the force, dub thee I do, Jedi…" in one quick motion, he cut off Takeshi's small hair braid, "…Knight, of the Republic."
Takeshi mentally grinned, though it didn't show on his face as he kept himself cool and collected. "Thank you, Master," he said. "This is a tremendous honor."
"The honor is ours, Knight Yamato," Minos said with a smile. "With the galaxy slowly turning against the Empire, the time for the Jedi's return is fast approaching, and the Alliance will need our help to reestablish the Republic, and to ensure continued peace across the galaxy. We have already procured for you a starship to call your own, and you can leave Tython whenever you wish. May the Force be with you."
"And with you, Masters," Takeshi replied, as he stood, turned around, and walked out of the Council Chambers.
On the other side of the doors waited two NPCs… rather, two Companion Characters he had met during his Intro Quests and joined his party. The first was an R2-Series Astromech, Designation R2-N3, or as Takeshi called him, Enthree. Enthree had the same shape as most R2-Series units, like the famed R2-D2, but where Artoo was white with a silver and blue dome, Enthree was almost entirely blue, with a few spots of black and silver trim. Takeshi hadn't had much of a chance to see all of what Enthree could do yet, but the little guy seemed to be very good with computers, and had even been equipped with a small blaster, originally to fend off Flesh Raiders, which were still the prevalent local semi-sentient life on Tython, and some of the wild animals that still lived there.
The second companion, though, was another Jedi, a female, and Takeshi kept finding himself resisting the urge to stare at her. For some reason, the game had managed to generate for him a perfect replica of Shion Uzuki from the Xenosaga games, only in Jedi Robes! Granted, the character was named Shion Urishu here, and he didn't know just how the game had done it, but given that he'd had a serious crush on the original Shion, and he'd heard that the first Non-Droid Companion Character was always supposed to be romanceable, he certainly wasn't complaining. Not to mention she'd been a pretty big help in his quests, herself, what with her skill in Force Healing and her love of archaeology.
"And the Braid is off," Shion said with a smile. "Glad it worked out, Knight Yamato. So how does it feel to finally be a Knight?"
"Not too much different, to be honest," Takeshi remarked. "I have more responsibilities now, and more freedom to fulfill them, but I'm still me... I hope that makes sense."
Shion giggled a bit. "It does," she said. "Felt the same when I became a Knight not too long ago… wasn't that much of a change really, I just continue to do what I've been doing, helping out around the temple, searching for stuff the ancient Jedi left behind… but it feels good to have less restrictions than before."
Takeshi chuckled. "Well, I'm going to be heading out into the greater galaxy to help the Rebel Alliance against the Empire… you feel like joining me?"
Shion looked like she thought about a moment, tapping her chin. "Hmm, staying here at Tython and doing nothing but looking around for old artifacts, or heading out into a wide galaxy where ancient mysteries can be discovered…" she mused out loud before she smirked. "I think it's about time I left Tython. After all, who knows what we can find out there?"
Takeshi grinned. "That's for sure…" he said. "Glad to have you with me, Shion."
"Glad to be aboard, Takeshi," she said, nodding, as Enthree chirped its own approval.
Takeshi then started walking towards the hangars in the Temple, Shion and Enthree following him, the dialogue having finished. Deciding he could set out into the galaxy at a later time, he opened the Game Menu, figuring it was probably a good idea to log… out…
'What the frak?!' Takeshi mentally shouted, not wanting to chance any of the NPCs, let alone his Companion Characters, reacting to something spoken. In the 'Options Menu', where the guidebook had stated that the Logout feature was, he couldn't see it! Oh, there was a space where the Logout feature should have gone, but the feature itself wasn't there!
'Oh boy…'
Meanwhile on Mandalore
A Rodian fell to the ground on his back, his face covered in bruises, with one of his large eyes swollen shut. Standing over him, was a single figure wearing Mandalorian armor, which was the Super Commando variant of the Shock Trooper armor. The armor breast plate, gauntlets, and greaves were colored a dark brown, while the helmet, while also brown, the t-visor was colored a dark green, under the armor was a Olive drab green flightsuit. Along with this was a Black colored Kama half kilt, and a pair of blaster holsters, said holsters carried a pair of X-30 "Lancer" Blaster Pistols, as he drew one of them.
Mounted on his back was a durasteel katana sword.
"You caused me a lot of trouble, you green overgrown lizard," the Mandalorian said, as he set the stun feature on his blaster. "But... since you're worth more alive, I won't kill ya. The beating I gave you was enough."
He then aimed the "Lancer" at the terrified Rodian. "But, you should feel proud. You're my number fifteen catch of the day."
With that he fired the stun bolt, causing the Rodian to go limp. He then walked over and hefted the out cold alien reptillian over his shoulder and walked to the collection office to get his payment, which took him at least 20 minutes.
He walked into the office and dumped the knocked out Rodian in front of the caretaker's desk.
"Yo! Got that Rodian Spice Smuggler with the 3,000 credit dead or 4,500 credit alive bounty." he called. "And like my last catches, he's alive,"
The caretaker, a male Duros, stood up from his desk and looked at the Mandalorian's catch.
"Yup, that's him. Congratulations Boc, this makes your fifteenth catch in the past 4 hours." he said, as the Mandalorian, Boc Werd, a.k.a. Patriot-112, smirked.
"Well, the more catches I make in a day, the more creds I get," Boc said as he took off his helmet, as he continued with the ending of his latest Bounty Quest, which was to catch a Rodian Spice Smuggler who owed his Hutt boss money, and a lot of it.
The Duros chuckled at that. "Yeah, you're doing a great job for a rookie. Also, Foro the Hutt said to pay you a bonus amount of 15,000 creds if you caught all the price tags, and said that there's a… Special Prize waiting for you in Docking Bay R-12," he said, causing Boc's eyes to widen, and he let out a whistle.
"Damn, I must have made him really happy," he said, and the Duros nodded as he hefted the Rodian onto his shoulder.
"Yeah, I don't know what ship it is, but he says it'll be appropriate for you." he said. "Good luck Boc, I hope the bounties in the entire Galaxy will make you wealthier than catching the low-levels here on Mandalore."
Boc just gave a two-fingered salute, "No sweat." he said and placed his helmet back on, and after saying farewell left the office.
"Well, that definitely was a surprise," said a feminine voice, and Boc smirked as he turned and spotted a woman wearing Mandalorian Armor, with this version being a hybrid of the armor that was worn by Shae Vizla and Bo-Katan Kryze, with the Helmet and breastplate being the same style as Bo's while the rest of the armor was more like Shae's. The undersuit beneath the armor showed the Mando woman's curves real well, and he could slim lean muscle as well.
The woman's helmet was removed, showing a near identical look to Shae, only with some black streaks in her long red hair, and her skin had a medium tan tone to it. Her eyes were also a indigo blue.
"I was not expecting the Hutt slimeball to give you a raise," she continued, causing Boc to chuckle.
"Well, whaddya gotta do? Can't look a gift horse in the mouth," he said with a shrug. "Plus, with the good amount of creds I have right now, this will get us a good start. Don't you think Shala?"
The woman, Shala gave a chuckle at that. Shala Tal'rang, was an NPC character that the game game produced, which helped him in his first hunts, and they hit it off well. Boc also knew that the first female NPC he were to meet was to be a possible romance interest. Add to the fact that she looked a lot like Shae, except unlike the infamous Bounty Hunter, she had moral lines when it came to hunts, and that included no women or kids, period.
"Yup. So, wanna go see what the Hutt gave you in the Docking Bay?" she asked.
Boc just smiled behind his visor. "I never thought you asked," he said, and thus ended the dialogue for the mission.
"Okay, time to get out of here." he said, and activated the menu to logout. But then…
"What the…" he said in surprise when he noticed the logout button wasn't there. "Where's the kriffing logout button!?"
Meanwhile - at Cardia
The place was a mess as the young woman threw a grenade at one of the droids guarding the entrance to the hangar. She spun and whipped her rifle off her back, ducking behind a pile of debris as the grenade exploded, sending shrapnel and debris flying every which way, cutting into several troopers and even the closest droids.
Her companion grunted as the explosion shockwave blew over their hair, and he looked at her as if to say she was crazy.
Jessica Miller grinned a bit. "What? I wanted to do that for ages!" she remarked.
"Not against these guys!" her friend said. The man with messy black hair looked around with his intense blue eyes, trying to see any others coming their way.
"See anything, Dave?" Jessica asked, keeping her eyes locked onto the droids that still stood despite the damage to their arms and some legs. She pulled the trigger a few times, nailing them in the heads with one shot each.
"Nothing yet," Dave Karat said as he hefted a blaster himself. "But that doesn't mean that they won't send more for us!"
"Then we'll have to take a chance!" Jessica said as she finally holstered her rifle and grabbed her last grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it, this time right into a bunch of new Clone troopers coming their way. "The last thing that I want to do is risk my own teammate! So c'mon!" She grabbed his hand and pulled the young man into a corridor partially blocked by rubble and debris. The explosion that occurred was enough to throw both onto their stomachs, but Jessica reacted as some debris was sent their way and put up her personal energy shield, keeping the two safe from harm.
She waited a few moments before lowering the shield and looking back outside the corridor.
The grenade had done the job, but she knew that more would come. And since they were close to the hangar this was their only chance to get out. Dave was already on his feet and the two bolted for the entrance.
The door was partially blown open by the grenade, so that was one less thing they had to worry about. Both escapees ran into the hangar as alarms continued to wail in the background. A few lights flickered as the two emerged into the docks for the prison complex. This was their chance to get out, and they knew it.
Jessica looked around, her eye finally landing on a freighter parked close by. She knew from the basic design that it had some similarities with the Millenium Falcon, but at the same time it was slightly different in the engine design and configuration, and the cockpit was located in the center, rather than on the starboard side. That, and it was only armed with one laser cannon.
Dave glanced over as he spotted the freighter. He blinked before he looked at her like she was nuts. "You're kidding!" he said. "I've never even flown one of those before!"
"Well, consider this a crash course!" Jessica said as she grabbed his hand and hauled him closer to the ship She released his hand once they were close. The two ran on board, but only Jessica ran to the cockpit. Dave hesitated, but the sound of voices close by to the door of the hangar made up his mind.
He got in the cockpit quickly.
The two closed up the boarding ramp as Jessica buckled herself in using the five-point harness. She checked the controls, and after confirming what she saw, she was getting the engines up and running. The doors, while tough initially, weren't meant to take a sustained burst of fire from laser cannons and within five minutes collapsed as the ship began to draw closer.
Jessica pressed the throttle forward and within minutes, the vessel was airborne as the Imperial Storm Troopers came running in to try and shoot them down. But by then it was too late. Both were gone.
She sighed in relief as she slumped back in the cockpit seat. "Well, that's that," Jessica murmured. She brought up the options menu and pressed the logout button…
But nothing happened. Confused, she glanced at the menu and stared in shock. "What… What the frag!? Where's the slaggin' logout button?!"
Meanwhile - On Korriban
"AND STAY DEAD!" Jaden shouted as he stabbed his damaged training sword into the skull of the Terentatek, which wailed in pain before it finally fell to the ground, dead. Jaden sighed as he deactivated the old Red Lightsaber he found while exploring Revan's tomb 'Well, so much for the Training Sword,' he thought, 'But the Lightsaber is good for now I guess.'
He and Khan have been moving through Revan's tomb for what felt like hours now, and they have engaged a wide variety of enemies, namely creatures native to Korriban. Shyrack's, Hssiss, Tuk'ata, just to name a few, along with numerous ancient droids. And now they have successfully defeated what Jaden hoped was the boss of the level - a Terentatek.
"Well done my friend," Khan said, as Jaden groaned as he looked at his 'Companion' who was smirking. "The Terentatek are known for feeding upon the force-rich blood of Sith Purebloods… taking one down by yourself is impressive."
"He was already wounded," Jaden said as he cracked his neck a bit. "Though it would've been easier if you had actually, you know, helped?"
"You obviously had it well under control," Khan said as he walked forward. "Come now, we should almost be near the end."
Jaden groaned as he continued to follow Khan. He was no idiot, as he knew that is was very likely that the 'Sith Scholar' would try to backstab him after they reach the final resting place of Revan. So he was prepared to defend himself at any moment. 'Didn't the manual say the first Companion was romanceable?' he thought to himself. 'I guess this piece of trash doesn't count.'
The two continued walking up until they came to a fork in the path, two hallways going in different directions. "Two pathways..." Khan muttered. "One must be the way to the Tomb… the other..."
"Is likely a trap," Jaden finished, with a small sigh. "I'll go right, you go left?"
"Why so sure?" Khan asked, and Jaden shrugged.
"You got a better idea?" He asked, causing Khan to pause for a moment, before he nodded.
"Very well. I will check the left passageway, you check the right," he said, as he headed for the left hall. "Try not to get killed, young one."
Jaden remained silent as he headed down the right passage, rolling his eyes 'Can't say the same about you.' He thought to himself as he continued down the path. He activated his Lightsaber, using it as a makeshift torch so he could see what was ahead. As he continued however, the path ahead continued to get harder to see, as greyish mists began to take form around him.
"...you cannot hide from what you once were..."
The Cybernetic voice caused Jaden to jump in surprise, as he whirled around, looking for the source. "Who's there?" he shouted, as he searched for the source. However there was no response. After a few moments of standing his ground, Jaden continued forward, but keeping his head on a swivel as he looked for any more threats.
"...Recognize that you were once the Dark Lord—and know that I have taken your place..."
Once again, Jaden spun around, looking for the source. "Who the hell's there?" he demanded, as he looked for the source.
He recognized the voice - it belonging to Darth Malak, aka Revan's Apprentice. However he was dead, so that meant…
'Force vision…' Jaden thought before he smirked a bit. 'Ah, I get it. Its just like those visions that the Exile saw in KOTOR II… I'm hearing parts of Revan's past.'
He continued forward, still remaining alert but listening closely to what he was hearing in the 'Force Vision' he was having.
"…You Cannot win Revan!"
"…The force can do terrible things to a person's mind…"
"…The Destiny is yours, Revan… Not mine…"
"Why did you leave me, Jordan?"
While he listen to them all, the last one caused Jaden to freeze, as his eyes widened 'What the… that-' He thought as he turned around. Standing there, right behind him, was a woman who had short ear-length blonde hair, and blue eyes looking about 17-18 years old, wearing clothes that looked more like they came from Earth rather than the Star Wars universe.
"Why did you leave me, Jordan?" The woman asked again. Jaden couldn't believe what he was seeing, he thought he was hallucinating, that the Nerve Gear was messing with his mind somehow. However standing right in front of him was…
"Bryanna…" Jaden muttered. "What… what are you doing here? How you…"
"You left me… why?" Bryanna said, her eyes narrowed. "Why leave me with him?"
Jaden's eyes were wide… until they narrowed. "I didn't leave you, you left me!" he shouted. "I Trusted you more than anyone in the world, and then I find you with fucking CORY?"
"Why did you leave me?" Bryanna said again, and Jaden growled as he closed his eyes.
"Leave me alone… Just Leave me alone DAMMIT!" he shouted as he snapped his eyes open, only to find that Bryanna was gone, and the mists that surrounded him were also gone. He looked around, looking for anyone else, before he sighed.
'The hell was that?' he thought to himself. 'How… how was Bryanna one of the visions? Just…' He shook his head. 'Keep it together, Jordan… Nerv Gear must be messing with ya… I knew drinking that beer Matt gave me before I played was a bad idea…'
He continued forward through the passageways, until finally he reached the end. It was a large circular room, with torches lit on all sides illuminating several statues. In the middle of the room however was a stone sarcophagus, with numerous SIth symbols etched into it. And standing before it was none other than Khan.
"Well, surprise surprise," the Sith Scholar said, as he turned around. "So you survived after all… it doesn't matter though, however." He began to draw his own Lightsaber. "I am afraid our Alliance comes to an end-" However he was cut off as he suddenly found it hard to breath, as he began choking and was lifted into the air.
Jaden grinned a bit, as he held his arm high. 'Sith Race is the best choice,' he thought to himself. 'You immediately start off with low level versions of Force Choke and Lightning.' "You think me a fool?" he spoke, as he held the Sith high. "I saw through your treachery the moment I saw you. You were a help in finding this tomb for me… but you do not know what kind of power lies here, and even if you did you would only abuse it like nearly every other Sith of the past has before."
He then slammed Khan into a statue, shattering it. "But I won't abuse this power," Jaden continued. "If this power is truly belonging of Revan, I will use it the way it should be, and I won't allow a sniveling worm like yourself to use it… so goodbye, Khan… thank you for your 'assistance'." And with that, he clenched his fist, as he shattered Khan's windpipe and neck, killing him instantly.
Jaden sighed as he let the body drop, before he moved to it, deciding to loot the corpse of anything useful. 'Alright, let's see what you got,' he thought. 'Few hundred credits, some journals… oh? A map to your starship, eh? I'll take that.'
After looting everything that Khan had, he then approached the sarcophagus, sighing as he looked at it. 'I really don't like the idea of looting the corpse of my favorite Star Wars Character of all time,' he thought to himself. 'At least not without… asking…'
He blinked as he glanced around, before he shrugged. "Might as well," he thought, before looking at the Sarcophagus. "Darth Revan?" he asked the sarcophagus. "Don't know if you can hear me… but can I loot your Sarcophagus for anything I can use to help me? I don't want to just steal it from you unlike that prick Khan was about to do."
Jaden didn't expect a reply, however…
"Of course, thanks for asking." A voice behind him said, causing Jaden to jump as he twirled around, and his eyes widened at what he saw. Standing several feet away from him, was the force ghost of none other than Darth Revan, clad in his full robes and armor including his iconic mask.
"R-Revan…" Jaden muttered in shock. "No way…"
Revan chuckled a bit at that. "Yes, it is me," he said as he walked forward. "I have been watching your progress through here, Takeo… I must say I am impressed at your skills."
Jaden scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "Ahh, yeah, thanks…" he said, not sure how to react to this. Sure he hoped he'd have some quest involving Revan, but even he couldn't have expected that he would be meeting Revan in the flesh… well… digital flesh that is. "I'm just… another Sith making his way through the Universe, I suppose."
"Indeed," Revan said, as he stepped towards his sarcophagus "Your skills in other VRMMO's proved that… Gaia Online, Terracraft just to name a few."
"Yeah I- wait, what?" Jaden said, as he blinked. "What did you just say?"
"You have many skills from past VRMMO's you've played, Jaden." Revan said, as he turned around to face him. "Or do you prefer Jordan?"
Jaden was stunned as he looked at Revan. "Wait… WHAT?" he shouted. "H-How do you know about VRMMO's! How do you know my real name? Do you-"
"-know I am an NPC?" Revan said with a chuckle. "That I am a character in a vast series?" He chuckled a bit. "Of course I know… but that's aside the point now. There is a reason I had your Tutorial modified to take you straight to Korriban, to the Valley of Dark Lords."
Jaden, again, blinked. "Wait… this isn't the standard tutorial?" He asked.
"Of course not," Revan said, "You were suppose to start off on Thule, but I ensured you would start off here on Korriban. The creatures here are higher level of course, but as you have demonstrated, you were more than capable of handling it."
"W-Why me?" Jaden asked, and Revan sighed, remaining silent for a few moments.
"There is more to this game than you realize, Jaden," he said. "For example… check your Log Out function in your menu."
Jordan blinked at that, as he pulled up his menu. "Alright, but what am I-" He began to say, before his eyes widened. "Da Fuck?"
"You will find it is blank," Revan continued. "By the time you reach Khan's former ship, the reason why will be clearly explained. But for now… all you need to know is that I am here to help you." He then gestured to his Sarcophagus. "Open it… I believe what you find will help you greatly."
Jaden looked at Revan suspiciously, however he slowly walked towards the stone sarcophagus, before he activated the trigger which opened it. However as he opened it… there was a short burst of light… and then Jaden saw nothing but blackness.
Jaden awoke with a searing pain in his skull. 'What the hell hit me...' he thought with a groan before he sat up. He opened his eyes, but blinked as he looked around. He was no longer within Revan's tomb. In fact he was nowhere near where the tomb was, he was in the middle of a small valley, likely still on Korriban.
'The hell was that?' He thought to himself as he stood back up, 'Was that some weird vision or-' however, as he got up, he soon realized that he was no longer wearing his old Sith Apprentice robes. He saw he was wearing more armored black robes, with metal gauntlets added to them. He looked at his robes, and saw they also had a red trim to them. 'Wait… am I…?' He reached for his face, feeling a mask on him. He took the mask off, and his eyes widened as he saw what it was.
'Revan's mask…' he thought to himself, as he instantly recognized the famous/infamous mask of Revan. "I'm… I'm wearing Revan's armor and robes…"
Despite what had happened to him, Jaden could not help himself as he grinned. "HELL YES!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the valley. "Holy shit, I actually got his armor! What are the stats…" he pulled up his inventory, as he checked out the stats of Revan's armor, making him grin more and more as he read through it, however he blinked at the requirements.
'Needs level 30 to wear?' he thought. 'But I'm barely level 5- WHA?' He looked at his own level, and his eyes widened as he saw that his level had skyrocketed from 5 all the way up to 32!
'Oookkaayy… not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth…' he thought to himself, before he looked around. 'Well… now I gotta find- huh?' However he blinked once more as he saw that he had awakened right next to a starship - specifically what appeared to be a Scimitar-class Sith Infiltrator, a near perfect replica of the one Darth Maul used in Episode I.
Jaden looked at the Journal he 'confiscated' from Khan. "Huh… so this is his ship…" he said, before he grinned. "That'll do," he said as he approached the vessel, being sure to deactivate its security measures using the codes Khan had written in his notes.
A few minutes later, and after familiarizing himself with the controls, the Scimitar-class vessel took off from Korriban, and headed up into the sky. In the cockpit of the vessel, Jaden sighed as he leaned back in the seat, thinking about what happened.
'I can't log out, I met Revan who was spoke to me KNOWING he's an NPC, and KNOWING my real name!' He thought to himself, as he groaned 'Just what the HELL is going on here!?'
However, almost as if fate answered him, suddenly the holonet activated, causing Jaden to blink as he looked at it. 'Who could that be?' He thought to himself as he pressed the 'activate' button as he turned the holo screen on. Appearing on the screen was a hooded figure, one who was wearing a set of red and golden robes, his face obscured by the shadow of his hood.
"The Hell?"
Jaden was not the only one who saw this message, as across the known Star Wars Galaxy, players looked at the nearest holoscreen, as they saw the message themselves, all of them curious as to what was going on.
"Who is that?"
"Why doesn't he have a face?"
"Is this an event?"
On his own ship Ryu raised an eyebrow as he 'looked' at the man, who, despite his species blindness, was able to see him without trouble. 'Programmer Design for the GM announcements?' he wondered as he studied the man before him.
Jessica's eyes widened as she stared at the image. "What…? Who the frag is this guy?" she muttered.
On Takeshi's ship, an ancient Defender-Class Light Corvette from the SWTOR Era, though it was currently still in the hangar on Tython as Takeshi had been doing preflight checks, Takeshi's eyes narrowed. "I have a bad feeling about this…" he muttered to himself.
Boc answered the holo-com on his gauntlet, and he perked an eyebrow at what he was seeing.
"Okay, who the fuck are you?"
"Attention Players," the figure said across all of the holonet screens across the galaxy. "I welcome you all to Star Wars Online. My name is Kayaba Akihito, and as of this moment I am in control of this world."
Across the galaxy, numerous players all muttered in shock, all of them knowing full and well just who Kayaba Akihito is - the man who created Nerv Gear, and who created Star Wars Online with LucasArts.
"I am sure that most of you have noticed an item missing in your main menus," he continued, as he brought up his own Menu. "The Logout button. However let me assure you that this is not a glitch or defect in the game. I repeat: It is not a glitch or defect, rather a new feature that SWO has been designed with."
Takeshi's eyes widened as he heard this. "And my bad feeling just got worse…" he muttered. "I'm stuck in this game, as are so many other players… and I'd imagine it's gonna get worse."
"You cannot log yourselves out of SWO," Kayaba continued, "And no one on the outside will be able to shut down or remove your Nerv Gear from your head. Should anyone attempt to do so, a transmitter inside the Nerv Gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."
Jaden's eyes widened. 'Oh shit…' he thought, as he knew the specs of the Nerv Gear just as well as anyone who knew Nerv Gear. He knew that the transmitters in the Nerv Gear operated just like microwaves, and if the safeties were removed, it was more that possible to fry a human's brain effortlessly. And cutting the power was pointless, as Nerv Gear had their own internal battery supply which could last for a LONG time. 'Not good, NOT good at all...'
"Unfortunately however, the families and friends of the players have attempted to remove the Nerv Gear despite my warnings," Kayaba continued. "An unfortunate decision to say the least, for as a result the game now has 2,013 less players than what began, now having been deleted from both the game, and the real world." Several News Networks activated around him, showing the scenes of numerous crime scenes, and death reports. "As you can see, local news outlets have coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it is safe to assume that the likelihood of your Nerv Gear being removed is minimal. I hope this brings you some comfort as you clear the game."
Jessica's eyes narrowed as she gritted her teeth. "Just what in the world is this guy thinking?!" she muttered. "He's insane for doing this!"
"Now, it is important to remember the following," Kayaba continued, oblivious to the reactions of the other players. "The only way for a player to be revived is via special abilities or items. If the player is not revived within 48 hours, your avatar will be deleted from the System, forever. And also, the Nerv Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain."
"SAY WHAT!?" Boc yelled, his eyes behind his helmet's visor wide with shock. "48 hours and then dead for real?!"
His free hand then clenched into a fist as he gritted his teeth. "Better pray that I don't find you, because if I ever do, I'll murder your ass!"
"There is only one way that you can escape now," Kayaba continued. "You must clear the game, and the original trilogy. Right now, it is 2 ABY, and within a few months the Battle of Hoth shall commence. Fighting through the Battle of Hoth, as well as the Battle of Endor, shall contribute to your escape of the galaxy. However to fully escape, there are 100 planets of which I have strongholds on, and in order to clear the game, all 100 Strongholds must be defeated. Each captured stronghold will give the player or players who conquered it an advantage to claiming the next stronghold."
"100 Strongholds?" Jaden asked. "How are we suppose to find these damn things? Why the hell are you doing this!"
"Right now, you are probably wondering… why?" Kayaba asked. "Why would Kayaba Akihito, key developer of Star Wars Online and Nerv Gear, do this?"
"Ultimately, my goal is a simple one," he continued. "The reason I recreated the Star Wars galaxy, was to control the fate of a universe of my design… and as you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Star Wars Online. Players… I wish you the best of luck." And with those last few words, the transmission ended.
And Chaos ensued.
Meanwhile - with Boc
"Oh shit!" Boc cursed as he dodged out of the way of a stampede of frightened Players, and into an alley. "That was close! Damn, shit just got real."
"Indeed..." said a familiar voice and Boc turned around and saw Shala, with her helmet on.
"Shala..." he said and the female Mandalorian nodded.
"Well, what are you standing around here for, Cobb? Let's get to your ship." she said, and Boc nodded before he blinked.
"Wait? What did you just say?" he asked, thinking he heard wrong when the NPC said his last name IRL.
"I said we should head to your ship, D.J.," Shala said. "I think it's best we leave now before things get even more chaotic."
Now, he was more shocked, as he heard his first and middle initials.
"H-How did you…" he stammered before Shala grabbed and yanked him forward.
"Less talking, more running! Oh and you might want to check your stats."
Boc blinked before he brought up his menu and looked at his stats, more specifically, his player level. His eyes widened as he saw he was not a Level 5 player, but somehow he was already at Level 30.
"Okay, this is really weird and fucked up at the same time."
He then noticed that he had reached the Prestige Level, and saw the choices of which Prestige sub-class of Bounty Hunter he wanted, which were Mercenary, Sharpshooter, Raider or Bodyguard. He looked through each class, as he and Shala continued on their way to the Docking Bay.
Mercenary - More experience in Close Quarters, Mid to long range weaponry, and technical savvy. Access to higher Paying clients in the Hutt Cartel, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, and others. Credit increase by 10,000
Sharpshooter - Longe Range expert, skilled in stealth, and quick feet. Access to paying clients in the Hutt Cartel, Black Sun, Galactic Empire, and Rebel Alliance. Credit increase by 14,500
Bodyguard - Ability to hide in plain sight, utilizes sophisticated tech to protect clients. Access to High paying clients in the Hutt Cartel, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance. Credit increase by 9,000 credits.
Raider - Focuses on heavy weapons and armor, including grenade launchers, rockets, and heavy repeating blasters, with heavy personal shields and armor. HP increase by 30% and weapon cooldown decreased by 25%.
Boc was surprised by the Prestige Level Class choices, and he was conflicted by which one to choose. He saw he had three days to decide, so he closed the menu for now as he continued to follow Shala to Docking Bay R-12 to get his ship.
"Things are getting more and more weird by the minute." was all he muttered.
Meanwhile - with Takeshi
"Oh, man…" Takeshi muttered, looking out the viewports of his ship into the hangar of the Temple. "This is so not good… I can't even begin to imagine just how many people are going to start panicking…"
"I guess we can only hope someone manages to keep the order," Shion said, standing beside him. "Let's just hope most of the Players make it out of this chaos alive…"
Takeshi nodded, before doing a double-take at Shion. "Wait, what?" he asked in shock. Shion was an NPC, there was no way she should be able to…
"We just need to hope someone rallies the other Players, to keep some semblance of order," Shion said. "All of the chaos will just end up getting more people killed…"
Takeshi stared at her - not due to her appearance, but out of shock. "You… you're not just an NPC…" he breathed, having studied Sci-Fi enough to know what was going on. "You're a full AI… aren't you?"
"I… I believe so…" Shion said, looking at herself in the reflection of the glass. "I… I can't really explain it, I mean… everything feels real but… I know it's not at the same time… It's just… I know, and I know that those people… those Players like you… are not like me, yet… I feel as though they were…" she shook her head. "I'm just… confused…"
Takeshi was rather confused, too, but at the same time… "Well, I'm glad to have you helping me on this, Shion," he said. "Whether you're an NPC or an AI… I'm glad to have you on my side."
Shion smiled. "Thank you Takeshi," she said. "I'm here to help you… no matter what." She then blinked. "Also… you might want to check your stats…"
Takeshi blinked, too, before opening the menu to check his stats… and his eyes were instantly glued to his Level, which had jumped from Level 5 all the way to Level 30!
"OK… that's weird…" he remarked, "but also quite the boon… if I remember correctly, I should be able to go for a Prestige Class now, which will be even more of a boon…"
At that point, he noticed another button had appeared on the status screen, just below a 2D image of his character. It was labeled 'Choose Prestige Class'.
"Huh…" he remarked. "Well, that's handy." He activated the button, and saw his class tree. When he began his character, he chose to be a Force User, and after that he selected Jedi. Unlike most of the other classes in the game, with the exception of the Sith, Jedi had multiple sub-classes to choose from, including the three main Jedi choices - Guardian, Sentinel, and Consular. And after that, upon reaching the proper level to gain prestige, they could choose between either Jedi Watchman, Jedi Master, Jedi Weapon Master, Jedi Sage, and Jedi Shadow.
During the Tutorial, one of the quests had allowed him to choose his first Sub-Class, and he'd gone for Jedi Guardian, with his focus on Lightsaber Combat. Now, he selected 'Jedi Weapon Master' to complete that specialization. Once he'd done that, his stats took another boost, especially his strength and endurance. He also had another option appear, for weapon specialization between one Lightsaber, two Lightsabers, or a Double-Bladed Lightsaber. He selected the option for two Lightsabers, and a perfect replica of his first Lightsaber immediately materialized, attached to the opposite hip.
"Weapon Master, eh?" Shion asked with a small smirk. "I think it suits you perfectly."
"Thanks," Takeshi replied with a grin. "Melee Combat's always been my specialty in games like this, and I never intended for this game to be an exception." He then frowned. "Still, this isn't a game anymore… it's become a struggle of survival. And in order to make it through, I need to contribute as best I can, which does mean playing to my strengths."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Shion said, nodding. "What do you suggest we do first?"
Takeshi sighed. "Right now… we need to find my friends," he said. "We all agreed to meet at one location, so we could form our own Guild… I just hope they're alright…"
"Agreed," Shion replied. "Hopefully they got the same Level Boost you did, which would make things a bit easier for us." She then nodded at the controls. "Right now, though, let's get moving."
Takeshi nodded, before starting up the ship. "Alright…" he said, almost as if addressing the ship. "Let's go, Elsa!"
And with that, the ship lifted off from its landing pad, headed off into the stars, and the agreed-upon rendezvous point with Takeshi's friends.
Meanwhile - With Jessica
The freighter sped through the darkness of space, Jessica looking at the stats of the vessel, which she had discovered was a YT-1930 Transport. She liked what she saw initially, especially the speed. While not as fast as the Falcon, it was more than able to compensate with its agility, which was just as great as the modified freighter.
The only other thing that was bugging her was the fact that Dave had told her that she had just leveled up to Level 30, which was unexpected. But then again, how had he even known? NPC's were not suppose to react that way in SWO, meant to ignore anything indicating that it was a game.
She wondered briefly if he was really an AI, but then she tossed that aside. She had more pressing concerns, such as figuring out why the hell that guy called Kayaba would even do such a slagging thing to begin with. If she got - no, when - she got out, she was going to kick his ass the instant she saw him.
Her mind drifted back to her friends and family who were no doubt worried about her. If only she had the option to contact them and tell them she was all right…
She sighed before turning back to face the man beside her.
"Something bothering you?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. How are my family and friends taking this? I mean… how long can we stay like this in this state? Our bodies need food and water, not to mention exercise… How can he do this?!" she snarled.
"I may not understand what's going on, but to be honest, I don't want to see you in this place any more than I do the others," Dave admitted. "Forcing people to be trapped in here against their will… I'm not like you in any way. I will admit it. But even I have standards, and this is wrong on so many counts. People unable to see their family, unable to hold their kids and see them grow up, parents unable to save their children… I want to end it, too. This was supposed to be only a fun game. Not an eternal hell like this."
"Geez. For an AI, you sure have some depth to your personality," Jessica joked.
Dave cracked a grin. "Hey. All of us have our own quirks." He said, "And I have my standards. Like I said, people deserve to see their families and friends, not remain trapped here until they die." Then he became serious. "This has to end, and I'm willing to help in any way I can."
"Thanks," Jessica said with a smile as she leaned back in the chair. "And from what he said, we may need all the help we can get. Player or not. Human or AI. It doesn't matter. We're all in this together, and we may need to work together to bring this guy down."
The human male nodded. "Yeah. And it's not gonna be easy. I mean, we're just two people with a basic freighter. Not a real force to be reckoned with."
"Then I guess we'll have to make a name for ourselves," Jessica said. "And for starters, we need to give this hunk of junk a name."
"Got any ideas?" Dave asked.
"Just one," the young woman admitted. "And I don't know if you'll like it, but…" She sighed. "The only one I could come up with was Freedom Flyer."
"I was thinking maybe not that, but something along the lines of Stellar Unity," Dave suggested.
Jessica shook her head as she grasped the controls. "Nah. How about…" Her gaze drifted out towards the stars and her eyes widened as an idea came to her. "How about Stellar Freedom?"
Dave's eyes widened as he heard the name. A smile crossed his lips. "Yeah. I like it. It really suits what we're going to do, so why not?"
Jessica smiled back. "All right. Then Stellar Freedom it is!"
Dave smiled. "I really like your style, you know that?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, now we gotta figure out what to do next."
"Well, for now, I suggest we head to another world and get some supplies. Then we can start out making a name for ourselves out there. Hopefully someone will take notice of us," Dave said.
"Good idea," Jessica said. "We'll head to Tatooine and set down there for now."
Dave nodded and she inputted the coordinates for the jump.
Meanwhile - with Jaden
Jaden sat in the cockpit of his newly acquired starship, the Scimitar-class Infiltrator which he had renamed 'The Forthcoming Redemption'. He had long left the Korriban System, and had set course towards his new destination. It would be some time before he arrived, so it gave him some time to contemplate the situation he was now in - along with over two million other people.
Kayaba had put them all in a very difficult situation. Since they were all trapped in this Virtual World, they could not contact the outside. And while they may feel fine within the VR, eating Virtual food, water and such, he knew that eventually their real bodies would deteriorate over time from the lack of real food and nutrients. They could only live for two - maybe three years depending on whether or not the parents kept them on life support.
However, there was some good news, at least for Jaden and the players. One of the most ingenuous additions to Nerv Gear was its time dilation effect. Essentially, the dilation effect causes time inside the game moves faster than on the outside. One hour IRL would be the equivalent of 24 hours in SWO. So if one plays SWO for 24 hours IRL, in the game, he would have been playing for 24 days.
This was an advantage that they very much needed. Jaden doubted that Kayaba would end his little game at just the Original Trilogy, that would only leave the events of episode V and VI. And since it was clear that episode VII would have no presence in this game, that eliminated that possibility. Jaden theorized that if Kayaba really wanted too, he could stretch the game out as far as the Thrawn Trilogy, possibly to the Yuuzhan Vong war if he really wanted to keep the game going, though Jaden had his doubts. At the very least, he assumed he would keep it going until the end of the Galactic Civil War.
'Then there are his 100 Strongholds...' he thought to himself. 'He must have made them easy to identify… but difficult enough so we would have trouble finding and defeating them. And who will they belong to? Rebels? Imperials?'
Jordan sighed, leaning back in the seat 'We'll only find out in due time...' he thought, 'All we can do is to organize the players into guilds and fighting forces to combat the Strongholds… and anything else that threatens us.'
While Kayaba was their main threat, Jaden knew there were numerous other forces they needed to contend with. Notably the Galactic Empire. While they could make accurate guesses at what the Empire will do, it all depends on how their own actions affect those that the NPC's of Vader and Palpatine make. The same goes for the Rebellion.
However, another major issue were the Players themselves. Although he would like to think the Players would try to stay honorable, it was likely that eventually Players would start to kill other Players for extra XP, and to get stronger. And it was also possible that Players would side with the Galactic Empire or the Hutt Cartel rather than the Rebellion. There were numerous variables that had to be taken into account.
'I can't worry about that… not now at least…' He thought to himself. 'I need to find the others… I hope they made it through this shitstorm and got to Iego.'
Jaden and his friends were part of a Guild who were in many other games, including Terracraft, Gaia Online, and numerous other VRMMO's. When SWO came out, they all agreed that they would meet together on one planet, which they will establish as their base to begin setting up their Guild.
They voted, and chose that Iego would be the best location to meet. It was distant, not too many major quests there, and filled with low to mid level NPC enemies to defeat. However, now that seemed to be a moot point, with the new rules applied players would be going to every planet to get a scrap of XP to ensure their survival.
'Ryu… Patriot… Takeshi… Titanic… you guys better still be alive...' Jaden thought to himself. However moments later, the commlink in the cockpit went off, surprising him as he looked at it 'A short-burst message?' He thought as he hit the accept button.
There was a short burst of static, until finally a female voice came through. "...is the Freighter Red Dawn to any nearby… ttack by Pirates! We need hel… Jesus, someone answer!"
Jaden's eyes narrowed, that was a Player on the comm, and a Distress signal. He quickly checked the location of the distress beacon, and it was thankfully not to far out of the way. 'Looks like I'm going on a detour.' He thought, as he made the adjustments. "This is Jaden Takeo of the Forthcoming Redemption," he said, unsure if they could hear him. "I'm on my way! Hang tight!"
In the cockpit of the 'Blind Eye'
"Well, that's just great," Ryu sighed to himself as he processed what was said, even as he moved the ship he christened the 'Blind Eye' into the Hyperspace shipping lanes. A small flashing light on his HUD caught his attention, bringing it up he found that he was now eligible for a Prestige Class.
Four were available to him, and all four were capable of utilizing stealth fields:
Sniper: Capable of dealing out heavy damage at extreme ranges with some buffs for allies and debuffs for enemies.
Operative: Based upon Buffing and Debuffing enemies and allies with healing capabilities.
Master Thief: One of the few Classes capable of theft and has support abilities based around theft and Breaking and Entering
Assassin: Relies on close range high damage to One Hit Kill enemies or severely debuff them, capable of backstabbing
Ryu scanned through the Classes respective skill trees before making a decision. "Went this far as a blind sniper, might as well keep it going," he muttered to himself before selecting the sniper class. "Now… I think it's time for the Black Market Information Guild to get started…"
117Jorn: And once again, we have a new fic for you all! Star Wars meets SAO in a way you'd never expect! :D
Titanic X: And it appears that things are about to really heat up this time!
Patriot-112: That's right! And expect new sub-classes which present new equipment, stats, weapons, and... pay grade.
Takeshi Yamato: And let's not forget our AI Companion Characters! They'll play a big role in things to come!
DragonKnightRyu: And I begin the steps to becoming a Black Market Mogul!
117Jorn: And this is only the beginning my friends, we'll see you next time in the next chapter of Star Wars: Online! Until then…
Everyone: MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
Footnotes
1. (Takeshi Yamato) It's Yzak Joule's scar from Gundam SEED - that thing always looked badass to me. :D