Star Wars: The Old Republic – An Isekai Tale
Chapter Two: Flesh Raiders
"Son of a bitch!" Jaiden yelped, narrowly dodging yet another swing from the angry Flesh Raider before him. He'd been attempting to sneak out past all the fighting, and he'd been so, so close, to getting out of the valley when this straggler caught wind of him.
Still, it was only one. Surely that wouldn't be much of an issue, especially with the sword that healer-angel-dude had lent him. Right?
Wrong.
He'd barely swung once and the Flesh Raider hadn't even bothered to block, just swung even harder and knocked the vibrosword out of his hands. That brought him up to the present, where Jaiden was preoccupied ducking and dodging its wild strikes. Haphazard as they were, even a glancing blow looked like it'd knock him on his ass and he really didn't want to find out what happened if you died in the afterlife.
A ghost of a ghost? Shit! His thoughts were once more interrupted as the Flesh Raider's blade narrowly breezed past his face. Right, stay focused. He knew if he wanted to have even a chance to survive, he'd need to retrieve his vibrosword. Coincidentally, the same vibrosword that was laying on the ground behind an angry Flesh Raider. Just gotta time it right, and.. now!
Jaiden ducked beneath the latest attempt on his life and took off, sprinting past the Flesh Raider as his heart raced in his chest. Just as he thought he'd pulled it off, a heavy blow slammed into the small of his back, knocking the wind from his lungs. He wheezed as the unexpected attack practically launched him forward, skidding and tumbling across the grass.
He rolled onto his back with a groan, struggling to breath as the heavy stomps of his would-be killer approached. Trying to prop himself back onto his feet, Jaiden's eyes widened as his hand brushed up against a familiar hilt.
The Flesh Raider was running now, rushing towards him with a bloodthirsty roar. I'm not dying again! Jaiden grasped the vibrosword and swung up with a desperate shout, squeezing his eyes shut just as the beast charged.
There was a sickeningly wet squelch as the roar abruptly choked and cut off. Jaiden froze in place, not even daring to move as he peeked an eye open to reveal the Flesh Raider weakly huffing a mere six inches from his face. A quick glance revealed the entirety of the vibrosword had pierced straight through it, leaving the crossguard pressing flat against its chest.
The Flesh Raiders dying groans reminded him that, oh right, there's a living creature practically dying on top of me, and he managed to roll it off with a great effort. Face pale and legs considerably shakier than when he'd arrived, Jaiden struggled to his feet and gazed down on the dying beast. Looking at it now, he couldn't help but feel pity for the creature, even if he knew that there was no other way. It wasn't like he'd deliberately come for a fight; he'd even attempted everything possible to avoid it!
Seeing the Flesh Raider dying, all alone… Jaiden felt an unfortunate sense of kinship with the creature and let out a heavy sigh. He slowly knelt beside it and rested his palm on the center of its wide head. "Go ahead and rest.. I'm not going anywhere." He finally whispered, and he'd swear that for just a moment, there was a flash of gratefulness in the Flesh Raiders eyes. Moments later, its gaze turned dull as its chest fell one final time.
Jaiden was momentarily struck by a profound sense of loss that nearly staggered him just as much as it confused him. This was a creature that'd just tried to kill him moments ago, and, disregarding any similarities of their demise, they had nothing in common. And yet.. he mourned its passing; its blood was on his hands, quite literally. Maybe I'm in hell after all.
The sound of growling startled him out of his introspection, abruptly yanking his hand from the Flesh Raider's head as if burned. Nope, still dead. Which means- oh. Jaiden gulped, all moral quandaries forgotten in the wake of an angry pack of very alive, and very hungry, flesh raiders. The sounds of fighting had died down while he was occupied so the others must've retreated back into the Temple. Well, there's that or they're all dead. Either way, it left him on his own with only a single vibrosword against the entire pack with- were those guns? Even better.
He'd gotten lucky with the straggler of the group and he knew it, he'd have to plan his strategy carefully if he wanted to survive. Anything less and they'd likely gun him down before he could blink. Jaiden flashed them a cocky grin as he rose to his feet, hiding his disgust at the noise as he yanked his vibrosword free of the corpse. The volume of their growls only rose as he took a threatening step towards them, confidence never wavering for even a second.
The air was tense and practically charged between the two groups as Jaiden stared down the Flesh Raiders' bloodthirsty gazes across the field. After facing so many Jedi and padawans, the beasts were used to either calm acceptance or a panicked desperation. This show of confidence had somewhat unnerved them, not that he had any idea. As it was, Jaiden was simply happy that his bluff plan seemed to be working. Alright, all or nothing..
"What the hell is that?!" All that unwavering confidence melted away into pure horror as Jaiden shouted, stumbling back a step and pointing out into the woods behind them. Whether it was out of surprise or genuinely being fooled by his piss poor acting skills, the end result was the same as the Flesh Raiders whirled around with their blasters at the ready. Some of the more trigger-happy had even taken the next step and filled an innocent tree with a number of scorch marks.
Unaware of all of this, Jaiden was running through the grassy plains of Tython in the opposite direction with a wild grin on his face. The second he'd seen them twitch, he'd spun around and ran like hell in the hopes that they'd actually fallen for his dumb stunt. Considering he couldn't hear any angry roars coming from behind, it surprisingly seemed like a success. I can't believe that actually worked! Mere moments after he thought this, a blaster bolt slammed against the large boulder beside him. Oh fuck, that didn't work!
"I think.. I lost them.." Jaiden panted as he leaned up against the entrance to the cave. He'd been running for around a solid hour and was utterly spent, the adrenaline slowly wearing off. The Flesh Raiders had followed him through the plains and along the mountain range where he'd finally shook them off by ducking into this cave. Seeing as his home-state didn't really have caves, it was a new and actually semi-pleasant experience.
Or at least it would be, whenever he managed to get some air back into his lungs.
He rested his head back against the stone, closing his eyes as he took the opportunity to rest and ponder his circumstances. This whole situation was absolutely insane; he'd died – died! – and woken up in some strange Star Wars-esque world only to be chased around by a group of beast-monster-things called Flesh Raiders. It really says something that I died, woke up afterwards, and that wasn't even the strangest part of my day. The afterlife wouldn't be such a pain. At least, I hope not. This is definitely some funky dream-coma thing.
Another heavy sigh. "May as well see what it's got in store for me next." Jaiden muttered under his breath before clambering back up to his feet. If his brain had gone through all the effort of creating this fictional world while he's dead-or-dying, it'd be a waste to spend it all cowering in an admittedly interesting looking cave.
An interesting cave that he was just now realizing was filled with Flesh Raiders, because of course it was. His breath hitched as he realized the depth of the trouble he was now in, clutching the hilt of his vibrosword desperately. They certainly hadn't been there when he'd rushed in, they must've somehow arrived from further within the cave while he'd been recovering. Odds were he could make it back out before they noticed, but he just had this gut feeling that there was something worth exploring further in the caves.
There was no way Jaiden was going to be able cut his way through god-knows how many Flesh Raiders, but maybe he wouldn't have to. This is my dream; I make the rules here. He took in a deep breath, you can't see me, and began to walk.
He could feel something shudder to life within him, almost like a sixth sense, and then the world seemed to practically snap into color around him; everything felt more vivid and alive. Emboldened by this feeling, Jaiden continued to recite that mantra in his head over and over as he began skirting along the edge of the cave, keeping what little distance he could between himself and the Flesh Raiders. The moment he passed the first group without even a twitch in his direction, his confidence soared, and he strode onward fearlessly.
You can't see me.
He could feel a subtle yet consistent drain on his stamina as he continued through the cave, but with his spirits high as they were, he couldn't have cared less. No wonder so many people try to learn lucid dreaming, this is amazing! Jaiden marveled with a grin on his face as he slipped right past another gang of Flesh Raiders. Not even the numerous piles of bones everywhere could bring him down. After all, this was all only a dream.
You can't see me.
In practically no time at all, Jaiden found himself approaching an incline within the cave. At the top were.. voices! One was distinctly a human male, admittedly one who'd gone overkill with eyeshadow, but the other just sounded like oddly pitched gibberish. Still, since this was his dream, all he'd have to do is concentrate and-there! Though outwardly it remained gibberish, the meaning and intentions were coming through clearly in his head.
The wounded alien stumbled back, holding his head in clear pain, "You are Jedi. Why would you kill me?" He certainly looked worse for wear, with numerous scrapes and burns along his arms and torso.
"Because the order must evolve—and you are weak." The other, he'd call him Eyeshadow for now, arrogantly replied with his arms crossed over his chest. Just the sight of him alone was enough to irritate Jaiden; it didn't help that he sounded like he was trying to be an overly dramatic villain. Eyeshadow suddenly scowled and ignited his lightsaber, looking around wildly. "We aren't alone; show yourself!"
It seems Eyeshadow was a tad smarter than the Flesh Raiders if he could still detect him, though they hadn't exactly set the bar very high. Jaiden blinked in surprise but obliged with a devious little grin, "Boo!" Both leaped back in surprise as, to them, what appeared to be a fully trained Jedi Knight had just appeared from thin air.
"You, on the other hand.. You are dangerous." Eyeshadow's voice was wary as he raised his blade, pointing the lightsaber directly at Jaiden's chest.
Jaiden grimaced and leaned ever so slightly back away from the superheated blade, keeping his vibrosword lowered by his side. "Look, I'm kinda tired so I'm thinking we all just drop our weapons and talk things out. That sound good?" He'd barely finished speaking when two more Flesh Raiders, these ones bearing what appeared to be white tribal markings, emerged from the cave entrance.
"I stand corrected," Eyeshadow scowled, disgusted at the offer of peace. He lowered his blade as the Flesh Raiders advanced past him. "You are both weak, you have no place in our new order."
That was enough for the Flesh Raiders, who roared out a challenge and began swinging their blades like a cudgel. While not the most graceful of attacks, their brute strength could smash through any defense Jaiden put up. They also appeared to be at least moderately more skilled than the one he'd encountered outside the Temple, no chance I'm getting lucky a second time.
Jaiden breathed out and tried to put out all thoughts of panic as he dodged strike after strike, any one of them more than capable of dealing a fatal blow, trying to calm himself and recapture that feeling from before. He'd really prefer not to experience dying a second time, especially not in his own dying delusions.
The alien shouted a warning, narrowly allowing him to dodge in time to keep his head on his shoulders. As much as he wanted to remain calm, this attempt on his life was hardly a relaxing experience. Just when he'd been about to bolt out of desperation, he felt.. something. It was hard to describe, it reminded him of how he'd felt when he'd harnessed his awareness of the dream, but it also felt- shocked? There was a flash of fear and what felt like an iron door slamming in Jaiden's face, causing him to physically wince.
Still, even with that strange interaction, it'd unknowingly led him onto the right path, and he could feel an energy of sorts brush up against his senses. It was far more potent than before; the hair on the back of his neck raised as though a thunderstorm were brewing.
Jaiden embraced that feeling with open arms, breath hitching as it filled him and practically opened a world of possibilities before his eyes. It wasn't anything so tacky as written directions or glowing lines of where to strike; he could feel just how to move his body and how each action could lead to a different outcome. Delving further, he could even glimpse several steps in advance though it grew clouded the further he tried to look.
As great as it was to have so many options, it was quickly becoming overwhelming, especially as he was preoccupied with also trying to dodge the Flesh Raiders attacks. One had been difficult enough, but two at the same time? The only reason he hadn't been impaled yet was that he kept dodging around so that they were stumbling into each other, using his newfound awareness to his advantage.
Okay, gotta filter this somehow.. Ignore Eyeshadow over there, just gotta deal with the Flesh Raiders before he gets bored and picks on the other guy. The optimal path finally snapped into place and all Jaiden's fears washed away with a grin. He lunged forward and, right as the first Flesh Raider made to block, sidestepped, and spun the vibrosword around to cleave through the side of its thick neck. The dying creature stumbled to the floor with a wounded cry, but Jaiden put it out of his mind for now. Every second wasted was another second that Eyeshadow could use to strike down his wounded- comrade? Acquaintance? Not the time.
Jaiden spun the blade around and swung down towards the remaining Flesh Raider. It was as though something was guiding his strike, speeding it along to its destination before the creature could respond in kind. It'd barely raised its blade when his vibrosword carved diagonally across its chest, slashing through a plethora of important organs and killing it instantly. Two down, one to go.
It'd taken him under thirty seconds to fell both Flesh Raiders, and now he turned his gaze to Eyeshadow and the alien, only to find the alien laying beaten in the dirt while the Dark Jedi held up his saber, poised to strike.
"Hey! Leave him alone, jackass-!" Jaiden kicked off the ground, launching himself bodily towards Eyeshadow and tackling him to the ground. The pair were a tangle of limbs until a boot found its way into his gut, kicking him away with a grunt.
Staggering back to his feet, Jaiden narrowly managed to deflect the Dark Jedi's furious strike with the flat of his blade. He grimaced as he was quickly forced onto the defensive, attempting to remain focused but easily distracted by the sudden flurry of strikes. This close, the bright blue hue of the lightsaber was practically blinding, and he could feel himself starting to panic as every attack forced him further back.
It was only a matter of time until one struck true- Jaiden cried out in pain as the lightsaber grazed his left arm, the shock of the pain causing him to stumble back and drop his guard. Any trace of his earlier calm had escaped him as Eyeshadow laughed, with a sadistic glee, bringing the lightsaber around for one final swing. Forgetting all thoughts of this being a dream, he flinched and slammed his eyes shut as he awaited the end.
Yet, instead of the harsh burn of a lightsaber, he felt something shove him from the side and went tumbling to the ground once more. There was an annoyed shout from Eyeshadow, the instantly recognizable sound of lightsaber blades clashing once, twice- the third strike found its mark. When Jaiden opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Eyeshadow's corpse with a clear smoldering line across his chest from shoulder to hip.
He yelped in surprise and scurried back, stumbling ungracefully back to his feet with a wince. It was then that he took in the new arrival, an old man wearing similar clothing to what the healer and the alien–I really need to find out his name–was wearing. If that wasn't enough to clue him in to his identity, the glowing blue lightsaber held by his side certainly did the trick.
"You two alright?" The unidentified Jedi approached, extinguishing his lightsaber. He seemed to do a double take when he caught sight of Jaiden but managed to swallow down whatever he'd nearly blurted out. There was a certain wariness to him, but at least he wasn't outright hostile. Considering how many creatures he'd met in the last couple hours that had tried to kill him, he'd take it. "What happened here?"
"The Jedi attacked us, Master Orgus. He was sick… confused." The alien responded helpfully, given Jaiden had sorta stumbled into the whole situation entirely by chance. Not to mention the steady waves of pain coming from his burn were unfortunately quite distracting now that the adrenaline of that final duel was wearing off.
"Thank the Force that you're both safe." One could practically feel the relief rolling off Master Orgus before he kneeled to examine the potential Jedi he'd had to cut down. It was like he'd flipped a switch as he went into business mode, kneeling down to examine Eyeshadows body. "This man's no Jedi—at least, not one of us."
"Speaking of which – I didn't catch your name?" Jaiden interrupted, turning to the alien he'd been defending prior to getting knocked flat on his ass. As bad as he was with names, he'd referred to him simply as 'alien' enough times that it was starting to feel uncomfortably racist.
The question seemed to throw the alien for a loop before a surprised laugh escaped him. "Unaw Aharo, Jedi Padawan. Thank you for coming to help." Unaw bowed his head in gratitude, causing Jaiden to flush with embarrassment.
"I didn't do much, barely managed to even handle the Flesh Raiders." He tried to brush it aside with a self-depreciating laugh that fell flat when the padawan simply bowed his head once more. Jaiden sighed, "… you're welcome."
"That reminds me," Master Orgus spoke up, pocketing Eyeshadow's lightsaber with an odd look in his eye before rising back to his feet. "You clearly handled yourself just fine against these two, how did you get so far past the ones earlier in the cave?"
"Just sorta.. used my instincts?" Jaiden shrugged with a sheepish smile, "I'm not really sure either, I just told myself they couldn't see me and.. well, they didn't bother me."
Both Jedi and padawan seemed stunned at his casual statement, causing him no end of confusion. In the few lucid dreams he'd had in the past, any wild abilities Jaiden had manifested were just casually accepted. Perhaps things were different when you were dying?
The silence seemed to go on forever until Orgus spoke, "You're certainly going to be an interesting one." He chuckled and pat Jaiden's shoulder as he walked past, approaching the entrance the Flesh Raiders had emerged from. "This battle may be over, but we don't want any more flesh raiders coming through here." The Jedi Master raised his hand towards the opening and Jaiden felt as raw energy coalesced—as clearly as if he could see it with his own two eyes—collapsing the tunnel in on itself.
Eyes wide with awe even as he'd stumbled back at the literal ground-shaking power on display, Jaiden glanced between an amused Orgus and the new pile of stone and rubble blocking the entrance. "I have gotta learn how to do that." He finally found his voice, now tinged with awe and a hint of excitement. The energy itself had felt similar to what he'd utilized himself just minutes ago - dialed up to a hundred.
To his credit, the Jedi Master's chuckle was almost fond as he turned back to face Jaiden and Unaw. "Perhaps someday, you'll get that chance." Meeting his gaze, Jaiden realized he must've passed a test of some sort during the discussion without even realizing it; the wariness in Orgus's gaze was gone.
"I'm injured, Master Orgus. Are the training grounds safe for travel?" Unaw's voice cut in, almost apologetic if not for the pain in his voice.
Jaiden blinked at the reminder and looked over to see the padawan clutching at his chest, breathing a little harder than he'd been a few minutes ago. He shuddered and shook off thoughts of concrete roads and struggling to breath, and oh god I don't want to die-
"Not yet. I'll get you to a medcenter." Orgus's voice cut through his panic, yanking Jaiden away from those less pleasant thoughts for now, even if he remained a little light-headed. The Jedi Master glanced back at the sound of shuffling only to see the young man settling down on the floor and leaning back against the cavern wall. "If you can manage it, you need to go report to the Jedi Council. Just follow the path leading out of this valley, you'll find the Jedi Temple through the mountain pass."
There was concern in his voice, but Jaiden waved it off with a tired smile. "It's been a hell of a day," This dream-body may have been better than the one he'd had in life, but everything had its limits. He'd practically been in a near-constant adrenaline rush for the last hour with all these attempts on his life and as it wore off, all that exhaustion and pain he'd put off was finally sinking in. "I'll head out as soon as I catch my breath, don't worry."
Orgus looked as if he wanted to disagree but knew he didn't have any other options, not with Unaw injured as he was. "If you insist." He sighed, shaking his head like a disgruntled parent. Though the thought sent a pang of grief through him, Jaiden couldn't help but chuckle. "I'd almost forgot; when you reach the temple, I have it on good authority that Master Satele wishes to speak with you before you make your report to the Council."
Why does that name sound vaguely familiar?
"Master Satele, then drop by the Council. Got it." Jaiden replied, closing his eyes and resting back against the cool stone. As tired as he was, even the solid rock felt somewhat comfortable. Still, he couldn't remember ever falling asleep in a dream before, and some part of him couldn't help but wonder if this growing exhaustion meant that his time was up.
"By the way.. thanks for the save earlier, Master Orgus. May the Force be with you both."
"And with you."
Even if this were all a dream, the familiar phrase felt somewhat comforting as Master Orgus and Unaw departed for the medcenter. Jaiden closed his eyes, satisfied with how this dream had ended as his breathing began to slow. Although it hadn't gone the way he'd expected, it was certainly a far kinder alternative to watching his life flash before his eyes; he could do without a rerun of his many mistakes, thank you very much.
And yet, for how exhausted he was, sleep refused to claim him. It was like there was something nudging at him, instilling a sense of growing urgency within him. After about five minutes of this, Jaiden sighed, once more trying to reach out with his senses now that he knew the way. That door—for lack of better term—in his mind hadn't budged an inch but he ignored it for now, feeling his aches and burns soothed by the gentle warmth of this energy. Seems there's more to this dream after all.
Though it was a little shaky, he managed to maintain that connection and keep it strong enough to spread through his body. Feeling remarkably revitalized, Jaiden rose to his feet with a pleased grin and set out for the Jedi Temple.
Authors Note: Aaaaaaaaah, it's so hard trying to describe things from a perspective of someone who doesn't realize they're actually in Star Wars! I swear Jaiden will get better but right now he thinks he's dead and basically in either a coma-dream or like some weird version dream his brain thought up to make dying easier. He'll still be oblivious to a certain degree but uh, not this bad. He may seem a little generic now but that's also because of the whole dream thing, and aside from his feelings, there's no consequences. I've left a few hints about his true character though, and we'll get to finally explore it more next chapter!
ALSO, for anyone wondering why I don't name the Dark Jedi in the cave, I realized we never actually heard them introduce themselves and poor Jaiden here doesn't have subtitles on.
Hopefully I explained it well enough, but the reason that Jaiden could feel loss at the death of the Flesh Raider was that he's completely untrained and his force presence is just- all over the place. Everything living is connected in the Force, so he was able to feel the moment it passed and became one with the Force. You'll notice how he also was instinctively using the Force, although in different ways to the canon Jedi Knight. Even if he has the raw strength, he lacks the training of the Jedi Knight and has to make up for it with creativity and imagination. Part of that is chalked up to him thinking this is all a lucid dream and so using the Force like an extension of himself. We may see some trouble on that front once he realizes this isn't a dream..
I have so many plans for where this can go, I'm gonna try to maintain that 3k+ word chapter length as long as I can. Even more exciting, this is now being crossposted on AO3 and Fanfiction! Please feel free to comment and whatnot if you like this, follows and comments feed my muse! See you with the next update, and May the Force be With You all.