This is a Gamer Story taking place in the Galaxy of Star Wars. I assume that you have some basic knowledge about both of these topics.
He woke up to a freezing coldness. It was dark and cold. Confused when he opened my eyes and looked around, only to find a veritable ocean of stars before him. It was an amazingly grand starry sky. There were bright and dim stars, a colorful nebula, and an asteroid field… which was a bit too close for comfort.
"Okay… what the hell?"
Asteroids, which looked like a bunch of scattered floating rocky debris, were practically right before his eyes. He was sure there's no place on earth where you can actually see these things from this close-up. It's quite common to see this type of scenery in games and movies though. But it's absolutely impossible to see them from a distance which made them visible to the naked eye for real.
"Is this a dream? No, this biting cold-"
The bone-piercing coldness just felt way too real. The feeling of being lightheaded right after waking up and this rising sense of uneasiness also seemed eerily real. He was certain that this was reality and not a dream.
"Just where is this place anyway?"
The place where he's currently at didn't seem to be very big. As he tried to move he noticed that he was sitting on some sort of chair? There's something like a seatbelt installed which kept him from standing up. To put it simply he was in a cold, small, dark room sitting in a chair restraint by a seatbelt… yeah, he was close to having a panic attack, but his eyes gradually got used to the darkness.
"This is…"
A familiar interface started to become clear before my eyes. He was certain that he had seen this previously, but with his mind on something else he didn't immediately recognize it. After a few more seconds he eventually came to recognize the place he was in as a cockpit.
"Wait just a second! This was the game's… this is the Rogue Shadow cockpit? Is this actually a dream after all?"
No matter how he looked at it, this seemed to be the cockpit of the custom ship he owned in a game he had been playing for a couple of years now, the Rogue Shadow. The game he had been playing for years was called "SWTCW Online".
It was a game designed with a lot of freedom afforded to the players. It was set in the vast universe of Star Wars where you could go on grand adventures, enlist yourself as an Officer of the Republic or CIS and make your mark on the battlefield, become a Smuggler or Bounty Hunter purchase a fully armed spaceship and engage in interstellar missions and the like. Of course, there was also the popular option to become a Jedi or Sith. It was a game where a lot of players with different play styles gathered and interacted.
The young man played a standard smuggler style… well, not entirely standard. In order to purchase a high spec spaceship with fast mobility and strong combat ability, he did any and every possible job which could earn him in-game currency, such as becoming a transporter-for-hire or breaking through a planetary blockade. He generally played with the goal of earning enough to get a ship with a certain level of ability, followed by farming credits once again by undertaking different tasks with the said spaceship and then finally replacing his current ship with a newer, better one. That kind of thing.
His current ship, the Rogue Shadow, was something that got released from an in-game event a few months back. Players had to bring their A-game in order to get one for themselves. It was still relatively new and quite unique considering that it was one of the rare Imperial models. It was a dangerous machine that was able to outmaneuver and outspeed most other ships, but this came at the cost of firepower.
However, it seems that the systems we're currently shut down. He tried to operate the touch panel interface of the ship's controls and brought the life support systems online. Warm air soon permeated through the cockpit.
"That was close… if I lost consciousness again in that situation, I would've suffocated to death!"
Evidence of oxygen depletion inside the ship was still present on a small screen that displayed the temperature and oxygen levels. It indicated the average temperature within the whole ship was now slightly below 0 degrees. For now, he'd managed to avert a life-threatening situation, even if he still didn't have any idea about what's going on.
"Really now. What's with all this shit? A lucid dream?" A lucid dream is a dream during which the dreamer is aware that they're dreaming.
He crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair as he looked at the super-advanced cockpit controls before him. He heard about guys dreaming of becoming part of the games they play from time to time. Like being a Hero in some kind of RPG or being hunted by something terrifying. It was a pretty common thing to happen… and he did play for several hours before he went to bed last night.
"But isn't it normally the case that one wakes up after realizing that they are just dreaming? So why don't I get any signs of this?" he asked himself as he let his hand run over the controls. "Heck, I can clearly feel that it's getting warmer in her… this feels way too real."
He went through this thought process over and over in his mind trying to figure out what was going on, but he couldn't find a definite answer. After this, he tried everything to wake up from pinching himself to slapping himself… painful and without results. So, the fear of this being actual reality bubbles up inside of him. Not wanting to think about it he decided to get up and scope out the ship. As for the ship itself…
The Rogue Shadow boasted an advanced hyperdrive, cutting-edge sensory arrays, a fully functional medical bay, crew quarters, a workshop, cargo bay, and a living area where the crew could gather to relax or eat. It also had the fastest sublight drives in the entire galaxy. In addition to these high-tech features, the Rogue Shadow was outfitted with an experimental cloaking device that enabled the vessel to hide from even the most powerful scanners for short periods of time.
It was exactly how he knew it from the game and when he went into the bathroom to splash his face with water and looked in the mirror he noticed that something else changed as well… his appearance.
"What the fuck?"
He was still a human male, which was good, but the rest of him looked completely different from his usual self. He was a bit taller than his normal self with a lean and toned build. He possessed black, somewhat spiky hair and sky blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a black robe with a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg and arm.
"That's not… that's the face of my character Rogue," he said as he touched his new face. "No… no, no… no, no, no… this just can't be! But if it is true… no, it just can't be! Stuff like this only happens in stories!"
The boy ran through his hair as he looked at the reflection of what was his character in his video game. He really tried his best not to freak out and then something happened that was even more confusing. When he moved down his hand a menu that looked just like what he was used to from the game popped up right before his eyes.
[Menu]
-Status
-Inventory
-Quests
-Ship
-Glossary
-Help/Information
"What the frick? Is this a joke? This is the menu from SWTCW Online! If this is a dream after all then I seriously have to go to a psychologist and get my brain checked."
Not knowing what to do now he tried to tap one of the options and sure enough, a new window opened. This new window displayed his Status including his stats and skills which he had acquired over the months he had been actively playing the game.
[Status Menu]
Personal Information
-Name: Rogue
-Title: The Gamer
-Race: Human
-Gender: Male
-Age: 15
-Alignment: Neutral
Status
-HP: The Health Points the character possesses. If the HP of a character hits 0 the character will perish. In this game, there are no second chances.
-FP: The Force Points a character possesses. These points are used by a character to use Force Abilities if one hasn't enough for a certain Ability then they can't use the ability. The FP is set by the midi-chlorian a being possesses and can be increased through natural means.
-STR: Strength measures physical power. A high Strength adds modifiers to melee damage and chance to hit, which is important for characters that use close-combat weapons.
-DEX: Dexterity measures agility and reflexes. A high Dexterity adds modifiers to ranged attacks and increases a character's Defense, making them harder to hit.
-CON: Constitution represents health and resiliency. A high Constitution adds modifiers to the HP gained at each level-up. The Constitution also determines what types of implants the character can equip.
-INT: Intelligence represents knowledge and reasoning. A high Intelligence adds modifiers to the number of points a character has to spend on essential skills.
-WIS: Wisdom represents willpower and perception. A high Wisdom adds modifiers to Force Power. The Force Powers of a Force User with high Wisdom is also much harder to resist.
-Cha: A high Charisma increases the potency of a character's Force Powers. It also reduces the penalty when using Force Powers of an opposing alignment (a light side character with a high Charisma can use dark side powers with less penalty). A high Charisma also gives your companions boosts.
Skills
-Computer Use (INT): 32/100
-Stealth (DEX): 36/100
-Awareness (WIS): 34/100
-Persuade (CHA): 32/100
-Repair (INT): 40/100
-Security (INT): 39/100
-Blasters (DEX): 40/100
-Two-Weapon Fighting (DEX): 39/100
-Piloting (DEX): 59/100
…
The Status was exactly like one of his characters in the game which was cool, but concerning. If he truly could do everything his character could, this could be cool, but still, this situation was not good… especially considering that the System stated that if his HP hit zero there would be no second chance.
"Just what did I do to get myself into this situation?"
With this thought, Rogue exited the bathroom and proceeded to look through the ship. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, but he knew the ship like the back of his hand. After some minutes of aimlessly walking through the ship, he eventually came across a droid… his droid.
The droid was one of two which accompanied him through his adventures in the game. The one Rogue was currently looking at was an R2-series astromech droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton with masculine programming. It looked nearly identical to the famous R2-D2 with the only major difference being that it was colored in black and silver. Rogue got himself this droid in the game since he was a huge fan of R2-D2 and so purchased this droid over a more advanced one. Seeing this droid actually brought a smile to his face as he called out to the droid.
"Hey, R2-X7," Rogue called out to the droid, but there was no reply. On further inspection, Rogue noticed that the droid was shut down for some reason, but that was fixed rather easily. And a few seconds later the droid was beeping at the smuggler.
"Wow, wow. Calm down, buddy!" Rogue replied, lifting his hands in the air as he heard the fast beeping of the droid. Hearing the words of Rogue the droid slowed down and started over.
"Huh, I wanted to ask you the same question… this all is just so strange. By the way, is everything working alright?"
Beep, beep.
"Glad to hear it. Anyway, do you know where our other friend is?"
Beep, beep.
"I guess, then we just have to look for him, maybe he'll know what happened."
And so, Rogue and R2 split up to go look for the second droid and finally a member of the small crew. The droid they were looking for was an HK-series assassin droid with the lovely habit of calling all organic beings, with the exception of Rogue, meatbags. The droid was programmed as a bodyguard with the knowledge of how to handle a wide variety of range weapons. When he found him HK was in the workshop also shut down with his Grantek F-11D Blaster Rifle.
Seeing him Rogue walked over and activated the droid which responded in a way Rogue could have predicted but didn't. As soon as the HK droid was activated he immediately used a Martial Arts technique which could have ended up hurting Rogue, but he was able to react in time… a feat he definitely would be unable to do in his original body.
"Observation: Oh, it's you, Master."
"Yeah, it's me… and I would appreciate it if you were to refrain from attacking me."
"Apology: I'm sorry, Master. Question: Why exactly was I shut down? I was in the middle of customizing my weapon."
"I don't know that either… I woke up in the cockpit with no memories of what happened priorly and everything on the ship shut-down."
"Statement: That sounds rather strange. Question: Have you scanned the sector already?"
"Uh… no. I forgot about it."
"Statement: That's very unlike you, Master. Suggestion: You should go to the medical bay and check if everything is alright with your body."
"That's a good idea. I'll leave figuring out where we are and scan the sector to you and R2 in the meantime."
"Reply: Of course, Master. Leave everything to us while you take a relaxing rest."
"Will do. I'll see you later."
With this Rogue left his HK and R2 to do the work while he would go to the med bay. There he would use the equipment which for some reason he was able to operate perfectly to do a body scan. As he was lying there he thought about his new situation once more.
'This is no dream… this is as real as it gets. I guess I have to acknowledge that this is reality. However, what am I supposed to do with this new life of mine? It would be rather helpful if I were to know which year it currently is… and if I'm truly in the Star Wars universe.'
Realizing that there might be an answer to his questions he opened his menu once more. This time instead of opening his Status Menu he went to the Help/Information section. There he started to read through multiple of the pages which explained the Status Menu once more, but also the Rogue Shadow and the current situation in the galaxy. From it, he figured out that it was the year 22 BBY.
'Okay, this means that the Clone Wars should start sometime this year and make things a bit more difficult, but more profitable. Being a smuggler isn't the most pretty job or honorable, but it might be the best. However, with the upcoming war, there was much potential in joining one of the two sides… but I already know that there will be no victor… and I for one would like to be on the victorious side. Yet this won't be possible knowing Palpatine.'
Rogue stayed in the med bay a bit longer as he thought about his next course of action. However, even after more intense thinking he just couldn't come up with anything better than being a simple smuggler. With the Clones being the army and him having no military experience to lead them, there was only the option to become a Jedi or someone involved with politics. Neither of these options was really anything that could have a good outcome once the Republic turns into the Empire. As for the CIS, they were even less appealing. Joining them would mean that there was a high chance that Rogue would have to clash with a Jedi during the war and if he were to survive that he would be killed during the clean-up when the Empire takes over.
'No matter what way I think about it, the only option that benefits me would be to stay a smuggler… oh well, if I really have to spend the rest of my life in this galaxy then I can always switch careers if something better comes up.'
Having made his decision Rogue finally decides to leave the medical bay and head back to the cockpit. It was time for him to accept this new reality and time to make his way to the next planet. He had a full cargo which he could sell for quite a bit and he needed to stock up on food supplies, his current would only last for a single week.
As he entered the cockpit he was greeted by HK. "Question: Are you done with your check-up, Master?"
"Yeah, and everything seemed fine. What about the Shadow?"
"Statement: Everything is working at optimal efficiency and there are no signs for any damage. Question: Master, have you decided where we will head next?"
"A planet with a black market would be good. We have quite the cargo to get rid of."
"Suggestion: Then why don't we head to the capital of the Galactic Republic? Explanation: The black market on the lower levels is currently thriving and we should get a good price for our cargo."
"Alright, then let's head to Coruscant. However, even so, the scans indicate no trouble. I would like to do a few more test maneuvres."
Having said so, Rogue took his place in the piloting seat and fired up the engines. When the thrusters of the ship came to life Rogue started to feel excited. He couldn't help but smirk as the ship started to move.
As he was piloting the ship he thought it seemed surprisingly easy to operate, so he tried it and managed to maneuver Shadow just fine with his piloting skill. He had a little trouble with the controls as a result of his high piloting skill which made him use it as if he had done so for years. Since he was now controlling the ship directly, it became possible to perform more detailed maneuvers than he could in the game. He repeatedly accelerated and decelerated and genuinely felt his body pressing onto the seat due to the constant shifts in speed.
"Alright, let's try firing off some weapons then."
Rogue actually started to enjoy this as a smirk started to form on his face. He turned the weapon systems online and activated artillery. Afterward, a laser cannon of the ship moved to lock on its target.
"Alright, here we go!" Rogue exclaimed as he fired the cannons at a nearby asteroid.
"Now, that's what I call working fine!" Rogue whistled as the asteroid blew up in hundred of pieces. Some of the fragments scattered and hit the energy shield which prevented the ship from taking any damage.
"My stay in this galaxy might be more enjoyable than I originally thought," Rogue announced as he looked into the far distance wondering what kind of future awaits him.
That's it for the first chapter of my story. I hope you enjoyed it even though nothing exciting has happened yet. I'm grateful for any helpful criticism and suggestions to improve my story since I'm still new to this. There are a few things I want to address.
First, the topic of reviews. I'll try to reply to each one of them, but I can't promise that I won't miss one or two if there are too many. Also, if there's an interesting topic I'll reply with a PM rather than give my reply during the next chapter.
Second, I know that Gamer Stories can result in conflicts about the strength of characters. If you disagree with my assessments you can tell me in a Review or PM, but I would like to ask you for an explanation instead of just complaining. If you have a convincing argument, I might go back to adjust the stats.
Anyway, once again I hope all of you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next chapter.