Destiny on the Front – by Editor Jen

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Summary: Fauna, an amateur hacker, meets a boy caught within the confines of a video game but can't remember how he got there. The pair teams up with a retired game designer, and the three of them go on a quest to save their friend.

Disclaimer: Star Wars Battlefront belongs to LucusArts. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. LucasArts is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. This story, however, belongs to me, and this sniper won't tolerate fellow gamers stealing my work.

Author's Note: Hello! Some of you know me as Editor Jen, some know me as RaysALight, and some simply know me as BountyGrl from Battlefront's Internet play. I have to say, I'm truly addicted to this game! There's actually strategy in it, and I'm trying to show that in this story. (And… oh yeah, I totally didn't copy the plot from . /hack, really! Hahahaha.)

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Prologue – Logging In

There was never a challenge he wouldn't face. His hands gripped the controller tightly and his gaze, after sweeping the icy planes of Rhen Var, fell on his target, the Fortress. It was the command post farthest to the east and a critical strategic point on the map.

Mindless chatter buzzed in his ears through the headset, unheeded. His Imperial Shock Trooper dropped from the ledge of the Lighthouse post and moved southeast. The AT-AT's domineering shadow fell over him, concealing his approach. He tapped the button to switch to his blaster pistol, his eyes focused on the snow ahead to catch any movement.

A Rebel Soldier shrugged his way down the Fortress' southernmost stairs and moved into view. The player smiled, it was an AI. He took the rebel out with a couple well-placed blaster shots.

The Shock Trooper paused at the bottom of the stairs and chucked a thermal detonator above him. It bounced off a wall and onto the floor of the Fortress before it exploded, and the player watched as his kills increased by two.

A second later, he bounded up the stairs and began taking the command post. His Shock Trooper skidded to a stop as he realized one more foe was still there. It was a Rebel Vanguard, a human player. The Rebel's back was turned and a mine was in his hand. A smirk on his face, the Trooper player pressed the button to switch back to his rocket launcher and aimed for his opponent's back.

He pressed the 'fire' button.

The sheer force of the missile's explosion knocked the Shock Trooper back into the wall adjacent to the stairs. He glanced at his health bar, noticing it that over half of it had been depleted, and then turned his attention forward as the lights from the explosion faded.

The player nearly dropped his controller.

The Rebel was still alive, and had his own missile launcher pointed at the Shock Trooper's head.

"What the-?" he stammered into the microphone. He heard a faint chuckle and then the crackling of static. His gaze dropped to the lower right side of the screen as player after player mysteriously 'left' the server. A voice caught his attention.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." The Rebel approached him, the launcher still aimed at his head.

"How can you talk to me? We're on different teams!" The player's hands began to shake and his grip tightened on the controller as laughter sounded in his headset.

"Subject captured. Start the deletion process, Pandora." The Rebel Vanguard slowly lowered his gun. "This might hurt a bit."

A rush of static flooded the player's ears and searing pains rushed though his limbs. It tore through his muscles like fire, and he tried to scream but found himself paralyzed and then consumed by a heat unlike anything he had ever felt before. The room spun around him wildly and then there was nothing but darkness.

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