Crash landing
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: MML edition
Four thousand years before the rise of the GALACTIC EMPIRE, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, otherwise known as Bradley Nicholson, last surviving apprentice to the Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible Sith Armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy.
Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable, as countless Knights fall in battle and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master.
In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages of Darth Malak, in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination…
As the latest text crawl makes its way across the galaxy (seriously, you'd think the Galactic Republic would at least try and investigate the source of those, they've been plaguing the galaxy for four thousand years), the battle it described was happening above the world of Taris. Unfortunately, for our heroes, the battle is going poorly. The Endar Spire, the sole Republic warship, has had no luck shooting down the dozens of fighters swarming and taking pot shots at her. Worse still, there were boarding pods attached to her hull. It is inside the barracks we find one Republic soldier who had been awoken by the sound of battle. This recruit's name was Milo Murphy. Before he had time to process what was happening, another Republic soldier ran in. Silver-haired, and wearing his red uniform (yeah, don't get attached to this guy), he urged Milo awake.
"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet. The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up, we don't have much time!" the soldier informed.
"What? Who are you?" Milo asked.
"I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet. I'm your bunkmate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts. I guess that's why you haven't seen me before. Now come on, we have to find Amanda! We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive," Trask pressed.
"Who?" Milo quizzed.
"Amanda's the commanding officer of the Endar Spire. Well, not really, but she's the one in charge of the mission. One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of enemy attack. We both swore an oath, now it's time to make good on it!" Trask reminded.
"But I've never killed anyone before!" Milo protested.
"Look, I get it, this is your first time seeing real action, but you've had elite combat training, and you were the top in your class. No wonder you were hand-picked for this mission. The officers were saying they haven't seen a recruit with your potential in twenty years, but all that is wasted if you can't deliver when it counts. We're soldiers, we're trained for this. Amanda needs men and women like us during this attack," Trask encouraged. Milo took a breather and collected himself.
"OK, I've got this. Let's go help Amanda," Milo resolved.
"You'll need your gear first. I can teach you how to move around and select objects if you like," Trask offered.
"That doesn't make any sense," Milo observed.
"This is a retelling of a video game, and this is the tutorial level. I have to say these things for first-timers," Trask countered.
"Really? The game designers thought a ship about to explode was an appropriate place for a tutorial level," Milo said dismissively.
"You think this is bad, you should see the sequel," Trask quipped.
"I'm good. I don't need help, thanks," Milo declined. He then got his gear out of his locker, which consisted of some light armour, a blaster rifle, and a sword. "I thought this was Star Wars, not Lord of the Rings," Milo stated.
"You get vibronic equivalents later in the game it that's any consolation," Trask assured.
"Now that's more like it," Milo replied. He then donned his armour, holstered his equipment, and with Trask, they moved out. Because of the attack, some doors were in lockdown mode, but Trask had codes to open them, and when he didn't, he just picked the lock. No sooner had they left the barracks, a message was called out on their portable communicators.
"This is Zack Onasi. The Sith are threatening to overrun our position. We can't hold out long against their firepower. All hands to the bridge!" Zack ordered.
"Oh, boy, that was Zack. He's one of the Republic's best pilots and has seen more action than anyone here put together. If he says things are bad, they are bad. We have to get to the bridge to help defend Amanda. Oh, and this is the part of the game where I tell you about your electronic journal, but you can just call it a quest log," Trask explained. When he opened another door, they came across a lone Republic soldier against two Sith troopers. The Pub got blasted and it was up to Milo and Trask to clean house. Because of, shall we say, plot armour, they managed to blast the Sith troopers.
"We're going to be seeing a lot of them going forward," Trask guessed.
"They're not even hiding the fact they're just redesigned stormtroopers from the original trilogy. Where did they get these designs from, DeviantArt?" Milo wondered.
"Still better than how they look in the sequel trilogy," Trask rebuffed. After advancing some more, blasting Sith troopers whenever they encountered them, Milo and Trask came across a triplet of troopers all bunched up. "Rookie mistake, watch this," Trask then taught Milo how to use grenades effectively, throwing one at the center of the group, dispatching them all at once. "That, in case you couldn't guess, was a subtle tutorial on grenade use. Always aim for the middle," Trask lectured. Milo then heard something which made him even more fearful than he already was.
"Wait, is that…" Milo wondered. He then moved closer to the source of the sound, which was behind another door. He opened it to find a lightsaber duel in progress. One of Amanda's Jedi companions was engaged in combat with a Dark Jedi, her blue blade clashing with his red one.
"I got nothing for this, only that we should stay back. All we'd do is get in the way," Trask advised.
"Of course. Attacking saber wielders with blasters is just plain stupid," Milo agreed.
"Then don't play the MMO. That happens a lot in that game," Trask responded. The duel between the two saber wielders continued until Amanda's Jedi friend struck the killing blow, but an explosion took her out as well.
"Oooops, that was probably my bad," Milo said remorsefully.
"That was one of the Jedi accompanying Amanda. Dang, we could've used her help, but that would've made this already way too easy tutorial level even more of a cakewalk," Trask commented. After blasting more Sith, they found the bridge door. Trask then drew his melee weapon. "This is the part of the game that forces you to use your sword, even though it's primitive by Star Wars standards. There isn't much room on the bridge and it's suicide to use a blaster in close quarters, another rule broken by the MMO," Trask cautioned.
"One, they have armour on, and two, what if they have sabers?" Milo asked.
"Your melee weapon is made using cortosis, meaning it can resist lightsabers, and that armour doesn't protect them from anything. It's like you said, they're just redesigned stormtroopers," Trask replied.
"OK, here's my best Aragorn impression," Milo joked to calm his nerves. They stormed the bridge and the Sith troops fell quickly to their blades. "How are these guys winning this war again?" Milo inquired.
"Amanda's not here on the bridge. She must've headed for the escape pods. We'd better go that way too. The Sith want Amanda alive, but once she's off the ship, nothing will stop them from blowing the ship sky high!" Trask urged. The two journeyed onward until Trask opened another door, and just his luck, another Dark Jedi was on the other side. With no Light Jedi to back them up and the Dark Jedi having drawn his double-bladed red saber, Trask stepped up to the plate and readied his sword.
"Well, this is where I get off the ride. Time for my redshirt moment, Milo. Enjoy the rest of the game," Trask wished Milo well and charged forward, locking the door behind them.
"Just when I was starting to like him," Milo lamented. He hurried towards the escape pods when Zack contacted him again.
"This is Zack Onasi on your personal communicator. I'm tracking your position using the Endar Spire's life support systems. Amanda's escape pod is away. You and I are the last surviving crew members aboard. I can't wait much longer, hurry to the pods!" Zack pressed. Milo then found one sole trooper. "Oh yeah, this is the part where, if you put skill points into stealth, that I teach you how to sneak past that guy, but since you and most likely the majority of players did not pick the scoundrel class, (and who could blame you?), you're free to blast him," Zack added. Milo did so, along with some other troopers he found. The escape pods were near, but one further obstacle remained. In the room he was in, Milo found a broken droid that was mostly intact and a computer terminal.
"Let me guess, you're going to teach me how to fix droids and hack computers?" Milo asked.
"It's almost like you've played this game, over and over again. But yes, you can use parts to repair droids and spikes to hack computers. Use either option to wipe out the squad of Sith on the other side of that door," Zack instructed.
"I'm a Murphy, we're accustomed to fixing things," Milo remarked. He then fixed up the busted droid, activating its weapons, shields and setting its targeting parameters, then unleashed it on the squad of Sith troopers, who fell instantly. Through another door were the escape pods, Zack standing amongst them.
"You've made it just in time! There's only one active escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below," Zack urged.
"No need to tell me twice, but who are you, anyway?" Milo queried.
"I'm a soldier with the Republic, like you. We're the last survivors on the Endar Spire. Amanda's pod's already gone, so there's no reason for us to stick around and get shot by the Sith. There'll be time for questions later," Zack responded. Together, the two got into the last escape pod. It was a tight fit, but they managed to squeeze in and activate the ejection system. Their pod left its berth mere moments before the Endar Spire was destroyed. The crash landing on the streets of Taris was not fun, and Milo was knocked unconscious.
While he was out, Milo was having a peculiar dream. He saw Amanda engaged in a duel with a Dark Jedi, her single yellow saber matching her opponent's red one. The duel was brief, but Amanda came out victorious, striking her foe down. Before he could see any further, Milo woke up to find himself in a room that looked like an apartment. After taking note of his surroundings, he found Zack standing by the window.
"Good to see you up, instead of thrashing about in your sleep. You must've been having one doozy of a nightmare. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I'm Zack, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, do you remember?" Zack introduced.
"I'm Milo. How did we get here?" Milo probed.
"Well, you've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a couple of days now, so I imagine you're pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We're safe… at least for the moment. We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily, I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene we were long gone," Zack explained.
"I guess I owe you big time. Thanks," Milo said gratefully.
"You don't have to thank me. I've never abandoned anyone on a mission, and I'm not about to start now. Besides, you're the main character. Without you, we couldn't progress through the rest of the game. We'd just be staring at a 'game over' screen if you bit the dust. Oh, and I'll also need your help," Zack replied.
"With what?" Milo asked.
"Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've declared martial law and they've imposed a planet-wide quarantine. But I've been in worse spots. I saw on your service records that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That's pretty rare in a raw recruit, but it should come in handy while we're stranded on a foreign world, and it's a convenient way to justify talking to all the alien species in this game. There's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Amanda and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves." Zack outlined.
"Right, Amanda, she's the commanding officer aboard the Endar Spire, right?" Milo recalled.
"That smack to your head did more damage than I thought. Amanda's a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak's Sith master. Amanda is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was on the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in this system. I believe Amanda was on one of the escape pods that crashed down here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try and find her," Zack guessed.
"If Amanda's a Jedi, she can probably look after herself," Milo hoped.
"Amanda's no ordinary Jedi. She has a rare gift the Jedi call Battle Meditation, at least it's supposed to be rare, but by the time the sequel rolls around, every Jedi companion can learn it. Through the Force, Amanda can inspire her allies with confidence and make the enemy lose their will to fight. It's essentially a 'win-a-battle' button, but it takes great focus and concentration to use. The Endar Spire battle happened so fast she never had a chance to use it. Like us, she barely got out alive. The whole planet is under quarantine. No ship can land or take off, so if Amanda's going to escape Taris before the Sith find her, she'll need our help, and vice versa," Zack concluded.
"I take it finding her is a main mission objective, so we're compelled to find her no matter what. Alright, I'll help find her, but I want to know more about this planet first. No sense going in blind," Milo reasoned.
"Fair enough. Taris was once a magnificent planet-wide metropolis of towering skyscrapers. But that was a long time ago. The Upper City, where the rich citizens live, is still pretty safe. If it wasn't for the Sith occupation and the planet-wide quarantine it might not even be that bad a place to live. But farther down things have degenerated. The Lower City is nothing but a slum overrun by swoop-bike gangs waging a never-ending war for control. And the Undercity is, well, even worse. The lowest level of Taris is a wasteland overrun by rakghouls; mindless, diseased mutants that attack on sight. I've already entered all this info into your data-pad journal," Zack exposited.
"So, if we go adventuring, we'll need better armour and weapons to survive down there," Milo observed.
"Pretty much, but this is an RPG, so there'll be no shortage of ways to earn some cash," Zack replied.
"I'd also like to know more about you if we're going to be working together," Milo wondered.
"Eager to get my loyalty mission out of the way, are you? I hope so, because you're not going to be able to romance me. BioWare didn't start adding male/male romances until Dragon Age 2," Zack rebutted.
"Oh no, it's nothing like that….but would you be up for it if I did try and romance you?" Milo asked.
"I am going to pretend you didn't just ask me that," Zack shot down.
"OK, fine, generic loyalty mission build-up dialogue will do," Milo relented.
"Let's see here, been a pilot for the Republic for years, fought in the Mandalorian Wars, homeworld of Telos fell to Malak's fleet, bombed into submission, couldn't stop them, blah blah blah, who pays attention to character dialogue, anyway?" Zack recited.
"I do. I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Milo consoled.
"I go where the admirals tell me to. I follow my orders and do my duty. I didn't fail my people," Zack vented.
"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Milo said remorsefully.
"I know. I'm not making sense, am I? I can tell you mean well with your questions, it's just I'm not used to talking about my past, at all. I like to focus on the business at hand. If you have more questions, ask me when you've levelled up more," Zack stated.
"Alright. What can you tell me, or the player, about the Sith? The opening title crawl only said so much," Milo quizzed.
"Everything I know is common knowledge. Their master, Malak, escaped the trap that killed Darth Revan, Malak's master. With his death, Malak took power, and he's become a ruthless tyrant crushing anyone and anything in his way. How could someone who used to be a Jedi become such a monster?" Zack answered.
"Did you say Malak was once a Jedi?" Milo pointed out.
"Malak and Revan were once both part of the Jedi Order, but they were young and headstrong. And against the wishes of the Council, they went to battle the Mandalorians on the Outer Rim. Something happened out there. Something corrupted them and drew them over to the dark side. Or maybe there was something rotten inside them all along. I don't know. They formed an army of ex-Republic soldiers and Jedi who had fallen to the dark side, with Revan at their head… until Revan was killed by Amanda's Jedi strike team. But even that didn't slow the Sith down. Malak just stepped in and assumed Revan's role. He took control of the Sith armada and resumed the bloody conquest of the Outer Worlds," Zack told the tale.
"I'm fairly certain Microsoft took over The Outer Worlds before they did. I can't believe Outer Worlds 2 is going to be an Xbox exclusive. At least PlayStation got the remake to this game, but don't worry, we'll find a way to stop the Sith," Milo assured.
"I hope you're right, but the Republic hasn't been able to stop them, even with Jedi support. Amanda may very well be the galaxy's last hope. How about that, BioWare were playing with female Star Wars heroines years before Rey came onto the scene," Zack replied.
"Speaking of Amanda, we should probably cease this dialogue and go find her already. Wow, conversations in this game take a while," Milo urged.
"Tell me about it. We can use this abandoned apartment as a base, and we can probably get some equipment and supplies here in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile. I've heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity. But I figure if we don't do anything stupid, we should be OK. I mean, after all, they're looking for Amanda, not a couple of grunts like us. Alright, soldier, let's move out," Zack agreed.
"Just one more thing. Why is there a workbench in here?" Milo inquired, noticing the workbench up against the wall.
"Oh, that's the tutorial on upgrading equipment. But since upgrades can only be attached to specific blasters, melee weapons, or armour, they're rarely ever used for non-Force users. However, all lightsabers can be upgraded, so Jedi characters make extensive use of them," Zack explained.
"You'd think they'd put more effort into something like that," Milo replied.
"Yeah, the sequel does upgrading a lot better," Zack said. Before the two could talk any further, sounds from the other side of the apartment door made them jump with a start. They could hear a blaster going off and the sounds of battle droids' footsteps coming from outside.
"Oh, this can't be good," Milo said ominously.
Author's note: What do you get when you combine the most criminally under-rated cartoon of our time with the greatest Star Wars story never to hit the silver screen? The answer, this. I was struggling for ideas on how to promote #RenewMML for the latest attempt to get it trending when I suddenly remembered this little story idea I've had in my head for a while. I was inspired by Matthiamore's stories where he puts characters from Gravity Falls or The Loud House into things like the Uncharted series, or even the prequel and original Star Wars trilogies. I thought I'd do something similar, put MML characters into one of my favourite video games. Some of the dialogue may be straight from the game, other times I'll put my own spin on it, making fun of the source material or other things. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties involved belong to their respective owners. Enjoy. Now I'm putting something towards my readers. I am something of a completionist when it comes to games. Seriously, the Yakuza games take me a month apiece to finish, and there are about seven or eight of them, give or take. I am fortunate to (mostly) know this game by heart. What do you guys think? Should I cover everything? Every little side quest or mini-game, or would you like just the bare basics? Feedback is welcome, as I have never done something like this before. OK, signing off for real now. Byeeeeeeeeee.