Chapter 3 - Impossible Things

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. This isn't supposed to happen! Dammit, Dave, what the hell is going on here?

"Hi…" I replied carefully, standing up the rest of the way. I mean, it was entirely possible that I was wrong. Chagrians weren't particularly common, but then perhaps that would be why I might mistake one for another. Maybe Dave had loaded a different story entirely, and this was going to be my first crew member. Maybe it was even someone related to Rogun, and there was some kind of cross-story involved! That would be kind of cool, I mused.

He walked slowly over to me, and I found myself looking up at him as he smiled thinly down at me. Dammit! I made her as tall as it would let me. I hate feeling short. I attempted a smile in reply.

That seemed to intrigue him, and he tilted his head in what I assumed was a gesture of respect. "I am Rogun Matt'rik," he purred in the precisely-enunciated manner that added an unstated-but-implied And no one fucks with me, ever. "Perhaps you've heard of me?" he added.

I gulped. Right, then. I'm screwed. But somehow I managed to hold his gaze. "Uh, sure," I hedged. "Everybody's heard of you."

He chuckled, the sound deep and predatory. "Well, then, I expect you know my nickname. And I also expect you're wondering why you're here."

Even though I didn't have any options to choose from directly, I recognized a dialogue prompt when I heard one. "Yeah," I replied, putting my hands on my hips. "Not that I object to the, ah, pleasure of your company, Mister Matt'rik, but I must admit to a being a bit curious."

He glanced over my posture thoughtfully; I'm sure he recognized the assertive attitude for the bluff it was. Still, I wasn't about to grovel or anything. I mean, c'mon. This is a game, right? And hey, I'm the protagonist. Yeah, I may be some level-one nobody at this point, but I'm the STAR. This is my story, assmunch.

I felt my spine tensing, my shoulders drawing back a bit as confidence crept slowly through me. My jaw tightened, my lips pulling back into a smirk. And when his eyes met mine again, perhaps I was imagining it, but I'd swear I saw a dawning respect in his gaze.

"I find myself in need of a pilot," he explained. "I only hire the best, and it seems that would be you. However, I discovered that you had been indefinitely detained by a former employer and would be spending at least a few decades as a wall hanging in her throne room. This did not suit me at all, and so I paid a scandalously exorbitant sum to assuage her pride and secure your services for myself."

"Secure my… wait, you bought me?" I spat out. "And you think I'm going to work for you after that?"

Rogun lifted a shoulder carelessly. "You could choose to say that I rescued you," he pointed out. "You were encased in carbonite, after all. But make no mistake about it: you do work for me now."

Rage simmered in the pit of my stomach. "Like hell I do," I snarled back. "I'm a freelancer. I pick my own jobs. I work for me."

He took one last step toward me and leaned in, his nose barely an inch from mine. "Not anymore," he said, his voice soft and dangerous. "Be very, very careful, little girl. You're playing a dangerous game right now, and you don't even understand the rules. Choose your actions carefully. It would be a terrible shame if things ended before they even had a chance to begin." He stood fully again and walked over to the doorway. "Besides," he added. "I hear the weather is lovely on Ord Mantell."

That last remark was enough to give me all the context I needed. This version of the game apparently shifted the storyline I was familiar with a little bit, which kind of made sense, given the decision not to have – as far as I could tell – any sort of obvious interface with the game itself. Apparently this scene with Rogun was part of the prologue and designed to familiarize the player with the game.

Great. This is the guy who's giving me my first assignment, the one that starts the story… and I've just mouthed off to him, I thought as I hurried out after him. Oh well, at least he didn't shoot me.

Not yet, anyway.

I caught up to him a few paces down the hallway. "Ord Mantell? Sounds lovely, but how'm I supposed to get there? A pilot's not much use without a ship. Besides, isn't it just some rinkydink little planet that's got itself into a civil war? Sounds like small potatoes for someone like you."

"How I conduct my business is none of yours," Rogun replied smoothly. "There's a shipment waiting for you at a company called Rendia Freight. They'll load it, and you'll take it to a warehouse of mine on another planet. The coordinates will be sent to you when you leave Ord Mantell."

So I don't actually have the blasters yet, I mused. Okay. Interesting turn of events. That means that if Skavak steals them from Viidu, the smuggler wouldn't have to worry about Rogun. And that means there's some other twist that keeps the player character embroiled in the situation. Hmh. Intriguing. I folded my arms over my chest and arched a brow. "Yes, well, we've still got a problem." I pointed my thumb at myself. "Pilot." Then shrugged. "Ship?"

There wasn't the faintest hint of a smile from Rogun. I hoped he wasn't getting annoyed at me. I hadn't played the agent extensively, but I'd leveled mine up enough to learn that smarting off actually did have serious consequences once in awhile. Then again, Rogun wasn't a Dark Lord or anything… just a practically-minded criminal kingpin who committed mass murder on principle.

Without replying, he turned and walked through a doorway. I followed, and couldn't help an enormous grin. There it was – my beloved XS! Sure, it was just a stock freighter, but I'd played my smuggler so much that seeing it in person was almost unbelievable. I wanted to go over and hug one of the struts, but somehow I managed to restrain myself.

I quickly arranged my features into disdain. "This? This is what I've got to work with? I thought you had money."

Rogun's jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed. "She may not look like much, Captain, but she's got it where it counts."

Excitement fluttered in my chest – not just from the obvious shout-out, either. Captain. That was me! For the first time I truly felt like I was part of the Star Wars universe.

He walked me onto the ship and pointed out the various facilities. I kept my hands folded behind my back to keep from touching absolutely everything. We finally reached the purpose of the entire journey – the bridge. Even though the viewport showed nothing more interesting than the hangar, I felt my breath catch in my throat. I had to remind myself that it wasn't actually real.

The panels were all labeled in Aurebesh – down to the last detail; damn! – but there was a translation in English under each one. Rogun gave me an overview of the controls and readouts. Presumably a pilot good enough to go by the callsign 'Ace' should already know the difference between the repulsors and the hyperdrive (and hadn't Rogun said I was 'the best'?) but as flying the ship was looking like it was going to be very different from the MMO, I kept my mouth shut.

"One last thing," Rogun said as he turned to go. He reached into his vest and pulled out a simple, well-worn blaster. "Ord Mantell is in the middle of a civil war. Take this; you may need it."

"Yeah, well, never look a gift blaster in the barrel, I guess," I said, not bothering to hide my disdain for the cheap weapon. Note to self: level up quickly. Flashy's waiting! I tucked the blaster in an empty holster at my side. "Thanks," I said, attempting to give it at least a veneer of sincerity.

He smirked. "You can thank me by getting those blasters and delivering them in a timely fashion, Captain." With that, he headed down the hallway.

"Good luck, Captain," I said, mimicking his precise mannerisms. "May the Force be with you." The airlock slammed shut, and I scowled. "Asshole," I muttered.

"Welcome, Pilot," came the smooth, female tones I remembered from the simulation. "Please take your seat in the captain's chair, and fasten your safety harness."

"Hey, Victoria!" I said cheerfully. It didn't make much sense to buckle in – after all, I wasn't really in a spaceship – but I decided to play along. Intriguingly, I really felt like I was sitting down. "How've you been?"

"Quite well, thank you. Please take control of the lever for the ship's repulsors." I did, and as soon as my fingers wrapped around the lever, she continued, "Gently press the lever forward."

As soon as I moved the lever the slightest bit there was a heavy thump, and then, ever so softly, the ship lifted off the ground.

Victoria guided me through the process of retracting the landing struts and carefully maneuvering out of the hangar. There was an open field nearby, and I practiced turns and lifts, first with repulsors, then with the sublight engines. Oh my fucking stars. I am flying a goddamn spaceship.

But the excitement that thrilled through me in that moment was nothing compared to what was coming later.

[AN: Here we go - a little bit more about the world, and about the way that this new game is slightly different from the MMO that Aurielle's player is familiar with. How much can she rely on what she already knows?

And as always, reviews welcomed and encouraged!]