NOVEL NEXT Prologue
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a bed in a small room, the sounds of birds coming in through the window even as more of the strange blue text floated in my vision.
Welcome to your new identity.
To help you with your new powers, we have prepared a short tutorial.
Do you wish to complete the tutorial?
Yes/No
[You must verbalise or press the Yes option to accept]
...
I grunted as I reached out and touched ‘Yes’ and the text changed.
Welcome to the Tutorial.
Here we will explain the following items that were not covered in identity creation.
1: Hit Points, Experience, Stamina and Hunger
2: Stats and their Limits
3: Inventory usage
4: The Force and Force Points
5: Player Powers and Player Points
6: Interface Controls
7: Quests
8: Future Knowledge
Select the option you wish to view first.
...
“Let’s be logical and start with one,” I said while rolling my eyes.
1: Hit Points, Experience, Stamina and Hunger
When you concentrate and say the word ‘STATS’ a general listing of your identity will appear.
Beyond the base stats that were explained during identity creation, there are a few others that appear.
These are:
Hit Points [HP]:
This is a base 50 for Humans plus your Vitality*10
Experience [XP]:
To advance to the next level, you need a certain amount of XP.
For levels 1-20, this is 1000XP more than the previous level.
For levels 21-40, this is 2000XP more.
For Levels 41-60, this is 3000XP more.
Stamina [STAM]:
Every physical action that you take requires stamina.
Walking takes 1STAM/minute, jogging 3/minute, running 5/minute and sprinting 10/minute.
Other actions take up stamina as well; swimming, jumping, weightlifting and so drain STAM as you go.
Your Stamina is your current level*[Strength+Agility+Vitality]/2.
There are ways to improve your Stamina regeneration and lower activity drain, but they are for you to discover.
It regenerates at 1%/minute.
Hunger [HUN]:
This tracks your need to eat.
It drains naturally at 5/hr.
It will, however, drain faster when you are physically exerting yourself.
There are, however, ways to slow your hunger loss down, but they are for you to discover.
This is limited to 100.
NOTE:
For each point that Hunger drops below 20, you experience a temporary 1% drop in your Stats and all linked values until you restore your Hunger to 20 or above.
…
End of Part 1
Do you wish to proceed to Part 2?
Yes/No?
...
“Yes.”
2: Stats and their Limits
Every species has biological hard limits for Strength, Agility and Vitality.
However, there are ways to overcome such limits.
Additionally, none of those three stats can be more than 10 over your current level.
The same methods to pass hard limits also can allow you to pass these soft limits.
Additionally, for each 1 point in a stat you are over your current level, you gain a 5% boost in skill XP generation for relevant skills, up to 50%.
The opposite is also true.
Currently, your penalties/boosts are:
STR -5%
AGI -5%
VIT -5%
INT +35%
WIS +15%
CHA +10%
…
End of Part 2
Do you wish to proceed to Part 3?
Yes/No?
...
“Fine,” I muttered while wondering the quickest way to improve my physical stats. Though when the text didn’t change, I sighed loudly. “Oh, for the love of… Yes!”
3: Inventory usage.
Every point of Strength grants 2 slots in your inventory.
This is a pocket dimension that only you can use, and in which time does not pass; thus, nothing will degrade while stored there.
It also allows you to store money without concern for the weight or volume of Credit-chits.
Each slot can hold an object of volume no more than 0.125m3. [50x50x50cm]
Currently, you have 14 slots.
…
End of Part 3
Do you wish to proceed to Part 4?
Yes/No?
...
“Yes.” I sighed in mild annoyance.
4: The Force and Force Points
As you have taken the Force Prodigy Perk during identity creation, you are now one of the few in the galaxy who can sense but actively use the Force.
For each level, you receive 500 Force Points.
While you can consciously use the Force to improve your actions, many of the more advanced uses and concepts require instruction from a trained Force user.
All Force powers follow the Novice to Prodigy ranging system and while expensive to first use, the cost of use decreases with training.
Your Force Points regenerate at 1%/minute.
NOTE:
Not all possible Force powers are taught by the Jedi or the Sith; indeed, you may even be able to create your own in time.
…
End of Part 4
Do you wish to proceed to Part 5?
Yes/No?
...
“Bloody hell! Yes!”
5: Player Powers and Player Points
Due to you winning the Multiversal Afterlife Lottery, you have been given the special title: Chosen.
This title grants access to special powers that, to the corporeal mind, resemble being in a Game.
Initial Player Powers provided are:
Player’s Mind MAX
Allows the Player to calmly and logically analyse situations without emotional interference.
Grants a peaceful state of mind.
Grants immunity to physiological effects.
Protects against compulsions and external controls.
Does not prevent the Player from showing emotional responses, only dissipates them almost instantly afterwards.
[NOTE: Will automatically turn on when the Player is in battle or HP falls below 25%]
Player’s Body MAX
The body experiences the stresses of the physical world as if it was a video game.
[This means that you suffer no obvious damage when hit/shot/stabbed and so on, but instead, lose HPs]
[You can, however, still lose limbs if the attack severs them from your body.]
Sleeping fully [8 hours under normal circumstances] restores HP and heals all temporary status effects.
NOTE:
If your HP reaches 0, for whatever reason, YOU WILL DIE.
Inventory
See Tutorial Stage 3.
Player’s Points
At every level, you gain 2 more PP, which are used for Player Powers you have purchased.
They regenerate at 10%/5min.
You gain 1 Player Perk Point every 5 levels, which can be used to activate special abilities.
To view the list of Player Powers that you can activate, you say ‘Player Power Options’
…
End of Part 5
Do you wish to proceed to Part 6?
Yes/No?
...
“Yes,” I mumbled out in annoyance at having to keep vocalising my commands. I hoped the next section told me how to change that.
6: Interface Controls
While having this text appear in the middle of your vision is the default setting, we understand that this could be life-threatening.
[Something we learnt from the first-ever winner of the Multiversal After life Lottery]
As such, saying ‘Interface Options’ will take you to a screen where you can choose from assorted options.
From here you can re-order your interface in a way you are more familiar with.
To access your stats and skills, please examine the Interface Help in the options menu.
…
End of Part 6
Do you wish to proceed to Part 7?
Yes/No?
...
“Yes.” I was really hoping this would be over soon so I could check my details. Hopefully, I would be able to do so once the tutorial was finished.
7: Quests
Most activities will be given as quests.
While many will be pre-generated by the interface, if you set your mind to something, it will be turned into a quest.
Quests have difficulty ratings which affect rewards and penalties.
The more difficult the quest, the greater the reward and penalties.
Any combat quest has a possible failure of death if things go wrong.
…
Quest Alert!
Prologue
This is the introduction to get you to your chosen Era.
[Note, currently you aren’t there.]
Rating: B
Objective:
Survive and Escape
Bonus: ???
Bonus: ???
Bonus: ???
Rewards:
3500XP
???
???
???
Penalties:
Capture by the Sith
Possible Death
Accept?
Yes/No
...
“Why the fuck is No scored through?” I grumbled as I finished reading my first quest alert.
Certain quests cannot be ignored.
These are plot quests; quests where you must follow the orders of another.
…
End of Part 7
Do you wish to proceed to Part 8?
Yes/No?
...
“Yes,” I grumbled at realising that if I screwed up the prologue, I could die or be captured by the Sith; and death seemed the more appealing option.
8: Future Knowledge
Since you are The Player, you have some knowledge of future events.
However, you cannot come out and simply say what will happen as your very presence changes things.
Every time you try to talk about what you know; you will speak gibberish to others.
However, you may be able to discover a way to hint at what may happen, but that’s up to you to discover.
…
Well Done!
You read the tutorial!
Here’s 500XP
Good luck! :D
…
“Mother…” I said with a growl, annoyed at the cheek of The Powers That Be. “Right, Interface Options.”
Welcome to the Player Interface
From here you can control where and for how long various notices appear.
Notice Options are:
General notices
Quest Alerts/ Updates/ Completions or Failures
Basic Stats
Mini-map
Combat Alerts
Interface Help
Please select when, where and for how long each notice appears.
...
I spent the next while lying on the bed while I fiddled with the assorted options. Now all quest-related notices would appear in the lower right of my vision; though only alerts and completions/failures would stay until read. The annoying random notices like skill level-ups would also appear there but then vanish after ten seconds.
Basic stats would only show during combat, as would the mini-map, though I found out it only showed areas I had already been to. Combat alerts would appear in my lower left with red and green for me losing/healing HP.
I had just closed the Options menu and was about to call up my details when a voice called out.
“Cameron? Are you up yet?” A male voice asked from somewhere out the door to the room.
“Um, yes,” I called back hesitantly, wondering who was in the house/flat with me.
“Good. Breakfast will be on the table in five. Get down here.”
I stood slowly, taking in the fact my body was now smaller and glanced at the mirror that hung over a table in the room. I saw that I was indeed younger; the wear and tear of 8 years in the military gone – along with the stubble I had been so fond of. My hair was cut short, though not like a crew cut, and my eyes were the shade of amber-green I’d picked before.
“Guess this is for real,” I muttered to myself as I searched around quickly for some clothes to slip into; going to breakfast in pyjamas was not something I felt comfortable doing anymore. Finding what looked like a chest of drawers beside the table, I pulled on what I thought was the handle, only for the drawer to slide open with a quiet hiss.
“Right, touch-sensitive drawers. Should’ve seen that coming,” I mumbled as I pulled out clothes and quickly slipped them on before exiting the room. Seeing three more doors and a set of stairs heading down, I shrugged and jogged down the stairs, assuming the kitchen/dining room was on the lower floor.
A waft of food caught my nose and helped me find the kitchen where an older man, probably in his sixties If I had to guess, was just sitting down at a table that had two plates of food on it.
“There you are. I swear since you started your school holiday, you’ve been getting up later and later.” He said with a smile that reached his brown eyes.
“Well, isn’t that the point of the holidays?” I replied as I slowly sat, examining the food in front of me. “To laze about.”
The man chuckled. “True enough. You’ve always been perceptive. Now hurry up. I need to make a few calls to some friends and you have homework to finish before we visit Coruscant next week.”
“Yes Sir,” I replied as I cautiously took a bite of what looked like eggs. ‘I wish the movies and cartoons had shown people eating.’ I mentally commented. Thankfully, what I was eating was an egg and not some strange alien food that only looked like a boiled egg.
“Is everything ok Cameron?” The man asked, and I looked up at him. His face was marred by a frown, but his eyes seemed to be looking for something in mine.
“Just a little off I guess,” I replied slowly, and his frown grew as his mouth twisted.
“Yeah, I get that way this time of year too.” He paused and looked out of a window. “Do, do you still get the dreams about that night?” He asked as he seemed to be thinking about something that happened before.
I recognized the look; one of sorrow and longing and realised that my new parents were missing. Had they died when I was younger?
“Um, not recently,” I replied honestly, and he turned back to look at me with a weak smile.
“Good. That’s good. Now eat up.”
I put my head down and ate the rest of the food slowly, hoping that whatever the old man was hinting at wouldn’t hint at my unfamiliarity with much of the food in front of me.
As I finished the meal, which I was happy to find that it was generally quite nice – though eating blue meat might take some getting used to – I started to stand, only to wonder if I had to place the dish and glass in some kind of cleaner.
“Here, let me…” The man said as he started to stand only for his arm to rub against his glass.
We both watched as it began to tumble off the table and, working on instinct from my previous life, I reached out for the glass, though I knew it was too far away for me to have any chance of getting it before it broke on the floor.
“Holy…” my voice trailed off as the glass stopped falling and floated about halfway to the floor, my hand still stretched out towards it.
“By the Force!” The man exclaimed as he looked from the glass to me with wide eyes. “How? I was told she tested you and you failed!”
“What?” I asked as I moved my hand upwards and watched in shock as the glass followed my actions. ‘Right. Force Prodigy. Forgot about that for a second. This is cool.’ I felt a grin form on my face as I placed the glass on the table and saw that there was a new notice box in the lower right of my vision; clearly for whatever Force power I had just used.
‘Wait, he said I’d been tested,’ “What test?” I asked, and the man looked up from the glass, his eyes had returned to normal, but his gaze intensified.
“A Force Test.” He replied, and I let my eyes open wider in apparent shock.
“You mean like to be a Jedi?” I asked. Sure, I already knew I could use the Force, but ‘Cameron Shan’ didn’t.
The old man sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yes, like a Jedi.” He looked out of the window again before he continued. “Your mother, bless her heart, was a Jedi, as were my parents. You were tested as a babe, but nothing showed up.” He shook his head for a second before focusing on me. “Maybe it was just a fluke.”
I frowned, knowing it wasn’t a fluke and extended my hand again, this time lifting his plate. “I don’t think so.” I countered with a small smirk as his mouth fell open. I lowered the plate slowly and pulled back my hand as the man continued to stare at me.
Can I do this test again?” I asked, wondering how likely that was.
The man rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I promised your mother to keep you safe, and being a Jedi is not the safest of careers.”
“Isn’t it better that I learn to control this?” I said, hoping to break through his reluctance.
A small box appeared in the lower left of my vision and I couldn’t help but smirk as I read the small text.
Skill Usage: Persuasion
Chance = 30.5%
…
Success!
...
I wondered if every skill use would be like that, and if there was a way to turn it off as it really made this whole thing feel like a game. I blinked at the new text that appeared in the middle of my vision.
Yes, you can turn those off.
And again, no this is NOT A GAME!
It’s just the only way your feeble mind can handle these powers.
I grunted at the message from what I assumed was the people – beings? – that gave me this new life and did my best to not be offended at being called feeble-minded.
Good boy!
Now go, enjoy your new life.
And don’t die too soon, I’ve got a millennium as a rabbit bet on your scoring with ******
‘Seriously? They’re betting on who I sleep with?!’ I shook my head as the message from whoever faded away.
“Cameron, did you hear me?”
I looked up and saw the man watching me through narrowed eyes. “Um, sorry. I was just thinking how cool it would be to be a Jedi.”
Skill Usage: Deception
Chance = 11%
…
Failure!
...
He frowned, clearly having not bought my lie but thankfully he didn’t push the matter. “Look, just put the dishes in the cleaning unit then go upstairs and start your homework.” He said as he stood slowly. “I’ll make a few calls and see about getting you retested.”
“Ok,” I said, trying and failing to keep a smile from my face as I stood, though it fell a little as I wondered where the cleaning unit was and what it looked like.
“Over there,” the man pointed towards the sink. “Get your head out of the clouds or I won’t make that call!”
I hustled over quickly to where he’d pointed and saw a small, slightly raised rectangle like the one on the drawer. I pressed it and was rewarded with a door opening and something that looked almost identical to a dishwasher appeared.
After slipping the dishes and cutlery in, I headed upstairs, and fist pumped once safely in my room with the door closed.
“Yes!” I said, making sure to not shout like I wanted. “Right, time to look at my standing. Interface Help.”
Welcome to Player Interface Help
Here you can learn how to use the interface to understand what skills, abilities, and tricks you have.
Select the help menu you wish to peruse by saying Help followed by the appropriate number.
1: Lists
2: List explanations
3: You and those around you
4: Inventory and you
5: Interface Controls
...
“Um, help one.”
1: Lists
The various lists you have and how to view them.
To access any menu, simply say list followed by the appropriate word.
Current lists available:
Stats, Skills, Knowledge Skills, Perks, Force Powers, Player Powers, Titles, Quests
...
“Seems easy enough. Help two.” I said, figuring it was better to at least skim the manual before taking the new toy for a spin, having mentally taken a read of the lists available once I was finished with the help menus.
2: List Explanations
This explains the basics of each list.
Stats:
These are the core values that define you.
They are split between Strength, Agility and Vitality [Physical stats] and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma [Mental stats].
There is a final stat is called Luck.
This is set to 0 for all Humans, though it can be raised through the spending of stat points or certain perks.
Also listed with your stats are your Hit Points [HP], Force Points [FP], Player Points [PP], Stat Points [SP], Stamina [STAM], Hunger [HUN], Experience for the current level [XP], Title and Credits.
Hit Points
These are an indicator of how much damage you can take.
When it reaches 0, YOU DIE!
You get a base 50HP as Human plus a further 10 per level.
Force Points
These are the points that allow you to use the Force.
You gain 500FP per level.
These regenerate at 1% per minute.
Player Points
These are the points that allow you to use your unique abilities.
You gain 2 PP per level.
Additionally, you gain 1 Player Perk Point [PPP] every 5 levels.
These regenerate at 10% every 5 minutes.
Stat Points
This is a list of how many spare stat points you have to spend on your stats.
You gain 4+INT/15 SP per level.
Stamina
This is your ability to move, run, jump, swim and do other physical activities.
Your stamina is defined as level*(STR+VIT+AGI)/2.
It regenerates at 1% per minute when resting.
This can be boosted with perks or powers.
Hunger
This is a measure of how hungry you are.
It drains naturally at 5/hr.
However, doing any physical activity increases the rate of hunger decay.
For each point that Hunger drops below 20, you experience a 1% drop in your Stats and all linked values.
If it reaches 0, you will lose consciousness and, if you are not revived within 4 hours, you will die.
Experience
This is a guide for how close you are to a level-up.
For levels 1-20, this is 1000XP more than the previous level.
For levels 21-40, this is 2000XP more.
For Levels 41-60, this is 3000XP more.
Titles
This is a list of all the titles you have earned, all of which can be active at the same time.
You can apply 1 title as a base plus 1 extra for every 10 levels you gain.
Credits
This is your money.
While it is all digital, you can store it in your inventory in a special slot.
When you wish to withdraw some, you will be given credit chips that are as close in value to what you wish for, without being less.
...
‘Well, Damm! That’s a lot to take in. Still, get through the help then check it out.’ “Help three.”
3: You and those around you
How you behave has relevance to the people, organizations, and planets around you.
Everything you do affects how others see you.
While in most cases this is on a one-to-one level, some actions have planetary, or even galactic implications.
Certain titles and perks can also affect how others see you.
…
Reputation
This is your standing with everyone, from those around you to governments and corporations.
Most people start at 0, though this is not always the case.
From there, your reputation with someone can go up or down, through the following levels.
Vilified -500 – -1000
Hated -1 – -500
Disliked 0 – 500
Neutral 501 – 2000
Liked 2001 – 5000
Trusted 5001 – 10000
Honoured 10001 – 20000
Worshipped 20001+
…
Friendship
Once your reputation is Liked there is a chance that that person can become a friend.
This will affect not only how they see you, but how their other friends and enemies do as well.
Once someone is classed as a friend, then any change to Reputation affects your friendship, though by only half the Reputation change.
Levels of friendship are as follows.
Acquaintance 0 – 1000
Friend 1001 – 5000
Confidant 5000 – 10000
[Locked until Reputation is Trusted or higher and passing a test of friendship]
Follower 10000+
[Locked until Reputation is Confidant or higher and passing 3 tests of friendship]
…
***********
[This section is locked due to your age]
...
“Well ok. That’s something to worry about later on. Help 4.”
4: Inventory and You
This is your special storage space.
Your inventory is a special pocket dimension where you can store almost anything safely for an indefinite amount of time [Space permitting]
This screen also lists vital stats and clothing/armour components.
Certain clothing can grant damage reduction or outright protection from the various forms of damage you could encounter in this galaxy.
Your total inventory space is defined as twice your strength.
...
“Huh. I’ll check that out later I guess, but this is really feeling like a game, even though they say it isn’t.”
We will remind you of this the first time you get shot or stabbed.
“Har-har,” I muttered at the cheek being shown by whoever was watching/helping me. “I could look at the interface controls, but I suspect that’s just a full repeat of what was said before, so let’s have a look at myself. List Stats.”
Cameron Shan
Species: Human
Title: The Player
Level 8
HP: 120/120
FP: 3350/4000
PP: 16/16
XP [500/8000]
STAM [80/80]
Hunger [0/100]
STR: 7 +
VIT: 7 +
AGI: 7 +
INT: 15 +
WIS: 11 +
CHA: 10 +
Luck: 0 + [+10]
SP: 1
PP: 0
Credits: 0
...
“Geez, those Force points are high. Though seeing how far they’ve fallen after using a power twice, I’m guessing that Force Powers are hard to use, though I’ll find out for sure once I read through them. First, however, List Skills.”
SKILLS
This is a listing of all skills you have, not all the skills you COULD have.
Each skill has a corresponding stat that affects how quickly you can improve that skill.
For future reference, you can call up skills for each stat by saying ‘List [STAT] skills’.
Note:
Certain skills, such as school and combat skills, have six ranks: Novice, Adept, Professional, Master, Savant, and Prodigy.
Each rank has 100 levels.
These skills will have the name of the current level beside the numerical level value.
Other skills can go up to 100[though not all] but have increases of 25EXP per level.
You will get a bonus general stat point for 1500 levels.
With each level-up, you gain INT*2 skill points to spend as you see fit.
Currently, you have 70 SP left to spend.
…
Any skill that has a [F] next to it can be boosted by the Force, though only once you have the appropriate training.
STRENGTH SKILLS
Lightsaber[1-handed]
10+ Novice
Hand to Hand [F]
25+ Professional
Melee Weapons [2-handed]
1+ Adept
AGILITY SKILLS
Melee Weapons[1-handed] [F]
3+ Professional
Melee Weapons [Thrown]
15+ Adept
Marksmanship [F]
97+ Adept
Ranged Weapons [1-handed] [F]
5+ Professional
Ranged Weapons [2-handed] [F]
40+ Professional
Ranged Weapons [Heavy] [F]
2+ Adept
Piloting [Atmospheric] [F]
5+ Novice
Piloting [Space] [F]
5+ Novice
Riding [4-legged] [F]
7
Stealth [F]
65+ Adept
Sleight of Hand [F]
45+ Novice
Lockpicking [F]
15+ Novice
Cleaning
20+
Cooking
10+
Musical Instrument [Guitar]
15+
VITALITY SKILLS
Athletics [F]
10+
Swimming [F]
10+
INTELLIGENCE SKILLS
Astrogation
10+
Computing [Slicing]
20+ Novice
Computing [Programming]
10+ Novice
Economics
11+ Adept
Mechanics [Engines]
10+ Novice
Mechanics [Speeders]
10+ Novice
Mechanics [Fighters]
10+ Novice
Mechanics [Starships]
10+ Novice
LANGUAGES
There are an inordinate number of languages you can learn.
Language [Basic]
85+ Adept
Language [German]
12+ Adept
Medicine [First Aid]
35+ Adept
Anatomy [Human]
15+ Adept
Forensics
67+ Novice
INTELLIGENCE/WISDOM SKILLS
These rare skills can use both INT and WIS stats at different times.
For battle planning, INT is used but for adapting on the go, WIS is used.
Warfare [Ground]
44+ Professional
Warfare [Space]
10+ Novice
WISDOM SKILLS
Concentration [F]
100
Composure [F]
34+
Danger Sense [F]
21+
CHARISMA SKILLS
NOTE: All Charisma skills are boosted by luck, when you have any, both positively and negatively.
Deception [F]
15+
Lie Detection [F]
10+
Meditation [F]
50+
Perception [F]
50+
Survival [F]
74+ Adept
Persuasion [F]
1+ Adept
Intimidation/Taunting [F]
10+
Singing [F]
6+
Negotiating [F]
4+
...
“Bloody hell, that’s a long list,” I muttered, making a mental note to look at the skills via stats in future. Though I did chuckle at the idea that I could speak a language that no one here had ever heard before. I figured when I kept my limited German might come in handy for codes, and now just the idea of someone like Yoda or Vader trying to speak it had me laughing.
“Right, moving on. List Knowledge Skills.”
I whistled at the list that appeared, noting that much of it was based on what I knew from the movies and cartoons even as I noticed that all knowledge skills would suffer degradation as time passed; which while making sense was probably going to be annoying when it came time to re-learn about various military and political leaders and how governments and companies worked.
“List Perks.”
PERKS
These are earned by spending perk points [which you earn at a rate of 1PP per 4 levels].
Perks have requirements in PP, stat and level values that must be met before they become available for selection.
Currently, you have the following perks:
Force Prodigy
You are Force-sensitive, allowing you to call on The Force and learn to draw on its powers.
Your connection to the Force is immense and marks you out as potentially one of the most powerful Force users of your time.
Grants 500 Force Points (FP) per level.
[Can only be selected on identity creation]
Boosts luck by 10
Photographic Memory
Lowers Knowledge skills degradation by 75%
Grants a 9/10 chance to remember something you read in the last 5 years.
[7/10 in 10yrs, 5/10 in 20yrs]
Empathy
You can detect the emotions of people around you who don’t manage to shield them.
Can increase your odds with certain skills.
Especially useful when combined with the ******* Player Power.
Ambidextrous
Can use both hands for tools and weapons.
Halves accuracy penalties for using your offhand in combat.
...
“Yup, photographic memory will be useful to counter knowledge loss, though I wish I knew what the hidden player power that synced with Empathy was; or how exactly it helped my odds,” I said with a slight frown. “List Force Powers.”
FORCE POWERS
These are the powers you have learned or discovered that use the Force to work.
Many of the more advanced Force Powers require training from a master Force user to learn and/or reaching certain tiers and levels with other Force Powers.
As to what the Force is, well it simply is.
It’s neither good nor evil [which in most cases are open to interpretation] but emotions of all kinds do influence what you can do with the Force.
Importantly, the better you get a using a Force Power, the easier it is to use.
Currently, you have the following Force Powers:
Push/Pull
Novice:1
The ability to push, pull and levitate objects or block objects in motion so long as their mass is within your power range.
At higher levels, this can grant the ability to lift multiple objects at once and even self-levitation.
Can currently lift 1 object with a mass no greater than 10 kg.
Costs 500FP +5FP/second
...
“Well, that’s the power I expected but that cost is high. Hmm, didn’t it say earlier that it gets easier to use Force Powers with training? Maybe that means the cost decreases as I get better at using it.” I thought with a smirk. “Once I finish checking out everything, I’ll have to keep using it and see. List Player Powers.” I was curious as to what exactly I would learn here as this seemed the more reality-breaking part of my new life.
PLAYER POWERS
These are powers and skills that are unique to The Player.
However, some of them are very close to what many consider to be ‘Dark-Side Force powers’ so be careful when using them around ‘Light-side Force users’.
You gain 1 Player Power Point every 5 levels to spend on new powers.
Currently, you have the following Player Powers:
Player’s Mind [ON/OFF] MAX
Allows the Player to logically think things through without any, for better or worse, emotional interference.
Allows a peaceful state of mind.
Grants immunity to physiological effects.
Protects against compulsions and external controls.
Does not prevent the Player from showing emotional responses, only dissipates them instantly afterwards.
[NOTE: Will automatically turn on when the Player is in battle or HP falls below 25%]
Player’s Body MAX
The body experiences the stresses of the physical world as if it was a video game.
[This means that you suffer no obvious damage when hit/shot/stabbed and so on, but instead, lose HPs]
[You can, however, still lose limbs if the attack severs them from your body.]
Sleeping fully [8 hours under normal circumstances] restores HP and heals all temporary status effects.
NOTE:
If your HP reaches 0, for whatever reason, YOU WILL DIE.
Inventory
Every point gained in Strength grants 2 slots in your inventory.
This is a pocket dimension that only you can use, and in which time does not pass; thus, nothing will degrade while stored there.
It also allows you to store money without concern for weight or limits of Cred-chits.
Each slot can hold an object of volume no more than 0.125m3. [50x50x50cm]
Currently, you have 14 slots.
---
NOTE:
Currently, you have 1 PPP.
Do you wish to view available Player Powers?
Yes/No
...
“Yes,” I replied excitedly.
Warning:
No new Player Powers are available at this time.
Please check back at a higher level.
...
“Assholes!” I shouted at the text, feeling like I’d just been pranked by whoever was behind giving me these abilities. I was angry as the text disappeared and I pounded the desk.
I frowned as I looked at my hand and saw no bruising and realised this was Player’s Body in action. I didn’t get hurt or feel pain the same as most people would, though I quickly realised that this meant I would have to be careful about getting wounded in case someone began to realise I was different to everyone else.
Hey! That was pretty smart!
For working out a flaw in the system, have +1 WIS.
Also, look at your notice boxes!
I glared at the floating text from the ‘Powers that Be’ that were watching me but did as it suggested.
Skill Created!
Damage Resistance [Physical] [F]
Novice:1
Each level grants a 0.05% reduction in physical damage taken.
Currently granting a 0.05% reduction.
...
I chuckled at the insanity of the fact I gained a new skill for punching a desk, though I quickly wondered if I could gain damage reduction skills against other forms of damage; like say a blaster or lightsaber.
I noticed that the combat log showed me taking 8HP of damage from the desk but ignored it and moved back to the lists.
“List Titles.”
Titles
These are special add-ons to your identity that can help you in certain situations.
You gain titles as you complete quests, grow up, and generally be a badass.
[Though if you wanted to live a quiet life and gain no titles, that is your choice]
Currently, you have the following titles:
The Player
Grants access to special powers that, to the corporeal mind, resemble being in a game.
Leader
2/10
Can command up to 4 others in a group.
Each member gets a 2% bonus to their skills.
...
I frowned at that. I’d been squad leader for the last three years. I really should have a better level for my only title. The frown broke as I realised that it, and probably many of my skills, had been toned down as I was now eight instead of twenty-eight. That made sense as not many people would be willing to obey an eight-year-old in battle, nor would the muscle memory of combat transfer. The knowledge would, but I’d have to work on teaching this new body how to react.
Hey! You’re Getting it!
You’re starting to figure out this power.
Have +1 INT
…
And this will be the last free stat point you get!
I glared at the floating text. Sure, the extra point in intelligence was nice, but the cheek I was getting was irritating. I took a few deep breaths and decided there was nothing I could do about it now – or probably ever – so I moved on.
“List Quests.”
QUESTS
These are the story chains that will help push and shape your new life.
Quests come in various forms, from repeatable simple ones to long, multi-part campaigns.
Most of your activities will be set up as quests, however, you are free to decline most quests.
You can also create your own quests if you are willing to push yourself beyond what would be considered easy/safe.
All quests are rated from F to S*** for difficulty, with anything rated B or over running the risk of bodily harm, if not death, to someone.
Your current quests are:
Prologue
This is the introduction to get you to your chosen Era.
[Note, currently you aren’t there.]
Rating: B
Objective: Survive and Escape
Bonus: ???
Bonus: ???
Bonus: ???
Rewards:
3500XP
???
???
???
Penalties:
Capture by the Sith
Possible Death
...
I grunted as I read the quest again, wondering just what kind of prologue quest ran the risk of death.
Sure, this wasn’t a game, but I had to wonder if this was altogether fair.
Whoever said a corporeal life was fair?
Grow a spine and get on with things!
I glared at the latest message from TPtB. Cheeky sods!
I continued to glare at the message as it faded away, and with a shake of my head looked around the room. “I was told to do my homework, but I’d rather practice using the Force. Hmm, List Force Powers.”
I read through the powers stopping on Push/Pull to re-read the description. The initial cost was 500FP, at it drained at 5FP per second. With a regeneration rate of one per cent per minutes, that meant I’d lose 260FP per minute the power was active. “List Stats,” I said to see my FP total. That stood at 3750FP, which would mean around thirteen minutes of continual usage.
I looked around the room until my eyes landed on the pillow. “That’ll do,” I muttered and pointed my hand at it, smiling when it floated up into the air. “Yes!”
While the pillow was floating, I figured I should get going on my ‘homework’; silently praying that I didn’t have to spend skill points to finish it.
I scanned the room for books but frowned at not finding anything save what looked like a cross between an iPad and a game console.
“Right, everything here is computerised,” I remarked as I picked it up. “Though I wished I knew how to use this.” I turned the pad over in my free hand slowly, checking it carefully before looking at the front.
There was a large button at the base, under the screen and working on a hunch, I pressed that and smiled as the screen came to life.
Thankfully, the thing was set up very much like an iPad, so it was easy to find the homework assignments and I mentally sighed in relief at seeing that the history and electronic assignments were completed, leaving me with maths and science.
“Here’s hoping I remember this stuff,” I muttered as I opened the math homework with a touch.
… …
… …
I pulled my head up as I finished the first assignment, surprised that it seemed far harder than I remembered from primary school in my old life – though that may have been because I was using a new language that, even though my brain seemed to know how to use, I did not – and noticed the pillow was no longer floating around beside me but was resting on the floor.
“I wonder… List Force Powers. Damm! No change.” I’d been hoping that the power had levelled up, but no luck. “Hmm, List Stats.” I glanced down the list and saw my FP was back up to 1280, meaning I’d been at the homework for about forty-five minutes if my mental math was right.
“That’s about three minutes if I try Push/Pull again. Will that be enough to get me over the XP limit?” I asked the empty room.
With a shrug, I decided to do so and lifted the pillow with the Force again.
I began to get bored as I watched the pillow floating there so I sent it flying around the room, pushing and pulling it until a notice box appeared in the lower right corner of my vision.
Dropping the pillow, I pulled up the box.
Force Power Levelled-up!
Push/Pull
Novice:2
...
“List Force stats.” I smiled as I saw the changed level though I had been hoping for a drop in FP cost. “Still, that’s about fifteen minutes for a level-up, which works out as… forty-five-hundred not including the activation cost. Damm! That’s a full load and a bit of FP. That’s doing to slow down my levelling. Still, while I’m waiting, I can do this homework; maybe it’ll level up some of my skills and even if not, it’s a way to pass the time.”
… …
… …
“Cameron, are you in there?”
My head popped up from the pad I was using at the sound of the man’s voice outside his door. “Yeah, why?”
The man opened the door but stayed just outside. “Are you busy?” He asked slowly, and I got the feeling he was trying to avoid something.
“Not really. I’ve finished most of the remaining assignments,” I replied, which was true. I’d spent the last four hours in the room working through all but one of the assignments while also burning through another full load of Force Points.
It hadn’t taken me over the limit, but I felt I was close and would only need to try once more for a few minutes to gain another level in Push/Pull.
“Ah. Good. I need you to come downstairs. There’s someone on the Hypercomm.” He said and turned slowly.
I frowned as I stood. ‘Who would he… Right, the Jedi!’ I tried to control my emotions as I walked.
As I reached the lower landing I remembered about Player’s Mind and considered using it but held off given I’d only have minutes of usage.
I followed the man into what seemed to be something equivalent to a living room which was dominated by a large central table; on which a hologram of an old woman – possibly even older than the man – was watching me from the moment I entered the room.
I knew that they used holograms to communicate over long distances but seeing it for real was something else. Once I got over the shock of seeing a real holographic image of someone, I frowned a little as there was something about her that was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“My how you’ve grown,” she said with a slight smile in a voice I also felt I should know. “I’m not sure if you remember the last time we saw each other, but you were a young child, just learning to talk.” She paused and smiled, though her eyes drifted from me to the man.
“Um, not to sound rude, but who are you?” I asked to break the strange silence that had fallen over the room as the two older people locked eyes and seemed to remember something.
The woman smiled. “Yes, I imagine you have forgotten me. My name is Bastila Shan, your great-grandmother.”
I felt my jaw drop a little at that revelation. I mean, I know I picked ‘Shan’ as a family name, but I just assumed I’d be some long-lost relative or descendent of hers; not a direct and living one!
“I see you’ve heard of me.” She said with a slight twitching of her lips and I nodded slowly.
“Bastila Shan, Jedi Knight and wife of Revan; the Prodigal Knight,” I replied, saying his nickname from the games.
Her smile faltered at Revan’s name and I remembered that he had disappeared by the time of the second game; though I never bothered to read any comics or try the MMO that followed later. Not a fan of online gaming.
“Yes, your great-grandfather.” I had suspected that at her saying she was my great-gran, but having it confirmed was still a bit of a shock.
She seemed to pull herself up – though that was hard to be sure of as the hologram was just from her waist upwards. “Now, your grandfather tells me that the Jedi may have made a mistake with your testing.”
I glanced over at the man I now knew was my ‘new’ grandfather. “Yeah.”
I looked back and saw her brow had raised, as though challenging me. Then it occurred to me. She wanted a demonstration.
I turned and looked around the room until I saw a lamp. With a twist of my wrist, I lifted it and made it fly around the room a few times before putting it back where it had come from.
I turned back to Bastila, trying to not smile. “Player’s Mind on,” I whispered, figuring that using it to numb my emotions would be a good thing for a Jedi to see. I saw a notice box in the lower right corner and assumed it was another level-up for Push/Pull.
“Hmm. That was certainly a clear connection with the Force, but I distinctly remember your mother telling me that you were not Force Sensitive.” She gently rubbed her chin. “I will have to contact the Council and see if I can check their records of testing.” She paused and glanced at my grandfather. “Vaner, I’ll call you either tonight or tomorrow once I have more information.” She turned back to look at me. “Cameron, I want you to continue practising your telekinesis. Also, I want you to try to meditate in silence in your room. Try to feel the Force around you; feel it flow through you and everything in the room.”
“Yes ma’am,” I replied, wondering what meditating like that would do.
She smiled and turned back to my grandfather, her son. “Goodbye Vaner. May the Force be with you.”
“And you, mother.” He replied as the hologram cut off. He had a small smile on his face as he turned to look at me. “Well, you heard her. Go and practice.”
I nodded and turned to leave, only to stop and look back at him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Well if I hadn’t caught the glass this morning then I might not have to leave like my mum did,” I said slowly, as I had worked out that while my grandfather couldn’t use the Force, my mother must’ve been able to. The way both he and Bastila spoke of her getting me tested hinted that she was, if not a full Jedi, then at least Force-Sensitive.
My grandfather smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “This is not your fault. Having the ability to access the Force is a gift, but it comes with heavy burdens. If you are accepted, then you will not be allowed to contact me until after you become a Knight; and the only reason that may be possible is because of who my parents were, and the fact I was once Chancellor.”
I was glad that Player’s Mind was on at that revelation. That my great-grandparents were Raven and Bastila was a shock and learning that my grandfather was a former Chancellor of the Republic was another. Yet, given I’d taken the Shan bloodline, and had to work through the Lost Scion prologue, it did make some sense.
“Ah, well, um,” I hemmed, not sure what to say, but he seemed to know as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Whether you become a Jedi or not, I am proud of you and know that you will do great things. It’s in your blood.” This smile reached his eyes and I could only nod in reply. “Now go. You have your training for the day, and I want all your assignments finished before dinner.”
A gave him a small smile and then left, heading upstairs once more to my room even as I tried to work out how I could be here and now. The games were set thousands of years before the movies, yet I had selected the Rise of the Empire Era to play.
“Right, the quest,” I murmured as I closed the door. It did say I wasn’t in the right era, but how am I going to get thousands of years into the future?” I tried to come up with ways it could happen, but none were appealing so I decided to ignore that for now.
“Hmm, Bastila said to practice on the Push/Pull and to try and centre myself. What does that… List Skills.” I ran down the list until I found what I was looking for. “Dammit! Meditation grants a fifty per cent bonus to regenerations, meaning if I meditate a regenerate my FP will be sixty per minute. Hmm, is there a Force Power that does the same?”
I closed the list, sat down on the floor with my legs crossed – not something my new body found comfortable, but it was how I imagined people meditated – and closed my eyes.
It was weird trying to reach out and feel something else there; something that until I woke up here I thought was just a hand-wavey way to explain away powers in a movie.
Still, I figured I might as well take a crack at seeing what this whole thing was about as I began to clear my head and slow my breathing.
…
When I opened my eyes later, I glanced around and saw that the light from outside was dimming, and a glance at the datapad showed four hours had passed. I frowned as I wondered why I didn’t feel hungry.
“List… Hold on,” I saw a handful of notice boxes which I then opened.
Force Power Discovered!
Trance
While in this state, your meditation bonuses improve, helping you recover much faster than normal.
You also stop your need to eat or sleep for days at a time.
…
Force Power Discovered!
Heal
The ability to use the Force to heal yourself.
…
Force Power Discovered!
Breath Control
The ability to slow your breathing to avoid toxins in the air.
At higher levels grant the ability to go without breathing for several minutes.
…
Force Power Levelled-Up! *14
Trance
Novice:15
…
Skill Levelled-Up!
Meditation
Level 51
...
“Damm! That’s a lot of level-ups! List Force Powers.”
FORCE POWERS
These are the powers you have learned or discovered that use the Force to work.
Many of the more advanced powers require training from a master Force user to learn.
You may discover many on your own by simple trial and error, however, this is maybe frowned upon by the groups around the galaxy that can use the Force since control is needed to truly use the Force.
As to what the Force is, well it simply is.
It’s neither good nor evil [which in most cases are open to interpretation] but emotions of all kinds do influence what you can do with the Force.
Importantly, the better you get a using a power, the easier it is to use.
Currently, you have the following Force Powers:
Push/Pull
Novice:3
The ability to push, pull and levitate objects or block objects in motion so long as their mass is within your power range.
At higher levels, this can grant self-levitation.
Can currently lift a single object with a mass of up to 30 Kg.
Costs 499FP +5FP/second
Trance
Novice:15
While in this state, your meditation bonuses improve, helping you recover much faster than normal.
You can also stop your need to eat or sleep for days at a time.
Currently grants an additional 7.5% bonus to meditation and self-healing.
Costs 98FP
Heal
Novice:1
The ability to use the Force to heal yourself.
At higher levels, you can heal others.
Heals at a rate of 1HP/second
Costs 100FP +15/second
Breath Control
Novice:1
The ability to slow your breathing to avoid toxins in the air.
At higher levels grant the ability to go without breathing for several minutes.
Currently, you can hold your breath for 1 min.
Costs 100FP +15/second
...
I felt as if I was insulted at only being able to hold my breath for a minute, but I imagined that will go up over time. Also, both Push/Pull and Trance have strange costs and I know that Push/Pull started at 500FP, so I suspected that the more levels I got in a power, the easier it was to activate. I’d have to see examine the powers once I’d levelled them up a few more times to see if that was the case. And perhaps determine the rate of drop in their activation and usage costs.
Still, if I used Trance with Meditation, I got a fifty-seven-point-five per cent boost to my FP and STAM regen. That was nice and had me wondering if I could get them all to Novice:15, or greater, before the prologue was over.
Quest Alert!
One with the Force [User Defined]
Improved your powers before the end of the prologue.
Rating: E
Objective:
Get your 4 current Force Powers up to level Novice:15 before the prologue ends.
???
???
Rewards:
300XP
???
???
Penalties:
-300XP
Accept?
Yes/No
...
“Yes,” I said since that was my plan even before the quest was offered. “So that’s how that works, though I assume the low XP is for the low rating. Still, waste not, want not. Trance will be easy as I’ll need to regenerate Force Power to use the others. Breath Control will take time but should be doable, same with Push/Pull. Boy, does that need a better name; like Telekinesis…”
Force Power Renamed!
Push/Pull => Telekinesis (TK)
...
I stared at the notice for a moment before blowing out a breath. “Arseholes,” I muttered about TPtB – the alien whatever’s that had granted me this new life – as I shook my head.
“So, how to use heal. I’m assuming it will only work when I’m injured, which sounds less than fun but for now, it will have to do.” I decided and turned to the metal table, giving it a shrug in apology.
“Cameron! Dinner’s ready!”
“Looks like you survive for now,” I said to the table with a chuckle before I left my room.
… …
… …
You have slept in your bed for over 8 hours.
HP, FP, PP and STAM are fully restored.
All negative statuses and ailments have been removed.
…
Note:
You only need to sleep for 8 hours to fully restore HP, FP, PP and Stam.
While a minimum of 4 hours is required to get any restoration [50%]
...
I grunted as I saw the text floating before my eyes as I woke the next morning, blinking as I processed what I saw before it vanished.
“Eight hours are all I need? Ugg. Wish I knew that before I went to bed and slept for… ten.” I mumbled as I pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed. “So that’s another few hours I can add to my training slash grinding,” I noted as I stood up and stretched.
The night before I’d tried levelling up Breath Control, but I could only hold it for about four and a half minutes due to the high per second cost, though I had levelled up Trance four more times and Meditation once.
Getting Trance and TK up to meet the quest level was going to be easy but Heal and Breath Control were going to be a problem. Still, I had time before breakfast so did another round of Breath Control, and almost as soon as I activated it I got the first pop-up.
Once my minute was up, I pulled up the Force powers list and saw I could now hold my breath for a minute and ten seconds.
“Well that’s just shite,” I mumbled as I waved away the list and headed off to have a shower before breakfast.
…
“Morning,” I said as I walked into the kitchen to see my granddad putting out the plates.
“Well you’re up early today,” he commented with a weak smile. I figured he was still less than thrilled about me possibly becoming a Jedi but was trying to stay strong for my benefit.
‘The fun of being twenty-eight in an eight-year-old’s body. I understand when someone is trying to hide things easier.’ I mused as I sat at the table. “Yeah. I’ll admit I’m excited about using the Force, but I know there’s no point getting too worked up until… great-granny calls back.” I stumbled a bit at the end due to not knowing what exactly to call Bastila as I’d never had to deal with great-grandparents before.
Vaner chuckled at my choice of words, probably enjoying the term as well as my uncertainty. “Great-granny? I have to remember that one!” He chuckled. Yup, he enjoyed the term. “But you’re right. It could be you simply weren’t rated high enough to be taken as a youngling. Still great-granny did ask you to meditate on the Force, and since you’ve almost finished your schoolwork for the holidays, I see no problem with you doing so. Though do remember to get out and stretch your legs from time to time.”
I smiled and nodded. “Yes sir.”
We ate in comfortable silence and I returned to my room, FP fully restored and smiled as I pointed my hand at my pillow.
… …
… …
Green in brown
Clouds of dust
Looming shadow
Red clashing with green
Fire and smoke
Blue liquid pooling
Running
Walls closing in
Seeing a window
Can’t breathe
Red cutting metal
Fade to white
I jumped out of bed, and stumbled a few steps, feeling sweat dripping down my face.
“What… what was that?” I asked the empty room, though no obvious answer came as I breathed heavily to calm myself.
Noticing a few blue boxes, I opened them. There were ones for Trance, which I’d expected as I seemed to get a few every time restored my Force Points, but the last one is what caught my eye.
Force Power Discovered!
Vision
Grants the ability to glimpse what is going to happen in the future.
...
“Huh, well ok. List Force Powers.” I ignored the ones I already had and read the full description of Vision.
Vision
Novce:1
Grants the ability to glimpse what is going to happen in the future.
Visions, granted by the Force, allow one to see hints of what might happen. With time, visions may well become clearer, allowing you to determine when, where, how, and why it comes to pass.
You have a small chance to experience visions, though the longer you meditate, the greater the chance becomes.
No Cost
...
“That was a Force Vision? OK, but I have no idea what it meant.” I sat back down on the bed and tried to remember what I’d seen, though after ten minutes I’d still gotten nowhere.
“Well, I guess I’ll figure out what it means lat… Hold on. Force Visions, as in glimpses of the future? Meaning what I know will happen can be passed off as visions if I am vague enough to start with I can hint at what will happen and if what I initially predict comes to pass, the Jedi might be more willing to believe me about Palpatine, Dooku and Anakin.” I grinned and chuckled as I realised I might have a way to alter things for the Jedi, though it all depended on my surviving the prologue. And the fact there was a chance I might not was something that continually rattled around my thoughts.
My grin fell as I remembered that and I sighed. “Wonder how long I have left?”
“Cameron! Lunchtime!” Came the voice of my grandfather and, after taking a moment to calm my thoughts about surviving whatever was to come, I moved off.
…
“Cameron, are you still up?” I broke from my meditation at the sound of my grandfather’s voice and with a wave of my hand, opened the door.
“Yes,” I replied as he looked into my room. I was simply sitting cross-legged on the bed, having been working on restoring my Force Points.
“Hmm, well it’s time for bed. If your light is not out and you’re under the sheets in five, I’m banning you from any Force training tomorrow.
“Yes sir,” I replied, keeping my face as calm as I could until the door closed. “List Force Powers.”
I scowled as I looked at the list. After a full day of training up Heal, I’d only gained two levels. The quest was looking virtually impossible to pull off.
Sure, Trance was now Novice:53, but at the current rate, it would take me two weeks here to get Heal up to Novice:15; and that was ignoring Breath Control and TK.
I grumbled as I stood and moved to the bathroom to clean my teeth. There had to be a way I could change this, and a smile came to my toothpaste-filled mouth as an idea took shape. “List Player Powers.”
I browsed the list. “Gamer’s Body; The body experiences the stresses of the physical world as if it was a video game.” I tapped my chin as I thought things through. Now, this wasn’t a game, TPtB had made that clear enough that I was willing to believe them, but this power treated my body as if it was in a game. And in most RPGs, you only had to sleep to heal, and when not sleeping, I could use Force Heal.
I walked back to my room and settled into the bed, waiting for the hall light to go out even as the idea that I could train during my sleep filled my thoughts.
I couldn’t train Force Heal as I’d done yesterday, as I’d needed to hurt myself first, and no matter how quiet I’d been, that had generated enough noise that my grandfather had asked several times if I was alright.
Breath Control, however, was a skill used by simply doing nothing but slowing down my heartbeat, meaning I could do it while in bed and faking sleep. Sure, I could stop myself from breathing for a few minutes instead of simply slowing my heart, but that would mean stopping and starting, which struck me as inefficient.
“List Stats,” I said quietly in the dark and waited quietly until my Force Points were fully restored.
“Right, time to breathe,” I smirked at the bad pun as the hall light went out.
… …
… …
“How much longer is this Prologue going to take?” I asked with a sigh as I walked back into my room on my sixth morning here.
I knew that this wasn’t a game, or at least I was trying to not treat it as one, but I was starting to go bored just sitting in my room day and night grinding Force Powers. Yes, the whole not needing to sleep thing was starting to get to me. I mean, I get that with my new power I didn’t need to, but to hell with grinding, I wanted to sleep and was going to, quest be dammed.
Sure, I’d gotten Heal and Trance to at least Novice:15 – Trance was at Master:20 which granted a one hundred and ten per cent bonus to regeneration, on top of Meditation’s bonus – and Breath Control was almost there as well, but I was getting seriously bored.
I’d have the same Force Vision four more times, which had been enough to level up Vision once. Sadly, the glimpse of the future was no clearer in meaning, though I had reached the conclusion it had something to do with how the Prologue quest was going to end.
With a sigh, I figured it was time to start levelling up TK now that Heal was high enough to meet the quest requirements and I began to fly a pillow around the room.
I’d only been at that for maybe ten minutes when there was a knock at the door.
“Cameron, can you come downstairs? There’s someone here to meet you.”
I frowned for a moment before I realised who it probably was. While my grandfather hadn’t mentioned if Bastila had called him back, I assumed she had and that the newcomer was a Jedi to check my Force connection; hopefully without that silly blood-test thingy from The Phantom Menace.
I walked out of the room slowly, trying to contain my excitement, though I paused as I reached the bottom of the stairs as a new notice appeared.
Opening it, I discovered I had a new Force Power – Detection – which detected living beings within a ten-meter range. I opened the mini-map and saw three blue dots in the living room to my left, one of which had my grandfather’s name attached to it in exceedingly small text.
‘That might get awkward if I’m at the Jedi Temple or in a major battle. I’ll have to look later to see if I can turn off the names from the options.’ I considered as I entered the living room and saw my grandfather talking with two brown-robed individuals. The taller of the two was a green-skinned Twi’lek; and knowing that generated another blue box, though I ignored it for now.
“There you are,” Vaner said with a slight smile. “Cameron, this is Jedi Master Tardon Komad, and his padawan, Haqu. They were sent by your Great-Grandmother to see if you are suitable for training with the Jedi.”
“Hello,” I said taking in the sight of my first real aliens and trying very hard to not freak out about it. Tardon was as tall as my grandfather and his head-tails – I didn’t know what they were called – were wrapped around his neck. The padawan was of the same species as Darth Maul, yet his skin was light brown and he looked to be about fifteen to eighteen in age.
“Yes, I can see the resemblance to Ressa,” Tardon commented as he looked at me. “I was her master when she was a padawan.” He stepped forward and knelt in front of me. “Now, let us see.”
He closed his eyes and I felt a brief tingle in my mind and at the end of my fingers.
“Well, he’s strong in the Force, that much is certain. But the records show he wasn’t. A conundrum.” He said as he stood and rubbed his chin.
“Why would that be master?” Haqu asked, his eyes glancing at his master as he spoke.
I had pondered that myself over the last few days and had a suspicion. “Maybe my mother wanted me to grow up away from Coruscant and the Jedi. Given my family name, I think I’d gather a lot of attention.”
“Yes, that is possible. Ressa did not enjoy the way people looked at her once her family name was revealed.” Tardon replied. “Perhaps it also has something to do with your father. Do you know who that was?”
Vaner shook his head. “Ressa never told me and Emess never mentioned anything about it to me when she came home with Cameron.” He paused and looked over at a picture. that was a photo of him and my grandmother Emess who’d died a few years ago.
I frowned. More than likely my dad was just someone my mother had gotten close to during a mission and gotten pregnant, but not knowing was a little disconcerting.
“Still, we need to carry out a few more tests to be sure he is suitable to join the Younglings at one of the training centres,” Tardon stated slowly. “With your permission Chancellor, I’d like to try and teach him a few basic Force abilities.”
“Just Vaner is fine Master Jedi,” Vaner replied with a small frown that made me wonder if he regretted something about being the Chancellor. “And go ahead. Cameron has done nothing but meditate on Bastila’s words these last few days.”
I managed to avoid smirking at my grandfather thinking I’d just been meditating in my room instead of grinding my skills.
“Indeed. Well, that is a good start.” Tardon paused and looked around the room. “Hmm, perhaps we should move outside. Younglings tend to lack control when learning new skills.”
I followed the two Jedi outside, wondering just what they would try to teach me, and how long this would take.
…
“Well done, Cameron,” Tardon said with a large smile that exposed his sharp, razor teeth. “It is quite astonishing how easily you can pick up new abilities.” He continued, and I couldn’t help but smile at the praise.
In the last several hours, between all the talking about what the Jedi stand for, I had gained seven new Force powers and while some seemed less than useful, I had created another quest while doing so and was halfway to finishing it. I had to gain ten new Force powers before reaching a Jedi training centre for 300XP while failing would only cost me 100XP.
The only downside of this learning was that my FP became depleted and that meant another bout of meditation; something I was becoming truly sick of doing.
“Thank you, sir,” I replied, not willing or truthful comfortable with calling someone master. Blame it on the connotations of the word and too much Doctor Who growing up.
“Master,” I turned with Tardon as his padawan approached from where their small ship was parked. “The ship’s scanners have detected another ship on an approach vector.”
“Hmm, was your grandfather expecting visitors?”
“Not that I know of.” Though given I’d spent the last few days all but locked in my room by choice I wouldn’t know.
“Hmm. Perhaps it would be best if we returned to the house and awaited these…”
I stopped paying attention to the Twi’lek Jedi when a white notice appeared in the centre of my vision.
MOVE!
...
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand at the simple warning as I realised it was a message from the Force thanks to now learning Precognition.
“We need to go!” I blurted out, already backing off towards the house even as I glanced up at the sky. There was nothing to see but the message changed.
MOVE NOW!
...
I pulled on Tardon’s sleeve. “We need to move!” I said with as much emotion as I could, hoping my very real fear would convince him.
“I dou…” Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a string of red beams that struck the Jedi’s ship, destroying it and throwing me and Tardon backwards towards the house.
I grunted as I rolled onto my side and stared at where the ship had been. Now it was nothing but a burning and smocking pile of remains. I shook my head to clear it and saw that the interface had changed; my mini-map and key stats were now on, as was Player’s Mind. All of that told me I was now in combat and I looked up as a shadow fell over the ship remains to see another ship, one that looked slightly larger than the former Jedi ship, descending rapidly.
“Get inside!” Tardon said, and I turned to look at him. His face was marred by what I assumed was blood, though it was blue. Otherwise, he looked fine and I turned back to the remains of his ship as I realised that Haqu had been between us and the ship when it exploded.
“Haqu?” I asked slowly as I stood, noting the new ship was going to land behind the remains of the Jedi vessel.
“Dead,” Tardon stated softly before he held out a hand and summoned the padawan’s lightsaber. “Here, I sense the presence of the dark side on that ship. I hope you will not need it, but it is better to be prepared.”
I took the lightsaber slowly, turning it over in my hands.
“Move,” Tardon ordered.
Warning!
Another has attempted to use the Force to compel you to do something.
This has been blocked by Player’s Mind.
...
I waved away the warning, that while not appearing in the centre of my vision, was still easy to read as it appeared in my combat log and ran back into the house to find my grandfather approaching, two guns in hand.
“What’s happening?”
“We’re under attack,” I reply as I slid the lightsaber into my pocket in case he tried to take it from me. I wished I could drop it in my inventory, but having it disappear from plain sight would raise a lot of questions I’d rather avoid if possible. Or at least, I’d rather not face such questions provided we survived. “Haqu is dead and their ship is destroyed. Another is landing behind it and Tardon says there are Sith on board.”
Vaner’s face went white for a moment before he thrust one of the blasters to me. “Take it.” He commanded, and I did so.
I turned it over in my hands slowly. While the thing was very different from a pistol in my former life, the principles were still the same and I felt more comfortable with a gun than a lightsaber; though if I survived this, I hoped to change that.
Vaner pushed me behind the table he had overturned, one I saw was made of metal and moved to the window to glance outside.
“Sithspit!” He spat out. “There’s two of them and a handful of thugs.”
I closed my eyes and reached out with Force Detection, but the attackers were not close enough for me to sense yet as all I felt was my grandfather and Tardon. Yet at the very edge of what I could sense, a raging, dangerous presence snapped toward me.
“Kriff! The thugs are moving this way.” Vaner stated not long after I’d attempted to detect the Sith and I realised that I’d given away my position by doing so. “Keep your head down.” He added as he took aim with his pistol and fired off a few shots.
The return fire was not as quick in coming as I would’ve expected if I was in my old life, but what came forced Vaner to duck down low. Glasses exploded, pots and pans clanged, and cupboard doors creaked under the fire that was coming in and I knew that we couldn’t stay in the kitchen.
“We need to move,” I called out. “If they’ve got half a brain between them some will keep firing while the others flank us.”
“What?” Vaner shouted back over the incoming shots that I noted were lessening but still sustained. I looked at my grandfather and his shock at my statement was clear to see.
“I’ve read a few books on battles. They’ll try to pin us down here while circling to attack from behind.” I lied/explained. “If we stay here, we’ll die.”
Vaner tried to glance out of the window, but the incoming fire stopped him, and he sighed. “Fine, but where should we go?”
I thought for a moment as I considered the layout of the house. “They’ll try to come in through a window if one is open, or the front door if not. Regardless they’d need to pass through the hall to get here so we should move up the stairs. It gives us an advantage and we can slip out of one of the upstairs windows to try and help Tardon.”
Vaner nodded along slowly. “Very well, however, you are not to engage the Sith. You’re no match for them.”
I nodded in agreement, remembering that failure here would mean capture by them or death; neither of which was an appealing option.
Vaner sent a few random shots out of the window, not that I expected him to him anything, to hopefully convince the attackers we were staying still, then we moved quickly but quietly up the stairs, checking the rooms we passed to ensure there was no one there yet.
Once we reached the top of the stairs, Vaner ushered me into my room.
“Stay in here. Don’t come out unless I tell you.”
“But…”
“No buts.” His tone was firm. “Stay here.” He paused and sighed. “I can’t lose you too.”
I opened my mouth to retort, only to stop and nod in acceptance. This man had lost his wife, one of his children had died and the other was somewhere in the galaxy as a Jedi.
I knew that I would be leaving here soon, but if I could do so without hurting him, I would try. Though I was also already planning how to get out of the window.
He gave me a small smile and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Whatever happens, I love you.”
He turned to leave, but I stopped him by grabbing his arm. Player’s Mind was controlling my emotions, but I still didn’t want him to die. “May the Force be with you.”
I felt a shiver go up my spine at finally saying those words and his smile grew as he replied. “And with you.”
He turned without a further word and left, closing the room as he did.
I dropped the lightsaber into my inventory – figuring I was less likely to lose it there than in my pocket – and looked around the room. With a quick wave of my hand, I moved the desk behind the door, then dragged the bed – as its weight was too much to lift – behind that before I walked over to the window.
I was relieved that it was big enough for me to leave through and that it faced away from where the ships and the Sith were.
I opened it slowly, though only a fraction in case the other attackers could see then risked a glance outside.
There was no sign of anyone but also, there was no ledge and if I leapt it would be a straight drop to the ground.
Blaster fire from outside the room told Vaner had engaged the attackers and I knew I needed to go.
Moving slowly, until I was sitting, legs out on the ledge, I turned at the sound of someone banging at the door.
“Get out here you little brat!” Someone shouted, and I frowned as I realised that Vaner was either dead or dying outside. “Open this door or the old man is dead!”
“RUN CAM…” Vaner was cut off by the sound of a blaster and I growled. Part of me wanted to stay and kill these bastards, but I knew that it was a risk I should avoid. The further I got from them and the Sith the more likely I was to survive and complete the prologue quest.
As an idea formed, I looked upwards and smirked at seeing the edge of the roof was close enough that if I stood, I should be able to grab it and pull myself up. I managed to reach the roof just as there was an explosion from my room and I shimmed backwards until everything but my head was away from the edge. Carefully I took the blaster and aimed just past the window then waited quietly.
“Where’s the brat gone?”
“Rand, check the cupboard and under the bed. Sansk, the window.”
I smirked at the voices and waited patiently until a green head popped out of the window; its eyes scanning the ground below.
“Nothi…” was as far as he got as I pressed the trigger and blasted a hole through his head, making his body slump over the ledge before sliding back into the room. Even as the body slumped to the floor, I moved backwards until I was once more out of sight.
“Kriff! Sansk’s gone!”
“I can see that, you idiot! Move slowly, either there’s someone else out there or the kid’s more dangerous than we were told.”
“First Gran, now Sansk. This mission is going to druk.”
“Keep it up and you’ll be next.”
I had to shake my head at that the back and forth between the two people in my room. The way they talked made clear that they weren’t professionals, though I was learning a few new, what I assumed were, swear words.
“I’ve got nothing,” Rand said quietly, though given I was so close I heard him clearly.
“Same here. He must be directly below us or have gone.”
“The Sith’ll kill us if we lose him.”
“If we’re lucky they’ll kill us.” The leader – whose name I’d still not caught – said, confirming they worked for the Sith. Probably pirates or thugs hired for this mission as expendable cannon fodder. “I’ve heard tales about what they do to those that fail them.” There was a long pause before he spoke again. “Still, two fewer bodies means more loot for us.”
Rand chuckled. “Guess it does. So, what do we do now?”
“We follow the boy. You jump first, and I’ll cover you.”
“Wha… Fine.” Rand grumbled and I shimmied back a little bit in case he decided to look up before he jumped.
While the two had been talking I’d glanced around, hoping that there was a way for me to go, but discovered that the house was isolated in a valley.
There was another house further away, maybe five klicks or so, but the ground between here and there offered no cover and I couldn’t see any garage for a speeder.
There was a grunt from Rand as he struggled to get through the window and I pondered that my only option might be to steal their ship, though given my lack of understanding in how to pilot a starship, let alone plot a journey to another planet, I was not keen on the idea.
Sure, I could spend some of my backup skill points in the hope I’d miraculously learn how to fly, but it was not the most comforting Plan A.
“I’m down. Come on.”
That left Plan B, which was to simply stun or kill every one of the attackers; and while there was a chance, I could do that with the remaining thugs, the two Sith would probably take me down with ease.
The sound of a second thump told me the leader of these two had landed and I crawled forwards slowly. They were now too far from me to make out what they were saying but I saw one of them pull out a small device from his belt and talk into it.
Working on the assumption that he was calling the ones who were either still attacking the kitchen or now probably trying to help the Sith, I waited until he finished as I slowly aimed my pistol.
As he slipped the communicator back into his belt I fired, catching him on the top of his head and sending bits of brain flying, including onto the other.
I quickly shifted my aim and fired at the remaining thug, and though it took three shots to get him – and the rush of heat as he managed to get a shot off in my direction – he joined his friends.
I smiled a little at managing to take down the trio. However, my moment of relief at taking them down ended quickly as two more thugs came around the corner, firing on my location.
I moved back quickly, but in my haste, I slipped and began to roll down the roof, bouncing off the lower roof and then crashing hard to the ground.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I moved to kneel and saw that I’d lost just over a third of my hit points.
Looking around, I saw that I’d landed near the kitchen and spotted three bodies lying on the ground.
I groaned when I realised one was Tardon and moved over quickly to where he lay hoping that he wasn’t dead, though the pool of blueish liquid I saw didn’t fill me with confidence.
As I placed a hand on his body, a new popup appeared.
Tardon Komad
Status: Dead
Do you wish to loot the body?
Yes/No?
...
I stared at the pop-up in shock for a moment before mumbling out, “Yes.”
Lightsaber Collected!
A green-bladed lightsaber that formerly belonged to the Jedi Master Tardon Komad.
~~~
Jedi Commlink Collected!
A commlink used by the Jedi to communicate with others.
Capable of Hypercomm access but need access to a transceiver to do so.
~~~
Jedi Robes Collected!
The robes were formerly worn by Jedi Master Tardon Komad.
Provides minimal protection from damage.
[Currently cannot be equipped due to size difference]
~~~
Jedi Holocron Collected!
The personal holocron of former Jedi Master Tardon Komad.
Can only be accessed by a Force user with the correct passphrase.
[passphrase: Peace through training]
~~~
246 Credits added!
...
I reeled back in shock at finding the Twi’lek Jedi now in nothing but his undergarments – and was instantly glad that the male had worn trousers and a shirt under his robes – even as I processed that I could loot bodies instantly for equipment. It felt wrong to take this stuff, but I figured I could give the lightsaber and holocron to the Jedi later, though I did plan to keep the credits and commlink.
Glancing around to make sure that I was still alone, I scurried over to the other two bodies and repeated the process, gaining a Sith lightsaber, a blaster rifle and spare power cell, a vibroblade, two stim-packs that would restore health, and a further eight-hundred and twenty-three Credits.
As I finished looting the Sith’s body, I glanced back at the house and saw movement, forcing me to lay down flat against the ground and begin to shimmy slowly backwards, taking me away from the house.
I’d managed to move a few meters away when the door to the kitchen opened and a Human man walked out slowly, his gun tracking with his head.
“Bugger,” I mumbled at seeing the man was on edge, though given a boy of eight had killed three of his cohorts, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.
I watched as he focused on Tardon and began to walk forward slowly as I cursed myself for looting the body with my powers, and thus, removing the Jedi’s robes.
I glanced behind me and saw I was almost next to the smouldering remains of the Jedi ship, and figured if I could get behind it, I had a fair chance to go with Plan A and attempt to steal the attacker’s ship and escape.
He called back into the house as he moved, and I raised my blaster, slowly aiming in the hopes I could take him out before the other thugs or the remaining Sith appeared, even as I continued to slowly move backwards while staying as low to the ground as I could.
I felt the air heat up, meaning I was close to the remains of the Jedi ship when a second person came out of the house. This one, while a head shorter than the first was walking casually with her lightsaber lit and cursed silently as the Sith glanced at each of the bodies before looking in my direction.
“Bollocks,” I mumbled as I saw his eyes lock on mine and I took a shot at the human thug before turning and running for the Sith ship.
I ran up the ramp and looked around desperately for the door controls, silently wishing I had applied my spare skill points to Mechanics or Piloting. I punched at the first thing that looked like controls, only for a cupboard to open exposing a hover-bike. I didn’t have time to do anything more than grumble at that mistake as I smashed another control.
I nearly fist-pumped as the third set of dials I pressed began to close the ramp and I moved out of the small entrance area. Seeing a panel like those in my house, I slammed the doors behind me shut before blasting the controls, hoping it would trap the Sith outside.
I turned and moved down the corridor until it opened onto a large, central room and I glanced around. I took a moment to try to orientate myself with where I expected the bridge to be and moved in that direction, quickly being rewarded with the sight of three seats, controls, and a glass canopy.
“Great. Now to figure out how to launch the ship,” I muttered as I slipped into one of the front two seats and examined the controls, being thankful that some of the controls were labelled.
After calling up my skills and dumping all my remaining points into a handful of skills that should help me pilot the ship, I pressed what I now knew was the engine start switch. Yes, dumping points into skills somehow instantly gave me knowledge, but I wasn’t caring about how such a thing worked as I slowly increased the power to lift the ship off the ground.
I instinctively ducked as blaster shots began to pepper the canopy, though I quickly noted that none were even scratching the glass – or whatever it was – and ignored the fire as the ship began to lift and turn.
As the onboard computer began what I noted was an automated take-off sequence, the ship tilted back until all I could see was the sky, I let out a breath of relief at getting away.
Warning!
Force Choke detected!
...
I found myself ignoring the warning that appeared as my hands went to my throat as it felt like someone was crushing it with a truck.
“Not bad boy, but you’re out of your league,” crackled a voice from behind me as I was pulled backwards, out of the seat and onto the ground hard. “Now stay down. I have orders to not harm you permanently, but so long as you arrive in one piece, I doubt Lord Frux will complain.”
I looked up while still grabbing at my throat to see a teenage girl, standing over me with a malicious smirk on her face; her yellow eyes seemed to sparkle as I struggled.
“What? Felinx got your tongue?” The girl asked as the smirk turned into a grin.
A glance at my HP showed it falling slowly as the choke continued and I frantically looked around for some way out of this. I reached for my pistol and got off two quick shots. However, she deflected them away before casually flicking her lightsaber, slicing the barrel of my pistol mere centimetres from my fingers.
“Uh-uh. No trying to escape.” She warned as her eyes narrowed and I felt the pressure on my throat increase. My HP was falling faster now, and I estimated I had no more than a few minutes before I died.
My eyes frantically searched the room and spotting what looked like a wrench on a table behind her, I reached out for it with the Force even as I opened my mouth. “In. Ven. Tory.” A managed to say as the wrench slowly lifted off the surface it was on.
I reached out towards my inventory even as the girl began to laugh.
“Inventory? Seriously? That’s your distraction?” She chuckled as she spun, dropping the choke on me, and slicing the wrench that was now flying towards her in half.
“Such a pa…” Her words stopped as she turned back to find I had ignited both Jedi lightsabers that I’d grabbed from my inventory while she had turned away; stabbing her through the calf and chest as I managed to kneel.
I pulled them outwards, slicing her chest open and severing her lightsaber arm at the shoulder while leaving one leg hanging on by a thread.
I turned off the lightsabers before falling backwards onto my arse. There was no pain in my throat now, but after dropping one of the lightsabers back into the inventory, I took out a stim-pack, and after examining it for a moment, jammed it into my leg.
I smiled a fraction as I saw my HP climb rapidly; thankful that whatever was in the pack still worked on me with my strange powers.
A single cough had me snapping the remaining lightsaber on as I turned to face the Sith, though I stayed still, waiting to see if somehow the girl had survived. After nearly a minute of watching her, I realised she wasn’t moving and extinguished the lightsaber and stood slowly.
The room was filling with the smell of cooked meat, and I cringed as I realised that was the after-effect of a lightsaber cutting flesh.
Activating Breath Control, I slowly dragged the body out of the cockpit and – after taking her lightsaber, a Sith Holocron with the passcode Passion grants Strength and a further 47 Credits – returned to the controls.
I frowned when I saw that the deflected blaster shot had hit one of the consoles, but nothing seemed wrong as the ship was now leaving orbit and I couldn’t help but gasp at seeing the stars from space for the first time.
Another console beeped, drawing my attention, I frowned as I realised that it was the hyperdrive powering up. I hadn’t inputted a target, so I had to assume that it was a pre-programmed setup in case the Sith were killed.
I tried to gain access to the computer, but it required a password and I worried that if I entered the wrong password the ship might just explode or something, so I was resigned to travelling to wherever the Sith had come from on the hope the computer would unlock once I arrived.
Another console beeped, and I spotted a blinking orange switch. With my increased skills in computing, I knew this was the ship-to-ship intercom and flicked the switch.
“I say again. Unknown vessel, you are ordered to heave to and prepare to be boarded. Fail to comply and you will be fired upon.”
“Um, this is Cameron Shan. I escaped an attack by the owners of the ship on my grandfather’s home but it's powering up the hyperdrive and I can’t stop it. Please advise.”
“Shan? As in… Right. Mister Shan, I’m Captain Hardin of the Talravin Defence Force. I’m going to try and…” The voice was cut off as the ship accelerated to lightspeed.
“Damm,” I muttered as the stars merged into a continuous field of white.
I glanced down at the hyperdrive computer, hoping it would display where I was now heading, even the destroyed console sparked and buzzed. Something was clearly wrong, but without knowing what the console was for I just had to hope it was nothing important.
“Right, since I’ve no idea how long this is going to take, I’d better do an inventory of what’s onboard,” I said as I stood and walked back to the central area of the ship, and the remains of the female Sith.
… …
… …
I looked up from the datapad where I’d been reading up on how to program a hyperlight jump for the last hour as the ship shuddered and I saw that the constant blue swirling tunnel of hyper-speed was gone.
Quickly I moved to the pilot’s chair and read the scanners, discovering I was entering the orbit of a planet called Dromund Kaas, though I had no idea where that was, nor had I ever heard of it before. Hell, I’d not spent much time even learning where the various planets from the movies and TV show were.
One of the consoles was blinking, and thanks to reading up on starship operations, I knew this was the requesting access to the local Datanet, though no reply seemed to be coming.
Looking out the canopy, I spotted a single orbiting station, and though there was no light coming from it, I wasn’t willing to risk hailing it since this was where the Sith wanted to take me.
After discovering that the navigation computer was now unlocked, I waited as calmly as I could without using Player’s Mind for the next few minutes, ready to turn the ship around and run if anything approached, but nothing did, and I began to relax; though only a little.
“Right, now what to do,” I said to myself as I continued to check the sensors for any approaching ship or incoming hail. “I’ve got five more days of rations, though I’d rather not have to keep eating those, so I could investigate the station to learn more about where I am, and why the Sith wanted me to come here. This planet looks abandoned, so maybe it's just a layover location?”
“Or I could head down to the planet and investigate it.” A quick check at the scanners showed the remains of a handful of cities, though all had been overrun by jungle and swamp meaning they were abandoned years ago.
Quest Alert!
Tremors of the Ancient Sith Empire
Investigate the former capital of the Sith Empire that Revan tried to end then which later launched an all-out war on the Republic.
Rating: S***
Objective:
Investigate Kaas City
Investigate Kaas Command Station
Bonus: ?
Bonus: ?
Bonus: ?
Bonus: ?
Bonus: ?
Rewards:
8000XP
5500XP
?
?
?
Penalties:
Possible death
Probable dismemberment
Accept?
Yes/No
~~~
NOTE:
This quest does not have to be attempted now, but not accepting could strengthen the Rise of the Sith under Darth Sidious.
This Quest does not have to be attempted alone, though only you will receive the XP for completion.
...
“Bloody… That’s just…” my voice trailed off as I read through the quest and the note and I shook my head to calm myself. “Player’s Mind on,” I said, hoping the numbing effect of the power would help me process just what I was being asked to do.
“S-three? That’s four levels higher than the Prologue quest and I barely survived that Sith girl. Still, nothing says I have to do this now, just that I need to complete it to weaken the Sidious.” I read the quest again before shrugging. “Yes.”
Well, someone’s feeling brave!
Honestly, we weren’t sure if you’d take that quest.
Since you have, we will give you some free advice.
This quest can be done in steps, but we suggest waiting until you are at least Level 20 and at least 3 other Force Users are with you.
...
I blinked in surprise as that was the first message I’d gotten from TPtB in a while, and there was no snark in it; just solid advice, which I planned to listen to.
“Thanks,” I said to the message as it disappeared and turned to the navigation computer. “Something about this place tells me I really shouldn’t let others know it exists. If Sidious or others like him discover this place it could make things worse for the galaxy. I need to find a way to copy the flight logs of this ship and then clear them before I reach Coruscant.”
Damm, now that’s smart thinking.
Also, congratulations!
…
Quest Completed!
Prologue
Objectives:
Survive and Escape [Yes]
? Discover a holocron [2/1]
? Defeat the Dark Jedi x2 [1/2]
? Defeat 3 attackers [4/3]
Rewards:
3500EXP
Access to Force skills without needing to be trained by a Force Master [Via a Holocron]
Sith lightsaber
500 Credits
200 EXP
…
Quest Completed!
One with the Force
Objectives:
Get the 4 powers to Novice:15 [Yes]
? Get 2 powers to Novice:25 [1/2]
? Get 1 Power to Adept:1 [Yes]
Rewards:
300XP
150XP
...
I grunted at seeing that I’d managed to complete almost all the bonus objectives from both quests, though the fact the Sith lightsabers were already in my inventory felt a little cheap as a reward.
Still, realising that I could learn new Force powers from the two holocrons was a nice surprise as until then, I’d thought they were nothing more than personal journals or diaries and that meant I could hopefully complete the Force Power quest before I reached Coruscant.
I looked back at the navigation computer and, after checking it for a few minutes I discovered that there was a data slot that matched the one on the datapad I had been using to read new skills from.
I moved to plug the pad into the computer to wipe the worlds when I paused and realised that if I did that then maybe the computer would not be able to fly to Coruscant safely.
I placed the pad next to the pad down and accessed the nav-computer to program a trip to Coruscant. After a few minutes, the computer stated that such a jump would use most of the fuel onboard and that I would need to refuel once I arrived before asking If I accepted the flight plan.
I went to confirm only to stop when a new alert appeared, which I promptly opened.
Quest Alert!
Forge your own Path
What will you do with your life?
Unlike most quests, some of the objectives here are mutually exclusive.
Objectives:
Attempt to join the Jedi on Coruscant.
Become the leader of a planet of your choice.
Travel the galaxy as an explorer.
Join the Bounty Hunter’s guild.
Attempt to find other Force Users willing to train you.
Join a criminal organization.
Rewards:
Each objective opens up new quest chains.
Certain objectives prevent other quest chains from being started/finished until their chain is completed.
Accept?
Yes/No
...
I looked at the quest and frowned, having honestly not considered anything but joining the Jedi.
A few of the options were less than appealing, and given I was a boy of 8, dangerous to enter for now, but maybe they would be useful to start later.
“Yes.” I accepted the quest and then confirmed my destination in the nav-computer, before piloting the ship slowly away from Dromund Kaas. After I was far enough away from the planet, I powered up the hyperdrive and watched the view change as the ship accelerated to faster-than-light velocities.
“Right, another 2 or so days of this then I can figure out how exactly I’m going to move from this era to just before the prequels,” I muttered as I picked up the datapad again and went back to learning more about piloting.
… …
… …
Just before lunch on the second day of travel from Dromund Kaas, I felt another shudder and quickly walked to the cockpit to see the ship had dropped out of hyperspeed.
“Whoa,” I muttered as I took in the sight before me. I knew that Coruscant was a planet-wide city, but seeing it for real, and the sheer number of ships approaching from various directions was awe-inspiring, and not a little intimidating.
The comms blinked as it did over Talravin, I had discovered that was the name of the world I’d come from by examining the nav-computers logs, and I opened the channel.
“Hello?”
“This is Coruscant System Patrol. Please state your identity and reason for arriving in-system on an unused vector.” A voice asked. It was hard to tell over the channel, but I thought he sounded bored.
“Um, my name is Cameron Shan and I’m here to see the Jedi Council.”
There was a laugh from the man.
“Yeah, you and thousands of others buddy. What makes you think they’ll want to meet you?” His tone was dripping with sarcasm I was silently wondering if I could learn Force Choke from the Sith holocron so I could strangle the bastard at range.
Sure, I’d learnt a bunch of powers for Tardon’s holocron, but I’d only scratched the surface of the Sith one as it pushed against my mind, trying to make me angry and while Player’s Mind would counter it, that special power only lasted for about 20 minutes before it had to recharge Player Points.
Still, I now had about 20 Force Powers, some more useful than others, and had managed to learn Huttese to Adept levels within a few days, so I couldn’t complain too much.
“Well for one, I have the holocron of a Jedi who died to protect me and another, there’s a dead Sith on this ship.”
Silence greeted my reply, which I had expected.
“What?”
“I have a Jedi holocron to return and a dead Sith onboard,” I reply with a large smirk. “If this isn’t sufficient to at least grant me a landing pad near the Jedi Temple I don’t know what is.” Yes, I was being cheeky, but this guy wasn’t interested in doing his job; plus, it was fun. “So can I land?”
“Um, I need to check with my Captain. Please hold.”
I rolled my eyes at being put on hold – some things clearly didn’t change no matter what galaxy you’re in – and waited patiently as the time ticked away.
“Um, Mr Shan. You are ordered to heave too and prepare for an inspection. If we can corroborate your claims, then we will see about contacting the Jedi for you.”
“Very well. I’m cutting engines now.” I replied before closing the channel and then watched as a ship approached.
…
Nearly two hours – and far too much bullshit from the customs officers – later, I was granted a landing slot in the Temple district where I was told that a member of the Council would meet me.
Though as I exited the ship – which I still did not know the name of – I stumbled at seeing a small green alien, no more than a metre in height waiting with two others.
“Hmm, surprising to you, my appearance is. Yes?” The green alien asked with a chuckle. Unless all his species had the same voice, then I was looking at Yoda; meaning I had somehow travelled forward in time.
“Um, no. Well, yes. I mean I didn’t know there were aliens like yourself on the Council.” I replied slowly, thinking on the fly and silently glad that I had activated Player’s Mind before exiting the ship. I noted that the two humans that accompanied Yoda[?] were watching me carefully. “Um, forgive my manners. My name is Cameron Shan and…”
The far older of the two men waved his hand and seemed to scowl. “Yes, yes. We heard the story you concocted to gain landing permission and drag us out here. Now tell us your real reason for being here child.”
I mentally wanted to slap the old git for a moment before Player’s Mind cancelled out the anger and I smirked. “Perhaps some proof would help you?” I said as I pulled Tardon’s holocron, his lightsaber and one of the Sith weapons from my pocket. “I also have a five-day-old body of a dead Sith girl locked in an air-tight hold that I would happily show to you.” Though I hoped that wouldn’t be needed as I suspected the room smelled rank by now.
“Well, that is a holocron,” The younger man said, lifting the object from my hand along with the lightsabers with the Force. He ignited the two blades, eyes narrowing at the red Sith blade. “And this is certainly a Sith blade.”
“Preposterous!” The older man half-shouted with a wild wave of his arm. “Just because your Sentinels claim to be sensing the dark side rising does not make it, nor this boy’s claims, true.”
‘Well, you’re on my shit list arsehole.’ I opened my mouth to comment but Yoda[?] beat me to it.
“This to the temple, we should take. Brought in for an examination, the body can be.” He stepped closer to me, hobbling on his stick as he did. “Incredible, your story is. Help us decide on its validity, your proof will.”
He turned and walked away, followed by the two humans, though not before the older one gave me a narrow stare.
Two Republic officers moved beside me, while another pair moved past me to enter the ship.
While the small transport took us towards the Jedi Temple, I pondered just how I had ended up here – and when exactly here was – and what effect my arrival would have. Yes, I had been warned that the Prologue quest would transition me from past to present, but I was still at a loss as to how it happened.
As the transport landed, I was still working through what had happened to allow me to travel almost four thousand years into the future, though I was broken from those thoughts as I took my first few steps up to the Jedi Temple as notice appeared.
Warning!
Entering Force Nexus!
Jedi Temple [Minor corruption]
This nexus grants a 25% XP boost to all Force Powers
[1% chance per year to corrupt a Jedi]
…
Quest Alert!
Cleanse the Temple
Something is off in the Jedi Temple
Rating: B
Objective:
Find the dark side taint and cleanse it.
Rewards:
3000XP
Penalties:
Possible death
Accept?
Yes/No
...
“Is everything alright young one?” the younger human Jedi asked as I stumbled.
“Um, yes. I just was caught off guard at how imposing this place is.” I replied, using his question to accept a quest that I hadn’t expected.
‘A twenty per cent boost to most Force Powers is going to be handy, but I never knew the Temple was corrupted. Guess I’ll have to find out its history and see if I can work out when and where the corruption is. Though it would be nice if every quest given to me by TPtB didn’t carry the chance of death.’
I followed the three Jedi Masters into the temple, my eyes widening at seeing just how massive this place was as we entered and I couldn’t help myself as I looked around, taking in the multi-floor entrance that seemed to stretch on and on. I
“Yes, it is quite an imposing sight.” I turned as the younger Human spoke. “Tell me, what can you feel?”
I frowned for a moment before closing my eyes and reaching out with Detection, though it was only level Novice:5 and gave fifty metres of sensing it was enough to make me gasp at the energy that seemed to radiate around the place, though it was strongest directly in front of me. The three Jedi also stood out, with Yoda[?] being the brightest and the old man having a hint of grey about him.
I relayed all that – barring the greyness – to the Jedi and he smiled.
“What you are sensing is the mountain on which the Temple is built. It is a Force nexus; a place where the Force is unusually strong in power and this helps the Jedi become closer to the Force.”
I nodded at his words but didn’t reply as we reached the end of the entrance hall and entered an elevator.
After a few minutes in that, we walked and again took another elevator until I followed the trio into a round room that I remembered seeing in the prequel movies and the Clone Wars cartoons; the Jedi Council Chamber.
I stopped near the door and looked at the other Jedi sitting around the room, several of whom I recognized from the movies and cartoons, though I struggled to remember any of their names save Mace Windu and Plo Koon.
The Jedi all began to talk quietly among themselves, gesturing at various datapads they all held; reminding me of the one in my inventory that held the locations of all the worlds around Dromund Kaas that I’d deleted from the computer before landing. Figuring that the Sith Empire mentioned when I was there would be more than one world, I decided to wipe all reference to worlds within a few hundred light-years around DK on the off chance those worlds were also strong in the Dark Side.
“Now, a story to tell us, you have, yes?” Yoda – and after seeing Windu and Plo I was no longer in doubt that I was in the era I had chosen during identity creation two weeks ago.
… …
“And then I landed here.” I finished, calmly, having just retold everything from when I first displayed Force powers to landing on Coruscant.
The Council sat silently, seemingly having a conversation without speaking and I began to wonder just what they would decide to do about me.
“We need to discuss your situation carefully,” Windu said slowly, his eyes locking on mine. “For now, we will provide you with guest quarters. A member of our Order will escort you to your room.”
I bowed slightly. “Thank you, sir,” I replied, noting the amused look the younger Jedi from earlier gave me before he glanced at Plo Koon.
I turned on my heel and walked calmly out of the Council Chamber, wondering if being a Jedi was the right path to take.
… …
… …