[ Time: 32 BBY of the Galatic Calendar ]
[ Location: Outer Rim Territories, Arkanis Sector, Tatoo System, Planet of Tatooine, Mos Espa ]
[ World: Star Wars ]
[ Incursion type: Closed ]
[ Incursion difficulty: Low ]
[ World exploration: 0,00% ]
[ Scenario exploration: 0,00% ]
[ Main Mission: A Better Life ]
[ Main Mission description: You have lived your whole life in Tatooine, the gutter of the galaxy, under the iron rule of the Hutts. Now, you are tired of it. Your objective is to escape from Tatooine in search of a better life. ]
[ Main Mission time limit: 15 days ]
[ Warning: For the main mission to be considered complete, you must reach a habitable planet at least in the Mid Rim Territories. ]
[ Warning: If you fail to complete the main mission within the time limit, you will be erased. ]
[ Side Missions: None ]
[ You can complete the following achievements in this world:
[ Smuggler: Sell something originating from Tatooine in a planet belonging at least to the Mid Rim Territories. The selling price must be no less than 6.000 Republic credits. The selling price has to be at least 3x that of the original item. ]
[ Outlaw: Ingratiate yourself with the criminal faction of the Hutts. Reputation must be at least Well-known. ]
[ Desert Predator: Tatooine's wildlife is as hostile as the planet itself. Hunt 5 different creatures in Tatooine. ]
[ This is Pod-Racing: Win one race in the Grand Arena of Mos Espa. ]
[ Tusken Raider: Achive a reputation of Reputable with any Tusken Raider tribe. ]
[ Banner of Freedom: Free 50 slaves from captivity in Tatooine. They must all be alive when you exit the incursion for this achievement to be considered complete. ]
[ Intergalactic Traveler: Visit 10 inhabited planets. You must spend at least 1 day in each world. ]
[ Warning: Raise your prestige to unlock more achievements. ]
[ This is your first incursion. You have received the skill Observe. This skill will be permanently unlocked, and can be used in any world. ]
Rumor blinked. That was... A lot of information. But as a storyteller in the underworld, compartmentalizing was his specialty. He looked at each portion of the notifications separately.
He was in the Star Wars universe, just like he suspected. More importantly, he was in Tatooine, and the name of the town, Mos Espa, was vaguely familiar. Considering the year, Rumor could infer he had been inserted somewhere - or some time, rather - along the first movie of the series. Now the question was, when exactly?
"Mind, can you answer that for me, or is my prestige not enough?"
[ You are currently in the year 32 BBY of the Galatic Calendar. The ship with storyline characters Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Queen Amidala, amongst others, has just escaped from Naboo, and will reach Tatooine in two days' time. ]
Rumor blinked.
"You actually answered?"
[ This is your first incursion. The range of questions you are allowed the answers to has been temporarily expanded. This privilege will last only for this incursion. You must raise your prestige to gain access to more information and advantages. ]
Rumor nodded to himself. That made a little bit of sense. Some sort of newbie protection period. Well, not exactly protection, but it helped. Quite a lot, actually.
Onwards to the next portion. Rumor inquired with the Mind what an incursion of the closed type meant, and discovered that - quite obviously, now that he thought about it - there were others testers, and he could meet them in other incursions. The first one, however, was a single-player mission, hence why it was 'closed'. He was the only tester in this parallel world.
Then there was world exploration and scenario exploration. Those were clearly different.
Scenario exploration was related to his main mission. Basically, how much effort he put in it.
World exploration, on the other hand, was a lot more interesting. It was related to the whole of the Star Wars universe. All the side missions, achievements, secrets, planets he went to, storyline characters he met and his relationship with them... Pretty much everything he did or didn't influenced it.
And it also carried from one incursion to the other. Meaning, in case he ever landed on the the Star Wars universe again, his progress would be saved - as would his relationships with characters, uncompleted achievements, etc...
Then, there was the main mission itself. All in all, it was quite simple. It didn't require him to go to a specific planet or to interfere with the plot in any way. As long as he left Tatooine for the closest Mid Rim planet, he would fulfill the requirements and complete it. This was probably why the difficulty of the incursion was low.
But Rumor could read between the lines. He was already starting to understand what kind of place The Mind was. If he put just the minimum effort into the main mission, his rating and rewards would probably be close to null. Then, in his next incursion, he wouldn't have improved anything.
And, if there was a low difficulty, then there was also a medium and a high, and who knows what else.
On the other hand, if he somehow managed to get to Coruscant, for example, his rewards would probably be much larger.
Finally, achievements. They were probably what Rumor was most curious about, and The Mind refused to answer him in regards to them. From the looks of it, he could complete multiple achievements in a single incursion, but what did they reward? Items, skills, titles? Most of them also seemed to be very location-specific, he wouldn't be able to complete them if he left Tatooine.
Pushing the achievements aside for now, Rumor focused on the last notification. He had gained a skill. [ Observe ]. Rumor thought about it, and a description popped up.
[ Observe ]
[ Rarity: --- ]
[ Effect: Observe the attributes of any character or item. Doesn't work on other testers. ]
[ Cost: 5 MP ]
[ Cooldown: 3 seconds ]
[ Description: Use this skill to see the attributes of any character or item. Yours and the target's spirit and temperance attributes affect how effective the skill is. Can not be upgraded. Doesn't work on other testers. ]
Now, that was a skill Rumor dearly needed. It would have been handy in real life too. He just had to try it immediately.
Focusing on one of the many aliens, some kind of green mesh between a boar and a frog, Rumor squinted.
[ Abul'Ark ]
[ Species: Gamorrean ]
[ Strengh: 9 ]
[ Dexterity: 4 ]
[ Vitality: 8 ]
[ Temperance: 2 ]
[ Spirit: 2 ]
[ Appeal: 0 ]
[ Skills: Axe Mastery lvl 1, Clan Member lvl 2 ]
[ Special skills: None ]
[ Description: A member of the Loktur Clan, this Gamorrean is average in all aspects of its species. ]
Rumor couldn't have chosen a better target. His spirit and temperance were so low that he could see everything about the being. In fact, if he focused on the skills, he could also see their description.
[ Axe Mastery lvl 1: Passive. You know how to adequately use an axe. 10% base increase to attack power when using an axe. Each level in this skill grants a further 2% increase to attack power when using an axe. Current increase: 12%. ]
[ Clan Member lvl 2: Passive. Whenever you fight within 25 meters of other members of your clan, all your attributes are boosted. Base 10% increase to all attributes. Each level in this skill grants a further 2% increase. Current increase: 14%. ]
Seeing Abul'Ark's stats was like a cold shower to Rumor. It was just one of the hundreds of random aliens on the street, but his absurd 9 points of strengh already gave him 45 attack, and close to 50 if he used his axe. Even without his second skill being active, he just needed three swipes to kill Rumor.
And that was just the low difficulty? He needed better equipment asap. Preferably one of the laser pistols people had in Star Wars.
Rumor had to hold himself back from using [ Observe ] on every alien he came across in the street - and there were many, and they all looked shifty. Just like in the movies, Tatooine seemed to be a hub for the riffraff of the galaxy.
Rumor felt at home.
'Right, priorities. Get a blaster, find a way to make money, try to complete achievements, not necessarily in that order.'
While thinking that, Rumor realized that the child Anakin and his mother were here already here, as was their owner, that disgusting flying worm person.
And there were other characters of interest. Jabba the Hutt was one, but there were some secondary storyline characters he could also reach out to, like Anakin's racing opponent Sebulba and...
And he was being followed.
Rumor noticed it almost immediately. That was one of the things you had to be good at back in The Quarter if you didn't want to end up dead in some alleyway with a knife in your back. But why was he being followed? He had just arrived in this universe. Literally.
Casually looking through the wares of one of the street vendors, Rumor threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the two aliens following him, and used [ Observe ].
[ Oloshk ]
[ Species: Trandoshan ]
[ Strengh: 7 ]
[ Dexterity: 6 ]
[ Vitality: 5 ]
[ Temperance: 4 ]
[ Spirit: 3 ]
[ Appeal: 4 ]
[ Skills: Precise Shot lvl 1 ]
[ Special skills: None ]
[ Description: A low-level thug from the Krayt Dragon Gang. ]
[ Precise Shot lvl 1: Active. Slightly increases the accuracy of your next shot. ]
--
[ Rin Kalak ]
[ Species: Miraluka ]
[ Strengh: 4 ]
[ Dexterity: 7 ]
[ Vitality: 4 ]
[ Temperance: 8 ]
[ Spirit: 6 ]
[ Appeal: 6 ]
[ Skills: ???, Blade Mastery lvl 2 ]
[ Special skills: None ]
[ Description: A low-level thug of the Krayt Dragon Gang. ]
[ Blade Mastery lvl 2: Passive. You know how to adequately use a blade. 10% base increase to attack power when using a blade. Each level in this skill grants a further 2% increase to attack power when using a blade. Current increase: 14%. ]
The first alien, who looked like a crocodile that walked on two legs, was one thing. He was strong and fast, and, if his skill was any indication, had a gun.
But Rumor almost cursed out loud when he saw the attributes of the second alien.
He looked almost human, only with pale grey skin and some kimd of bandana covering his eyes, thoughthat didn'tseen to impede on his movement at all. But his temperance and spirit were higher than Rumor's. True, it was just by one point, but it still stopped him from seeing what one of his skills were.
Okay, so what should he do? He didn't know the layout of the city well enough - or at all - to give them the slip, so he would have to confront them very soon. And considering where he was, he didn't think they were coming for a chat.
His fingers twitched a little, and went to the handle of his new knife before he took his hand back.
Taking a deep breath, Rumor entered one of the alleyways and hid behind a doorway. It wasn't much for protection, but at least he wouldn't be immediately seen.
Not even five seconds later, the two stalkers turned into the alley. Rumor could hear their footsteps stopping as they discovered he had vanished.
"Where did the little womp rat go?"
"He must've discovered us and ran."
"A human like him? Are ya kiddin' me, Kalak? Didn't you see his face when he was walking through the market? Didn't have a clue as to what he was doin'."
Ah, so that was why they were after him. Rumor mentally slapped himself. He was so overwhelmed by everything that happened and that he was seeing that he forgot he should treat Tatooine just like The Quarter. You never showed weakness in places like this.
"Aight, just wait a sec and stop yelling, you idiot. He can't have gone far."
"Hope not. We've already fallen from boss' good graces. I bet that human had some coin we could use to leave this shitty dump."
The Trandoshan had an odd hissing quality to his voice whenever he spoke, but Rumor could still make out what he was saying, and he didn't like it.
A small part of his mind thought to question The Mind about how he could read all the weird letters in the Star Wars universe and understand what the aliens were saying, but he filled it away. There were more pressing concerns.
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak is trying to track you. Temperance check... ]
[ Your temperance attribute is slightly lower than Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak. He obtained some clues. ]
Almost at the same time as the notifications appeared in front of his eyes, Rumor heard the thugs shuffling. They had stopped talking. Rumor had been in enough situations like this to know what came next.
Pulling out his [ Standard Ottegan Army Blade ], Rumor held it in a tight grip.
The footsteps were still uncertain. They didn't know exactly where he was, but they were getting closer. Rumor jumped out of his hiding spot.
"Agh!"
Before Rin Kalak had time to react, Rumor had already buried his knife deep into his flank. The sensation of stabbing flesh was not unfamiliar to him, and Rumor didn't even hesitate to pull out the blade, ignoring the blood splashing on his arms, and attempting to stab the alien again, this time on the neck. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw notifications flashing by.
[ You initiated an attack on Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak. Calculating attack value... Deducting target's defense... ]
[ You dealt 23 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak. ]
[ You cut Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak on a vital area. Calculating attack value... ]
[ Critical strike achieved, target's defense was ignored. You dealt 31 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak. ]
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak is suffering from a bleeding status effect, losing 3 HP every 5 seconds. ]
The alien screamed, completely unprepared for the viciousness of Rumor's ambush. He was just a low-level thug. He beat people up and stole things, but this kind of brutally wasn't something he was used to. Especially when he was on the receiving end.
Seeing Rin Kalak clutching at his bleeding neck and showing no signs of retaliating, Rumor charged at the second thug, who was watching wide-eyed as his partner bled to death.
It was only when Rumor was less than five meters away from him that he reacted, fumbling to draw a blaster pistol from its holster. He managed to do it just before Rumor got to him, and fired a shot point blank.
"Uhgg!"
The laser caught the tester on the left shoulder. He hissed at the searing pain, but didn't stop. Now, it was do or die.
The Trandoshan panicked and tried to press the trigger again, but Rumor slashed at his hand, cutting off two clawed fingers. Then, he kicked the alien in the knee. It wasn't enough to break it, but it hurt, and he fell.
The Trandoshan scrambled to get up and recover his blaster, all at the same time, but froze when he felt the tip of Rumor's knife touching his neck. Shivering, he raised his hands, showing the missing digits.
"I-I give up! Please don't kill me!"
Rumor ignored him. He was busy looking at the notifications he received.
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Oloshk attacked you. Calculating attack value... Deducting your defense... ]
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Oloshk's Precise Shot dealt 24 points of damage to you. ]
[ You attacked Krayt Dragon Gang member Oloshk. Calculating attack value... Deducting target's defense... ]
[ You dealt 16 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang member Oloshk. ]
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak suffered 36 points of bleeding damage. ]
[ Krayt Dragon Gang member Rin Kalak died. ]
[ You dealt 7 points of damage to Krayt Dragon Gang member Oloshk. ]
Rumor didn't feel much when he killed Rin Kalak. He had seen a lot of death in his short life, and he would much rather be others who died than him. Glancing at the scorched hole on his shoulder, he gave the Trandoshan on his knees in front of him a malicious grin.
"Now, I have a lot of questions for you."