18 Questing Heaven Part II

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Despite my eyes being closed as I lay on the ground exhausted, a notification still came through.

[Open Quest Updated]

[Hangar 5 Incident]

[See General Kroos for rewards.]

Before I could even process this, I felt my body being lifted and placed onto something. From the feeling, it must have been a stretcher. I decided to just clear my head since I was safe now. I trusted that they would take care of me. Soon thereafter, I dozed off.

-GE-

I awoke in a comfortable bed, feeling like a brand new man. Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself in a small room. I was currently the only one in here aside from a medical droid that appeared to be monitoring my condition.

The droid turned towards me. "Good, you have awoken. I will request Dr. Ourat's presence."

Its eyes flashed as it froze for a second and then went back to whatever it was doing. Looking down at my body, I noticed that all of my clothes had been taken off and I was now in a hospital gown. Countless bandages were wrapped around me and I felt a cooling sensation from each of them.

I sighed, wondering what happened to my clothes. I had just bought them! Maybe running into the fire wasn't the best idea.

Before I could think upon this any further, the door slid open, revealing a worried looking Dr. Ourat. "Oh, thank the force you are alright. I wasn't sure we'd be able to save you."

I wore a wry smile, looking back at her and appreciating her concern. I then thought of something. Why was she so concerned about me? As I thought this, a popup appeared above her head.

[Revered with Dr. Ourat]

I was stunned. Revered? Isn't that one of the highest levels of reputation? How the hell did I get that?

Dr. Ourat started inspecting the bandages on me. "Do you have any idea how many people you saved today?"

I shrugged. I honestly didn't know. "I kind of zoned out so it's all a blur."

Ourat shook her head as she cut one of the bandages off. Immediately, shock covered her face. "What? How is this possible?"

I looked down and noticed that my arm looked healthy aside from some light scarring. "Is something wrong?"

Ourat shook her head and scoffed. "The fuck do you mean? You had third degree burns!"

My neck craned out as I stared at her in disbelief. Third degree burns were the worst burns you could get. They would leave permanent damage and cause a noticeable deformation to the affected area. Meanwhile, my arm was fine aside from the slight leathery texture in the affected area.

I let my head fall back onto the bed. Was this an advantage for players? Did the game actually throw us a bone? It did come to mind before. When I was changing into my new clothes at the department store, I almost wasn't able to find where I had been shot despite it happening barely over a day prior.

Then, another idea came to mind. What would happen if we lost a limb? How would that work? Would it grow back? Regardless, having a robotic prosthetic sounded pretty cool. They seem to work just as well as, if not better than, a natural limb.

It appeared that we would get scars though. These permanent reminders of our mistakes would follow us throughout the game. Who knows? Maybe if we die and respawn, the scars would disappear. I mean, if someone dies from getting cut in half, it'd be kind of ridiculous if they respawned as a chicken nugget.

I smiled. "It must be a traveler thing."

Ourat sighed. "How lucky." She quickly got over her shock.

I looked back at her. "What happened to my clothes?"

She chuckled. "Of all the things to worry about at a time like this. They were burnt to a crisp. You were half naked when you came out of the hangar."

I coughed in embarrassment, covering my blushing face with the crook of my elbow. "Ah, shit. I just bought those."

She giggled and then pointed to the side of the room. "While I can't replace those fancy rags you were wearing, I can do something else for you."

I followed her finger and found a fresh uniform that was folded and laid on a bench by the side of the room. "Are those…"

Ourat nodded. "Yes, that's a medic uniform. This is an offer, so feel free to reject. Should you accept, I have no doubt that you won't regret it. Be my assistant until you go off and deploy. I promise you that you'll learn a lot. This stuff will, without a doubt, come in handy while you're in the field. Do you accept?"

I smiled and nodded. This was an irresistible opportunity. "It'd be my pleasure."

[Quest Received]

[Medical Training]

[Hidden Rare - Reputation Based]

[Dr. Ourat has recognized your tenacity and has decided to take you under her wing. Until you deploy, you will be her assistant.]

[+10k exp, Advanced Field Medic Professional Certification]

Dr. Ourat smiled brightly. "Amazing. With how fast you recovered, I am already able to clear you from bedrest. I suggest you put the uniform on before seeing General Kroos. Aside from the fact that you should be presentable, it will show him that you already belong to me." She revealed a mischievous smirk as she finished her statement.

Oh no, what did I get myself into? Was there some kind of competition between the two?

Ourat saw the grimace on my face and laughed heartily. "Don't worry, you won't be in any trouble. I just get a lot of enjoyment out of causing problems for my husband."

I chuckled nervously, becoming wary of this scheming woman in front of me. The words that my dad once said to me echoed in my head. "Women are much more intelligent than they may let on. Tread carefully."

I sighed, sitting up on the bed. "Alright, I'll get changed now."

Ourat smiled and waved as she turned around, leaving the room. "See you in a bit!"

-GE-

Oh, the fucking series of events that led me here. I was standing at attention in front of General Kroos's desk. He was currently typing something into his terminal and paid no attention to me.

Before entering, the secretary outside instructed me on how I should act in front of him since I was a soldier now rather than a civilian. I needed to stand tall with my arms firmly at my side and my eyes were not to wander, remaining straight ahead.

Almost a full minute went by and I was starting to get irritated. Was this some sort of power play?

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait any longer. "At ease, trainee. Help yourself to a drink and come sit."

I relaxed my posture and made my way towards the bar that was on the wall adjacent to his desk. This wall had a large bookshelf covering it with the bar carved into the middle. There was a large assortment of liquor bottles and what appeared to be a wine fridge. I got the impression that he was either a big drinker or entertained politicians often.

Glancing towards Kroos, I turned my focus back towards the bar, chuckling internally and mumbling to myself. "Nah, it's giving alcoholic."

After pouring myself a small glass of a blue liquor, I realized that I should probably pour him a glass too. It would only be proper.

With two glasses in hand, I made my way over to his desk and sat down in one of the cushy chairs opposite him. I then placed the two glasses down and pushed the one for him in his direction.

He revealed a slight smile and nodded, showing his appreciation. This guy was a man of few words. How did he end up with a conniving snake like Ourat?

After another minute, he looked up from the terminal. "Incident reports don't write themselves. Anyways, I see that my wife already got to you?"

I sighed, scratching the back of my head. "Yeah, it was too good to pass up."

Kroos shrugged. "Oh well." He cleared his throat, reaching towards the glass of liquor. "First, let's toast to your efforts. You saved a lot of my men out there. It might not mean much right now, but they owe their lives to you."

I smiled and clinked my glass with his. We both took a sip. As the liquor entered my mouth, I nearly spit it out. Fortunately, I was able to hold it down. Surprisingly, once the burn of the alcohol disappeared, the taste was very pleasant.

Kroos exhaled. "Ahhhhh, that's the good stuff. Now, back to business. We have a long standing tradition of both honoring and rewarding heroes. Every once in a while, an individual will pop up that meets and far exceeds all expectations. And I don't mean some soldier killing a few extra insurgents than expected. I'm talking about a major accomplishment such as what you did today."

Kroos scoffed, shaking his head. "You pulled 13 men… good men, out of that hangar and almost died doing so. Fucking hell, 13! Those men were as good as dead, but you changed their fate. This type of thing can not be ignored. However, this attention is where things can get a bit complicated."

He reached over to his terminal's monitor and flipped it around. "This report here will fly straight through High Command and most likely end up on the desk of the Chancellor. Do you understand what that means?"

I furrowed my brows and tilted my head slightly. "No, I do not."

Kroos sighed. "It means you're gonna get a lot of attention if I send this report. This attention also means the rewards would be greater. On the other hand, the Chancellor and Senate, being the politicians they are, will probably want to laud you around to bolster the war effort. If a young guy like yourself, and a traveler at that, would risk his life for the Republic, why can't everyone else spare a few credits?"

I sunk into the seat, grabbing the liquor glass and taking a large sip. "Is there another option?"

Kroos smiled. "Smart man. A lot of guys in your position would take the fame in a heartbeat. The other option is that I keep your name out of the report. It'd be a little extra work for me, but it would allow me to keep a good man under my wing. This would, however, mean that you'd say goodbye to the extra rewards."

I chuckled, not hesitating for a second. "I'll take the second one. I'm not too big on the spotlight."

[+100 reputation with General Timo Kroos]

[Your reputation level with General Timo Kroos has reached Friendly]

Kroos had a warm smile on his face as he typed for a few seconds on his terminal. He then looked back up at me. "Alright, it is done."

[Open Quest Completed]

[197%]

[Rare Holocron, +20k exp, +2k reputation with Old Republic, Medic Professional Certification, Medal of Honor, Automatic One Time Promotion in Republic Army, Title: Field Medic]

He then reached into his desk and pulled out two items. One was the holocron, and the other was a medal. "While I can't give you cash, I can give you this thing. Apparently travelers like yourself are obsessed with them. More importantly, this is a Medal of Honor. Usually a huge ceremony would take place in front of the senate building but that would go against our objective."

I accepted the two items graciously and nodded. I then realized that I still had the Epic holocron lying around. "Thank you, sir. I have a request."

Timo smiled and nodded. "What can I do for you?"

I smirked. "Can I make use of a secure location later for like uhhhh 20 minutes?"

Timo tilted his head in confusion but just shrugged. "Um, sure. I guess you have your reasons. There's an elevator down the hall from my office. Call the operator and tell them who you are and you'll be taken to the armory. There should be an empty vault there."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Is there anything else?"

He chuckled. "Yes, actually. Today's session for the course starts in 2 hours. Don't be late."

My eyes widened in shock. That meant I was out cold for over 3 hours! "Oh, yeah, that. Anyways, I'd best be going. Permission to head out?"

Timo nodded. "You are dismissed."

-GE-

About an hour later, I was sitting inside a vault that I had locked from the inside. I wasn't sure if these holocrons would make some kind of commotion and I didn't need a horde of players harassing me.

I glanced at the purple glowing holocron in front of me, but quickly looked back towards the dark blue one. "Let's save the best for last."

Picking up the Rare Holocron, I held it with both hands. In the center of the top of the cube was what appeared to be a button. What are buttons for? Pressing! I pressed it.

The holocron began emitting a brighter and brighter blue light as it floated out of my hands, hovering about a foot above my open palms. The light continued to intensify to the point that the entire room was drowned in blue. I even had to close my eyes due to the brightness.

I was suddenly able to feel a strange breeze flowing around me and towards the holocron. It wasn't wind since my clothes weren't moving, but it still felt quite similar.

After several seconds of the blinding light, it started to fade. Once it did so, my eyes shot open, excited to see what I got.

Floating in the air before me was a pair of brown leather boots with cylinders on the sides. They had black accents and the cylinders were chrome. Next to the boots was a wrist brace that had a slot in it for something. I grabbed them with my hands, quickly inspecting them.

[Rocket Boots]

[Rare]

[A very expensive pair of boots. They are equipped with thrusters which effectively allow the user to fly. Be careful of flammable surfaces. The pair of boots also comes with a wrist mount for the user's communicator. This makes the activation and deactivation of the boots easier.]

My eyes were sparkling. "SO FUCKING COOL!"

Now I could fly like Cad Bane! I refused to wear the obnoxiously large hat though. I just wasn't a hat guy. Maybe a helmet but still, I liked having my hair out.

My eyes subconsciously shifted over to the other holocron. If the rare one already gave me such a good item, I couldn't even imagine how insane the other one would be.

I almost threw the boots on the floor in my excitement, quickly grabbing the other holocron. My hands trembled as I held it, the anticipation I had was materializing in the air.

Sheepishly, I pressed the button on the top of the Epic Holocron. Instantly, I knew there was a difference. The breeze returned, significantly stronger than before. My hair and clothes actually started waving and rippling as the strange energy rushed towards the intensifying purple glow like a torrent.

After a delay of a few seconds, I was instantly blinded by an unfathomably bright purple light. My eyelids slammed shut. Maybe I should have worn sunglasses?

This time, the light lasted for almost 30 seconds until it faded. As soon as it did, my eyes shot open, consuming everything in front of me. However, I was immediately disappointed by the fact that the only thing in front of me was a small vial with a weird, star shaped object inside. The object was constantly fluctuating and looked almost metallic.

I carefully grabbed the vial. Despite it looking so lame, I doubted that anything coming from an Epic Holocron would be without value. Thus, I inspected it.

[Vial of Refined Coaxium]

[Epic Consumable]

[As one of the most valuable resources in the entire galaxy, coaxium is highly sought after by anyone that wants the highest end fuel possible for their hyperdrive. This vial contains 100 mg of refined coaxium.]

My eyes shot open, my entire body shaking. "SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! I'M FUCKING RICH!"

Fortunately, I had watched Solo: A Star Wars Story recently. Otherwise, I'd have no idea that this tiny amount of coaxium I was holding in my hands was worth 60 million credits.