The next morning, Rumor got to witness the first duel between Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and the Sith Darth Maul.
He watched it from the window of the ship, and about 300 meters away, so, truthfully, he didn't see much. But it was still cool to see the lightsabers clashing and acrobatics, even if it was from a distance.
But soon enough, Qui-Gon Jinn had shaken off Darth Maul and boarded the ship. And, just like that, they were off.
Rumor, Shala, and Alena stood off to the side and let the group of storyline characters talk about Darth Maul, Siths, and a great many other things. They understood they were outsiders, only allowed into the ship because Rumor was a cunning little bastard.
Finally, Qui-Gon Jinn disentangled himself from the group, leaving Obi-Wan and Padmé to lead young Anakin Skywalker to his room.
The Jedi smiled warmly at the former slaves, even crouching down next to Alena to pat her hair. Unlike with literally everyone else bar her mother and Rumor, Alena didn't flinch away from the Jedi.
"How are you doing, little one? Settled in fine?"
"Hm, yes. The ship is very pretty."
Qui-Gon Jinn laughed.
"I'm glad you like it. How old are you?"
"I'm 4."
"That's great. Now, how about we play a game of holochess? Would you like that?"
Alena looked up to her mother, who gave her an encouraging smile.
"Okay!"
"I'll be right there. I just need to talk with Rumor first."
With a nod from the tester in question, Shala led Alena away, understanding this was not something she was supposed to know.
Meanwhile, Qui-Gon Jinn had gotten up and was staring at Rumor. Despite his dusty clothes and battered look from the recent battle, the Jedi still looked dignified.
"You were right, the Force does dwell strongly within her."
"So you will take her to the Temple?"
Having a future Jedi on friendly terms with him would be a huge boon.
"Maybe. I will test her in the coming days. And it will have to be her choice."
"Of course."
The two stared at each other, and Rumor felt as if his entire being was being read like a book. The effect of his title may not have activated, but the pressure was real, until Qui-Gon Jinn sighed.
"You are a bad man, Rumor. A bad man who tries to do good. You would be a horrible Jedi. Or perhaps the best one."
[ Main storyline character Qui-Gon Jinn's impression of you has improved. Relationship greatly increases to Neutral (500/1.000). ]
Rumor blinked, not quite sure of what to make from Qui-Gon Jinn's words, nor the sudden raise in their relationship tab. By the time he came to be, the Jedi had already turned around.
"We will arrive in Coruscant in 5 days."
...
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Rumor spent most of his time either playing with Alena or working towards increasing his relationship with the storyline characters.
The results varied. Qui-Gon Jinn's stayed at the same Neutral (500/1.000) since their talk on the day of the departure. Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed to be slightly wary of him, so he had barely managed to get 100 points with him.
It didn't help that the journey was peaceful. Large jumps in relationship seemed to be related to either his actions during important events, or his suitability with them. Moments like his conversation with Qui-Gon Jinn, where he was able to connect with the Jedi through some deep insight on the other's part, were rare.
Jar Jar Binks was the easiest one. The Gungan was a very silly, very funny man, and quickly turned into one of Alena's favorite people on the ship, so they spent a lot of time together. After five days, he was just barely able to raise their relationship to Liked.
R2-D2, Padmé, and Anakin were the weird ones. R2-D2 because he hadn't even realized it was possible to open a relationship tab with a droid until the fourth day, where he absent-mindedly cleaned a spot of grease on the astromech's exterior and was rewarded with 2 relationship points.
Padmé because she already was at the Liked tier, so any meaningful raise after that was difficult, especially in such a short amount of time. And yet, she was one of the people he interacted with the most.
If he had a larger ego, he might believe she was interested in him, romantically. Because he was a rational man, Rumor knew that wasn't the case. She was just a kind woman, who couldn't hold grudges for long, but, more importantly, she was curious. As the Queen of Naboo (under disguise) she rarely had the chance to interact with the lowest components of society like Rumor and the two former slaves.
Someone should tell that to Anakin. It was kind of cute, catching the glares the little boy threw his way when he thought Rumor wasn't looking, because the one he had a crush on was talking too much with Rumor.
It would have been cuter if he didn't lose all of his relationship points with Anakin because of it. But Rumor wasn't crying. Going from Neutral (30/1.000) to Neutral (0/1.000) wasn't something world-ending.
If it had fallen to Hostile, then yes. But since it didn't, Rumor decided to just ignore it.
It was on the fifth day that Rumor excused himself from Alena to go to one of the ship's windows. He would never get tired of seeing the streaks of light that were the stars under the distortion of hyperspace travel.
[ 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 ]
[ Remaining time: 6 hours ]
He dismissed the system window. They would be arriving anytime now.
As if reading his mind, the ship suddenly jerked, feeling very much like a bus slowing down to a stop.
He blinked, and suddenly the streaks of light weren't there anymore. Instead, he was looking at a massive planet occupying the entirely of his vision.
Hundreds, thousands of ships orbited the planet, waiting to land, or departing. But what really caught his attention was Coruscant itself.
It was like looking at crop circles, only made of civilization and spanning the entire planet. For the first time, Rumor understood what they meant when they said Coruscant was the core of the galaxy. The whole planet was a single living, evolving city.
"Astounding, isn't it? No matter how many times I see it, it never ceases to amaze me. This is the center of the Republic."
Rumor gave a sideways glance to Padmé, who had, at some point, appeared by his side.
"Yeah. It is."
They stayed silent for a long time, watching as the planet grew closer. Eventually, Padmé spoke again, thus time turning around to face Rumor fully.
"We won't have the chance much of each other when we land. There will be officials and protocols. But I wanted to say, Rumor, that despite our first interactions, and of how I disagree with some of your life choices, it was genuinely a pleasure to meet you."
At that moment, Rumor understood why Anakin fell so hard for Padmé, that her death pushed him fully to the Dark Side. She was a very beautiful woman, but when she said stuff like that, sheglowed.
"Right back at you, Your Majesty."
Padmé's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth opened and closed a few times without saying anything.
"H-How did you... How?"
Rumor smiled. He had a cheat, of course.
"A few slip ups here and there, and a guess you just confirmed. I'm fairly certain Qui-Gon Jinn knows it too."
"He does? I-"
Rumor cut her off, which was probably a capital offense back in Naboo.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on telling anyone. After learning about what happened to your home, I can understand why you would use trickery. And, for what it's worth, I wish you good luck on your endeavors, Your Majesty. You look like you are a good queen."
Padmé worked her jaw for a few moments, before she finally settled into an honest smile. Rumor saw his relationship with her surge by almost a thousand points.
"Thank you."
...
Goodbyes weren't always sad affairs, but in this case there were plenty of tears. Mostly from Alena.
Breaking the news to the little girl that Rumor wouldn't stay with them was hard. Getting her to let go of his leg while tears and snot covered her face was harder.
It was only when the tester crouched and pulled her into a hug that Alena stopped sobbing. He gently caressed her back.
"You are a strong girl, Alena. You will be a strong woman. I'm really glad I saved you."
"Then don't leave! Stay!"
Rumor chuckled.
"I would if I could."
He really might. After all, it wasn't like he had much waiting for him back on Earth. Even The Quarter was gone.
But it wasn't up to him. The clock was ticking, and he only had less than 2 hours left before The Mind kicked him out of the incursion.
Giving Alena one last squeeze, he pried her off him and got up.
"Be strong. I'll see you again some day."
Quite obviously, Alena was still reluctant. But with Shala comforting her, she forced out a shaky smile and waved at Rumor until he disappeared off the landing platform.
The tester laughed mirthlessly. Fictional character or not, Rumor would miss her. He imagined the bond they had formed was what it felt like to have a little sister.
But he soon pushed those thoughts away. He still had 98 minutes in this world, and it was time to complete the first goal he had set for himself.
Finding a place that sold and bought mechanical devices wasn't hard. He just hopped onto a hovercar taxi and told the AI driving it to take him to such a place.
But finding someone who wanted to buy a [ Tempest-class Water Condenser and Mist Purifier ] was a little bit trickier.
He managed it though, and left the store 7.000 credits richer. Less than he originally wanted, but enough for the system to acknowledge it.
[ Achievement completed: Smuggler. ]
[ Smuggler (completed): 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. Selling price for achievement completion: 7.000 Republic credits. ]
[ Completion reward: Pocket Subspace ]
[ This achievement can't be upgraded further. ]
[ Pocket Subspace ]
[ Rarity: 1-Star ]
[ Effect: Allows you to store items up to 2 cubic meters. ]
[ Restrictions: None ]
[ Description: A bag made with advanced spatial technology, it allows you to store things that are bigger than it inside, up to 2 cubic meters. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
Rumor wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it since he already had the system storage, but maybe it would come in handy on an emergency. Either way, that was another achievement on his belt.
And just in time to. With only 7 minutes left on the clock, he found a spot from which he could see a large portion of Coruscant, and the Jedi Temple in the distance. Alena would be going there someday.
[ Warning: Time limit for the incursion reached. You will be sent back in 60 seconds. ]
[ Warning: Time limit for the incursion reached. You will be sent back in 30 seconds. ]
[ Warning: Incursion ended. ]
The world in front of him warped and twisted, like some all-powerful being was wringing space like a wet towel.
Then, from one blink fo his eyes to the next, he was back in that familiar bubble, naked, floating in nothingness.
[ 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 ]
[ 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 ]
Text flashed before his eyes, the first system message he got once stepping out of that room in Tatooine.
[ Main Mission - A Better Life completed. Congratulations. ]
[ Time remaining: None ]
[ Mission summary: You managed to reach the Core Region of the galaxy, exceeding mission requirements. ]
[ Calculating completion percentage... 100%. Rating: Perfect. ]
[ Completion reward: 1.000 Currency Points, 300 Skill Points, 5 Free Attribute Points, +100 Prestige, +1 Silver Wish Voucher. ]
[ Scenario exploration: 100% ]
[ Scenario exploration summary: You reached the Core Region of the galaxy, achieving a perfect exploration rate. ]
[ Scenario exploration rewards: 1.000 Currency Points, 300 Skill Points, 1 Free Attribute Point. ]
[ World exploration: 4,2% ]
[ World exploration summary: Tatooine exploration rate - 48%. Side Missions completed: 1. Achievements completed: 9. Relationship and reputation meters factored. ]
[ World exploration rewards: 2.000 Currency Points, 400 Skill Points, 2 Free Attribute Points. ]
By now, the wall of text was familiar and expected. Rumor quickly read through it. If he focused on one notification, new tabs opened up - what achievements he completed, relationship, reputation, etc...
But before he could study what any of the new things he had gained were, a new message popped up, this one far bigger than the others.
[ Congratulations on completing your first incursion. Please continue to work hard in The Mind. ]
The second he read the last word, the bubble holding him popped, leaving him feeling a dreadful sense of deja-vu.
Then he was falling again.