17 Questing Heaven Part I

My eyes opened groggily, revealing the blurry scene around me. Despite knowing what and where everything was in my vicinity, I couldn't see any of it. I was too exhausted to focus my eyes. "Ughhhhhh."

It honestly felt like a hangover. My mouth was dry, a slight nausea accompanied each and every movement, and I was, overall, feeling miserable.

I then realized that I felt something fuzzy pressed against my arm. Slowly turning my head to ease the nausea, I found that one of my cats was sleeping next to me. I could only smile before I carefully got out of bed.

What I estimated to be an hour went by as I cleaned myself up. I used the bathroom, showered, hydrated, and demolished a huge plate of food. While I was eating, I checked my phone.

My friends and I had agreed that we would keep each other updated on what we were doing in the game so we could meet up. We decided on doing this after realizing that we had no idea how to get to each other's location.

Coincidentally, they were going through a boot camp of sorts. They had enlisted as well so maybe I'd be able to find them. I sent a text outlining what I was up to and that I'd probably be in the area for the next few days.

After getting all of my affairs in order and checking on the cats, I logged back in. Before logging out, I had made my way over to a temporary quarters within the medical ward of the building that the course was taking place in. Other than the public entrance to this facility and what I saw on the way to the lecture hall, I had no idea what else the facility held.

When I opened my eyes in the game, I felt much better than I had previously. The dull room was oddly comforting, but I wasn't going to stay here for long. I hopped out of the bed I was on and made my way to the door.

*Whoosh*

The door slid open, revealing the boring hallway. It was oddly quiet, which was vastly different from when I had logged out. Checking my comm, I noticed that it was 1 AM. "Well, that explains it."

I chuckled and started looking around. There were no people in sight, so I wasn't able to ask where I could go. Thus, I did what any sensible person would do, and took out a credit.

Positioning it on top of my right thumb, I flicked it into the air. "If it's heads, I'll go left."

*Clink*

It bounced a few times when it hit the floor before settling. "Alright, left it is."

I bent down and grabbed the credit. After keeping it firmly in my hand, I turned to my left and started walking. I was on an adventure! I decided to keep the credit in my hand so that I could navigate any other intersections I came across.

Well, this wasn't really an adventure. There was quite literally nothing to see here. Fortunately, there was an intersection just a dozen or so feet away.

I quickly, however, ran into a problem. There were three directions from which I could choose, but only two sides to the credit. Shrugging, I flipped the credit again.

*Clink*

It hit the ground and bounced towards the hall to the left. "Hehe, left again."

I picked up the credit and started fiddling with it as I walked down the hallway chosen for me. This was kind of fun and relaxing. I had no idea where I was going and honestly, I didn't care!

After maybe 20 paces, I got a weird feeling. It was as if my instincts were telling me that something was wrong. I had never experienced this sort of foreboding before. Then, it happened.

*BOOOOOM*

The building shook slightly but it wasn't nearly enough to throw me off my balance. I wouldn't say I had good balance, the explosion was just that suppressed.

*WEEEEP* *WEEEP*

A voice suddenly came from a speaker that I couldn't see. "All available personnel, report to hangar 5. I repeat, all available personnel, report to hangar 5."

*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*

From behind me, I heard the sound of a few doors opening. Turning around, I saw a bunch of people scrambling out of the rooms they were in. All of them were half dressed and most of them were still putting on their clothes as they ran through their doors and down the hall in the direction opposite me.

I shrugged and decided to follow them. Maybe they needed help! Where there was help needed, there were opportunities for players!

I maintained a brisk job to keep up with them. It would appear that these people were non-combatants since it took no effort to keep up with them.

After about 30 seconds, I arrived at the place where all these people were rushing to. It was a set of large double doors with a red cross above them. This must have been the medical ward.

Rushing over to the door, I saw what was inside. Lining each side of the room were beds surrounded with medical equipment. There were at least 30 people in here scurrying about, grabbing supplies and stretchers.

I noticed that there was a Bivall female in the middle of the room that was scrolling through a datapad. She had a humanoid body, maroon skin, and a prism shaped head. Her eyes protruded out from the sides of it.

She looked like she was in charge so I quickly walked over to her. "Hello Doctor…"

She glanced up from the datapad and scoffed. "Dr. Ourat. Make it quick."

I smiled and nodded my head. "Dr. Ourat, I am Soryn, an officer trainee. I heard that help was needed. May I be of any assistance?"

[+10 reputation with Dr. Ourat]

Ourat started swiveling her head, scanning the room as she did so. She then pointed to the far corner. "Can you carry that?"

Following her outstretched finger, I saw a large barrel in the corner with a hose attached to it. It looked like a keg of beer. "Sure."

Ourat nodded and went back to her datapad.

[Quest Received]

[Assisting Dr. Ourat]

[Common]

[An incident has occurred at the Republic Military Headquarters on Coruscant. Dr. Ourat had tasked you with bringing supplies to the scene.]

[+500 exp, +40 reputation with Dr. Ourat, ???]

I figured that she wasn't going to say anymore, so I walked over to the barrel, avoiding the other personnel that were scrambling throughout the room. Gripping one of the handles with my right hand, I gave it a little shake.

My eyes opened a little bit more than usual. "Wow, lighter than I thought."

Shrugging, I picked it up and started following the stream of people that were leaving the room.

When I arrived at the scene, I was shocked. Hangar 5, or at least what was left of it, was up in flames. The inferno was raging like a star and the heat was suffocating.

Soldiers in armor ran around carrying chunks of debris and medics were tending to the wounded. It felt like a battlefield but I knew this was nothing compared to what I had seen in the course.

Looking around, I noticed another person that seemed to be in charge. He was a human male wearing the same color uniform as Dr. Ourat. I presumed he was close to, if not on, the same rank as her.

I walked over. "Sir, Dr. Ourat asked me to bring this."

The man glanced over and his eyes lit up in surprise. "Oh! Someone actually brought the fucking bacta tank this time! You saved us a lot of trouble, thank you."

[Quest Completed]

[+500 exp, +40 reputation with Dr. Ourat, Opportunity]

Opportunity? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

I shrugged and decided to just go along with my original plan. "It looks like you guys need some help. Can I do anything?"

The man sighed and nodded. "It's that obvious, eh? Well, we could use some help moving the wounded. There's also plenty of people still stuck inside. I just don't know if we'll be able to reach them in time."

[Open Quest Received]

[Hangar 5 Incident]

[Rare]

[0%]

[You have arrived at the scene where the explosion took place. You have been asked to assist the personnel in the area. A wide variety of tasks can be completed. Each task will contribute towards the completion rate. For example, moving a piece of debris would reward 1% and rescuing someone from inside would give 10%. Completion rate will determine quest rewards and those listed below are potential rewards.]

[??? exp, ??? reputation with ???, Medic Professional Certification, Title: Field Medic, ???]

From the quest description, it was clear that time was of the essence. My mind fell into a state I decided to call "gamer mode". My head swiveled, taking in my surroundings. In the immediate area, I noticed several medics struggling to lift injured technicians and soldiers onto stretchers.

The path was right in front of me. All I had to do was go. Oh, I went alright. Within 30 seconds, I had pulled 4 patients onto their stretchers.

[+3%]... [+3%]... [+3%]... [+3%]

Fortunately, all of these minute updates were small and only took up the top left corner of my vision. They didn't block me from seeing anything.

I was gradually making my way towards the hanger, helping everyone in sight. Even the slightest task would reward a percentage point. One thing that I did was even catch a medic that had tripped over a piece of debris while carrying a stretcher.

By the time I reached the hangar, the completion rate had reached 37%. The crazy thing was that barely two minutes had passed. This was going to be easy!

Well, at least that's what I thought until I got closer to the hangar. The inferno was still raging despite the copious amount of water and fire suppressant being thrown onto it. The heat was debilitating and I could barely breathe.

I took a deep breath and noticed a mask hanging out of a crate to my right. Dashing over, I grabbed the mask. There were no straps and I wasn't quite sure how to put it on. I shrugged and just placed it onto my face.

*Shweeerp*

The sound of air being sucked out whispered from the mask as it created a seal with my face. Next to the crate of masks was a rack with waist mounted oxygen tanks. I quickly grabbed on, strapped it on, and then connected the tube to my mask.

I took a deep breath and it felt much better, but also very different. The air from the tank was dry and stale. Not having time to worry about this, I charged towards the burning hangar. This quest waits for no one!

I started moving debris and tossing it to the side, clearing a safe, if you could even call it that, path into the collapsing hangar.

[+1%]... [+1%]...

I ignored all of the progression notifications as I put my all into moving all of the debris. Was this kind of desperation really justified? Why was I trying so hard? Was it just the quest rewards? Or was it something more?

These questions kept circulating through my head as I finally cleared a path into the hangar. It was tight, but I could fit through just barely. I turned sideways and squeezed through the gap, making it inside.

The scene inside was even worse than I had imagined. There were destroyed ships and various pieces of equipment and debris strewn across the hangar. It really did look like a bomb went off and I wasn't too far off the mark.

I quickly started scanning my immediate area, doing my best to see through the smoke.

*Cough* *Cough*

I heard some weak coughing coming from my right. Thus, I turned and immediately rushed over, being careful to not trip and compromise my breathing apparatus.

The source was found quite quickly. There was an armored trooper with only half of his helmet remaining on his head. His armor was scorched and his leg was bent in a way that could only be described as unnatural.

I bent down, grabbing his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay. Let's get you out of here."

The trooper looked up at me and I saw a spark of hope ignite in his eyes. He looked like he was about to cry.

-GE-

30 minutes had passed. General Kroos was standing next to Dr. Ourat. He turned to her. "There isn't much more we can do. The hangar is about to collapse. I give it 30 seconds tops. We should clear the area."

Dr Ourat sighed, her eyes closing as she did so. "If we weren't packing every spare bit of supplies and equipment, we would have been able to save more of them."

Kroos shrugged, shaking his head. "We did all we could." He then raised his right hand and waved it. "EVERYBODY CLEAR OUT!"

Everyone started shuffling but the two leaders remained in place, gazing upon the still raging inferno. Regret, grief, sorrow, these emotions spun through their minds, eating at their being.

Kroos shook his head, turning away. As he did so, something happened.

*BOOM*

A small explosion caused a portion of the debris blocking the entrance to the hangar to part. This revealed a considerable gap and smoke poured out of it.

Suddenly, someone shouted. "LOOK!"

Kroos turned around, wanting to see what the commotion was. His jaw dropped to the floor when he saw what was coming through the smoke.

One of his trainees from the expedited officer program was slowly stomping through the gap created by the explosion. He was carrying a person over each shoulder and dragging another two with his hands, numbering four in total.

Kroos reacted quickly. "SOMEONE HELP HIM!"

A squad of troopers quickly ran over. Each person being carried was taken away from the trainee and another trooper put the trainee's arm around his shoulder, helping him move quicker.

-GE-

*CRASH* *BOOM*

The ground shook and the inferno reached to the skies as the hangar collapsed. This caused me to lose my balance and I fell from the trooper's shoulder. I spun as I fell and landed on my behind, the collapsed hangar before me in all of its glory.

I sighed, falling back and lying down on the ground. "Looks like I just made it."

[197%]