The Star Wars Story

 “Haha, got you!” I said to my sister, laughing. My sister turned around and scowled at me. I am Calli, and my sister is Anna. I am 12, and my sister is 5. We often play games of Star Wars on our computers…as we were doing now. Basically, you get on a server, and you are each on a side. You get to choose from about 5 different characters, and then you try to capture command posts, shoot guys, and avoid getting killed yourself. She and I can play HOURS of this game. I grinned and kept shooting. She grumbled to herself, and then hit respawn.

My character ran through Cloud City, shooting everything in her midst. I grinned as I saw my sister running at me. I dropped a time bomb and ran for it. My sister ran right over the time bomb- just as it exploded. I grinned again and kept going. Just then, a message popped up from Anna. “Hey, why are we on the same team?” it said. I double checked that we were, and we were actually on the same team! I was shocked, because that never happened. “I don’t know, bug glitch maybe?”

My Dad called downstairs “Come on up girls, it is midnight!” Me and Anna shut down our games and ran upstairs. “’Night,” I called to Anna. “Night, sis,” she called back. I scrambled into my pj’s, turned out the lights, and closed my eyes.

“MOVE! MOVE!” Huh? I thought to myself groggily. I sat up in my bed- but there was a problem. I wasn’t in my bed! Instead, I was sitting on a marble floor in a white room. I was still in my pj’s, and sitting on the floor next to me was my sister, who was staring upwards with a look of shock on her face. I too looked up, and saw something I didn't quite believe.

Standing over me and Anna was a storm trooper from our game! I was shocked. “Move, MOVE!” the trooper said to us again. Me and Anna hopped to our feet and looked about. I saw a window in the room, ran to look out. WE WERE IN CLOUD CITY! I couldn't believe it! How had this happened? My sister ran over to me and held onto me. “Calli, where are we?” she asked. “I don’t want to believe it, but….Cloud City!” I stammered. “I need backup!” cried the trooper from across the room. I gasped as laser flickered through the room. Pouring out of a hallway that I hadn't noticed until now were rebel soldiers, guns in hand!

I grabbed my sister’s hand and ran to the dead soldier’s body. I grabbed the gun, and started shooting at the soldiers. My sister clutched onto me and screamed as a bullet zoomed past her head. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I fought off the soldiers. I turned to tell my sister that it was alright, but she wasn’t there! I looked around the room, and saw the soldier’s bodies fading. There was no other way out of the room- so she must be here! Just then, I heard a beep behind me, and saw my sister standing there. “Where were you!?” I yelped at her. “I died,” she replied softly. “I think I respawned…it didn’t hurt.” She seemed in shock. “Well, there is no use in waiting here,” I told her. “Let’s move on and see what we can find.”

We ran down the hallway, hand in hand, and found ourselves in a stairwell that spiraled downwards. I heard shooting going on down the stairs, so we instead headed into a separate tunnel. The tunnel lead out to a bridge in a black room, and the bridge had no railing. Just a narrow strip of metal leading to another tunnel across the room. I nervously stepped onto the bridge, and started walking across. My sister followed close behind me.

We followed the tunnel on the opposite side of the bridge into a large room that I recognized as the Carbon Freezing Chamber. I saw a few troopers standing by weapon dispensers, and so I automatically ran over and got a weapon for my sister. I explained to her how to use it, but she shrugged me off and said she knew, she had played the game too. I walked to the lower part of the chamber, and heard a noise in the corner. Upon investigating, I found a boy! A real boy, from the REAL world!! I was so excited.

“Hello, who are you?” I asked him. “Jack,” he said. I told him me and Anna’s names, and then started chatting with him. He explained to me that he had also gotten sucked into the game, and that after time he learned that only if he defeated the rebels was he able to leave the game. Once you complete one fight, you were free. So far, he had not been able to, and he begged me and Anna to help him. He told me that the only way to even come CLOSE to defeating them was by waiting here, in the Freezing Chamber, and then when the rest of the soldiers were killed, the rest would come down here. Then, he usually tried to kill them, but with no avail. “Now that you and Anna are here,” he finished, “we may stand a chance.”

So Jack, Anna and I waited. I learned that he was from a small town in Texas. After awhile, I took a liking to him…he was friendly, funny, and VERY cute. He had tanned skin and dark, curly hair with warm brown eyes. My sister and I looked like the exact opposite of him! We both have straight, platinum blond hair, pale skin, and big, blue eyes. After an hour or two, we heard footsteps on the bridge. We all picked up our guns, and got ready to fight.

Rebel soldiers poured in from all angles, guns pointing towards us. Jack leaped to his feet and shot down 5 soldiers in a matter of seconds. I picked up my rifle, and started shooting the rebels coming in at the side passage. The more I shot, the more comfortable I got. My sister had two little pistols, and was helping Jack take out snipers on the bridge. Things actually seemed to be going our way!

But it was too good to be true. We ran out of ammo quickly, and with all the machines down and soldiers coming in like water to a sinking ship, we were surrounded and defeated. It took a few moments, and then we all respawned again. We were back in Cloud City, back in the Freezing Chamber, with hours ahead of us before the real battle begun. But this time, me and my sister explored a bit. We found a tunnel leading up to a hidden ledge above the bridge- perfect for picking off unsuspecting rebel soldiers as they tried to swarm in on us.

I stationed my sister on the ledge, and me and Jack took the chamber. As we sat, we talked- I told him all about how my sister and I lived in a log cabin on a mountain in New Hampshire, and he told me how he lived with his 3 brothers out in a small town in Texas. We talked for hours, just exchanging stories, laughing, and joking around. We even exchanged email addresses so that if we ever got out of the game, we could be e-pals. Soon, it would be time for our fight. We planned on heading out to the bridge a few minutes before the fight, so that we could meet the rebels in battle.

Finally, it was time. We rushed out to the bridge, guns pointed at the tunnel. The soldiers swept around in a wave, and we all shot at them. My sister had good aim, and picked off 10 of the rebels in a minute. As one of the soldiers fell, I saw something interesting on him. I bent over his body and pulled off a small wristwatch. On it was a small counter showing how many rebels were left. There were 100 rebels- against just the three of us.

The rebels pushed us back into the chamber. There were only 25 left! I was so happy, I couldn’t believe it! We could actually make it! We shot down 24…but no more came. It still said that there was one more person left! Suddenly, a message flashed on my watch: “Good fight. See you in Jabba’s Dungeon, suckers!” I gasped! How could that be!? How could my watch receive a message? I turned to ask my sister and Jack if they were playing a trick on me, but the battle was already finished and we were respawning in a new level.

The new level was strange. I checked my watch- only 50 rebel soldiers this level! I was pretty happy. I looked about for Jack and Anna. I remembered this level, and knew a way we could easily defeat it. Anna was standing a few feet away from me, but I couldn’t see Jack. I pulled her to the side. “Sis, I am about to share with you the way I always defeat this level in the game. There is a hidden tunnel, and if we go there, the rebels cannot get in. It seems in this game, it doesn’t matter about command posts, only if you survive. I have a suspicion, but I need to find Jack first.”

With that said, I grabbed my sister and sat her in the hidden tunnel, and told her not to move and inch until I got back. Then, I stepped out to look for Jack. I crept quietly up the stairs and looked around. There was a hangout up here, and there, sleeping on one of the couches, was Jack! I ran over and shook him awake, and told him to follow me. He got up, and, looking sleepy, followed me to the tunnel.

The tunnel was a dark, underground cave, almost, and it smelled of rot. There were a few benches, and health and ammo machines as well. I explained to Anna and Jack that if we stayed here, we would never lose the battle as the computer programmed rebels couldn’t come in to my knowledge. I said that if we each took turns, going out to kill rebels, we would be certain to win!

Then, I confronted them with my fear: There was another real person in the game-one that was NOT on our team. I told them about the message that had appeared on my watch. Jack was shocked. “How could there be another person- one that we have never even seen?” he asked. “I’ve been stuck in this game for 3 days now- and I have not seen anyone else!” I wondered about that too. “Obviously it is an advanced user, since it knows how to change board levels AND communicate through the watch,” I said. “Calli,” said my sister, “if it is a real person, can’t it find us here?” “Yes,” I replied, “But it would be one against three, it wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Anna and I took the first turn out on the kill. We each took a passageway to defend and killed 20 during our first turn out. Anna was able to sneak back into the cave and refuel, but I got killed and had to respawn before returning. “The rebels aren’t really that tough,” I said to Jack. “You sure?” he said. “Anna said you got killed.” “Yea, yea, but I stepped on a mine. It wasn’t my fault,” I argued. “Now get out there and wipe those rebels out!” With that, Jack stepped out and started shooting.

I watched the score of the fight as he fought. We were down to ten fighters, eleven if you counted the mystery person. Jack returned, and Anna and I went out to kill the last ten. After we were done, we returned to the cave to consult with Jack. Jack was sitting in the corner, huddled into a little ball. “Oh my gosh, what happened!?” I gasped, running over to him. “It- v-v-visited me,” he mumbled. “What is it?” I asked, trying to keep calm. “Th-THAT!” he screamed, and pointed behind me and my sister.

The thing must have been 7 feet tall. It was wearing a huge metallic suit with a saw coming out of its hand. It was scary! Poor Anna screamed and dove under one of the benches, whimpering and shaking with fright. Then, it spoke. “Hahaha! Now you shall die… and I shall at last be free!” Slowly, the suit stripped down until a small girl stood there. She had jet black hair and brown eyes, and had an evil smirk on her face. “Who are you!?” I exclaimed angrily, stomping up to the girl and staring down at her.

“I am Jetta,” the girl replied. “I, much like you three, was also sucked into the game. I have been here for 3 years now, trying to escape- and I cannot unless I defeat everything. I have learned many hacks and cheats, but have not been able to defeat the game without someone left over. Only one team can escape the game, you see, and it will be me!” She laughed maniacally, growing back into her suit. She raised the saw and slashed down Jack and Anna, leaving me standing there with a shocked look upon my face. “Goodbye,” she said, laughing.

I stood up. I was back in Cloud City. Anna was there, and so was Jack. We were all wearing suits, as if we were a permanent part of the game. Jack hung his head. “We are defeated,” he said sadly. “I shall never see my family again!” And with that, he broke down crying.

I felt bad for him, I really did. I couldn’t believe we were stuck in this infernal game! There had to be some way out, there just had to be! Why would Jetta have waited for Anna and me when she could have just killed Jack to be out of the game? Was she bluffing? Were these suits just one of the hacks to make us think we lost? WAS there a real exit out of the evil game? I pondered all these questions as I shot rebels down, one at a time.

We defeated the rebels, and I wondered what would happen next. I looked down at my little watch to see if Jetta was still in the game. I doubted it, but- WAIT! My watch said zero, but on the map below us, a tiny red speck was running towards the Freezing Chamber! “Aha!” I cried, showing Jack and Anna. “She never left, the bluffer- let’s go get her, once and for all!” With that, we all charged down the tunnels into the Freezing Chamber.

We ran in, and almost hurled ourselves over the edge of the chamber because we were running so fast. “Where is she?” asked Jack, breathing heavy. “I don’t know,” I answered. “My watch said she was right here!” I looked at it again, and it said she was right in the room with us. “Look for her,” I commanded. “She might have used an invisibility hack.” I walked right to where the dot was on my map, and stood on it.

“Show yourself!” I yelled. Slowly, Jetta faded into view a few feet away from me. “I- I cannot leave,” she muttered. “Yeah, neither can we!” I said angrily. “Well don’t yell at me!” she cried. “I just want to get back to my family, like you guys! I don’t want to be a rebel, I want to be a trooper!” “Then be a trooper!” I exclaimed. “You don’t have to fight for the rebels- just join our team!”

So Jetta joined us. She was actually really nice, once you got to know her. She told us that she had not been used to sharing the game, and was trying to scare us into leaving her alone. We sat in the Freezing Chamber, since there were no more rebels left other then Jetta, and talked. Anna had an idea: She figured that since Jetta was so good with hacks, she could just combine a couple that would get us out of the game!

“I didn’t think of that!” exclaimed Jetta. “I will give it a try. First, you need to sit in a circle… Ok, good. Now hold hands and I will type in the code on my watch.” Jetta typed in a bunch of code and pressed the button. Jack shimmered- and then disappeared. Jetta smiled. “I got it,” she said. “I just need to add in a multiplier to make us all go.” She pressed a few more buttons, and suddenly, I and my sister and she were flying through the air and then- it stopped.

I sat straight up in my bed. Was all of that a dream? I wondered to myself. I ran down the hall to Anna’s room. She, too, was sitting up in her bed, wide awake. “Was that real?” I asked her. “I think so,” said Anna, wearily. “Well, I am going to go email Jack,” I said. “If he remembers, we will know it was real.” I emailed Jack, even though it was late at night, and got an almost automatic response. He did remember our adventure, and wished to stay in contact with me and Anna.

We did stay in contact, and Jack even came down from Texas one summer to visit me and Anna. It was a nice visit, and the next summer, me and Anna visited him. We all wondered where Jetta was from, for we never heard a word from her again, and for the rest of our lives, none of us could explain how we had come to be inside a game.