Rogue Galaxy, part 1
Rogue Galaxy is the story of Vaan Jaster, a blond, orphaned, teenage swordsman from the desert nation planet Dalmasca Rosa. He lives in the city of Rabanastre Salgin with his adoptive father Migelo Raul. He tires of life in the desert, longing to find adventure as a sky pirate space traveller. He also desires to see his people freed from subjugation by the Archadian Longardian Empire.

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Jaster is weary of his life in Salgin, eking out a living as a hunter. His adoptive father, Raul, is the local priest, more of a calling than a career; the two of them do not live comfortably. Returning from work one day, Jaster is startled by an enormous monster entering the city from nowhere and speeding towards the residential area.

Hurrying to investigate, Jaster finds himself surrounded by small monsters. Not to worry, help is at hand in the form of a hooded stranger with a really cool sword: a cutlass with a red blade. With his new friend at his side, Jaster cuts through the beasts and continues towards the residential district. The town is in a general state of panic, and the Longardian military police don't seem too keen on helping with the monster invasion. Still, Jaster and the hooded man are having no trouble with the small monsters; the big boss can't be too difficult, can it?

Catching sight of two other strangers, the hooded man abruptly decides to leave. He doesn't offer Jaster any explanation, but does give him the cool sword. Just as well, because it's mid-boss time!

G I A N T S
Jaster finds himself facing two big green things with enormous mouths filled with enormous teeth — think Oscar the Grouch after a dose of gamma radiation. He makes short work of them, thanks to the hooded stranger's gift.

Turning to continue on towards the residential area, Jaster is stopped by the two newcomers who seemed to startle the hooded man. They introduce themselves as Simon, a squat, Scottish-accented beastie clad from head to toe in a spacesuit; and Steve, a C3PO knockoff. They witnessed the battle against the Giants, and were impressed with Jaster's skill; furthermore, since he's wielding the legendary sword Desert Seeker, they deduce that he must be the noted bounty hunter Desert Claw. Initially unable to get a word in edgeways to set them straight, Jaster soon finds himself keen to play along: seems that they're representing a pirate captain who wants to recruit this Desert Claw. This could be Jaster's ticket off this rock!

Simon and Steve offer to help Jaster defeat the monster in the residential area in return for his agreeing to join their crew. Steeling their nerves, the three of them launch an assault against:

M A R K   V I I I   S A L A M A N D E R
It's a colossal, cybernetic fire-breathing lizard. Even after Jaster plunges his sword through its heart, it doesn't stop moving, requiring several blows to the head to finally shut it down. Steve explains that it had an artefact called a Rune in its head, controlling it. Everyone wonders why a mechanically-augmented salamander had attacked Salgin. Longardia has been fighting the Draxil Empire for the past century; might this have been a Draxil weapon of war?

Raul had always known that Jaster would leave one day; his adopted son had wanted to be a space traveller since he was a toddler. They say their farewells; Jaster promises to return some day in order to free Rosa from Longardian occupation. Simon and Steve go on ahead while Jaster makes his preparations. The pirate ship, Dorgenark, has put ashore in the desert to the west of Salgin rather than at the spaceport, so Jaster hires a yago (sorta like a camel) on which to traverse the desert.

Dorgenark looks more like an ancient sailing vessel than a spaceship; it appears to be constructed from wood, and has masts, sails, and two huge cannon on the bow. As Jaster prepares to board, a horde of desert monsters (like Dune sandworms, only worse) emerge from below the ground, swallow the yago (nom nom nom) and rear up to attack the ship. Dorgenark prepares for an emergency takeoff; looks like Jaster will be left behind, at the mercy of the monsters! But all is not lost — as quick as a flash, a hovercycle launches from Dorgenark. Its rider, a yellow-clad pirate girl, plucks Jaster from the desert and carries him to safety.

Aboard the ship, Jaster is introduced to some of the crew. Monsha, the first mate, is a sentient cat with a superiority complex; then there's Wolverine Zegram, the "Black Wolf", a gruff bounty hunter; and Aika Kisala, the girl who flew the hovercycle. The captain, Dorgengoa, is conspicuous by his absence; Monsha seems to be the one running the show.

With his new spacefaring life just beginning, Jaster's got his wish, albeit under false pretences. Just who was that hooded stranger? (My money's on him being Jaster's real father...)