Star Wars: New Age

Chapter 19

Reconnaissance

The violent, disorienting sensation of the micro-jump faded, leaving only the silent hum of the Echo's internal systems. Before them, hanging in the blackness of the uncharted RX-981 system, was their destination: a gas giant swirling with bands of dull orange and gray, and its second moon, a pale, cratered orb of rock and ice.

"Target acquired," Zana stated, her voice calm and professional in their headsets. "Take us down, Jax. Find a landing zone in the northern hemisphere. Kael, guide him in towards the highest concentration of deposits you can find from orbit."

Jax nodded, his hands resting on the glowing contact panels. He felt a connection to the ship that was already becoming second nature. He focused on the moon below, willing the Echo to descend. The ship obeyed instantly, banking in a smooth, graceful arc towards the pale sphere.

He guided them through the moon's thin, wispy atmosphere of nitrogen and frozen methane. The landing was still not perfect—a slight shudder ran through the ship as the landing gear made contact with the uneven, rocky ground—but it was controlled. It was a pilot's landing.

They had arrived.

The view from the cockpit was one of profound, desolate beauty. They had landed on a vast, windswept plain of gray dust and jagged, dark rocks. The gas giant, their system's primary, loomed in the black sky like a massive, marbled god, casting a faint, eerie light over the silent landscape. The sense of isolation was absolute.

"Kael, you're up," Zana ordered. "Do a full deep-scan of the crust. I want to know exactly what we're sitting on."

The co-pilot's console in front of Kael lit up, displaying topographical maps and cascading streams of geological data. His fingers danced across the interface, his earlier nervousness now completely replaced by the focused intensity of an expert in his element.

"The ancient logs were conservative," he breathed after a moment, his voice filled with awe. He pointed to a section of the console, where a 3D wireframe map of the surrounding area was being generated. "The purity is off the charts. I'm detecting massive, interconnected veins of raw Iridium, running for kilometers just a few hundred meters below where we're sitting."

He manipulated the image, and the wireframe filled with glowing, silver lines, showing the treasure buried right beneath their feet. "We have it," Kael said, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "A complete geological survey. A guaranteed motherlode."

Jax felt a surge of profound relief. It was real. The abstract plan, the desperate gamble, the impossible ship—it had all led to this. A tangible, verifiable fortune waiting to be claimed. A solution to his real-world problems.

Zana stared at the glowing 3D map, a look of cold, hard satisfaction on her face. The first phase of their mission was a success. The asset was verified.

"Good," she said, her voice sharp and focused. "We know what's here." She turned to Jax. "Now let's find out what else is here. Use the ship's connection to your… instinct. Scan for energy signatures, life forms, technology… anything that isn't just rock and ice. I don't like surprises."

Kael diligently saved the geological map, a triumphant grin still plastered on his face. He had the data; the treasure was real. But Zana's focus had already moved on. Her gaze was fixed on Jax.

"Good," she had said. "Now let's find out what else is here."

Jax understood. This wasn't about resources anymore. This was about threat assessment. He settled back into the pilot's chair, the alien console lighting up in response to his proximity. He closed his eyes, sinking into the now-familiar connection with the Echo. He wasn't just piloting the ship now; he was wearing it. He pushed his senses outward, through the ship's powerful sensor arrays, and listened to the moon.

He felt the vast, cold emptiness of the rock and ice. He felt the loud, clear, metallic signature of the Iridium veins running through the crust like a circulatory system. He expanded his search, sweeping his awareness across the barren plains and jagged mountains, listening for anything out of place. For minutes, there was nothing but the silent hum of rock and the faint energy of their own ship.

He was about to report the moon was clean when he felt it.

It was at the very edge of his sensory range, a whisper so faint he almost missed it. It was a thin, sharp, discordant note in the moon's quiet symphony. It wasn't the strong, resonant hum of the Warden's technology, nor was it the clean signature of the Iridium. This felt… broken. Jagged. Like a piece of shattered glass buried in sand. It was artificial, but it felt wrong.

"Wait," Jax said, his voice quiet. "There's something else. Southern pole. It's not a mineral deposit."

Kael's fingers flew across his console, directing the Echo's sensors toward the area Jax indicated. "I'm getting something," he confirmed, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Trace amounts of radiation and exotic heavy-metal alloys. The signal is weak, heavily degraded. Whatever it is, it's deep underground, probably inside a cave system."

"A crashed ship?" Kael theorized. "A modern one, maybe? Or an old probe?"

Zana's expression was hard and cautious. An unknown variable was an unacceptable threat. "Is it active, Jax?" she asked, her voice sharp.

Jax focused on the strange, broken signature. He could feel no power, no life, no intent. Just a lingering, faint echo of something that had died violently a long, long time ago.

"No," he finally said. "It feels… dead. Broken."

Zana processed this for a long moment. Her mission for this shakedown run was clear: verify the resource and return safely. Nothing more.

"Okay," she said decisively. "Kael, log the coordinates of that anomaly. We're not here to poke at ghosts. Our primary objective is complete." She looked at both of them, her authority clear. "We came here to confirm the target. The target is confirmed. Our work here is done."

She turned her gaze to the viewport, to the star-dusted blackness that awaited them.

"Jax, prepare for liftoff. Let's go home."

"Acknowledged," Jax replied to Zana's command. "Preparing for liftoff."

He placed his hands on the contact panels, the connection to the Echo now as natural as breathing. He focused his will, and the sleek Scout ship lifted off the dusty ground without a sound, its ascent far smoother than its landing. He guided them up through the moon's thin atmosphere and into the silent black of space, the gas giant looming like a painted backdrop.

"Coordinates for the return jump are locked," Kael announced, his voice steady and professional. He had found his place. He was the navigator.

"Engage when ready, Jax," Zana said, her posture relaxed for the first time since they'd left.

Jax focused on the destination—home—and willed the ship to take them there. The universe outside the viewport twisted into a nauseating, beautiful flash of impossible colors, and then they were back. The familiar, chaotic swirl of the Rykon Belt surrounded them. The entire round trip had taken less than fifteen minutes.

Before them floated their secret, an unremarkable rock among millions. Jax reached out with the Force, sending a simple request for entry to the Warden. In response, a section of the moonlet's cratered surface slid away with impossible silence, revealing the dark, waiting maw of the hangar bay.

He piloted the Echo back inside, the darkness enveloping them, the massive doors sealing behind them. With a final, gentle nudge of his will, he settled the Scout ship perfectly back into its docking cradle. The landing was flawless.

He let out a long, slow breath and released his mental grip on the ship. The powerful connection faded back to a quiet hum, leaving him feeling tired but exhilarated.

For a long moment, the three of them sat in the silent cockpit, the reality of what they had just accomplished washing over them. They had taken a 50,000-year-old alien vessel, piloted it with thought and will, jumped across a star system, surveyed an entire moon, and returned without a scratch. They were no longer just survivors. They were a functional flight crew.

A rare, genuine smile touched Zana's lips. "Mission accomplished, Warden's Echo," she said, her voice filled with a professional pride that was more rewarding than any treasure. "Good work, both of you."

They returned to the main bridge, the feeling of victory palpable in the air. Kael immediately brought up the 3D map of the Iridium deposits on the main holographic display, the glowing veins a testament to their success.

But Zana was already looking past it. Her gaze was on the schematic of the hangar, her mind already on the next phase of the operation. She pointed to the larger, more robust icon representing one of the mining vessels.

"The Echo is a beautiful ship," she said, her voice filled with a new, grander ambition. "But it's a scalpel. Now we need a sledgehammer."

She turned to Jax, the full weight of her expectation clear in her eyes. "Your shakedown run is over. Your training with the Scout is complete."

The holographic display changed at her command, now showing the schematics of the massive, powerful mining vessel.

"Now," Zana said with a predatory grin, "you're ready to learn how to fly a monster."