Star Wars: New Age

Chapter 23

The First Assembly

The twenty-four-hour wait had been a lesson in disciplined patience. Now, that patience was to be rewarded. The three of them stood on the bridge, the mission briefing already complete. Their objective was simple: retrieve their package.

"Kael, you're on sensors. Zana, tactical. I'll pilot," Jax said, the roles now so ingrained they were second nature. It wasn't a question; it was a statement of function.

Zana simply nodded, her hand resting near the sidearm she now wore habitually.

They boarded the Echo, its cockpit humming to life around them. Jax settled into the pilot's chair, the connection with the ship instant and familiar. He felt the vessel's systems as an extension of his own nervous system.

"Coordinates for the dead-drop are locked," Kael reported from the co-pilot's seat. "System RC-1138. Ready for jump."

"Engage," Zana ordered.

With a thought from Jax, the ship leaped into the disorienting, non-space of a micro-jump. A moment later, they emerged into a dead system. A single, dim red dwarf star cast a faint, bloody light over a scattered field of cold, lifeless asteroids. The place felt ancient and profoundly empty. It was the perfect spot for a secret exchange.

"There it is," Kael said, pointing to a blinking light on his sensor display. "Target coordinates match."

"Hold position," Zana commanded. "Full-spectrum sweep of the area. I want to know if so much as a pebble is out of place. Check for any active energy signatures, cloaked ships, anything."

While Kael's fingers flew across his console, running the ship's powerful sensors, Jax closed his eyes. He reached out with the Force, expanding his awareness in a silent, sweeping circle around the Echo. He felt the immense cold of the void, the faint radiation of the dying star, the inert mass of the asteroids. Nothing else. No minds, no active technology, no watchers in the dark.

"It's clean," Jax said, opening his eyes.

"I concur," Kael added a moment later. "Sensors are clear. We're alone."

"Alright," Zana said, the tension in her shoulders relaxing a fraction. "Let's get our parts. Slow and steady, Jax."

He guided the Echo forward, its movements precise and silent. Ahead of them, a standard, secure shipping container floated in the void, a faint locator beacon pulsing on its side. It looked mundane, but Jax knew it held the keys to their future.

He brought the ship to a relative halt a hundred meters from the container and activated the Echo's tractor beam. A shimmering cone of blue energy erupted from the ship's underbelly, enveloping the container. With a gentle pull of his will, Jax drew the massive crate toward them. The container slid smoothly into the Scout ship's surprisingly spacious external cargo bay, and the bay doors sealed shut with a solid, reassuring thud.

The mission was a success.

"We have the package," Jax reported, a feeling of triumph surging through him.

"Good work," Zana said, her voice crisp. "Let's not linger."

"Already plotting the course home," Kael confirmed.

Jax turned the Echo, leaving the dead system behind without a second thought. He engaged the hyperdrive, and with another flash of light, they were on their way back to the Stasis Station. They had successfully executed their first clandestine logistical operation. They had the blueprints, and now, they had the parts.

The Echo settled silently into its cradle in the hangar bay. They secured the precious cargo container of newly-purchased components, its modern, corporate logos looking starkly out of place in the ancient, alien hall. Their triumph was short-lived, immediately replaced by the weight of their next, even more daunting task.

"We have the blueprints and the parts," Zana said, her voice echoing in the vastness of the hangar. "Now we need the factory." She looked to Jax. "It's time to ask the Warden for the keys to the workshop."

Jax nodded, the expectation now a familiar pressure. He closed his eyes and focused his mind on the concept: Manufacturing. Creation. Forge.

The Warden's response was, as always, immediate and silent. On their datapads, a new schematic appeared, illuminating a path that led even deeper into the station's core.

The journey was a long one, through massive, utilitarian corridors designed for heavy machinery. They finally arrived before a set of blast doors that made the hangar's entrance look small by comparison. The doors were forged from the same seamless black metal, thick and imposing. With a mental command from Jax, they ground open, revealing the cavern within.

The three of them stepped through and stopped, speechless.

They were standing on a balcony overlooking a chamber so vast it could have contained the entire hangar bay with room to spare. It was a cathedral of industry, a silent, dormant factory of epic proportions. Colossal robotic arms, each the size of a starship, hung from the impossibly high ceiling. Automated assembly lines snaked across the floor like frozen rivers. Massive, sealed vats, clearly designed to process raw ore, lined the far wall. The scale was inhuman, designed for planetary-scale manufacturing.

Kael brought up his scanner, his face paling. "The power infrastructure here… Zana, it's astronomical. To bring this entire complex online at once would be like trying to jump-start a star. I don't think the main Core can handle that kind of initial draw without destabilizing."

Zana's gaze fell upon Jax. The unspoken question was clear. This was his greatest test yet.

Jax stepped to the edge of the balcony, looking out over the silent factory floor. He could feel the immense, dormant systems, a sleeping giant far larger than the Quarry. He reached out with the Force, and the Warden's counsel flowed into his mind.

[THE HEART MUST BE STRONG TO COMMAND SO MANY LIMBS. BE THE CONDUIT, NOT THE DAM. LET THE RIVER FLOW ONLY WHERE IT IS NEEDED.]

He understood. He couldn't turn on the whole factory. He had to awaken it piece by piece.

He took a deep breath, and began. He first channeled a controlled stream of energy into the raw material processors, the massive vats. A deep, resonant hum started, the first sound the Forge had made in fifty thousand years.

Next, he focused on a single assembly line, coaxing the power into its molecular assemblers and laser welders. A higher-pitched, more complex series of clicks and whirs joined the low hum. The line began to glow with a soft, internal light.

Finally, he directed his will to the colossal robotic arms directly above the active assembly line. With a groan of ancient, waking metal, one of the giant arms lowered itself, its single, glowing optical sensor flickering to life.

The strain on Jax was immense. It was like conducting a symphony with a thousand different instruments, each demanding his complete attention. Sweat poured down his face, but he held the connections steady. He had powered up a single, complete production line within the massive factory.

He sagged against the railing, exhausted but triumphant. Below them, a portion of the ancient Forge hummed with stable power, its lights on, its machinery ready.

Zana put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Her voice was filled with a new level of awe. "You did it, Jax."

She looked out at the awakened machinery with a fierce, determined glint in her eyes.

"Now," she said. "Let's build a droid."

They descended from the balcony to the main floor of the Forge, standing in a small, glass-walled control room that overlooked the single, newly-activated assembly line. Kael practically vibrated with excitement as he interfaced his datapad with the ancient, glowing console. Zana stood beside him, her arms crossed, watching the dormant machinery with a hungry, calculating gaze. Jax, for his part, leaned against the wall, trying to recover from the immense mental effort of waking the factory.

"Alright, Kael. Are we ready?" Zana asked, her voice sharp with anticipation. "Upload the schematic."

"Uploading now," Kael confirmed. He tapped a command on his datapad, and a complex, rotating 3D image of the Geode-class Mining Servitor appeared on the control room's main display. It was a robust, powerful-looking humanoid droid, designed for heavy industrial work in hostile environments.

"The Forge is ready," Kael said, turning from the console. "But the material processors are empty. We need to feed it the raw materials."

"Jax," Zana said, turning to him. "You're up. The loader drones on the floor are active, but Kael can't interface with their programming. You'll have to guide them."

Jax nodded. This was a new test—not raw power, but fine control over multiple objects. He walked out onto the factory floor. A half-dozen simple, disc-shaped loader drones hummed to life, their single optical sensors turning to face him. He reached out with the Force, not with a command, but with a gentle push of intent. He guided the drones to their cargo container, willing them to pick up the expensive, high-tech components they had purchased. Then, he guided another group to their pile of raw Iridium ore.

One by one, the drones lifted their cargo and deposited it into the massive, glowing input feeders of the assembly line. It was a clumsy, slow process at first, but soon Jax found a rhythm, directing the small drones like a conductor leading an orchestra.

Once the materials were loaded, he returned to the control room. "It's ready," he said.

Zana looked at Kael. "Begin."

Kael took a deep breath and initiated the build sequence.

The three of them watched in silent awe as the 50,000-year-old factory came to life. A deep roar echoed through the chamber as the raw Iridium was super-heated and purified in the processor. A colossal robotic arm, moving with a speed and grace that defied its size, selected the Carbon-Nanoweave Plating. High-energy lasers cut the material with perfect precision, shaping the droid's chassis. Smaller, more delicate arms descended from the ceiling, weaving the Yttrium-laced Superconductors into a complex nervous system. Another arm carefully placed the Gallium-Arsenide Wafer into the head cavity before the main chassis plates were welded into place with seamless, silent flashes of light.

The entire process was a symphony of alien engineering, impossibly fast and breathtakingly precise. In less than ten minutes, it was done.

A final robotic arm lifted the fully constructed droid from the assembly line and placed it gently on its feet in the center of the factory floor. It stood there, inert, its dark metal hull gleaming under the lights of the forge.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, with a soft, internal hum, the droid's single, circular optical sensor flickered and came to life, glowing with a steady, soft white light. It took a single, perfectly balanced step forward, its head turning to look directly at the three stunned figures in the control room.

Their first automated worker was complete. They were no longer just scavengers or explorers.

They were creators.