Star Wars: New Age

Chapter 24

The Pipeline

The single Geode-class Mining Servitor stood silently in the center of the vast Forge, its white optical sensor glowing with a calm, ready light. It was a monument to their success, a perfect fusion of ancient technology and modern components. But it was only one. An army of one is not an army.

"It works," Zana said, her voice echoing in the cavernous space. She turned from the control room window, her gaze sweeping over her team. "But it's not enough. We have two mining vessels. That means we need two pilots." She pointed at the assembly line. "Build another one. Then build two of the Oculus drones. We need to be able to see what our ghost fleet is doing."

The order was given. The work began again. The process, which had seemed so miraculous the first time, now became a focused, efficient routine. Jax guided the loader drones, feeding their remaining stock of expensive, purchased components and a large portion of their refined Iridium into the Forge's hungry processors. He felt the strain, but it was a familiar one now, his mental muscles more adept at the task.

The massive factory hummed to life once more. Lasers carved, robotic arms assembled, and within the hour, their workforce was complete. Now, two robust Mining Servitors stood side-by-side, flanked by the two sleek, disc-shaped Oculus Observer Drones that hovered silently beside them. Their small, automated army was ready.

Zana gave a sharp, satisfied nod. "Good. Let's give them their marching orders."

The four droids were transported from the Forge to the main hangar bay, their silent, imposing forms now standing before the two massive Quarry vessels. The next phase of the operation shifted the focus squarely onto Kael. He stood before the silent droids, his datapad synced with their newly-activated systems.

"This is… astounding," Kael murmured, his eyes wide as he scrolled through the droids' programming interface. The Warden had provided not just the schematics, but a fully-developed, intuitive operating system. "The AI architecture is modular. I'm not writing code from scratch; I'm assigning directives to a pre-existing intelligence."

His fingers began to fly. He first uploaded the detailed geological survey and flight plans for RX-981, Moon B-7 into the two Mining Servitors. He programmed their primary directive: travel to the designated location, execute the established mining sequence, fill the cargo hold to maximum capacity, and return. He built in contingencies for system failures and set their operational status to "active." The optical sensors on the two hulking droids glowed a brighter, more focused white.

Next, he turned to the sleek Oculus drones. "Zana, I'm linking their primary sensor feeds directly to your tactical console on the bridge," he explained. "You'll have a real-time, high-definition view of the entire operation. I'm also programming their patrol routes—a wide-perimeter scan around the mining site. If any other ship jumps into the system, you'll be the first to know."

While Kael worked his digital magic, Zana turned to Jax. "The first Quarry is still active from our last run. But the second one is dark. We can't send out a ghost fleet if half of it is still asleep."

It was Jax's turn. The process was becoming familiar, but no less draining. He walked to the second, silent mining vessel and placed his hand on its hull. He reached out to the main Nexus Core, drew on its immense power, and carefully, methodically, channeled the energy into the ship's systems. He woke the heart, then the lungs, then the limbs. Within minutes, the second Quarry hummed with life, its ramp lowering to welcome its new, non-sentient pilot.

His task complete, Jax returned to the others. Kael gave a final tap on his datapad.

"Programming complete," he announced. "The Servitors have their orders. The Oculus drones are slaved to Zana's console. They're ready."

Without a word, the two Mining Servitors turned in perfect unison and marched up the ramps into their respective ships. The two Oculus drones lifted silently from the floor and zipped into the cargo holds alongside them. The ramps retracted, and the ship lights sealed shut.

Their automated fleet was programmed, powered, and ready to launch.

The three of them stood on the bridge of the Stasis Station, a makeshift Mission Control center arranged around Zana's tactical console. The main viewport displayed a crisp, live feed from the hangar bay cameras, showing the two massive Quarry vessels and their smaller drone escorts, all humming with ready power. The air was thick with the tense, electric silence that comes just before a great endeavor begins.

"Kael, all systems green?" Zana asked, her voice sharp.

"All systems are green," Kael confirmed, his eyes locked on his datapad. "The fleet is networked and awaiting your command."

Zana looked at Jax, giving him a brief, sharp nod of acknowledgment. His power was the foundation upon which this entire operation was built. Then, she turned back to the console. "Execute," she said.

Kael tapped a single command. On the viewport, the two crewless mining vessels lifted from their cradles in perfect, silent unison. They glided out of the hangar with an eerie, coordinated grace, the two Oculus drones detaching from their hulls to take up escort positions on their flanks. The ghost fleet was away.

"Drone feeds are live," Kael announced.

Zana's tactical display flickered to life, showing them a quartet of new views—the real-time perspective of their four automated eyes. They watched as their fleet, a phantom operation with no living crew, executed the micro-jumps with flawless precision.

Moments later, they were looking at the Iridium moon, RX-981, B-7, through the eyes of their drones. They watched as the two Quarry ships descended and landed, their movements a perfect mirror of each other. The mining lasers fired in sync, carving into the moon's crust. The tractor beams engaged, lifting tons of raw ore into the cargo holds.

The entire operation was a symphony of brutal, automated efficiency. There were no wasted movements, no hesitations, no human error. It was terrifyingly perfect.

Hours passed as they watched the harvest continue, a silent, remote-controlled plunder. Finally, Kael gave the report they were waiting for.

"Cargo holds are at one hundred percent capacity," he said, his voice shaking with a mixture of excitement and disbelief. "The servitors are retracting the mining gear. They're coming home."

They watched on the main viewport as the two massive ships sailed back into the hangar and settled into their cradles with a final, gentle thud. The mission was a complete success. Their pipeline was open.

The immediate sense of triumph was immense. Kael was practically bouncing in his chair. Jax felt a deep sense of satisfaction, the exhaustion from his own efforts forgotten for a moment.

But Zana was already focused on the next step. She turned from the tactical display, her face a mask of grim determination. On the main holographic display, she brought up the complex schematic for the "Condor-class" Corvette.

"The pipeline is open," she stated, her voice resonating with a new, grand ambition. "Our Iridium supply is solved." She tapped her console, and the list of other required materials—Gallium, Yttrium, Carbon-Nanoweave Plating—appeared next to the Corvette.

"But this proves our business model is viable," she continued. "Now, we scale. We use the profits from this Iridium to buy the components to build more droids, a bigger fleet. And while that fleet works for us, we will hunt for the rest of this list." She swept her hand across the schematics.

"The Warden's Echo isn't just a mining crew anymore," she declared, her eyes blazing with the fire of their new purpose. "We're a resource acquisition firm. And we will control our entire supply chain."

She looked at her team, the founders of the galaxy's newest, most secret, and most powerful industrial enterprise.

"Let's get to work."