Star Forge - Chapter 19

"I'll go put on some pants," Beth said seemingly unbothered by the events.

"Who is she?" Bo asked.

"That's Beth," I replied. "She just got here."

"What?" Tali stared from Bo to me then to where Beth had gone. "What is going on here?"

"No clue," I shrugged. "It's just something I can do." I waved a hand around us. "This place is attached to whatever do I use my key on. Only people I invite can come in, so it's safe. Any questions?"

"Any questions?" Tali repeated. "Yes, I have many, many questions."

"I'll answer what I can," I waved for them to follow as I led them through the warehouse.

It didn't take nearly as long as the first tour since Tali had the same type of questions the first group had. Where did it come from? No idea. What is this stuff? Main part of it is a Lucre Hulk Class Droid Control Ship, the rest is a patchwork. How did it get here? No idea. Only you are able to open a door here? As far as I know. What else can you do? Sometimes I have the option to learn things instead of get more stuff. What is this? It comes from somewhere else, I don't know.

Bo just let her talk until we finished the tour.

"Why are you showing us this?" She finally asked.

"This place has plenty of space and more facilities," I replied. "Hiding it from you both just makes things more difficult than they need to be." I motioned to the door that Beth had used. "There are suites and crew quarters through here. The droid production facility is obvious, but it's in the process of researching some upgrades so I can't create any at the moment."

"That would have been helpful on Alderaan," Bo commented.

"It would have," I grumbled. "I'm going to offer my services to Alderaan once I can reliably get a few hundred-thousand produced. Not to mention a Basilisk Droid."

Bo grabbed my shoulder. "What did you say?"

"A Basilisk Droid," I replied. "The blueprints are being researched right now. It will be ready in…" I paused. "Three days before I can start production on the first one."

"You can make a Basilisk Droid?" Bo asked.

"In three days," I repeated. "I don't know how long it will take to actually build one."

"You can make a Basilisk Droid," Bo repeated as she rushed over to me and grabbed my shoulder.

I smiled at her childlike energy.

"Why?" I asked casually. "Did you want one?"

"I will swear my undying loyalty to you for one," Bo squeezed my shoulders.

"Can you build other droids?" Tali cut in. "Or customize them? Maybe combine the blueprints to create something new?"

"I haven't tried," I replied. "My focus was on upgrading the quality before I make any. At first I could only make more B1s. I like them, but they aren't that good at fighting."

"No," Bo held a hand up to Tali. "Basilisk droid, I want one."

"I guess you would be interested in the crate of Beskar I have too," I offered casually.

"A crate of Beskar?" Bo asked. "How much?"

"Enough for two hundred suits," I flashed a smile at her. "A battalion."

"A battalion isn't two hundred troops," Bo said.

"Oh," my shoulders slumped.

"A small battalion is over three hundred," Bo corrected. "Usually, there are a thousand troopers in one."

"A thousand," I muttered.

I hurried over to the storeroom and opened it up. Four shipping container sized crates were stacked in two neat rows. That looked it could supply more than three hundred troopers.

"Do you know an Armorer?" I asked Bo.

~

Eventually, I managed to guide Bo and Tali out of the warehouse. That, predictably, led to showing the rest of the crew the new additions. It also allowed me to introduce Beth to the others. She shot me a quick look when I got to Anakin and Shmi. There was a little flash of recognition, but she was smart enough not to ask outright.

We started the process of moving the crew into the suites. Unlike the mansion there was plenty of room for everyone. The ship had been pretty much stripped of all personal items. Even the B1 droids had moved over to the Warehouse. They took over one of the crew quarters, removing the bunks and replacing them with charging ports. Each one was separated by a little half-wall that functioned as the border to the individual space. Most of them had little bits of décor that they added to their spots.

I didn't show them the commandos. For that, I wanted a plan and maybe have them all thawed out first. The Sith/Reytt people were all but extinct. My best plan would be to take the commandos to Kamino to see about cloning them and then mixing their various DNA into another generation with all of the genetic information thoroughly blended to allow for maximum diversity. If I could get two clones of each, plus myself, that would put the number a couple short of sixty. Twenty-eight sets of twins would be a good start. I wasn't too proud to admit that I had no idea how far those numbers would stretch, or if it would be enough to create viable genetic diversity for a continued species. Mix the DNA of one of the males with each female, barring their twin, would add another twenty-seven to the mix. Right? If that was the case, then each one would increase the amount by the same. Twenty-seven multiplied by twenty-seven is seven-hundred and twenty-nine. That would be the base number. Was it practical to have more than one offspring? Then, from there, what would the next generation be? That was before taking half-breeds into account, which could then add to the genetic catalogue. My brain did not have the processing power to figure it out.

Even more pressing, how did I handle the offspring? Accelerated aging was an option only if it had an 'off switch' for once they hit full development. How would they be raised? I didn't think Kamino would be a good place to grow up. If The Clone Wars show was the be believed, the place wasn't exactly brimming with warmth and care. I wanted to raise them as Mandalorians. That would allow for more options. If there was one thing about Mandalorians, it was that they loved teaching Foundlings.

Current plan, wake up the commandos, catch them up to speed on our species, convert them to Mandalorians, let them know about the cloning plan, and then work out the rough patches of raising the next generation. Getting cloning material before going on any missions would be a good idea too. I had been putting off waking them up for too long. Having them working with me to take down the Hutts would be a great asset. I was making everything up as I went, maybe one of them would have a good idea on taking down the Hutt without storming a royal guest house.

Wait.

If Arok was a guest of the Empress than taking him out when he was her guest could be a bad idea. Killing him while he was there would make her appear weak. Or worse, unable to keep her guests safe. It didn't take long to find Bo. She was currently settling in her new suite. Multiple knives in a wide range of sizes were spread out on what had been a fancy desk. A couple of different types of blasters were scattered around the room as well.

"Bo," I called to catch her attention.

She looked up from her current project, cleaning one of her blasters.

"Are we going to piss off the Empress if we kill Arok while he's on her guest island?" I asked.

"Eh," she shrugged. "She's not all that powerful."

"I'm starting a war with the Hutts," I sighed. "I don't need her coming after me too."

"Fine," Bo muttered. "I'll talk to my people. We'll see if she is willing to look the other way, or if we can work out something to get on her good side. It'll be another couple of days."

"Thank you," I said as I walked away. "One war is enough for now."

"For now," Bo shouted after me.

Plenty of time to wake up some sleeping beauties.

+100 FP
[Asking the Important Questions]
+100 FP
[Hospitality in a Galaxy Far Away]
+100 FP
[Does Slug Extermination Warrant War?]
[Roll – Bank – Shop]

ROLL.

[COST: 200]
[HQ: Coruscant, Corusca Sector]
[You now have a mid-sized apartment in the administrative center of the galaxy, home to important features such as the Jedi Temple and the Galactic Senate. This planet is essentially one immense city.]
[Purchase – Dismiss – Bookmark]

Hm. I didn't plan one going to Coruscant anytime soon, or if ever. Cities were never my speed in my old life, one spanning an entire planet didn't appeal to me at all.

DISMISS.

[Balance: 1200 Forge Points]

I made my way to where the cryo-pods were located. They were split into five rows with the remaining two pods in their own stretch. The first pod was labeled B001SM01, next was B001SM02. It continued on down until B001SM15. From there it became B001SF01, it kept going until B001SF12. Each pod had an individual release. There was also a control console at the back of the room with the biometrics for the corresponding label.

The console was user-friendly. Aside from the readouts, it had two buttons. One to wake them up and the other to put them to sleep. I hit the 'wake up' button to start the process.

[Time Remaining – 1 Hour]