Star Forge - Chapter 3

"I know this hasn't been as exciting as you were hoping," I said as Anakin took a seat across from me. "It's important to know the basics before we move on to the fun stuff."

"Like building a laser sword?" Anakin bounced in place.

"No," I laughed. "They are called Lightsabers and are an important benchmark to reach."

Anakin pouted.

"Today, we are going to talk about the Jedi and Sith Codes," I explained.

"Why?" Anakin asked. "You said you weren't a Jedi."

"I'm not," I nodded. "It's important to know other approaches. I can't just say I'm not a Jedi, or Sith, unless I know what they are. There is also the possibility that I could learn something from them." I paused to let him think. "And there is a chance that you might find them interesting."

"But then you couldn’t teach me," Anakin gasped.

"True," I said. "But I'm not going to let my limitations hinder your growth. We would need to find someone to teach you. With me observing, of course."

Anakin nodded happily at the news.

"Now," I brought him back to the topic. "The Jedi Code. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the force." I paused. "What do you think?"

"It's confusing," Anakin replied.

"The Jedi Code teaches that emotions are the way to the Dark Side," I explained. "I don't see it like that. Blocking off all of your emotions means you're unprepared for stressful situations. Searching for knowledge, finding serenity and harmony, and accepting death is a noble thought. Ignoring, or denying chaos, passion, and ignorance is foolish."

"Accepting death?" Anakin asked. "I thought nothing could kill a Jedi."

"Everything dies," I replied. "Death is a part of life. It cannot be undone. Anyone who claims otherwise is selling you something." I waited for him to acknowledge those words. "Accepting death does not mean ignoring or not caring about life. Fight to save those you can, that includes yourself. You can't help anyone when you're dead."

Anakin nodded again.

"Let's start at the beginning," I brought the conversation back at hand. "What do you think the Code means?"

"Uh," Anakin thought for a long moment before he shrugged. "I don't know."

"Perfectly valid answer," I said. "Everyone starts somewhere."

Anakin waited for me to continue.

"Letting your emotions control you is a slippery slope. Imagine that you're fixing an engine," I shifted to an example I hoped he understood. "You have been working on it all day, and nothing is working. You're frustrated, tired, and angry. You're holding a wrench, and it would feel so good to just smash it a few times."

Anakin nodded in understanding.

"Would that help fix it?" I asked.

"Maybe?" Anakin replied with a sly smile.

"Concussive maintenance," I laughed. "If only that worked on everything."

I let him have the silly moment.

"No, it wouldn't help fix it," I continued. "Keeping calm and focused is what you need to do."

Anakin nodded again.

"You keep working on it, and working on it, but it's just not happening," I let a little frustration bleed into my voice. "That desire to smack the engine is getting more and more insistent. What now?"

"Uh," Anakin thought for a moment. "Keep calm?"

"In a perfect world, sure," I shrugged. "In reality, that's setting yourself up for failure. Your anger will eventually get the best of you. It might not even be while you're working on the engine. There are two ways I could see going forward."

Anakin perked up.

"Walk away for a time," I said. "Or let a little anger out."

"Huh?" Anakin screwed up his face in confusion.

"Smacking it with a wrench isn't going to fix anything," I repeated. "Holding onto the anger isn't helping anything either. Let it out. You don't have to smash it with a wrench. Yell at it, curse at it, and then let it go." I paused. "The Jedi would tell you to release your emotion into the Force and skip the yelling or cursing. Again, it sounds nice. Controlled logic without emotion."

"Sounds like a droid," Anakin wrinkled his nose.

"Excuse me," 3PO gasped at the insult. "I am quite in tune with my emotions."

"Trust me, we know," I deadpanned. "The Sith Code. Let me clarify one thing before we continue. The Sith, as they are today, are a religion like The Jedi. Long ago, there was a people called Sith. They had a natural connection to The Force, as well as a skill for the Dark Side."

"Ok," Anakin said slowly.

One of these days he'd find out why that information was important. I still hadn't taken my helmet off around them yet. Shmi made sure I was in her line of sight at all times. I was pretty sure she managed to get the droids to keep an eye on me too. It probably didn't help that I was dealing with Watto a bit more than I had planned. Say what you want about the bug, but he had some good scrap.

"The Sith Code," I repeated. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me."

Anakin perked up at the last bit.

"Sounds interesting, hm?" I said. "It definitely has more of a hook."

He nodded.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion," I said. "Through passion, I gain strength. That's true. You can call on your anger, harness it, and use it as strength."

Anakin nodded.

"Exactly," I tapped the edge of my helmet. "Great. You're angry, you feel strong, so you lash out at the thing making you angry. Now the engine is a twisted chunk of metal that you can't fix no matter how hard you try."

"So, I'm not supposed to get angry?" Anakin asked. "That sounds like the Jedi."

"Being angry isn't the problem," I explained. "Losing yourself to it is. The important part is how you use it and the result." I paused. "Say the reason you can't fix the engine is that there is a bolt that is rusted so bad that it's welded into the frame. Tapping into that anger for the boost of strength might help get it loose."

Anakin nodded slowly in thought.

"But it would strip the treads," he said.

He froze as he realized he had just contradicted me. I turned my hands to show him my palms while making sure my posture was devoid of aggression.

"I don't know everything," I explained. "There are times where I will be wrong. There are going to be times where I don't have the answers. The important part is learning, not accepting ignorance."

The tension in his shoulders eased ever so slightly.

"Let's look at this imaginary situation now," I guided him back to the conversation. "You were calm and continued to work. When the issue persisted, you allowed a little anger out and stripped the threads. Now what?"

"Uh," Anakin thought for a long moment. "I replace the bolt and then I can get to the interior."

"Perfect," I said. "Did your anger cause some destruction? Yes, but it's more efficient to fix this mistake than to lose everything. Emotions are important. It is control that you have to strive to reach."

Anakin nodded slowly.

"Confused yet?" I asked with a little smile in my voice.

"Kind of," Anakin blushed.

"Emotion can be a powerful fuel," I said. "Letting them take control will lead to a painful end."

Further discussion was interrupted by the chirp of my comm. I brought up my Omni-Tool to see it was Watto. My brow furrowed; we didn't have any deals arranged at the moment. I opened myself to the Force, feeling the currents of the world. Finding Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan was easy even with them cloaking their signature. Unfortunately, my technique was lacking, and they could sense me just as easily.

"We're going to have guests," I muttered.

"I can feel something," Anakin whispered.

"Tell me," I motioned for him to continue.

"A… man? Yeah. A man, he's old but not too old," Anakin meandered as he quantified the information. "He's a warrior, noble, proud, and sensitive. He cares for those around him."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Another," Anakin said. "It's weaker. Not just farther away. Not as strong as the other one. A student." He brightened. "Like me!"

"Well done," I patted him on the shoulder then stood. "Those two are Jedi. Now, if you can feel them, can they feel you?"

Anakin screwed up his forehead in thought once more. I felt his signature in the Force shimmer then start to collapse in on itself. It was a valiant attempt.

"We'll work on that later," I said patting him on the shoulder.

Anakin hopped to his feet with ease. He followed me into the cockpit where the holo-terminal was located. I could have taken the message on my Omni-Tool, but I wanted a good look at the situation. The terminal popped on to show Watto hovering in front of three humanoid figures. I recognized the trio as Qui-Gon, Padme, and Jar-Jar. The Jedi Master was taller than I had expected. He kept control of his expression when a Mandalorian appeared in front of him. Padme schooled her features after the barest flash of surprise.

"Ooo, is-a Mandalorian," leave it to Jar-Jar to state the obvious.

"Indeed," I said flatly. "Watto."

"Mando," Watto replied with a hungry smile.

He knew this was going to be a payday for me, which meant one for him as well.

"They need parts for a Nubian yacht," Watto chuckled. "The ones you bought."

"The ones I rebuilt," I countered. "If they've got credits, send them over. Bay echo-seven."

I ended the transmission before anything more could be said. Anakin stood beside me. His mouth had dropped open, and he was still staring at the spot where the holograms had just been.

"You good, kid?" I asked.

"Was she an angel?" Anakin asked in a tone filled with wonder.

"You'll have to ask her," I replied.

I gave Shmi a slight incline of my head to show my amusement. She was polite to me, but we had some distance to go before she would relax.

"Shmi," I spoke evenly. "We're going to have guests, three of them. Two humans, or near-human, and a Gungan. Could you please prepare a meal for all of us, as well as three rooms for them to stay the night."

"They're staying the night?" Anakin chimed in.

"There's a sandstorm coming," I answered. "It's not safe for them to travel."

"How do you know?" Shmi asked softly.

I tapped the side of my helmet. Not sure how she took that as an answer. Regardless, it worked.

"Anakin," I said. "Get the Nubian parts ready in the loading bay for when they arrive."

"Roger, roger," Anakin saluted.

A couple of nearby droids perked up at that. Soon he had a few customized B-1s following him. They already had a basic personality matrix. The one for 3PO was more advanced and made the gaps in quality obvious. I was going to have him upgrade the units as time went with specializing in the ship functions. The astromechs droids already had plenty of personality.

I sighed as I waited for the group to arrive. It sounds silly, but the entire issue with Padme, Naboo, and the Jedi had mostly slipped my mind. Training with Anakin, including the various projects around the ship and tinkering with the droids, had taken more of my time than I had expected. It helped that I was learning right along with him. The knowledge was there, but it didn't actually sink in until I was talking about it.

Now, how to deal with the Palpatine situation. As much as I entertained the thought of killing him it wouldn't be that easy. The galaxy was already on the brink of implosion without his meddling. Killing him would slow things down, but it would also mean that everything I knew would be useless. The Clone Wars were going to happen with or without Palpatine.

Who would know about the clones without Palpatine around? Kamino was discovered during the investigation into the assassination attempt on Padme. How would the CIS change with Dooku as the leader? The war run by Palpatine was a smoke-screen to solidify his power, thin out the Jedi, and gain control of problem systems by 'rescuing' them from CIS attacks. Dooku was all for revamping the Republic and ending the current Jedi regime. He also held the other CIS together. Even worse, he believed in the cause. Though I doubted he would go to the lengths of slaughtering every Jedi.

Plus, I was of the opinion that Padme was wrong. Even before the split, those organizations that made up the CIS had too much military power to be ignored. Sure, it was to keep their trade routes and cargo safe. Those same droids could easily be used to target less important Republic worlds, like Naboo, to exploit without any real consequence. A standing army, even a small one with the potential to be reinforced by world-based resources would have made it harder for the Trade Union to make moves. Profit versus expense was something they were familiar with. Attacking an 'unarmed' Republic was a lot more enticing than fighting one that had even a reserve force.

Fuck it. They made their own mess, and it was up to them to fix it. I had other plans.

The casual attitude toward slavery in this region of space made me want to tear my hair out. It wouldn't be an easy thing to fix either. Killing the slavers and setting the slaves free would be a disaster. They could easily be scooped up by another group in a few years. There needed a support system before they were let loose on the galaxy and a safe place to return if they needed it.

The plan was simple. Take over Tatooine, abolish slavery, and make the place somewhere worth living. There were a couple of things that I could do to better the chance of success. The Hutts needed to go. They were the big shots that dealt in slaves. The crime syndicates had an unspoken arrangement to stay out of the way of each other. Slavery was the Hutts focus. The Pyke Syndicate moved Spice. Black Sun worked in classic organized crime sticking to protection rackets, smuggling, and laundering funds. The Crymorah Syndicate was a bit of an outlier handling information, assassinations, and corporate espionage. They were closer to an Independent Covert Operations Company than an actual criminal organization. I was fine to let them be as long as they stayed away from slavery.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be enough to take down the Hutts and take over Tatooine on my own. That led to my true 'first' step. Gather what was left of the true Mandalorians, then take the fight to the Hutts. The best I could come up with was rehabilitating Death Watch. Challenge Pre Vizsla for control as per Mandalorian tradition. Death Watch were thugs playing dress-up, but I could use them as ground forces while I gathered the real Mandalorians. There were certainly plenty that didn't agree with the new Pacifist regime without joining Death Watch.

• Setting the Course

• +100 FP

• Roll – Bank – Shop

• Balance : 200 Points

• Bookmarked –

• Lucre Hulk Class Droid Control Ship

• Cost: 1000 Points

Do I still need the Droid Control Ship? I wasn't planning on intervening with Naboo which was the original function. Though having an army of my own battle droids would help as well. I could still Roll and purchase something new without losing the Bookmark.

"Roll," I said once my helmet speakers muted.

• Cost : 100 FP

• Skill : Anti-Stormtrooper Aim

• You actually hit what you’re shooting at, even relatively small and fast-moving targets. Your aim is remarkable, even by the standards of commandos, snipers and other marksmen, and your reflexes mean you usually shoot first.

• Bookmark – Purchase – Dismiss

How could I say no to that?

"Purchase," I said.

• Balance : 100 Points

A wave of new knowledge filtered into my head. It wasn't as drastic as the previous times. The addition enhanced the knowledge Bounty Hunter Skills gave me already for weapons. I would need to earn and save more points before I could acquire the ship.

Further introspection was put on hold as the trio arrived.

Seeing Qui-Gon in person was an odd feeling. He was taller than I had expected. There was also a cloud of energy around him that could only be The Force. Padme was around sixteen right now and she was absolutely adorable. Jar-Jar was… Jar-Jar, I could do without him.

"A real Mandalorian," Padme narrowed her eyes at me.

"One of few left," I said with a nod.

"Not a fan of Duchess Kryze?" Qui-Gon asked.

I tilted my head to the side in an unspoken reply.

"Wow," Anakin gasped as the trio entered the ship though his gaze was solely on Padme. "You are an angel."

"I'm Padme," she said, blushing. "Who are you?"

"I'm Anakin Skywalker," he introduced with a big smile. "Mechanic of the Zepplin."

"The Zepplin?" Padme asked.

"That's our ship's name," Anakin answered.

"The parts are over here," I waved Qui-Gon over to the loading bay.

We haggled over the price a little. I had no problem taking Republic Credits. It would be converted into the local currency once it was in my wallet.

"The boy isn't your son," Qui-Gon stated as we watched Padme and Anakin in the other room.

Shmi had somehow wrangled Jar-Jar out of the way. A few of the droids followed close behind to clean up the mess. That woman deserved a raise. The timeline could probably benefit with Jar-Jar not being around. I wasn't going to kill the stupid Gungan just because he's annoying.

"He's my mechanic," I replied.

"You are both strong in the Force," Qui-Gon stated.

"You're horrible at hiding you're a Jedi," I chuckled.

"I wasn't hiding it," the tall man replied. "I sense there is something more about you than appears."

I shrugged. We stood in silence for a moment before I spoke again.

"I've asked Shmi to make sure there are rooms for you to stay," I motioned to the line of crew quarters. "There is a sandstorm coming."

"They're deadly," Shmi added. "Even if you don't get lost."

"Thank you," Qui-Gon inclined his head.

I strolled into the cockpit and took a seat. My helmet hid my smile as Anakin began giving them a full tour of the ship. This next bit was important. Maul wasn't going to attack until after the race tomorrow. I wasn't sure Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan would insist on returning to Naboo with the Queen if they didn't encounter the Sith. Removing Anakin from the plot would change the battle enough as it was. Things would go completely sideways if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan weren't there.

My solitude didn't last long. Qui-Gon casually took an open seat next to me.

"The Force around you and the boy is chaotic," the Jedi said.

"I've noticed," I replied. "If I may ask, what color is your blade?"

"Green," he answered.

"I would have thought it would be blue," I said.

"Why would you say that?" He asked.

"Guardians usually choose green," I replied.

A ghost of a smile played along his face.

"Duty and justice," he gestured to my armor.

"Green is duty," I corrected. "Blue is reliability, trustworthiness."

He nodded.

"Something drew me here," I said, not lying. "Among the things I saw were unmistakably lightsaber blades. One green, yours," I motioned to his hip. "One blue, your apprentice I presume." He inclined his head ever so slightly. "And one red."

He stilled.

"You are certain?" His voice took on an edge to it.

I nodded. He twirled his beard near his chin.

"If you're here, then the red lightsaber will be close," I said. "Tomorrow, the next day at the most. You could stay to determine the truth. You're stuck here for at least the night due to the sandstorm."

"You are a Force User, not Jedi though," he said. "I do not sense the Dark Side in you."

"You don't sense the Dark Side at all," I snorted.

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"A Sith Lord controls the Senate," I added. "This is just the first step in a grander plan."

"You know this?" He asked.

"You can believe me or not," I gave a dry chuckle. "I've got my own plans."

I clicked off my helmet external speaker and summoned one of my astromechs. A green and yellow striped domed droid rolled over to me. It ejected a little disc which I took with a silent thank you via my helmet. Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow as I offered it to him.

"We've run scans and completed diagnostics for the communication framework of Baktoid Combat Droids," I explained once my helmet speaker activated. "Send this to the Control Ship and it will shut everything off."

"How long?" Qui-Gon asked.

"A minute or two," I replied. "Enough for a squad of pilots to take out a Control Ship."

"My thanks," the Jedi Knight slipped the disc into his robes.

There. That should cover for Anakin not being there. I wasn't going to rush the blockade mid-battle to blow the ship up. Looking to the future, the Clone Wars would start in the next ten years or so and gathering enough clout among the Mandalorians to legitimately challenge Pre Vizsla for control of Death Watch was going to take some time.

~

We delivered the trio and the parts to their ship once the sandstorm faded. Qui-Gon decided to see if I had been telling the truth. I had no plans to fight Darth Maul. My Bounty Hunter skill package came with some knife-work, but everything else was for ranger combat. Shooting at a Force User was rarely a good idea. I hadn't touched my lightsaber since I first woke up. Accidental amputation was not on my list of things to do. I wasn't going to use it until I was able to purchase the Blade Master Skill Set from the shop. Even then, it provided the knowledge not the physical aspects. I had experience with firearms before so there was a foundation to build on.

Now that I thought about it, could I access the shop -or whatever it was- outside of earning points?

• Would you like to access the interface outside of notifications?

• Yes/No

Selecting 'Yes' was the obvious choice.

• Open the Settings

• +100 Points 

• Balance: 200 Forge Points 

• Roll – Bank – Shop

This wasn’t a full system. I didn't have access to stats, levels, or some sort of Character Sheet. Now came the hard part. Two hundred points would mean I could purchase the Blade Master Skill Set and then do another Roll. That might be good in the short-term, but it would take even longer to get the droid ship.

I looked at Qui-Gon from where he stood nearby. My helmet expanded my vision to the make it so I could see all around me which made it easy to keep aware of my surroundings. I wasn't going to Naboo. Once Maul appeared they would get back on the plot. I gave them the communication codes and the diagnostics of the standard battle droids. This was important, I needed to get the details in order.

• Cost: 1000 FP

• Balance: 200 Forge Points

• Technology: Lucre Hulk Class Droid Control Ship

• This ship acts more as a mobile space station with a central sphere which acts as the ship's bridge and reactor assembly. The major feature of this ship is that it can mass-produce droids and is able to control them using its array of Broadcast equipment. This ship is able to mass produce basic B-1 Battle Droids, Vulture Droids, C-9979 landing craft, Multi-Troop Transports, Armored Assault Tanks and Platoon Attack Craft.

The ship could mass produce battle droids. B-1 droids were played as a joke. Truth was that they had defeated Clone Troopers  on multiple planets. Hell, I could skip the basic models and focus completely on the specialists. It was expensive but worth the wait.

"Bank," I answered the Interface.

I needed another 800 points before I could purchase the ship. An army of droids would make things a lot easier. The Interface awarded him for doing things, which sounded obvious now that he thought about it. It had told me to put on a good show. I had been too distracted to really pay attention to everything. If I was to put on a show it meant that there was someone watching.

It would be a smart idea to see what the viewers wanted.

I had plans to start working on spreading my name to create some clout to make my challenge worth something. Some random Mandalorian strolling up to their leader and demand a duel would at the very least be laughed out of the room and, mostly likely, shot. There should be plenty of opportunities to see what the viewers wanted.

~

Anakin made sure that we all knew today was the Boonta Eve Classic. He also convinced his mother, me, and our three visitors to watch it. I sprang for some VIP seating, which meant we had our own little elevated box to watch the race. The executive cave had a few screens around the room that displayed all of the major action points. Thankfully, it was enclosed and had air conditioning. The temperature didn't bother Anakin or Shmi since they had lived on Tatooine for years and had adjusted to the heat while I was fine with my armor keeping my body temperature nice and comfy. Qui-Gon, Jar-Jar, and Padme were not so lucky. I didn't particularly like the Gungan, but that didn't stop me from feeling sorry for him. A planet like this was not the place for an amphibian.

What novelty there was from meeting Qui-Gon had gotten old fast. Every conversation with him turned into subtle gestures, unspoken information, and it was annoying. Granted, I wasn't the most talkative person around. When I did speak, I preferred it to be about something rather than just hints. Though watching him pretend he didn't know Padme was the Queen was funny. She was constantly exasperated by everything the older Jedi did. They could pass for parent and child if I didn't know any better.

Watching Anakin attempt to flirt with Padme. His pure energy and intent seemed to win her over a little by little. I did my best to focus on anything else than what was coming. The race played out mostly the same. Sebulba won without Anakin there to be actual competition. I didn't place any bets on the race. My preferred method of gambling was a game of cards. The system I had in place was an easy one. Place some money aside for the sole purpose of gambling. Treat it like the funds are used 'buying' the time with said money. Anything I walk away with is a bonus.

We caught a glance of Watto as we all walked away. He didn't look like he had just lost everything, that was good for him. Anakin had sold Watto the pod-racer that he had built for a tidy profit. The Toydarian was considering backing his own racer in the next competition. I earned a bit of goodwill from Shmi when I shot down the idea of Anakin being his racer.

• Flag Avoided+100 Forge Points

• Balance: 300 FP

• Roll – Bank – Shop

It was incredibly tempting to Roll. I guess there was another sort of gambling that I liked.

"We're leaving in the morning," I told Qui-Gon. "Tell me when you make it back to your ship. I'd like to know if you run into the other blade in my vision."

"It was good to meet you," Qui-Gon nodded. "I hope the Force guides us to meet once again."

"Your majesty," I bowed to Padme.

"How did you know?" Padme's eyes went wide.

"It's a gift," I said. "I don't plan on fighting a war for someone else. You've got my information if you need a mercenary, bodyguard, or someone to stand behind you and look menacing."

Padme flashed a nervous smile. Jar-Jar moved to take her. He looked at me expectantly. I made an effort to avoid the Gungan for the time. It was the perfect time to tell him to jettison himself into space. Seeing a hyper frogman giving me water-puppy eyes made the words dissolve before they reached my lips.

"Jar-Jar," I said, then took a long pause. "Stay alive."

Jar-Jar nodded so hard his ears flapped against the side of his head. I couldn't think of anything more. Our groups split as they left town. Anakin watched them go until they faded from view. He didn't whine or beg for them to stay. Good kid.

"Why did you call her, your majesty?" Anakin asked once we were back in the ship.

"The planet Naboo is in trouble," I explained. "The Queen, her guard, and two Jedi were able to break through a blockade to get help. Their ship was damaged in the escape, and they had to stop somewhere for repairs. The Queen has handmaidens that she can switch places with for protection. She switched places to keep an eye on Qui-Gon."

"Padme is a Queen?" Anakin said in awe.

"Don't give up, Anakin," I patted the kid on the shoulder. "Love has overcome many challenges."

We settled in for a brief rest while the crowd from the races. Tonight, the two were going to go around to say their goodbyes. I had also tasked Shmi with gathering intel on slavers in the area. Nothing dangerous, just which groups weren't attached to large crime organizations, and who needed a few lasers to the back of the head. We would leave tonight if they finished before it got too late.

My comm chimed. The signal went through to my helmet. I had the option to take it privately or broadcast. This time, I let it play for the others to hear.

"Go ahead," I said.

"This is Qui-Gon," his voice came out tired and pained. "Your vision was correct. The Sith attacked on the journey back."

"Any casualties," I asked.

"No," Qui-Gon replied. "The Force was with us."

"Glad you're alive," I said. "Try to stay that way."

"May the Force be With You," Qui-Gon said.

"You as well," I said as I ended the connection.

"They made it!" Anakin hopped around the open space of the lounge.

Shmi watched him with a soft smile.