Star Forge - Chapter 8

Half an hour later I emerged from my Warehouse. My research provided me with less information than I wanted. The various aliens from Mass Effect had been blended in among the standard Star Wars setting. From what I could tell, there were no blue Twi'leks, they had been replaced by Asari. There had to be more of them rather than a simple replacement. Closest I could think would be that it was a way to easily integrate the species into the setting without causing too many issues. The culture was the same, only not as prolific. Their home-world had replaced some barren rock. The Krogan had replaced some Gamorreans throughout the galaxy. Similar to the Asari, they were also placed among the population. The Genophage wasn't a thing here, so there were considerably more of them than the other transplanted aliens. Quarians hadn't changed all that much. They were still a migrant fleet, but the general consensus was that they were basically Jawa that spoke basic and were more interested in ships that could be added to their fleet than random junk. Turians were the hardest to pin down. They appeared to just be scattered across the galaxy. Salarians took after the Asari, except they replaced some Duros rather than Twi'lek. There was a distinct lack of Geth, Collectors, and Rachni. I was glad that the last two weren't going to be an issue. The Geth not being around made me wonder how they explained the Quarian Flotilla. I could see the logic of it. Adding a sentient species of the equivalent of droids would make things much more complicated than needed. I couldn't find any mention of Element Zero, Mass Relays, or Biotics, but the Asari were known as a Force Sensitive species.

The main thing I took away from the research was that the Main Characters from Mass Effect didn't exist here. Some plot-points for the various species had been integrated into the local lore. Most of the tech had been adjusted too. The new planets were placed in galaxies that matched their level of shininess. Thessia, the Asari homeworld, was located in the Core while Tuchanka, the Krogan Homeworld, was on the Outer Rim. The tech from Mass Effect wasn't nearly as sleek and had been modified to fit with the Star Wars aesthetic.

It appeared that the new additions were the only cross-over elements so far. Not exactly a subtle change, but I wouldn't need to worry about stumbling into Commander Shepard or running afoul of Saren. The 'producers' said they weren't going to add the Reapers. I really hoped they didn't change their mind about that.

"Are you ok?" Anakin asked bounding over to me.

"Thanks, kid," I nodded.

"I knocked on your door," Anakin whispered. "You didn't answer. I thought you were mad at me."

I knelt down and pulled him into a hug. Anakin stiffened.

"I'm not mad," I replied. "I just needed some time to get my helmet sitting right."

He leaned back to study my helmet.

"It looks fine," he shrugged.

"To get my thoughts in order," I clarified.

"Oohhh," Anakin nodded sagely. "Are you going to paint your armor?"

The sudden jump in topic took me a moment. I looked down at my armor. A couple of blaster marks and some abrasions gave it character. The broad patch of bare Beskar on my chest and the marks from Maul's lightsaber went beyond that. I didn't want to look too clean, but right now I was just ragged.

"I could use a touch up," I chuckled.

"Can I help?" Anakin asked.

"Sure," I waved for him to follow me.

We returned once more to the workbench in the cargo area. Luckily, painting the armor didn't require anything special. Tracking down an Armorer for a paintjob would have been annoying. I closed the door to the cargo area and began to remove my armor. Anakin watched as I carefully powered down each piece before taking it off. I worked in silence, turning the act into something of a ceremony. It didn't take long until I was in my black undersuit which was basically a compression shirt and pants that blended together so that it looked like a single piece of clothing. It was surprisingly comfortable.

"Are you going to paint it blue again?" Anakin asked.

"I don't think so," I replied.

I paused. My voice sounded weird without the modulator from my helmet.

"There is a group that call themselves Death Watch," I explained. "They claim to be Mandalorians and wear blue armor. I don't want people to think I'm part of them."

"Then what are you going to do?" He asked.

"The color of armor is important," I answered. "It tells others what you consider important and what you strive to uphold." I paused to make sure he was listening. "These colors, blue and gold, represent reliability and vengeance."

"Why vengeance?" Anakin asked.

"The message was in the combination," I explained. "The blue means that you can count on me to make sure things are handled in the best of my ability. Gold would mean making sure people get what they deserve or rebuilding something that has been lost."

"You don't want to do that anymore?" Anakin asked, his eyes were locked onto my armor.

"I need to adjust my goals," I said. "There are more problems in the galaxy beyond restoring Mandalore. Something big is on the horizon. It would be pointless to rebuild the Mandalorians only for us to get wiped out."

Anakin's mouth dropped at my words.

"But… you're a Mandalorian," he said. "They're the toughest people in the galaxy."

I knelt down and began to search through the tools stored under the workbench. It didn't take long to find the colors that I wanted.

"What are they?" Anakin asked.

"Black and red," I replied. "Black for justice, red to honor my parents. Rather, justice for my heritage. It's closer to my original intent and expands on the concept."

"Wizard," Anakin whispered.

"Grab a couple of masks," I told him. "We don't want to breath in the fumes."

"Do you think I could get my own armor?" Anakin asked as he started his search.

"We'll see," I replied.

"That means no," he grumbled.

"No," I chuckled. "It means we will see. You might change your mind in a couple of years, and I don't want you to feel obligated."

"Oh," his voice echoed from inside the locker he was searching. "Ok."

"I will do my best to guide and teach you," I said. "It's up to you to decide how much you carry on through your life."

"Huh?" Anakin hurried back over to me holding out a respirator mask.

"Your mother," I nodded my thanks as I took the mask. "She teaches you what's right and what's wrong."

He nodded.

"It's your choice on how you act when she's not around," I continued.

Anakin scrunched his eyebrows in thought. He nodded again after a moment.

"Red with black highlights and accents," I said. "Do you want to paint the bracers?"

"Yeah!" He cheered.

"We'll start with a layer of black as a base," I said as I assembled the paint sprayer.

~

The newly painted armor looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself. As planned, red was the main color with accents of black. I meant it as a statement of intent. Honor the old ways and aim to restore Mandalore to what it should be. This also meant taking care of Death Watch along with attempting to bring the pacifists into the fold. If nothing else, I would work to reestablish what it meant to be a Mandalorian.

I used the classic Mythosaur skull in place of a Clan Crest. It was painted gold, for vengeance, and placed on my left pauldron. I can admit, it was a bit over the top, but no one ever accused Mandalorians of being subtle. The Darksaber and the Mask of Mandalore were proof enough of that. Owning both artifacts would be undeniable proof that I was worthy. It was tempting, but I had no idea where to even start looking for the Mask. Pre Vizsla had the Darksaber which meant it would be mine soon enough.

It felt like I was myself again once I had the armor back on. Anakin bounced with barely contained energy as I got everything into place. I let him help a little, which seemed to appease him for now. Shmi and I needed to talk about his future. I didn't save her from a horrible future simply to ignore her.

My helmet let out a little hiss as it connected to the rest of my suit. The internal air-system cycled through a couple of times to check for leaks. I opened the valves as to not waste the reservoir. It would slowly fill up from the ambient oxygen and automatically activate if I found myself in an area without breathable air. Poison, smoke, and ash required manual activation.

There were three messages waiting for me once my HUD booted up.

• [COST: Free]

• [ITEM: Sabaac Deck]
  [A Sabaac Deck. Sabaac is one of the most popular card games in this galaxy, having players from the miners of Apatros to the halls of power for both of the current galactic states. A sabaac deck comprised a number of face cards (including the Idiot, the Queen, the Evil One, and the Star) and four suits of fifteen pip cards (Flasks, Sabers, Staves, and Coins). The face value of the cards changes at random in play but are locked as soon as the cards were placed on the sabaac tables suspension field. This in particular makes Sabaac a complex and unpredictable game, as a potential winning hand could turn into a losing one if not used at the right moment.]

• [COST: Free]

• [ITEM: Bio-Foam Injectors]
  You’re not always going to have a medic on hand when you’re deep behind enemy lines. If you happen to say, end up getting a collapsed lung or end up getting a hole in your side the size of a half-dollar coin, you need a way to be patched up immediately. Along the entire suit you have a series of injectors that when a large wound is detected needles immediately pierce the skin and inject bio-foam to ensure that the wearer can be held together for some additional time as a temporary measure, at least until they can make it to an actual medical facility to receive proper care. Something is better than nothing, right?]

• [COST: Free]

• [ITEM: Mining Facility]
  Sometimes, civilizations are held back by the need for more resources, which they can only find by leaving their home world. What you have here is extremely useful, as this asteroid-based mining facility will deliver large amounts of resources straight to your Warehouse. From aluminum to titanium to even uranium, these monthly shipments are filled with enough resources that you should have enough to build a frigate within three months. Of course, the rarer materials will be in a lower amount than the more common ones.]

I felt a tingle along my skin as the bio-foam injectors integrated into my undersuit. That would have been wonderful before the fight on Naboo. Stranger still, I felt the aftershock as the Mining Facility connected to my Warehouse. It wasn't so much added as another room as the Droid Factory and Hangar. More like a new dock area for deliveries appeared along one of the walls. My armor clacked a little as I shivered.

"What was that?" Anakin asked.

"Nothing important," I said, once again grateful that my helmet hid my expression. "Let's see how much longer we have."

Even after my time in the Warehouse researching the changes and repainting my armor had only taken a few hours. We still had the better part of the day before we even hit Hyperspace. I hadn't spent nearly enough time teaching Mette about droids. Well, that would pass some time.

"Mette," I called as I stepped into the lounge area.

Mette stiffened and put down the data pad she was reading. The Asari, that was still an adjustment, perked up at her name. Her eyes went wide as she actually looked at me.

"You changed," she said, then clapped her hands over her mouth.

"You're not in trouble," I shook my head a little. "The paint was beyond saving and it was time for a change."

"Ok," she whispered. "You called me?"

Mette hopped up from the couch and skipped over to me. Shmi had adjusted some of the clothes that Mette and Adyan had brought from the compound. One pair of the parachute pants was enough to alter into a decent dress and shawl. We were definitely going to need to get her real clothes once we were on Alderaan. At least she was smart enough to leave the shawl off while she worked on the droids.

"Did you want to learn some more about droids?" I asked.

"Uh," she scrunched her mouth in thought.

Damn, she was adorable.

"Is there something else you want to learn?" I asked.

"I want to learn how to fight," she said looking up at me like I would reprimand her.

"Follow me," I said waving her to follow.

I led her to the cargo hold. Anakin followed as well. Teaching him to shoot a blaster without Shmi present was just asking for trouble. Still, the barely contained energy that was coming off of him told me he wouldn't be content to just watch.

"Anakin," I said. "Ask your mother to join us."

He zipped away without a word.

"We'll start with blasters first," I said as I strolled over to a cabinet.

It chirped as I got closer and opened on its own. A few rows of blasters and knives of various sizes were lined up neatly inside. She needed a blaster that was light to start with, but something that would still work. I was planning on lowering the power output to prevent any damage to the ship. My HUD identified the weapons as I scanned the rack. It didn't take long to find something for her.

"This is a Relby-K23," I said as I removed a blaster from the rack. "It's popular among Bespin Security companies due to its variety of energy settings and easy repair." I held the blaster up for her to get a better look at it. "This switch is the power regulator. Right now, it is in the off position. From there it goes from Shock to Stun, then Base, and finally High. The first two settings are nonlethal." I adjusted the switch to Shock. "The blaster is now active."

She reached out to take it. I moved it out of her reach just a little. Mette pouted.

"Basic rules," I said sternly. "Treat every blaster as though it is loaded and set to lethal. Don't point the blaster at anything you don't intend to shoot." I adjusted my grip to show her how I held the weapon with my finger off of the trigger. "Do not rest your finger on the trigger. That's how people get shot on accident."

Mette stared at me for a long moment. She nodded. Shmi and Anakin joined us before she could take the blaster.

"Perfect timing," I said moving it out of her reach once more. "Mette, please tell Shmi and Anakin the basics of Blaster Safety."

Mette wrinkled her nose at me in frustration before she turned to the other two. She went over what I had told her. I went through the motions as she did.

"I would like to teach Anakin, and yourself, how to use a blaster," I said, my full attention on Shmi.

Shmi held me with an even gaze. After a moment, she nodded.

"Yipee!" Anakin yelled.

"We're taking turns," I told Anakin. "Mette, your mother, and finally, you."

"Why?" He whined.

"I want you to pay attention to what they do and how they learn before it's your turn," I explained. "We will stop once we hit Hyperspace."

I went through the other blasters I had for something suitable for Anakin and Shmi. There was another Relby-K23 for Shmi, I had three in total. That left a couple of blasters that looked like early versions Scout Trooper side-arms, one A-180 BlasTech, and a row of rifles. Unfortunately, the grip was too big for Anakin. I gave him the sole hold-out blaster I had. I took some time to arrange a few targets from random pieces of scrap. The metal wasn't the type to reflect a blaster, and the power was set low enough to prevent punching through.

"Now," I said as I got everything arranged. "Let's start with how you hold it."

We made it through the basics before Adyan joined us. She poked her head around the edge of the doorway to get a look at the noise.

"What are you doing?" Adyan asked between the blaster fire.

"Kiskin is teaching us how to shoot," Anakin said brightly. "Do you want to join?"

"I already know how," Adyan replied giving him a small smile.

"How much longer do we have?" I asked.

"Hours still," Adyan sighed. "Sub-light travel might feel faster, but it isn't."

"Where did you learn to shoot?" I asked.

"I wasn't always a slave," she replied with a bit of edge to her voice.

"Fair enough," I nodded.

I wasn't going to blame her for not trusting me yet, as I hadn't shown I trusted her.

"Well," I motioned to the others. "Want to help out? We'll stop before we hit Hyperspace."

"Sure," Adyan shrugged.

~

We made it to the Corellian Trade Spine without any issues. After all that time in the bacta-tank I didn't want to have to sleep. My body didn't get that message. By the time we finished shooting practice I was dead on my feet. I had the energy to tell the others I was going to my quarters, but not enough to go through the process of taking off my armor. It didn't matter. I was asleep as soon as I was horizontal.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but I woke up too soon for my taste. The helmet-comm chimed with a message.

"What?" I snapped as I opened the line.

"There's a message from Alderaan," Adyan replied.

There was something in her voice that made the aggravation fade.

"What type of message?" I asked.

"An open distress signal," Adyan answered. "Do you want me to send it through to you or do you want to watch it in the lounge?"

"Lounge," I grumbled.

There was a brief moment where I closed my eyes and willed the situation to vanish. Unfortunately, that kind of power was beyond me. I pushed myself to my feet and trudged out to the lounge where everyone had gathered. It struck me at that moment that I had slept in my armor. Not only that, but I also didn't have any sore muscles or tender spots from prolonged pressure. This stuff was awesome.

"Have you already played it?" I asked as I took a spot around the holo-projector.

"I did," Adyan replied. "We waited for you to show it to everyone."

I nodded, signaling her to play it. The light blue form of Senator Bail Organa appeared. He stood regal and tall but had bags under his eyes and scruff on his face.

"This is an open call for assistance," the Senator said. "The Killik scourge has returned. Their hives have appeared across the globe. Our peacekeepers and house guard forces are overwhelmed. We are requesting outside aide and will compensate those who assist handsomely."

His image was swapped out with a Killik drone. It looked like a large ant that was vaguely humanoid shape and size. The Killik had six legs, four of which were used as feet while the other two functioned as arms. If anything, they were kind of like an ant centaur, if that made any sense.

"This is a common Killik," his voice continued. "They are a sentient insectoid species with a hive mind that can reproduce at an alarming rate and have the ability to mentally dominate other species into becoming a Joiner through exposure to their pheromones."

The image swapped back to the senator.

"Due to this crisis, the planet is on lockdown," Senator Organa continued. "All ships on approach are to be redirected to an auxiliary space stations positioned around the planet. The stations have representatives that can further explain the situation for parties interested in assisting."

"It repeats from there," Adyan said as she cut the feed.

"So much for a vacation," I muttered.

"We're helping them, right?" Anakin asked.

Those puppy-dog eyes he gave me should be illegal.

"I am helping them," I clarified.

"But-" he stared.

"Pheromones exposure is airborne," I said before he could get started. "Last time I checked, I'm the only one with a set of sealed armor with its own air supply."

Anakin pouted. Shmi rubbed his back but shot me a grateful look.

"I could help," Mette chimed in.

"Do you have an air-tight suit you've been hiding?" I turned my attention to her.

"No," she mumbled.

"That settles it," I said cutting off any further disputes. "I know this wasn't what we wanted."

"Doubt the people of Alderaan wanted it," Adyan added.

"We'll head to the space station and get the details," I continued without acknowledging her comment. "If I can, I'll offer my services."

"What should we do?" Shmi asked.

"I've heard good things about Stewjon," I offered.

"We're not going to leave you!" Anakin yelled.

I knelt down to get on his level. After a moment, I unsealed my helmet and took it off. Mette and Adyan gasped as my face was exposed.

"Anakin," I said firmly, but without an edge. " The Senator said the Killik were all over the planet, I don't know how long this is going to take."

"No," Anakin crossed his arms and glared at me. "I'm not leaving you."

I gave him a gentle smile.

"I can't bring you with me yet," I said softly. "We'll compromise. Daily reports, if possible, and you'll come back after thirty days, local time. Regardless of the situation, I'll leave with you."

Anakin scrunched his face in thought. After a moment he gave a single nod. He lunged at me before I could stand, wrapping me in a hug. I put an arm around him to give him one back. There was a trick to hugging kids, only let go after they did. It's something small, but it is more important than you'd think.

"How much longer until we reach Alderaan?" I asked as I stood.

Anakin hadn't let go yet, so I scooped him up with my free arm. He rested his head on my shoulder. It probably wasn't comfortable, but he wasn't complaining.

"We've got a few more hours on the Corellian Trade Spine, then another two in sub-light," Adyan answered.

"Send a docking request when we're close to the space station," I said as I tucked my helmet under my other arm. "I need to spend some time with Anakin."

Adyan nodded then returned to the cockpit. Mette stared at the paused image of Senator Organa. She idly nibbled on one of her fingernails as she was lost in thought. Shmi put a supportive arm around her.

"So," I said as I took Anakin back to the cargo bay that had been arranged as an impromptu target ranger. "Do you want to hit each other with sticks?"

"What?" Anakin asked leaning back to look me in the face.

"Well," I teased. "You could call it lightsaber training, if you want, but hitting each other with sticks sounds like more fun."

"You'll let me use a lightsaber?" Anakin perked up.

"No," I shook my head. "We're going to use practice weapons for now."

He wiggled out of my arms and ran over to the cabinet with all the weapons. There were two practice blades among the blasters. They were full sized versions. He had to use both hands to carry one. I took the other one to test its weight. It had some heft to it. This was supposed to be a way to keep him distracted, not make him frustrated by reminding him how much he couldn't do yet.

"Anakin," I said, putting my helmet on a shelf.

Normally, I would have put my helmet back on. I wanted him to see my face and the expressions. He was a smart kid and would pick up on the various tones of my voice, but this was about showing I trusted him. He looked at me as he struggled with the sword.

"Grab me the hand-torch from the toolkit," I said.

Anakin shrugged but did as I asked. I took it, and his practice sword, over to the workbench. A few minutes later, and a careful application of the torch, I had shaved off a bit of weight. The weld was an eyesore, and it still had some heft to it, but it wasn't nearly as heavy as before.

"It's not pretty," I said as I handed it to him. "But it will do for now."

"That's fine," Anakin beamed at me. "I can still hit you with it."

"Show me what you've got kid," I said as I strode over to the center of the room.