Star Forge - Chapter 20

I waited as the Commandos thawed out. Thankfully, it was an automated process so there wasn't a chance I would mess it up. The consoles all looked very advanced. A little voice in my head was certain that pressing the wrong button could turn them all into pools of goo.

There was a nearby area that was one-part medical office, and one-part locker room. They would go through an exam to test their mental and physical acuity, then move on to get geared up. Armor and weapons were stored in a connecting room.

It was not a fast process which gave me time to really get my thoughts in order. These commandos were supposed to be loyal to me. I had chosen the Sith species to get some varied genetic material and to not be so alone in this galaxy. It wasn't a lot, but there was a little pressure in the back of my head that reminded me constantly that I was the last of my kind. Like some unconscious biological imperative to continue the species.

I watched as they moved in a slow, steady pace. Their legs wobbled as they got out of the pods. The distance in their eyes cleared the longer they were awake. Nearby medical droids put them through a succinct exam before moving on to the next. I had missed the door to the shower area in the locker room. Each commando came out looking refreshed before they got dressed.

All twenty-seven of them were awake and standing before me before too long. They had all assembled in tidy rows waiting. The troopers ranged from a few inches taller than I was to an inch or so short. I guess was average for my species.

"Welcome back," I said once everyone was aware. "Big news first, we are currently over three thousand years in the future. As far as I know, we're the last of our species. The name Sith is now associated with evil wizard monsters. From now on, we're going by Reytt to avoid issues." I paused. "Questions?"

I continued once it was clear no one was going to speak.

"As it stands," I said. "I am a Mandalorian mercenary with the goal of being a multi-planet warlord. The galaxy is heading toward yet another war and we need to be ready. You are free to go out in search of your own destiny, after you provide a genetic sample. We will be cloning tech to increase out numbers. Unless otherwise requested, the new generations will be raised as Mandalorians." I paused again. "Are any of you Force Sensitive?"

"No, sir," came the full reply.

"That proves you're not mute," I muttered. "Before we start, do you have any grievances you want to express?" I waited again. "Introduce yourselves. My name is Kiskin Aurelian, you may call me Kiskin or Sir, if you wish."

The introductions took at least half an hour. Each commando had a callsign that seemed to double as their name. They only had vague memories of their life before being thawed. Most of which consisted of their training and a few missions they had run as a squad. They all could fill at least two rolls. A scout could also be a medic, a mechanic could fill in for demolitions, and so on.

I gave them the freedom to choose where they slept now that space wasn't an issue. They went with individual rooms rather than the crew bunks. The fact that they each had their own armor, weapons, and tools of the trade was a bit of a shock for me. They were located in an attached chamber on their cryo-pods that I had thought was a decorative flair. The armor was matte-gray and looked rather basic with only the helmet standing out. Its coloring and shape made the piece of armor literally look like a bucket.

No doubt about it, they needed an upgrade.

Aurek, Besh, and Cresh each led a squad of nine commandos with the option to split further into trios as needed. Besh was female with Aurek and Cresh were male. I didn't know if it was due to them being commandos, but they lacked the common facial piercings. Though the annoying face-tentacle-bone things were more present. I preferred mine to be subtle, at least they weren't constrained to the selection available from the character creation of SWTOR.

We needed to run a couple of smaller missions together before we went on anything big. More importantly, I needed to introduce them to my crew.

+100
[One Is the Loneliest Number]
+100
[No Man is an Island]
[Roll – Bank – Shop]

ROLL.

[COST: 100 FP]
[ENHANCEMENT: Actually Strong]
[The miners of Apatros wish they possessed a musculature like the one that makes up your form. Tendons like steel, knotted muscle over more knots, endurance to hold a Cortosis jack for a day and walk away comfortably. Bending rods or crushing a ship's black box are two of the few things you can’t do with the raw strength in your hands. Throwing similarly large individuals, breaking a droid in two or searing sheets of a more regular steel are all perfectly doable. Your constitution is similarly boosted. Stave of illness, heal a broken bone in a week or breath in dusted ore for years without too much of a problem.]

Nice. PURCHASE.

[Balance: 1200 Forge Points]

A lance of pain shot through my skull. I fell to my knees, my vision going white.

[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[Reticulating Splines]
[Patch Notes]
[System Error Identified and Corrected. Initial Roll cost corrected from 100 Forge Points to 0. A One-Time free roll has been unlocked to compensate for this error]
[Administrator/User Communication deactivated]
[Reduced Ad Breaks]
[The Shop has been restocked with a variety of interesting skills]

[ROLL]

[COST: FREE]
[ITEM: Weapon Modification Kit]
[So many weapons, so many options. And that's not just talking about how many there are, as there are just as many modifications you can add to them. This workstation is chock full of various weapon modifications for numerous kinds of weapons, as well as the tools needed to manufacture your own. If you want to give your favorite rifle a powerful scope, or increase the spread of your  shotgun, this is the choice for you.]

I blinked the stars out of my vision. If that was how a 'system update' felt then I was fine with its current functionality. Someone helped me to my feet. They were talking, but the words were jumbled to my ears. Before I knew it I was sitting in front of the medical droid in the cave under the mansion. I really needed to name this place. It was obviously modelled after the Bat-Cave. The name was fitting even if there weren't any bats.

Either the medical droid gave me a sedative, or I passed out. Regardless, I woke up a little while later to find my crew and the lead trio of the commandos waiting.

"Introductions are in order," I said as I started to sit up. The world didn't suddenly tilt at a random angle, so I took that as a good sign.

"We've met," Bo cut me off. "I thought you were the last of your kind?"

"I thought I was too," I replied. "Then they showed up like everything else in this place."

My crew and the others stared at me for a long, silent moment.

"Shabla Force," Bo muttered. "What was this they said about clones?"

"Using cloning tech to help jumpstart place in the galaxy," I answered.

"I'll see if my people have information," Bo said.

"I was going to contact Kamino," I replied.

"They're good, but work in bulk orders," Bo shook her head. "You're going for genetic diversity and longevity of your species, not thousands of the same source."

"True," I sighed. "Thanks."

"Remember that when you see my bill," Bo called as she walked away.

I turned back to face the rest of my crew and the trio of commandos. Anakin was staring at the three with unchecked curiosity. Adyan wasn't present, probably flying the ship. Mette kept attempting to take sly glances at them. Shmi, as always, was giving me a very stern glare.

"I set them up with personal quarters," I said quickly.

"Yes," Shmi nodded. "Before telling me about it."

"I hope you've met the steward," I motioned to Shmi while addressing the trio.

They nodded. Besh had the audacity to grin at my struggle.

"I will need to recount the supplies," Shmi said sternly. "As well as crew rotation for the ship."

"Logistics can help with that," Cresh answered.

"Thank you," Shmi's voice turned into honey and sunshine when she spoke to the commando.

"Why does he get Momma Shmi while I get Overlord Shmi?" I did not whine.

"Cresh has been polite and helpful," Shmi replied giving the Reytt in question a bright smile. "You have been a pain in my-"

"Mom!" Anakin cut in.

"We'll talk after I've had my coffee," Shmi warned as she walked away.

"Introducing her to coffee was a mistake on my part," I muttered.

"You seem to make a lot of those," Aurek commented.

"I liked you better when you were an ice cube," I shot an annoyed look at him.

"Lady Kryze mentioned you had a job coming up," Besh said. "We'll be looking at your plans."

"Much appreciated," I told the woman.

We made our way to the planning area. The holographic map of the strip of islands was already waiting for us. There were a few notations on it that hadn't been there before for possible points of entry, marked defensive locations, and a few crude drawings to round things out.

"You need to contact the Queen," Besh said as she studied the map of the islands. "Do I need to tell you to do it covertly?"

"I'm not that much of an idiot," I muttered.

"If she doesn't mind you killing the Hutt, then you're good to go," Besh continued. "If not, then we need to consider taking her out as well."

"I was hoping to avoid that," I said.

"We aren't just here to look pretty," Cresh added. "This are certain situations that we are specifically trained to handle."

"Is the snark a genetic thing, or did that a special edition thing?" I mumbled. "Maybe a batch defect?" I shook my head. "This was something I had already considered. Bo was making checking for connections."

"We are going to need our own information network," Aurek said. "This Hutt you're after should have a couple of resources worth looting." He paused. "The Queen could be an asset. I'll look into it."

"We'll meet back here once we have that information," I said. "Did you already get a tour?"

"Lady Shmi was kind enough, yes," Besh replied.

"Did you know we have a pool?" Anakin said.

I furrowed my brow for just a moment. It occurred to me that Anakin had been here this entire time. The weight of guilt settled on my shoulders.

"I did not," I turned my full attention to Anakin. "Did you want to show me?"

"Yes," he said quickly, then his shoulders slumped. "Mom said I couldn't have more pool time until I finished my numbers."

"All right," I nodded. "Let's get your numbers done then."

"You're going to do my assignment?" Anakin asked in a mixture of hopeful confusion.

"You wish," I chuckled. "I'm going to help you with your work."

"Oh," his shoulders slumped for a brief moment. "Are you any good?"

"Let's find out," I shrugged motioning him to lead the way. "We'll talk later."

"Sir," the three commandos said in unison.