"I thought you said these things were friendly!"
May fired a rain of plasma into the forest, trees, and foliage ignited to create a firewall. The flame bought them time, a break from the hoard of monstrous teddies.
"I figured they would worship Ultron, like they did with C3-P0," Dan grit his teeth, fully repaired armor locked onto the life signs around them. "I didn't expect them to attack en masse!"
The Ewoks had gotten a single look at the silver A.I. before they grabbed up arms and sought their visitors' heads. An impolite response, from Dan's point of view.
"Should I commence carpet bombing of the surface?"
"What! No, just bring the ship around, we'll leave," Dan shook his head at Ultron's overreaction. "The valuable parts of this system are the other planets anyways."
"Arf arf!"
Bear leapt up and intercepted a shoddy spear. Snapped between his jaws, it fell to the ground like a toy.
"Good boy Bear," May patted the pup's head. "Now gather up your Brother, it's time to go."
Bear yapped his agreement and chased Stormy up the ramp of the ship. Dan and May followed, with Ultron the last to enter. The hatch closed on a rain of stone arrows and wooden lances, the cries of Ewoks blocked by smooth metal walls.
"Fuzzy little monsters..." May opened her suit to release a burst of steam. "I wonder why they hated Ultron so much?"
"Who knows," Dan slumped to the ground. "Let's finish our work in this system and move on to Tython."
"What's left to do?" May tilted her head. "I thought this was a quick stop?"
"We don't have to do anything," Dan turned to Ultron. "You have to set up a drone fabricator in the system." A grin spread over his face. "This place has enough resources to build a death star, we're going to strip it clean before the Empire even comes to be!'
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"The current drones are enough to finish the work," Ultron walked up to Dan and May. "We can leave at any time..."
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A static pop echoed throughout the ship. Merlyn tumbled from the air, Anakin in hand. The old man wanted to test his magic across vast distances, a success.
"Let me go, you old goat!"
Anakin struggled without success to wrestle free of Merlyn's gnarled hands.
"QUIET, boy," Merlyn gave Anakin a shake. "We've arrived, now behave yourself!"
"Stupid wizard..."
Dumped onto the ground, the sandy-haired boy rubbed his bottom. Dan shook his head, hand raised against Merlyn's next words.
"Let's get going, I want to make our next stop ahead of schedule."
If they visited all the planets in Tython, they would be at nine total for the quest. After that, only a final planet remained before the reward.
"This child is incorrigible," Merlyn snorted as he lowered his bones into a padded bench. "If it wasn't for his mother, I'd toss him into space!"
'Yeah, yeah," Dan waved the complaint away. "Ultron, take us up, next stop, Tython!"
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The system opened before them. Eleven planets, seven of which had a habitable atmosphere. Tython, the birthplace of the Je'daii order, precursors to the modern Jedi. Its history was long, steeped in shadows and betrayal.
Dan didn't care about that. He had eyes for only the third planet from the sun. Nox, a world so rich in valuable minerals that to remove it all would reduce the planet to nothing.
"Where to first," May leaned close to the viewport. "That green one looks interesting!"
"We can go in whatever order you like," Dan smiled at her before he turned to Ultron. "Same deal as in the Endor system, establish a base and set up drone production, this time on that planet."
Ultron followed his gesture to the toxic-brown world of Nox. He nodded and swept off the bridge, eyes bright.
"Let's go, I found the place I want to start," May zoomed in on the scanner, locked onto the fourth world. "This place has giant crystals and underground jungles!"
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Krev Coeur. Dan knew little to nothing about it, beyond its name. The surface was a wasteland, covered in crystalline spires. The real point of interest lay below. A diverse ecosystem, all hidden under the planet's surface.
"How do we get into the caves?" May bounced in place. "The scans show a bunch of animal life!"
"I think the best bet is to land on the surface and walk to a cave entrance," Dan looked at the map. "We don't have too many clear spots big enough for the ship."
"The boy and I will go to the fifth planet," Merlyn hefted up a reluctant Anakin. "That place smells of magic and brimstone!"
A pop was all that remained, the wizard no doubt already on the world in question. The titular world of the system, planet Tython, was a place Dan planned to avoid. A nexus in the greater force, it drove non-force users mad.
"Take us down, Ultron," Dan smiled at Anakin's misfortune. "Let's see these hidden jungles!"
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"These crystals look familiar..."
A vast forest of glass spread out around them, baby blue with hints of white. They covered almost every inch of the red rock that made up this world, sculptures that most would never see.
"They're beautiful," May danced under the shade of one of the monoliths. "We should make something like this at home!"
"These formations are almost identical in properties to the fortress," Ultron inspected a fallen shard. "And our home already has something like this, little miss."
"It does?"
"Yes, the local fauna, a humanoid ursine creature, sculpt crystal art that is very like these pillars," Ultron passed the fragment to a drone. "If these prove viable, we may wish to set up a mine here. They can be converted to crystal tech, once Jor-El opens the database to us."
"Fine, do whatever," Dan rolled his eyes. "We're heading down into the caves."
Ultron and Jor-EL did not see eye to eye. The kryptonian intelligence wanted Dan to earn the information hidden in the databanks, while Ultron wanted it for himself.
It didn't matter to Dan if Jor-El wanted to test him, his bloodline would be enough to carry him in the future. The technology of any universe was a bonus, unnecessary, but welcomed.
"Keep in contact," Ultron nodded, eyes on the crystal fields. "And try not to blow up your suit this time..."