“This should be the last of them,” May closed her eyes and connected to the Starforge once more. “Internal sensors show this is the last lifesign, besides the captives gathered in the cargo holds by the droids.”
“Alright, let’s wrap this up…” Dan squinted through the walls of the station, to meet the gaze of yet another Sith assassin. None of these dark force users had been willing to join, judged as guaranteed traitors by Venom’s clones. “Once we’ve moved the Starforge, I want to begin producing vessels to use in the future conflict.”
The halls blurred around him, a rush of metal that brought Dan face to face with a startled Sith. A flick of his wrist touched a single knuckle to the fellows forehead, a blow that robbed him of his consciousness. Venom sent a clone into the man, but soon returned.
“This one has also been tainted, corrupted by the uncleansed Starforge’s will,” Venom whispered into Dan ear as the clone merged back into the whole. “We cannot trust him.”
“We’ll need to go through the rest of the crew, but I imagine it won’t be any better amongst the regular soldiers.” Dan sighed as a wash of blue connected his eyes to the fallen Sith. He wouldn’t risk followers who harboured thoughts of true betrayal. Maul was the closest he had to that, but the man had a pragmatic view of their relationship. He would betray Dan, but only if he judged himself strong enough to kill him.
“Another one, huh?” May rounded the corner behind him and shook her head. “We could try and rehabilitate them…”
“Maybe with the regular people,” Dan shrugged his shoulders and waved to the ashen remains. “These force users have the potential to do real damage to others, and I won’t be running a prison for superpowered enemies.”
“I get that,” May sighed and cleansed the ground with a simple spell. “It just seems wasteful… there aren't that many Force sensitive people, so every one we can recruit is a nice bonus.”
Dan nodded. May was right, every Force sensitive was a potential Wizard. With Merlyn’s magic system, Force users had an even greater role to play than before. One day, Dan hoped to have enough samples to create genesis born Force users, but that would take time. Ultron laid the groundwork with his bio-drone experiments, but eventually Dan would take on the project himself.
“I know, but we’ll have the time to search the galaxy before we leave,” Dan clasped May’s hand and smiled. “We can scoop up as many Jedi, untrained innates, and Force sensitive children as possible.”
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“I can probably work out a spell to find them, if we’re within a certain range…” May tapped her chin, lost in her own world. “I would have to combine Merlyn’s tracking spell with a few custom tweeks, but it can be done!”
Dan smiled as May continued to monologue her inner thoughts, an outline to a spell that would locate any Force sensitives within a star system. Dan guided them down the corridors, toward the central control room in the station's depths. It was time to move-shop and start production. They would need countless vessels and HK units, if they wanted to hold onto any ground they won with raw power.
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A brilliant flash of light and a massive space station ripped free of hyperspace. The Starforge emerged as close as it could to the star, a lifeless system within the boundaries of the Killik’s territories. Dan settled back as May directed the station forward, into position to drain the power of the sun.
“Pleased Statement: I have completed the design of my upgraded form,” HK-47 walked into the control room and transmitted a bust of data to Dan’s symbiote. The design matched the changes to the droid's own body, completed through the efforts of Venom’s clone, but left his exterior essentially unchanged. “Hopeful Query: When can we begin production of further drones?”
“Immediately,” Dan transmitted the data to May, for input into the Starforge’s databases. “I also want you to design another droid, one that can be made using more conventional technology.”
Dan projected the image of a rather bland, featureless humanoid. Broad of shoulder and seven and a half feet tall, it had inbuilt plasma weapons and a casing designed to withstand heavy punishment. Capable of flight and equipped with a set of powerful energy shields, they would be beyond most forces in the galaxy.
“I want to create standard forge worlds to create these war droids,” Dan dispelled the hologram and sent the related files to HK-47. “I want you to limit the creation of your personal drones to half the available space on the Starforge and prioritise the creation of these disposable units after you reach the target numbers.”
“Reluctant Affirmation: I will do as you command, but these lesser machines…”
“We can only take so much back with us, no more than what we can squeeze into the Starforge,” Dan raised his hand to silence the droid's complaints. “”I’ll need room for the other forces we may recruit, once we return home, you can replicate as much as you like.”
“Contemplative Agreement: Understood… I will prioritise refining these designs and deliver them to Mistress May,” HK tilted his head. “Hopeful Query: Have you decided on the fates of the imprisoned Sith? I would be most willing to dispatch the tedious meatbags… fleshy, mucus filled creatures have no place on such a glorious machine as the Starforge!”
“We’ll pack them onto the first drone transports that come off the line,” Dan sighed at HK’s casual distaste for organic life. He and Ultron would get along quite well, no doubt there. “We’ll let the Killik’s turn them into Joiners, that way they’re guaranteed to be loyal and we don’t have to waste resources.”
“Resigned Agreement: Very well, but I hope they’re the first to the lines,” HK gave a short bow of his neck and walked from the command chamber. He paused in the doorway and turned back. “They are of unremarkable stock, not fit for service or domestication.”
Dan laughed out loud as the droid left the room. He wasn’t necessarily wrong, from a certain point of view. These Sith were often petty minded and power hungry. Driven by greed and motivated by fear, they had much to unlearn before Dan could consider them qualified. They would be given a fair chance in battle, but he suspected none would earn the right to travel back home.
“Alright,” A clap of his hands drew May and Revan’s attention. “Now that everything is ready, it’s time we took the first look at our enemies’ forces…”