Play Testers Wanted Pt. 16

I reached out and called in one of the larger herbivores for food. I drained the beast's life force, and afterward, HK butchered the carcass, and we had ourselves a little barbeque. While Kyanna prepped the meat with her portable spice rack, Aoki walked the perimeter with Whisper. I meditated to delve deeper into the balance and find the source of the rage Kyanna and I had experienced. Sure enough, the devs decided to add an emotional subroutine into anyone tapping into the Dark Side. It emulated the poisonous nature of that side of the Force. Kyanna, however, found her balance in cooking. Out in the real world, her family owned several restaurants and diners scattered across the west coast. They were originally from Baton Rouge, and thus the spicy stew she cobbled together from the meat and ingredients she kept in her inventory.

"Every world I reach, I make it a mandatory task to gather naturally occurring herbs, spices, or unknown plant life. I see what is toxic or not, taste test it, and viola Lehon Gumbo. It will be ready in a few hours, so you teleported to the Star Forge while we slept?" She asked, and I smiled.

"I can astral project," I replied. "I can send my spirit self across the galaxy and then recall my body when I reach my destination."

"Holy shit, Katria, when the hell did you pick up that little trick?" Kyanna exclaimed, and I broke down and regaled her with my adventures that were not all over the holonet. "You have been busy. So, where are we going?" She asked as she taste-tested the gumbo.

"While I was aboard the Star Forge, I picked up a background noise that I believe are GPS coordinates to something of importance here," I explained.

"Damn, something smells good," Aoki said as she and Whisper rejoined us. "Nothing out there, Master. I think all that lightning scared off anything and everything. So, what is the plan? Why are we out here?" Kyanna and I laughed as I repeated my time aboard the Star Forge. Then, Traci appeared, and she was smiling.

"You were right. Here," Traci said, and a holographic overlay of the atoll appeared. "It is volcanic though the area is stable now and shows no signs of geological disturbances. The lava tubes have been altered and form a network of tunnels beneath as well as this." She said, displaying a deep vertical shaft that was at least a hundred meters deep. "The sensors cannot penetrate any deeper. I guess that it leads to the original caldera and the source of an ancient eruption."

"We may have to bring the ship in and get the climbing gear if we go that deep," I said, thinking out loud. "Any signs of life?"

"Funny you should ask," Traci replied. "That early warning system I mentioned picked up an inbound ship. Its configuration matches a Republic corvette, defender class. It could not carry more than six crew." She paused for dramatic effect. "It just landed on top of our atoll."

"Have they detected us?" I asked, and Traci shrugged.

"The craft did not deviate in its path to the atoll. Odds are they were too focused on a safe landing." She offered. "I cannot be absolute."

"Good enough for me. After the gumbo, we take the bikes and get in close and see what they are up to." I said, and we settled down and watched the holonet. The only time I watched was back in the real world to see trending videos of gameplay. I rarely checked it out in-game. "Stupid," I exclaimed, and everyone looked in my direction. "How did I not know about this? All these opportunities and I have been out just bouncing around left to my own devices."

"Jeez, Katria just discovered the lunatic fringe." Aoki laughed. "Most of my guild missions I find from the holonet. Try and filter using your name and see what happens." I did. I entered my name and ID number to verify that it was the one and only Katria Forgemaster, and boom, dozens of offers to hire me. Some were crafting jobs, while others ranged from wet work or assassinations to multiplayer missions that needed a bit of muscle. I filtered further to isolate just the crafting offers. Some of the drawings were bare-bones with great possibilities, while others looked like CAD drawings done by professionals that wanted my name attached to their design. While the gumbo cooked, I picked out a few lightsaber designs that caught my fancy.

"Look at this," I said, displaying a crude drawing. "What do you think, Kyanna?"

"Organic, maybe wood and a little metal on the exterior. I like the roughness of it. Hold on a sec. Yes, I still have a few pieces of bark from an ironwood tree from Telos III. With some help from a few other Jedi guardians, I managed to route out and destroy a Sith cult. They were pretty damn sick. They were capturing natives and killing them in strange Sith rituals." I accepted the wood, activated my portable crafting table, and went to work. I kept most of the natural shape and texture of the wood to form the outer casing. I did sand and buff it to bring out the raw beauty and natural patterns.

After checking the blade emitter and focusing crystal, I stamped the interior with my logo and assembled the weapon. Along with a few metal rings to enhance its strength and integrity, I had that done in no time at all. I already had several lightsaber guts assembled for my use, so it was just a matter of finding the best match for the casing. I even had a violet Vorpalite crystal to use since she requested a purple blade.

"Another satisfied customer." I chuckled as I completed the transfer. I sent half the payment to Kyanna for the critical component to make it possible.

"Holy... that is one hell of a profit." She exclaimed. "If you ever get bored, you could settle down and earn a fortune just making things. Here," Kyanna said as she handed me a bowl of gumbo.

"You said guild contracts," I said between spoonfuls of the succulent stew. "Not Jedi?"

"No, to be able to take up your teachings, I severed my ties with the Order," she said and smiled. "I have no regrets."

"I have been thinking about the origins of the Kaiburr crystals," I replied as I took a swig from my canteen. "I need to access a Holocron library. Of course, the obvious choice is the Jedi library on Coruscant. But, that being off-limits and nearly impossible to infiltrate. I was thinking Tython. What?"

"I thought you knew," Aoki entered into the discussion. "Tython is under a blockade."

"The Jedi want the Je'Daii library for themselves. But, unfortunately, that is not going to happen, so once we get back to Republic space, I am going to retrieve our legacy," I promised.

"You are going to need someone to watch your back," Kyanna offered.

"And the best gunslinger this side of Tattooine," Aoki volunteered. "Besides, think of all the credits we can earn along the way."

"Speaking of Tattooine," I chuckled. I held up my cantine and turned it this way and that. "I got an idea." They watched as I drew a schematic in the earth. "Heat sink, and a moisture collector, solar panels to power it, and boom a solar-powered cantine."

"Huh?" Aoki commented. "I don't get it."

"He just dreamt up a cantine that acts as a moisture farm in a bottle," Kyanna said. "You are a genius. See, the exterior has solar panels, and the interior has a heat sink to help cool the moisture and convert it into drinkable water. You could make a killing with this, and I don't mean just in the game. Think of all the areas suffering from drought. Put up solar panels and the rest, hell, this could save lives!"

I did not have the heart to tell her that I had not created the design. It was something Nick had been working on but had been too busy to implement. However, the hour I had spent within the digital ether had exposed me to Nick's genius. It changed me fundamentally. The complete specs flashed in my mind, fully realized, and Kyanna was right, of course. I would exploit this technology and the other brilliance Nick had either stolen or created on his own. The first mandatory break and I would send word to Wraith and isolate the neediest nations for implementation. It was time Nick paid back to the world for taking so much. As my thoughts raced, silence inevitably crept upon us. I glanced at the second design and grinned. The player wanted a Japanese-style wrapped hilt and a flat energy blade; he did not want a lightsaber but a plasma katana. I sunk into the digital realm without the others noticing. The main problem to overcome would be configuring the blade emitter. A narrow slot to form the flat blade would be necessary. One success led to the next, and then a significant setback almost turned me aside. I pulled the holographic display apart and found my problem. One of the focusing lenses was cracking under the unusual shape of the blade. So, not only did I have to reshape the emitter but the crystals as well. After several attempts, I found a pairing of crystal forms that lent themselves to the contour I desired. After a dozen successful tests, the weapon was ready for construction. What felt like hours and hours of work was barely a few minutes in meat time, as Nick had called it.

"Traci, can you machine the pieces I need while I finish eating?" I asked, and she gleefully went to work.

The portable crafting station sprung to life as I returned to Kyanna's gumbo. We sat close and savored the home-cooked meal, and Aoki asked why and how a Republic starship came here. Had they followed us? My best theory was that they accidentally ran into the anomaly the sphere had created in hyperspace. The thought of a lasting space hazard lent urgency to finding the ship and discovering why they were here. Aoki looked at the odd-shaped crystal and parts coming off the workstation.

"Patience," I urged, and she stuck out her lower lip. I sent her the request I had received.

"Hmm," Aoki murmured. "Is that even possible? I have never seen anything like it at the marketplace."

"I am going to send it with my other patents," I explained.

"Patents, as in plural," Aoki gasped. "I knew you made those droids, but this is way out there."

"I get a cut for every emitter and crystal they sell," I bragged. "The M-Series of droids has made me a pretty penny."

I hand cleaned the parts, dry fit them before assembling the weapon. The last touch was the hand-wrapped hilt to finish the look. So, I stood and ignited the weapon. Aoki clapped while Kyanna let out a sexy whistle. I performed a portion of form eight and knew I would be making one of my own soon. It would take foes off guard and give that moment to strike and win a battle. I switched it off and sent the patent request to the devs. The reply came, and they credited my account for what they suspected I would make once word got out. I sent the weapon to its new owner.

We finished the meal, cleaned the dishes, swept the area clean of our passage, and packed the speeders with our gear. It was time to take the speeder bikes and see what the passengers of the corvette were up to for ourselves. The excitement built, and I could not wait to see what this beast could do.