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Endor, Moddell Sector, Outer Rim

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The Bakura campaign had been a bloody disaster for the Rakatan Infinite Empire.

And that was putting a positive spin on things, Force-Science 4th Lama Orsaa thought. He had only been promoted to 4th position after the deaths of a dozen officers superior to him during the bloodshed of the past weeks. It wasn't just the cold conditions caused by the cracked reactor of the galleon he was assigned to that gave him chills. Somehow the Force was all that had prevented his joining his superiors in death. The Force does what the Force wants, Lama Orsaa believed.

Two millennia prior, the Celestials had mysteriously vanished from the greater galaxy, freeing the Rakata from their slave chains. The One, the supreme leader of the Rakata, on Lehon, had declared the genesis of the Rakatan Infinite Empire a century ago. They had quickly launched a campaign of conquest and colonization across the known galaxy. Among their early and far flung conquests had been the Selkath of Manaan, the Wookiees of Kashyyyk and the Noghri of Honoghr.

The Elders council on Lehon had come up with the idea for a mighty Force-powered engine capable of constructing whole star fleets. It was a project that would take millennia to complete and the Rakata dove head first into the project. The 5th Bogan Fleet had been dispatched to Bakura to mine for heavy ores needed for the project and to subjugate and enslave the native Kurtzens. They had brought with them four dreadnaughts and twelve corsairs to guard a force of over two hundred heavy freighters for transporting the ore and new slaves back to Lehon. It should have been an easy campaign.

Instead it had been a slaughter.

A combined group of old Celestial servant races had laid in wait for them in the nearby Rattatak system. A fleet of hundreds of Gree Secant Battleships and Killik Space-Hives cut into the Rakatan resource fleet, while on the ground Kwa Infinity Gates had appeared and unleashed a slave army to overrun the meager ground forces the Rakatan forces had deployed on Bakura.

Within hours it was over. A third of the 5th Bogan Fleet had gone down in flames and the remainder severely mauled before they had made their narrow escape. Among the losses that fateful day had been the fleet's Admirak who had handed over command to Admirak 2nd Tul'soa before the fleet's banner-ship had over-loaded, its reactors covering the transports' retreat with its own explosion. Cut off from the hyper-routes back to Lehon they had been forced Galactic eastward along the Moddell-Spar trade route, hoping to lose their pursuers in the Monsua Nebula.

By the month's end they had fought two delaying actions at Bunduki and Firrerre against their pursuers' slave races, the round-headed Duros, hulking Herglics, lithe Zabraks and devilish Devaronians. Who pounced on them for days on end, dragging down any ship that ran short on fuel or whose damages prevented it from keeping up with the rest of fleeing fleet. They had finally lost their enemy's lackeys when they entered the Moddell Sector, or so the Rakata hoped.

Admirak 2nd Tul'soa had chosen to take refuge at Endor. There the nearby Endor Gate, a small but dangerous black hole seven light years from Endor that shadowed the planet and its forest moon from long range scanners. For millennia the Endor Gate had blocked deep space scanning of its local sector allowing local pirates and smugglers to utilize the system for all sorts of nefarious activities. The black hole had a habit of spitting out debris and wrecks from across the known galaxy and from what anyone could determine the unknown regions as well.

The Admirak 2nd had anchored the fleet near Endor's forest moon for emergency repairs. In a state of hyper-vigilance for the first signs of their pursuers the mechanics and technicians used the Force to pinpoint the repairs they could manage in a hurry. Staying in orbit over the sparsely populated moon, the 5th Bogan Fleet began to cannibalize its most heavily damaged vessels to save spare parts for those ships that could be repaired in the shortest amount of time.

That was when they discovered the derelict.

The strange vessel was gargantuan. At least three times as big as the 5Th Bogan Fleet's largest remaining dreadnaught and half a big The One's bannership, the Ashla, back at Lehon.

After long range scanners detected the derelict was without power boarding parties were ordered to perform a reconnaissance of the drifting vessel. The boarding parties went to the alien ship armed to the gills, as those same sensor sweeps that had showed the derelict was unpowered had also revealed the presence of thousands of life signs aboard the drifting vessel.

It was on the second boarding skiff that Force-Science 4th Lama Orsaa found himself today. He was accompanied by a full squad of heavily armed Padawa Troopers carrying force-powered tri-blasters and sharpened scimitar blades. They boarded at a strange, alien airlock that was being maintained and kept open with a Rakatan portable being-shield.

A squad of Padawa Troopers greeted them at the airlock. The troopers were tending the wounds of several of their number who looked to have been hurt by some kind of brutally large blaster. Lama Orsaa wasn't aware of any type of hand-held blaster sophisticated enough to inflict such devastating wounds on a body. They looked to have pierced the trooper's armor with ease.

"What happened here?" Lama Orsaa demanded from the trooper's Sarga.

The Sarga snapped off a quick salute. "Lord, we engaged six individuals at the command center shortly following our boarding of this vessel. We suffered heavily casualties but we were able to secure the bridge and subdue the occupants."

"Subdue? Any of them left alive?" Lama Orsaa inquired. The reputation of the Padawa Troopers was a rather bloody one.

"No, Lord. Their firepower was overwhelming and after the loss of my men. I felt it prudent to dispatch the enemy as quickly as possible." The Sarga reported.

"Probably for the best. Admirak 2nd Tul'soa is on his way over to inspect this vessel. I want your men to fan out and secure the entirety of this ship before his arrival. I don't want there to be any surprises for the Admirak 2nd."

"You have spoken, Lord." The Sarga barked orders at his men and the troopers who had accompanied Lama Orsaa. The Padawa quickly spread out to explore and secure the derelict.

Lama Orsaa took time to study the corridor he was in. The architecture was unlike anything he had ever seen, and he had been aboard the space-faring vessels of seven different species. None of them resembled anything like the ship he found himself aboard now. He couldn't rightly tell if the feel of the place was ancient or hyper-advanced.

He walked down the darkened hallways towards the mid-ship section of the vessel. The only light he had were chemical glow sticks dropped by the Padawas and his own hand-held lamp. Humidity left the walls of the corridors slick with dew. Creaks and knocks echoed down the darkened passageways. Lama Orsaa couldn't deduce if the noise came from the ship starting to break apart or his troopers unsettling things in distant reaches of the vessel.

Dozens of rooms were locked shut. Lama Orsaa peered through clear viewports at the contents within the room. His excitement grew when he deduced that they were laboratories on the other side of those heavy barriers. One of his missions as a Force-Science Officer was to explore alien technology and its Force applications for use by the Infinite Empire. One of the principles of his leader, the One, was to always seek knowledge. This place offered him the chance to serve both of his purposes.

"Lord…" A Padawa Trooper interrupted Lama Orsaa's excited anticipation over the discovery of so much tech. Lama Orsaa turned to the young warrior. "The Miraluka Force Hound we brought along has uncovered something so… well, you need to see it with your own eyes to believe it, Lord."

"Lead the way, trooper." Lama Orsaa could hardly believe his troopers had uncovered something more fantastic than the sheer volume of scientific machinery aboard this vessel, but he was willing to have his notions proven wrong.

He moved along quickly behind the Trooper who tried to run ahead in his eagerness to show his superior what they had found. They strolled down a hallway that was dotted with hundreds of carbon scorings. Lama Orsaa hadn't heard the sound of a firefight in this section of the ship nor had he thought they had brought enough troopers over to cause this much damage. No, this vandalism was a sign of the battle which had most probably left this ship powerless and adrift.

At the doorway to the aft-section of the ship stood three troopers. Their force-sensitive Miraluka slave was bond by a chain around its neck. The bindings ran from the slave's throat to the fists of its handler. Lama Orsaa addressed the small party. "What did your Force Hound uncover?"

"The men are not sure, Lord." The Sarga answered for his squad.

"What do you mean you don't know? You troopers are the best scouts in the Infinite Empire."

"Perhaps it is a nesting site. This is why their warriors on the bridge fought so hard when we boarded."

"Nesting site?" Lama Orsaa shoved the Sarga aside, causing the whimpering Force Hound to cower out of fear of being struck.

The Force-Science 4th entered a large cavern filled with long cylindrical machinery stacked one atop another until they rose to the ceiling and stretched into the distant darkness. A space this big had no place on a starship, Lama Orsaa thought. Who could build such a vessel? His heart jumped, could this be a long-lost chariot of the Celestials? The mystery bore further study.

Small lights on each of the machines proved that they were still powered as did the low hum of their internal mechanics. He chose the nearest one and wiped the dust off the surface of the machine's viewport. A small being wiggled inside and looked up through large wide eyes at Lama Orsaa. It looked to be crying but thankfully the machine prevented the unpleasant noise from escaping.

"What are they, Lord? They appear to be in a larval stage." The Sarga asked

"These must be incubators." Lama Orsaa pulled his life sign scanner from his satchel pack and set it atop the machine. With a push of a button the device ran a scanning ray over the small being inside the incubator. A minute later a host of data scrolled across the life scanner's display screen.

"Mammals. Probably primates." Lama Orsaa read the data. He kept it simple for the Padawa Troopers. They were warriors after all, not scientists. "Warm blooded too. I'd guess by their inferior upper appendages they are bipedal. Eyes to the front and ears at the side of their heads prove they are a hunting species. This one appears to have its teeth. I can spot molars as well as eye teeth indicating it's possibly an omnivore."

"Sentient?" The Sarga waved his hand in front of the larva which had no problem tracking his movement with its pupils.

"I'm not positive. They've got a rather large brain cavity relative to their body mass." Lama Orsaa wondered how the creature stayed warm with such a small layer of mammalian hair on its head. "More testing will be needed to see how they can best serve The One."

"Good. They can be trained then." The Sarga replied.

"Perhaps. If these are indeed related to the ones on the bridge they can coordinate with each other, indicating at least minimal language skills. Bring the Force Hound here."

The troopers shoved the Miraluka forward. The Rakata had long used force-sensitive slaves to track down others. The Miraluka bowed in front of Lama Orsaa.

"Force Hound, are these beings connected with the Universal Force?"

"Yes, master. The scent of midichlorians is strong here. I sense not only a connection with their species to the Force but also many are awash in the Living Force as well. They shall be powerful welders of the Force as they grow." The Miraluka replied. Lama Orsaa waved it away. It slinked back from the Force-Science 4th at its handler's tug on its chain.

"Lord," The Sarga called to him from the side of the now open incubator. The Trooper commander had his hand inside the crib with his index finger extended. The alien larval creature had reached up and wrapped its digits around the Sarga's finger. "Did you notice the opposable thumbs? That makes them able to hold a sword. They could pose a threat to the Infinite Empire."

"Or a shovel. We learned a powerful lesson from the retreat of the Celestials. We do not arm our slave-species unlike our enemies." Lama Orsaa warned.

"If they work as well as the bigger ones on the bridge fought, we will be able to get a lot of use out of them. Especially if we are able to make it back to Lehon." The Sarga replied.

"A possibility that grows slimmer every day. It will take years for us to circumnavigate the Deep Core with our enemies blocking the way home. But have no fear. The Star Forge will take a millennia to complete." Lama Orsaa explained. Mammal-based sentients had a way of living quite lengthy lives. He had no doubt that millions of these tiny primate's descendants will eventually labor and die building the Infinite Empire's greatest weapon.

Another Padawa Trooper entered the chamber. The new arrival wore the badge of messenger and his special status carried with it the word of high command. As such he was not required to salute an officer who was inferior to his own master. "Force-Science 4th, I have found you. Admirak 2nd Tul'soa has just boarded this derelict. He orders you to meet him on the vessel's command bridge."

"You have spoken." Lama Orsaa acknowledged the message. Then turning to the Sarga and his Troopers. "Prepare these incubators for transfer to available transports."

"We do not have a transport large enough for all these machines, Lord." The Sarga replied.

"I know this. We shall have to split them up among several dozen ships." Lama Orsaa stared down his subordinate. "Now get your men to work."

The Sarga snapped to attention and saluted with his Force-Pike. "You have spoken, Lord."

Lama Orsaa followed the Admirak's 2nd's messenger out of the incubation chamber. The Force-Science 4th knew he would have gotten lost rather quickly in the vast expanse of this ship. How a starship this large could have been constructed was beyond Lama Orsaa's understanding. Even the hundreds of new drydocks constructed to build the Star Forge at Lehon couldn't handle a ship this size.

His eyestalks swiveled back and forth as they passed through the alien corridors. The work that went into every detail of the starship hinted at centuries of scientific development. Oh, to get this ship back to Lehon and study every nut and bolt of the craft, Lama Orsaa mused.

Two large Preatoria Warriors, selected after accomplishing a thousand kills on the battlefield, stood guard at the ship's bridge, indicating that the Admirak 2nd was inside. The two hulking warriors had sworn off the use of blasters and were armed solely with blue-hued Forcesabers.

Lama Orsaa passed through the two Preatoria guards and entered the bridge to find the Admirak 2nd was not alone. Four Padawa Troopers were busy smashing and destroying every piece of alien machinery and equipment they could get their hands on. The Admirak 2nd stood in the center of the bridge calmly watching his minions go about their destructive business. At the Admirak's feet lay six alien bodies.

"Force-Science 4th, have you found anything worth salvaging on this derelict." Admirak 2nd Tul'soa asked as soon as Lama Orsaa stepped inside the rather large command center. The replacement commander of the 5th Bogan Fleet didn't deem to look in his lessor's direction when he spoke to Lama Orsaa.

"A trove of equipment I'd like to study. Could this derelict be brought under tow, Lord?" Lama Orsaa asked.

"Forget such foolishness." Tul'soa snapped. Lama Orsaa looked past his superior and noticed that several warships were under way and reforming their battle lines.

"Lord, has something happened?"

"Our picket ships have detected the enemy's long range scouts near Ast Kikorie. Their main battle fleet should be here in a day or so."

"Can we still fight them?" Lama Orsaa inquired.

"We've lost two dreadnaughts against them so far and our remaining six corsairs have all suffered some level of battle damage. Three of them are without shields."

"By the Force, what will we do?"

"I'm breaking up the fleet before the enemy arrives. We will flee to the eastern colonies. Our enemy does not have the range to pursue us such a distance." Tul'soa announced.

"I suppose we cannot tow a vessel of this size through hyperspace. It would be an interesting salvage. One beneficial to the Infinite Empire."

"If it is as valuable as you say, we shall bring it under fire before we sail. We'll leave nothing but atomized dust for our foes."

"But my Lord, there could be advanced shields or armor." Lama Orsaa pointed at one of the dead aliens on the floor. "The Padawa reported these ones fought as fiercely as Wookiees and had sophisticated blasters."

"Sophistication does not translate to superior." Tul'soa kicked one of the bodies to see if he would get a reaction out of it. "What are these things anyway?"

Lama Orsaa studied the corpses for a minute before answering the Admirak 2nd's question. "That one is one of the Hutt slave species. Weequay, if I recall their specie name correctly."

"Awfully far from home for one of the Hutt's dogs." Tul'soa nodded to one of the other five bodies. "And these? They belong to the Gree or the Killiks?"

"They don't look to belong to any species or hybrid offshoot I am aware of. They've got the same body type as the Chiss and the Zeltron but as you can see their skin is quite different. They must be something the Infinite Empire has never come across before." Lama Orsaa reported.

"The Padawa that were here reported stiff resistance when they first took the ship. We have several dead to add to the pyres. These beings look half starved. Was this due to their super blasters?"

"I do not know, Lord. We have made a larger discovery below decks."

"Oh?"

"Several thousand of these things in their larval stage. They were being stored in stasis incubators."

"Certainly that is why these things fought so fiercely against our Padawa. If they were not protecting their young I doubt they would have stood so fiercely against the best warriors of the Infinite Empire."

"Of course, my Lord." Lama Orsaa wasn't convinced of the dead beings' inferiority but he was wise enough not to argue with the Admirak 2nd.

"These larva? Can they be trained to work?"" Tul'soa asked.

"I believe they possess rudimentary tool-welding abilities by at least their youngling stage. If what the Padawa reported they must have simple communication skills as well. Perhaps if we teach them the basic slave language they will learn to serve us."

"Excellent. Split them evenly into breeding groups and they can go east with us." Tul'soa ordered.

"You have spoken, Lord." Lama Orsaa acknowledged the command.

"I have heard the Eastern colonies have sent requests to The One for more slaves, especially at Alsakan and Tython. I shall send some of them to Tion as well to shore up the colony against Hutt encroachment."

"I suppose I won't be going with you when the fleet splits up. Which group shall I accompany, Lord?" Lama Orsaa asked.

"Take a fifth of these slaves to Koros. There are rumors of large carbonite deposits there. If they are correct we will need to mine for the material."

"But it will take ten years to reach a world on the other side of the Deep Core."

"You have an issue with my order, Force-Science 4th?" Tul'soa stared the junior officer down.

"You have spoken." Lama Orsaa looked to the floor deck. At least the larva will be at an adequate age to begin work when they arrive at Koros he thought.

"I feel your apprehension of such a long journey. I will take the largest part of the fleet and head for Notron. General Zhell is having difficulty in his war with the Taung. A fresh influx of slaves will booster his troops when we arrive. Though I doubt Notron will suit slave breeding conditions very well."

"I've heard it is cold there. I doubt the slave population will expand much on Notron." Lama Orsaa replied, figuring these new sentients would breed as slowly as the cold-blooded Rakata.

"Then it is settled. I want the transports with the slaves and their escorts underway by mid-day."

"You have spoken." Lama Orsaa was already making a mental checklist of everything he needed to accomplish before the fleet departed again. "Lord, we seem to have killed the adult specimens and I doubt the larval ones can speak well enough to tell us anything about themselves. With such an absence of data I find it pertinent that we come up with something to call them before we split them up."

"You are probably onto something, Force-Science 4th. It would not do to have five different names for the same species when we arrive at our destinations. What would you suggest? I suppose we can't keep calling them slaves."

"I don't see why we couldn't call them whatever we wanted. Maybe we can interject one of our words into the basic slave language." Lama Orsaa suggested.

Tul'soa chuckled at the notion. "Perhaps we can keep calling them slaves after-all. Make it so." The Admirak 2nd turned and left the room a moment before the Padawa set the chamber afire in their sabotage efforts.

Back out in the corridor, Lama Orsaa pulled out his ship-wide communicator to connect with his datapad back aboard his own vessel. He made one annotation to his notes adding the Rakatan word for slave to the basic slave language and smiled at the small joke.

"Humans."