Chapter 74: Supervised Genius

Disclaimer: Star Wars and all of it's Intellectual Properties is owned by George Lucas and Walt Disney, This fictional work and all of it's original characters are however mine.

They really do need supervision though.

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Jake's P.O.V. :

Expectedly or unexpectedly, the connections between the droids were holding up fine. Needed some fine-tuning, sure, but overall, things were looking solid. At least, that’s what I thought before I found myself in my current predicament.

See, right now, I’m sitting in the middle of the engineering bay, under the unrelenting gaze of the entire crew. And when I say unrelenting, I mean the kind of deadpan, unreadable expressions that make a guy reconsider a lot of life choices. Not a single twitch, not a single word—just silent, judgmental staring.

Now, I can already hear you wondering: Jake, what did you do this time? And honestly, I’d like to say that I have a perfectly good explanation. But, uh, turns out, what I thought was a perfectly good explanation is exactly why I’m in this situation in the first place.

Okay, so about two hours ago, I figured it’d be a good idea to run a combat test between two squads of the security droids, just to see how well my ‘Soldier and Commander’ program would hold up. I had ten droids running my new system—two commanders, eight soldiers. Simple, controlled test. Nothing crazy, right?

Yeah. No. Turns out, very crazy.

The moment I initiated the simulation, things went from ‘routine systems check’ to ‘uh-oh’ real fast. The droids actually started following through too well on their directives. No glitches, no hesitation—just immediate, tactical engagements. They flanked, they coordinated, they even executed countermeasures against each other like seasoned troops. I barely had time to admire my own genius before the very real problem of stopping them without scrapping half the squad set in.

Now, in my defense—gosh darn it, that’s why it was called a test! But, in hindsight, yeah, maybe I should’ve thought about the fact that these droids weren’t even upgraded yet. No reinforced frames, no auxiliary failsafes, no loyalty subroutines. So, what I actually ended up doing was giving them an advanced combat network and then pitting them against each other with no restrictions.

Which, as you may have guessed, led to absolute mayhem.

I had to call the others to help me shut them down, because—and this is the important part—I genuinely wasn’t sure I could subdue them without completely wrecking them. And here's the kicker. We were extremely lucky that these security droids have ‘Capture and Detain’ protocols and were still intact, or else this would’ve turned into a full-blown crisis than it already was. If these had been droids with only basic security programming, or worse, if they had been fully armed without countermeasures? I don’t even want to think about the mess that would’ve made.

So, yeah. That’s why everyone’s staring at me like I’m the biggest fool in the galaxy.

I clear my throat. “Uh… okay, so maybe that was slightly reckless.”

The stares intensify. Even Anakin, who’s still perched on Shmi’s lap, tilts his head in a way that very clearly says really?

Davik sighs first, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Kid, I’m not saying you got a death wish, but if you did, this would be a real creative way to go about it.”

Kado crosses his arms, giving me that unreadable, calculating stare. “Tell me, what exactly was your plan after the droids started escalating?”

“Uh… improvise?”

Mira groans. Rina actually facepalms. Shmi looks like she’s trying very hard not to give me a lecture, which, honestly, makes me feel worse than if she actually just did it.

Tarek shakes his head, grinning in that ‘I am both impressed and horrified’ way. “I mean, credit where credit’s due—the programming works.”

“Yeah,” Arlos mutters. “A little too well.”

I sigh, rubbing my temples. “Look, let’s just focus on the solution here. We’ve already shut them down, no one’s scrap, and no one’s hurt. I just need to tweak the programming, install the loyalty backups, and add in a priority override failsafe so this doesn’t happen again.”

Rina raises an eyebrow. “So, what you’re saying is: we need to make sure they don’t ever decide to pull a coup on us?”

“…Okay, yeah, when you put it like that, it sounds bad.”

“It is bad.” Mira shakes her head. “But you’re lucky the damage was minimal. Just—please tell me you’re gonna test the next version before running another squad match?”

I give a very innocent thumbs-up. “…Sure.”

More stares.

Alright, yeah, I deserved that one.

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So, yeah. The others held a vote, and I lost. And the verdict is that I'm officially in "time out." What does that mean exactly? It means I'm not allowed to do my "thing alone." And before you get any ideas, I don’t mean that kind of thing alone, you perverts. No, what it actually means is that someone has to supervise me whenever I’m working on a project—apparently, I can’t be trusted not to accidentally start a station-wide droid uprising. Harsh. But, fine. I’ll take my lumps.

Rina and Shmi volunteered to take a crack at the ten security droids I upgraded with the Soldier and Commander program and the network-link system. I think part of it is curiosity, and part of it is making sure I don’t fry their processors again. Anakin’s with them, ‘helping’ his mom, though I suspect he’s mostly just pressing random buttons and getting a lesson on how to properly repair a droid. He’ll get the hang of it eventually.

As for me? I’ve been assigned to follow Davik and Tarek on a scavenging run. Meanwhile, Kado, Mira, and Arlos are handling some other errand, probably something more exciting. We don’t have details, but I’d bet credits they’re either clearing out an old research wing or securing more storage space. Meanwhile, Davik, Tarek, and I have been tasked with rounding up all the gear scattered around the station—blasters, armor, tools, and whatever else was left behind.

The goal is to sort out what can be repaired, recycle what we can, and melt the rest down into raw materials. Initially, the plan was to sell most of it off as functioning antiques. Since it’s Old Republic-era gear, there’s a market for it, even if it’s not exactly top-of-the-line. But as we went through the haul, I started to notice something about these 'antiques', I noticed that these so called outdated weapons and armor are actually more modular. They're less refined, sure, but still it's impressive. Old Republic engineers clearly had a different philosophy; their design for gear was built for adaptability rather than mass production of modern times resulting in less modularity.

I pointed this out to Davik, and after a bit of back and forth, he saw my angle. Instead of selling everything, we’d hold on to anything we could actually improve. Some of these pieces could be better than the current market gear if we give them the right upgrades. Besides, customizing our own weapons and armor is way more useful in the long run than a few extra credits.

The repulsor lift sleds we scavenged earlier have been invaluable. Without them, lugging all this junk around would’ve been a bantha-load of backbreaking work. Even with the sleds, it’s slow going. We’ve gathered more than half of what’s scattered across the station so far, but there’s still plenty left.

I wonder what the others are up to. And more importantly, I wonder how much longer my time out is going to last. I get that the others are worried after the whole accidental droid fight club thing, but come on—how else am I supposed to test new combat protocols? I promised that I’ll be more careful next time.

I really want to get back to tinkering. Hopefully, they let me out of "supervised work" soon.

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It turns out that Kado’s group, consisting of him, Mira, and Arlos, was off inspecting the other docking bays. Whatever for, I had no idea, but I could always ask them later. As for our own trio—me, Davik, and Tarek—we’d finally wrapped up gathering all the scattered gear across the station and were now in the so-called "Forge." Though, to be honest, this didn’t really fit what I pictured when I heard the name. Instead of a proper forge, it looked more like an assembly line. My workshop on the Stellar Envoy had more of a classic sci-fi forge aesthetic than this place did.

We were sorting through the gear, separating what could be repaired, what could be upgraded, and what was only good for scrap. Anything that couldn’t be salvaged was getting broken down into raw materials. While that was happening, Davik and I were talking through ideas for upgrading the old-era weaponry we’d pulled from the station’s armory. Tarek was just listening and nodding along, though I wasn’t sure if he actually followed everything—piloting was more his thing, after all.

The biggest thing about these old blasters was their modularity. When compared to modern weapons, they had a lot more options for tweaking and customizing thus making them more flexible than the modern standard fare. My focus was on utility and support upgrades rather than just trying to squeeze out more firepower. I found that versatility mattered more—especially when the firepower boost wasn’t even close to doubling.

For the blaster pistols, I was thinking of adding simple, low-powered laser dot sights—going old-school sometimes worked best. A better power cell swap could give them a slight edge, and extending the barrel would increase range. Even a stun setting could be added, which was always a handy option. Blaster rifles, though, had way more room for upgrades. They could take the same mods as the pistols and more on top of that. We could mount a grenade launcher under the barrel, add a motion scanner that could distinguish targets by IFF signals, or even improve their cooling systems to prevent overheating during sustained fire.

Davik had his own thoughts, pointing out the tactical advantages of certain modifications. He had a solid grasp of practical battlefield use, so his input helped me refine my ideas. Meanwhile, Tarek kept listening, occasionally throwing in a comment when something caught his interest. The guy might not be a weapons expert, but he knew enough to appreciate a good piece of tech when he saw one.

As the scrap was being processed, I was already running mental calculations on how to implement these upgrades. If we were going to sell these as functioning antiques, they needed to be both authentic and practical. But I will definitely keep the best ones for the crew and the one hundred to be ours when fixed and updated, sentinel security droids.

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We hadn’t finished breaking down the scrap for raw materials, but that wasn’t the goal tonight. No need to burn ourselves out in one sitting. With the workload put on hold, Davik, Tarek, and I made our way back to the Stellar Envoy for supper, hoping the others were doing the same. Maybe I could finally get some answers out of Kado’s group.

When we reached the docking bay, I noted that we were the last to return. Not late, just fashionably late. Right on time for the meal. The mess was quiet, not an awkward silence but the kind that comes after a long day of work—no need for chatter when everyone's busy appreciating the food. Even Anakin, normally full of questions, was focused on his plate. It was a nice, peaceful moment.

Then Kado cleared his throat. A deliberate sound. One that meant he had something important to say.

We all looked up. Kado glanced around, making sure he had our attention before he spoke.

“After inspecting the docking bays,” he began, “we figured it’d be a good idea to put something up for a vote. We need to decide on acquiring additional ships—whether we can salvage, restore, or repurpose some of the derelicts around the station.”

Now that got my attention. I straightened up, setting my utensils down. “We talking about ships with teeth or just transport?”

Kado nodded slightly. “Some of them have weaponry that you’d only see on proper warships.”

I grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

“The idea,” Kado continued, ignoring my enthusiasm, “isn’t just to hoard ships. We need to decide what’s practical. What we can actually use and maintain. We can’t just grab everything and hope for the best.”

Tarek, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. “You thinking of keeping ‘em or selling what we don’t need?”

“A mix of both,” Kado admitted. “Which brings me to the second point—we need to move some of our ‘extra’ loot back to Ryloth. Sell what we don’t need, see if we can pick up any good leads while we’re at it.”

That wiped the grin off my face. I knew exactly what he meant by ‘leads.’

“News on Gardulla,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

Kado inclined his head slightly. “Among other things. We need to know if the mercs are still after anyone tied to that Old Republic data chip. We might not have stolen the relic itself, but we stole the data, and, well… Jake made sure to rub some salt in the wound.”

I held up my hands. “Hey, I thought the tampering was solid! It took them way too long to notice.”

“Right. Because they’re idiots,” Mira deadpanned. “Not because you’re some slicing mastermind.”

I shot her an exaggerated look of betrayal, and she just smirked.

“Jokes aside,” Kado said, “we need to be careful. If Gardulla had more data chips—”

“She might have more leads on other vaults,” I finished for him, tapping my fingers against the table. “Have you considered the possibility?”

Kado nodded. “It’s on my list.”

That was a small comfort. It meant he’d keep his ears open while making the rounds on Ryloth. But it also meant we needed to figure out who was going with him and who was staying behind.

“So,” Rina leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, “who’s heading out, and who’s staying to keep things running?”

“Exactly what we need to decide,” Kado said. “We need at least a few of us here to maintain the station, continue repairs, and make sure Jake doesn’t—”

“Do something reckless?” Rina cut in dryly.

I gasped. “When have I ever—”

Shmi gave me a pointed look. “Do you really want me to list the incidents?”

“…No.”

Davik chuckled, shaking his head. “I’ll stay here. Station’s got a lot of potential, and I wanna see what we can dig up. Plus, somebody’s gotta keep an eye on our ‘genius engineer.’”

“Hey, I am not on time-out anymore,” I protested.

Rina smirked. “Not officially.”

Kado ignored the back-and-forth and focused on the rest of the group. “I’ll need at least one or two of you with me. Mira, Arlos?”

Mira glanced at Arlos before answering. “Yeah, I’ll go. Been a while since I stretched my legs beyond this place.”

Arlos gave a small shrug. “I’ll go where you need me.”

That settled it. Kado, Mira, and Arlos would handle things on Ryloth, while the rest of us stayed behind to work on the station.

With the decision made, we finished supper, a little less tension in the air now that the plan was coming together. I was already itching to get back to tinkering, but I figured I’d let myself enjoy the rest of the night first.

Tomorrow, the real work continued.