Taking his mother's hand, he walked toward the gondola while the freight took the elevator down.
Rayden's eyes scanned the empty but sprawling town in front of them as they slowly descended.
"Dad, why did you guys build so much if we only have a few thousand people?" he asked Varn.
"Build it now and right, and we won't have to bulldoze and rebuild later. This way, we can focus on expansion rather than remodeling. We have plans for how the town will look based on a population of one hundred thousand to a million," Varn said, gazing at the newly built town with pride.
Rayden nodded, understanding the logic.
As they walked through the empty streets, everything was well-maintained, with trees and bushes breaking up the town's color scheme.
When they reached the plaza, Rayden was amazed at how wide it was. Intricate walls encircled the area, their greenery enhanced.
A giant fountain at the center featured a mythosaur roaring atop it, water gushing from its mouth.
Children were running around while families took leisurely strolls. Shops lined the plaza's edges, following the curves of the walls.
The plaza reminded Rayden of St. Peter's Square in front of the Vatican back on Earth, but something felt missing.
Elyse noticed Rayden's furrowed brow as he contemplated. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked.
"Something is missing," he replied.
"Missing?" Both Varn and Elyse looked around in confusion. The plaza appeared fine to them—with shops, trees, and a fountain adorned with the animal symbol of their people. What could be missing?
"Statues," Rayden voiced.
"What do you mean, Ray?" Varn inquired.
"I feel like we should have statues on top of the walls and at the citadel," Rayden pointed out, gesturing at the empty spaces on the walls and the balcony area of the citadel facing the plaza.
"We could create statues of historical figures like Mandalore the Ultimate and other Mandalores, along with depictions of you and the other Alor, Dad. It would commemorate the founding of this city."
"And on either side of the citadel, we could have massive statues of faceless Mandalorians, with a memorial to all the fallen at their feet."
Intrigued looks formed on Varn and Elyse's faces. This could be a way to showcase their history and create a grander plaza.
"We will discuss this with the others later. Come, it's almost time," Varn suggested, shelving the idea for now.
They continued to walk through the plaza, where families they passed greeted them with smiles, joy evident on their faces as they embraced their new home on a new planet.
On the northern part of the plaza stood the Resolute Citadel, a palace of sorts. It was built into the lower slope of one of the valley's northern hills for natural defense and to provide a commanding view over the settlement, the river, and the southern plains.
Duracrete, durasteel, transparisteel, and Beskar plating were used to construct the exterior, which was adorned with carvings around the windows and pillars.
Towers rose at the corners—practical watchtowers that also served as ceremonial spires. The roof incorporated solar arrays and defensive emplacements disguised as architectural features.
Wide, open steps led inside to a balcony above, where Varn and others could address the public. The citadel was still under construction, but the main layout was confirmed.
Beyond the main entrance was an atrium garden with an open sky view. Second-story walkways encircled the space, and gardeners were planting bushes and various plants as the trio walked in.
Rayden admired the elegant design of the atrium. The open roof reminded him of how the Romans built their domus.
Next, they entered a hallway where droids were welding beams together and installing pillars and mosaic windows. Clan flags flew over sections already completed.
At the end of the hall stood a grand foyer, with two large staircases on the left and right sides of the hall. Between the stairs was a hallway that led to the basements, which housed food storage, armories, bunkers, vaults, kitchens, and laundry rooms. There were at least three subterranean levels.
The first level housed the kitchens and food storage; the second held the laundry, armory, and training room for guards; and the third level contained bunkers and vaults.
To the left and right were more hallways leading to wings that would contain administrative offices. The ground floor featured different sectors for each department.
Droids were everywhere, making Rayden curious about how many offices would be created when construction was complete.
The other clan leaders gathered at the top of the stairs, and the group continued their tour of the building. Lexi made her way next to Rayden as they walked with their parents.
Going upstairs, they found more offices and lounges to host dignitaries, along with meeting rooms, barracks to house hundreds of the citadel's guards, and a dining hall for the office workers.
The third floor housed offices for department heads and ministers, medical rooms, a library, and a break area on an open terrace. Lexi ran up to the ledge to look out at everything as the group passed the rest area.
"Lexi, be careful," Veyra cautioned her daughter.
"Okay, Mom," Lexi replied, stepping back from the edge.
On the fourth floor, there was a dining hall and ballroom for ceremonies, a war room, and a command center to coordinate their future military forces.
Additionally, there was the council chamber where Varn and the others would hold meetings and meet with officials. The main Council Hall was a circular chamber with a raised dais for the Alor, surrounded by tiered seating for clan representatives and merit-earned observers. Holoprojectors and recording devices ensured transparency in governance.
The group eventually split up, as the final floor was reserved for Varn, Elyse, Torin, and Rayden. Elevators were scattered throughout the citadel, but only one led to the fifth floor.
Rayden walked through the living room area, taking in how comfortable everything was. Paintings and statues decorated the walls, along with fish tanks waiting to be filled.
There was a master bedroom, training halls, a dining room, bathrooms, balconies, and a small garden with a waterfall—Elyse's touch to make the place feel more alive and colorful.
As Rayden entered what would be his room, he surveyed everything. It had a bathroom with a shower, a desk and worktable, floor-to-ceiling windows with a terrace, and a giant bed the size of two king-size beds.
There were a few plants for color, and enough room to add anything else he wanted.
One final area he hadn't seen yet was a small lookout tower that was connected only to their section of the citadel.
"What is that tower, Mom?" Rayden asked, stopping Elyse as she was moving things around.
"Oh, that! Come, I'll show you," she replied, putting down a vase she was carrying and leading Rayden to another elevator.
This elevator had only three buttons: one for their home, one for the tower, and one labeled "Bunker."
"Bunker?" Rayden tilted his head at Elyse.
She smiled and laughed at the cute look on his face. "This elevator connects to an underground bunker that only we have access to. It's different from the other bunkers for the rest of the citadel's inhabitants."
"But it's still under construction, so we will visit it another day." Elyse pressed the button for the tower, and they ascended. A few seconds later, they stopped, and they walked out.
A wide, open room came into view. Rayden felt it looked familiar. He walked around, looking out the windows to see the town and the surrounding landscape for miles.
"Do you like it?" Elyse asked, watching him explore.
"I do, but what is this for?" Rayden asked as he examined the polished floor with beautifully carved designs. He looked up at the high ceiling, where air ducts blew cool air into the room.
"This is a training room. This is where we will practice your lightsaber combat and meditation from now on. I had them create this based on the towers back at the Jedi Temple," Elyse explained, her eyes filling with nostalgia.
"So that's why it looked familiar," Rayden thought, everything clicking in his mind as he took a second look at the room.
"I can't wait to train here, Mom. Thank you!" Rayden exclaimed, running to hug Elyse.
A loving smile formed on her face as she embraced her son. Every day, she rejoiced at having him as a son and for the life she had now.
======
-Present-
It has been a few months since Rayden moved to Arcadia, and every day has been much the same.
He wakes up, eats, trains with Lexi, George, and the others, eats again, then trains with his mom in the spire room, eats once more, and finally goes to bed.
To break the monotony of training, some days he studies or practices other skills such as splicing, first aid training, or playing with puzzles to sharpen his mind.
Of course, taking a rest day is essential. On those days, he and the gang explore the town, visiting shops, gardens, and parks for fun.
Everyone was enjoying their new life on Arcadia, and they felt hopeful about the future. The nebula acts as a barrier, while the space station, whose skeletal framework is about half complete, is beginning construction on the defense sections first.
At night, the sky lights up with beautiful hues, as they cannot see normal space. It's still a sight to behold.
Rayden was in his room after a day of training. He had just finished taking a shower and stood by his window, looking at the sky and then at the lights of the town below.
---
[Rayden]
Age: 6
Midichlorians: 10,000
Skills:
Lightsaber Combat (Intermediate, 30/1000) Hand-to-Hand Combat (Intermediate, 4/1000) Blaster Marksmanship (Intermediate, 10/1000) Force Sensing (Intermediate, 180/1000) Stealth and Tracking (Beginner, 400/500) Mando'a Language (Intermediate, 70/1000) Galactic Common (Intermediate, 160/1000) Splicing (Beginner, 49/500) Medical (Beginner, 82/500)
[Credits: 47,953]
[Inventory]
Training lightsaber
Food
Clothing
Knife
Data Chip (Star Fighter Design)
R2-E5
Pulling up his system to check his status and credits, Rayden notices his age has finally changed. His birthday was a week ago, and they had a big gathering and celebration in the plaza. His skills have been growing steadily.
After using the seller's mark last time to earn enough credits to upgrade his midichlorian count, he has 47k left.
He had planned to use the rest to deepen his connection to the Force, but with every 1,000 midichlorians, the cost rises sharply.
To reach 11,000 midichlorians, he would need to spend 30,000 credits; to reach 12,000, 40,000 credits, and so on.
It's better to save a large amount of credits and upgrade all at once. Since he has to focus on his training and other duties, he can't access loose minerals to sell without anyone noticing, as everything is logged and accounted for to ensure no one is skimming off the top.
Unfortunately, he has no active missions, so he can't earn credits right now.
Rayden opened the shop and scrolled until he found what he was looking for.
[R2 Series Droid]
An R2 series astromech droid. A loyal friend and companion capable of storing 10 hyperspace coordinates in its active memory. It can assist in a wide array of fields and functions.
[Cost: 4,525 credits]
Rayden felt he needed a droid to help him manage his collection of data chips. He planned to buy an R2 astromech droid and pretend he discovered it while exploring the forest. After bringing it back, he could tell his parents that the droid contained a ton of encrypted data that only he could access.
If anyone else tried to access the data, it would self-destruct, ensuring his secrets remained safe.
With this plan, he could conceal how he obtained blueprints for technology that had been lost, such as a Keldabe cruiser, HK assassin droids, and other tech from the Old Republic era, along with inventions not yet created.
He already had a data chip ready to use. So, Rayden bought the droid and was surprised when the system prompted him to customize the droid's appearance and name.
After a few minutes of thought, Rayden finalized everything and purchased the droid. In his inventory sat the droid he named R2-E5, its color scheme a teal blue.