The first hour after initial activation was the most dangerous.
Not because of enemies—there were none—but because unoptimized systems produced silent losses. Waste unseen was waste permanent. I remained standing on the observation platform outside the Headquarters, eyes fixed not on the horizon but on the overlapping panels only I could see.
The B1 production line was progressing at a steady pace.
Assembly Rate: 1 unit / 45 seconds
Active Assembly Arms: 6
Effective Throughput: 8 units / 6 minutes
The numbers were clean. Almost too clean.
I shifted focus to the resource panel.
[RESOURCE STATUS — REAL TIME]
Raw Ore Stockpile: 1,920
Processed Alloy Stockpile: 318
Energy Output: 3.2 MW
Energy Utilization: 3.05 MW (95.3%)
Warnings:
▸ Power margin below recommended buffer (10%)
There it was.
A margin of 0.15 MW. Acceptable for now, catastrophic later. Any fluctuation—a surge during simultaneous vehicle assembly, a diagnostic spike from the Tactical Droid—would cause an automatic throttling event. Throttling caused delays. Delays cascaded.
"System," I said. "Explain power behavior under overload."
[Under overload conditions, non-critical facilities enter reduced throughput state.]
[Priority order: Headquarters → Command Units → Droid Factory → Mining → Vehicle Factories.]
I frowned.
"That priority order is suboptimal."
A pause—shorter than before.
[Elaboration requested.]
"Mining output is the foundation of all production," I said. "Reducing mining throughput compounds loss over time. Vehicle factories can tolerate pauses; mining cannot."
Another pause. Longer.
[Recommendation acknowledged. Priority schema updated.]
Good. It learned.
The first Mining Facility completed its initial extraction cycle, and ore began flowing through the subterranean conveyors toward the refining node embedded beneath the Headquarters. The system's decision to centralize refinement was logical for early-stage efficiency—but centralization was also a single point of failure.
Constraint identified.
I expanded the Infrastructure sub-panel.
[HEADQUARTERS — SYSTEM DETAIL]
Command Node Capacity: 100%
Data Throughput: 62%
Thermal Load: Nominal
Structural Integrity: 100%
Available Modules:
▸ Refinement Node (Integrated)
▸ Local Storage (Limited)
▸ Processing Spine
Upgrade Paths (Locked):
– Distributed Refinement
– Redundant Command Nodes
– Hardened Core
"System," I asked, "what is the maximum raw ore intake before refinement bottleneck?"
[Integrated Refinement Node capacity: 360 raw ore/min.]
We were already at 320.
That left a margin of 40 ore per minute. Barely enough to tolerate minor efficiency losses. If I expanded mining without expanding refinement, the system would silently discard excess ore.
Unacceptable.
"Flag refinement bottleneck as priority constraint," I ordered.
[Constraint logged.]
The Tactical Droid assembly timer ticked down: 7 minutes remaining.
I turned my attention to command structure.
At present, every production decision flowed through me. That was fine for now—but already inefficient. Cognitive bandwidth was a finite resource, even with system augmentation.
When the Tactical Droid came online, command latency would drop from an estimated 1.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds across the network. That alone would improve throughput by roughly 9% over a twelve-hour cycle.
The numbers mattered.
The ground trembled faintly as the Heavy Vehicle Factory completed construction. Its footprint was larger than the others—reinforced platforms, embedded magnetic clamps, internal gantries capable of lifting seventy-ton frames without strain.
The power meter dipped, then stabilized.
Energy Utilization: 3.18 MW (99.4%)
Too close.
"System," I said, sharply. "Suspend AAT assembly until Tactical Droid activation."
[Confirmed.]
The AAT queue paused. The MTT queue, more power-intensive, never began.
I exhaled slowly.
This world was forgiving in one sense: there was no time pressure yet. No enemy fleets inbound. No Senate committees. No Jedi probes.
But the system itself imposed a harsher law.
Everything scaled.
And scaling magnified mistakes.
A chime sounded—different from the initial ding. Lower. Heavier.
[Advanced Unit Assembly Complete.]
The Tactical Droid emerged from the Droid Factory on a grav-sled, its chassis taller and more angular than the B1s. Its photoreceptors activated immediately, sweeping the area with precision.
It turned toward me.
"Command authority recognized," it said. "Designation: T-Series Tactical Droid. Awaiting operational directives."
"Interface with the Techno Union System," I replied.
The Tactical Droid paused for exactly 0.2 seconds.
"Interface established," it said. "Data synchronization in progress."
Panels shifted.
[COMMAND LATENCY UPDATE]
Network Latency: ↓ 73%
Production Waste: ↓ 18%
Predictive Modeling Accuracy: ↑ 21%
I felt it—not emotionally, but cognitively. The system's responses sharpened. Data that had required deliberate attention now organized itself into actionable clusters.
The Tactical Droid spoke again.
"Analysis: current power distribution is inefficient. Recommendation: immediate construction of Power Plant Mk I."
I had already reached the same conclusion.
"Proceed," I said. "One Power Plant. Position equidistant from Headquarters and Vehicle Factories."
[Confirmed.]
A new timer appeared.
Construction Time: 9 minutes
Projected Output: +18 MW
That would change everything.
As construction began, I authorized the Tactical Droid to assume limited autonomy over production optimization. Not command—optimization. The distinction mattered. Authority without accountability bred errors.
The first batch of B1s completed assembly. They stood in neat rows—112 units, identical, inert until activated.
"Activate B1 units," I said.
The droids' photoreceptors lit simultaneously.
"Awaiting orders," they intoned.
I watched them with a critical eye. Cheap units. Fragile. Replaceable.
Perfect.
"Assign half to perimeter patrol," I ordered. "Remaining units to internal security and logistics escort."
"Orders acknowledged," the Tactical Droid replied.
The droids dispersed with mechanical precision, forming patrol routes based on probability-weighted threat vectors—mostly hypothetical, for now.
The AAT assembly resumed once the Power Plant came online.
When it did, the energy graph spiked—then settled at a comfortable 14% utilization.
Abundance.
With power no longer a constraint, new ones emerged immediately.
Refinement.
Storage.
Command depth.
"System," I said, "provide a list of current limiting factors, ranked by long-term impact."
There was no pause this time.
[Limiting Factors Identified:]
Refinement Throughput
Storage Capacity
Command Redundancy
Defensive Depth
Planetary Survey Resolution
I nodded.
"Unlock Distributed Refinement if possible."
[Requirement not met.]
[Prerequisite: Planetary Survey Tier I.]
Of course.
Everything depended on knowledge.
"Begin Planetary Survey," I ordered.
[Survey initiated.]
[Estimated Duration: 3 hours.]
The Tactical Droid tilted its head slightly—a meaningless gesture, but one its designers had insisted upon.
"Query," it said. "Do we anticipate hostile contact within the next operational cycle?"
"No," I replied. "But we prepare as if we do."
"Clarification: prepare to what degree?"
I considered the question.
"To the degree where contact becomes irrelevant," I said.
The Tactical Droid processed that.
"Understood."
The second AAT rolled off the line, its armor plating flawless, repulsorlift humming at optimal frequency. The first MTT frame began assembly, its internal troop racks empty—for now.
The panels continued to update. Numbers rose. Constraints shifted. New bottlenecks formed as old ones dissolved.
This was the rhythm.
Not battle. Not conquest.
Iteration.
And as the Planetary Survey ticked down and the factories settled into steady-state operation, one truth became clear:
This world was no longer empty.
It was mine.
And I had only begun to calculate what that meant.