An Uninvited Guest

An Uninvited Guest

"Hyperspace communication? That means intelligent life! And intelligent life capable of interstellar travel!" Tang Xiao was startled. "Mainframe! Immediately locate the origin of the transmission! Notify all combat personnel to head over at once and seal off that area! Graham, take command on site!"

Yes.

A transport ship carrying Marines lifted off and flew in the direction indicated by the Mainframe.

"Administrator, you're unwell. You should return to the mothership as soon as possible," a female resident said with concern.

"I'm fine." Tang Xiao's expression was grave as he turned and said, "Come on, T-850. Let's capture the ones who sent the signal earlier." As he spoke, he headed toward the landing pad, where another transport ship had just finished unloading.

Following the guidance from the mothership, Tang Xiao, T-850, and several Marines soon arrived at a barren stretch of hills. The transport ship that had arrived earlier had already landed. At the entrance of a hidden cave, more than a dozen Marines blocked the way, occasionally firing bursts into the cave.

The Marines were all equipped with Type 21 assault rifles. They looked highly mechanical, but they still seemed somewhat out of place in this interstellar era. To put it bluntly, everyone else was going biubiubiu while you were still going dadada. That just wouldn't do!

"How's the situation?" Tang Xiao walked over and asked.

"There are three of them, but they've been hiding inside the cave and refuse to come out. We can't understand each other either, so it'll be difficult to take them alive," one Marine replied.

"You go. Make sure you capture them alive." Tang Xiao wanted to see what T-850 was capable of.

Without saying a word, T-850 grabbed a large metal cargo crate from the transport ship, dropped it to the ground with a clang, then pushed it forward with one hand. Its speed was surprisingly fast.

Several incomprehensible curses came from inside the cave, followed by a few red Blaster Beams{Note 1}. However, every shot was blocked by the crate T-850 was pushing.

Three people dressed in explorer outfits were hiding behind cover and firing continuously. They were still cursing as they shot. One look was enough to tell they were desperate criminals.

Then T-850 suddenly stood up, grabbed the metal crate—which was taller than a person—and raised it high over its head before hurling it forward with a thunderous crash!

Boom!! Shale and shattered cargo scattered everywhere. Nearly a ton of goods had been hurled at them, making the scene no less devastating than a grenade explosion!

The moment the three people saw this, they dropped to their knees and raised their hands. Their cursing stopped abruptly, cleanly and in perfect unison. Tang Xiao almost thought they were French.

"Take them back to the mothership for interrogation and analyze their language. Then clean up this hideout and see if there's anything useful." Tang Xiao rubbed his forehead as he gave the order. The Marines behind him immediately pounced like starving tigers and pinned the three armed men to the ground.

Looking inside, the cave appeared to be a secret hideout. It had been dug deep into the mountain, and its entrance was extremely well concealed. No wonder the initial scan had failed to detect it. Various goods, supplies, and communications equipment were piled inside.

Tang Xiao glanced at the Blaster pistols the three men had dropped on the ground. Recalling the sensation from before, he raised his hand. Then something incredible happened. One of the Blaster pistols actually twitched, then flew toward him as though seized by an invisible hand. However, it veered off course and smacked T-850 squarely in the forehead with a slap.

Seeing this display, the three men were even more terrified. Their eyes darted everywhere, and none of them dared meet Tang Xiao's gaze.

After taking them out of the cave, they encountered a group of Ewoks drawn by the gunfire. Tang Xiao pointed at the upright little bear-like people and asked the three men, "Ewok?"

Even if they did not share a language, there would be no difference in the pronunciation of a noun like that.

The three men nodded frantically, terrified that something horrifying might happen if they nodded too slowly.

Tang Xiao then pointed at the ground beneath his feet. "Endor?"

The three men nodded again. One of them seemed to realize what Tang Xiao was asking and pointed at himself. "Corellia!"

Then he drew an arc through the air. "Tatooine!"

Finally, he drew another arc and pointed at the ground. "Endor!"

So they meant that they had departed from Corellia, passed through Tatooine, and finally arrived on Endor? Tang Xiao pursed his lips. Endor should be called Dawn now.

But they needed to return to the mothership. Now that it had been confirmed beyond doubt that this was the world of "Star Wars," and they had even captured a few people, there was no time to admire the scenery. They had to determine the current era.

Back on the mothership, they threw the three men into prison and left the language analysis to the Mainframe. Tang Xiao sat in the main seat on the bridge, thought for a while, then opened the list of personnel available for awakening. He truly needed help now.

He opened the Elite Class personnel list and found that quite a few people could already be awakened. Among them were several Elite Class biologists. Their requirements were simply a habitable planet with a complete ecosystem for research, along with basic laboratories and living conditions slightly better than those of the workers.

Now familiar with the process, he awakened the biologists and had them report to the medical bay for physical examinations. Afterward, they were to come to the bridge to receive their assignments, then take experimental equipment aboard a transport ship and land on Dawn Star Planet.

These biologists would begin studying the ecological structure of Dawn Star Planet, determining which human crops could be planted there. If none were suitable, they would need to search locally for appropriate crops. They would also test whether livestock such as pigs, cattle, and sheep could survive there, as well as investigate whether any local creatures could be used as meat.

There was much more work of this kind to be done, so Tang Xiao awakened an expert in management and colony construction from among the Elite class to serve as his assistant.

Soon, a woman in her thirties entered the bridge and saluted Tang Xiao. "Greetings, Administrator. I am Daphne Clement. According to your appointment, I will assist you with the colony's construction. Please give me some time. Once I fully understand the colony's current progress, I will immediately begin drafting further plans."

According to the information in the database, Daphne Clement had once been responsible for resettling disaster victims and post-disaster reconstruction, and she was highly experienced in this field. A certain region had once been struck by a devastating tornado and was nearly flattened to the ground. She led her team in working almost without rest, handling everything from tent settlement arrangements and disaster relief distribution to temporary housing construction and, finally, rebuilding the town. She had personally overseen nearly all of it and done an excellent job.

Her awakening requirements were not particularly demanding. All she needed was an ample supply of materials and enough manpower. In summary, Normal Class personnel required almost no special conditions, while Elite Class requirements were relatively easy to fulfill. Master Class personnel, however, needed a stage where they could fully display their abilities.

That was how interstellar colonization worked. After all, they were feeling their way across the river by touching the stones. If no one knew how to build an interstellar colony, then they would find someone who knew how to rebuild a town. The process was similar anyway. That was why Daphne Clement was here.

"Alright, thank you for your hard work. Please begin." Tang Xiao smiled. "I'll grant you the authority to awaken Normal Class residents. Any awakening of fewer than one hundred people no longer requires my approval. You will be our first Chief Executive Officer."

"Yes!" Clement smiled and bowed to Tang Xiao. Then she said, "There are also some members of my personal team. I hope they can be awakened to help us as well."

Tang Xiao waved a hand. "I already said that awakening fewer than one hundred people does not require my approval. Also, the five civilian staff members already working here will be placed under your command. Establish the Administrative Department with yourself at its head."

"Understood."

After Daphne Clement began her work, Tang Xiao sat down again and had the Mainframe open an editable interface for him. He drew a vertical line across it, then wrote several terms from top to bottom along the line.

At the very top, the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire stood opposed to each other. Below that was a long stretch where only the Galactic Republic dominated the Milky Way Galaxy.

Further down, the Galactic Republic split apart and stood opposed to the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tang Xiao labeled this the First Galactic Civil War.

Below that, he crossed out both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, leaving the Galactic Empire as the sole ruler of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Finally, the Galactic Empire split apart once more and stood opposed to the Rebel Alliance. He labeled this the Second Galactic Civil War. He also drew a circle there and wrote Endor inside it—the present-day Dawn Planet—then drew a cross over it. This place was one of the main battlefields.

This was the timeline of the major events in the world of "Star Wars." Then Tang Xiao drew a large question mark beside it. Since there were no traces of war near Dawn Planet, the current time had to be before the Second Galactic Civil War. But even so, that still covered a very long period.

Tang Xiao took a deep breath and stared solemnly at the interface. What era are we in now?

{Note 1}: This kind of Blaster Beam was the biubiubiu weapon from the "Star Wars" films, often mocked as "slow lasers." They were not actually lasers, but a kind of Gaseous Plasma. This will be explained in more detail later.

{Note 2}: Just like in "Infinite Legend: The Mechanic," Xiao Jing will guide everyone step by step through the worldbuilding and story of "Star Wars." Even if you have never watched the series, you will understand it after reading my book.