Act 08: Engineering Perfection

[Captain Larraq]

Mesen'loras Campaign
Act 08: Engineering Perfection


Rygel Larraq had never designed a living organism before. If you had asked him a year ago, he would have likely claimed such an endeavor to be impossible. But today... He was doing just that. His lead bioengineer had informed Larraq that he could cut, splice, and shape the genetic code of the creature in a trillion different ways. He had been told that all things were possible and that Larraq had only to give him a set of parameters and he would soon have a finished product beyond his wildest expectations.

However, Rygel Larraq could think of a lot. And often expected a lot.

Larraq sat in an office on Ord Cestus and looked out over Kibo Lake. The body of water stretched fifty miles wide and now contained one of the largest and most obscene investments of his life. A Lygria from Argyra IV. The creature was massive. Small by the standards of its own species, but massive none-the-less. A wingspan of 600 meters, a body length of 140 meters, and a beak to tail length of around 680 meters.

It was massive. And Larraq could occasionally see it swimming near the surface of the lake from his temporary office.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Larraq had made frequent visits to the Auron Helix lab since their arrival with the Lygria. He had watched Skek'zus Quall examine the creature and take genetic samples of it. He had watched five smaller Lygria swim in their small tanks, and he had watched the results of the genetic experiments his scientists made on the creatures. They tinkered with the genetic code of the creatures and grew clones in massive tanks. They recorded the physical variations in the clones compared to the originals, terminated the 'sample', and moved on to the next experiment. They had been doing it for weeks before Skek'zus had finally approached Larraq and informed him that they were ready to begin the next phase of the project.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Larraq had pulled up the blueprints and construction notes on every ship he had ever designed. From the Concordia to the Cabur, Larraq reviewed each of them from an engineer's point of view. He knew each ship well enough. He had designed a great deal of them personally. And as a Naval man, he knew the ins and outs of how each performed in and out of combat. All the same, he had brought up reviews of his ships that had been made by buyers across the galaxy. What he would build next had to be perfect. The investment he had already made in the project demanded nothing less. Not to mention his own demands... This project was going to launch Mandal Hypernautics into brand new territory. Territory that no other company had explored. As far as he knew anyway.

 

[Captain Larraq]

The design began with one of his most recent successes. The overhauled Scion-class Stealth Corvette he had made for Rave Merrill. Inside and out, the modifications he had made to the ship were masterful. The internal defenses were based on those of the Ordo-class Frigate and expanded upon with advanced life support options and automated internal weaponry. Whatever design aspects followed, this organic ship would need to incorporate the same internal weaponry and structures that Larraq had used for the overhaul. The power and wiring would also need to be compartmentalized like those ships. It would need to be able to continue functioning even after sustaining horrific damage in combat and it would need to be able to repel boarders with or without the intervention of the crew.

 

[Captain Larraq]

The overall role of the craft had to be... unique. Something that couldn't be performed by any of the ships currently used by the clans. Larraq flipped through his files as he considered his options. They already had a minelayer. They had an amazing sensor frigate and arguably the best electronic warfare frigate in the galaxy. They had assault ships and fast attack ships. They had ships of the line and carrier support ships. Interdictors and command and control ships... They even had a handful of stealth ships. Larraq flipped back to the Scion retrofit and stared at the blueprints once more. Reconnaissance. The clans rarely ventured outside of their own boarders for much other than full scale assaults. Individuals would hire themselves out as mercenaries and often owned their own small craft to get about in... But rarely, if ever, did the clans attempt to keep tabs on their more violent or questionable neighbors.

 

[Captain Larraq]

It was the perfect role for his living ships. They would be combat vessels, but the goal would be to remain unseen and avoid detection, fleeing when heavy combat presented itself. The attrition rate on such vehicles would likely be very low, despite the dangers associated with such missions. And the importance of such operations often warranted investing finances into rare and expensive pieces of equipment.

Larraq immediately began drafting up his demands for the project. Near-zero signature on sensors. Passive or possibly active camouflage technology would be ideal. There were plenty of creatures in the galaxy that could camouflage themselves. Even Larraq knew that much. Internal weaponry and defenses... the works. Armor and weapons were added to the list, as were desired thrust and maneuverability ratings. Sensor ranges, crew complement, and internal spaces for living quarters and cargo bays, hanger bays, and... whatever other open spaces his customers would be needing. A brig and a medical bay being at the top of the list.

 

[Captain Larraq]

(Skek'zus Quall)

Skek'zus had been working with a computer simulation of the Lygria when Mr Larraq entered his lab. The computer he had helped to build was capable of predicting the effects of a genetic modification to a 97% accuracy. It was hardly ideal, but it was the best they had at the moment. With a few more months, he anticipated reaching 99.8% accuracy. But it would do for now. “What can I do for you Mr Larraq?” Asked Skek'zus when the Mandalorian made his way past the various experiments and directly to the Qellan.

“I've finished the initial drafts.” Larraq said simply, placing a folder of paper documents on his desk along with a datastick. “Do you really think we're ready to turn these fish into starships?” The Mandalorian asked Skek'zus as he took hold of the papers and began skimming through the documents.

“We are.” Skek'zus said flatly. “Your structural demands will be an easy modification. Shortening the tail and sweeping the wings back beside the tail... Using the wing tips and tail as a rudder... doable. The internal passages are an easy modification. If you give me a moment, I'll add these to the existing modifications we've been experimenting with and show you the results.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

Skek'zus sat his rear down on the soft pad that served as a chair for Qellan and began typing on the computer's control console. His fingers prattled along the interface as he wrote strings of genetic code from memory. On the display, the shape of the projected creature shifted and changed. Bones shortened in areas and lengthened in others. New bones grew and old ones shrank away. The tail of the creature shortened drastically, growing fatter and triangular as it went. The wings bent backwards, a joint similar to an elbow or shoulder forming in the center of the wing. The shape of the wings and tail shifted as Skek'zus continued to type. A body protrusion formed at the joint in the wings and pointed forward, like a double prow to either side of the main body. The mouth of the creature closed and sealed, a thick bony growth forming over the existing beak. The existing carapace of the creature thickened and hardened, turning itself into something more akin to a hull.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Skek'zus continued to type at the computer. The display split and formed a second image next to the first. The carapace and muscles became transparent and the internal structures revealed themselves. Bone and veins, connective sinew, gills, esophagus, digestive track... Each of these things revealed themselves within the creature. Each of which grew and expanded. The digestive track and esophagus grew and expanding, hardening and becoming internal passageways. Gills closed shut and became lungs, then shifted again as they grew and became internal air-scrubbers. A green algae or plant began sprouting from the new quad-organs and turned into a complete life-support system, capable of creating breathable atmosphere within the creature's hollow cavities for the crew that would be filling it.

 

[Captain Larraq]

As Skek'zus continued to type, the creature began to look more and more like a ship. Inside and out. Here and there, new structures began growing within the creature. What Larraq would not know, but Skek'zus Quall would, is that these structures were biotechnologies used in Qellan and Charon constructs. They were what made their ships function. Sensors, communicators, bio-reactors, navigation neural structures, maneuvering systems, augmented immune systems... Everything he had at his disposal was added to the Mesen'loras. “I adjusted the base behavior.” Skek'zus said as he typed. “There were several playful and curious species we sampled from Naboo. The behaviors seemed popular with the local populace, so we did what we could to isolate the corresponding genetic codes and extract them for this project. We figured it would... improve their popularity with customers.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“Then there's the samples we collected from the Firaxan Shark on Manaan.” Skek'zus said as he continued to type, ignoring the look of stunned silence coming from the Mandalorian by his side. “The shark creates a chemical secretion that, when exposed to a specific algae, produces Kolto. We extracted the genes of both the organ that creates the secretions and that of the algae itself.” On the screen, the creature grew organs responsible for faster than light travel in Qellan bioengineering. Though the Mandalorian likely wouldn't recognize them for what they were. Ignoring the complicated and truly impressive feats that he was accomplishing, Skek'zus continued to focus on what the brutish Mandalorian would understand. “The Mesen'loras will be able to secrete its own Kolto when injured. It should enable to creature to heal in days the type of injuries that would take other species weeks or months to recover from. As an added benefit, I designed a... type of tear duct that allows the Kolto secretions to pump into the cavity we'll be using as a medical bay. It should prove useful.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“We also increased the size and efficiency of the creature's brain.” Skek'zus said, drastically oversimplifying what they had actually done. The Mandalorian wouldn't have understood it otherwise. His fingers continued to plod away at the keyboard and the internal and external features of the creature continued to change. “We added a few genetic codes selected from a handful of similar species that have attained sentience. It should... leave the Mesen'loras with full sentience. The goal is to hopefully leave it as intelligent as a droid at least. Sentience can be a tricky matter... Some species of jelly attain sentience, yet some higher species with massive brains never reach such status. We will see.”

“Unfortunately.” Skek'zus said as he came to a pause, his hands became still and the tapping of the keys ceased. “There are still some unresolved complications.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“What sort of complications?” Larraq asked Skek'zus as the Mandalorian's arms folded over his chest. “I have researched every Charon document in your possession... “ Skek'zus said as he stood and faced the Mandalorian. “As well as the Qellan data that I have access to. I can make weapons... there are plenty of biological weapons in the natural world that I could shape into suitable defense mechanisms... But they will not meet your expectations. The same goes for propulsion. I do not have the ability to make this ship move as swiftly as you demand.”

“That's unacceptable Mr Quall.” Larraq said with an edge of anger and panic. “I've sunk too many resources into this project for you to tell me now that you can't make a frelling ship that can fly or a gun that can shoot.”

“It is unfortunate.” Skek'zus said calmly. “But I think I know of someone who can complete this project for us.”