The Riddle of Steel [Mandalorians]

[Laira Darkhold]

Workers made way for me as I walked into the command center once more, nodding to the crewmen around it and taking my place in front of the helm, looking out through the transparisteel over the front mounted laser drill. “Good work boys. Fire it up.” I said to them, feeling their anxiety increase as they started working. Like a great beast the mammoth machine leered forward, extending its nose towards the target area, and then, like a tremendous exhale of fire and plasma, the great beast was forced backwards from the recoil of the laser, shoving the metal frame. If not for the sturdiness of the Harvester’s legs and joints it would have had to brace itself from the fury of its own firepower. The machine hummed with energy as the burst devastated the ground before it, tearing into the moon’s crust as though it had caused it some personal affront, but it was not done.

The first beam having concluded the machine relaxed, the sound of generators and capacitors recharging reaching the ears of the crew and the massive beast shifting its weight to better support the power of the beams it emitted into the valley floor. No we were not mining straight down. We were cutting a path through the planet’s crust in this valley. I would expose the mantle in a great scar seen from orbit with this beast.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Hours turned into days and still every few moments the Harvester took a deep breath and exhaled the immense burst of laser fire into the land, tearing a deep gash into the valley. Behind the harvester a dozen smaller mining vessels continued the path, carving out the valley that contained this vein on Concordia, intent on drilling through the bedrock if necessary. The operation had reached the extent it could without carving into the bedrock of this land, and so the tens of thousands of workers and droids followed behind the Harvester as it slowly took steps forward with each burst from its mining laser, the other rigs formed into a wedge around it and a wedge behind it, swooping in to level off the massive tear through the planet’s crust.

There would be repercussions environmentally for a project of this scale, but somethings were worth the cost to the planet. Concordia had been extensively mined before, and Mandalore several times throughout history it had been eviscerated and strip mined of all known beskar, but when more was needed, more was found. It would be the same way here with any luck. Clan Vereen had begun building its home the west of this valley, while ArmaTech would operate facilities on the east of the valley, a divide I was happy to acknowledge. Though ArmaTech wouldn’t supply the enemies of the Mandalore, I kept it separate from my clan to a degree.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The harvester jerked as it stepped forward past the hole in the ground before it and back to partially on the plateau it had been creating. The deep swath cut from the land had yielded more beskar than I had thought the whole project would yield, but then again in the past the destruction of the area had not been so total. In the past we had only dug straight to the vein and carved it out, dumping the dirt and mud behind us as we left. Not so this time. “Status update helmsman.” I said, my voice slightly deeper due to the helmet’s annunciator.

“Everything seems to be going well sir. There is a little wear and tear on the joints, but they are within operable levels. Three days of strip mining this valley have taken their toll on the Harvester though. We should put her to rest at the end of the day to repair and maintain the rig. Let the little rigs handle the rest. We have more than enough beskar to start production and the rigs are better suited to supply a continuous amount of ore to the refining plants.” He said, glancing at sensor read outs and data streams as he spoke. Good points, and I certainly didn’t want to injure the harvester if I didn’t have to and she was right, there was more than enough beskar sitting in the refining plant to the east.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“Very well, we shall finish up the day, then spend tomorrow preforming maintenance and then we will gauge the amount refined with the amount needed and we shall revisit continuing to use the Harvester to strip this valley in its entirety.” I responded, leaning forward as the light from the maw of the drilling laser could be seen starting to glow. Seconds later the harvester was pushed back slightly from the recoil as it always was, its laser tearing and gnashing at the earth before it, leaving pieces of stone and ore behind for the workers and droids to collect as it slowly moved through the valley. This machine wasn’t normally used like this, but the abundance of resources and equipment had caused me to devote much more than might have been necessary otherwise. Normally the harvester would have planted itself somewhere and cut a shaft down to the mineral, but this time there was so much to do, I had brought along much more and wanted to cut so much territory out looking for the mineral that I had misused it slightly, and that probably had added to the wear and tear a little. Even still it had done a fine job.

When night fell on the valley, the harvester hunkered down at the far end of the valley, now almost completely cut to the bedrock and small mining rigs spread evenly across the valley, each one cutting or drilling a little area of its own to claim, and the night shift approaching to take over the operations for the next ten hours.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I myself had left the harvester and was now back at the refining plant watching the Forge Master instruct the droids and men assisting him in the refining. He left out parts and there were thing only he did, but for the most part the massive forges ran on the calibrations and droids he had programmed for their operation. There were secrets to maintain for sure, but the fact that it had to be refined, smelted, and poured into shapeable ingots was no mystery, everyone was aware that these processes happened at some point or another, regardless of how closely held the secrets of the forge were kept.

“How goes the operation Forge Master?” I asked as he wiped his hands on the towel on his belt.

“Not bad. Wish I had a few more apprentices to help, but overall we are getting it done and sent off to Concord Dawn. Some of it is being sent to the hall on the west side of the mountains as well, as per your request.” He said, wiping grime and sweat from his face when he finished speaking.

“Thank you Forge Master, I am certain the rest of clan Vereen is thankful for your service here.”

“It was no problem. Money was good, work was easy, and got to add some notoriety to my name. All in all a good day.” He turned and moved towards his bunk, his work done for now. Sure he would need to stick around to make sure there were no hiccups, but the hard part for him was over. All that was left was to make something from the metal our people thrived on.