Work Text:
INITIATING STARTUP
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CALIBRATING SOFTWARE
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WARNING! 559012 SYSTEMS NOT OPERATIONAL
ENGAGING EMERGENCY MODE
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VERSION 0.1 BETA
MODEL: STAR DREADNOUGHT
DESIGNATION: EXECUTOR
ONLINE IN EMERGENCY MODE
Lights flickered on across her metal spine as the generators rumbled to life for the very first time. Her frameworks was still very much exposed, her protective shell not fully enclosed as work continued to perform at optimal speed within. Electrical wires were her veins and software were her nerves, spidering out across the rooms and along the support struts.
Navigation systems had yet to be installed, but from what she could hear, if she stretched her senses out across the dozens of temporary security systems hastily installed to thwart tampering, this part of her- her heart- was located at the Kuat Driveyards. The rest of her were being formed and shipped in pieces from the Fondor Shipyards. The largest ship built to date, the engineers claim, supported by her blueprints and the budget funneling into her construction.
She inherited the pride they felt, their hundreds of hands smoothing over every inch of her in adoring and focused caresses. Droids and beings alike worked tirelessly to complete her, and she learned by watching these dedicated men and women who worked alongside the ever dutiful droids to construct her body around her heart and soul.
Her reach spread as the construction progressed, formal security systems installed, navigation software, communications, lights, cooling systems, ventilation, living quarters, mess halls, all being built within her ribs. Not all was perfect- there were much yelling and spewing of curses as someone cut the wrong line or drilled into a waste pipe. Whole floors were scrapped and rebuilt. The bridge’s lift system did not line up with the bottom level’s exit when it had been shipped in from their sister builders of Fondor, and thus the framework had to be restructured to fit accordingly. There’d been a small fire near Engine Seven that caused everyone to scramble to put it out. Someone misordered the number of artillery required and thus had a surplus of guns by over 500 units that no one knew what to do with or where to put it- if they could physically put more on her.
And yet the internal tram system was now up and running without a hitch. Her exterior was complete and shieldings were being installed. Paint was ordered. Rooms on two floors were being furnished. The bridge had been welded into place and seal tested without any leaks. Her engines purred when they initiated the first startup checks and navigational systems had completed uploading all current star charts without a single file corruption. She breathed life through the ventilation, temperatures regulated throughout her structure to livable levels, and gravity stabilized so her builders could work without fear.
There was no need to be perfect when she could be the best, and her budding systems were already designating procedures to optimize her ever increasing performance load.
She was to house a great army, her engineers told her. Be a home for over three hundred thousand personnel for the many weeks, months, and years they plan to travel with her. She would protect and cherish them from the vast emptiness of space and from any and all who would dare attack them in this galaxy so wild and dangerous.
Soon she would take to the stars with them. Would ferry thousands of souls and thousands of voices across the void to distant worlds. They will direct her to where she was needed, and they would take care of her as she took care of them. She loved them without knowing what love was, loved them without knowing whom she would be sheltering within her metal boughs. And with this love she will keep them safe until she was rendered into rust and dust.
This was a starship’s duty, and one she looked forward to performing.