Chapter 2, Part 4

*the scene opens in the Timberwolf Imperial Archive Room, a vast, spherical room with walls housing blinking lights. A bridge leads from the door to a console in the center. Basically, think Cerebro from the X-Men movie combined with the Jedi Archives from Attack of the Clones. Gonick, Edward Saganami, Sparc, and Emma are standing on the center platform. Sparc is narrating while operating controls on the console. As he speaks, various images are projected in, on, and around the room.*

Sparc: According to ancient myth, this part of our universe was part of a vast interstellar empire ruled by a race known as the Rakata many eons ago. Almost as long ago, their empire collapsed.

Gonick: How?

Sparc: Nobody's sure. Keep in mind, records from that period are practically non-existent. Well, actually they are non-existent. All we have to go on these days are records of records, copies of copies. The bottom line is, there's nothing concrete about these records.

Gonick: A shame, but there is little we can do about it. Please continue.

Sparc: Right. According to what records we do have, at the height of their power, they built a massive space station, which harnessed the power of their star, and converted it into weapons, ships, even battle robots. Unfortunately, their power and influence began to decline, even to a point where they could no longer control their own technology. Their civilization collapsed in on itself, and the only survivors retreated to their homeworld, where they bombed themselves almost into extinction. Over the next few millennia, they recovered as well as they could, but eventually they died out under unknown circumstances.

Saganami, wiggling fingers: Mysteeerious.

Sparc: Yes, quite. But, also according to records, before that happened, a small group of people met the Rakatans on their homeworld, recovered the ancient schematics, and destroyed the station. Many, many years later (we're talking more eons here), the schematics had been distributed throughout various databases. It has been copied, pasted, lost, found, crystallized, memorized, buried in peat moss for several months, and one copy was reportedly eaten by the Bugblatter Beast of Traal. However, due to the immense resources needed to construct such a station, nobody was able to build one.

Gonick: Until now.

Sparc: Yeah, except no. Our scans show that the station we encountered in the Lehon sector was at least two thousand years old. Back then, this part of the universe was in total anarchy. Or so we thought.

Emma: How do you mean?

Sparc: Well, think about it. The ancient Rakata could only build one at the height of their empire. No one has built one since. As far as we know, only two have ever been built. The long and short of it is, it would be impossible for one small group, at war with all others, to create a station of this sort. They just wouldn't have the resources. There must have been some kind of cohesive organization that we were previously unaware of.

Saganami: Interesting.

Gonick: Yeah, totally. Those ancients had the best weapons. Dreadnoughts. Death Stars. Giant star factories. I just wish they'd learn to use the delete key...

Sparc: Heh, it would mean a lot fewer big bad unka-splats in this time.

Gonick: So let me recap to see if I've got this. Ancient aliens build a giant factory station. Ancient aliens die out. Ancient humans get ancient alien's blueprints. Ancient humans hide ancient alien blueprints. Blueprints play hide and seek for a few eons. Newer ancient (how did you put it?) big bad unka-splats find it, and build a doom factory. Mr. Guido finds said doom station. Mr. Guido is captured, but escapes to his doom station. Mr. Guido kicks our asses across space.

Sparc: Sounds accurate.

Gonick: One thing still bothers me, though.

Sparc: Hmm?

Gonick: If these big bad- ok, I am not saying that. Let's call them 'Forerunners'. If these Forerunners had resources rivaling the ancient Rakata, at the height of their power, where did they go? Why have we never heard of them? Why'd they leave their 'doom factory'? (By the way, we're going to need a better name for that, too) All of these unknowns worry me. But I suppose we do need to focus on the task at hand. How was the original station destroyed?

Sparc: The 'Rakatan's Legacy'?

Gonick: I know you made that name up.

Sparc: Nuts. Anyway, it was destroyed by the force of many cannons.

Gonick: Some guys came and blew it up with overwhelming pew pew pew? No impossible targets? No ventilation shafts? No womp rats in Beggar's canyon? They just shot at it until it blew up?

Sparc: You sound surprised.

Gonick: Well, it's never that easy.

Sparc: Who mentioned 'easy'? With the full force of our fleet, we couldn't scratch it. Instead, we lost half our fleet and had to run.

Saganami: So, we've got to take on the entire fleet of Mr. Guido, blow up his 'Star Forge', and rid the universe of his evil, once and for all?

Sparc: Yeppers.

Gonick: Sounds like fun!

*Gonick, Sparc, Edward Saganami, and Emma walk towards the door. Sparc pauses at the threshold.*

Sparc, thoughtfully: 'Star Forge', huh. I like that....

*Sparc leaves the room, and the scene ends*

Audio Tour (Part 4)