Chapter 3, Part 1

*A few days have passed, and Sparc has been immersing himself in the legends of old, in hopes of finding a weakness in the design of the ancient space station tentatively dubbed 'The Star Forge'. He reclines in the chair of the Archive Room, twirling a computer stylus between his fingers. Suddenly, he seems to have an epiphany.*

Sparc: Ah! YES!

*he sits up suddenly, too suddenly, and his chair falls backwards, with him in it*

Sparc: Waaagh!

*Sparc gets up, dusts himself off, and runs out of the room*

*cut to: half an hour later, in the common room*

Marcus: So, Sparc. You say you've found a way to destroy the Star Forge.

Sparc: Yes, I believe so.

*Sparc activates a viewscreen on the wall*

Sparc: In the ancient Rakatan empire, there were of course many different factions vying for power.

Saganami: *snort* Bureacracy. Ain't it grand?

Sparc: Well, normally no. But in this case, it might just save us all. The Rakatans who built the original Star Forge were part of the most powerful faction. And of course, such a powerful weapon ensured they stayed such. But others didn't like that notion one bit. So they built in a flaw.

Gonick, with great irony: A small thermal exhaust port, directly below the main port?

Sparc: No, actually. It's not a flaw, per se. More of a remote control.

Emma: An off switch?

Sparc: Precisely. From what I've read, it is capable of shutting down the Star Forge, and all technology created by it.

Gonick, with a tinge of annoyance: A Magical MacGuffin quest? You must be joking...

Dagobah: Wait. There's something he hasn't mentioned yet.

Sparc: That's right. According to the records I did find, the artifact, as the Star Forge was, was controlled by the Force.

Saganami: Then we're screwed. There hasn't been a Force-sensitive in milennia.

Marcus: Is there another way to control the artifact?

Sparc: No. I'm afraid it's Force or nothing.

*everyone starts yelling at this point, talking about wastes of time, how screwed they are, et cetera. Marcus cuts in with an ear-splitting whistle*

Marcus: I'm quite sure that Sparc wouldn't waste our time with useless information. He knows what happened to the last one to do that.

Sparc, with a slight involuntary shudder: Marcus is quite correct. Let me ask you all a question. If all knowledge of the Force was lost, then how would we know if people were Force-sensitive? We wouldn't. So while Saganami is correct that there are no known Force-sensitives alive, that really means nothing. It's like saying that there are no neutrinos in this room. We don't have a way of seeing them, so it's quite easy to assume they don't exist.

Emma: It sounds like we need a way to discover Force-sensitivity.

Sparc: Exactly. And I know how.

Saganami: How, then?

Sparc: Actually, 'where'. There are records of an ancient library of Force-related knowledge on a planet once known as 'Ossus'. However, the location of the planet has since been lost.

Emma: But you found it.

Sparc: It's amazing what you can accomplish while bored in a library.

*Sparc switches the viewscreen to a map*

Sparc: This is the location of Ossus. Here, at E04:23:63:22.

Marcus: Sounds like we should mount an expedition.

Sparc: I agree. I should go, and Gonick should come as well. Who knows what state the computers will be in?

Marcus: Bring Edward and Emma as well. They have areas of expertise that may prove useful.

Emma: One question, here. Not to be Jenny Raincloud here, but the Freyja is in no condition to go anywhere except drydock.

Gonick: Yes. My heart bleeds for the poor dear. Fortunately, there are other ships available. Like the Danube.

Saganmi: The runabout?

Gonick: Would you prefer a Corellian freighter? In any case, it's speedy and small, which are good attributes for this mission.

Marcus: It's settled, then. Take the Danube to Ossus. Learn about the Force. And then we can kick Mr. Guido's ass across space.

Gonick: A mission to a lost planet, to obtain forgotten knowledge, to control a MacGuffin, to defeat a great and powerful evil?

Emma: Too cliche?

Gonick: No. As an ancestor of mine once said: "It's not too hot, or too cold. It's just right".

Saganami: Ok, Goldilocks. We should leave as soon as possible. I'll prep the ship, you all gather what tools you need. We'll leave at 18:00 hours.

Mick: That's in two hours.

Marcus: Exactly. Get going! Chop chop!

*everyone hurriedly exits the room, and disperses to their duties*

*scene ends*