The sketch was done in two hours. The prototype, in five days. By day ten, the galaxy would know the name Cassian Voss.
Cassian stood before the massive holotable in the design wing of Voss Hypertech, hands folded behind his back, his father seated silently beside him.
The hologram spun slowly a sleek, predatory ship, like a dagger wrapped in shadow. It had the streamlined elegance of an Alderaanian yacht, the menace of a Sith interceptor, and a form unlike anything Corellia had ever seen.
Model Designation: Specter OneHyperdrive Class: 0.2 (Experimental Quantum Layer Drive)Sublight Propulsion: Grav-field vector enginesSignature Profile: Near-zero. Adaptive cloaking.Features: Multiphase shield envelope, AI-assisted navigation, stealth jump capability.
His father, Dorian Voss, leaned in, jaw tight.
"This... this isn't just a ship," Dorian murmured. "This is a statement."
Cassian gave a small nod. "It's the fastest, stealthiest thing the galaxy will see in the next fifty years. Designed to run circles around both the republic and the Hutt Cartels. Perfect for exploration, infiltration... or profit."
Dorian looked at his son, eyes narrowed. "And you want us to build it."
"I want us to build it together."
The construction hangar echoed with a chorus of welding sparks, hydraulic pistons, and excited murmurs. Cassian stood beside his father as Specter One took shape—obsidian hull plating fitted with an elegance that made engineers stare in awe.
The prototype was completed in six days.
And on the seventh, they flew it.
From orbit above Corellia, the test team launched the ship into hyperspace.
Initial jump: Corellia to Ryloth—record time: 14 seconds.Second jump: Ryloth to Tatooine—12 seconds.Third jump: Tatooine to Duro—9 seconds.
The Quantum Layer Drive bent space in ways traditional hyperdrives couldn't replicate. Instead of creating a single corridor, it leapt through micro-folds in spacetime like a skipping stone across a galactic pond.
When they landed back on Corellia, the entire hangar was waiting.
The Announcement
Dorian Voss took the podium, reporters and holocams swarming. His voice was steady, proud.
"Today, my son, Cassian Voss, has not only honored the legacy of Voss Hypertech—but redefined the limits of galactic travel."
The holofeed exploded across the HoloNet. Within hours, smugglers, bounty hunters, even a few curious Senators were placing orders. The Voss family was no longer just another industrial dynasty.
They were visionaries.
Later that night, as the press calmed and the credits flooded in, Dorian handed Cassian a small datachip.
"It's access to one of our remote asteroid facilities. Obsolete. Off-grid. rebublic surveillance. No union contracts. Yours, if you want it."
Cassian blinked. "Seriously?"
His father placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "You've earned it. You're not just my son. You're a creator."
The Research Base – Black Site Zereth
Cassian renamed the facility Zereth Prime.
The moment he stepped into the hollowed-out asteroid, he began converting it. Factories for nanite assembly. Gravity-warp chambers. Quantum forge lines. And in its core chamber: the crown jewel.
Project: Starforge
The first blueprint took shape from a combination of Rick's knowledge, Star Wars-era tech, and Halo Forerunner schematics. The Starforge was not a ship or a station—it was alive.
A dimensional fortress, cloaked even from the Force, capable of:
Teleportation across sectors instantly
Self-replication at a molecular level
Phase-shifting between dimensions
Fleet and AI manufacturing autonomy
Zero-signature stealth from every known detection method
It was a ghost factory. A godforge.
It took Cassian three weeks to finish the prototype and hide it within the asteroid's quantum shadow.
And when it activated—when the Starforge breathed for the first time—every system on the base dimmed.
[Starforge Online.]Primary User: Cassian VossNetwork Uplink: Interdimensional mode engaged.Fleet replication: Ready.
Cassian stared at the pulsating heart of the Starforge a prism engine rotating silently, emitting a glow that wasn't quite light.
"The galaxy still sees me as a boy with a fast ship."
He turned and walked away, already drafting a fleet of cloaked drone warships.
"Let them keep watching."
"The war hasn't even started yet."