## **Chapter 253: Steel Beneath the Ice**
The cold winds of Rothana howled across the frozen plains like distant echoes of war.
Rothana stretched endlessly beneath a pale sky, its surface a vast expanse of ice, rock, and stubborn life that refused to yield to the harsh climate. Snow swept across the landscape in long, drifting waves, broken only by the slow, deliberate movement of massive creatures grazing in the distance.
Luminara Unduli stood at the edge of a raised observation platform, her robes fluttering gently in the biting wind. Her calm, composed expression revealed little, but her eyes moved constantly—studying, analyzing, observing.
In the far distance, a herd of Welkhmer trudged across the frozen plains. Massive, woolly, and six-legged, their sheer size and steady gait made them seem almost immovable—like living fortresses. Their design had not gone unnoticed by engineers; it was said their form had inspired the structure of the Republic's armored walkers.
Luminara folded her hands into her sleeves.
"Even here," she murmured softly, "life persists."
Behind her, the low hum of machinery echoed faintly from the massive industrial complexes that dominated the horizon.
This world was anything but lifeless.
---
Rothana Heavy Engineering was the beating heart of the planet.
A subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards, its purpose was singular—war production.
From orbit, the scale of it was overwhelming.
A vast planetary ring encircled Rothana, filled with refineries, shipyards, and pressurized docks. Hundreds of defense platforms—Golan I Defense Platform and Golan II Defense Platform—stood guard, their weapons ready to unleash devastation at a moment's notice.
And beyond them—
A fleet.
Star Destroyers drifted in silent formation, their triangular hulls casting shadows across the void. Among them loomed something far greater.
Mandator-class Star Dreadnought.
Even from the surface, its immense eight-kilometer frame was visible—an artificial horizon of steel and power.
Luminara's gaze lingered on it briefly.
"So much strength," she thought, "and yet… so much dependence on it."
---
Rothana had not always been known.
Discovered seven hundred and sixty-five years ago, its transformation had been nothing short of extraordinary. What had once been a remote, frozen world had become a fortress of industry—its surface and orbit woven together by a dense network of factories, mines, and shipyards.
And all of it—
Hidden.
"Secrets within secrets," Luminara murmured.
For years, Rothana had remained concealed from the wider galaxy, its existence known only to a select few. It was only when the Kaminoans required a manufacturing base near their cloning facilities that the planet's true purpose began to unfold.
The memory surfaced clearly.
Sifo-Dyas.
The Jedi Master who had commissioned the Clone Army.
It had been his decision—his foresight—that had led to Rothana's rise as a military production hub. Massive orders had been placed through intermediaries, billions of credits transferred, and new hyperspace routes carved through the stars.
Rothana to Kamino.
Rothana through Excarga to Ryloth.
Supply lines.
War lines.
Every day since then, thousands of vehicles rolled off assembly lines. Walkers. Tanks. Transports. Dozens of warships launched from orbital slipways, joining the Republic's ever-growing fleet.
Luminara closed her eyes briefly.
"The scale of this war…" she thought. "It was decided long before it began."
---
"Ah, Master Jedi."
The voice broke her concentration.
Luminara turned gracefully, her expression returning to its usual calm neutrality.
Before her stood a woman dressed in formal industrial attire—practical, but refined. She carried a datapad and wore the insignia of Kuat and Rothana's joint operations.
"Oh," Luminara said politely, inclining her head slightly. "I apologize. I did not sense your approach. And you are?"
The woman smiled, placing a hand lightly over her chest.
"Jasmill Selanno," she introduced herself. "I've been appointed as lead manager overseeing coordination between Kuat and Rothana. My role is to evaluate equipment performance and ensure production efficiency."
"I see," Luminara replied.
Her tone remained courteous, though distant.
Jasmill stepped closer, glancing briefly out over the industrial landscape.
"It's… overwhelming, isn't it?" she said. "The scale of it all."
"It is," Luminara admitted. "Though I cannot claim deep familiarity with the equipment itself. The clones are the primary operators, and the Force does not often grant us the luxury of… technical evaluation."
Jasmill nodded understandingly.
"Of course. War rarely allows for reflection."
There was a brief pause.
Then Jasmill hesitated slightly before speaking again.
"If you don't mind me asking, Master Jedi… I was hoping to find someone. A Jedi, actually. Someone I worked with briefly on Coruscant."
Luminara's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Oh?"
"Yes," Jasmill continued. "A… friend, I suppose. He had a strong interest in military design and logistics. I haven't heard from him in some time."
She looked directly at Luminara.
"His name is Dagon. Do you know him?"
---
There it was.
The name lingered in the air like a subtle disturbance.
Luminara's expression did not change.
But something in her eyes did.
"Dagon Marek," she said calmly.
Jasmill blinked.
"Yes—yes, that's him."
Luminara's lips pressed into a thin line.
"He is known," she said.
Jasmill's expression brightened slightly.
"Oh, that's good! I was worried he had been reassigned somewhere obscure."
Luminara allowed herself a small, controlled breath.
"He is currently stationed at Lantilles," she said. "Commander of the Twelfth Sector."
Jasmill's eyes widened.
"Commander of an entire sector?" she repeated. "That's… incredibly fast advancement."
"Yes," Luminara replied.
There was something in her tone now.
Subtle.
Sharp.
"High Jedi General," she added.
Jasmill looked genuinely surprised.
"I didn't realize he had reached such a rank," she said. "That's impressive."
Luminara said nothing for a moment.
Then—
"It is… notable."
---
Jasmill tilted her head slightly, sensing the shift.
"Is something wrong?" she asked carefully.
Luminara turned her gaze back toward the horizon, the massive shipyards reflecting in her eyes.
"General Marek," she said slowly, "has achieved much in a short time."
"That sounds like a good thing," Jasmill replied.
Luminara's expression remained composed.
"Efficiency," she said, "is not always synonymous with wisdom."
Jasmill frowned slightly.
"I don't understand."
Luminara turned back to her.
"There are… concerns," she said. "His methods. His interpretation of the Jedi Code."
Jasmill's grip tightened slightly on her datapad.
"But he's still a Jedi, isn't he?"
A pause.
Luminara considered her answer carefully.
"He is," she said.
Then, more quietly—
"For now."
---
Silence stretched between them.
The distant rumble of shipyard operations filled the space.
Jasmill glanced down briefly, then back up.
"I knew him as someone… focused," she said. "Driven, yes, but not reckless."
Luminara studied her.
"War changes many things," she replied.
"That sounds like you don't trust him," Jasmill said.
Luminara did not respond immediately.
Instead, she looked out once more at the Mandator-class dreadnought hanging in orbit.
"A Jedi," she said finally, "must be more than a weapon."
Jasmill followed her gaze.
"And if the war demands otherwise?"
Luminara's expression hardened—just slightly.
"Then we must question what we are becoming."
---
Jasmill exhaled slowly.
"I hope you're wrong about him," she said quietly.
Luminara did not answer.
But in her mind—
There was doubt.
Not about Dagon's strength.
But about where that strength would lead.
---
Above them, ships launched from Rothana's docks in endless succession.
Steel.
Fire.
War.
And somewhere far away—
A man stood at the center of it all.
Becoming something the Jedi did not yet understand.