Star Wars: Empire of the Eternal Star

{Chapter: 12 This chapter is on the tip of your tongue, and can be eaten with rice}

After capturing Dubrak-Quinto's gang of smugglers, the colony entered a period of rapid expansion. For over a week, everything proceeded smoothly, and the settlers focused on improving infrastructure, ensuring the steady growth of their new home.

The mining stations orbiting the gas giant had increased to four, significantly boosting helium-3 fuel production. This allowed the mothership's fusion reactors to operate without concerns over energy shortages. However, there was a limitation—the mothership had only carried four modular mining stations. Constructing additional ones required manual assembly, which meant gathering raw materials and skilled labor before any new stations could be deployed.

The gas giant, Endor, was surrounded by nine moons, three of which contained rich deposits of metallic ores. The engineering teams had shifted their focus to constructing a mining facility on one of the asteroids. Once operational, it would serve as a vital supply point, ensuring a steady flow of metal for the colony's industrial projects.

On the surface of Dawn Star, the settlement continued expanding at a rapid pace. Over 1,000 modular two-story residential buildings had been completed, providing enough housing for the growing population. With more than 1,700 settlers now active, the colony was still well within its designed capacity of 10,000 residents.

Daphne Clement oversaw the gradual awakening of more cryogenically frozen colonists, carefully selecting individuals with the skills needed to support ongoing development. However, as the population increased, Leo found himself facing two pressing challenges.

The first issue was employment. While there were numerous ongoing projects, ensuring that every colonist had meaningful work was becoming increasingly difficult. Skilled positions were filling up fast, and the colony wasn't yet large enough to support an economy that could absorb excess labor into non-essential roles.

The second problem was far more immediate—transport shortages. The colony had only five transport ships ferrying settlers and supplies between the mothership and the surface. Each vessel was roughly 30 meters long, classified as a light frigate, and capable of carrying either 100 passengers or 50 tons of cargo per trip. This was barely enough to keep up with the growing demand.

To make matters worse, one of the ships had broken down, straining the already limited transport capacity. Since these ships couldn't be reproduced using the mothership's built-in manufacturing systems, constructing more required external facilities.

To address this, Leo had authorized the construction of a small space dock. Even with modular components from the mothership, it would take at least a week to complete. Until then, transport bottlenecks would continue slowing progress.

Between overseeing the colony's growth and managing crisis after crisis, Leo barely had time to think about anything else. In the beginning, his responsibilities had been straightforward—set up shelter, gather resources, and ensure survival. But as the settlement expanded, everything became more complicated.

He had once spent hours lost in sci-fi fantasies like Star Wars, dreaming about space travel. Now, he was actually living in a colony on another planet, commanding fleets, overseeing construction, and making decisions that shaped the future of an entire civilization. It was surreal.

Despite the challenges, progress continued. Marines were sent on controlled hunts, both to improve their combat readiness and to provide fresh meat for the colony's food supply. Mining teams extracted limestone, coal, and metal ores, while agricultural teams worked on expanding both traditional farms and hydroponic greenhouses. The colony had even managed to cultivate native plant species alongside Earth-based crops like rice, wheat, and corn.

Infrastructure projects were also moving forward. Steel mills, cement plants, power stations, and water treatment facilities were under construction, while roads and airport sites were being laid out. Everything was falling into place—except for one frustrating problem.

The colony's sewage system was a disaster.

Dawn Star's geology presented a major challenge. Unlike Earth, which had vast rivers and oceans capable of naturally filtering wastewater, Dawn Star was almost entirely solid ground. The few available water sources were deep underground, meaning that improper waste disposal could contaminate the entire ecosystem.

Leo had been horrified to find settlers manually carrying buckets of sewage, wandering around looking for places to dispose of it. Something had to be done.

After returning to the mothership, he called Daphne for an urgent meeting.

"I have an idea," he said, his expression serious. "We built a giant sewage collection reservoir on a nearby mountain. All the waste gets funneled there, and then we use a dam to generate electricity from it."

Daphne stared at him in stunned silence.

"…A dam?"

He planned to build a giant feces collector on the mountain next to the colony to collect all the sewage and sewage, and then build a dam to use the sewage to generate electricity.

He had a reason to think so, because he had done this in a certain game before. He thought that since even the spaceship in the game could be brought into reality, then the feces collector that could be realized in the game should also be possible.

However, Clement was frightened. She tried hard to suppress the urge to catch Leo and check his brain. She told her manager seriously that this was impossible in reality because the pressure of the sewage was not enough to drive the dam's turbine, and there were too many impurities in it, which could easily cause blockage.

She took a slow breath, as if struggling not to scream. "The pressure from sewage isn't nearly enough to power turbines efficiently. And do you have any idea how much solid waste would clog the entire system?"

After all, one doesn't know whether someone is constipated, right?

Leo frowned. "I mean… how bad could it be?"

Daphne gave him a flat stare. "One person's constipation could shut down your entire power plant."

Leo opened his mouth to argue but found himself at a loss for words.

"…Fine," he admitted, slumping back in his chair. "Maybe it's not the best idea."

"In addition, they must consider the season. What if the feces in the collector freeze in winter? We'd need a heating device, right? And that's another cost!" Clement argued, her voice filled with exasperation.

Leo sat back, rubbing his chin as he pondered the issue. He had genuinely thought his sewage-generated power plant was an innovative solution. After all, civilizations throughout history had made use of waste—why not take it to the next level?

To reinforce her argument, Clement roped in Guan Yan, the colony's leading energy expert. Unfortunately, Guan Yan had been in the middle of her lunch when she was dragged into the discussion.

She barely had time to process what was happening before she heard the phrase "feces collector," followed by Leo's enthusiastic proposal. Her face paled instantly.

"What—what the hell are you even talking about?" she stammered.

"You're just in time," Clement said, turning to her like she had just found the ultimate weapon against Leo's madness. "Explain to him why this is completely unfeasible."

Still looking nauseated, Guan Yan swallowed hard before replying. "Even if we somehow got past the freezing issue, sewage doesn't have enough pressure to drive a turbine efficiently. And the impurities? It would clog the system in no time. You'd be spending more time fixing it than getting any power out of it."

Leo looked disappointed. "So you're telling me there's no way to turn shit into electricity?"

"No," Guan Yan said flatly.

Clement nodded, relieved that Leo was finally dropping the idea. But her relief was short-lived.

"Alright then," Leo said, leaning forward. "What if we purify the sewage into drinking water instead?"

After all, he figured that in 40K, folks are guzzling filtered water like it's going out of style, so his logic was still on point!

Silence filled the room.

Clement and Guan Yan exchanged glances, neither sure if he was joking.

"…You're serious?" Clement finally asked.

Leo crossed his arms. "We have the technology. If we just filter it enough times—"

Before he could finish, Clement immediately called for reinforcements. Yong Jin, Frag Yangon, and several other experts were summoned to talk sense into him. Together, they launched a coordinated effort, explaining the immense infrastructure such a plan would require and the risks involved. It took them nearly an hour to get through to him, but at last, Leo sighed in defeat.

"Fine, no sewage power, no sewage drinking water," he grumbled.

The team relaxed, thinking the crisis was over.

But Leo wasn't done. "We're still building the collector, though. Just not on a mountain. If that thing ever breaks, we don't want a flood of shit wiping out the colony."

Nobody could argue with that.

The plan was finalized: a large-scale sewage processing facility would be built, not for energy generation or water recycling, but simply to manage waste safely. The real long-term solution was to wait until larger interstellar transport ships were available so they could send the waste into deep space—preferably toward one of the twin stars in the Endor system.

But as soon as Leo proposed this, another thought struck him.

"If we start launching waste into space regularly," he mused, "won't the Endor system basically become a star system that smells like shit?"

Clement covered her face with her hands. Guan Yan groaned. The meeting was officially over.

Later that day, Leo moved on to another matter. Sitting in his office aboard the mothership, he lazily stirred a bowl of thick chocolate paste with a spoon while discussing an important topic with Norris Barry, a sociologist who had recently been awakened from cryosleep.

"Administrator, we must consider the cohesion of the colony," Norris said earnestly. "Right now, our numbers are small, and everyone is working closely under your leadership, which is good. But as we grow, that won't be enough. We need long-term social structures, cultural identity, and shared values to maintain unity. Please take a look at my proposal—"

Before he could finish, Guan Yan walked past, carrying her lunch. Spotting Leo, she casually greeted him, "Ah, you're here, Administrator. By the way, there's something you should know. The analysis of the infrared laser weapon is ahead of schedule. We'll be conducting the first test this afternoon. Do you want to attend?"

"Oh, no problem. I'll be there," Leo replied. He considered giving her some praise for the team's progress, but the words didn't come to him. Instead, he picked up his bowl of chocolate paste and offered it to her. "Do you want some?"

Guan Yan looked at the bowl. The thick, dark brown paste had been stirred into a spiral, resembling something highly unappetizing after the morning's discussion about waste management.

Her face darkened instantly. "Uh, no, I don't have much appetite…"

"Oh, what a pity," Leo said, shaking his head. "It's really good." He scooped up a big spoonful and put it into his mouth with an exaggerated smacking sound.

Guan Yan's face went from black to green. With a strangled gagging sound, she dropped her lunch box, covered her mouth, and ran.

[Easter Egg Chapter Attachments 1 and 2: Various feces collectors.]