Chp-83
Information. One of the greatest, most powerful assets anyone can have is information.
One what? Anything. Everything. Even the smallest piece of information can bring the largest payday.
At least, that's how Dornun talks about information. And despite my annoyance with the man, I have a hard time disagreeing with his attitude.
Especially when his information turns up the most interesting bits and bobs.
For example, the Mindan Shipyards. Sometimes shortened to the uncreative name of The Mard by the workers, has twenty total berths. When it was first acquired, there were barely enough workers to man two. Now, with an influx of applicants, that number has shot up to nearly twelve, with the rest in the process of being filled. All in all, the backlog was being worked through faster than ever, with close to 50 ships being built every month.
Now, this wasn't what Dornun told me, no. He did, however, inform me of the identities of a few managers aboard the yards. Nobody super high up, mostly middle managers, who just so happened to have hidden bank accounts. That got regular payments.
Now, those payments couldn't be fully traced, at least not yet. Dornun's net wasn't wide enough yet, and both Darna and Thorne were still busy reorganizing and training up the HAVEN network, so they weren't in a position to help.
But, there were some clues. These managers, every now and again sent out encrypted messages. After copying one, it ended up being a report of sorts. It covered production numbers, the 'Union', and more. But none of it pointed towards criminal activity or any plans for attack.
It pointed towards someone keeping an eye on their investment. Hiral.
At first, it scared me a bit. But then I calmed down and thought about it rationally. The shipyard was a big investment, of course he wanted his own people on the inside to keep tabs. Just in case I wasn't on the up and up with him.
For now, surveillance would be maintained but the managers wouldn't be interfered with. Sure, they likely won't be promoted any time soon, or ever, but firing them now would simply bring suspicion upon me. Maybe if one of them actually fucks up, sure, but unless that happens its simply not worth it.
The other interesting bit of information Dornun got me was about a certain group of systems in the sector.
See, the Guild had grown from a one system operation to a 60 system giant. And with each passing month, more and more systems joined. At this rate, the entire sector would be Guild space in a year!
This estimate, of course, assumes that every system qualifies for Guild membership. But the fact remains that many don't.
Of these systems, about 12 or so, located in the northwestern side of the sector along the Veragi route had decided to create their own little coalition. Officially, there was no alliance.
Unofficially, the slavers were scared of the Guild and decided to huddle up in their little corner.
Just a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have cared what they were up to. So long as they didn't come for me, I was chill.
However, I no longer have that privilege. I have been cursed by the Force to take up a position with exponentially more responsibility and danger, and as such must properly address this little coalition.
My best bet is to simply inflame their inner conflicts. All 12 systems are slave economies in one form or another, and they all compete for incoming slave shipments, contracts and more.
Once the HAVEN network is up and running, that'll be the first place they go to take a look.
Is this little coalition actually dangerous to me, once I become Moff? Not really, no. But I'll have a million other internal and external concerns, which might allow them to spread and cause me problems later on.
And that's what's truly unacceptable. My current escape plans have been pushed back to the fall of the Empire, which means I need to make it to 4 ABY, maybe a little after it if need be, and there can be no unstable elements threatening my survival until I get out.
At this point, I have to assume that mummy dearest isn't coming along, which would be nice if not for the fact that I have another 3-4 years of the bullshit coming down the line.
Now I look towards the other reports. The first is that of the deal I made with various security companies. It had expanded to near Guild wide as the rebellion retreated further and further.
Though it was odd. See, four months ago when I made those deals, I expected it to take somewhere south of ten months. But to see the Rebellion in full fledged retreat as early as this? It was odd.
Ultimately, however, it mattered little to me. After all, the people were profiting, the Guild was profiting, and I got to live another day.
-
Admiral Gial Ackbar
1.5 ABY
Mako-Ta System, Mako-Ta SpaceDock
MC80 Star Cruiser Home One
The Admiral stared at the starmap before him as if it would grant him answers.
As always, it did not.
The map was divided by sectors, and colored by region of control. Red for Imperial, green for third parties, and blue for the Alliance.
And at that moment, it was distressingly red. Off to the side, a small counter sat, ticking up with each new report. The casualty counter.
From deep within his chest he heaved a great sigh. Thankfully, he was ensconced within his quarters, for he would never have shown such a sight to his subordinates. It was imperative that he maintain decorum and bravery for the troops.
Such was the burden of leadership.
To his right his PDA beeped on its stand, an alert coming through about further Rebel retreats. Reading through it quickly, he connected his PDA to the star map via wire, uploading the relevant map data and watching the starmap update to accommodate the new information.
The little machine was a blessing of sorts, even if Imperial in nature. They were cheap, effective, and had allowed the Rebellion to, for once in its existence, come close to properly categorizing its goods.
The decentralized nature of insurrection meant information was oftentimes fragmented, improperly stored (if at all) or simply outdated. While the PDA's didn't solve every problem, the little tablets did allow the Rebellion to far more properly understand its own fragmented logistics.
And those logistics told a very telling tale. The Offensive would not succeed.
While initial reports had shown success, as the attacks continued, the logistics told the truth of the matter.
Casualties were mounting, weapons and ships were being damaged and destroyed, and supply lines were being stretched thin. The entire Alliance was being stretched thin. The Rebellion was in no position to compete with the Empire, because if there was one thing the oppressors did well, it was build a military industrial complex.
Now, this was known to Ackbar before the offensive itself, but he had been outvoted by the more zealous amongst High Command. Even in the highest echelons of the Rebellion, some were still too consumed by their hatred of the Empire to see the bigger picture.
Looking over the now updated star map, he made his conclusion.
Based on the Empire's movement patterns, they had little time before the Mako-Ta spacedocks were revealed. While the retreat was going well, and would save the Rebellion plenty of ships and manpower, it also meant the Imperials were zealous in following every lead they could find.
With the conclusion made, he started sending orders to consolidate their ships and prepare for a departure soon. They would have to prepare a force to stall the Empire upon their arrival at the docks, in order to give the Empire the impression that the fleet was smaller than they believed, but it would allow the greater force to escape.
The docks themselves would likely have to be left behind, but the computers were to be scrambled and all sensitive equipment salvaged. If they had time, Gial would've preferred to booby trap the docks, rig them to blow as soon as the Imperials laid their hands on it, but that was outside of the timeframe.
Allowing another sigh to wrack his body, Gial stared up at the ceiling. This wasn't what he imagined he would be doing with his life in the slightest. A military man, sure. But a prominent leader of a galaxy wide rebellion? Inconceivable.
Yet, whenever he closed his eyes, he was reminded of the list he kept in his desk drawer. It was long, dense, and took up the entire drawer.
It contained the names of every rebel who died under his command. Of every brave soul who, on his orders, sacrificed everything to push the cause forward.
Above all else, he owed this to their sacrifice. After all, what is the burden of leadership in comparison to the sacrifice of the innocent?
Standing from his desk, he straightened his uniform. Taking one last glance at the drawer, he grabbed his PDA and stepped out the door.
Their deaths would not be in vain.
-
I would've uploaded earlier, but I got blindsided by a project on JP Morgan Chase advertisements. Whole lotta emotional manipulation, not a lotta actual value. Still managed 16 pages so I guess it pans out.
-Freefaller