Governor's Gambit - Star Wars SI into Imperial Governor

Well I got inspired by all the suggestions and designs. So here's a potential ground vehicle for Myto's Imperial Army

Omake: Ferdana Light Tank

Production Information

Manufacturer: Myto Sector Imperial Government

Model: Ferdana Light Tank

Type: Light repulsortank

Nicknames: The Trainer, Young Reliable, Ablative Armor, The Crib Coffin

Cost:

• 38,000 Credits

——

Technical Specifications

Engine unit(s): Repulsorlift

Speed: 250 km/h

Shielding: Equipped

Power: Fusion generator

Hull: Armored hull

Sensors: Equipped

Armament:

• 1 light repeating blaster
• 1 medium blaster cannon

Crew: 4

• 1 driver (front station)
• 1 gunner (top station)
• 1 tank commander (center station)
• 1 comms and sensor operator (back station)
• 1 optional seat for a free hand or instructor (small side seat near the front station)

Minimum crew: 1

Cargo Capacity: 200 kg

Life Support: equipped

Consumables: 8 days

Other systems:

• Integrated fire control and assistance
• Standardized crew stations with PAD screens

——

Usage

Availability: Military

Roles:

• Low skill floor armored vehicle
• Fire support
• Flanking attacks
• Skirmisher
• Insulating attrition
• Trainer vehicle

Affiliation:

• Myto Sector Imperial Army

——

Description
"Eyes on your screen and easy on the handles cadet Cawsei. Now run the course while cadet D'reno handles the aiming." - Myto Imperial academy instructor guiding new cadets through their first drive with a Ferdana.

The Ferdana Light Tank is an armored ground vehicle designed to accommodate an expansion of the Myto Sector Imperial Army. An increase of training facilities and graduates in the Sector was predicted to lead to an increase in undertrained tank crews until the academies' curriculum and staff could be properly organized and tested. This hovertank was made simple and easy to control to allow green crews to be fielded with minimal risk of catastrophic accidents due to inexperience.

Design
"Look we are in the strange position of having more production than skilled crews. Let's just use the former to make up for the latter." - Myto Sector Imperial Army procurement committee.

A Ferdana is as uncomplicated as a tank can get. Its chassis is a rectangular structure with a single rotatable turret on top. Said turret at base contains a single blaster cannon for armored targets and a repeating blaster for fighting infantry. Nothing from its armor to its engine is that innovative. It uses typically well known components from well known manufacturers with the fact it is an Imperial Military vehicle giving it access to some good supply contracts to keep the price down.

The most notable thing about the Ferdana is the focus placed on ease of use. Locomotion is handled by a repulsorlift that is designed for stability and handling over top speeds. The low armament means there are fewer weapons for the crew to keep track of in the chaos of combat. Care was taken to make the structural layout of the Ferdana simple to understand and easy to traverse. Quality of life additions such as enhanced temperature controls were also added to minimize stress on deployment. All this is meant to keep inexperienced crews calm on their first deployment and allow them to focus on the enemy rather than becoming anxious about if they twist some knob left or right.

This focus on ease of use is exemplified in its standardized crew stations. Each Ferdana contains four crew stations. One in the front for the driver to control the vehicle, one on top for the gunner to aim and fire the weapons, one in the center for the tank commander to issue orders, assign objectives, and designate targets, and one in the back for the sensor and comms specialist to facilitate internal and external communications. This division is to allow each crew mate to maintain focus on a single aspect of the tank to make full use of their limited experience and skill in doing that one thing.

Each crew station is designed in the same layout as the others. The two handle bars in the driver's station for driving the tank are the same type of handle bars for the gunner to aim the turret and fire the weapons with the other stations having empty slots for those handle bars as well. The internal communication system for the tank commander is structured the same as the external communication system the comms specialist uses. All four stations use the same PAD screen for display and they all use the same program structure and operating system. Even the chairs are kept similar so swapping from one to other feels familiar to the crews no matter which station they are switching too. This also helps if a crew mate gets incapacitated as it is fairly easy to have another crew mate substitute and perform the bare minimum of that station.

This standardization also allows a Ferdana to be controlled from a single crew station if said station was configured correctly. However by the point someone demonstrates that level of proficiency and multitasking, they should have been moved to a more advanced vehicle to better make use of their talents. It is still just a Ferdana after all.

Performance
"Wow this feels just like the trainer."

"That's because it is the exact same model as the trainer." - Two fresh graduates out of a newly opened Sector Army academy in Malgoaan.

In terms of performance the Ferdana was an unimpressive, if reliable tank. That reliability combined with its price allowed it to be deployed basically anywhere in the Myto Sector with minimal concern for logistics or terrain. However it was slower than the more ubiquitous and popular Imperial-class repulsortank line. In addition to the stigma of being made by an Outer Rim designer meant it did not see wider adoption. Most Imperial Army commanders saw the Ferdana as an unnecessary compromise between the light and medium Imperial-class with none of the flexibility of having interchangeable parts between the light, medium, and heavy variants of the latter. Yet there were plenty of other roles the Ferdana could fulfill besides acting as a main battle tank.

The Ferdana proved quite popular with light formations primarily made up of infantry. A single Ferdana could serve as a fire support platform and armored anchor for their infantry platoons. Expected opposition for these formations was infantry and light vehicles, both of which would consider a Ferdana a significant threat. This came at minimal logistical cost since the Ferdana required barely more advanced maintenance facilities than the personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles already in use by these formations. A Ferdana would basically act as the heaviest option in a light force.

Armored formations also learned to appreciate what the Ferdana had to offer. In these groups Ferdana tanks tended to act more as insulation for heavier or specialized vehicles such as Broadswords and LECAs. Whenever a need for skirmishing, flanking, or vanguard duty came up, most commanders found it easier to risk relatively more expendable Ferdanas while keeping their heavier metal in reserve. This allowed these formations to maintain peripheral operations without running the risk of having their elite troops and powerful vehicles unavailable for the primary battle due to damage or destruction from attrition. A Ferdana would basically act as the lightest option in a heavy force.

On a lighter tone, the Ferdana also made an excellent training vehicle. There was enough room next to the driver station for a small seat. An instructor could sit there, connect an academy PAD with the proper codes they brought with them to the Ferdana's stations. Doing this allowed them to instruct the cadet crew while also being able to monitor what each cadet is doing at their station. This lead to the driver station being nicknamed the Hotspot by Ferdana crews due its proximity to the instructor during exams.

Conclusion
"I don't need no baby tank! I am going to ride a real tank the first day out of the academy!" - Recording played at a disciplinary hearing after a new graduate crashed a heavy Imperial-class into a warehouse.

The Ferdana was never going to be the next big thing in tanks. It was designed to meet a purpose that was outside the purview of most other models and it does it quite well. Providing green crews with a safe and reliable first vehicle was never a real concern in the Imperial Military. However as the chaos of the Galactic Civil War forces cadets into the field earlier and earlier, the Ferdana will provide that little bit of comfort in increasingly desperate times.

——

With the coming investment and expansion of the Imperial Army, the proportion of green soldiers is going to grow a lot. If it is anything like the naval expansion, then their quality post-graduation is going to be called into question at best. So here is a dead simple to operate light tank to stick them into until they get some experience and learn what not to apply from the ISB's "helpful lectures".

The Ferdana is for those groundpounder regiments just out of the academies that are either semi-permanently planetside or attached to larger generalized formations. I went for handle bar controls because it was fairly easy control system for me to pick up on back when I drove riding mowers at an old job. One could actually be pretty agile with those mowers once you got good at it. Inspiration for this chassis is the KhTZ-16. A Soviet improvised fighting vehicle that ran on a tractor engine. If want a mental image just imagine one of those, but it's a hovertank, rotatable turret, and a bit more quality of life additions.

As an aside, sweet Force is the Imperial-class repulsortank a good, slightly generic vehicle to pump out a metric ton of and be usable in 90% of situations. It felt odd being on the other side of the "make everything parts compatible" line. Still, at least the Ferdana has ease of use over it. Hopefully.

Crossposted on SB and SV

Chp-113

Roius
Minda System
Chaos.

Numbers ran through his mind, the information cable plugged into his neural interface pumping data directly to his brain.

The sector was in chaos.

As the data compiled, it spoke of consequences. Shipments not arriving, ports clogged or empty, patrols sailing through darkness, no way to find the threat.

And all he could do was run the numbers.

The info cable detached with a hiss while his head burned with the new depth of information.

"Secretary Roius, the courier ships have returned. Reports indicate a rise in piracy sector-wide!"

Opportunity. They could smell it. With the entire holonet system offline so suddenly, remaining pirate elements were bound to take advantage of the chaos.

"Get into contact with the Sector Admiral. We need her expertise immediately! And order any patrols we can contact to hold position near hyperlanes, check every ship going through."

The aide nodded, running off to complete the order. If the situation had been different, he would've taken a second to appreciate the respect he received. A rarity for a cyborg like him.

This was not the time.

A ping through the local system. A ship, Guild IFF with high level clearance. He accepted the call.

"This is Guild Ship Aurora, we have an urgent message for the Moffs Office." The voice was rushed, an undertone of panic clear.

"Affirmative. This is Secretary Roius of the Moffs office. Go ahead."

"The Guildmistress has ordered emergency Guild actions to create stability. She has ordered Guild vessels to act as intermediaries and is attempting to ensure supplies flow. The full list of orders she's given the Guild is being transmitted now."

His PDA, connected to the station's systems, pinged with the new information. He quickly plugged the PDA into a smaller neural port in his augments meant for smaller data streams.

Within a few seconds, his understanding of the situation increased. Guildmistress Sabrir had correctly identified the three day rule. Any on-demand economy, such as the Myto sectors, relied on constant streams of supplies instead of massed local storage.

Meaning most stores, especially those dealing in food, only kept enough product for three days. Now, thankfully the Myto Sector hadn't been an on-demand economy for more than half a year, so local storage was still common even if reduced. But that only extended that time period to a week at best.

The bigger problem was financial. The report covered orders to have every local Guild office issue a notice that they would only be dealing in direct transfers. After all, they couldn't well connect to the bank accounts of people three star systems away without the holonet.

Smart, and it would stifle some of the worst effects. But there were other concerns.

Medicine. While many planets in the sector were still somewhat self-sufficient in terms of food, medicine was often an import. Sector officials had spent months assisting governors in structuring their taxes and other income in order to allow nearly every system to have adequate medical facilities. But those facilities relied on imported medical products.

The info cable told him other things.

A list of ships continued jumping into the system, demanding to know what was happening. Some were governors, others private concerns. From magnates to Muun bankers to ISB agents.

The system was never meant to deal with a load like this. Not without the central pillar. Not without the Moff here to deal with the political side of things.

"Sir, the Vigil has just entered the system!"

Roius didn't sigh in relief. He wasn't a man who sighed. But he wanted to.

"Get in contact, immediately!"

After this, he was taking all three months of yearly PTO he got at the same time.

–

Las

Chaos was a part of the job I'd come to find. Sometimes, it was low and simmering. The kind of chaos that was waiting for the right release valve, the kind that built rebellions. And other times, chaos was just bullshit. As though life was a particularly precocious chimp that had decided to throw fecal matter at you because it was funny.

My job, though at this point I found it more a duty to the people rather than a job given my employer was quite shit, was to deal with such chaos when it arose. There were many other duties, of course, but this sat chief among them in times of crisis.

This meant that all other duties, such as dealing with high level officials not pertinent to the solution, or otherwise playing the various political games that kept things running, were of secondary importance at best.

The ISB apparently thought otherwise.

"This crisis is temporary, Agent, of that I can assure you. While the cause is still indeterminate, it will take no more than a week for the relays to be brought back online. Once priority problems are dealt with, the ISB will receive a full report."

That seemed to anger the man before me, a rail thin and unhealthily pale individual wearing the uniform of an ISB agent. Still, he kept walking beside me, Myr'thos, and Roius as we made our way down the hall, my goal being the situation room.

"Are you implying that the ISB is not a priority to you, Moff Mola?"

I took a deep breath and stopped, bringing the group to a halt. Turning to him, the face he held was one of poorly hidden smugness. A new recruit, or maybe just the dumbest the Lieutenant had available. Prick.

"My duty, Agent, is to administrate this sector by order of the Empire. This sector is currently undergoing a crisis. Over a hundred systems face shortages of vital medical supplies. Critical production lines are stalled. The sector is in crisis. So no, my priority is not the ISB, because unless the ISB can fix this crisis then it is of secondary importance."

The angry look returned, but by then I'd already started walking again. His attempts to catch up to me were waylaid by a quick gesture to Myr'thos.

I would've liked to watch as he was bodily dragged back to the hangar bay, but I had bigger problems to deal with.

The situation room itself was not very large. The design was spartan, plain grey walls and a holo projector and computer in the center.

Around the projector stood a few people. Sector General Yulitra, Sector Admiral Veers, Guildmistress Sabrir and myself, alongside Roius.

"The attacks seem a mix of deliberate sabotage and sophisticated cyber attacks." Started Roius, a cable from his skull to the projector allowing him hands free control.

"There are approximately 382 holonet relays sector wide. Of them, we've identified the status of just 40 through courier ships passing messages. 12 showed signs of physical damage, some form of ion-based explosive seems the best early guess. The remaining 28 had no evidence of physical attack, but show signs of internal code damage. Slicer teams are in-route."

"How long until we have a positive ID on all relays?" Asked Yulitra, eyes narrowed as she studied the projection.

"Based on the current rate of identification, 3 days. Likely less as governors send for inspections independently."

"I've already sent orders to patrol groups to stay put at hyperlane exits, but it's a patchwork job at best. Piracy will see a major increase until this is done." Said Veers.

"We need supplies…" I murmured, reading the data straight from my PDA. "The sector produces the bare minimum in medical supplies, and requires a bare minimum of 80,000 tons a week. Roius, get me a death toll projection for that."

"Of course, sir."

The problem was simple, to be honest. Demand. Specifically, on-demand shipping. Before the holonet upgrades, bandwidth for the holonet was limited. Only Imperial officials, or those with money, had the ability to make real time calls.

Which meant most companies couldn't get orders until well after the message was sent. So they stockpiled everything. Food, raw ore, finished ships, it didn't matter. On planets like Belladoon and other industry-focused areas, warehouses made up nearly 90% of any industrial parks space. They needed to keep 6 months worth of supplies on hand at any given point in time.

But with the holonet? That dropped to just shy of 60%, with parts and supplies being moved in and out constantly. Any given part was liable to be in a warehouse for a maximum of 30 days before it was used or moved. Oftentimes, far less. During production booms, a part would sometimes be on the shelf for no more than a few hours.

"Our food situation seems secure…" I continued. "That'll be a critical point. We'd need to ensure deliveries continue and stockpiles are made. Rationing shouldn't be needed but…"

"I'll send the order to have local army units spread word of rationing techniques. They aren't official army doctrine, but every boot camp worth its salt teaches it on the side. It should help with any local shortages." Said Yulitra. Her voice was calming in a sense. She was the oldest here, and could reasonably pass for the mother or grandmother of the others in the room. That sort of experience was reliable.

"Guild ships are already organizing merchants, sir. We've offered premium short term contracts to merchants to continue shipments ASAP. Though I'd like to coordinate mercenary detachments with you, Admiral." And there was Darna, talking with the same tone of voice she seemed to never drop. A professional calm of sorts. Veers responded with a nod, PDA already out as they traded data.

"Good. As for me…" I could feel a headache start to stir in the back of my skull. "I'll have to make a call. How long until the local relay is up again?"

"Engineers are nearly finished, sir."

"I'll be in my office then. Alert me if anything occurs."

The trek to my office did nothing to assuage my headache, though mercifully it stayed low and out of my way. Mugwuffins reassuring purrs vibrated through my body from her perch on my shoulders helping soothe the stress.

Once in my office, I connected to the holonet. It was a fuzzy connection, but it worked well enough.

My first two ideas on who to call went out the window as soon as they materialized in my head. The Braxant sector barely produced their own blasters, I doubted they had medicine to spare. And the Governor-General had been increasingly distant and unreliable.

So I had to look closer, unfortunately.

Despite our preexisting trade arrangements, the Veragi and Raioballo sectors lacked any medical infrastructure, or they wouldn't import it through the Guild. And they'd barely agreed to my proposals for Guild expansion as it was. The two idiots would demand I kowtow a thousand times and give up my seat for one of their kids or something.

As such, my first call went out to a neighbor. Moff Moew of the Obtrexta Sector.

"Moff Mola? What a surprise." The first thing one noticed about Moew was that she was clearly trying too hard. She showed all the signs of someone who'd undergone extensive cosmetic surgery, and given you could see most of the signs it was the expensive core-world kind either.

"Yes, its quite a surprise for me too, Moff Moew. Still, as much as I'd like to engage in pleasantries, I am quite rushed."

She pouted, which just looked wrong on a woman likely twice my age with cheeks that looked too smooth to be skin. Clearly she felt younger than she was. "What a shame. Well then, what is it? Are the Muuns giving you trouble? I'm always happy to help negotiate."

A lie, that much was clear. Even I had a better working relationship with the banking clans than she did, despite her sector housing Muunilist. She'd spent years in internal political plays that I wasn't about to get involved in.

"Not today, no. Recently, my sector has undergone a crisis. Some sort of coordinated attack has crippled the holonet relays sector wide. It caused blockages and major delays on all imports, most importantly medicine."

The gleam in her eyes sharpened at that. "Why, that sounds terrible! I'd love to help, you see. But those Muuns, they keep blocking my efforts! Their machinations make it impossible to do anything, you see…"

Shit. Getting on the banking clan's bad side was a no-go, especially since we had a working relationship.

A ping on my PDA alerted me to a message. It was for Roius, the death toll projection was two thirds done. The ache in my head moved forward now, closer to the eyes.

"...How many tons of medical supplies could you provide within the week?"

A finger went to her chin as she pursed her lips, eyes jumping to the sky in a childish thinking pose. "Well…I'd have to look at the specifics, but at least thirty thousand tons. Triple that within the month."

Not enough, not even close to enough. "Thank you for the kind offer, Moff Moew. I'll have to consult with my people, but I'll be sure to get back to you."

"Of course, Moff Mola. I wish you well in your…endeavors." She blew a flirty kiss at me through the holo, and I forced my grimace down, smiling instead.

The next call went to the Clacis sector Moff, Callron. A man with a gnarly handlebar mustache and overall biker look that clashed with his Imperial uniform.

"Moff Mola." He said simply, once the connection went through. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wish it was a pleasure, Moff Callron. Unfortunately, my sector's holonet relays are down due to some form of sabotage. Medical supplies are scarce, and the sector is in need of an infusion."

He raised a single, solitary eyebrow. Him and I had never formally interacted before this, so it was no wonder he was surprised.

"It seems, Moff Mola, that you simply lack the experience to deal with this on your own…It's a miracle the Governor-General ever saw fit to promote one as young as yourself." Each word was said with weight, as though he was speaking the word of God. He couldn't quite hide the smugness in his tone.

Before I could respond, beg, anything, he cut the line. Fuck. I knew my promotion to Moff wasn't the most popular thing, given I wasn't even thirty and had no political connections beforehand. The fact that I supported Hiral's rise to Governor-General likely didn't help.

Another message from Roius. Projections nearly complete. The ache was pounding now. Hot coco only seemed to make it worse.

I looked back at the list of sectors. Some were too far away for what few relays we had functioning to reach. Others simply lacked the production of medicine or trade connections to achieve what was needed.

Until my eyes fell on one sector. One that, despite every bone in my body telling me it was wrong, fit all the criteria.

The Velcar Sector.

–

Shorter than usual, but I don't feel like writing more or stuffing more into a single chapter. Bloat might take the tension away.

Trying to use this as an opportunity to showcase the political sphere a little more since its gone unused for a little while.

And sorry for being gone for so long, just haven't felt that spark ya know? The muse hit for a dozen other ideas, chief among them being a Battletech (Been playing a lot of MW5M) story but not much for this. And yet, this is the story I must finish. Every time I've tried to branch my attention, I fail. So I'm ride or die for this story till it ends and I start another one.

On the baking front, I tried making banana bread cockaigne and it was pure unfettered ass. I love the Joy of Cooking cookbook but this shit stinks man. The lemons don't do jack for me, gotta be honest. But that Texas sheet cake recipe is still a banger no matter how many times I make it. Peak.

Remember kids, if your 'Mech isn't carrying ten of the same weapon, it's shit.

-Black Knight laser boat gang.