Governor's Gambit - Star Wars SI into Imperial Governor

[Andrew1993]

Which can very easily backfire on him because it would drastically reduce costs for his defence fleet while also showing Thrawn (when he gets in contact) just how resourceful the MC is and want him on side even more.

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Srry if i misunderstood anything, but what i was saying is a cardan 2 station would be sufficient to tend to his current fleet needs, and provided the lucrehulk is captured it might be worth having it refit as his PDF flagship since a Victory is 57 million(?) And an imperial would be 150million plus the requisite bribe to the moff to allow it. The lucrehulk on the other hand would require repairs/refits but since it was captured from pirates wouldnt draw as much attention from up high, doesnt require paying out a bribe to the moff to get and gives him a Capital ship that can Take on an ISD and since its a lucrehulk is unlikely to be taken by his superiors

 

[Doombringer]

Srry if i misunderstood anything, but what i was saying is a cardan 2 station would be sufficient to tend to his current fleet needs, and provided the lucrehulk is captured it might be worth having it refit as his PDF flagship since a Victory is 57 million(?) And an imperial would be 150million plus the requisite bribe to the moff to allow it. The lucrehulk on the other hand would require repairs/refits but since it was captured from pirates wouldnt draw as much attention from up high, doesnt require paying out a bribe to the moff to get and gives him a Capital ship that can Take on an ISD and since its a lucrehulk is unlikely to be taken by his superiors

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But he doesn't have a Carden 2 station, at most he has that refit base the rebels built and that can only work at most for his corvettes and maybe frigates, but definitely not his cruisers or the Gladiator. He needs something much bigger for that, and the Lucrehulk being converted into a shipyard is a way to slow down his growth somewhat to keep him under the radar (in his mind) while justifying the expense if anyone asks (again in his mind only). Anything heavier as a warship is quite literally unnecessary and wasteful expense at the moment that just drags down his economy while using it as a way station further expands his economy even more (which he doesn't want) which just leaves 2 options, convert it into a cheaply acquired shipyard or sell it to the highest bidder.

 

[Andrew1993]

But he doesn't have a Carden 2 station, at most he has that refit base the rebels built and that can only work at most for his corvettes and maybe frigates, but definitely not his cruisers or the Gladiator. He needs something much bigger for that, and the Lucrehulk being converted into a shipyard is a way to slow down his growth somewhat to keep him under the radar (in his mind) while justifying the expense if anyone asks (again in his mind only).

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Ah i see, i meant that aqquiring a cardan 2 station would be good since it can service his current fleet not that he had one at present, and i honestly beleieve that converting the lucrehulk would be a massive drain for a result that would end up with a sub par result for the cost and his goal is to maintain the system growth while remaining low visisbility so the expenses of converting the lucrehulk could be better spent elseware especially considering the cardans are modular and thus easily upgraded if necessary. And regarding being wasteful it was aqquired from pirates, and even if he just parks it to deal with it later its still cheaper than paying for a star destroyer and then paying the bribe to actually get the request to buy said SD approved by the moff, especially considering the crowns would likely have maintained the lucrehulk to at least moderate operational status
-edit- he could also just use it as an armed superfrieghter as well i suppose

 

[Rakdos92]

Random thought: why not trade the Lucrehulk or sell it? *Someone* in the Empire like some overly ambitious Moff might see the value in that ship. It would avoid logistical problems and put more cash in the coffers to invest in infrastructure. Or you could trade it for a more modern space station or whatever, the T1 or T2 cardan-class station from Empire at War.

 

[Freefaller]

Chp-21: Ripples and Explosions

Golgax Sular
Edin System, Belt Haven

Golgax was enjoying quite the nice drink, thinking of his crew's next move as they drank and bantered loudly around him. He was the captain of one of the carriers that ferried loot and crew to and from The Duet's Dominion.

However, they were in a slump right now, with little to ferry and a ship more than capable of raiding on its own. If only the so called 'King and Queen' would let them. Alas, he was ordered to be on standby. Only the steady pay kept him and his crew loyal, and even then, it grated on his sense of freedom. The reason he did all this pirate shit in the first place.

As he slammed down another one of those sweet Mindan brandies, his thoughts slipped back to his childhood, as they often did in times like these.

Raxus was his homeworld, once the capital of the Confederacy, now an Imperial shithole. The place was crawling in small insurgent groups, all fighting for some tattered idea of freedom.

Meanwhile, his family had starved under Imperial rule, like the rest of the slums that the rebels hid in. Starved, because the Imperials couldn't tell who was a fighter and who was a citizen. Until they stopped bothering.

Golgax downed another glass, his fist tightening enough that the glass cracked and the bartender started to look worried.

'He should be' thought the pirate captain, as he stared down at his empty cup. The distorted vision of his cybernetic arm and its countless wires and tubes could be seen through the glass, the color of the rusty metal plates unmistakable.

Another glass down to the gut. Another blow to his kidney.

His vision swam, and his hearing blurred as he chugged more and more. In the distance, he thought he heard yelling, but it didn't matter. This was why he had become a pirate. To swim in these luxuries with abandon. To drink without a thought to his actions. To be free in his own way.

To forget their screams.

In all his wallowing, the captain never noticed that his crew had gone silent, the bantering stopped, and the card games abandoned.

Not until the barrel was against the back of his head, and all was darkness, and the smell of burning flesh.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rutia Forgol
Minda System, Asteroid Belt, Mining Claim 15-3-A, Sphyrna-Class Hammerhead Corvette Shiny Hook

"How far until we reach the cargo route?" Rutia grunted, annoyed at her crew's current speed.

Some grunt working navigation took a second to check, and quickly answered, a tinge of delightful fear in his voice.

"Five minutes until intercept, captain! Our signal should be low enough they won't see us coming!"

"Good" she rumbled, her voice low and dangerous. She could see the shivers that ran up the spines of her crew, and her smile widened. Rutia loved this job, she had a great ship, a crew that was competent but still scared of her, and she got paid well. It was amazing.

Of course, in classic Houk fashion, she had plans to undercut her bosses, but that was for the future. Right now, she got to experience sitting in the captain's chair, just like her old man had. Before she slit his throat, that is. Good times.

Their ship continued its approach, cutting through the void like a knife, the pitch black paint hiding them from normal view, and their jamming equipment keeping them hidden from sensors.

However, when they arrived at the location, there was no ship waiting for them, simply scattered debris and wreckage.

Rutia snarled, slamming her fists into the armrests of her chair, denting the metal, and sending her crew scrambling.

"Damn you all, get me something! Scan the wreckage, I will not leave here empty handed!" she roared, her voice deep, as are most Houks voices.

Again her crew scrambled, activating scanners and sending out probes, all while the Shiny Hook floated closer and closer to the wreckage.

The wreckage itself, Rutia noted, was not of any specific ship type she could make out. It seemed more an amalgamation of pieces thrown together.

A piece caught her eye as it floated past the bridge. A crate of some kind, around her size, if a little smaller. Then another. And another. A dozen. More than that.

All of them unscratched. All of them covered in latches. Latches that were opening.

"ACTIVATE THE SHIELDS, NOW!" she screamed, sending her crew into overdrive. To her horror, they were too late. Just as the blue glow of the shields recharging started to fill the bridge's viewport, the crates all opened, and bright neon blue explosions rocked the ship.

The lights powered down, the shields fell, and the only things that were still active were the life support, emergency lights, and internal comms.

Rising rapidly, she pressed down on her comlink. "Engineering! I need a report, NOW!"

"Y-Yes captain! Most s-systems appear to be down! We're currently activating the backup reactor, but it'll be a few minutes at best."

She snarled into the comlink, letting the head engineer know exactly what she thought of that timeframe, before a different sound came from the other end.

Instead of the pitiful whimpering she expected, there was what sounded like blaster fire ringing out. Then, silence.

Before she could comprehend what that meant, the door to the bridge opened behind her. As she turned, small canisters were thrown in.

One landed at her feet, and she had mere seconds for her eyes to widen in horror before the world turned white.

"AHHHH, MY EYES" was the common sentiment shared by the bridge crew, before a bevy of blaster fire saturated the room. As Rutia scrambled around for her weapons, eyes blinking away the effects of being exposed to a miniature suns worth of light, her hand landed on something hard and metallic, connected to some kind of long, oddly shaped pole.

Her head tilted upwards, and the last thing she saw before darkness was the barrel of a blaster, and the sheer black void of a T shaped visor.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utiol Hirza
Clok System, Clok 1, Unnamed Island

The nights were cold this time of year, and Utiol lamented that he had been chosen for this assignment. And that he hadn't worn a better jacket. It was understandable, the warehouse had to be moved, and only he and a few others had the codes to open them. On top of that, the Consortium would get pissy if SysDef found it, especially with Clok's governor investing more into the defense fleet as of late. Aid from Minda, or so he had heard.

"How long?" he asked his second, a scrawny Togruta who was clicking his tongue in annoyance.

"At least another half hour" said Bilti, his tongue clicks increasing. It was a tick of his when he was irritated. Annoyed him at first, but after working with him for the past few months, he'd grown used to it. "Why?"

Utiol rubbed his mechanical ear, phantom pain spiking through where the real one used to be, and looked out towards the fog, slowly creeping up from the beach. "Scar's acting up again. Only does that when somethings gonna go wrong."

"Odd, but ok. Still, I doubt that anything's gonna happen here."

The tanned man shrugged. "Probably. Still, see if we can't have one of the boys do a quick scout of the aerial perimeter. Don't want SysDef on our ass anytime soon."

"Fair enough" said Bilti, tapping on his PDA before calling over to one of the pilots. That's why he liked Bilti. Unlike the majority of the pirates here, he worked with a sense of professionalism and effectiveness that was rare. Honestly, he was better than most of the officers Utiol had worked with in the Empire.

Utiol turned back towards the labor crew, watching them push crates onto the ship as one of the escort fighters flew overhead, likely to complete the order he had just given. It seemed to dive into the veritable wall of fog that had been forming for the past few minutes, all but disappearing, its fading engine light the only evidence it had been there.

He stared out into the fog, contemplating his life, a sense of peace overcoming him. Sure, this wasn't how he thought things would turn out, and sure, there might be better places to be, but he was happy enough, well paid, free of that wretched bureaucracy.

He was…content.

'Huh, don't think I've ever felt like that'

A flash from the fog caught his attention, and he turned towards the

Then darkness was all he knew.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sabine Wren
Lothal System, Ghost

Yawning, Sabine scraped herself off her cot, and tossed some clothes on. She was dead tired, courtesy of her newest toys taking up so much time that she almost passed out while tinkering before she headed to bed.

Dragging herself into the galley, she set about tossing together a haphazard breakfast. She didn't care what, so long as it was food and it didn't taste like dung.

"Someone's sleepy" sounds a soothing, yet currently incredibly irritating voice.

"How can you tell? You can't see the bags under my eyes" she shoots back, too tired to look in the Jedi's direction.

"The Force is the only sense I need" replied Kanan, his smugness radiating so strongly, Sabine thought for a second she was reading his mind. His obnoxiously loud tea sipping did not help.

"Did the temple teach you that sense of humor?"

"It was an advanced course. Regardless, what kept you up so late? It's not like you to stay up like that."

Her eyes lit up. "I got my hands on a new piece of tech. A PDA, its called, made in the Minda system out in the Northern Outer Rim. It's incredible! It has so many features, like a datapad, comlink, and terminal all in one!"

He raised an eyebrow vaguely in her direction, and she stopped. "What? What is it?"

"Oh no, nothing bad. It's just, I could've sworn I heard the name Minda before"

"Because you have, Kanan. You don't remember because you zoned out when I was talking about the Ghosts repairs"

A hand went behind his neck, scratching sheepishly. "Well, Hera, you know I'm not the most technically minded, it's just…"

Hera was suddenly standing there, hand on her hip, a cross between annoyed and amused fixed on her face.

"If you had been paying attention, you would know that Minda is where one of our cells has an outpost. Phyto cell, to be exact. They run a ship refit/repair/scrapyard in the Minda systems capital orbit. It's where we get a good amount of our ship parts for repairs."

Now it was Sabine's turn to raise an eyebrow while her food cooled. "How did they manage to get a whole yard without drawing attention? You'd think the Imps would be all over it?"

Hera snorted, moving to sit down next to Kanan. "That's the funny thing. The Phyto cell had a contact in the Governor's office in Minda, and got a meeting with the Governor himself. They needed his permission to open an R&R station in the system. Low-key, little chance to get spotted. Then, out of nowhere, the governor says that he'll subsidize a chunk of the cost if they instead push to build a dockyard instead!"

"Why would he do that?"

"Well" Hera said, stealing a sip of Kanan's tea, much to his chagrin "Three of the yards, one small, medium and large, of the twelve total, are under Imperial Control, for the systems defense fleet. Also, Minda has been getting richer and richer. That PDA is one example. Phoenix Command is trying to get us some, especially some military versions."

"There's more versions!" exclaimed Sabine, her food entirely forgotten. "What kinds of features do they have? What are the specs? Please, I have to know!"

"They apparently have stuff like live battlefield data maps and inbuilt holo projectors. Why are you so excited?" replied Hera, her eyebrows raised to the stratosphere at Sabines outburst.


"Because, for how small they are, these things are supremely useful! I'm already trying to customize my own. Oh! If there are industrial or engineer variants, they might come with designer software! It would make designing new stuff so much easier!"

The older (totally not) couple looked at each other and gave a small chuckle.

"We'll see what Command can get us, and we'll tell the others you're on the lookout. Ezra has quite the sticky fingers, so if he spots one, I'm sure he can snatch it for you."

"Thanks Kanan" before she could continue, a yawn racked her body.

"I sense that you are…tired!"

"Shut up"

The Ghost echoed with laughter
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke Skywalker
Arkanis Sector, Tatoo System, Tatooine

The old hovercar hummed as Luke and his Uncle Owen made their way across the dunes. In the distance, the towering sharp shape of the Jawa sandcrawler slowly coming into focus.

It was a regular scrap run, but Luke was excited nonetheless. Each new trip gave him the chance to experiment with all kinds of tech.

Heck, last time the Jawa's somehow got their hands on a TIE cockpit! If only he could have afforded it.

Turning to his uncle, he smiled. "Hey, do you think they'll have anything good this time?"

Uncle Owen smiled, "Remember, Luke, we're here to buy parts for the vaporators. Only after we have what we need can you get yourself a little something."

A small frown donned Lukes face, but he nodded in understanding. The farm came first, after all.

Finally, they arrived at the sandcrawler, the Jawas still in the middle of setting up their little market.

As the first customers, they were seen too quickly, the Jawas all eager to be the first to make a sale that day. It took a solid half-an-hour of negotiation to get the parts needed to maintain the vaporators for the next year at a decent price, but it happened eventually.

As the two were loading the box of mechanical pieces into the hovercar, Luke glanced at his Uncle, hope in his eyes.

Owen held a constipated look on his face for a few seconds, before relenting. "Fine, you can get yourself something. But! Remember to negotiate, and-"

"-spend the least for the most, I know Uncle, I'll manage." Despite his sarcastic tone, the light in Luke's eyes was unmistakable. His hand tight around the credit coins he had been given he rushed over to the market once again.

As the little scavengers greeted him once more, and once more attempted to get him to buy any and everything they had. Luke had no use for a Naboo academic thesis on Gungan legal practice, but they had him halfway to buying it regardless. It was then that something caught his eye. Something shiny. Something new.

It looked like a datapad of some kind, but wider and bulky, with a larger screen, along with a multitude of buttons and dials. Colored a dark, now scuffed with sand brown, it had a small insignia on the side. YewCast.

Pointing at it, he asked "What is that, some kind of datapad? Comlink?"

The merchant he was negotiating with then immediately tried to sell it to him, of course. Nevermind the fact that the Jawa had no idea what it was, only that they had gotten it off of a crashed Hutt slave ship that had crashed recently. Good riddance in his opinion.

Eventually, he was able to negotiate the price down to half his budget, and walked away with it in hand towards an impatient uncle who was, at this point, tired of fending off the other little scavs offering their wares.

Jawa's had some of the best wares and deals this side of the Rim, but that didn't mean they weren't annoying.

Finally, they left, and upon reaching hope, and helping his uncle with the parts, he darted straight to his room.

Powering up the pad, he was greeted with a smooth boot up sequence, far different from the clunky terminals he was used to. He was then taken to a suit of applications, easily accessible. From cameras to holonet connection to games to advanced calculators, and so much more. Eventually, he landed on the specs. Built in the Minda system, Myto sector. Engineer variant.

Engineer? What could that-

"Oh…wow" he couldn't help but whisper, overcome with awe as he gazed on one of the apps.

A full engineering program. Meant for the sole purpose of assisting engineers by running small simulations, checking diagnostics, creating holographic and, through the PDA's controls, intractable models, and so much more.

AND it was preloaded with a bevy of first time learners instructions on the use of the program and a plethora of other mechanical subjects.

A wide, exuberant smile slid across his face.

He was going to have so much fun, it'd get him grounded for years!

"Luke! Time for dinner!" called his aunt.

After dinner that is.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was, once again, back in the R&D lab, trying my best not to sigh.

These fucking techies just didn't get it, did they!?

R&D, the TIE factories, they were supposed to be money sinks! A place I could dump profits so that I had an excuse for why the system wasn't growing explosively!

Make no mistake, the system was still growing. But I figured that I had enough that the Commandant wouldn't have me executed by line of duty.

My main concern was growing too rapidly to keep up, and the attention that would attract. So, I dumped money.

A TIE variant program to make TIE's better suited for the Rim? Sure! Let's make all the factories here too! Totally reasonable, and incredibly expensive. R&D! Sure! It takes time, and obscene amounts of money, usually for a variety of designs that end up not working. So they start all over again.

Best part? The R&D never ends! They just keep vacuuming money like a black hole! Truly, a department after my own heart.

So you can imagine my annoyance when they go and manage to create a variety of new, possibly viable prototypes. Not of TIE fighters, but instead of armor!

At first, I was ecstatic. A new production line to toss money into. But then, I was informed of the project's scope. While not cheap, the production could all be done in the labs themselves, as these were limited in number.

Meaning that the techs had made viable suits of armor for the Mindan elite that weren't going to eat up a massive amount of money, and would make us look way more advanced.

Fuck.

And so, I sit there in the presentation room, internally seething at this betrayal, Commander Grant in the chair next to me giddy like a child, as the techs roll out the prototypes.

"Hello, Governor Mola. It's a pleasure to see you again" said the head tech of the department. A small brown furred Lepi named Yop, he was a fairly composed man. Of course, to any who knew him, it was common knowledge that he was fiercely competitive in the TIE design simulator.

"Once again, some of our engineers decided they wanted to design a variety of things for Minda's military forces, and suits of armor were one of them."

A droid rolled out the first set.

"This is the new MkII StormTrooper Generalist Armor. It's more expensive than the regular StormTrooper armor, by around twice as much more, but makes up for it with an array of features. It's armor is better made, with a specially molecularly printed structure that is far better suited to resisting blaster fire and giving near immunity to stuns of all but the highest caliber. It also comes with better targeting soft/hardware, internal PDA functionality, and can be fully sealed in less than a second by automatic procedures in case of submergence of being jettisoned into space. In such cases, it comes equipped with half-an-hour worth of oxygen. The extra weight of these systems is upheld by a light exosuit built into the armor, though without it pieces like the pauldrons can be shed for weight reduction."

They further demonstrated the armor's abilities through a series of tests involving blasting it, throwing rocks, a rubber ball got in there at one point and ricocheted into a poor droid's head. Pretty good, and an overall evolution on that initial exosuit prototype he had used to keep the peace when meeting with the Mandos. Slightly less expensive, too.

After that, it was onto the next armor set. The into the real fancy stuff, instead of what they would just be handing to the 200 or so StormTroopers on Minda.

The first to be rolled in was…larger, to say the least. Standing at a solid nine and a half feet tall, and thirteen feet tall, these weren't exosuits. These were mechs. Not like Pacific Rim or Evangelion level. Hell, not even as large as the Titans from Titanfall. But still pretty big.

"These two are our expeditionary and defensive larger humanoid combat battlesuits. The Mk I Light Expeditionary Combat Armor is made for offensive actions and the exploration of hostile planets, such as Minda 2. It is light and small enough to fit into a variety of ships, and to traverse dense and difficult terrain. Due to a great deal of stress, we've been able to make it compatible with a variety of other standard Imperial technology. The laser cannon it uses, for example, has an internal gas chamber that can be loaded using most standard magazines on top of the purpose built ones, for more flexibility. This also allows for easier maintenance and repairs. The only difficult to repair part of the whole armor is the shield generator, and even then the armor is strong enough to protect it from damage. This armor is to be worn by the Sergeants of Trooper Squads while on offensive missions.

"The Mk I Heavy Defense Combat Armor, on the other hand, is very different. Its larger frame allows it to carry more weapons and armor, while its nature as a humanoid armor allows the user to hide behind urban cover. These are made specifically for the defense of the Capital, and later the rest of the major urban centers around Minda. It's weapon can switch between two different chambers at the flick of a switch, allowing for both rapid suppressive fire or more powerful anti-armor/anti-cover shots. The advanced camera system also allows for better battlefield scanning and allows it to connect to PDA systems.. This armor is to be worn by higher ranking field officers during defensive actions in Mindan territory, who are certainly safe behind not only the armor but the decently sized shield generator.

Testing these mecha required a bit more preparation. As we moved to a safe observation area, I caught a glimpse of Commander Grant out of the corner of my eye, sitting to my right. She was starting to shake a little, and was she…panting?

I look at the trooper to my left, and we both nod subtly, and shift to the left a tad.

Then the testing commences. Blasters, rockets, grenades, cannons, you name it, they tested it. The LECA could handle a solid amount of concentrated blaster fire, and its weapon could tear through infantry, though it could fall to enemy armor/grendes, and had a lacking ability to defeat armored targets.

The HDCA on the other hand, was a beast. Not as fast as the LECA, but still speedy for such a beefy thing. Its custom cannon was a beast in its own right, with excellent anti-armor/infantry capabilities. In terms of defense, the shields it boasted were not to be trifled with, and its armor could confidently be said to be on par with tanks. Its auxiliary weapons, like variable grenade launchers and minelayers could make urban warfare hell for any invaders.

Both were impressive. Both were expensive. Neither could be justified for mass production in enough quantities to seriously dent my current profits, which were just rising.

We recently sold a batch of PDAs to people from FONDOR of all places. That the other side of the galaxy, for crying out loud. I gotta find a way to justify cutting exports.

Yop, upon finishing the tests, removed his custom earplugs, and had the next creations rolled out.

"These are the Mk1 Elite High-Mobility Armors. They are to be equipped solely for the most elite squads. While the EHMA's lack internal weapon support like the other suits, they instead focus entirely on mobility and power. Running on a powerful internal battery, these suits can only hold a charge for five hours on regular settings, and ten on low. They come equipped with shield generators, extendable blades, and internal life support. Their main abilities, however, lie in their mobility. The internal synthetic musculature allows for the wearer to close in on speeds close to a speeder at max settings. In regular scenarios, they can easily run up to 30 mph and scale buildings with ease. The internal computers assist with this, and can provide advanced tactical scanning of the area. Only the best of the best can utilize these, as they are some of the most advanced we have produced yet."

"After that comes the various Mk1 Executive Defense Combat Armors. The EDCA are meant for your protection specifically, governor. They possess more armor than the EHMA's, and more internal weaponry, but retain only two thirds of their speed. Internally, they carry medical supplies, shoulder mounted grenade launchers, and other modules. The hope is to one day outfit your entire personal guard with these, but for now we have only produced these four prototypes.

"Last on the list of more advanced armors, we have the Commander's personal suit. The Mk1 Advanced Elite Guard Interdiction System, or A.E.G.I.S. It comes fully equipped with a powerful shield, long lasting batteries that guarantee 24 hours on regular settings, 10 on maxed, and 48 on minimum. It contains grenade launchers for smoke grenades, extendable blades, repulsorlift skates to allow for incredible mobility, the very best internal sensors we could make, and racks on the back to attach future modules, weapons, and more. It is the best of the best, and the most powerful exosuit we have ever designed."

It's at this point that Yop slows down, and a sheepish look comes over his face. "Unfortunately, the EHMA's, EDCA's and AEGIS are all still in their proto-experimental phase, and not yet ready for testing. Many of the internal features are possible, but still being developed, and we actually can't afford to produce many of the planned pieces here."

It's at this point that I cut in, for two reasons. "Don't worry about the cost" I say "I'll be supplying the funding from my personal accounts to acquire the tech needed." This was the perfect opportunity! A way to dump more money! Of course, I'm not just doing it for that. Part of the reason is the look that the Commander has on her face. It went from a giddy smile to the look of a kicked puppy in seconds. Never have I been more afraid.

"Ah, thank you sir!" exclaimed Yop, clearly excited about the continuation of this project. Oblivious to Grant's heavy breathing, and the wild eyes she was staring at me with.

I think I need to start praying.

Regardless of my Commanders current…state…I motion for Yop to continue. Hopefully, whatever metal monster he brings out next will calm the Commander down.

The next beast has to walk itself in, on account of its weight, and apparent completion status. Not as large as the HDCA, but still quite big.

"This is the Mk1 Mobile Artillery Support Armor. It comes equipped with two quad barreled rapid fire blasters for anti-infantry, however that is solely for defense. Its main purpose is to be a mobile form of artillery that is faster and more maneuverable in dense and urban environments, which it accomplishes with a series of jump jets integrated into the legs. The four launch tubes attached to the front hold multiple smoke grenades each, to ensure cover. We are actually actively developing ECM smoke that could disable missile tracking, but that project is on the backburner for now. The remaining armaments are located on its back, with the three smaller tubes carrying multiple smaller explosives such as the handheld variant of Ion torpedoes and concussion missiles. The larger three tubes instead carry proton and plasma torpedoes for heavier targets, and allows the MASA to engage starships if necessary, though that is not its intended purpose. Internal computers allow the MASA to connect to the PDA's of officers and soldiers on the battlefields, letting them send positioning data to the MASA for strikes. Of course, the MASA's cameras can allow it to fire without outside input if necessary, but it does its best work as a mobile artillery piece that can work closer to the front than larger vehicles."

For this stompy fucker, we had to actually go outside for testing. Thankfully, we had a secure testing ground on the island that would hide both the sights and sounds within. Thankfully, those features worked, cause this fucker was loud. And faulty.

While the blasters worked just fine, and so did the missiles, when it came time for the torpedos, something went wrong.

"Now for the proton and plasma torpedo duel firing mechanic. Set arc!" yelled out one of the testing soldiers.

"Arc set!" responded another.

"Aim…Fire!"

The goal was to fire both a proton and plasma torpedo at the same time from different tubes. It was part of the MASA's abilities, to be able to supply fire off different kinds of munitions to different parts of the battlefield at the same time.

That was not what happened.

Instead of seeing a glorious, and unfortunately never to be mass produced mech fire torpedoes at a target, I only saw a furious flash of light. Then heat. Then I realized there was no sound.

And the light was gone.

Was I dead? The fact that I can feel myself being shaken tells me no. The fact that I can hear screaming also tells me no.

Honestly? Makes me wish I was dead. Cause if I live, I'm going to have so much paperwork to do.

Then I remember delegation exists.

Then I cursed myself.

Then I passed out.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! I know it's been awhile and all. Hope I haven't been forgotten! Anyways, this chapter was a doozy to make. It started with me wanting to give some alternate perspectives of Minda's technology spreading, and the POV's of some pirates, and it spiraled into a tech showcase. I've been wanting to introduce the mechs for a while now, but I never really felt like there was a good moment. Of course, these will not be mass produced. While Las could justify the TIE project, because the Outer Rim is a different beast with different needs, combat mechs don't fall into the same category. That means, unfortunately for him, he can't waste money on it.

Also, these longer chapters won't be particularly common. I'll do them once in a while when I want to get away from daily updates, but for the most part they will happen once or twice a month at best. If I stop writing for too long, I'm never going to do it at all.

Now, onto speculation. These mecha designs are borne of the skunkworks crackheads in the R&D team, and are not finished products. Whether or not they will be very effective is debatable, so I leave it up to you. Would these mecha and exo suits be effective for combat? Would they be useful for Las's position specifically? Are there any other designs you think would work better in their place? Please, let me know.

Of course, I have to toss some credit in the direction of ArtStation. Sure, I gave direct links so you can take a peek at the artists themselves, but I feel like I have to give a little shoutout. The sheer dedication and skill that is shown off over there is so impressive I'm honestly torn between being jealous that my little perspective box drawing practices don't look like that, and an ambition to get there one day. Incredibly skilled people doing awesome stuff. Lotta sci-fi to. Love it.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

 

[Guardian Box]

Random thoughr: why not trade the Lucrehulk or sell it? *Someone* in the Empire like maybe the Kuat or some overly ambitious Moff might see the value in that ship. It would avoid logistical problems and put more cash in the coffers to invest in infrastructure.

Click to shrink...

Counterpoint: a Lucrehulk is a bulk cargo hauler, the exact thing the systems needs to keep developing long term with its mining and export focus.

 

[frozone]

Counterpoint: a Lucrehulk is a bulk cargo hauler, the exact thing the systems needs to keep developing long term with its mining and export focus.

Click to shrink...

I thought this lucrehulk was the the carrier/battleship variant not the cargo variant

 

[Arrowthorne]

I see the Force is hard at work, giving Luke an Engineering version of the PDA?

Given Anakins affinity for tech, that Luke also inherited, can't wait to see what he'll come up with.

....Omeke potential: Vader get his hands on the Engineering PDA....

 

[Guardian Box]

I thought this lucrehulk was the the carrier/battleship variant not the cargo variant

Click to shrink...

IIRC A Lucrehulk is a bulk hauler by design, every other variant is a modification. So while it can function quite well in some combat roles it had been adapted to, it excels in bulk cargo transport by design still. Just needs some modifications to bring it up to its true purpose probably.

 

[Profilozof]

Oh dear the butterfly flaps its wings

 

[CommetKom]

Nice to see the characters from Star Wars: Rebels in here, and it looks like I'm seeing a certain Warmaster of Chaos levels of luck in trying to fail in terms of development! And I'm not sure if I read this correctly, but did the proton and plasma torpedo duel firing fail or succeed?

 

[Andrew1993]

Random thought: why not trade the Lucrehulk or sell it? *Someone* in the Empire like some overly ambitious Moff might see the value in that ship. It would avoid logistical problems and put more cash in the coffers to invest in infrastructure. Or you could trade it for a more modern space station or whatever, the T1 or T2 cardan-class station from Empire at War.

Click to shrink...

Think about it this way, lucre is a big beast of a capital ship, and the gladiator las bought was 34 million plus 16 million as a bribe to be approved to buy, so it was literally almost 50 more expensive due to having to bribe the moff, how expensive a bribe would another gladiator or a bigger ship be? Plus by using a captured lucrehulk theres less paper trail
Edit- also think of how much money he could spend by "modernizing" the lucrehulk

 

[Jace Spicer]

....Omeke potential: Vader get his hands on the Engineering PDA....

Click to shrink...

"What do you mean you quit being a Lord of the Sith to become an engineer?! That's not how this works!"

"I mean the benefits are so much better and I get lot more downtime or and I also fixed my cybernetics you fucking cock."

 

[Zitzdn]

This chapter was a how to seduce your commander guide

 

[Rakdos92]

Think about it this way, lucre is a big beast of a capital ship, and the gladiator las bought was 34 million plus 16 million as a bribe to be approved to buy, so it was literally almost 50 more expensive due to having to bribe the moff, how expensive a bribe would another gladiator or a bigger ship be? Plus by using a captured lucrehulk theres less paper trail
Edit- also think of how much money he could spend by "modernizing" the lucrehulk

Click to shrink...

Oh yeah, I forgot about the corruption making things more expensive.

 

[Xeider]

....Omeke potential: Vader get his hands on the Engineering PDA....

Click to shrink...

Counter offer:
Vader sees the various exosuits and decides that it's time for his body to get an upgrade...

 

[Crixxis]

Instead of seeing a glorious, and unfortunately never to be mass produced mech fire torpedoes at a target, I only saw a furious flash of light. Then heat. Then I realized there was no sound.

And the light was gone.

Click to shrink...

Hm, experimental gone wrong or sabotage?

 

[Rakdos92]

Hm, experimental gone wrong or sabotage?

Click to shrink...

My guess would be experiment gone wrong. I imagine proton and plasma torpedos don't play well with each other.

Like, the only rebel cell in the system is deep cover and knows that killing the governor won't advance their cause. Maybe the sector admiral is responsible because he wants to get rid of a stabilizing factor.

 

[War Sage]

I love the new gear, hot damn.

Looks like Grant likes them to

Damn, the mc needs more money holes ASAP.

 

[Sam I Am]

Hm, experimental gone wrong or sabotage?

Click to shrink...

If it's sabotage then I'm wondering who.

The only groups I can think of are some Imperial group, Rebels, because of that Rebel shipyard, and the pirates because they are also one of the groups that has a vested interest in doing something like this.

Despite the fact that the pirates are dumbshits, but they are being funded by a larger group, so y'know.

 

[Biscuits]

Ehh . . . I'm not that crazy over the new armors/mecha designs to be honest. Maybe it's that watching so many of EC Henry's Star Wars designs and ideas have spoiled me, but Star Wars has a certain design language and art style that almost none of these images properly emulate. "A long time ago . . ." is not just lip service. It informs how everything looks and feels; it's all lived in and familiar to us. An example would be that a lot of the blasters in the original trilogy are real WWI and WWII firearms with bits and bops bolted on their receivers.

Of course these are just prototypes, I know that, and they look very cool, but they're very anocranistic to the setting. They're not Star Wars.They look too much like Gundam or Halo designs.They're too sleek, too futuristic and with many odd jagged edges. The few times Star Wars does do sleek designs (like the Naboo ships), the shapes are very simple.

There's also too many acronyms. The MC might not care for the Tarkin Doctrine of fear, but the rest of the imperials serving him don't know that. They generally have a very aggressive and simple naming sense for their designs and prototypes: TIE Phantom, TIE Aggressor, Dark Troopers, Shadow Troopers, Death Star, Executor Super Star Destroyer, you get me?

I don't know if these are what you believe they're supposed to look like or just an approximation since you can't find the exact image your looking for. I'm not expecting you to draw it yourself or for you to commission artwork for a fanfiction, but this is just something that personally irks me. I'd have honestly preferred if you hadn't included any images at all since it kinda ruins the immersion for me, but I'm willing to admit others may not share the same likes and dislikes as me and they may not see any issue or even enjoy the artwork accompanying your work.

EDIT: Reformatted it a little and did a few grammar fixes.

P.S. It's another small minor nitpick, but it's odd that you named these new generation of stormtrooper armor Mk.II instead of phase 2. We have phase 1 & 2 clone trooper armor, and phase 1, 2 & 3 of dark trooper armor respectively. I scant remember any star wars vehicle, armor, or weapon that actually uses in its name, the designation of Mk.

TL;DR: I don't like the images. They're too futuristic. They're not Star Wars. Either use Star Wars designs or don't bother and leave it to our imagination.

 

[Rakdos92]

If it's sabotage then I'm wondering who.

The only groups I can think of are some Imperial group, Rebels, because of that Rebel shipyard, and the pirates because they are also one of the groups that has a vested interest in doing something like this.

Despite the fact that the pirates are dumbshits, but they are being funded by a larger group, so y'know.

Click to shrink...

Oh shit, what if there's a Defiler of the Zann Consortium on the planet? Wouldn't be the first time some thug got ahead of himself and gave detrimental orders without asking Zann.

 

[AHHGKS]

Counter offer:
Vader sees the various exosuits and decides that it's time for his body to get an upgrade...

Click to shrink...

Thought.
Vader sees the various exosuits and prototypes, then orders further R&D. This is due to Vader thinking his handpicked combat troops the 501st, deserve some heavy combat armor for when they are following him into the mud 'n blood *again*.

Just wait for the Rebels to look at this and start shitting bricks. Then they might decide to steal the shipments of combat equipment to throw at the Empire later on.

Sabine might just decide that having the engineering stuff along with extra shinies in the form of things which go boom, will be a worthy reason to go to Minda. Heck, if she shows up in Minda and does some anti piracy / anti slavery bounty hunting jobs for the governor, then she'll get the governor's stamp of approval to own her own beskar'gam.

Another thought on the ground Commander for Minda. Is she like half Mandalorian, because she seems weapon/explosive sexual. I wouldn't be surprised if she decides to show up in the MC governor's room later on because he's personally paying for the further development of the things which go boom.

TftC!

 

[Doombringer]

Ah i see, i meant that aqquiring a cardan 2 station would be good since it can service his current fleet not that he had one at present, and i honestly beleieve that converting the lucrehulk would be a massive drain for a result that would end up with a sub par result for the cost and his goal is to maintain the system growth while remaining low visisbility so the expenses of converting the lucrehulk could be better spent elseware especially considering the cardans are modular and thus easily upgraded if necessary. And regarding being wasteful it was aqquired from pirates, and even if he just parks it to deal with it later its still cheaper than paying for a star destroyer and then paying the bribe to actually get the request to buy said SD approved by the moff, especially considering the crowns would likely have maintained the lucrehulk to at least moderate operational status
-edit- he could also just use it as an armed superfrieghter as well i suppose

Click to shrink...

I agree that at the end of the day he could put his money in a better place, but a lucrehulk has a ring just begging to have workshops fitted to it with the interior hole perfect for a gantry for heavier ships to be safely secured in. And as shown even in this chapter, MC wants to burn money somewhere, so wasteful very much is a plus in this situation.

 

[Orangeduke38]

While Las could justify the TIE project, because the Outer Rim is a different beast with different needs, combat mechs don't fall into the same category. That means, unfortunately for him, he can't waste money on it.

Click to shrink...

They could be justified since these are a thing https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Haxion_Brood_Bounty_Droid.

Now, onto speculation. These mecha designs are borne of the skunkworks crackheads in the R&D team, and are not finished products. Whether or not they will be very effective is debatable, so I leave it up to you. Would these mecha and exo suits be effective for combat? Would they be useful for Las's position specifically? Are there any other designs you think would work better in their place? Please, let me know.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure they would be useful if the armors can be destroyed by anything man portable. If you can destroy a 100,000 credit mecha with a 1000 launcher they aren't a good investment.

Edit: It depends on the strength of the shield it carries, how fast it recharges, and how much maintenance it requires. If the mech requires 50 hours of maintenance for every hour up like a helicopter then besides special forces or SWAT its a waste of resources when tanks are readily available.

 

[Gehrt]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[sperance]

Sooo... Does Las realize that telling Grant that he's going to spend a shitload of money to give her a personalized murderarmor is basically a marriage proposal as far as she's concerned?

 

[Eterna]

it will ends with Palpie finding out, ordering SI to come to Coruscant, reading his mind during meeting and making him moff just for lulz -most competent moff who just tries to be non competent with zero ambitions

 

[Havalt300]

I think that apart from the mk2 stormtrooper armor and the 3 mechs, the other armor doesn't fit aesthetically.

 

[Andrew1993]

[/QUOTE]

I agree that at the end of the day he could put his money in a better place, but a lucrehulk has a ring just begging to have workshops fitted to it with the interior hole perfect for a gantry for heavier ships to be safely secured in. And as shown even in this chapter, MC wants to burn money somewhere, so wasteful very much is a plus in this situation.

Click to shrink...

I get your position it just seems like a lucrehulk shipyard conversion would be really undersized for what it would acomplish, still good debate on the merits of each
Just feels a little bit of a waste to have a potential heavy capital to flagship his PDF especially since other imps are unlikely to try requisitioning it and itself being a big money pit to restore it to fighting trim for his fine (insane) Commodore
Also to be honest im a little suprsed minda didnt have even a cardan 1 station