Governor's Gambit - Star Wars SI into Imperial Governor

[Anonymousmonarchist]

You know....

The last time someone was 'First among equals' it didn't end well....

Let's hope Las learns from the Cameron's mistakes.

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I didn't expect a Battletech/MechWarrior reference here, and I appreciate the reference.

On the other hand, I am now worried about outside actors manipulating our governor here given how the last Cameron ended up having their head removed from their shoulders.

Then again, this guild is a economic sub-faction within a larger political polity in the form of the Bright Jewel Oversector (I believe that is the name) and the Galactic Empire, so any collapse would be more manageable than a economic and military federation of interstellar feudal states with old hostile grudges towards one another only being kept in line through military force and economic mutual benefits.

 

[oscar e Sampedro Lopez]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[None of your bee wax!]

Holy shit. No wonder the Guild is so successful, it's made up of sensible, if greedy, people. Unlike literally everywhere else. I can't imagine such a calm meeting in the Banking Clans.

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Just a group of prosperous business men and a desire to keep cost down. Nothing of note.

Ignore the amount of tall hats that seem to keep coming back into fashion with such gatherings of individuals.

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

Holy shit. No wonder the Guild is so successful, it's made up of sensible, if greedy, people. Unlike literally everywhere else. I can't imagine such a calm meeting in the Banking Clans.

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It's also small. The guild here concerns the economy of one single sector. If your Board of Executives can fit into a single conference room, you don't have to deal with Senate level filibustering bs.

 

[Yacov]

But to think that my biggest current problem is manpower is wild. I mean, for a backwater, half a million people seems like plenty!

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The amount of people you have always seems like enough. Right until you want to expand, and find out everyone already has jobs.

I had reviewed and revised the immigration policy to prioritize people with relevant experience, since we couldn't afford to house and feed everyone who came in. I have thus far avoided a homelessness problem, and I won't let one start now.

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Trying to avoid slums and providing a respectable minimum of services is commendable, but at some point I imagine Minda is going to be hit with a wave of refugees due to the Empire's various atrocities.

The problem arose when the Moff decided to increase the backlog to 500 ships! Seems to me he's making a lot of promises that hinge on the yards working. It's not politically sound to put all your eggs in one basket. I wonder why he's doing it then?

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He's making a push for a higher office, that necessitates a making quite a few promises to secure support. If Las can actually fulfill all those promises, the better.

Then again, it is entirely possible the a good number people ordering these ships will be dead and/or in the next few years due to the whole Galactic Civil War situation. In that case, more ships for Mola.

So, Veers. Oioro and Darna would've had reason to be there, with the former being a negotiator and the latter my vice, while Grant has no real reason. Veers, however, defends the Edin/Minda routes. She has a vested stake in the Guild's shipping.

And, if we play our cards right, she might get more responsibility in that role. Which will give Minda more leverage in Guild politics.

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Didn't Veers invest a lot of money into Pathline recently? She might unintentionally have a commercial interest in this as a shareholder.

The meeting hall was a grandiose place. A tall ceiling with large, ostentatious pillars and fine drapes of red and black, sewn with the Imperial Crest covering the walls. All from the Core, of course.

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I imagine this will be changed in the subsequent meetings. More additions from Guild worlds as a way to flex influence.

Despite more than a dozen Governors being present at the Guilds first meeting, the Moff wasn't.

He didn't need to be.

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Being absent from one of the largest economic meetings in the sector, peak Moff decision making.

He sat at the table, wearing a standard Governors uniform in grey. The only modification was a series of thin metal plates affixed to the uniform, a series of interlinked triangles that weaved into the fabric so well it was hard to tell where metal ended and silk began. He exuded an air of quiet dominance, where no grandiose luxury or fancy words were needed to seem as if he had everything under control.

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One man's subtlety is another man's frugality and not wanting to buy something that costs a small frigate that they are only going to wear a dozen times max.

"Therefore, I wish to propose an expansion of the Guild's operational fees to incorporate a new branch of patrol vessels. These ships and their crews will patrol the lanes between member systems to discourage piracy and ensure smoother, safer trade."

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Note that these patrol vessels belong to the Guild, not any one Governor or military group. This is a commercial group getting a small fleet.

Hmm. An open policy of sorts. Mola seems to want power, or at the very least show dominance over the Guild, but still asks for the other members' opinions? Odd.

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"Hmm, accepting suggestions from your subordinates in a public setting, how novel."

"Because not all of us can defend our lanes as well. Not at the moment, at least." And there was Kyra Godran, Governor of Draxons Forge. A more recently settled system that was rich in resources but not infrastructure. Her agenda was obvious. Draxons Forge needed money, money that was being tied up due to pirates.

If the system doesn't make enough money, it can't expand. If it can't expand, it won't make enough money. And without money, it can't protect its lanes.

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Funnily this type of problem should have been the Imperial Military's top priority from day one. If only to help dig the Empire out of the massive financial hole it had dug itself into with the Clone Wars.

Unfortunately they were too focused on extracting tribute, resources, and slaves from these kind of worlds and committing lots of atrocities. Now the Guild is picking up the slack.

Mola nodded. "That is a good point, Governor Fogess, and I believe it should be the current topic of discussion. If the ships are built in the new Mindan yards, the cost will be decreased, and I am willing to shoulder the upfront cost myself. However, operational costs will be the main topic. As for oversight, I agree. Transparency is key. Any ideas on how to ensure such a thing are welcome."

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Considering how much Imperial budget disappears into weird, corrupt, and/or esoteric special projects, some transparency would be a breath of fresh air. No Twilek concubine harems or ship destroying freeze ray here.

Raxus doubted the report would ever grace the Grand Moffs eyes, but it was still his duty to send it.

Hopefully, the rest of the assignment would be as boring as this. He'd heard horror stories of some of the other sectors, after all.

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Raxus: "Man my sector was really boring. Just a bunch of boring meetings where Imperial Governors collectively cooperated for their mutual benefit. Everyone read through each other's reports and made reasonable and well intentioned arguments that everyone accepted and then gave counterpoints to."

Other sector Agents whose surveys had a hundred Imperial official blue-on-blue casualty minimums: "I hate you so much right now."

 

[Arrowthorne]

Snip.

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Well, have a look at Darna and tell me she wouldn't be a shoe in for the Blackhearts/Blackwatch.

Fear the Bagpipes, for they're a commin'

 

[vtkun]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Anonymousmonarchist]

Well, have a look at Darna and tell me she wouldn't be a shoe in for the Blackhearts/Blackwatch.

Fear the Bagpipes, for they're a commin'

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I can see that though she seems more cloak and dagger than the Blackwatch - not to say that the Blackwatch can't operate in that capacity. Their depiction in Battletech just seems to focus more on their Last Stand and legacy after that fact.

 

[Pbjtjl]

Bringing Veers in hindsight was such a big brain move. She holds a reputation for dealing with pirates effectively. He lays the seeds of cooperation within the Guild inside the Trojan horse that is delivered as protecting profits AND shouldering some of the cost. Talk about controlling the board. If he appoints Veers as some sort of authority over the collective protection of the trade routes that would be stacking the deck even more in his favor. Lmaoo most of them would choose her too, which is what makes it such a clever move. They'll all but give him the power he doesn't want over the entire Guild lmao

 

[Qwerty1234]

Love this sort of worldbuilding, give you a glimpse of the larger picture without going into too large a scale. Cheers for the update.

 

[Nikoli]

Oh this is how better senate is born

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This is kinda how the initial Republic came to be.

 

[The Returned]

Did...did you just Blue Ball/Clam Jam us from showing our MCs spine against an incompetent overreaching government organization? Fuck this chapter....



(Lol i don't have enough brain power to deal with multiple story issues.... Solve 1 problems and move on...(Good Lord the ICE and Fire series by G.R Martin are such a bitch) anyway no insult intended but this almost feels like an official Canon sidestory chapter...not the main story...I apologize if I missed anything's.)

 

[Fearless444]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Mistroz]

Excellent chapter.

 

[NavigatorNobilis]

You know....

The last time someone was 'First among equals' it didn't end well....

Let's hope Las learns from the Cameron's mistakes.

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Should be fine so long as Mola doesn't pull a Pollux Proclamation and decide to forcibly annex worlds into his Guild. Cameron's problem wasn't that he brought peace to the Inner Sphere through careful violence and great diplomacy, it's that he tried to expand it to the Periphery through great violence and careless diplomacy.

 

[Yacov]

Omake: Commercial Flying

POV: Tak Gwut
RIII: Guardian
Certifications: Negotiator II, Infiltrator II, Adviser I
An Ugean spaceport in Vrectin, Minda system, Myto Sector

"I'm telling you! You got the wrong Lutrillian! I am just a humble merchant!"

Tak yawned as the Mark continued to lie. Taking down a small ring of gunrunners was exciting, but maybe they shouldn't have struck so early in the morning. However, Tak was worried the Mark would bolt if he learned the other members of the ring were caught, so a crack of dawn raid it was.

Still they had their final Mark for the contract. Garik dug him out of a cabinet pitifully swinging around a D'skar after they kicked in the door to his warehouse. One would think the Mark would have a holdout blaster or something considering he was a gunrunner, but no. Just an overpriced knife that the Mark had no idea how to use.

Now they just had to get him back to Edin for trial. The Guild offered extra for transporting a bounty themselves rather than dropping him off at the local Guild office. The compensation was usually higher than the expenses. Especially on a well traveled route like this. Even if they decided to go public.

"Stow it. We found crates of unregistered KS-23s in your storage. Now get on the transport."

The Mark tried backing away only to get a jolt from Garik's Activv1 Riot Shield. A coiled stance and a glare from behind his new HuntSuit was all it took for the Mark to acquiesce to boarding the commuter YV-260 Light Freighter. That was Intimidating Pose #4 she believes. Tak caught Garik posing in front of a mirror with his suit last week reciting his old Shockboxing lines.

"Greetings passengers! I notice you have restrained one of your party in Magnacuffs. Do you have the flimsiwork for that?"

Tak flashed her IPKC, causing the RX-Series Piloting Droid to give a brief scan of the document before nodding. Tak deposited her cred sticks for their flight and selected their seating option.

"Wonderful! The Cage Seating is in the back. I will make sure you have an enjoyable and non-turbulent flight."

One advantage to using the YV-260 over something like a Star Commuter 2000 was the ease of modification. Well that and the weaponry the YV-260 had. Despite how relatively heavily patrolled these systems were, Tak still wouldn't trust flying in an unarmed commuter like the 2000 this far out in the Rim.

Cage Seating was an easy to install modification introduced as a way to ferry criminals and minor VIPs on civilian transport on the route between Edin and Minda. Plenty of fugitives thought they could use the frequent traffic between the two systems to dodge their bounties. Cage Seating allowed even low ranking bounty hunters in the Guild to transport their quarry to the right jurisdiction.

The trio sat down and tried to get comfortable as the Piloting Droid used the detainment setting to lock the cage from the outside. Soon the momentary feeling of weightlessness signaled they had begun their journey.

"I still say we should have encased this rodent in carbonite. Would have saved us money by letting us stuff him in the cargo bay and not have to pay for Cage Seating."

The Mark look affronted at Garik's suggestion. Doing his best to appear like being thrown into the cargo bay was an affront to his entire family line.

"Getting the carbonite licensing from the Guild would take too long and be too expensive. We had to strike while the metal was hot. Who knows how long the bonuses on illegal weapons dealers is going to last?"

The Rebel Attacks on Ugea had shaken up things at the Guild. They began offering bonuses on any illegal profession that the Rebels could use to resupply. Attempting to burn out any potential safe harbor the Rebels could hide in their territory. Insurrection was bad for business, and the Guild was very ruthless with those that interfered with their business.

It was at this point that the Mark chose to begin lying some more.

"Hey now! None of what I was selling was exactly illegal. I just sell hunting equipment for my distinguished clientele on Ugea. V-very distinguished! If you'll let me contact a couple I am sure we can smooth over this minor misunderstanding."

Poor Mark. Looks like he hasn't realized that we already caught the rest of his ring. Not that Tak would be caught dead taking bribes from a bounty. She had a reputation to uphold.

"Sorry to break it to you, but we already picked up your gunsmith operating her illegal armory back on Edin. She spilled everything. The shipping routes, the timetables, and the front company you intended to set up on Minda-2."

Honestly the announcement that there were innocent and naive natives on Minda-2 had attracted all sorts of low level criminals to the system. Every charlatan, smuggler, and Mynock oil salesman was crawling out of their holes to try to scam the Vendari out of their generational wealth.

"Front company? That's absurd! Sure some of my wares might be heading to Minda-2, but that was all just deliveries. The purchases were made on Ugea and anything else was just shipping to our clients' hunting trips. Our delivery on site policy is what sets us apart from our competitors."

Still most of the scum that was picked up were just minor fare. No one they caught was dumb enough to be selling to the Rebels for instance. Although maybe Tak hadn't heard of them because they were swept away before she had a chance to.

"You're lucky you were caught just planing to sell to primitives. If you keep up the dumb act, who knows? Maybe the Governor's men might suspect you of helping the Rebels."

The Mark's mask shatters into the first honest expression of the commuter ride. A visage of pure rage overtakes him as he strains against the restraints. For a moment Tak considers activating her Corondexx Blast Vest and Garik has his Thunderbolt Shock Prod in hand.

"Don't you dare put that label on me! My sister was at the Attacks! I ain't no frakking Reb! I would sooner shoot them with my product than give them a single one of my Hammers!"

Well that was telling. Especially since the name they caught the Mark under doesn't have a sister on record. If the Mark keeps up that attitude he'll be spending time in the Cavern rather than taking a blaster bolt to the skull.

The Rebels had always been this nebulous entity out in the distance on Minda. Something people were aware of, but hadn't put a face to the name yet. The Attacks had given the Rebels a face, and it was the one of a monster. Their name had been dragged through the mud so thoroughly the Guild was getting tips on potential Rebel activity from known criminals without even asking for payment first.

"I am sorry to hear about your sister. Although thanks for admitting to owning those illegal slugthrowers. Now why don't you just sit back and enjoy the ride."

The Mark clammed up as he realized what he had just done. For a second Tak thought she would have to use her DAS-430 Neural Inhibitor on him again, but the Mark slumped into his seat shortly after. Looks like the remainder of this trip was going to be unexciting.

——
Another episode of the adventures of Garik and Tak. A ground view of how civilian life in Minda is adjusting to the new normal of being more interconnected to the rest of the sector along with how the Guild is reacting to the Hand by hosting a special event hunt on potential collaborators.

Crossposted on SB and SV

 

[Anonymousmonarchist]

Should be fine so long as Mola doesn't pull a Pollux Proclamation and decide to forcibly annex worlds into his Guild. Cameron's problem wasn't that he brought peace to the Inner Sphere through careful violence and great diplomacy, it's that he tried to expand it to the Periphery through great violence and careless diplomacy.

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Valid point there - Mola isn't likely to take an aggressive expansion approach in the (probably unlikely) event that the Guild worlds end up as a independent polity after the collapse of the Galactic Empire in the future; it is not in his nature or his methodology as a political figure/decision maker to do so.

In regards to the components of the Guild or member worlds still under the Galactic Empire currently, some of them could end up trying to box worlds in politically to push them into the Guild to gain leverage and power. On the other hand, I imagine there are bureaucratic and procedural obstacles in the Guild to stop that from happening.

 

[apocolypse1011]

Another great chapter! I can't wait to see what happens next!