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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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!

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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?

Click to shrink...

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 removed from office 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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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."

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

"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.

Click to shrink...

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."

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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'

Click to shrink...

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

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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.

Click to shrink...

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!

 

[Morkail]

Don't think he realizes that he's building a system that even after the empire collapses will still exist he may cease to a governer but he would a still be a leader of the guild. And the different star systems are going want to keep him around.

 

[Freefaller]

Chp-71

0BBY. 7977 C.R.C, as it is more commonly known.

It was coming to an end.

Merely 3 months before the year's end, and a lot had happened. The Death Star went kaboom. The Guild was made official. I voluntarily played politics.

I was still stuck here.

And as I sat in my office, staring off into the middle distance, I felt my will cracking. Ever so slightly.

Just a few months ago, when the Scarred Hand attacked, I almost died. And it wasn't the first time!

That pirate raid, all those years ago. The Hand. That cult on Edin with its fucking zombies.

3 times! 3 times I almost died.

Funny thing is I wouldn't mind this all that much, given different circumstances. After all, adventuring across the galaxy comes with its fair share of dangers.

Of course, I'm not doing that, now am I? I'm stuck in fucking office, doing paperwork to keep together this shitshow I've somehow found myself running.

As my mind becomes more and more clouded, the world around me blurring into shapes and colors, Mugwuffin nudges my leg with her head, a soft purr resounding out and running up my leg.

I shake my head, and give her pets, though her worried look doesn't seem to fully go away. Not if the force bond is anything to go by.

Regardless, I'm glad she pulled me out. My mental breakdown limit is full this month anyways.

The limit is 0. I am sorely reconsidering this stance.

To get away from my own thoughts, I stare out the window, into the midnight sky. If nothing else, these late nights gave me great views. A part of me yearns to get away, to live out that life of adventure I always wanted.

Far up above, I can see the lights of the shipyard in the void. Even from down here, the massive structure is still visible, if only barely.

If I squint, I can pretend I see the silhouettes of the ships it's making. Vigil, Raider and Customs corvettes. Though the Vigil is technically a frigate, which always bothered me.

Doesn't matter, I suppose. What matters is production times. Only 1 berth is operational. Thankfully, the RHE employees we poached are enough in their numbers to run berths in full shifts, day and night.

At present, since production had started, we made 4 Raider and 4 Customs Corvettes per month, with 2 Vigil Corvettes following.

All things considered, this is a pretty good amount of time. The biggest problem is, once again, manpower.

In the past few months, only around 3000 people have been added to the yard's homegrown workforce, with 2000 flying in periodically. Sounds like a lot, but there were more that wanted to go, and were qualified.

The problem is housing. While fly-in workers live on site, others don't. There were enough applicants to get another berth functioning on half-shifts, 12 hours, though it would take another week to start up.

And there are even more immigrants that want to join, despite not being fully qualified. We would train them, if we had the people to spare!

But we can't house them all. The growth of the Mindan population was due to large amounts of capital being dumped into housing expansion and urban growth. Nowadays, especially with the big old 9 billion credit debt Minda owes, I have to start being more frugal.

If Minda was profiting from the yard, it would be cool, but the ships currently being made are from the Moffs list, and so we sell them barely above production value, sometimes we only break even. Right now, the yard is a money sink, and with so few ships being made we can't afford to start selling them to others.

Can't piss off the Moff, after all.

As it stands, the full yard will focus on the larger Vigils, while the half yard will pump out Raiders/Customs. With this, I can nearly double the number of Vigils made, though Raiders and Customs will see a slight reduction.

Regardless, the overall number of ships being produced will increase, so it's all fine by me.

Now, onto my other problems.

I refocused my attention from the stars to my terminal, where a slew of reports and messages awaited me.

Some were things that merely needed my stamp of approval. Some public works, stuff like that. One of them regarded the Mindan College program. Something I started awhile back that had only recently finished building its campus. It could've been done far sooner, but there were delays in construction. More important projects that forced the redirection of resources.

As much as I wished I could build it all at once, I couldn't. Such was life. Now, the problem with the program was twofold.

I didn't have teachers, and I didn't have money.

Real, qualified college professors wouldn't be slumming it out here, when there were better places to get a job, and I couldn't start spending the money needed to maintain the college and its employees when every credit counted.

So long as the college was free, that is. Like the rest of the schools on Minda/Edin. And I intended to keep it that way. Educated people make more money, and pay more taxes, after all.

Alas, for now the college program would be put on hold. I would have word spread throughout Myto and the surrounding sectors, but for now there was little I could do.

With that in mind, I turn to my biggest actual problems of the night.

Money, and money with extra steps.

The first was simple. Edin. Darna had been doing a decent job so far, though there had been some missteps on occasion. Thankfully, the staff there are really good, so she's got plenty of support. I swear, that woman takes on too much work.

Regardless, Edin is still unprofitable. It's been expanding, slowly, but as it is the system is making barely any extra cash. That needs to change.

I send a message to Darna telling her exactly that, and recommending some paths forward, such as surveys of the land, and any potential local delicacies and the like. Along with an offer of my support if needed.

The next thing? KDY. Not the debt, but the dependence. Currently, only 3 ships were produced in the yards, and 2 of them were of KDY make. I needed to diversify, and soon.

Sure, it doesn't seem like a problem now, but if KDY maintains a majority on ships built in the yards, they will most definitely push that advantage. Just because KDY is state owned, doesn't mean the state cares about Minda, or what KDY does to it.

Combined with the debt? It could be devastating. This applies to the other mega-corps as well. Maintaining the balance between them would be crucial to my continued dominion here, and therefore my survival.

So, I started looking into alternatives for the many, many ships that still had to be built. Rendili would get one or two. RHE was nearly gone, so there was little they could make.

Sienar had a few offerings, and so did CEC, though the offerings there were slim for anything not the size of a small freighter.

There were also other things to consider. Imperial ships often shared similarities on some level, but more so from the same manufacturers. And the current way we have planned to reduce production costs is logistics streamlining.

That'll get more complex as more manufacturers get involved. But the alternative is relying on fewer companies, which will cause problems.

I sigh, resting my head against my hands. This is out of my scope of expertise, and I readily admit that. Ship production? Logistical adaptability? On a bureaucratic level, sure, I can handle it. But at the technical level, I have no idea.

So, I sent a message out to the R&D director, who would see it first thing in the morning. Maybe the teams already working on the current ships will have something for me. Maybe not.

Regardless, as I stared at the screen of my terminal, my mind blanking on what to do next, I called it quits. Time for bed.

Honk shoo mimimimi type shit.

And honk shoo I did. Until Mugwuffin plopped down on my chest. Then it was more like a wheeze.

Fucking space cat lizard thing.

-

Finals coming up. Fewer/no updates. Will resume later with some more. Maybe. Finals means no time/motivation.

 

[AldariSiradla]

Mugwuffin knows you are stressed.
Relax and pet Mugwuffin.
For Mugwuffin has foreseen it.

Right, time to plan.
Distance yourself from the Megacorps...
And gain economic independence.
Hopefully soon before it all goes up in shit.

 

[Fearless444]

Glory thanks for the chapter also Godspeed on your finals

 

[Blackenedthorn]

Time to launch a domestic starship design competition and make a ship building game for PDAs, then go through the submissions to see what work and what doesn't. Best designs earn a prize, for those who are younger it's a Mugwuffin plushy while for adults it's a credit prize, unless they also want the plushy too.

 

[Havalt300]

Should reconnect with family.

 

[Mistroz]

Excellent chapter.

 

[Sanguine]

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'

Click to shrink...

If you look like a fat Genghis Khan, make peace with your god.

 

[Solconbur]

This sounds like a moment where you need to build your own, mass producible ships. Might I recommend the honeycomb interiors of an Autumn-class Freighter (Halo)?

 

[swtoring]

It's after the death star went kaboom so it's technically 0ABY now

 

[drunkenBavarian]

Time to launch a domestic starship design competition and make a ship building game for PDAs, then go through the submissions to see what work and what doesn't. Best designs earn a prize, for those who are younger it's a Mugwuffin plushy while for adults it's a credit prize, unless they also want the plushy too.

Click to shrink...

And maybe give R&D a little nudge towards Battlestars. The Dreadnaught Class Heavy Cruiser has a similar enough main body even if it's way smaller. Change it up enough so Rendili StarDrive doesn't get pissy and add two flightpods.

And that's totally not me wanting the Galactica in Star Wars to show the Empire what a proper carrier looks like.

 

[Yacov]

At present, since production had started, we made 4 Raider and 4 Customs Corvettes per month, with 2 Vigil Corvettes following.

Click to shrink...

That's a decent system patrol force combined with the TIE production. Not a bad size for an initial run.

All things considered, this is a pretty good amount of time. The biggest problem is, once again, manpower.

In the past few months, only around 3000 people have been added to the yard's homegrown workforce, with 2000 flying in periodically. Sounds like a lot, but there were more that wanted to go, and were qualified.

The problem is housing. While fly-in workers live on site, others don't. There were enough applicants to get another berth functioning on half-shifts, 12 hours, though it would take another week to start up.

And there are even more immigrants that want to join, despite not being fully qualified. We would train them, if we had the people to spare!

But we can't house them all. The growth of the Mindan population was due to large amounts of capital being dumped into housing expansion and urban growth. Nowadays, especially with the big old 9 billion credit debt Minda owes, I have to start being more frugal.

Click to shrink...

Might have to compromise on housing a bit. Maybe cut down unit size or set up a barracks system. Some people will take it if they believe it is temporary and they can have the job now rather than later. It would still be an improvement of the situation.

There is also the Slave Megabuilding of you are willing to open up some of the floors once production is done.

If Las is really desperate there is always Minda-2. Not as shipyard works, but more as cheap labor to build housing on Ugea. It might not be fair pay to the Vendari, but it is still credits which the Vendari nations need to develop their world.

If Minda was profiting from the yard, it would be cool, but the ships currently being made are from the Moffs list, and so we sell them barely above production value, sometimes we only break even. Right now, the yard is a money sink, and with so few ships being made we can't afford to start selling them to others.

Can't piss off the Moff, after all.

Click to shrink...

Even worse Moff Hiral is spending all the favor earned on his political campaign. If some of those "gifts" from grateful Moffs could help pay for things, that might take the edge off.

Some were things that merely needed my stamp of approval. Some public works, stuff like that. One of them regarded the Mindan College program. Something I started awhile back that had only recently finished building its campus. It could've been done far sooner, but there were delays in construction. More important projects that forced the redirection of resources.

As much as I wished I could build it all at once, I couldn't. Such was life. Now, the problem with the program was twofold.

I didn't have teachers, and I didn't have money.

Real, qualified college professors wouldn't be slumming it out here, when there were better places to get a job, and I couldn't start spending the money needed to maintain the college and its employees when every credit counted.

Click to shrink...

There is only so much online research and droid teachers can do for education. There needs to be some in person and hands on learning to truly know how to do the really technical stuff.

That being said, there is low hanging fruit. Setting up more online courses via the PAD network could increase the knowledge base. You could set up more certification programs for the lower level of Shipyard work. It might not get you foremen or engineers, but there is always technical drudge work that needs doing.

The first was simple. Edin. Darna had been doing a decent job so far, though there had been some missteps on occasion. Thankfully, the staff there are really good, so she's got plenty of support. I swear, that woman takes on too much work.

Regardless, Edin is still unprofitable. It's been expanding, slowly, but as it is the system is making barely any extra cash. That needs to change.

I send a message to Darna telling her exactly that, and recommending some paths forward, such as surveys of the land, and any potential local delicacies and the like. Along with an offer of my support if needed.

Click to shrink...

There is Zersium in the Edin system, so maybe try and set up some more mining and try to produce lower grade durasteel? Maybe not in the quantities or quality for starship manufacturing, but there is a market for Durasteel personal armor and construction in the Myto Sector. Especially with the Guild driving up interest.

It might not be highly profitable, but it would be enough to put Edin further in the black. Plus it would be another valuable industry to have control over when the Emperor goes kablooie.

I sigh, resting my head against my hands. This is out of my scope of expertise, and I readily admit that. Ship production? Logistical adaptability? On a bureaucratic level, sure, I can handle it. But at the technical level, I have no idea.

So, I sent a message out to the R&D director, who would see it first thing in the morning. Maybe the teams already working on the current ships will have something for me. Maybe not.

Click to shrink...

I am sure the R&D Director will be more than happy to throw the madness their department has come up with for the Governor's perusal.

If you look like a fat Genghis Khan, make peace with your god.

Click to shrink...

Hutts everywhere get a shiver

It's after the death star went kaboom so it's technically 0ABY now

Click to shrink...

That's always bothered me. Are 0BBY and 0ABY the same year or two separate years?