Governor's Gambit - Star Wars SI into Imperial Governor

Freefaller · Jan 28, 2025

Governor's Gambit

Chp-1: Fuckin' Nepo-Baby's

"No, we will not be burning a quarter of the city to… "send a message"... as you put it".

"But if nothing is done then the protests will continue, Sir!

I resisted the ever-growing urges to sink my face into my hands and scream. Instead, I straightened my back, looked the Imperial Garrison's commander in the eye and told her that under no circumstances was she allowed to burn a quarter of the city just to stop protests.

Never before have I seen a grown woman pout.

After he was dismissed from his duties, I took the opportunity to stand up and walk over to the window at the end of my office. It overlooked the city that sprawled out before the Capitol Building my office sat at the top of, giving me quite the view.

The city itself was not very large, 40,000 people at most, and that was only because it was the capital of the planet. The building I was in was a 5 story building that functioned as both my home, office, and center of bureaucracy for both the city and the planet as a whole.

The view was one of the few things that calmed me down, the wonder of being able to see a sci-fi city with my own two eyes. When I woke up in this new body of mine, I had an understandable freakout. Thankfully, I had been alone in my office and the view out the window had been enough to calm me down.

My situation is thus. I have found myself reborn as the Imperial Governor of a minor planet by the name of Minda 3. This outer rim backwater was primarily an agricultural export, though there was little to export in the first place. As governor, I technically had control over the entire system, but Minda 3, out of the 4 planets in the system, was the only easily colonizable one here.

Make no mistake, this system is resource rich. The other livable planet, Minda 5, is chock full of trees and life, while the remaining planets are bound to have something worthwhile, not to mention the asteroid belts. However, Minda 5 is a jungle hellhole that would make Catachan look like the suburbs, making colonization near impossible without heavy duty equipment. Even then, the natives would not look kindly on any attempted invasion.

"But Las" I hear you pester "the other 2 planets would be perfect for strip mining". And you would be correct, little snotling, and Imperial mining operations here could gain quite a lot of material. However, the Empire being the bundle of incompetence that it is, won't allow it because of politics.

You see, there are 1,024 sectors of the Galactic Empire. Each sector is governed by a Moff. Each Moff is given a sector group of 24 ISD's and varying accompanying escort ships to patrol their sector, along with whatever they can scrounge up for themselves. The Minda system is situated in the Myto sector, which you may or may not recognize as the home of the Dubrillion system, where Lando Calrissian lived as the administrator of the planet Dubrillion.
Now, why is this important? Well, the Moff of the Myto sector also lives on Dubrillion, and spends all of his time in some nice penthouse, doing fuck all, giving all the easy jobs to nepotistic lackeys. This means that when the Minda system was initially colonized by Imperial efforts, it was to fulfil a quota. A 4 planet system, only one of which is easily colonizable, isn't the type of system to provide short-term benefits, and so it was overlooked.

I don't really mind all of this, to be honest. A fairly easy life, with decent luxury on a fairly idyllic planet, with enough money and a starship to escape if/when things go to shit. At least, that's what I thought until I had time to dig through the dearly departed governors memories.

Las Mola was a Coruscanti rich kid, and a disgrace. His mother, Commandant Jir Mola, had moved their family from Coruscant when Las was only 10 to Eriadu, homeworld of Grand Moff Tarkin, to become the Overseer of the Imperial Academy of Eriadu. Such a position was only possible due to her experience as one of Tarkin's more competent underlings.

Las was a rather pesky kid, and considering his mother's position he was a clear fit for the arrogant young master stereotype of wuxia fiction. He had been driven to this attitude as a result of his family.

His mothers prestigious position and achievements aside, all 3 of his older sisters had accomplished much. The oldest, Shal, was 30, and yet already the Captain of an ISD in the Abrion sector (where Scarif is), the second oldest, Zyx, was only 27, but was a decorated agent of Imperial Intelligence, and the youngest, Alvi, was an ace Tie pilot at 25.

Meanwhile, Las, lazy ass that he was, flunked out of the Eriadu Academy, and, not wanting to deal with her embarrassment of a son, Jir had him set up as the governor of the Minda system. While that seems like an honor, the state of the Minda system as an undeveloped, poor agricultural community meant that there was no prestige or advancement to be had, and it was in a forgotten and near barren sector of the galaxy where Las could not bring shame to the Mola name.

"Again", I hear your disgusting voice snort, "I don't see what's so bad about that, just don't cause a ruckus and you'll be fine". And you would be right, bloat-bag, but there's one detail I failed to mention. Mother dearest had tasked Las with making something of this backwater system in 2 years, else she would have him tossed into the meat-grinder that is the regular Imperial Infantry, sent to die on some shithole against some natives like that mess that happened on Mimban.

Of course, now that I'M Las Mola, that meant that by 0BBY I had to make Minda worth a damn, or at least not a complete shithole, or run the fuck away and hope that I can hack it in the wider galaxy.

As I'm reminiscing on the sorry state my life now is, I look down out of the window to see the protestors at the foot of the building.

According to Los's memories, the farmers were protesting over the increased taxes instituted onto them by Los upon his arrival. It had been an attempt to squeeze the people, and gain some cash to then escape with.

Not the worst plan, all things considered, except for the fact that Zyx is basically a super-spy, and would certainly find him in whatever hovel he hid in. That meant only one thing for me. One horrible thing.

I would have to actually do work.

Fuck.

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Hi there everyone, first time Fan-Fic author here. Always wanted to write sci-fi and the like, but now that I'm 3 years into college without ever having written shit I've started to realize that I have zero experience in fiction writing and should really put in the work.

I therefore decided to put this up, the type of fic I've always wanted to see, as a way to practice. I encourage all kinds of constructive criticism, including lore corrections and ideas on where to take the story

I'll also be cross-posting on QQ and SV under the same name.

And since I have college, expect weekly updates at best, with some interruptions for finals, big projects, and the like.

Thank you so much for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Jan 29, 2025

Chp-2: I will Criminalize Paperwork

Looking down at the protesters, I pondered on my potential courses of action.

This bodies previous owner had already fucked the dog in regards to the people of Minda 3 with his absurdly high taxes, and therefore had ruined his(and by extension my) reputation before I had the chance to win some popularity.

Now, just reducing the taxes back wouldn't be enough, as people would remember me as the governor that hiked taxes, no matter what I do.

Stepping out of the elevator into the foyer of the building, my personal guard met me with a salute, the white plastoid armor of the troopers gleaming under the lights. These 10 Stormtroopers were some of the 225 that were assigned to Minda 3 as my personal guard/shock troops. More populated/advanced/rebellious planets usually get larger amounts of these elite shock-troops, but as a backwater, Minda got a single company of 225, on top of the 5 companies of regular troopers and the like.

Standing nearby, speaking to another officer was the Garrison Commander, Kraela Grant. Upon noticing me, she immediately saluted me.

When she was like this, she actually looked respectable. She was a tanned skinned blonde, with high cheekbones that gave her an air of authority, enhanced by her sharp green eyes and sharper military uniform. All of which is immediately ruined the moment she opens her mouth.

"Sir! The protesters grow more treacherous with every second! I request permission to suppress them with extreme prejudice!"

Her eyes now gleam with an unnerving bloodlust. I don't even think this is excessive loyalty to the Empire, I'm pretty sure she's just insane.

"Aren't you Alderaanian, Commander?"

"And?"

"...I was under the impression Alderaanian culture valued pacifism."

"It does."

I blinked. "Ah…understood…my answer is still no"

From there I turned away, avoiding her incoming puppy eyes, and made my way to the entrance of the building, my guards following close by.

"What's the plan, sir?" a trooper who's name I couldn't remember asked.

"I'm going to negotiate"

"That sounds dangerous, sir. Couldn't you send a planet-wide holo-message instead?"

"I could. But then they'd see me as a coward. That's bad for business."
"Business sir?"

"Yes. The business of living"

I exited the building, walked across the courtyard as the noise of the protestors got louder and louder, and made my way to one of the guard towers on the wall.

An army trooper, clad in the stark black of common imperial infantry, was on the wall, screaming at the crowd through some sort of voice amplification device.

I climbed up the tower, and snatched it from his hands.

I then proceeded to do what all politicians are practically born to do.

I spewed absolute bullshit.

"Good people of Minda 3! My name is Las Mola, your governor, and I'm here to speak to you regarding the recent changes!"

I was, predictably, met with screaming, anger, and general discontent. Thankfully, the one armored company I had came with some At-ST's. While I have made and will continued to make my dislike of the chicken walkers clear, their intimidate factor in this situation made certain that the protestors wouldn't start throwing rocks or thermal detonators my way.

"To clarify regarding the increased taxes! That was a mistake based on faulty information! I had been under the impression that Minda 3 had larger manufacturing capabilities! I apologize for this inconvenience, rest assured that taxes will return to their normal rates, and those responsible for the faulty info have been dealt with!"

Of course, this was not at all true. Las had pumped up taxes because of his own stupidity, then dropped the bag and left me to deal with it. I suppose in that sense, the one responsible has been dealt with, but telling the people here that I'm not at fault because I'm a reincarnator. That would just get me tossed in an asylum. Or shot. Or both. Probably both.
"To those who have already paid the increased tax, the difference will be sent back to you. To those who haven't, you are being given an extra week to pay. That is all."

Short, direct, with no grandstanding. I figure the more rough and tumble farming populace would be happier with that, rather than me going on and on.

With the tax problem out of the way for now, I headed back to my office. As much as I would like to lay down and never wake up, for better or worse(for sure worse) I ran a solar system, and had a sword of damocles hanging over my head. That means I have to do work. A lot of it.

As soon as I sat in my chair, I hit the intercom button and called my secretary. A blue skinned Twi'lek woman by the name of Darna Sabrir that Las had chosen for the position purely because of her looks. Thankfully, she's actually fairly competent at her job.

"How may I assist you, Governor?"

"Could you please compile a report for me on the population centers, major infrastructure, military forces, and general heavy equipment we have?"

"...Of course sir. Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you."

She was for sure surprised. Why else would she pause? I had just asked for paperwork. Paperwork! The one thing that the original Las and I share in common is our utter disdain for paperwork. God-awful stuff. Unfortunately I actually need a comprehensive list of Minda 3's population centers, infrastructure, military forces, and all heavy equipment we have if I'm to actually make something of this rat-shit ball of dirt.

You see, now that I've dealt with the taxes, I had to make this system profitable. To do that, my first thought was population. Planets are big, but with Minda 3 having what I can only assume is a small population, there's no way the full potential of the planet is being utilized. How many fields go unplanted? Forests not being razed to the ground? Wells of natural resources not being plundered? All because there aren't enough people?

These thoughts consume me for the next hour and a half, a million half baked ideas hastily typing these out onto my personal datapad. Everything from expanded farming to strip-mining to asteroid mining to mass deforestation. If I thought it might work, it went on the list.

That's when the terminal on my desk chimed, indicating that I had received a message. Opening it I found a fairly comprehensive list of all the things I asked for. While it was filled with quite a lot, the basics could be boiled down into this.

Population: 200,000 - 40,000 in Accordia(Capital), 15,000 in Rolling Green's(Biggest farming city), 10,000 in Augir(Mining city), with the rest spread amongst small villages and farming towns, none reaching above 1,000.
Military: 1 company of 200 StormTroopers(50 of which are my personal guard)+support personnel stationed in the capital. 35,000 assorted general troops and support personnel. 1 armored company of 232 personnel, with 10 medium tanks, 10 light tanks, 8 heavy tanks, 9 heavy weapons repulsor lifts, and 4 AT-ST. 2 squadrons of 12 Tie fighters each, 1 Arquitens light cruiser, and 5 cargo-oriented Gozanti Class cruisers.
Infrastructure: the capital city stands at the center of a large plain on one of the 3 continents found on Minda 3, and the only populated continent. Stretching from the capital are a series of roads which connect with every nearby city of 500 residents or more. These towns then have rougher paths that connect to even smaller nearby towns and villages, creating a spider web like effect. Rolling Green's is located some 200 miles north of the capital, and also acts as a central node for the spiderweb roads, and is also home to the largest grain refinery on the planet. Augir, on the other hand, sits some 330 miles to the southwest, and also acts like a road node. It holds the majority of the mining equipment on the planet, but does not have an ore refinery.

Looking over this, I can tell that I have my work cut out for me. Relatively low population means expansion is difficult, and relocating people in the smaller villages and towns would likely be a mistake, considering the fact that this place seems to be inhabited by the types of folk who would kill for their land. It would also invite the wrong kind of reputation to befall me.

So, instead of looking towards the individuals, I looked towards the organizations.

FieldTec Agricultural Concern: Largest company on the planet, owns 45% of the farms in Rolling Green's
Minda Plains Union: Union consisting of a large portion of non-corporate farmers in Rolling Green's and other large farming towns and cities.
YewCast: Largest of the few tech companies on Minda, they sell mostly home appliances to those living in the large cities, though they have been looking to expand.
KhaganMotors: Only decently sized vehicle manufacturing industry, relies mostly on imported parts to make frankenstein farming vehicles and the like.
Drillers United: Mining union that worked the mines of Augir and other mining towns.
Finally, there are the many family owned businesses that dot the planet, be they small farming companies, transport companies, repair/mechanics, and many more.

With all this in mind, I started to concoct a plan.

I needed support. I needed people to like me. That means I have to start from the top.

Looking over what I had, I made a decision. After speaking to my secretary, I waited for a few minutes. Eventually, my holopad built into my desk lit up.
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Captain Ife Veer
Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser Gauntlet

Captain Ife Veer was bored.

This was an unfortunately common issue for her. Being assigned to Minda 3 had seemed like an opportunity for her. Sure, it's a backwater, but the outer rim is filled chock full of pirates, rebels, and other ne'er-do-wells that infest these savage reaches.

But here she is, bored out of her mind, bouncing a small rubber ball against the wall of her office onboard the Gauntlet, floating in geosynchronous orbit above Accordia. Stuck in a dead end position, never to see the glory of combat.

Suddenly, her intercom chimes, messing up her throw and sending the ball careening into her jaw.

Wincing, she answered, and was incredibly surprised to see the face of the Governor, Las Mola, on the holo. He was quite young, at only 21 years of age, sporting a mop of scraggly black hair hidden under his cap, and a youthful face with slightly rounded cheeks. His skin was very lightly tanned, and his eyes were a muddy brown. Of course, none of these colors came through on the holo, but they were dragged from the depths of her memories when he called.

"Captain"

She snapped off a quick salute. "Governor, sir. How can I be of service?"

He studied her with sharp eyes and more intelligence than she thought he was capable of.

"What scanning capabilities does the Gauntlet have?"

"...Decent, sir. Enough to cover any attempts to land on the capital continent, at the very least"

"What other capabilities?"

"Basic military scan capabilities include high-frequency scanning, so the Gauntlet is a step above most civilian ships"

"Could the Gauntlet scan for wrecks and debris?"

She paused for a minute, debating the question. Finally, she answered.

"Unless they are buried deep, it's possible."
His eyes seemed to shine.

"Good. I want full scans of the other major landmasses of Minda 3, along with scans of the other planets in the system. Once finished, report your findings back to me."

"Apologies for questioning your orders, sir, but that would leave the capital undefended!"

"Correct Captain. Thankfully, there's not much of worth here. Something I wish to rectify. So get to it." With that, he shut the holo off. Rude, but that was the last thing on Ife's mind.

Scanning for wreckage? Minda had always been a pass-through system at best, but it had been the site of some CIS and Republic sites and skirmishes. Any wreckage, while old, might still hold value.

Ife smiled, a terrifying thing. The governor finally seemed to be doing something interesting. She only hoped it might lead to some fun.

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Governor Las Mola
Capitol Building, Accordia

As I closed the holo call and moved onto my next set of actions, I shivered slightly. As if a great beast had just started to awaken.

Regardless, I put those thoughts, and their potential consequences aside, and prayed that they would never resurface.

After my bout of self-delusion, I made another call, this time to the leader of Drillers United.

The holo powered up, and there stood the visage of what I could only call a stereotype. A grizzled man with a large beard, wrinkles, and what could only the stains of dust and soot clinging to his uniform answered.

A gruff voice blared from the call.

"Governor. Whaddya want?"

The tone was disrespectful, but I think I can change that. Just can't show him that I'm legitimately intimidated. And through a holo-call? That would be embarrassing.

"President Kree, I have a business proposition for you."

"I don't take bribes"

Good. Not what I was saying, but good.

"I assure you, it's nothing of the sort. I was instead hoping to utilize your connections to
improve and expand Minda's mining industry, creating more jobs and expanding the economy. Do you happen to have any contacts in the asteroid mining business?"

"…I'm listening."

Fuck yeah.

Let's get this bread.

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Author's note: Hi there, its me, the author. Just wanted to say thanks to all the wonderful comments I've received, and how many have read the 1st chapter(1,020 on QQ!!!).

I, of course, continue to welcome any and all constructive criticism regarding my writing, Star Wars lore inconsistencies, and your thoughts on where the story is going/should go.

Thanks so much for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Jan 29, 2025

Chp-3: Love Dat Trash
I was sat in my office, doing Very Important Work. I was brute force calculating the precise necessary trajectories needed to maximize potential profit and secure overwhelming victory.

"Kobe!"

The rubber ball missed wildly, bouncing throughout the room, forcing me to ~~cower~~ bravely take cover behind my desk.

From my ~~hiding place~~ fortress steel, I heard the hiss of the doors to my office. Immediately, I jumped into my seat and flattened my uniform just in time for Darna to walk into my office. Clad in the stark grey uniform most imperial bureaucrats wear which contrasted nicely with her teal blue skin, she cut a sharp, professional figure. The type of office worker you know gets shit done.

"Hello Darna, what hav-" Before I could greet her, my totally calculated high velocity projectile rebounded off a wall, smacked the top of my skull, and went flying right into Darna's waiting hand.

I withered under her glare as I rubbed the top of my head.

"I see you're working hard" she says in a clearly unamused tone.

"I was brute force calculating the precise necessary-"

"You were playing with a ball"

"I was playing with a ball"

A silence stretched between us, one that Las's memories told me were not unlike those suffered under his mothers wrath.

With a sigh, she placed a datapad on my desk. Taking the opportunity for what it is, I quickly engrossed myself in the numbers. Whatever makes her stop looking at me like a disappointment.

"The prospectors from Eckshi Mining have reported that the asteroid belts are filled not only with a bevy of dwarf planet sized asteroids, but there seem to be some fairly considerable possible resource deposits. They're asking to buy the rights to portions of the belt."

"Absolutely not. I'm willing to rent out portions of the belt for mining claims, but no permanent ownership"

Hopefully, this system would allow me to make some solid cash. Enough, and I could fund some new infrastructure. I was thinking of setting up a refinery/mining base on one of the super-asteroids, which could fund other expansions, which would fund other expansions, and so on and so forth.

Then I realized something.

"Darna, why are you here in person? This could have been sent directly to my terminal"

She seemed to pause, like a deer caught in headlights. A clear nervousness in her body language told me that whatever she was about to say, it couldn't be good.

"...I just wanted to ask about your plans moving forward"

Odd, but I doubt this is the crux of the issue. "What about them?"

"...I wanted to know where you are going to source the…labor for your upcoming infrastructure projects."

Labor…oh! "Don't worry about it, I don't do that slavery shit."

My crude language seems to surprise her, almost as much as my declaration. "But wouldn't it be easier…?"

"First of all, slavery is for braindead social climbers who can't comprehend the real worth of sentient capital. Secondly, if I bring slaves into the system, that means slave labor businesses will start setting up shop, taking work from the locals. Not only will that inevitably invite more crime(the Hutt's terrify me, though I won't tell her that), but it's bound to get my office firebombed by protesters and my mailbox pumped chock full of anthrax! Also slavery is just bad for local businesses, including me, so…"

Darna just stands there, frozen in what must be complete awe of my incredible speechifying skills.

"...you don't support slavery…because it's bad for business?"

"And because I can comprehend the worth of sentient capital, yes."

She just stares at me in confusion. I sigh, wishing I had a whiteboard or something(investment idea? Don't know who would buy one with holograms around but maybe?).

"Okay, so think of it like this. People, that is sentients, produce value. They do this by getting an education, working a job, buying things, paying taxes. While cheap labor can produce shit real cheap, those slaves aren't producing as much value for the economy and society as they would if they were free, educated, and working better jobs. With more people engaging in the economy, more companies spring up, more inventors, more investments, more new technology, etc… This allows the society as a whole to grow. All slavery really does is produce cheap labor, and throws away all the potential those slaves might have. How many might become doctors, decorated war heroes, hyper-skilled scientists and inventors? How many of them might change the world? It's a waste I tell you, complete and utter waste. Not only that, but slaves are people, with emotions, a will to live, etc… that means that by enslaving people, I would be inviting their hatred onto myself. I'm trying to MINIMIZE the number of enemies I make, and slavery would mean a whole CASTE of people would hate my guts. That's not worth it to me, no siree."

Confusion and wide eyes. Does she not get it? "Ahh, whatever, you don't gotta get it. Anyways, while you're here, has Captain Veer sent any reports?"

The query seemed to rile her from within her mind, and she snapped straight back into secretary mode.

"Ah, yes sir. Captain Veer has already done scans of both remaining continents planet-side, along with both moons, and is currently in the process of scanning Minda 2. Apparently, the other continents are more diverse in regards to biomes, while both moons have some deep canyons that could hold both mining facilities or hidden defense hangars. Also, the wreckage of an old Republic Acclimator has been identified on Minda 3-A, though due to the precarious positioning of the wreck, the Captain thought it too dangerous to investigate."

An Acclamator? I slid my datapad over to me as Darna sent the files. Opening the scan results up, it took me a few seconds to find the Acclamator. Looking at it, it was certainly in a bad position. Dangling over a ravine, the only reason it hadn't fallen was because it hit the ravine at an angle, and the nose seemed to be stuck in the opposite wall, stopping it from sliding further. It would certainly be tough to recover, but it looked to be in decent shape.

Scorch marks marred the hull, but otherwise there seemed to be few penetrations, and no missing pieces or armor panels.

"Call up the Sector Office at Dubrillion, see if they can't send some heavy-duty tractor-tugs out here. If we can restore this thing, it'll make for a great cargo ship."

"Cargo? I was under the impression it was a troop transport."

"Was. The Greater Empire doesn't take well to Republic symbology. One of the reasons they phased out LAAT's. Using it as a troop transport might rub some fanatics the wrong way. Also, we don't need mass troop transport. Might as well make a profit on this"

God I love money.
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Hi there. Once again, thank you for reading. Not as much going on during this chapter, mostly set up for future actions.

As always, feedback about my writing, lore accuracy, and where the story could go is always appreciated.

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Jan 30, 2025

Chp-4: Darna Interlude
Secretary Darna Sabrir
Capitol Building, Accordia, Minda-3

What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK!?!? An Imperial Governor that doesn't immediately pivot into slavery?

Thought's along these lines ran amok throughout Darna's mind as she sat at her desk a day later, bouncing a rubber ball against her desk, accompanied by a sense of sheer disbelief.

Ever since her childhood, Darna had, like many Twi'leks, been a victim. Her mother had been an unnamed pleasure slave on the Wheel, an ancient den of sin space station out on the Perlemian trade route.

She had felt a collar around her neck since childhood, and only due to her wit and willingness to learn had she escaped before she suffered the same fate as her mother. Ever since then, she had run across the galaxy, trying to find a place she could call home.

She tried everywhere. From the deserts of Tatoinne to the bustling metropolis of Corellia, from the camaraderie of the Rebellion to Ryloth itself. Yet, the deserts held Hutt's, the cities disdained her for being alien, the Rebellion brought constant risk, and Ryloth was filled with slavers, preying on her kind.

Who could've known that taking the position of secretary to a governor on a backwater planet in a backwater system would make her feel at home. The people here were too rural to care about species. Even the soldiers, brought from across the galaxy, seemed to have adapted to this culture. She was able to have conversations with fellow office workers without feeling like she was being eyed up, a price tag being attached to her within their minds.

And the governor himself. At first, he seemed to be just another spoiled rich kid given a comfy position. And he was certainly still childish, if that bit with the ball had taught her anything. Yet, with all that he was doing, and especially with that rant of his… she couldn't help but feel hopeful. That Minda might end up being an island of peace in a galaxy of hate.

Before she could daydream any longer, a ding alerted her to a message. Looking down at her terminal, she realized it was a bevy of messages.

Some were mining companies asking to rent licenses. She, as per the governor's orders, only approved a few of the smaller companies, and steered clear of the megacorporations. Didn't want to big a business moving in and crushing local competition.

One was another report from Captain Veer, confirming the wreckage of a destroyed Venator and 2 wrecked Munificents on Minda-4, the pictures did not give her hope of reconstruction. However, she quickly forwarded the message to the governor. Who would have thought that the only daughter of the esteemed Colonel Veers would not only be in the Navy, unlike her Army father, but also be stationed in the middle of nowhere.

The next message was a return from Dubrillion, approving the request for a heavy tug squad to be sent for the Acclamator, and stating that a prospecting and mining team was being sent to Minda now that the asteroid belts have proven profitable. Thankfully, Acclamators were equipped with the ability to land and take off from planets, so there was no need for specialist shipyards.

After that were return messages from various construction companies. All were smaller companies that had little going for them, so the governor had ordered offers to be made for them to set up shop on Minda 3. The idea was that their equipment holdings would be sold in exchange for both credits and some land claims on Minda 3, which the ex-owners could retire on. The companies would then be merged under the governor and used to build planet-side infrastructure. Along with these was a return letter from Takshun Orbital, agreeing to a contract to build a refinery on the largest of the dwarf-planet asteroids, along with the blueprints for an orbital station they had been contracted to draw up for the future.

Second to last were return messages from YewCast and KhaganMotors. YewCast had accepted the contract to create a basic communication infrastructure(though only if they got a percentage of the tax on it for a few years) and some new sort of communicator that was compatible with terminal and holonet tech. KhaganMotors, on the other hand, had accepted a contract to repair or salvage the vehicles found in the Acclamator once it was retrieved in exchange for both credits and the ability to keep some for themselves(without the weapons, of course)

Frankly speaking, Darna was worried. While all these projects were useful and potentially even vital, the governor was spending the Capitols savings quickly, and would be left with little currency in case of emergency. She could only hope that

These were all sent ahead to the governor in a compact form, but it was the final message that shocked her, sending the rubber ball flying right into her lekku, but she ignored the pain in favor of the message. It was on her datapad, what seemed like junk mail. But, with her past experience, she knew it was code. Rebel code used by the cell she had run with.

Quickly deciphered, it revealed a meeting point in Accordia.

Nervousness exploded in her chest. She had run with a Rebel cell for 2 years of her life before the constant death-defying odd's finally got to her, and she left.

And if Rebels were here, what did that mean for her new position? She had it pretty good, all things considered. A decent boss, nice coworkers, good pay, hell, she even had insurance. If she reported the code, she could get the Rebels arrested and insure that her life here isn't turned upside-down.

On the other hand, while the Rebellion hadn't been the best fit, she had made good friends, the type she didn't want executed.

Stealing herself, she deleted the message, and checked the time. Work was basically over, and she had a decent amount of time to get to the spot. She would go there, see what they wanted, then make her decision.

She could only hope that this didn't spiral out of control.
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Hi there, thanks for reading!

Been wanting to do a proper interlude/alternate pov chapter for a while. It's prolly a little shorter than usual, but the entire thing is just Darna checking messages and being confused, so that's fair.

Also, for those of you reading this on QQ. I am not doing smut, you degenerates. Make no mistake, I'm no pure soul myself, but this is, for all intents and purposes, my first real story. I, frankly speaking, don't trust myself to write even half-decent smut. I cross-posted on QQ because I wanted to expand my reader base and gain more feedback.

Regardless of that, thank you again for reading. As always, I'm open to feedback regarding my writing, lore accuracy, and possible directions for the story.

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Jan 31, 2025

Chp-5: Deal Time Babyyyyy
I once again was standing in my office, overlooking the city from one of the windows of my office. It's not even a particularly large office, so I don't get those same window walls that Palpatine got when he was Chancellor. The lighting is nice though. And the chair. Very comfortable.

Accordia wasn't a particularly large city, all things considered. The capitol building was the largest there, standing at around 5 stories. Just above my office was a security corridor that led to the rooftop, where there were 2 landing pads, one directly on the rooftop and one attached to the side with supports. Also on the roof were 2 quad barreled AA laser repeaters for anti-fighter screening. Aside from the TIE fighters and some assorted AA repulsorlift weapons platforms, they were the only AA defenses the city had.

The city itself was fairly low standing, with the tallest building aside from the capitol being the central comms tower a block down the street. Standing at 4 stories, it worked as a data processing center, comms tower/relay, and air/space traffic control.

The rest of the city didn't breach 3 stories, and was mostly a combination of small office buildings/apartments, with the ground level being leased out to businesses. The material type of buildings actually changed outward in roughly concentric circles. In the center was the capitol building made of Ferrocrete with durasteel plating. Around the capitol building were other government buildings also made of Ferrocrete, including the comms tower, the downtown barracks, the military spaceport, etc… Going away from there are the business districts filled with office buildings and the like, mostly made of steel and concrete. Another ring away from them is where you get into pre-fab pourstone buildings. After that is where you get more locally made wooden buildings, though pourstone is still fairly common considering its durability and ease of use.

I turned from the window to go mope at my desk. It was a nice, if simple, steel desk with a terminal sitting at an angle on one side, and an intercom built into the desk on the other. 2 chairs sat opposite my own for guests. The rest of the office was a fairly small space, longer than it was wide. On both sides leading up to the door were fitted with filing cabinets, installed at my order. Within those cabinets were official, physicalized reports of materials, military strength, and other important statistics. While I miss the nice drawers and monitors that were there, these cabinets are better, and allow me to secure important documents like contracts in a place that can't be hacked.

Unfortunately, that means I now have paperwork. And not just the messages on my terminal, but physicalized paperwork.

God truly is dead.

Regardless of my existential musings, I sat down at my terminal and began my day's work with a cup of some local milk and pastries. The pastries were kinda like a poptart if they were made of fluffier bread and filled with a lemon like custard of sorts. Pretty good. The milk was bitter though. Going to have to ask Darna to source a different drink.

Flicking through the day's messages, I ruminated on the progress made so far.

Already, a third of the asteroid belt had been rented out to a variety of small mining companies, and with the refinery on Minda 0-A-5(dwarf-planet asteroid) almost complete(Takshun works fast when they don't have to fight for space) they would be paying me-sorry, the Empire, to have their resources refined to sell, or just selling to us directly.

Aside from that, the Imperial mining groups that had been approved were already setting up shop, mining on Minda 0-A-3 and prospecting other areas of the belt. This meant more ore for the refinery, which upon competition would start loading up the Gozantis and the Acclamator with refined ore to be sold to factories in neighboring systems.

Speaking of the Acclamator, it was…functional. The reactor and other vital systems had remained undamaged, and it stayed in a low power mode. This was nice, as it kept the internals breathable and the stored goods usable. Bad because now I had to fill its fuel cells. Expensive.

Within its hull was a number of goodies. This included a full complement of 80 LAAT's(66 gunships, 14 transport), 5 of which were handed over to KhaganMotors so they could more easily deliver their products planet-wide. Aside from those, there were a smattering of speeder-bikes that were given to Commander Grant to distribute as she saw fit. If she happened to take a joyride or two, I was willing to look the other way. So long as she wasn't out to kill, I was happy.

The last things in the hull were some crates of military equipment and some starfighters. The guns were outdated, to say the least. DC-15 A's were nice, with long range, and plenty of ammo, but suffered from weight and sustained fire problems, making them unwieldy in smaller spaces and short-medium ranged conflicts. They would also be handed over to Kaela, because despite what I can only assume is insanity, she is scarily competent and would know how to use them well. The starfighters, on the other hand, were odd. 10 or so V wings, the Clone interceptor, and 15 or so ARC-170's, the Clone heavy fighters. All of these would be sent to the small starfighter emplacement here, to be trained in their use. While the V-Wings lacked life support, TIEs are similar, so we already have flight suits.

The biggest thing was a single starfighter. A Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor. A Jedi Starfighter. On one hand, having a pilot fly this thing well would be a massive boon to our air/space defense, as these things are incredibly agile. On the other hand, their internals are massively stripped of pilot assistance tools because its made specifically for Jedi to navigate with the help of the Force, meaning unless I risked the attention of the Inquisition and harbored a Jedi or other Force sensitive, I was gonna have to get rid of this ship.

Best way to do that? Sell it. Cause profit. And the best person to sell it to? Grakkus Jahibakti Tingi. A Hutt, crime lord of Nar Shaddaa, and prolific collector of Jedi artifacts, from lightsabers to holocrons to, in this case, starfighters. If I could sell to him, I could make a killing. Better yet, if I could sell this thing at auction on Nar Shaddaa that he's attending, I could make even more! Some other Hutt's might try to one-up him out of spite or whatever, but considering he has a vault dedicated to Jedi memorabilia, he'll for sure out bid them. And even if he fails, I still get paid! Absolute victory!

Now I just have to figure out how to do that… Ah I'll just send a message to Darna and see if she can turn up anything useful.

Moving on, I got to the worst part of my day. Spending money. And not on nice things, but on …public safety. Fuck(frak now, right?), I just want a space yacht and a sexy space wife and more money than I can conceive of, but instead I gotta worry about the public!?

I sighed. "Just 2 years. Just gotta do this shit decent for two years, then you can fake your death as the Empire collapses and jet away to some resort for the rest of your life." My self-assurance complete, I returned to work.

On the list today were patrol craft. What with all the increasing industry, that meant that there was an increased chance at piracy. Those pesky profit takers have yet to make an appearance, so it's best to have some deterrents in place sooner rather than later. The entrepreneurs of violence will show up eventually, but if I have a decent defense, that'll ensure that only the stupid(or crazy) show up, therefore passively reducing pirate numbers. They're opportunists after all. Most smaller pirate crew's won't bother in more defended systems, because they're too afraid. Only the ones with big ships and bigger ego's will try something, and get fucking blasted out of orbit. But I digress.
There were many ships that I could purchase. The problem was three-fold. Acquisition, Cost, and Labor. Not all the ships I was thinking about were accessible, either because they weren't sold, weren't finished, or haven't been conceived of yet. On top of that, while I was solidly in the black now that those contracts and ore hauling had started to pay off, I wasn't swimming in credits. And finally, even with an influx of new businesses and the gears of economy chugging away, I still lacked all that many people. The population of Minda 3 had only gone up by some 3,000 people(excluding births, that is).

Then I came upon a solid choice. I needed something powerful enough to scare pirates, fast enough to respond to emergencies, small enough to man it, and cheap enough to buy them. What I found, was the CR92a Assasin-class Corvette. Standing at 139 meters in length, it was stronger in both armament and armor than its CR90 cousin. It boasted 6 dual turbolaser batteries, 2 quad laser cannons, a proton torpedo launcher, and a tractor beam projector. Put in groups with the ARC-170's and V-Wing's that were found in the Acclamator, and there was a solid anti-piracy squad.

The CR92a would act as a powerful center-line, raining turbolaser fire on enemies, while 2 ARC-170's could both engage the enemy and keep fire off the CR92a with their rear mounted turret.. The V-Wings would utilize their mobility to flank and harass the enemy. Pirate's wouldn't have a chance, and the profit margins would stay healthy!

With all that done, I sent out the orders for 4 CR92a's, costing me a heft 10 million credits, leaving only 5 mil for emergencies of the state(If/When I need to cut my losses and take off).

Now that I had finished all the grueling work, I decided to lean back and doze off for a minute.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, the whirring of my door jolted me away.

Clearing my eyes, I blinked them open just in time to see Darna walk through the door lookin mighty nervous.

"You alright there? Look like you saw a ghost?"

"...no sir. Just met with some…old friends. Told them you were more of an enterprising type, and that they might get something out of dealing with you."

She shuffled around, and I now understood what was happening with perfect clarity.

She's embarrassed! She was chatting with some friends and had a few too many and accidentally promised she would introduce them to her boss! Of course, I won't say anything, so as to not embarrass her any further. Instead I just nodded.

"I understand. When would they be willing to meet?"

Her eyes seemed to shine.

"I can have them here in 15 minutes sir!"

I could feel my eyebrows shoot up into my hat. That's fast, what are they doing, camping across the street?

"Ok then, I'll trust you on this."

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sidheth T'vor
Minda 3, Accordia

As Sidheth waited anxiously for the elevator to climb, she thought back to how this whole debacle began.

She and the leader of Phyto Cell, Vilil, had been working on establishing a base/outpost somewhere in the outer rim. Dubrillion, the richest world in the sector wasn't to far, bringing with it plenty of targets of opportunity.

Minda had seemed like the perfect system. Near-empty, plenty of places to hide, etc…

Then she remembered something. An old friend of hers who had left Phyto Cell some years ago had taken up a job in the Capital of Minda 3, Accordia, as a secretary. So, when Phyto Cell came looking for spots, she and Vilil decided to go meet up with Darna, see how she was doing, and ask if she had any decent intel, considering she had been there longer than them.

It was to their surprise when she revealed that she was the secretary for the Imperial Governor of Minda. Apparently he was a cut above the rest of the Imps in regards to public policy and the like, and actually improved the state of the system he ruled.

She had scoffed at the idea, but here she was, a week later, in an elevator on the way to meet him as a potential "business partner". Darna had said that he was more profit driven, and that they could probably hide their rebel business by just disguising it as legitimate and approaching him as if they were looking to buy land.

Walking into the office, she paused when she noticed the space. Or lack thereof. The office was fairly bland, the walls lined with cabinets, and a simple desk decorating the end of the room, situated near some windows.

Behind the desk sat a somewhat lean, pale skinned and brown haired man in his early twenties, though the bag's under his eyes seemed to age him a whole decade.

"Ah, hello, hello, please, take a seat. Talia Fortath, correct?"

"That would be me." She replied. Her cover story was as such. She was an entrepreneur that had contacted her old friend Darna to see about buying a license for development of orbital facilities in the asteroid ring. While these facilities would exist(thanks to the generous financial donations of some unnamed sympathetic senator), they would exist almost solely to disguise the fact that within would be rebel activity. The facility would conduct regular business, and if a package or data chip slipped or was forgotten every now and again, no one would take notice. And if there were some hangars that were never open to customers, that happens occasionally.

"So, you want a license to build a station here in the belt. From the forms submitted here, I can see that it would be an R&R general station. Light refit capabilities, some repairs, refuel, etc… While all that seems in order, I have you here for two reasons. The first is that you're Darna's friend, so doing this over terminal might be a bit rude considering the effort she went through to get you here. The second is that I have a proposal for you."

Sidheth went still as soon as she heard him say he had her, loosened up as he continued, and stiffened again at the end. A proposal? Was this the part where StormTroopers march in as he laughs maniacally and says "I propose you die, rebel scum!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA". So she was pleasantly confused when he continued.

"You see, not too long ago I contracted a company by the name of Takshun Orbital from Ord Mantell to build the refinery complex out on the belt, and to draw up plans for an orbital station around Minda-3. This, when completed, would make your R&R station more or less obsolete. Instead, I wanted to talk to you about creating a refit station. You see, while the new station will have a great many facilities, it won't have any way of refitting/repairing ships larger than light freighters. I'd like to instead create a joint project with you. I would provide a portion of the funding and control some docks of the yard for Imperial use only, while the other docks would be yours to do with, though we would still be taxing the whole operation. What do you say?"

Overwhelmed. That was an appropriate word. The governor had talked, and talked, and talked, and by the end of it she was actually fairly convinced. While the original station was definitely more hidden and secretive, it lacked the facilities to support any larger rebel activity in the area. With a scrap/refit/repair yard, they would be able to scrap ships for parts, then send those parts to cells who need them, right under the Imperial's noses.

Sure they would be in a fairly precarious position, but this had the potential to help the rebellion in way's Phyto Cell had never before been able to. The scale, which was something the rebellion lacked, was great.

"I would have to speak with my team on this, but it is certainly promising."

A smile bloomed onto his face. It seemed to glow like a golden credit chit.

"That's wonderful. I hope to see you very soon!"

With that slightly ominous message, Sidheth left, sparing only a glance at Darna, who was busy on the comms, before heading to the elevator, and returning to base.

There was a lot of work to be done.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hell yeah! While she didn't confirm anything, the potential for a mixed scrap/repair/refit yard would be huge!

Sure, it wouldn't pull numbers like planet side scrap yards, but it would allow me to scrap those wreck Clone Wars ships in system instead of selling them, along with any future pirate vessels. It would let miners refit new equipment onto their ships, or repair damage from asteroids. It would let me upgrade/repair the ships in my slowly growing defense force. And the money! Fuck Yeah! I would for sure be charging people extra for repairs in an Imperial yard if the others were full!

Not to mention the taxes! Taxing the sales, the services, shuttle rides to the surface or the other station when built, the fucking snacks bought by people waiting for their repairs to be finished, Never in my life did I ever think I was gonna love taxes, yet here I am, the TaxMan himself.

However, I still had a problem. Population. There was a decent solution to this, however. Clones. And not new ones. I ain't got the money for that. What I do have though, is a trade fleet of an Acclamator and 5 Gozantis flying about the galaxy selling ore. All it takes is a message, and they can start putting up posters and shit advertising a place for clones after they were displaced from the empire.

And they would still be in decent shape as well, as the only accelerated growth occurred during the initial stages. And by now, the chips in their heads either don't work, were removed, or simply have no reason to be activated. This means that I get a solid population willing and eager to work, with prior military experience, and a solid loyalty if earned.

Honestly, it's so hard not to win at this life thing.
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Hi there folks. Famous last words up there, huh?

Anyways, here to say thanks for reading, and to answer some questions/concerns.

I am doing a mix of canon and legends/eu. This is because I like parts of both of them, and feel like while legends has more stuff to pull from, canon has some cool ideas that can be better utilized if mixed with legends.
For QQ readers, I put this story under NSFW for two reasons, those being that the SFW page is dryer than your girlfriend(imaginary) and that this fic will contain gore, viscera, and some depictions of sexual slavery.
I think this must have been lost in translation somewhere, but I keep seeing people say that Las has an older brother in Imperial Intelligence. He doesn't. He has 3 older sisters; an ISD captain, an ace TIE pilot, and a II agent. For a group of super nerds on a decades old forum, you'd think you get this right.

Aside from allat, as you guys know, I love your comments. They make my day, especially the theorycrafting about ships, tactics, diplomacy, and where the story will go, so rock on with that shit.

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 1, 2025

Chp-6: Immigration Easy! No Green Card Needed!
For once, I am not coming to you from the safety of my office. Instead, I am standing in a refurbished LAAT gunship, one that had been repainted in Imperial colors.

The ship is flying fairly fast, the wind whipping across the bulkhead doors. We are enroute to the continent east of the main settlements, for the inauguration of the first real city there.

It has been a solid month since meeting with the entrepreneurs, and things were actually looking up. As jobs opened up on both the refinery station and across the planet, more and more colonists were streaming in, courtesy of the ad's we put out. Apparently, people had been asking if they could get a ride on the trade fleet to Minda even if they weren't clones, and with so much space, the captains had no reason to say no.

With all of that happening, the Minda system had seen an influx of nearly ten-thousand new people, with nearly two-thousand of those being clones. While the colonists had spread about the various towns and cities, a good portion flocked to a new factory being built by YewCast. After scouting was done, I had begun selling land to various companies and individuals on the other continents of Minda 3.

We had eventually decided that it was a good idea to actually name both Minda-3 and the continents within. Therefore, Minda-3 was now officially known as Ugea, the central capital continent, was called Shubeon, while the northern and eastern continents were Mukrix and Alhea respectively.

Alhea was found to have an abundance of metals in its mountains that, once refined, were useful in small electronic parts. YewCast had paid for a decent chunk of land around there for a factory and mining facility they wanted to build, in an attempt to consolidate their own supply-chain. I allowed it, on the condition that they helped with the setup of the city that was bound to spring up around there. And when the colonists came knocking, looking for work, there was a whole prebuilt city, ready for action.

In fact, once things had calmed down in the newly named city of Vrectin, I had let the people hold an election to determine their mayor for the next five years. It was a test-bed for introducing democracy to the people of the Minda system in slow doses. The hope was that, if I was able to ensure that the candidates were qualified, then these cities would be able to govern themselves, and sort out corruption themselves, therefore reducing the amount of paperwork I have to do.

After their first election, the new mayor had insisted that I come down and cut the ribbon of the Vrectin city hall, and have dinner with her and her wife.

So here I was, flying over to a cold shithole of four-thousand people, to cut a ribbon and politely decline dinner. Fuck.

At least the clones seemed to be doing well. In fact, the pilots of the LAAT that I was in were clones. The clones had taken fairly well to being treated like actual people once they arrived. Like the other colonists, they had been given tax cuts and the possibility of land grants/low interest loans to start businesses. The majority, however, fell right back into military positions. While some found their place in the army, or the system defense fleet, or as pilots, the majority wanted little to do with military conflicts. Those clones opted instead for joining the planetary police force. They patrolled streets, checked id at checkpoints, patrolled the roads between cities, and so on. There they fit right in, working in roles they were used to that didn't treat them like slaves or meat shields.

I am pulled from my musings to the pilots announcing our approach of the city. While the windows on the LAAT were small, I caught glimpses of cranes, smokestacks, and ferrocrete/pourstone roof's. The ship shuddered as it made its landing, and the doors swung open to show a stark black landing pad, rimmed with yellow warning markers that matched the color of the YewCast logo emblazoned on the ground.

As I stepped out, my personal guard encircling me and checking the area, I was met by a Pantoran women of about fifty years or so. She sported a beige suit with ash colored linings and a badge above her heart in the shape of an eight-pointed star, while the center held the Imperial insignia and aurebesh inscriptions for wisdom, leadership, loyalty, surrounding the center. At the bottom of the badge was the simple title of Mayor of Vrectin. I had instituted these badges as simple identifiers. They weren't overly flashy, but there was only one per city, so they had to be symbolically passed down from mayor to mayor. The hope was that this would help ease tensions between candidates, like how U.S presidents used to welcome the new president into office when they lost the reelection campaign.

"Hello Governor, it's so nice to meet you, my name is…

At that point, I was just going through the motions. Shake hands, say pleasantries, walk, shake hands, etc… as I met with the mayor and her staff whose names I couldn't be bothered to remember. My attention was primarily focused on the buildings as we stepped into a landspeeder and took a tour of the city.

The biggest was certainly the YewCast complex, towering over the rest of the town, situated further up the mountainside. The factory was large, and seemingly built into the mountain, while long tracks stretched further up to the various mining facilities, their trains sending materials and workers and other sorts up and down. The rest of the city was mostly drab in its construction, with boring grays and beiges of ferrocrete and pourstone being the primary colors.

The most interesting thing wasn't the city, but the people. Not only were there more non-humans here than in most other places, but everyone seemed to be utilizing a phone-like device.

It clearly isn't a smartphone, but something more like a PDA. Tablet-like, many were carrying them in arm-mounted holsters, or smaller versions slid into pockets. They were the first generation YewCast IntraLink PDA's, the big phone project that I had paid for.

The IntraLink was incredibly useful. It connected to the still growing planetary comms network so you could access your home/work terminal from afar(assuming you had the credentials), it had picture/recording features, and many of the basic functions you would expect out of a smartphone. The more advanced IntraLink/Av was more expensive, and the one that I held in my breast pocket, which came with an embedded holo-system for holo-calls/recordings. It could also expand to fit more things on screen, though I wouldn't be using it for long, as I had charged YewCast with making a military specific version in semi-secret(tighter lips, but not death-star secret). It would have better cyber-security and extra military specific-functions like tactical maps, easier connection to superiors, and more. I was hoping to expand production and see if I can't sell them to other governors or military commanders for that extra bit of cash.

Some people were even playing the games that were developed for it! Real gaming consoles and the like were still a way's off, but little mobile games were the start. The idea of course, being that since the Empire owns the communications system used to download things, people who make games will have to pay a tax to let people download the game, which means that they have to charge to buy the games, etc… Obviously the games currently available on the limited network are free, and work more as proof of concept for potential future companies, but it's a work in progress, and was fairly easy to implement at this level considering how much it might make in the future. The games market back on Earth was one of, if not the largest entertainment industry in the world, so imagine the profits on a galactic scale? Millions of loot boxes!!!

I'm once again pulled from my greed-filled musings as we finally land at City hall, I prepare to make a silly five minute speech and cut a ribbon.

I am so bored.

Just kill me.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvi Mola
Imperial Factory, Experimental Wing, Lothal

Alvi was bored. So bored, she had resorted to bouncing a rubber ball against the wall for the better part of an hour while she waited.

She had done incredibly well in all of her tests back home, and had served for two years as an ace TIE pilot on the borders of Hutt space. She had even gone on a joint mission with some of the aces from Lord Vader's personal Death Squadron. She was one of the best!

So, naturally, when she had been voluntold to test a new TIE prototype, she had been ecstatic! Few ever tried to innovate on the TIE design, because it was already well made and cost-effective, so to get to test state of the art TIE prototypes? It was a dream come true.

Problem is, ever since she got to Lothal, all she's done is sit in simulators and fill out surveys for weeks! Not even some R&R! Her hair had been stuck in the regulation tight bun, and she wanted to flaunt her signature pigtails, and it sucked. Not for the last time she felt envy for her siblings. Shal was the captain of an ISD, so she could style her hair however she wished on her ship, and Zyx was a spy, she probably changed clothes and hairstyles all the time.

Even Las probably got to choose his hairstyle, since he was a governor and all. She sighed, as her thoughts turned to the youngest and only boy of the family. Las and her had been inseparable during childhood, but had drifted apart during their time at the Eriadu Academy. He had struggled with the subjects, and was almost always in trouble for contradicting the teachers opinions, or questioning orders, all while she had shot ahead straight into the pilot program.

And the dressing down Mom gave him was horrific. She didn't say much, but the disappointment and disgust was visceral in a way only Commandant Mola could ever do. Las hadn't just been booted from the academy, he had been stuck as a governor on a backwater. While governor was a good position, to be the governor of an outer-rim system was basically asking to either stagnate or get killed by pirates. If that wasn't enough, he had to improve the system in real and tangible ways?

Honestly, it was horrible. Alvi understood why her mother had done it, Las couldn't stay at the academy, or anywhere where he could further bring shame to the Mola family. But to threaten him with infantry service? She shuddered. To fight in the Imperial Infantry front lines was to be part of an unstoppable force that would toss as many bodies into a pit just to walk over the corpses instead of going around. Of course, she would never publicly say this, as disparaging the Emperor's armed forces wasn't a good look, and she hadn't gotten this far without some understanding of etiquette.

As she sighed deeply once more, ruminating on the fate of her brother, her com bead blared static for a second, startling her. She answered as the rubber ball went flying across the room, bouncing all over the place.

"Squadron Commander Mola, report to testing bay 12-C immediately, be ready for testing"
"Understood, Squadron Commander Mola en route."

She quickly threw her flight suit on, but just as she put her helmet on, the rubber ball smacked into her cheek.

Rubbing the pain away, she put her helmet on and made her way out of the barracks.

Walking down the hallways, she passed a number of staff and droids, some of which gave her pitying looks as she passed. Clearly, they were worried she would die in testing. HA! As if, Alvi was one of the best!

With that self-assurance warming her chest, she entered the testing bay, only to pause in shock.

Before her, speaking with some officers and technicians, was a blue skinned Chiss man in a sharp white uniform. The badge on his chest indicated he was a Grand Admiral. And there was only one Chiss Grand Admiral in the Empire. As he turned to her, she did the only thing she could. She removed her helmet.

"Grand Admiral, Sir! Squadron Commander Alvi Mola, reporting for duty, Sir!" she saluted, a definite nervousness pervading her mind.

"At ease, Commander." He said in a deep, somewhat gravelly voice. It sent shivers up her spine, and not the good kind. "Just the person I was looking for"

He turned, and gestures for her to approach.

"I've seen your scores, Commander. Quite impressive. Top 10 at your academy, top 5 of those here. Tell me, why haven't you managed to make first place yet?"

Alvi was caught off guard for a moment. From a compliment to an insult? "...I like the TIE, sir, but it always felt… naked. I like a good adrenaline rush, don't get me wrong, but the standard TIE is wildly dangerous, and I've never felt like I could give the Empire my all with it as my fighter. I always performed better in the sims when flying ships like the old republic V-Wing, since I felt like it had more to give."

Thrawn seemed to study her face with his blood red eyes, staring into her soul. He smiled.

He then gestured down the hangar to a repulsorlift carrying in a ship. Her eyes widened, and a feral grin stretched across her face.

"Then commander, you will certainly be happy…

…with this."
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Hi there folks, I'm back with another episode of man v.s bureaucracy. There is, as always, no winner!

Now I'd like to address some questions and concerns I've seen floating about, along with clarifying some things.

The current year is 2BBY, specifically around the star wars equivalent of late march.
While 15,000 may seem like a lot of troops, that's because it is. I have yet to properly work this fact into the story, but Minda is a backwater among backwater, and troops/officers/companies that were either shit at their jobs, or pissed off the wrong nepo-baby got sent to Minda, amongst other places. It's the dead end station of the Myto sector.
I don't think I made this clear in the last chapter, but Las does not know that Darna has rebel sympathies, or that the scrapyard is a rebel run operation. For all that he is fairly intelligent and business minded, this spy shit is new to him. If he had known, he would have denied their request because rebels means attention which is exactly the kind of thing he wants to avoid, which also leads well into the next point.
Las is neither rich nor ambitious. While a lot of you have given great points, from Gladiator's to turning Minda 2 into a training ground for stealth troopers, or Academies, and so on and so forth, fact remains that Las doesn't have the cash or will to do that. All the initial investments in mining, stations, refineries, and the like are all gambles, where he tosses a lot of money, and rolls the dice to see if he gets a great return(which he so far has) but he knows this isn't sustainable, and now that things are evening out, he's gonna start slowing down. Even if he does get to that level of richness, it's not likely he'll invest into such resource and attention heavy projects like those would bring him. His goal is make the system decent, pass his mother's inspection, then either huddle down in Minda, or if things start looking bad, have a decent escape ship and plan ready and waiting. Tatooine is lovely this time of year, right?

That aside, it's been a pleasure. Any feedback on writing, lore, or ways the story could move forward are, as always, greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 2, 2025

Chp-7: Upgrades People, Upgrades!

My terminal hummed quietly as I surveyed the statistics of the Minda system. Three and a half months into this backwater position and I was doing pretty well for myself. A refinery in the belt, a scrapyard being built, new cities springing up, more colonists… Frankly speaking things are looking good.

And so, I turn my vision to the future. While things are good, they aren't what I expect Las's mother to consider adequate. While digging through his memories is a foggy experience, the general sense I get from Commandant Mola is harshness. The kind of person that sets high standards because she herself is capable of achieving them. Very much like Tarkin. Probably why he promoted her to Commandant.

In terms of further improvements, I have some options, which I have condensed into a plan of sorts. That plan was to invest, invest, invest! That is to say, invest in the people of the Minda system. After all, what is an economy if not the collective actions of a shit ton of people? And if those people are educated and the like, that means they are getting better paying jobs(income tax!), buying expensive things(sales tax!), purchasing land(property tax!), and more.

The first step was education. Simple enough, all things considered. Try and poach teachers from neighboring systems with tax breaks and higher government salaries. If I could one day build a university that would do very well, but that's for later.

The second step is expansion. By expanding the colonies, more jobs open up with the newly founded industries, which attract workers and their families, which expand the population, therefore allowing for the expansion of the colonies, etc… This includes setting up mining colonies on Minda-1 and 4, in the hopes that there are valuable resources there.

The third step is trade. With all these new resources, if I expand the trade fleets, and when the capitol station is set up in orbit, that will allow for both myself and independents to export their ore. This will in turn attract more companies, entrepreneurs, and independents to Minda looking to get a piece of the pie. All this fuels a growing economy, bringing in more settlers, who get fed through steps 1 and 2.

The fourth step is less of a step and more of a guide throughout the whole process. Moderate yourself. If all this expansion happens to fast, not only do I risk bankruptcy, which might force me to beg the sector moff for money(not happening) or Las's family(just kill me), but if I bring to much prosperity in a short time frame I get the wrong kind of attention, which could get me killed for someone else's ego.

City infrastructure had been improving as well, with better public transportation, housing, and education, the people had been very happy, especially because I had only slightly raised taxes for short periods of time to pay for some of these. Most of the budget came from government run installations in space. With the spider-web idea really coming into fruition, each region of Ugea, even the oceans, were designated with a number, Accordia being Region 1. Each region that was inhabited would have a Nexus, that being the largest city in the region, and then multiple sub-Nexus's that connected to the smaller towns/villages that were spread about. This allowed for resources, developments, infrastructure and more to follow a route that makes sense, spreading from the most populated places down to the boonies.

Now, there are some other measures I have been planning that would be beneficial, but nothing particularly major, as they were mostly administrative measures.

These included the formation of planetary councils, groups of people elected by the citizens to represent the area they lived in at a higher level, like U.S Senators. These representatives would number at 3 per region, and could only hold office for 5 years, after which they had to step down, and could not be re-elected. These representatives would be chosen based on a tiered voting system. Towns/villages with a population exceeding 300 would vote for their choice of 3, after which those teams would be sent to the sub-nexus cities in their region to be voted on again by both the people of the city and all the towns that sub-nexus was connected to. The team that won that vote would then go on to their region's Nexus, at which point all citizens of that region would vote on the team of 3 that would represent them for the next 5 years.

This system would give the people a sense of choice and control, and create a bridge between them and me. The most important effect, however, is that it reduces the amount of work I have to do! With this in place, the problems of the people of Minda will be condensed down, instead of me having to go flying all around the planet meeting with locals to find out what the problem is. And, with only one go in office, and rules that insure these representatives can't make any money aside from a government salary, the chances of corruption were very low! Not only that, but these representatives don't actually have power, they just yap and yap and then give me a paper that tells me what they were yapping about and why I should fix it for them. They can't actually pass laws. It's incredible!

I lean back into my chair, enjoying a nice cup of some hot chocolate equivalent. It had an odd tang to it, but was close enough that I didn't mind.

Taking a long sip, I look out the window of my office, taking in the view. The capitol building had been remodeled some weeks ago, to stay the tallest building in the city, due to the rise of larger commercial and residential buildings in the city. Currently, my office sat at the top of the now 10 story tall monolith of ferrocrete and durasteel, while the comms tower was raised to an appropriate height. The other Imperial facilities were improved and heightened as well, but not to the same extent.

Accordia had grown, that was an undoubtable truth. From a city of 40,000 to nearly 70,000, Accordia held the HQ's of most of the major corps in the system, along with a newly improved space-port.

One building in particular caught my eye. Right down the main road that led to the capitol building, was a sharp, angled building, with rust colored signage contrasting the imperial black and white. The Minda Imperial Guild of Industry and Commerce , or The Guild, as it was more commonly called, was an organization I had started to ensure that the bevy of miners, entrepreneurs, and all kinds of companies and independents coming into the system had a way to organize. The refinery in the belt had a branch office, as would the orbital station once built, but it was here, at the capital, where the heavy lifting happened. The Guild offered these independents a way to be organized, connect with the government directly, get the correct permits, obtain loans, request escorts, and more. It funneled new businesses into an easy to follow path to getting started, the convenience of which attracted more people as things started to ramp up. This was all accounted for, with new, empty apartment buildings ready for colonists, better road, energy and comms infrastructure that was great for the PDA's. Especially considering new models had been added for workers, from mining ones that could connect to ships sensors, to engineering variants that could store blueprints and help troubleshoot diagnostics.

I'll admit, I had been inspired by the fantasy/isekai trope of the adventurers guild. While it was kinda expected in a fantasy isekai, the idea of this organization that exists to support this line of work was interesting, and I figured that if a country with an adventurers guild could get business, then a system with an industrial guild could get even more business. Of course, I had it regulated so that it did not spread to other systems and the like. If a Guild I made spread far, and caught people's attention, that could bring the wrong kind of eyes on me, especially without my escape plan ready.

Speaking of my escape plans, I…kinda had one? That is to say, I had a plan in the works. You see, I couldn't just buy a ship, because then it would be registered and everything. So, I squirreled away some of the whopping 50 MILLION FORCE-DAMNED CREDITS I made by auctioning off that Aethersprite on Nar Shaddaa. Clearly, Grakkus appreciated the goods. So, with some of that money, I discreetly hired a middle man to hire a middle man to… well, you get the idea. Somewhere down a line that cost 50,000 credits, a YV-560 was purchased brand new for an additional 90,000 credits. A CEC light-freighter that was decently fast, maneuverable, looked good(the YT-1300 side cockpit is kinda meh) and was inconspicuous. This wasn't a rare, expensive or super old ship that would look out of place on any trade route.

The ship, which I had yet to name, was sitting in a dry dock in Nar Shaddaa being upgraded extensively at the cost of 170,000 credits. It usually wouldn't be that much, but I paid extra for both discretion and for the mechanics to not just take my shit. An extra 50,000 was waiting for them if they followed through. The ship would be upgraded with better specs(hyperdrive, sunlight, weapons, systems, generator, etc…) but that would take time. When ready in another 5 months or so, it would be hidden in an old hangar built into one of the hills not too far from Accordia. If I needed to jet, I could use the emergency escape tunnel built into the newly improved capital building, rush to the sewers, and escape out a release hatch far from the city. It wasn't glamorous, in fact it's really gross, and I had to keep updating my PDA's tac-map everytime the sewage system was expanded, but it would get me out of the city undetected(since I wouldn't use a speeder or shuttle, which are more easily tracked) and to a ship that is registered under a new identity from a different planet. Hell, I even had a whole set of outfits that came with voice modulators disguised in their helmets so I could hide my voice as well as my face. It was a pretty solid plan, if I do say so myself.

If I had to escape, assuming I made it to the ship and out of orbit, the immediate plan would be to head in the direction of one of the 3 hyperlanes that ran to Dubrillion. There were some convoluted and frankly dangerous old paths that circumvented the need to go to the sector capital that would allow me to head over to Bescane, and start moving coreward through the hyperlanes until I pivot, and start moving towards the galactic east. Eventually, my plan was to hide away in the corporate sector, Cantonica specifically. This is because of the city there by the name of Canto Blight. A hedonistic shithole for rich crimelords, war profiteers, and other such wealthy people, it was the perfect place to hide, as it was rich enough that the Empire didn't interfere. The corporate sector it was located in is basically a fiefdom, with its own patrol fleets, laws, etc… While the Empire nominally controlled the area, realistically it was a haven for former Separatists and whoever else sought to hide from Palpatine's eyes. And, being the corporate sector, there were bound to be plenty of opportunities to haul cargo around.

I did have backups for my back ups, of course. Savareen was a prime spot if Cantonica didn't work out. Tatooine was also on the list, though certainly last, right next to Nar Shaddaa and Nal Hutta. Easy to hide, easier to die.

Now, I'm no monster. While I spent a chunk of the auction money on my own security(and a nice L-99 executive transport shuttle…what, I can have nice things, right?) I invested 25 of the 49 or so million remaining right back into Minda, the 24 mil going into a vault for emergencies and the like. With that money, many of the previously mentioned improvements were made, including the purchase of 3 Baleen-Class Heavy Freighters that fully replaced the Acclamator as a trade ship, along with 5 Imperial Nebulon-B Escort Frigates(three of which were to stay in Minda) to go along with them, each filled with their own complements of TIE's. The Acclamator was refitted, and an Imperial Arquitens-class command cruiser was ordered to replace Captain Veer's aging republic version. Once these ships arrived/were refitted, things would start looking up in terms of protection and commerce.

The remaining money? Spread about. Make no mistake, I really wanted to just buy more ships, build new colonies, start spreading out to the other planets in the system, but I was already kinda stretching things with the strides I had made. So, the money was tossed out to various programs that needed them. Schools, infrastructure, The Guild, etc… along with the creation of an in-house R&D lab. While I was more than happy to contract local companies for the creation of new products that I wanted/needed, the fact of the matter remains that they have other customers, and are more prone to information leaks. Therefore, a small but well funded R&D team was started to research the small stuff. The kinds of items and upgrades that usually went unnoticed, but that would increase efficiency across the board. Better cyber-security, better targeting software for StormTrooper helmets, better body armor, improvements to policing tech and vehicles, etc… Nothing that on its own would be huge, but things that would add up over time.

I'm snapped out of my thought's by the sound of Darna rushing in through the door, a frantic look in her eyes.

"Sir, we just got a report from a Guild Miner! A pirate raiding fleet has entered the system!"

"...Can't have SHIT!"

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Las can't seem to catch a break, huh?

I finally decided to try some combat, spice up the POV's and add some action, cause fleet building is fun, but ya gotta use the fleet at one point, right?

I also included some fanon ships, solely because EcHenry does great work, and cause the L-99 and Imperial Nebulon-B's he came up with are sick as fuck.

As always, feedback and comments are welcome!

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 3, 2025

Chp-8: Resolve

Tomar Eirie
Minda System, CR92A Assassin-Class Corvette Mindan Courage
He rushed through the bowels of the Mindan Courage as the alarms blared, heading towards his gunnery position as he passed the rest of the crew, all scrambling into their positions.

A pirate fleet had entered, and was making a beeline for the capital. However, a splinter had broken off and was heading towards The Bore, the refinery in the belt, and the Courage was being dispatched to help defend, along with 3 TIE's. Small, but it was all that could be spared. He could only hope that the Bore's defenses could make up the difference.

As he strapped himself into his turret seat, he could only reminisce on all the things that had brought him here. He had been born on Ord Mantell, and gone through Imperial Navy training there as well. He had grown used to how the Empire did things. Cold, dark streets. The looks of people as he passed by in uniform, not respect, but fear. Not as much as a trooper might get, but it had made him feel isolated.

Then, he was transferred to this corvette, sent to a backwater system because some governor had requested some extra personnel along with the ship he ordered. Tamar could've refused the transfer, the officer in charge of those things was a family friend, after all. But… a part of him wanted to get away from it all. The stares, the fear. He thought that being in the Empire was glorious, but it just felt cold.

When he had arrived in Minda, he found not cold stares and fear filled eyes, but respect. The people of Minda respected the Imperial military. Troopers conversed with people in the streets, kids got to pretend to ride security speeders, hell a tour of the old clone wars Acclamator was done a few times, like a museum that could fly.

Minda felt different. Sure, the Imperial symbols were everywhere, but things felt… alive.

For the first time since he completed the academy, Tamar Eirie felt like a true soldier.

And so, as the Courage dropped out of sublight acceleration above the refinery, he trained his quad laser cannon on the nearest pirate junk-ship, and opened fired.

He could only smile as the enemy went up in flames, and the TIE's screamed past his camera port.

Minda was a place he felt he belonged, and Tamar would be damned if some pirate scum took it from him.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luka Yridman
Minda System, Minda-0-A, The Bore
The Bore was a fairly large asteroid refinery, though not the largest Luka had ever worked in. It was called as such, because it was mostly an underground base, built into a large hole in the dwarf-planet sized asteroid that made it look like it was boring into the ground.

Again, it wasn't the largest facility Luka had ever worked in, but it was the one he enjoyed the most. The pay, courtesy of the Empire, was quite good. He got benefits, retirement, and a good set of days off a year. Not only that, but the working conditions were very good.

The Bore was kept clean by a combination of droids and janitorial staff, along with a very strict set of safety measures, from handrails to fire suppression systems to disposable B-1 droids meant to investigate potential dangerous malfunctions, and could be remote controlled to do remote repairs.

Suffice to say, this was the best Imperial job Luka had ever worked, if not the best he had ever worked.

Which is why he was so pissed. Pirates!? Frakking pirates!?

As he fumed while on the way to one of the safety bunkers, the intercom blared to life.

"All personnel, be warned, pirate boarding craft have landed in the hangar bay. Evacuate to the bunkers immediately! Security will take care of them, but until then, hunker down, and stay safe."

With that announcement running through his mind, he started speeding up his gait, passing by a group of security personnel, a group of mixed species, clones included, carrying a laser sentry towards the hangars.

By the time he reached the bunker, his anger had turned to fear. He could only hope things went well.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Burst Hopkin's
Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Garrison

When Burst had heard of Minda, he had been sceptical. A place where clones would be accepted? In the Empire! HAH! It sounded like a joke. But then he saw the Acclamator, and he decided that he had to make a choice. Stay homeless, or take a chance with a backwater system.

Now, here he stood, wearing refurbished clone armor, standing in front of the assembled Imperial Infantry he had been training for the last two and a half months.

It was there that he started his speech.

"Soldiers, never before did I think that I would one day be standing here again, wearing this armor again, going to war again. I, like most clones, was cast out. Obsolete in the face of the new Empire. Yet, here I stand, taken in by the people of Minda. For the first time since the Clone Wars, I have a place I can call home. I am proud of my home, and of all of you, who I have trained to the best of my ability."

He pauses, looking out over the faces of those he has trained. Etching them into memory, so that he may remember those that fall.

"And now, that training is to be put to use. Pirates have entered the system with a considerable force. They seek to land here, at the capital, and force the governor to hand over all that the people of Minda have built, that you protect! While the honourable Captain Veers and her compatriots in the Navy will hold the majority of the pirate fleet in space, they will almost certainly fire drop pods and send landing craft. It will be up to us, the Mindan Planetary Defense Force, to take up arms, and protect that which we have worked so hard for! So, arm yourselves, for soon, we will do our duty! For the Empire, for prosperity, for MINDA!"

"FOR MINDA!" was a cry that echoed across the entire garrison, bringing a nostalgic joy to Bursts heart. He could almost see his clone brothers, lined up in formation, chanting "FOR THE REPUBLIC!".

Burst smiled under his helmet as his troops began to prepare themselves. His new home had given him a job, a life, even a name. He would not allow that to be taken from him, certainly not by pirates.

And so, he slings his DC-15A blaster rifle over his shoulder, and begins the march.

Minda would not fall. Not while he still lived.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darna Sabrir
Ugea, Accordia, Capital Command Bunker

Darna was scared. Not the most scared she had ever been. Little could top the sheer fear of the rebel work she used to take part in. But a pirate fleet? Not a small flotilla, not some claim jumpers or smugglers like they were used to dealing with, but a proper fleet?

Well, to call a three Cumulus-class corsairs, some cobbled together gunships and fighters, a fleet, is a bit much. More like a flotilla. Still, it was formidable considering the extent of Minda's current defenses.

Hopefully, the military command could come up with a solution.

"Options people, what are they, and how well could they work?"

Governor Mola was standing around the holo table at the center of the bunkers command center, holo images of Commander Grant, Captain Veers, and various other military personnel projected around the table.

"Sir" Captain Veers started, "The pirate flotilla is moving too fast, they'll reach Ugea at least an hour before I can get there with the Gauntlet and the other Assassins. The trade fleet and its Nebulon's are days away, the remaining Nebulons and the new Arquitens are at least two systems from here… it would take at least 24 hours for any reinforcements to arrive from out of Minda"

Commander Grant seemed to radiate a bloodlust that unnerved Darna even across the holo. "We'll be waiting for them… can't wait to finally see some action!"

"...I suppose you will," said the governor in a calm voice. His ability to stay calm, even in this scenario, was incredible! (she couldn't tell he was about to shit himself)

"Of course!" Commander Grant was exuberant "We're already mobilizing our troops, setting up chokepoints in the city…" The holo's quality was shaky, but was she blushing? "… we will bathe the streets with pirate blood!"

The governor was once again perfectly calm, studying the holo-table with serious eyes(his hands were shaking, not that she could see).

Then, he spoke. "We are clearly outgunned, but we aren't out-manned. We most certainly have more and better troops. If the pirates figure this out, they'll just bombard the city from above. So, we pretend to have evacuated. Every civilian goes to the emergency bunkers, and we ensure that every door, window, shop, is closed. I don't want a single sentient organism to be out and about. Most importantly, we leave the cargo crates of surplus weapons and ship parts out and about around the space-port, luring them there. If this works, it's very likely that the ships will get lower to the ground, and start to load the cargo crates. If we hide, say, some troopers and droidekas in said crates, well…"

Both the Commander and Captain stopped for a second. "It would be risky… but it could work. If we time it correctly, we could clear out one of their ships just as Captain Veers arrives, and if we have some on leave Navy Personnel on standby, we could load them up in the LAAT's and catch the remaining ships in a pincer. After all, while they might approach with all three ships, they'll probably only start loading one ship, and leave it behind to confront the Captain."

The governor stares into the Commander's projected eyes. "Can you pull it off?"

There's a second of silence before a terrifying look of pure excitement grows onto the Commander's face.

"Of course. I'll have their heads on pikes by the end of the day for you, governor!"

As the meeting wrapped up, Darna missed the governor mumbling.

"Why can't the women in my life be normal?"
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi folks. Things are about to go down, huh?

I decided that y'all were right, and I should include more alternate perspectives in my chapters. This was a bunch of them, but going forward there should be a small alternate POV in most chapters, to help flesh out the story.

Also, in terms of my use of the Cumulus-Class Corsair, I know that canonically it only appears once, in 9ABY I think, but its production date is never directly stated, and given that its used by pirates I assume that it's an older model of ship.

Another thing, before I go. Some people have been confused about Minda's position in the galaxy. Now, Minda is a purely fictional system, but I chose to place it in a canonical sector, the Myto sector. You can find a great Star Wars map here, and the position of the Minda system here.

Regardless, as always, feedback, comments, interaction, it's all welcome. This is a great way to improve my writing and storytelling, and y'all's comments are a big part of that!

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 4, 2025

Chp-9: Brutal Finish

Burst Hopkins
Minda system, Ugea, Accordia, Accordian Spaceport, Imperial Guild Cargo Container

Burst was tired, cramped, cold, and old. And yet, he hadn't felt this alive in years. He was huddled in a Guild container in the spaceport, shoved together with a small number of StormTroopers. They had their helmets slightly remodeled, and in addition to the updated targeting software, they actually held up to the image of the Empires elite they were supposed to convey.

The part that made Burst uncomfortable was the two Q-Series Droideka's. Equipped with two twin rapid fire light laser cannons and personal shields that made them beasts on the battlefield, these metal creatures unnerved him.

Make no mistake, Burst was fully aware that they were his allies, considering the PDA he had strapped to the underside of his left arm allowed him to control them directly, or give more complicated orders. That didn't mean he wasn't wary. Too many brothers of his had been cut down by the relentless barrage of fire the droidekas could send down range, all without being able to retaliate.

Still, he steeled himself. He had a mission to accomplish. The container he was in was one of 3, filled almost entirely with valuable ores, parts, weapons, and more. Everything a pirate would want to sell, the containers were chock-full of. So full in fact, that no pirate would bother digging through the piles to find the enemies hidden in the back. And, to ensure that the pirates wouldn't just open the crates from the back while they were still on the ground, the containers had been pushed against a wall of the spaceport. Nothing unusual, just a series of coincidences that looked perfectly normal to those outside the loop.

The other two containers held another squad of troopers with a clone commander, while the third held one commander along with 2 more droidekas and a droideka mark 2, the only one found on the crashed seppy ships. They had been relegated to MPDF use, but never had a reason to be taken out of storage until now. Burst had never fought one himself, but he had heard the stories. Bigger, badder, more guns, the MkII didn't move during combat, becoming a stationary turret of death that promised a plasma filled death to all those who came close.
It was imperative to the success of their strategy. Once they were loaded into the cargo bay/hangar of the enemy ship, the MkII would be able to hold the entire area on its own while the rest of the ship was cleared. While Burst would have preferred organic troopers to hold the bay, the fact of the matter remained that there just weren't enough skilled troopers. Sure, there were 200 StormTroopers on the planet, but of those only a select few have enough experience to pull something like this off.

His thoughts jumbled like this while he and his team sat in silence, checking and rechecking their PDA's, weapons, and other gear.

It was then that he received a message. Checking his arm, he saw it was confirmation of an incoming enemy Cumulus Class. The other two were hovering in orbit above the city while this one lowered itself to load the offered cargo.

He smirked under his helmet, previous worries forgotten as the anticipation of a battle surged through his veins.

Nudging the others, he spoke.

"Enemy ship incoming. Remember, stay quiet, don't move, and when we breach, stay behind the droidekas. Their shields can take far more than your armor."

Receiving affirmations, he nodded, just as the sound of the pirates opening the other doors echoed throughout the container.

It was time to get to work.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomar Eirie
Minda System, Minda 0-A, The Bore, CR92a Assassin-Class Corvette Mindan Courage

His gun turret swiveled almost violently as he tracked the YT-1930 that seemed to be made more of rust than actual armor plating.

Honestly, if he wasn't controlling the turret from an interior console, he might've felt sick. Hell, he might feel sick just looking at this camera.

The light freighter slowed to make a turn, aiming to line up its shoddily attached missile pods, when one of the TIE's screamed past it. Its attack run filled the freighter with a barrage of laser bolts, breaking through the YT's shields. Tomar held down the trigger, the quad laser cannon sending a stream of death at the freighter. Its armor held, but the death blow came from some bolts penetrating the missile casings while they were still held in the pods, making the entire thing go up in flames.

That made the second of five light freighters to go down in this battle, along with nearly half a dozen fighters. He once again swiveled the turret, looking for targets as the ship around him shook from the repeated attacks. He almost locked onto another freighter before the turbolaser battery got a lucky shot and turned it into dust in a single barrage.

"Enemies are attempting retreat! Put everything you have down range!" The voice of the fire command officer screamed over the intercom as the Courage turned to face the fleeing pirates. Every gun on the ship was capable of aiming directly ahead, giving the Assassin Class formidable firepower for its relative size.

Tomar witnessed this first hand as every gun on the ship opened fire at once, himself included. He wasn't sure if he even hit an enemy, but the sheer volume of fire destroyed two more fighters and blew out the engines of a freighter. Seems the boarding crews will get their fair share of blood after all.

He turned the laser cannon towards the Bore, checking if any of the freighters that had landed were attempting an escape. Looking at the hangar bay, he could only see smoke from a destroyed freighter. Looks like the security crew was earning their pay.

"Enemy has entered hyperspace. No incoming ships."

That sent a cheer through the crew, and Tomar couldn't help but cheer with them. The first real naval battle that didn't involve claim jumpers and smugglers. It was a good day.

Before the celebration could really start, the captain got back on comms.

"Don't go screaming just yet. We're to rendezvous with Captain Veers. The capitol is under siege. This fight isn't over yet."

All around him, the crew seemed to calm down and steel themselves. They had won this battle, but there was more to come.

Tomar followed his comrades' example. His home was under siege, and he could do something about it. And so, he swore to himself that no matter what, he would spill pirate blood this day
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commander Kaela Grant
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Cumulus-Class Corsair Dreadbow, Imperial Guild Cargo Container

Kaela was excited. Super excited. The most excited she had been in months. It had been difficult to convince the governor to let her come on this mission, but since she was one of the most highly skilled people available and there was little space in the containers, there was little choice.

She was packed in with half of the governor's personal guard, who she had trained herself. They, like herself, were armed with E-11 Carbines, which, while weaker than the standard E-11, had a noticeably higher rate of fire which was invaluable in the closer quarters of a starship. And it wasn't like pirates would be particularly heavily armed. Kaela would've preferred a slug-thrower, so she could witness the enemies of the Empire being turned into jagged chunks of meat, but good slugthrowers were expensive.

Her smile widened under her helmet as she saw the message flash across the screen of her PDA. Captain Veers had arrived with the Gauntlet and the rest of the system defense fleet, and was engaging the other two pirate corsairs.

With the containers already loaded up, the corsair jerked as its engines roared, boosting it into the sky to assist its allies in orbit. As this occurred, Kaela flicked a switch on her PDA, activating the heat scanning function. It was still in its early stages, so her PDA was bulkier than she would've liked, but it allowed her to scan for nearby heat signatures. Aside from the ones bundled together, which were clearly the other troopers, she saw scattered signatures around the hangar. Most seemed pilots rushing towards their fighters, preparing for the engagement

It was the perfect time to strike.

Sending the signal, all three containers door's burst open, and the troops flooded out. A total of 30 troopers, they all took cover behind the containers and opened fire on the surprised hangar crew.

The MkII droideka and its smaller siblings rolled out, activating their shields and raining death amongst the enemy. The big droid sat itself down, locking its feet magnetically to the floor of the hangar. Its shields hummer to life, and it turned its twin ion cannons on the fighters, stopping them from lifting off.

In a mere thirty seconds, the entire hangar bay had been cleared, and they started moving forward, droidekas rolling ahead of them.

As they turned the first corridor of the hangar into the main corridor, they were immediately met with enemies.

Basterbolts flew left and right, pirates dropping like flies. She reveled in the way their unprotected flesh burned as her bolts landed, how they fell limp, the light leaving their eyes.

This continued for minutes on end as they slaughtered their way to the bridge, burnt bodies littering the floor, some crushed by the weight of the droidekas rolling over the corpses.

As she turned a corner, Kaela grabbed the pirate attempting to stab her by the neck and arm, disarmed him, opened the weapons locker next to her and tossed him in the head first. She then slammed the door on his head until all that was left was a bloody paste.

It was only when she was done, bits of brain and bone covering her chest plate that she realized her little playtime had stopped their advance. The troopers' helmets hid their faces, but not the sound of some of them dry retching. Thankfully, she was the Commander, so they couldn't reprimand her for "unnecessary cruelty". Instead of commenting on it, she unslung her carbine, and continued the march.

Her job is awesome!
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TK-582, Okto Perker
Minda System, Ugean Orbit, Cumulus-Class Corsari Dreadbow

Okto was glad he hadn't eaten anything before the mission, because if he had his helmet would be absolutely filled with vomit.

He'd known that this would be a brutal mission. Already the corridor behind them was filled to the brim with bodies, and even now the droideka's covering their flanks were still firing, gunning down pirates who thought they could catch them by surprise.

But what he just witnessed? Commander Grant had always been…odd, to say the least. She seemed to want to fight, and now that he had seen her beat a man's skull into paste with a door, with the helmet still on.

Terrifying. He hoped that she never decided to go rebel, for that would surely be the end of them all.

Regardless, he shouldered his weapon and moved on, clearing corners, gunning down pirates, and breaching doors. He fell into a sort of trance, covering, firing, breaching, checking, and so on. A sense of synchronicity was felt amongst the troopers there, as if they were all part of the same assembly line, each of them fully aware of the part they have to play, with minimal communication required.

It was during this time that he thought back on his arrival to the Minda system. His company had been shamed during the pacification campaign on Mimban, all because his company's captain had bad blood with a different company's major. Their equipment had been sabotaged from within, leading to their failure in a critical mission. While it wasn't enough to have them executed, with the captain's political ties protecting them, it was enough to get them reassigned to the outer rim.

The company had been tossed about backwaters, from boonie to boonie, never quite fitting in. They would be sent to clean up rabble, hunt small-time rebels, and were even relegated to acting as a police force at times. Eventually, after years of this monotony, they were assigned to act as the personal force of a new governor.

At first, Okto thought it would be another boring, if stable posting. Hell, there might even be some excitement considering how young and arrogant the governor was at the time.

But then the protests happened. And instead of being told to open fire, like they had many times before, the governor spoke. TO the people, instead of AT them. Improvements were made, rapid scaling of infrastructure, housing, operations.

The garrison they were a part of was being trained by CLONES of all people. Okto had only ever seen one clone, and that had been an instructor he had passed when guarding an academy.

Everyday, he escorted the governor around, watching as he relentlessly filed paperwork, made deals with local organizations, and hell, even got to watch as the Garrison Commander taught him self-defense, blaster skills and more. Though he wasn't very good at the moment, the dedication was real.

More and more was done, and Okto came to realize that this backwater could be something more. Something better. It was a rim world that didn't see people cowering from the mere sight of his helmet. It was a place where the people truly loved the Empire so much, that there had been zero rebel presences detected, despite Commander Grants inspections.

His inner musings were cut short as they approached the doors to the bridge. He moved to the side, covering a right angle as another trooper started slicing the door using a port built into their PDAs. Wonderful technology, with so many applications that made things easier for him. Though he would never admit out loud how much he had gambled in some of those games. The characters are just so pretty!

Then the door opened, and there was chaos. The droidekas stomped forwards, shields absorbing the intense amount of blasterfire, their shields flickering and wavering under the assault. The crazy bastards had set up a shielded blaster turret and were forcing them to stay in the corridor.

They were at a disadvantage. Right up until Okto threw a stun grenade, yelling through the comms "Stunner out".

He turned his head, and for a brief second the world went wild, before his helmet's noise suppression kicked in.

Then, he and his fellows turned back, raised their weapons, and opened fire.

There were no survivors
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Ife Veers
Minda System, Ugean Orbit, Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser Gauntlet

Ife was quite happy, even as her ships engaged the pirate fleet. Despite the technological superiority of her flotilla, the two corsairs were heavily armed, and their veritable swarm of light freighters and junk fighters meant that she was very heavily outnumbered. However, victory here would add to her record. If she could prove her worth, she could get reassigned to a bigger, better ship, with more opportunities for action.

"Open fire! And inform all allied ships, do not get on the broadside or below the enemy corsairs. That's where the majority of their firepower is concentrated."

"Yes, Captain!" the comms officer responded, already sending the messages out to the fleet.

Ife looked out over the battlefield. TIE's, ARC-170's and V-Wings all screamed this way and that, filling the battlefield with a plethora of blaster bolts and concussion missiles. The two enemy corsairs advanced upwards, their twin quad laser cannons opening fire on the Gauntlet and its allies. The hope was to keep them down there through the use of superior firepower.

While the cumulus class lacked any turbo lasers, it did come outfitted with 14 gunwales, each sporting twin laser cannons. Such concentrated firepower would be equivalent to a smattering of turbolasers and could prove to be an actual threat.

The battle raged, and the fighter count started to go down one by one. About five minutes in, and the first ARC-170 went down, the pilots going up in flames. In retaliation, the closest CR92a turned two heavily modified light freighters into scrap.

This back and forth continued for some time, fighters and freighters and what amounted to engines with guns and a cockpit were disabled, damaged or destroyed outright, before one of the corsairs started to open its hangar bay. Instead of fighters or bombers, a large, poorly built set of missile tubes were raised on an improvised turret. Despite the rust and clearly poor engineering, Ife immediately recognized the danger.

"All ships, evasive maneuvers immediately! Get out of the way of those missile pods!" she yelled out, the comms officers rushing to get the message out.

But it was too late. Even as the Gauntlet and her escorts burned their engines and gunned it out of formation, the ad hoc weapons platform fired a fusillade of ion torpedoes, screaming towards the ships.

Ife cursed. She had packed the fleet too close together, and now she was paying for it.

The torpedoes slammed into the hull, ion energy moving in waves throughout the ship. Subsystem after subsystem shut down, until only lights, gravity and life support still functioned.

"Status report!"

"Most systems offline Ma'am! Backup generator is doing what it can, but it'll be a few minutes before the reactor can be reactivated!"

"FRAKK!" she cursed, letting out her frustration. "Are comms functioning?" Upon receiving a negative, she sighed. Deeply. This was not how she wanted her career to go. She had wanted to prove her family wrong, prove that she could make it in the Navy, yet here she was, about to retreat on her first real sortie.

"Ma'am, sensors are back online! We're reading a hyperspace signature closing in!"

Before she could ask for more details, a ship appeared out of hyperspace right outside the battlefield. As it cut through the void, she saw it's distinctive hull shape and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

As the comms came back online, a voice crackled through the intercom.

"This is the Arquitens-Class Command Cruiser Rationale, engaging hostiles. Glad to have a welcoming party. More interesting than this rubber ball I have-ouch!".
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. This one took a smidge longer than usual on account of all the POV switching. I decided to keep this chapter a purely alt-pov chapter, since Las's pov wouldn't be all that interesting. Just him quietly trying not to shit himself in fear.

It's also the first real combat I've ever really written. The only other time I've ever written combat was a quick scene in my original universe work Divided Horizons, and that was more of a gang shootout that ended very quickly. This was a full blown fleet battle and boarding action? Not sure if sneaking onto an enemy ship in a crate is a boarding action but I suppose it doesn't matter.

As always, feedback and commentary is encouraged. My friends are all too busy also going through college, and none of them are as into this weird sci-fi fringe worldbuilding shit as you random internet weirdo's are, so I basically get all of my social interaction by reading y'all comments. So please comment. I am very lonely.

Thank you for reading!

- Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 5, 2025

Chp-10: New Reforms, Old Friends

Holy shit, I'm not dead.

I was sitting in my office a week after the pirate attack, still having the occasional panic attacks. Pirates were a foregone conclusion out here, and their attacks were expected at one point or another, but I expected something smaller.

Maybe a few modified cargo ships, not actual fucking warships. Thankfully, none of them had turbolasers, but with roughly thirty-six laser cannons the Cumulus class is nothing to scoff at for a ship of its size.

It was the closest I had come to death in either life, and it scared me. The whole time I was in the bunker, I was contemplating running the fuck away. I had my escape plan all ready, I could've done it, but the odds were just enough in our favor for me to stay. Just barely.

The aftermath had been a significantly easier time for me. I had a memorial site built in one of the new public parks, a pillar of mismatched metal plates and melted plastoid armor, the only remnants of the starfighters and armor plates of those that had fallen, their names engraved into the metal with gold lettering.

I gave a speech at the memorials reveal, about the sanctity of life, unity, and so on and so forth. It was a solemn affair, and the first time I had ever put effort into a speech that didn't involve saving my own skin in some way.

After all that though, came the fun part. Of the three corsairs, two were captured. The originally boarded one, and the one that had jury-rigged an ion torpedo missile tube. The latter had its shields broken and a stray shot detonated the remaining ion torpedoes, frying its systems. After that, its friend tried to run.

Emphasis on tried.

It was annihilated by the Resolution's assault, its engines destroyed by the proton torpedoes of an ARC-170 and leaving it unable to escape. The escape pods it launched were all retrieved, and many pirates were captured.

The two corsairs were currently sitting in the Imperial Yards in orbit, being slowly repaired and refitted. They would make good patrol ships, if nothing else. The light freighters that were captured held little use, and so I had them cleaned, repaired, and put them up for sale.

There were always merchants coming through the system, so there might be someone willing to buy. If they aren't all gone by the end of the year, I can just have them scrapped for parts anyways.

As for the captured pirates? Well, there weren't that many, but it seems that Commander Grant had the presence of mind to not immediately rip the Twi'leks lekku off and hang his corpse with it. Instead, he was taken into a deep, dark room in the garrison, and no one in the garrison had a good night's sleep for three days. After that, the only things that came out of that room were Grant, and a foul smelling bag that was disposed of shortly after.

From what I can only assume to have been a horrible length of torture, information was dredged up. The marauders had been contracted to raid Minda for its resources and deliver them to their employers. While the average grunt was unaware of who had hired them, and was just there for the creds, the captains had been contacted by some people who were paying them for a job done for the will of their "Lady". There's only one "Lady" I know of that is also a crime lord of sorts.

Crimson Dawn. Fuck.

They had been a fairly powerful organization under Maul, but after his death they were believed to have been defeated for good. Thing is, that's not entirely true. Lady Qi'ra, former lover of Han Solo himself, had become the leader of the Dawn after Maul's death and was planning a resurgence. Her ultimate goal? The destruction of the Sith.

Normally I wouldn't have cared for some Sith hating crime lord. Sith are generally bad news for everyone. Sure, I had my problems with how the Jedi worked, but they weren't trying to kill everything all the time. The problem is that the Empire is run by Sith, and therefore I am a Sith lackey, and therefore an appropriate target for the Dawn.

The pirates had been contracted to cause chaos, but also to secure more resources for the Dawn. And what better system to do that than a lightly defended backwater Imperial planet.

Luckily, I doubted that a retaliatory strike was going to happen. Not only is this a backwater, but it was currently 2BBY, meaning that Qi'ra had not been in control of the Dawn for long, with the planned resurgence happening around 3ABY, and their defeat not long after. This means that the Dawn is still in hiding, and this strike is one of many that are happening across the galaxy, all of them looking like standard pirate raids, all of them funneling resources to the Crimson Dawn.

Now, did I have hard proof that this was Crimson Dawn? No, I don't. But the timeline fits, so the chance is higher than average.

Regardless, I try to push it out of my mind. With the arrival of the Rationale, along with the three Imperial Nebulons to help reinforce the system, the chance of such an attack happening again is rare.

Instead, I focused on the future. Specifically, expansion.

I was currently within my office, looking over the stacks of papers that had been delivered to me. They were my copies of the new reforms that were being put into place. The political system I had set up was being revamped, with minor and major councils in each region. The minor councils would be held in the sub-nexus cities to manage it and its area, with a minor council in the Nexus city proper to manage the city as a whole(each councilor of a Nexus city is chosen from its various districts). Major councils would be made up of representatives that were voted on by the minor councils and sent to the Nexus to represent their sub-nexus in the greater decision making process. Finally, each of these Major councils will send a representative to Accordia, where I speak with them once a week to announce new changes, gain a better understanding of the problems each region faces, etc…

Thankfully, politics weren't the only thing I was reforming. I had instituted various longer-term projects. None of them would be costing much right now, and in fact many were not going to be started for some time, as to ensure that the build up is slower.

These projects were varied, and included things such as:

A network of trains, both passenger and cargo, to simplify inter/intracontinental transport and keep the number of ships flying about to a minimum.
An expansion to the Guild, turning into the Imperial Guild of Industry, Commerce and Protection, which now allows mercenaries to sign up, post their services so that miners, cargo haulers and the like can more easily hire them. It also comes with a rating system and review board, so mercenaries have an easier time cultivating a reputation and people can find reliable protection. It even comes with a selection of courses that can be attended for a small fee, offering insight into how mercenary work within the guild and the Mindan system functions.
An "academy". Not a real Imperial Academy that trains StormTroopers and the like, but a militia academy that allowed people to volunteer to join the MPDF or MSDF(Mindan System Defense Fleet). It offered training, classes, with both retired clone officers and the occasional active duty officer teaching classes, giving seminars, and more. It was a way to increase the amount of active duty Navy/Army personnel, without actually having to requisition more personnel from the Navy proper.
Cities were being expanded with new apartment complexes and the like, specifically to handle the more steady influx of colonists that were being ported in.
The Acclamator, which had finally been named to the Beacon of Minda, finished it's retrofits and was now a pure passenger ship, with the sole purpose of picking up new colonists from various planets who wanted a new life. It could carry up to 30,000 passengers, but I had ordered the number restricted to only 5,000 per trip, the rest of the space used for cargo. While I need more people, if the population grows faster than I can manage I'll end up with substantial problems.
Contracts with the major farming companies and unions across Ugea were signed, for the express purpose of helping develop more land for farming. Much of it was going to be farmed by some of the incoming colonists, who I was paying the companies/unions to train in farming. This would increase food supply, allowing population growth to increase.
The R&D department was also increased by a decent margin, and focused mostly on software updates. Upgrades to the PDAs, better software for the ARCs and V-Wings, and most importantly, a proper fucking update to my terminal so I could organize things better. Never thought I would cry when seeing Microsoft Excel.

There were more projects, but they were for the future. These were the projects that could be started now with a lower cost, and later help fund the bigger pieces, like the proposed manufacturing plants, new colonies, and more.

A beep on my data pad alerted me. I checked it, and sighed. I had to fly out to the refinery to give a congratulatory speech for the security forces there. Apparently they had locked down the hangar, closed the doors, and trapped the pirates in there while they had a repulsorlift laser cannon gun them down. Absolutely no casualties, quite impressive.

And so, I sent my affirmative signal and threw on my coat, heading towards the landing pad where my L-99 was waiting. At least I could fly in style.

Now, if only I could get a vacation.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darna Sabrir
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Rusty Refit Orbital Yard

Darna was exhausted.

Ever since the Mindan Raid, the governor's office had been inundated with requests for meetings, speeches, memorials, interviews, and more. Not to mention the multitude of companies asking about increased security and such

Honestly, it was a testament to the governor's abilities that the people were comfortable enough to ask him for things this way. Any other system might see petitioners shot.

Thankfully, the new Nebulon-Bs along with the mercenary section of the Guild opening seemed to address most of the concerns, and a touching speech from the governor about the importance of living a good life to honor those who died in the defense of Minda was enough to assuage the remaining questions and complaints. Aside from the journalists. They were relentless.

The governor had approved her day off, and she was trying to enjoy it. She had decided to visit her friend Sidheth up in the orbital scrap yard.

So, as she stepped off the shuttle and into the common area of the station, she scanned her surroundings. The place was kept clean, with signs indicating the directions of things like admin, lodgings, food court, and more.

As she did that, she heard a voice call out.

"Darna!"

She turned, and spotted her friend approaching her. Dark skinned and bushy haired, her human compatriot always seemed to have a spark of life in her eyes.

"Sid-"she paused, then "Talia! How are you!" Sidheth clearly noted her slip up, but shrugged it off.

As they hugged, Darna heard her whisper "Follow me. My room is secure"

And to her room they went, passing by a bevy of people throughout the station. The orbital station itself was equipped with 12 bays, each of them corresponding with a size designation, those being small, medium and large. Small bays could fit fighters, mediums were meant for light and medium freighters, while large bays dealt with bulk freighters and frigates. Three of the bays, one of each type, were reserved solely for Imperial use, with that section of the yard being staffed solely by Imperial personnel.

Entering an elevator, they were taken further up the yard's rings. It was split into three rings. The bottom ring managed all the light and medium bays, and the middle ring was for the large bays, along with the area visitors had access to. The top ring was where station personnel lived, and was the smallest of the rings.

Finally, they reached Sidheth's suite, located at the very top of the central tower that connected the rings together. As the owner and administrator of the building, she had the nicest accommodations on board.

Despite that, her quarters were not all that lavish. Being a tad larger than Darna's quarters in the Capitol, the apartment was nicely decorated. A nice central area was fitted with a kitchen, large L shaped couch with a holo table in front, and a decently large viewscreen mounted on the wall. The floor was a stark grey metal floor, but there were tasteful orange and black rugs that made up for it.

Branching off from the center room were three doors. One led in a hallway, which itself led to the master bedroom and a guest bedroom, along with the bathroom. The other door led to an office space, while the last led to a large walk-in closet.

Darna whistled. "You have yourself quite the nice room here, Sidheth. How did you get something this nice?"

Her friend flashed her a sheepish smile. "Honestly, things moved very quickly, and with the additional funding we were able to buy a prebuilt modular station. It came with this room for the lead administrator, and since I'm technically the owner…"

Darna smirked. "So you just happened to luck into the nicest suite in orbit?"

"It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

"I thought you were more frugal? What would Vilil say if he saw you living the life?"

"Darnaaaaa…" she whined. "Please don't tell Vilil, he'll give me that look, and then I'll feel guilty!"

"Then start slumming it, sister."

They looked at each other, before bursting out into laughter. Darna hadn't missed much from her stint in the Rebellion, but she had missed her friend.

As they sat down on the couch, the conversation turned to work.

"...and he turns to me, looking dead tired, and said "there's more?!" as I handed him another stack of paperwork! Never seen the governor look so fed up!"

They had been talking about their respective lives for hours, when Darnas positino actually came into question.

"So, you seem to like your job."

Darna sighed. She saw this coming. "Yes, Sidheth, I do. And I'm not joining the rebellion again. I already risked my job referring you to the governor. On top of that, this is one of the few places where there isn't a reason to rebel! No oppressive regime, no human centrism, no beatings. Just… progress."

"I'm not denying that" said Sidheth, "Even Vilil agrees. Minda is stable, too stable for an effective rebellion. Any attacks here would just turn the populace against us. And with this scrap yard here, we're actually able to make a difference for the wider rebellion. We just want you to be a part of that difference."

Darna scoffed. "And what would you have me do? Spy on my boss, my coworkers, my friends? I've finally, after so long, found a place that accepts me, treats me well, trusts me. A place I can call home. I won't betray that trust."

Sidheths eyes seemed to glimmer with pain. "We trust you, Darna. The rebellion trusts you."

"Only long enough to put a blaster in my hand and tell me to shoot"

"You know there's more to it than that!"

She shook her head. "Just barely, Sidheth. Just barely. But here? In Minda? I don't have to fight for my life every day just to be treated with dignity and respect. I'm done, Sidheth. I've been done for years, and I refuse to get roped back in when my life is going well."

Sidheth winced, but didn't say anything for a while. Finally, she spoke up.

"I know things are good here, and I'm not really asking you to join back up. I'm not even asking you to spy! Not really. Vilil wanted me to get that, for sure, but I know you're not about that life anymore. All I ask is that if you hear something, something big, that won't get you in trouble, give us a heads up? Please? It's all I ask."

Darna sighed again. What was this, the third sigh? Fourth? Now way was that healthy.

"Fine. If something comes up that is really important, and won't risk me, I'll pass a message along. But don't expect much. Like I said, I'm done."

Sidheth smiled, but it was a weak thing. "Thanks, Darna… I missed you. We all did."

Darna couldn't help but return the smile. "I missed you too, Sidheth."

The rest of the night was spent in a more comfortable silence, the two making sure to steer clear of the topic of rebellion.

Eventually, Darna left, and found herself back in her quarters in the capitol building. Situated right below the governor's penthouse, it was fairly spacious.

As she flopped into what had to be the nicest bed she had ever owned, sleep found her quickly.

Her last thought?

"I won't let my new life be taken from me. Not again."
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. This was my first real attempt at writing a full conversation between two friends, banter included. It feels a little awkward, I think, but let me know.

Also, for those of you incels asking for a harem. While I get the urge, I don't plan for there to be any romance in this fic as of yet. While a romance can really add layers to a story, and truly enhance it, I'm nowhere near that level of skill. How can I write a convincing romance if I'm 19 and have never been on a date? Also, for harems, I don't think they work. While you could argue about polycules for days, harems specifically are top-down structures that are inherently narcissistic, and only value the person at the top. I invite you to watch Zhang Yimou's incredible 1991 film Raise the Red Lantern, which covers the harmful effects of such a relationship. And I think harems are cliche hentai bullshit.

On top of that, I recently went down a mini rabbit-hole looking for trains for the rail system. Even after I realized that I didn't really need to specify what train engines were used specifically, I had looked around and realized that there are pitifully few trains in Star Wars. At least named ones with specs and such. So any lore on Star Wars trains, and other niche vehicles and tech is widely appreciated. I dig around the wiki alot, cause I want to find the small stuff and try to use it more often than just grabbing whatever I can find from the movies and throwing it in. One of your guys' comments is what led me to choose the CR92a, so yeah.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 6, 2025

Chp-11: Various Interludes

Captain Ife Veers
Minda System, Ugean Orbit, Arquitens-Class Command Cruiser Rationale

As the crew rushed about the bridge, communicating orders, coordinating the defense fleet, and all the other things a bridge crew does, Ife immersed herself in the noise. It sounded like success.

She had been devastated when she had been assigned to Minda. After all the hard work and discrimination she had faced, she was tossed into a backwater. Sure, the Empire didn't officially discriminate against women, and to most it is a ridiculous thing, but especially in the higher ranks women are not common, and often kept down by higher officers. Not only that, but interservice rivalries plagued her rise.

All because of her father. Maximilian Veers, now a General in the Imperial Army, had raised her to be a part of the machine. She had joined the Army's Youth program when she was young, but then her mother died. A rare disease caught while on vacation.

It broke her father. He threw himself into his work, and pushed her and her brother further into their programs. While her brother was pushed into the COMPNOR youth program, he also tried to push her further in the Army. At first, she hadn't cared, but then nepotism started happening. Scores that she knew were higher than she scored. Trainees throwing matches. It was insulting

Ife would be damned if she let all her hard work go to waste because her father was a General. So she transferred into the Navy. The only reason she even got in was because an Admiral caught wind and approved the transfer solely for the purpose of spiteing her father.

Once in the Navy, she faced the opposite of nepotism. She was looked down on for being the daughter of a General. The Empire was a competitive place, and those in higher ranks were often closer to politicians than military officers. That meant that there was constant scheming and political power moves both within and between the various branches of the military, and her fathers position made her the perfect target.

Despite all that, she had persevered. She would no matter what, carve out her own future. Prove, to the Empire and to herself, that she could succeed on her own efforts.

Her scores were top ten in her class, she consistently did very well in all her courses and exercises, and in the end she was assigned to Minda. It should have been an honour to be given a Captaincy right out of the Academy, but it was in reality an insult. Captaincy of an outdated clone-wars era Arquitens, in a backwater system, relegated to fighting smugglers and small-time pirates for the rest of her career.

Then the new governor came to power. Reforms started happening. Prospecting, expansion, new ships, and so much more. She had often found Accordia to be a bland city, and rarely left the Gauntlet unless necessary, and yet now she actually enjoyed her shore leave. Not only that, but she had been given command of a far more advanced Arquitens-class Command Cruiser, from which she would command a much larger flotilla in the defense of the system.

She even found something in common with that cur Grant! Admittedly, tutoring the governor on starship command and flight wasn't something she thought she would find particularly interesting, but he was very attentive and studious, and it gave her a way to subtly one-up the Commander every now and again. Lesson planning with Kaela was a surprisingly relaxing task, and one of the only times they weren't shooting dirty looks and veiled insults at each other.

Life was finally looking up. Her career seemed to have a way up, after years of being stuck unmoving. If she did well enough, she might get noticed by the sector moff. Command of an ISD didn't look so far off.

Ife looks down at her PDA, scanning over the incoming stream of information. It seems like some smugglers thought they could sneak into Accordia. Not on her watch. She turned to her newest aide, and young girl who had just graduated from the militia academy. Her scores had been top-notch, and the fire in her eyes reminded her of herself.

"Align our movement vector, engage sublight engines, and make ready the ion cannons. I want them alive."

The aide saluted, then repeated the command across the deck. Ife received a collective response in return.

""""Yes Ma'am!""""

Ah. The sweet sound of command.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ebiam Fik
Minda System, Ugea, Shubeon, Roxatory Outskirts

Ebiam fiddled with the controls for a few seconds aiming to line the tracks as easily as possible. Once the computer beeped, he hit the correct sequence and watched the beams attach themselves to the supports.

He was some ten or so kilometers from Roxatory as an employee of the Imperial Construction Agency. He and his team were laying tracks for the new inter/intracontinental rail system.

"Three months," he grumbled. "Three frakking months of this mind-numbing work".

His co-pilot, Arkia, laughed. Her voice was scratchy, as if her throat was lined with sand.

"You complain now, but I've seen your face on payday. Like a kid seeing a sloop race for the first time."

"Well yeah, I love money" he grumbled, "it's just that this track laying is boring as hell"

She nodded. "Can't fault ya there. The worst part is the back and forth. We lay track for a week, then we get transferred back to apartment construction because it takes another two weeks for more track to arrive, then we lay track again. Wish they would just bring it all in one go."

"Same here" he muttered, already aligning the next track while she adjusted the settings and alerted the rail system. "But the budget is split between this, the militia academy, and the farming and apartment expansions. Also, I heard from one of the higher ups that they can't use all the space in the bulk freighters for tracks because then they wouldn't be able to store the fuel they buy for the MSDF."

The track was aligned, the buttons pressed, and another section added. Behind them, they could hear the second repulsorlift crane securing the tracks and ensuring they were functioning.

"Anyway's" Arkia said "How're your kids doing? Heard Hrax got into the MSDF."

A rare smile slid across Ebiam's face. "Heh, yeah. Her scores were so good, she was assigned as an aide to -get this- the Captain of the MSDF's command ship, the Rationale!"

Arkia whistled, a look of surprise etched across her face. "Your baby girl is up there with one of the head honchos? Captain Veers is one of the governor's advisors, right?"

"Not just that, she's in command of the entire MSDF! Hrax is going places I tell ya!"

"She sure is. But… how is Vulo taking it? He's pretty protective, isn't he?"

Ebiam sighed. "Yeah. I love him, I do. But Vulo has always been the overprotective sort. I think that once he realizes she's strong now, he'll be more supportive."

Arkia wiggled her eyebrows, the action causing her bright pink hair to almost sway from her safety cap. "Maybe you need to do something to…get him to loose-ouch! Come on!"

Ebiam retracted his hand, the nose flick of justice completed. "Me and my husband's sex life is perfectly normal and private. Thank you very much."

She whined, an odd sound to pair with her voice. "Fine. At least adopt another welp then. Kept him busy this long, right?"

Chuckling, he responded. "Maybe once JoJo is an adult. And has stopped calling people "Enemy stand users" and throwing rocks at them."
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garrison Commander Kaela Grant
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Garrison Firing Range

Kaela was happy. Happier than she had been in a long time. Finally! She got a job that let her do what she did best.

The sound barrier shattered as she watched a solid chunk of metal accelerate down the repulsor rails of the weapon. It pierced the durasteel plating at the end, and went through

This beast of a turret was developed as a pet project by some of the R&D people on the side. It used many easy, conventionally sourced materials like the small repulsorlifts that lined the barrels, and leftover durasteel for the projectiles, and had been approved for limited research. While she was sure the governor saw the use in these, the fact was that many projects were being sponsored by him, and the budget as it was, didn't allow for much leeway, though she sorely wished it did.

They were calling it the RSTT-00(Repulsor Slug Thrower Turret ), and upon completion, multiple units would be fitted around key points of the capital as AA weapons, with others being sent to The Bore, as it was the most likely target for pirates not suicidal enough to attack the capital.

Projectiles fired from the RST-01 were shown to be able to pierce up to a quarter meter of durasteel. Not nearly enough to pierce warship armor, nor can it break through most deflector shields. However, the speed of the projectiles fired was faster than any blaster bolt. Combined with its power, it could destroy fighters in one shot. Two, if the deflector shields were strong enough. It could even tear through light freighters in a few shots. This was the perfect defense against pirates, which were the most likely enemy to be faced.

Kaelas excitement cooled, however, when the barrels of the weapon had to be removed. While small sized repulsor lifts could launch the projectiles faster than standard magnetic rail guns could, they both used a great deal of power, and were more delicate, leading to internal damage from overheating and recoil.

As the testing team took over the range, examining the turret for any further damage, Kaela left, having seen enough, and knowing she had paperwork to accomplish. Thankfully, that new terminal system R&D made was great for organization. That, and she had more aides and other number crunchers thanks to the better schooling system. Also meant more work for her, but she knew it would be worth it. At this rate of expansion, it wouldn't be long before she was burning the jungles of Minda 2 and engaging in some slaughter. She heard the beasties over there were particularly vicious, and she wanted to test that. Personally.

—--------------------------

Three hours later saw her in her quarters, gearing up for a private training session with Governor Mola. A month before the Mindan Raid, he had requested for after hours private training. Apparently, his schooling in the Academy had leaned more towards bureaucracy rather than self defense.

It excited her, to be honest. He had no real basis for combat, and so she could shape his fighting style herself. Guide him, with no pre-trained biases holding him back. It was like playing with clay.

Every other trooper she trained had been taught how to fight by Imperial Bootcamp. They, especially the standard Infantry, had been taught how to be effective cannon fodder instead of soldiers. It was pitiful, and both she and the clone teachers under her(who were very effective, and told good stories) spent half their time retraining troops to actually fight effectively.

But with the Governor? She could build him into the perfect killing machine, if only he didn't have all that work to do. So she resigned herself to making him a decent killing machine instead.

The sessions often covered a variety of topics. They started with hand to hand, then went onto blaster training, gear safety, and ended with vehicle handling. Occasionally, Captain Veers volunteered to teach the Governor how to fly. For a career officer, Kaela had been surprised at how skilled Veers was in fighters and other lighter ships. She was then immediately angry at that smug smile Veers would shoot her when the Governor wasn't looking.

Before she could descend into an internal tirade about her sworn enemy officer, her PDA dinged with a notification.

Sighing, she composed herself, picked up her gear(she always kept special made training gear in her quarters) and left for the emptied training center.

If nothing else, this was the highlight of her week.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zyx Mola
Nar Shaddaa

No sound came from the creeping of her feet, or the drawing of her blade.

As Zyx silently prowled through the room, she focused on the target ahead of her. A pantoran, dressed in fine silks, laying in an expensive chair, clearly just having gotten out of his bath..

Readying her blade, Zyx stepped to the side of the bookshelf. Her pitch black bodysuit allowed her to blend in perfectly, but it was really the stealth field generator around her waist that did the heavy lifting.

She pointed her weapon, its thin, almost invisible blade reflecting a mere modicum of light. As soon as the button on the handle was pressed, the blade shot out, extending the remaining distance between her and the pantoran.

Perfectly positioned as she was, the blade nicked the man so lightly he didn't even feel it.

Her current objective accomplished, she backed away, before slinking off into the darkness, heading towards her exit point. As she dodged guards and security cameras alike, not wanting to rely on the generator more than she had to, she marveled at the ingenuity of her plan.

That man, Hlira was a rich weapons dealer, and was here on Nar Shaddaa to meet with one of the Hutts, and negotiate a deal to supply ion and proton torpedoes to the Hutts. The one he was meeting with was Prattu. He was a collector, like many Hutts, and enjoyed collecting rare beasts and animals from across the galaxy.

His most favored pet was a Qakuh, a rare creature found on what can only be called a death world. Said world was under Imperial control, with which he named Cheeskar Killie, which roughly translated to Betrayer Killer. Great pet name, very nice taste in beasts, bad choice for Hlira.

You see, Prattu had trained his pet very well, and liked to scare newcomers by showing it off. If they displeased him, his pet got a little treat. If not, nothing happened. It was a classic.

The very tip of her blade had been covered in miniscule amount of a pheromone produced only by male Qakuh when they were challenging another to a battle for a mate. And considering the incredible sense of smell the creatures have, it was very likely that come tomorrow, when Hlira enters Prattus chambers, Cheeskar Killie is going to have himself a nice little snack.

Leaving the spot of torpedo supplier open. Conveniently, there was another supplier petitioning for the position tomorrow. Who just so happens to be an Imperial Agent.

Make no mistake, the Hutts and the Empire had come to an understanding, and the Hutts were allowed mostly free reign of their space, so long as they didn't frakk things up. But having infiltrators within their ranks was always a benefit to the Empire, so MI had sent Zyx to insure that it all went according to plan.

Arriving back at her hideout, she decloaked and took a breather, before beginning her report. As she typed, she noticed the files she had requested. A series of memos detailing the going ons of the Minda system, where her dear younger brother had been sent off to.

She had read through them all, and was surprised. Las had actually done something good, for once. Minda's economy was increasing, with colonists from nearby systems steadily flowing in, and a stream of resources steadily flowing out.

From what she could tell from the admittedly sparse reports(they weren't going to send an agent out on just her request, after all), he was actually trying to accomplish the goal Mother had set on his shoulders.

Zyx had expected to be tracking him down as he fled by this point, but they were almost seven months in and he was making a legitimate attempt. That… didn't sound like Las. She loved her brother, truly, but she also knew that he was lazy, prone to argument, and jumped from hobby to hobby, leaving one as soon as he had to put in the work to get good.

So for him to be actively working to improve the system was a surprise. Either the threat of service in the army was that bad, or someone was backing him.

Regardless, she had accrued much leave that she never used, and decided that she might as well check in on her little brother, and whoever might be pulling his strings.

Even if there wasn't anyone, it would be fun to poke around the system. Might be something interesting to find.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Decided to try a full barrage of alt POVs. Wanted to try and slow things down and take a look at Minda from higher ups and groundlevel folks. I also finally got around to introducing the second sister! Zyx is going to be interesting to write, and will most certainly play quite the role in the story going forward.

Also, I wasn't able to find that much on MI(Military Intelligence) stealth tech, and just went with something basic I found on Wookieepedia. Though the blade Zyx used was an original idea. Meant to be less of a blade and more of a way to apply poison directly onto the skin or into the blood with minimal chance of detection, though it can be used as an incredible deadly whip/sword combo. Not shown here, obviously.

As always, feedback, tips, lore tidbits, and general commentary is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 6, 2025

Chp-12: Creatures and Covert Operations

I was scheming. Plotting. On my evil mastermind shit. Why? Ironically enough, the same reason most evil masterminds plot. Fear.

Honestly, my paranoia was getting exhausting. Makes me glad I'm not Sith. I'd be too tired; wouldn't hit the weekly puppy torture quota or some equally inane shit.

What was I plotting? My own safety, of course. You see, I just realized something. I have no defense against force users. At all.

I have zero clue whether or not I'd be able to resist mind tricks, illusions, mind reading, and a million other things. Sure, it isn't exactly the biggest fear I have, not by a long shot. But the force is fucking terrifying, and I don't want to deal with it at all.

That's when I remembered a little planet called Myrkr. On this planet, there lives a species of lizard called the Ysalamiri. These little buggers can create a field that negates the use of the force around them. While the effect is similar to that of the Shirr Ka Rai, the latter actually eats the force around them, while the Ysalamiri simply ensure that the force within their radius cannot be controlled.

Now, I want one. These little buggers would guarantee my safety. The problem? They were stubborn. For nutrients the lizards sink their claws into a specific type of tree and absorb the nutrients from there. Trying to remove them will almost certainly guarantee the creature's death.

Thankfully, certain smugglers had figured out how to do this safely. Unfortunately, such people are rare, and the lizards rarer. So it would take some time for the queries I had tossed out into the underworld to come up with an answer.

I say tossed, but what I really mean is that a droid was sent to buy a droid who was sent to buy a droid who was sent to pay a middleman who was sent to pay an information broker who would send out their feelers, and place the information gathered at a predetermined drop point that changed every week depending on a random number generator built into the datapad that contained the orders.

It was a fairly complex plan, and one I'm quite proud of. This many proxies would hide my involvement from most. MI could probably track it back to me, but would have no real reason to do so.

Suffice to say, I would be getting my own little force negating buddy who could sit on a backpack I would get to wear. Very nice.

Putting my sinister schemes to the side, I turned to the task at hand.

A few merchants had decided to stop by Ugea. Nothing particularly special, save for their cargo.

They weren't smugglers, but instead traders of animals. Specifically, farm animals. They had heard about Minda's growing farming industry and decided to try their luck at selling cattle here.

So there I was, standing at the Accordian Spaceport alongside my personal detail, inspecting the various animals with Ulre Iglad, the head of the local agriculture department. He was sporting a light bruise on his forehead, what he called a "rubber wound".

"So" I said, "Which ones do you think would be best suited for Ugea?"

He scanned over the animals, before settling on one.

"The Shaak will probably be our best bet. Ugea doesn't have any animals suited to cattle work. Most of them are either too small, or too vicious."

"Ah, but the shaak is both large and docile. How will it impact the ecosystem, however? I don't want an ecological collapse just because we wanted to stop importing meat." I said, taking another bite out of my sandwich. Damn, this thing is good, the techs at R&D really nailed the BBQ sauce flavor. Gotta give them a raise.

He shook his head. "Shaak are fairly widespread across the galaxy, so the chances of a major ecological collapse from their presence is unlikely. Regardless, we'll be conducting extensive tests."

I sighed in relief. "Good. Anything else here that could be of use to us?"

While Ulre looked around, scanning the various animals for anything of use, a cage in the back caught my eye. It was completely shuttered, unlike the other animals' cages which were more open, and looked large enough to fit a great dane.

Turning to the devaronian captain, I pointed at the object of interest.

"What's that?"

He looked surprised, then rushed to explain.

"That's an animal that seemed to have snuck on board when we were refueling a system over. It was skittish, and lashed out so we hit it with a stunner and tossed it in that cage with some feed and a water bowl. It's been in there for a few days, and has been awfully quiet."

I hummed while I chewed, then swallowed. Not quite beef, but Bantha was close enough. "Can you unshutter the cage? I'd like to take a look." He nodded, and quickly pressed a few buttons on the cage's control panel. As panels slid back, I got a look at it.

The animal was lithe, and most certainly carried with it a sense of danger. However, I could tell it was scared, based on all the hissing it was doing. It had the remnants of whatever kibble the merchants had given it tossed around, and a small water bowl that was nearly empty.

Despite its clear fear, its eyes clearly tracked my sandwich. Taking a gamble(I gotta stop doing this), I ordered the cage opened. As soon as it opened, I tossed the sandwich at the opening just as the creature tried to dart out.

I almost laughed as my sandwich smacked the animal in its head, dazing the poor thing. It took a moment to sniff at the meat and bread, before quickly gobbling it up. Immediately after it snaked over to me and started to lick at my fingers.

A raised hand stopped my detail from gunning it down, as the creature was clearly friendly. So long as it got food, that is.

It walked on all fours, but was clearly capable of utilising its hind legs.

"Hah! Hungry, eh? I think I'll take em. What is it?"

The captain's face was a mix of confusion and relief. "I don't know, I've never encountered one of these before."

Regardless, I smiled. This buddy was fast. If trained correctly, not only would I have a cool pet alien, but one that could very well end up as a bodyguard of sorts.

I reached down, slowly of course, and let it sniff my hands, before it let me touch its head. It seemed to coo. Light scratches under its chin left it practically melting in my hands.

Oh yeah baby.

Alien cat time!
--------------------------------------------------

Now back at the capitol building, which I was really thinking of giving an official name at this point, I was sitting in a conference room.

Specifically, the conference room. The one that was built in the remodeling of the building with as many anti-spy safeties that the budget could afford. Which was a surprising amount, all things considered.

There were the three big leaders of Minda. Myself, Commander Kaela, who controlled the system's army forces, and Captain Veers, leader of the MSDF.

We were there because Captain Veers had asked us to meet. Only the Captain herself wasn't physically present, as she was still aboard the Rationale in orbit.

"So, Commander. Care to tell us why you called this meeting?" I asked, trying to ignore my newest friend's attempts to get me to play with them.

Giving no notice to the creature, the Captain activated the holo table from her terminal, a serious look etched across her face.

"We have a problem." She brought up an image, some sort of space buoy. One of the ones that were being spread across the system to allow the new network we were building to spread. This buoy was different though. While it was clearly one of ours, it had a myriad of extra tech slapped across it.

"This is Relay 5-2-3. It's one of our farther out relays, and covers a few of the farther out mining claims. One of those mining teams approached the relay to get a better signal and send their findings back to their HQ on Ugea when they noticed the clear modifications."

I studied the relay a little closer. The extra tech was shoddy, to say the least.

"After dismantling the relay, we discovered a few things. This extra technology was a slapdash listening post. It seems that whoever implemented such a thing did it in a rush. Probably intended to be a temporary measure, which is why it was placed on the furthest relay."

Shit. People are trying to spy on my fucking system!? This sounds bad, to say the least. "Any possible leads as to the perpetrators? Rebels, perhaps?"

Veers shakes her head. "No, though the rebellion is unlikely. They thrive off of secrecy and sympathy. Such a sloppy job was bound to be discovered. This reeks of a different stench of evil. Criminals."

I raised an eyebrow. "I was under the assumption that rebels are criminals."

"They are" she said, "But rebels fight for a cause they believe in, however misplaced. They have a reason to battle, and therefore are more careful in their actions. Common criminals however, are sloppy. They succeed a few times, and get arrogant. The problem here, however, is that these criminals are far too arrogant. They must be found, and crushed."

"All right. First, have every relay checked out. They may have tampered with others. Bring the spare relays out and check the internals of all the relays as well. It'll take time, but they may have taken a more subtle approach for the relays in more traveled sectors."

"Of course," replied the Captain. "My people are already on it".

I turned to the Commander. "As for you, work with the people in R&D. They should be able to identify the components used in the tech and tell you where they can be found in the system. I want a full investigation into wherever these components originated. It could lead us to the perpetrators."

She saluted. "Yes, governor. At your command!".

Captain Veers turned to me. "What if the components are from out of the system? What then?"

I sigh. "Then I'd have to contact the sector moff. Which I'd rather not do."

Las's memories showed me the brief exchange he had with the sector moff. A rotund old man, Moff Tarry was a party animal, constantly drinking, eating, and wasting away in Dubrillion. He was also incredibly lazy, and getting him to send resources and assistance to Minda, or assist in an investigation would be…difficult. Not impossible, the man was the type with a myriad of exploitable weaknesses after all. It would just be a major pain in the ass.

Hopefully this could be resolved in-house. I didn't want this to explode out of my control.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zyx Mola
Minda System, Minda-0, The Bore

Zyx was… impressed, to say the least. A fully functioning mining and refinery asteroid base. That had been built in but a month? Sure, it was completely possible, technology allowed for modular, pre-built structures to be fully functional within mere weeks, but in systems like these such constructions were usually impossible because of local officials just pocketing the money that might go to such things.

And yet here she was, stepping out of her HWK-290, Humble Darkness. It was an older ship that she had picked out of the yard for her personal transportation. It had been extensively upgraded, of course. Better thrusters, class 1 hyperdrive, improved weapons, shielding, etc… The only thing that hadn't changed was its appearance. The older look and weathering was perfect cover for her. A lone mercenary jumping around. The kind of ship and person you didn't look at twice.

Currently, she was situated in the visiting section of The Bore. As the furthest station from the central star, it was often the first stop for visitors.

As she looked around, she took note of the clean hallways, and happy employees. The Bore is an Imperial facility, this she knows. But for the average worker to seem as healthy as they are is odd. Most refineries and the like, especially those situated in space, are dangerous. Workers are often considered disposable, as there are always more people to fill in the spots.

Not only that, but the amount of non-humans was… unusual. Especially the intermingling between them and regular humans. Now, she didn't particularly care whether or not someone was human, it was irrelevant to her. But it was relevant to many other Imperials, so she kept her mouth shut about her opinions. Here though? The acceptance was odd.

Quietly, she slunk about, subtly hiding in the camera's blindspots. She made her way over to the administrators office, and tossed a small disk onto the camera across from it, temporarily looping the footage. Next, a quick slice and the door unlocked, her footsteps quiet as she crouched low to the ground. A few more camera looping discs were scattered around the office, while the occasional toss of a credit coin distracted the few workers within. Most were on break, as she had seen in the cafeteria.

All it took was a quick slice of a data port, and the entire database of the Bore was downloaded into her personal database. It would normally take far longer, and far more space, but MI let their agents have a few of the nicer toys.

After that, it was child's play to retreat. The discs would degrade on their own within minutes, leaving no evidence of her tampering save for a thin layer of dust.

From there, she retreated to her ship, the refueling finished by then. A light smirk graced her features as she sat in the cockpit of the Humble Darkness. Another successful infiltration. Sure, it wasn't an official job, but she still loved it. The thrill of it all, the feeling of digging up secrets, of knowing more than others, holding that knowledge, it was exciting.

And now, she knew a great deal about her brother's operations on The Bore. There were more places to stop by, but it was just the beginning.

She was going to have so much fun teasing him with all of this information.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Decided to start on the next threats and such, along with advancing Zyx's side of the story. Things are going to be heating up in the coming chapters, with new threats, allies, and all that lies between. Also, pets. I liked the design of that creature from Hardy Fowler so much when I was looking for the design of the Qakuh that I felt I needed to include that beautiful creature somehow.

On that note, I need name suggestions! I couldn't think of anything that fit this catlike snake thingie, and I didn't want to do them an injustice.

Aside from that, as usual, feedback and comments are appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 8, 2025

Chp-13: Sibling Trickery

I sat in my office chair. Newly named Mugwuffin was laying across my desk, purring as I scratched her smooth skin. It had taken quite the battery of tests, and a veritable bucket load of BBQ covered Shaak meat to keep her happy throughout, but it was determined that she was female. Though what she is has yet to be determined.

None of that is important, however. What is important is the person sitting across from me with her arm in a sling and a black eye, pouting in her chair while I was signing documents.

"I think you're a little too old to be acting like a toddler, Zyx. You're 27. Grow up."

Her pout only deepened. "Your garrison commander is a monster, you know that?"

"I know that" I smirked. "It's why I keep her on the payroll. Anyways, I'm surprised to see that you were beat. The decorated Agent Mola, caught red handed sneaking into the R&D labs."

"I just wanted to know what you were researching in there! It's not my fault the money trick didn't work on this beast of a woman."

Commander Grant eyed her warily. "Do you… know this insurgent governor?"

I sighed as I signed another paper. "Yes. She's my sister. And she's not an insurgent. Far too incompetent for that."

Zyx pouted again, but her eyes sparkled with a twinkle of mischief. "Correct, least favorite brother! I am a proud member of Imperial Intelligence!"

"I'm your only brother."

"And?"

Grant once again looks to me for affirmation, and again I sigh. "Yes, this toddler of a woman is indeed a decorated agent of Imperial Intelligence. So, Commander, I both ask that you release her, and commend you for your actions. Not only did you capture a spy in our midst(allied though they might be) but you were able to physically subdue a member of MI, which is no small feat."

The Commander preened under the praise, then released Zyx's arm to salute. "You're praising her!? But what about my arm?"

I shrugged, a sense of mirth emanating from Las's memories that I tried to convey. "You tried to bribe her. Frankly speaking, I'm not sure why you thought that would work." As I say this, I grab another document with a sticky note hidden just under it(god I love the R&D team).

"It wasn't meant to be a bribe" she retorted "It was meant to be a distraction. The clinking sound makes people turn their heads away just long enough for me to get by."

I stared at her, contemplating how unimaginably stupid that sounded. Then I laughed. Long and hard, as the frown on her face just deepened. Even Mugwuffin joined in, sounding out little trills from her mandible covered mouth. With Zyx focused on my laughter, I made sure to hide the paper and its sticky note behind Mugwuffins body.

"Ah… haven't had a good laugh like that in months." I got myself under control, before sitting up straighter, right into Business Mode™. "What are you here for, Zyx? I still have over a year before the Commandant comes by to inspect my work."

Her put disappeared, the little sibling act dissipating. A dangerous smirk crossed her face. "Well, dear brother. I wanted to check up on you. See how it is your faring."

"And?"

She hummed. "Better than I thought, though not quite up to mothers standards."

I snorted. Las's memories told me all I needed to know about his mothers 'standards'.

She gave a quick laugh. "Yes, that's what I was thinking as well. We both know that giving you this position was really just a way to get rid of you. The only reason she didn't throw you directly into the infantry-"

"-was because if she did it on Eriadu everyone would know. I get it, it's always a political ploy with her. No need to remind me."

I fix her with a stare. "Now, Zyx. What. Do. You. Want."

"I can't just be visiting my little brother?"

"No."

For a second I think I see a flash of legitimate hurt flash across her face before she schools herself. "Well it's the truth. I had a great deal of leave, and decided to burn some to come and visit."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to."

"Fair enough."

From there, an awkward silence stretches across the room while I continue to sign that document, a few orders written onto the sticky note disguised as me modifying the document for further review.

The only one who seems unaffected by the vibe being off is Mugwuffin, who just paws at me until I give in and toss her one of her treats. BBQ flavored, of course.

And then I can't take it anymore. I refuse to sit in silence with my officers and soldiers watching me be awkward with my not-sister. I stand up, and start walking towards the door, the document folded in half to hide the sticky note on the underside.

"Come on, I'll show you the R&D lab."

She raises an eyebrow "I thought you didn't want me in there?"

"Not only do I have nothing to hide there, but we both know that if MI wanted, I wouldn't be able to hide anything in there anyways"

As she contemplated my words, I turned to the Commander. "You will be accompanying us, to ensure that she doesn't toss bugs or trackers around." As Grant nodded, my mind turned inwards.

While all this banter with Zyx was entertaining, it was driven by Las's memories rather than my own emotions. Like putting on a mask, it was actually pretty easy to just immerse myself in his memories. While my charade wasn't perfect, as attempting to get his emotions right was a little outside of my skill, any differences could be attributed to the eight months apart.

As we exited my office, I stopped by Darna's desk, handing her the paper. She simply affirms with a nod. As I do this, a quick hand motion has Mugwuffin curling herself around Zyx's leg, keeping her attention away from my actions. Just to ensure she didn't look too closely at the document I was passing over.

On a side note, Mugwuffin was strangely easy to train.

Anyways, we pressed on, making our way to the R&D lab. It was a large, squat building, with most of its facilities being underground for safety reasons. It's interior was sterile and white, with clear signage and arrows indicating the various departments.

As we walked through, there were copious stations that held gas masks, fire extinguishers, and emergency releases for doors. This place had been built with safety in mind.

Finally, we reached the section Zyx had been attempting to infiltrate.

"Here we have it." I said, pointing at the weapon. "The RSTT-00. An attempt at a anti-air rail cannon."

She hummed, studying the turret. "And why are you developing this?"

"Because it's actually cheaper to build the spikes for this in system than it is to import the gasses necessary for our AA turrets. The only reason we aren't making some for our defense fleet is because it would be incredibly expensive, and they aren't really effective against larger ships."

"Ah, because of the particle shields I imagine. Still, if made correctly, such a weapon could tear through starfighters."

"Correct. Combine that with the fact that, unlike most weapons, this is not a subsonic weapon, and with some basic targeting software it would be quite the anti air weapon." I responded.

She turned to me with a serious look. "And why are you building this?"

"Honestly? I didn't ask for this to be built. Some of the R&D personnel had some spare parts and were experimenting when this popped up. When they realized the potential for anti air and anti armor applications, they sent it up for my approval. I decided they could go in for limited testing. Not much is being applied to the project, and it's more like a state funded hobby for some of the engineers here more than anything else."

"State funded." She says, quirking an eyebrow. "You use government funds to pay for your R&D team's hobby?"

"Well, to be fair, in attempting to make this whole thing work they've made some discoveries. The miniaturized repulsorlifts that are meant to replace the magnetic rails and give the weapon more power are becoming very energy efficient. We've applied the same technology to our repulsorlift vehicles and weapons. Energy consumption is down 8% across the board."

Humming, she circles the turret, but refrains from touching it due to the Commanders imposing stare.

"Anything else?" She asked, looking back at me.

I refrain from sighing. While I never intended to hide anything around here, it is an earlier reveal than I would have wished. Regardless, I know that not showing her everything is going to bring up some uncomfortable questions down the line.

So, we continue the tour. I take her through the rest of the weapons division, showing off things like the minor improvements made to the E-11 that, while entirely possible for the original manufacturer, would push prices a little further up than the Empire is willing to pay.

We also pass by the armor division, speaking on the attempts to upgrade both standard infantry, police and stormtrooper armor to be better than just a thin piece of plastoid. While infantry and police armor was mostly unchanged save for basic upgrades in durability, there was a new stormtrooper armor still in the design stage. At the current stage, it was still being improved upon and tested, and even then would likely only be given to elites and officers due to costs. Still, its added protection, helmet integrated PDA functions/commands, and a myriad of other toys were of great benefit. Now if only they could make it lighter. And cheaper too. Very costly.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the armor that caught Zyx's attention(though I'm sure it would be reported to her superiors) but the PDA's.

"These devices, they are quite intriguing. Why did you have them made?"

I suppose I should have seen this coming. "Well, I had wanted a way to do what I did on my terminal with a datapad, but datapads lack the functionality. Now, I don't actually have a wireless connection to my terminal, that would be bad for information security, but it has a great deal of uses. After I had one made, I decided that it would be a decent product to sell to the populace. Eventually that expanded to military versions."

"And you didn't think to inform high command of this?"

"Do I look like I can talk to high command? I think all those promotions got to your head."

She pouted again. Again! This is like the fifth time! She's close to thirty and she pouts like a baby. I tell her as much. She pouts even more.

"Pathetic."

More pouting. "I'm going to report this, you know? It'll probably enter production if approved."

Containing my surprise, I turned to her. "You think these would be approved for production?"

"Well, yes. Probably only for officers and elites on the military side, but I don't see why not. You might even get some credit!"

I winced. "I'd…rather not."

The room went silent. Zyx, the Commander, all my guards, even the mouse droids cleaning the floors.

She turned to stare at me, eyes wide. "...What?"

I faced her, took a deep breath, and started explaining my personal ideology for the first time in either life to a bunch of people who had been raised with the idea that pushing for career advancement was the only worthwhile thing to do in the Empire.

"So, my job here is to turn Minda into a decent system within two years or be carted off to the Infantry frontlines to die in some pacification campaign. I don't want that, obviously, so I'm working hard to make the Minda system worthwhile. The problem with all that is that if I improve too many things, or the wrong things, or make too much noise and draw a lot of attention, then I'm going to get the attention of people higher up. I don't want that kind of attention, because it means more work, more danger, all while I just want to spend my time working to improve the system. Being a part of the Imperial bureaucracy, especially at this level, is a cutthroat game of politics more than it is about actually doing your job. I have absolutely zero interest in being a part of that game. I just want to do my job and avoid my death. So no, I don't want the credit. It would bring undue attention to me. Just let one of your bosses take the credit or something, I don't care. So long as it doesn't come crashing down on me it won't matter."

As I witnessed the shock on the faces of both her and the Commander, I sighed. "Ok, just because you don't get it doesn't mean I don't."

I gesture for one of the techs, and a minute later I have a data chip in my hand. I pass it to Zyx, pat her on the back, then look at the Commander.

"Please escort Ms. Mola to her ship, and contact the Captain to ensure she leaves the system without incident."

The Commander seems to salute purely on instinct as I turn away and walk deeper into the lab. I still have some engineers to talk to about new security features I'd like to put into production. Zyx's appearance here scared me more than I've let on. I had to stick my hands in my pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking.

Sure, she didn't threaten me, and it was comical how she was caught, but the fact that she made it that far down was terrifying. If this had been an official mission, and she had official gear? Who knows how far she could've gone.

In the back of my mind, I note down that I should contact the Navy HQ to ask for Captain Veers to be promoted to Commodore. It's odd to have a Captain in charge of a defense flotilla.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! I worked a little harder than usual on this one, solely to try and figure out how to hide stuff from the spy sister. That little thing with the sticky note and paper was an attempt to try out this smart character stuff. I figure that using natural movements to conceal hidden plans, along with things like laughter or a pet alien drawing the attention of his sister so that she doesn't notice his minute movements is something that might work.

And yes, I did name the Creature Mugwuffin. Saw someone's comment to name it Mr. Muffins or something along those lines, and I was thinking of McDonalds at the time and it all sorta combined.

Anyway, as always, comments, feedback, lore and more are wanted!

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 8, 2025

Chp-14: Sisterly Views

Alvi Mola
Lothal, Imperial Factory, Experimental Wing

"It's maneuvering is too slow."

Olrat looks up from his datapad as Alvi steps down from the prototype.

"What?"

"I said, the maneuvering is too slow. This thing is heavy, and that means that its maneuvering thrusters are doing far more work in-atmosphere."

He gives her a pointed look. "This isn't an atmospheric fighter. We're not trying to build the TIE/sk here."

"No" she shot back as she removed her helmet. "We're building a multirole starfighter. Multirole means it should excel everywhere, not just space. Just add it to the list"

The engineer thinks for a second as he marks the issue down on his terminal, navigating his newly updated terminal software. "Could we make the regular thruster larger? That would mitigate the stress."

Bottled water was chugged as Alvi wiped the sweat off her face and shook her head. "That would be expensive, wouldn't it? Also, that thing is already hot enough as it is. Aren't there supposed to be life support systems in there?"

Olrat sighed. "No, not yet. Those come in later. And will take up even more space. At this rate, we'll be stuck with either an oversized or overpriced TIE variant. Neither of which are good for us."

And so they sat there, contemplating and discussing the possible modifications to the prototype. Olrat's engineering expertise and Alvi's piloting skills allowed for a good back and forth problem solving talk.

So engrossed were they in trying to figure out how to get the Defender up to standards, that they failed to notice Grand Admiral Thrawn until he was already upon them.

"Greetings." He said in that signature gravely tone of his. "I see you two are quite enthusiastic about your roles."

The two quickly stood and saluted. ""Yes Sir!"".

"Good…now, what's wrong with the prototype?"

Olrat and Alvi shared a look, a silent battle of the eyes to determine who would have the displeasure of reporting bad news to the big boss. Alvi seemed to lose that battle.

"The maneuvering thrusters are too weak in the atmosphere to accomplish the necessary turning speeds. The only ways we've been able to theoretically solve the problem is either with maneuvering flaps in the s-foils, which will increase mechanical complexity and make the pieces even less compatible with other TIE lines, or increase the size of the thrusters themselves. None of the solutions we've come up with will allow the prototype to stay cheap enough to be a viable replacement for the basic TIE. Sir."

Thrawn humms. It's a distinctly dangerous sound, and everyone around him, from Olrat to Thrawn's own aides seem to break out into a sweat. As if they were all suddenly aware that there was a rancor in the room, and any sudden movement might seem them dead.

"The project has been turned in a…different direction. These fighters will no longer be replacements to the standard TIE line, and are to be relegated solely to ace pilots and other elites. Cost is now less of an obstacle."

Olrat's eyes seemed to shine, and as he and Alvi looked at one another, pure glee in their eyes.

"If that's the case, sir, then we have various alternative designs that are feasible that we could show you right now, if you wish."

The Chiss man quirked an eyebrow, but gestured for the engineer to continue. Olrat activated his terminal and navigated through his myriad files before settling on a few. Before he could continue, the Grand Admiral spoke up. "What kind of program is this?"

Olrat was speechless for a second. "Umm…it's a program Alvi gave me, sir. I ran it through an independent machine, and there were no viruses. It's just a good organizational program, sir."

Thrawn turned to Alvi, who felt incredibly exposed now that she was in the spotlight. "I-its a program my older sister sent me. Said that it was the only thing she could share about my brother's developments over holonet. I don't have a use for it, but I figured Olrat would."

"Have a copy prepared for me before the day's end. Now continue."

Olrat startled. "O-oh, yes, understood. Of the TIE variants we've concocted, the current Defender is the most easily constructible and fits the best within the parameters of the goals we're attempting to accomplish. While variants like the Seeker, Protector and Destroyer are more than possible, they are more specialized instead of being more multi-role like you asked. The Seeker is a more armed Interceptor, the Protector is a multi-role that's too large for it to fit in most TIE docking spaces, and the Destroyer is a purely heavy fighter that is too slow for the project parameters."

"The TRN also comes close to fitting the parameters, but is even more expensive as it requires an astromech droid and custom underslung laser cannons. Its smaller s-foils means increased durability, but at a steeper credit cost due to extra durasteel and a small generator to maintain power output.

"The closest we have is the TIE-X, which has a small enough frame, shields, hyperdrive, life support, increased maneuverability and firepower, and many of its internals are interchangeable with the rest of the TIE line. The problem is that it's theorized that the production of such a TIE would cost around 400,000 credits minimum, 100,000 more than the current Defender estimates."

Another humm. Another tense room. "Produce working prototypes of each of these. Theoreticals are not representative of reality. We will see how these ships truly fare."

And with that, Thrawn turned and left without ceremony. His mind was filled with possibility. Even if the multi-role fighter plan didn't work out, these variants had great potential for future use. And that program. It looked incredibly efficient.

A note was made in the back of his mind to look into Alvi's family further.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zyx Mola
Muunilinst System, HWK-290 Humble Darkness

She sat in the small communal space aboard her ship while it was being refueled, going over the things she had gotten from her trip to Minda.

Unfortunately, precious little had been brought back with her. That monster of a garrison commander had kept Zyx on her toes the entire time, leaving her unable to snatch any little bits or bobs from the labs.

What she had kept, however, was a recorder stashed in the lining of her pants. As she fished it out, she contemplated what she would do with it. That rant Las had made at the end of her visit intrigued her. It was so…like him, and yet at the same time not at all.

Las was no genius, that's for certain. Not like the rest of the family. He had jumped from subject to subject, hobby to hobby. After the initial success wore off, he would realize he had no natural talent in it and would drop it. So him actually putting in the work was not something she had seriously considered before now.

And it was actual hard work. None of the stations or terminals she had sliced indicated any outside help. Not a single odd cargo manifest. Not only that, but if he was naturally talented or had some secret backer, his eyes would not have bags like they did, nor would his office be filled with files and actual, physical paperwork instead of luxuries and niceties abound.

His little meltdown helped shed some light on him. The fear of death in the Infantry had led him to actually work hard in his new duties because he had no choice. As he got better and worked harder, he came to understand both his position and that he actually enjoyed his job. But then he realized that his now enjoyable position was in jeopardy because of the timeline mother dearest had given him. It made sense, in a way.

It also helped explain why he was acting so cold. Her being there must have seemed like one of mothers ploys. And considering his newfound love of his job, he saw her as a threat to that.

Doesn't make it hurt any less.

Regardless, she had to report this. All agents had to report what they got up to in their spare time. Price of the job and all.

Finally, she managed to get the recorder free. She would have words with the designer who made it such a tight fit.

However, when she tried to activate it, it didn't work. Multiple times, she tried to activate it, to no avail.

Then she remembered. When she was being escorted into the labs, she, like all the members of the party, was scanned by a trooper with an odd, paddle shaped device. It was apparently meant to check for explosives and possible contaminants. Instead, it was likely meant to quietly fry communication and recording devices.

She smiled. Las must have sent word ahead. The paper! He had gotten out of her chair with a document in hand, and it had been folded. He didn't have it in the elevator, so he must've given it to his secretary. It probably contained instructions that were sent to the labs before they got there.

Zyx smirked. Her little brother was growing up. Though she would have to pay him back for this someday. Just not today.

For today, she decided not to report his little rant.

Couldn't hurt.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Shorter chapter here, just cause I felt like I needed to keep writing so I churned this out. Was planning a third POV section from Las but it's past midnight and my ear hurts for some reason so I decided to toss it out like this. Next alt POV will prolly be the oldest sister. Gotta complete the trifecta, after all.

As always, feedback and commentary is appreciated.

Also, since I forgot to do this, I want to extend credit to all the amazing artists over on ArtStation who's designs I keep yoinking. I know that by linking the website proper I don't actually have to do this, but I felt like it anyways. The stuff over there is legitimately incredible. My dreams of drawing spaceships are currently in the 'boxes slapped together' stage, so I admire the time and skill it must've taken for the folks over there to get where they are today.

And of course, fan designs you want to toss my way are welcome. Just remember to credit the artist(s).

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 9, 2025

Chp-15: Plans and Parental Slander!

It had been a few months since Zyx had stopped by, and things had been going fairly well. Infrastructure was blooming, the population was steadily increasing. Cities were being designed for walkability and public transport in mind. Most buildings were multiple stories, with the first two to three being ground level businesses, and the rest being a mix between office space and apartments.

The new neighborhoods in Accordia, for example, were built around community center complexes. These centers held the local police building, clinics, emergency services, and raid shelter. They also had large parks surrounding them. Around these centers stood many businesses. Branching out from these central areas, much like the Nexus and Sub-Nexus cities, were smaller parks. Usually containing a security center with a few officers and a park, these were the more residential areas. The larger centers were where the metro accessways were.

Other cities across Ugea were adopting this method as well, and combined with the intra/intercontinental railways that had finished, ship and speeder use was down massively, clearing up the skies and allowing people to more freely walk the roads. In fact, much of the speeder and cargo traffic that happened occurred underground. A series of roads had been built above the subway during construction that allowed resources to be delivered across the city, and for larger cargo speeders to move without the restraint of the city. Many buildings across the city had access to this area for restocking, such as warehouses.

Through the center of the city ran a large river called the Midnight Accord. The latter part of the name is obvious, but the former isn't. Unless you see the river at night. It is, undeniably, my favorite sight. Due to certain mineral formations, the many rocks that make up the riverbed reflect only a mixture of purples and whites, creating a scene like the midnight sky.

Situated within this river, dead center of the city, is the capitol island. It was about the size of Roosevelt Island, and it held the Mindan Militia Academy, the Capitol Building, the Imperial Garrison HQ, the Communications Center, along with a private government-only spaceport.

The capitol building had undergone renovations once again, because apparently according to just about all my staff, it has to be the tallest building in the city, bar none.

Complete bullshit, but I won't complain. The view is killer.

Unfortunately I could enjoy neither the view nor my newly redecorated office(but with star wars baubles instead of classical sculptures and the like) because of the messages I have to send.

Mugwuffin rubbed her head against my leg, somehow sensing my growing dread.

Sighing, I reached down to pet her.

"Don't worry, buddy. I got it handled. Just hate to have to call up the Sector Moff for this."

Because that was what I was doing. The message was half-written on my terminal, a request for an investigation into the increased pirate and marauder attacks on my system.

While the listening tech that was found on the relay was yet to be tracked, it was suspected that it was a listening post for a criminal syndicate. At first I had suspected the Crimson Dawn, but just like the last time, their involvement was likely minimal at best. The Mindan Raid had been a resource operation and with its failure Lady Qi'ra was unlikely to attempt a follow up in the same sector, much less the same system. The Dawn was still in the early stages of reforming itself and couldn't afford Imperial attention.

While other organizations could have done it, this is off. The pykes would've just started smuggling spice, the Hutts would've tried to negotiate since they have a working relationship with the Empire, and the Black Sun… ok, I have no idea what they would do. Don't know much about them.

I quickly called up Darna. "Darna, could you please have a dossier made about the Black Sun, please?"

"Yes sir"

"Thank you, Darna"

"No problem, sir"

As I release the intercom, I make note to check when Darna last got a raise. She puts up with my shit all the time and never seems fazed. Should also look into her birthday. Don't want to seem like a bad boss.

Anyways, the chances of this being a major cartel are low. So chances are it's some kind of pirate sovereign. You know the type. They show up, calling themselves some sort of pirate king or whatever, rally a bunch of ne'er do wells together to do some raiding, get their ass killed then the whole thing devolves immediately afterwards.

It would explain a great deal. A smarter pirate sovereign who decided to slowly encroach on a system. Instead of a massive invasion that would most certainly get the sector fleet called, by tapping comms they could coordinate smaller, quicker attacks. Less likely to get killed or caught.

Smart. Too smart for my liking.

Which was why I was sending a message to the sector capital asking for an investigation to be launched. Sweeps of the system had revealed no bases, so the culprit likely originated from outside the system.

As the message was sent, I sighed and sat back, Mugwuffin jumping into my lap and curling up against me like an oversized cat.

"Huh… yeah buddy. They'll probably deny my request. Wouldn't be surprised if this pirate king or whatever was funded by another governor. Can't catch a break."

She purred as I scratched her chin.

Why couldn't life always be this chill?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shal Mola
Abrion Sector, Imperial Navy Exclusion Zone, Scarif System Orbit, Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer Heavy Judgement

As Captain Shal Mola sat in her office, she bounced a small black rubber ball imprinted with the Imperial Crest on its side against the wall.

She had been told by a comms officer that an MI agent had wished to speak with her about something over a private holo-call. After a quick check of codes, there was only one possible person who could've called.

"Heyyyyy! How're you doing big sis!"

"Hello Zyx." She said, "Why are you calling? You know I'm in an exclusion zone. To make this call must've taken quite the effort on your part."

Zyx pouted like she wasn't twenty-seven years of age. It was a habit she had picked up since she was young, and it never truly wore off. Or it was just her acting. With Zyx, you could never truly tell what was real and what wasn't.

"Everyones saying that lately! 'What do you want Zyx? Why are you here? What's the mission?' Can't I just be a girl wanting to call her siblings!"

"No"

The pout intensified, making Shal sigh. Zyx had been an enigma for a long time now. The little sister she once knew was now hidden under layers of deception and trickery.

"Just…what is it, Zyx?"

Zyx composed herself. "Fine. I paid a little visit to our dear brother."

An eyebrow was raised. "Las? He was put out in the Bright Jewel Oversector correct? Myto sector I believe."

Her sister nodded. "Yup. The Minda system is where he governs. Thing is, he's doing quite the good job. Much better than anyone expected."

Shal chewed on the inside of her lip. Her relationship with her youngest sibling was…distant, to say the least. They were born nearly a decade apart, and by the time he was able to walk and talk she was already being trained. They had seen precious little of each other, and when they had finally met for his entrance into the Eriadu Academy, he had not recognized her. At all.

Still, he was her little brother, and their lack of connection was one of her few regrets in life, along with not standing up to her mother more often, and not learning how to cook.

Zyx continued, either not noticing or, more likely, not caring about Shal's silence.

"The system's population is nearing 400,000 people, double the initial. His capital city is clean, efficient and prosperous. There are multiple mining outposts, a large asteroid refinery, and ship refit/repair/scrap yard, and a well sized defense fleet. On top of all that, he's got an R&D department!"

Shal processed the information. An improving system, asteroid mining, shipyards, and more. If Zyx was to be believed, then her little brother was actually succeeding. In fact, he was surpassing mothers expectations by quite a large margin.

"It hasn't even been a year, yet he's already done this much. Why is he moving so fast?"

Zyx looked her dead in the eyes, and Shal understood.

Mother.

Commandant Mola was a harsh taskmaster, who expected greater and greater things from her children. For Shal, it took her becoming not just an ISD captain, but one assigned to a top secret exclusion zone like Scarif. For Zyx, joining MI was the only way for her to escape, by becoming part of an organization that their Mother could never touch. Alvi was just barely out of her grasp, having been pushed to be not just top ten of her class, and one of the best of the pilot program, but to become an ace. Only once she was flying a TIE interceptor and not the basic version was she satisfied.

But with Las, it was different. Las had been raised primarily by their father in his earlier years, in a different estate on Eriadu. He only met his mother and sisters sparingly, and so once he was part of the academy and fully under mothers gaze, he was not used to the pressure.

She remembered hearing the reports of disorderly conduct, insubordination, and more. It was a mess. While her and her sisters had grown used to the pressure, he had not.

Finally, it led to this. Exile, a death sentence in all but name. If he wasn't killed by pirates or rebels, then when he inevitably failed he would be sent to the frontlines. A way for their mother to rid the family of a stain on its banner. Though she never said these things out loud, nor did she ever voice her expectations, there was a cadence to her tone. The subtle way her eyes raked over you, as if analyzing every atom.

Only when she was proud did her gaze feel less intense. It was what drew them all to push themselves.

Of course, now that Shal was away from her, she had cooled. Her heart still burned with ambition, but it was now driven less by her mother and more by her own wishes.

Thing is, Las didn't know that he had most likely exceeded their mothers expectations. She had likely not expected anything, and if he truly has made Minda into a successful system, then she will lack the political capital to get him tossed away. So long as Minda becomes valuable to the sector, then Moff Tarry won't toss him aside, no matter the favors promised. Mother, for all her grandeur, is still only a Commandant.

"So" she said, "He's pushing because he fears mother, and has yet to realize that at this point she can't do anything?"

"Something along those lines. He's also got some scary subordinates! His garrison commander caught me sneaking into the R&D labs and broke my arm! Super fast."

"Caught you?" Shal laughed. "Aren't you supposed to be the superspy of the family? How can you go around getting caught by a mere commander?"

"You don't understand! She was terrifying! Not only that, but Las has gotten trickier too! He snuck orders ahead to have me scanned before leaving, but instead of actually scanning me they just pretended and instead their machines wiped my hidden recorders!"

Shal just kept laughing, and Zyx kept pouting. But behind the laughter there were thoughts flowing around her head. What has changed? Did the fear of death truly push Las to these heights? And when would his paranoia come crashing down around him? She wasn't anywhere close enough to protect him if that happened.

Her and Zyx continued their conversation, swapping stories(that weren't classified) and speaking about Las's system. It was quite sophisticated, and Shal wished she could visit it one day.

Once Zyx left, Shal stood to go back to the bridge, only to wince as she lost control and the rubber ball smacked her in the back of the head.

Before she could complain, her comm bead blinked and she knew she was needed.

Duty never ended out here.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Sorry for the late chapter. I was stuck on where and how to move the story forward. The only other story that I am writing is an original project that has a more episodic feel to its adventures rather than the more stationary arcs that are found here. Also, I haven't been able to play any games since my pc got turned to ash in the Eaton fire, and my macbook can't run Vampire Survivors without overheating.

Why is this relevant? Well, aside from missing my games(monster hunter, my beloved!), a friend of the family gifted us an Xbox 1 and a Nintendo switch that their kids don't use. While my brother has done nothing but play Dead by Daylight like the sweatswamp try-hard that he is, I had the time of my life yesterday with Tears of the Kingdom. It was only when I saw the clock that I realized that I hadn't written shit all day. So again, apologies.

Aside from that, this is more of an intermediate chapter, so not much going on. Felt like I should've introduced Shal in the last chapter but forgot to. Also, while mummy dearest will get her POV section, that's for the future. I'm trying to set up some real family drama, and I think I'll get more out of it if I hold onto the Commandants perspective for now.

And like always, feedback, comments, and more are appreciated. I have had a blast reading through your guys' comments, and love your suggestions. Also, I have been fiending over ArtStation. The shit they got over there is incredible, and you'll notice that I use just about all of my new ships and shit from there. Any recommendations from there or other sites for fan-designed ships, weapons, armor, cities, and more are welcome.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 10, 2025

Chp-16: Plots and Plans

The attacks were getting worse.

Just an hour ago, one of the security stations was attacked. The stations were small facilities that dotted the system. They contained a small amount of personnel and each managed around four Gat-18 Imperial Blastboats that patrolled the areas around them. The blast boats had been a more recent addition, as they were perfect for monitoring lower traffic areas and responding to threats faster than the larger corvettes and frigates of the defence fleet could.

Except at about two in the morning capitol time, I woke up because Mugwuffin was pawing at my face to answer my PDA. That cat-thing is smart. Suspiciously so.

And now here I was, in the main conference room of the capitol building, which I had named the Imperial Tower, because it was the center of the local imperial government, and because it's a tower. Very creative, I know. I miss name generators man.

I sat down in a chair next to the holo-table, wearing a nice warm robe over my pajamas while sipping on a mug of a locally made hot chocolate type drink as Commodore Veers and Commander Grant spoke about the incident.

"They've been getting far too brazen. This must end!" said Veers, annoyance written across her face. "They attacked not some miners or mercenaries, but one of ours!"

"If only I could get my hands on them, maybe I could wring out some information from their putrid lips!" snarled the Commander.

Her eyes lit up. "What if we capture a crew, and have them executed publicly! That would send a message, wouldn't it? Then they would fear us more than they envy our prosperity!"

"Yeah, no." I sip from my cup as the two look at me.

"No executions. I haven't spent all this time and effort uplifting this system just to dive straight into some warlord type shit by holding a public execution. Instead, we're going to play this smart."

I point at the Commodore. "How organized do these attacks seem to you?"

She considered my question for a second before her eyes light up in realization. "Far too organized. Not on the level of professionals, no…but more than the average disparate pirates and raiders. You believe someone is leading them, sir?"

I take another sip. Good stuff, little on the bitter side. Gotta ask Darna for more sugar next time. "I suspect it, yes. Some flavor of pirate monarch. They pop up occasionally, right? Someone with a modicum more smarts and charisma gathers a bunch of lowlifes and convinces them that they can raid and pillage all they want so long as they listen. Never last long, of course, because they shatter as soon as the leader dies."

I take another sip. "Unless we're talking about the Nihil, who lasted a good while. Still got their shit kicked in by the High Republic eventually but they certainly lasted longer than most. Regardless, chances are that someone is leading a bunch of pirates around the sector raiding and the like. I've gotten reports confirming that other systems in the sector have been under attack as well. I also sent a request to the sector fleet to investigate, but have yet to receive a response."

Veers winces, a look of annoyance crossing her face. I look at her with a raised eyebrow, sipping on my drink.

"...permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted." Long sip. I should see if I can nationalize the chocolate business..

"The Admiral of the sector fleet, Admiral Wasti, is…incompetent at best. He is ambitious, but lacks the willpower or the skill of cunning necessary to climb the ladder farther than his family name allowed. He embarrassed himself during a pacification campaign in a different Oversector and was thrown here as a result. It's likely he intends to allow the threat to fester until he believes it worthy of his attention, after which he will take action and all the credit for himself."

"Ah." My fist clenches around my mug tighter than usual, before Mugwuffin lays her head on my lap. Petting her, I calm down.

"Okay. So, we're on our own for the foreseeable future. No backup, pirate king running around. What're our options?"

Commander Grant steps up. "I believe that interrogation will allow us to gain access to information that will lead us to the enemy, sir!"

Commodore Veers nods. "We'll attempt to capture enemy craft more often, see if we can grab some captains and the like."

"Good. Get what you can from the captives. They are bound to have a homebase somewhere. Also, while we're at it, we need an upgrade to the defense fleet in the meanwhile. Commodore, send me a list of what you think we need, split into the categories of preferred, possible, and necessary. I'll see what I can do from there. "

I make my way towards the exit. "Anyways, I'm dead on my feet, so I'll see you two in a few hours."

Behind me, I can hear them sending out orders and coordinating with each other about plans of action and the like.

By the time I reach my room, I can't be bothered to care. As I pass out on my bed, Mugwuffin using my legs as a pillow, I can only think of one thing.

Tomorrow's problems for tomorrow's me.
------------------------------------------------

Past me was a massive prick. And not in a good way. In a bad way.

Because here I am, in my office, looking at the list of ships that Veers had sent in. It was…extensive to say the least. At least she kept to the categories.

Preferred:

3 Imperial II-Class Star Destroyers
- 2 Lancer-Class Frigates per ISD
- 2 Gladiator-Class Star Destroyers per ISD
3 Interdictor-Class Cruisers
- 2 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruisers per Interdictor

Possible

3 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruisers
- 2 Lancer-Class Frigates per Vindicator
2 Gladiator-Class Star Destroyers

Necessary

1 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruiser
- 3 Lancer-Class Frigates

God damn. She wanted a fuckin fleet.

After looking the list over, and sighing in exasperation more times than I think is healthy, I make a decision. Or half of one, at least.

The Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer was the only one on this list that I was convinced was actually viable here. While the Vindicator was a good ship, it was more geared towards brawling rather than towards anti-piracy. Same with the ISDs, not to mention that getting an Interdictor would be basically impossible considering the fact that they're fairly new. Surprised she didn't just ask for the fucking ExecutorI. Cool name though. Very badass. If only its owner wasn't such a massive ass.

Gladiators, on the other hand, were much better for that. They had longer range capabilities, meaning that they could lock down entire systems for up to two years with the supplies they had. All things considered, they had the best chance to combat the pirate threat by simultaneously having good firepower, large hangar capacity, and long range. They're versatility also meant that it would be viable for system defense even after this whole debacle was over. It might even allow for an attempt on the jungle hellhole that is Minda 2.

Now, I just had to choose what other ships would fit into this anti-pirate flotilla. The system defense fleet would have to stay behind, it was already stretched thin dealing with the myriad of pirate attacks, so I would need a versatile flotilla that could center around a Gladiator, but also not get Imperial High Command on my ass for buying a shit ton of capital ships and the like.

As I was considering how to burn my hard earned tax credits(my soul weeps) I received a ding on my terminal.

Seems like Veers was right. On my terminal is a curt and professional message from Admiral Wasti that more or less just told me to fuck off and get gud.

Even Mugwuffin was growling, and she didn't even know he existed.

Putting the fleet list to the side, I instead sent a quick request for further explanation and support, then pulled up the dossier Darna had made for me about the Black Sun.

Sure, they probably weren't involved, but it would be an interesting read.

Not like I have anything else to do.

(I have so much work I want to die)
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Admiral Geral Wasti
Dubrillion System, Dubrillion Orbit, Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer Crushing Blow

As Wasti looked out over a map of the sector, he smiled.

The increased level of pirates had been an unexpected windfall for him. They were concentrated in the southwestern and western portions of the sector, and therefore could be mostly ignored for now. He had the fleet occasionally destroy some pirates to keep up the illusion that he was doing anything, but really he was just waiting. Biding his time.

The pirate threat was growing. Sooner or later the sewer scum would congregate in one way or another, and his fleet would be ready. A swift, decisive victory that would boost his career, and put him squarely back on the path to achieving greatness.

He turned to his side, looking at his terminal. An automated message from the Moffs office thanking him for his gift of exotic wines told him all he needed to know. That Moff Tarry was either too drunk, too lazy, or too sleepy to respond himself.

Good.

So long as the fat slob was happy, he would ignore Geral's actions, if he even knew pirates were about at all. Moff Tarry had utterly failed the political game before the Empire even came into existence, and was lucky he got the position of Moff at all.

Hell, the only reason some of these star systems were still bothering to pay taxes was because Geral still had control of the fleet. It was proof that Tarry did not deserve his position.

If the pirate threat got big enough, and Tarry failed to respond, it would be up to the great Admiral Wasti to save the day. It would be proof of Tarrys incompetence and could get him a great deal of fame and political sway.

He might even get to replace Tarry as Moff!

The ideas excited him so much, he didn't notice the little black rubber ball he accidently kicked until it was too late.

His mood was ruined by the black eye it gave him, and the embarrassing journey to the med bay.

When he was Moff, rubber balls were banned!
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi there folks! Good news! I finally got my shit together and made a real plan. Evey chapter before this had basically been me flying by the seat of my pants and hoping to god it would all work out. But now, I have an actual plan! I drew a timeline of events and characters and twists and everything for this arc, which I'm calling the Pirate King Arc(no relation to one piece). Obviously, I won't be revealing the plans for this arc, but suffice to say that this chapter was a big set up chapter for the rest of the arc.

Another thing. I'm sure you mega nerds noticed the fleet list I smacked into the middle of the chapter. And the fact that I didn't finish fleshing out the fleet. That's because I'm going to do the lazy thing and foist that responsibility onto you schmucks! It's currently 9:30 PM here in forest fire filled Los Angeles and when I wake up tomorrow and 8 for some grand ol community college I expect to have a veritable cornucopia of answers to sift through instead of paying attention in class. Please keep in mind that the budget Las is working with is around 40 Mil after buying the Gladiator. Fan designs are welcome.

As always, feedback, commentary, and the like are my crack. Speaking of, Roey over on QQ commented twice on my last chapter with great advice and a very useful educational video that not only pushed me to purposefully plan out the whole arc, but has motivated me to do better with my writing. So, sincerely, thank you.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 11, 2025

Chp-17: Plotting and Brokies

The final flotilla choices had been made. While a Vindicator was a great option(and cheaper) it ended up being the kind of choice that could bring attention.

The bad kind of attention.

Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruisers are anti-capital ship supports. They flank ISD's and have more than enough firepower to chew through enemy capital ships in small groups.

A Gladiator, on the other hand, is more lightly armed and built more for expeditions and scouting. Considering the jungle hell planet I have in the system, it's a decent choice that might raise some eyebrows but ultimately I doubted it would cause that big a ruckus. Even if it was the more heavily armored and upgraded Gladiator-II. Not that much better, but more armor, hangar space, and ion cannons is always welcome.

As for the total fleet, it went something like this.

Gladiator-II-Class Star Destroyer(50 Mil, already bought)
4 Tartan-Class Patrol Cruisers(16.8 Mil)
2 Arquitens-Class Light Cruisers(8 Mil)
2 Quasar Fire-Class Cruiser-Carriers(3.5 Mil)
10 Imperial Gozanti-Class Cruisers(2 Mil)

For a total of 30,300,000 credits, it was under the allotted budget for sure. However, it also fits the populace constraint. While the TIE pilots were a dime a dozen and shelled out to whoever had the credits to buy the TIE's, the ships had to be crewed by local forces. The combined crew of this fleet, not counting boarding troops, was 2,355.

The biggest expense was the Gladiator, not just because of its price but because I had to get the Sector Moff to approve its purchase, as it is considered a Star Destroyer and is therefore a little larger than I'd like. So, I had to send an extra 16mil down the drain as 'incentive' to allow the purchase to go through. What a waste. It also created a larger paper trail that I could only hope didn't bite me in the ass one day.

Mugwuffin gives me a look. "Shut up! I'm an adult. I can lie to myself all I want!" She huffs, as if saying "Sure" sarcastically, and goes back to sleep. Smug alien cat. Shouda left you in that cage.

In terms of naval personnel, that was a lot for a system like this, especially considering that most of them were tied up in the defense fleet. While some people were poached for the new anti-pirate fleet, most of the personnel were right out of the militia academy.

That meant it was time for training. A lot of training. Thankfully, the pirates were wonderful enough to give us plenty of target practice.

I watched the reports stream in about the new crews taking on pirate forces throughout the system. No losses, plenty of experience.

Of course, when Commodore Veers called, I could tell how happy she was to be in command of a Star Destroyer, even if it was a Gladiator and not something like a Victory or Imperial. Then again, I doubt she would be truly fulfilled until she sat in the captain's chair of a Star Dreadnought or something like that.

I am surrounded by giddy psychos. I'd pray for God to help me, but if he exists then he for sure put me here. Rat bastard.

While the new fleet most certainly helped lower the pirate presence in Minda, I had been getting reports of nearby systems being practically flooded by pirates.

Which was why I was drafting a series of messages to these nearby systems governors. I normally wouldn't have cared at all for them, but we faced a common enemy and I'd rather not do this all by myself. So long as the burden isn't totally mine, I'll be fine.

With that said, the messages were sent to my two neighboring systems. Those being Clok and Edin.

Clok was the closest, and used to be just like Minda. Small population agricultural community. The biggest thing was this Old Republic Era refueling station in orbit of the only planet in the system.

Since I had started improving Minda, Clok had been one of the main thoroughfares that our trade fleet and various merchants made use of. Because of this, Clok had seen some improvements. The station had been modernized and somewhat expanded to service more and larger ships. The extra income from this allowed Clok to start more industries planet side. While their population was still only around 150k, they were doing well for themselves.

Edin was different. That system was kind of the worst, and the biggest suspect location of the Pirate King. Edin was a fairly sized system with four planets and a half-dozen moons between them, along with a small asteroid belt. Only one planet was habitable, but it was a hive of piracy. The Empire had little control save for a few cities, with the rest being independent farmers and criminal holdouts. There was also an old asteroid base that was now a pirate holdout by the name of Belt Haven, massive thrusters that had been attached to the thing allowed it to move around the system and escape detection, not that anyone ever bothered to root them out.

Whoever controlled that station most certainly had a deal going with Edin's governor, and was probably where the Pirate King was hiding or recruiting from. Regardless, I couldn't send the new flotilla in to go turn them to paste. That would get the governor up in arms, and then other governors might get scared that I'm encroaching, and then the Sector Moff is going to have to get involved and no one wants that.

Hell, the only reason I was sending a message to Edin was to be able to say that I did so if things ever went bad. Proof of the message having been sent was great to have on my side in case of any complaints. It's not like the messages even hinted that I had a flotilla, and instead were requests to meet for a discussion on anti-piracy policies and measures.

The thing I was most interested in were the reports that Commander Grant was sending me. She had been for the past few weeks training up a small squad for the purposes of infiltration. These people weren't just locals, but some had been mercenaries at some points in their lives. They understood the rough and tumble nature of criminal life, and could more easily hide away amongst the pirate scum.

And it was time to send them out. A light freighter had been bought from the scrapyard after some merchant wanted to get it out of the way. It was slightly refitted for more pirate related activities, but the rust was made to stay there. They would use it as cover for them to infiltrate the Belt Haven as some down on their luck mercenaries, looking for work. Hopefully, they would be able to discreetly look for the Pirate King and find out what's going on. If possible, an infiltration of the Pirate Kings home base is warranted.

Hopefully the training they received would help them through this.

It's around this time that I receive a call from Commander Grant, as I pull her up on my PDA I hold back my wince at seeing the blood she has yet to remove from her face.

"Before we begin, Commander, please remember to wear a face mask and other protective gear when interrogating prisoners. If that blood got in your mouth or eyes it could cause serious problems."

She looks surprised at my statement, but quickly follows up. "Understood sir. I'm familiar with how different arteries work in a number of species so I had predict blood splatter fairly well, but I was not aware of this pirate's irregular veins due to being cybernetically enhanced. I will endeavor to be safer and more hygienic in my future interrogations."

"Thank you, Commander. Now, what is it that you called me for?"

Her eyes lit up a little. "Well, after interrogating a number of prisoners, we have gathered data on this so-called "Pirate King". It is not a single individual but instead a couple. The husband and wife due go by the names of Grax and Shurie, the two apparently rarely make an appearance. The bigger news is that they are not stationed at Belt Haven. They make use of an old refitted LucreHulk as their base of operations."

I humm, petting Mugwuffin as I contemplate this. "It's perfect. Large cargo hold, droid workforce, and it's mobile. Beefy enough to hold out until the hyperdrives are charged."

"I was thinking the same, sir. I don't believe that we have the forces to destroy such a ship, even with the new flotilla that just arrived."

"You are correct. And it's unlikely that Admiral Wasti will do anything until he feels he will gain the most credit for it. Do we know where the ship is?"

"No sir" she responded with a wince, "They hide in dark space, and only the captains of a few carriers know the coordinates. They pick up the other pirates and fly them out there for meetings and splitting the rewards"

Sighing, I press down on the intercom button. "Darna, can you have a cup of hot cocoa made for me? Oh, and see if we can't get a small machine and the supplies to make it in my office."

"Of course, sir. Anything else?"

"No, thank you Darna, you're the best."

Turning back to the Commander, I give my orders. "Have the infiltrators attempt to gain access to one of these pirate crews, or at least seem to make a name for themselves. We can feed them cargo and make it look like they have been successfully raiding, that's bound to catch the attention of the recruiters. Just…don't make it too obvious. We want them to be faces in the crowd who can slip away unnoticed, not champions of the pirate cause."

"Understood sir. I'll contact the Commodore and get the plan underway. I'll make sure they're equipped and trained properly, sir. But…before I go, sir, I wished to ask how the other part of the plan is going. If it's not to forward of me, sir."

I let out a light chuckle. "Don't worry, Commander. I trust you, and you are one of my closest advisors. You shouldn't fear asking me questions if you think it's important. Also, the plan is going well."

She seemed to perk up at that. Basic trust goes a long way in the Empire, apparently. "Thank you sir, I'll complete my mission."

"Of course, Commander. I trust you will do your best. Good day"

She saluted, and the call went off just as Darna walked in with my hot cocoa.

Sweet ambrosia. My only anchor in this world.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kay Loyu
Fath Sector, Wistril System, Wistril City

Kay was bored. All the decent bounties in Wistril had dried up. Which was unusual, to say the least. Wistril was a den of smugglers and criminals, there should be plenty of juicy contracts, but nope.

There were plenty of bounties abound, make no mistake. Problem was, Kay ran a cadre of bounty hunters. It was her, her brother Kai, and her sister Kel. The three of them needed bigger bounties to provide for the three of them.

And so they sat there, in a small bar hidden under a bridge, sipping on drinks at a corner table and talking about their next move.

"There are no bounties within three systems of here. What the kriff is going on?" said Kai in an irritated voice. His black hair hung low when he wasn't wearing his helmet, and his gaunt cheeks made him look almost malnourished, no matter how much he ate.

"Relax, Kai, I'm sure it'll work out. After all, we're Mandolorian bounty hunters! Someone is always going to want our skillset" She responded.

"Or our beskar" voiced Kel. The oldest of the three, and the leader of their little gang, Kel was tall. Like, 6'6 tall. Without the armor. With it, she was easily 6'10. Her terrifying presence was accompanied by her muscular body and high cheekbones. Her hair was different from Kay and Kai's. They both sported black hair, but due to a rare genetic defect, Kel had been born with bone white hair. It contrasted her dark skin in a striking manner, making her all the more imposing.

"We need more stable work" continued Kel. "The kind that doesn't toss us out when all's said and done, nor the type that turns on us for the metal on our backs."

Kai scoffs. "You won't find a place like that on this side of the galaxy. The Imps want it all to themselves, the Rebels can't pay decent wages and are always yapping about the 'doing the right thing' and everyone else wants to sell the beskar back to the Imps. The only one of use that manages to do this job well is Fett, and he wasn't even raised Mandalorian!"

"Calm yourself," said Kel

Before she could continue, Kay jumped in. "Yeah, calm down, cause I got us something!"

The two of them looked at her like she was crazy. Despite that, she marched on.

"Yeah, so, with all the pirates moving, I decided to see where they're moving to. And I found out that in the Myto Sector there is a Pirate King of sorts gathering and raiding everywhere over there. Apparently the Sector Fleet isn't doing anything, so the governors are desperate. That means that they would want to pay us more than kill us, right?"

Kel seemed to consider it, before nodding. "You are correct. While it is not permanent employment, the governors of that region would likely be desperate for assistance with the threat. Chances are they will not betray us, as we hold a higher chance of ending the threat. Good job, Kay.

Kay preened. She was usually just the best shot of the group, but it was nice to be the planner for once.

As they finished their drinks, they put on their helmets and made their way back to the ship.

Payday, here comes the Loyu family. Say your goodbyes.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Plot is finally moving, and I get to introduce some Mandos for the first time, huh? While I originally planned for Mandos to play a bigger part in a separate story that will be made after this one is finished, since I want to actually finish this story rather than leave it an unfinished mess like most fanfic authors, I decided to add them in since it makes sense for plot reasons.

Also, freighter_factory is where I got that ship design, and holy shit do they make some incredible stuff. Looks and feels like a real ship that could exist in-universe.

As always, feedback and comments are appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 12, 2025

Chp-18: Various Interludes 2

Koran Bulgo
Edin System, Belt Haven, Duros Dugout

Koran sipped on his drink, a mediocre attempt at one of the newer Mindan brandies that was far too sour, and tried not to show how nervous he was. He and his five other crewmates had just finished selling the cargo they had 'stolen' from the Minda system.

It was a ploy, and a risky one at that. The idea being that if they could pull that off, they might be invited to the Pirate Sovereigns ship.

And so, here they were, taking small sips of low alcohol drinks hoping they would be approached. The crew were scattered around the bar, sitting in their own corners trying to gather information.

Belt Haven was trashy, to say the least. It was a wonder the place somehow managed not to fall apart under the weight of its poor construction and shoddy repairs. Every level held countless small alleyways and hideyholes. It somehow manages to have a homeless population.

It was the most stressful mission he had ever been on, and he'd worked for the Crimson Dawn back in their heyday. Admittedly, he hadn't been more than a low level merc, so there wasn't much to compare to, but still.

He stroked one of his chin horns, well groomed as was Weequay practice. While there were others of his kind in the bar, none sent pheromones his way, and so he did the same.

It was as he was reading about the Edin governors latest speech, lie filled lothcat dung about unity and the like, he heard some footsteps approaching him.

Turning off his PDA, which had been purposely scuffed to maintain cover, he turned to meet the new arrivals. This was the moment, the roll of the dice that determined whether he would be invited to the new pirate hierarchy or if he was about to get killed for outdoing some raider scum.

"You the new guys?" said the leader in a dry voice. He was a well built, and quite tall Nikto. His reptilian skin was scarred around the mouth, where a breathing apparatus was attached. Koran noted the small patch sewn into the bandana around his neck. The image of a human skull with two crowns sitting atop it.

"That depends" drawled Koran, quirking a brow at him "Who's asking?".

The man sat across from him. "Vulite, agent for The Crowns, that's who."

"Who are they?"

Vulite seemed taken aback for a second, before a low, raspy chuckle reverberated through his throat. "You new here?"

"Got into the sector just a week ago, found some luck in Minda and heard that this was the place to sell"

"Mmm…Minda is a gold mine recently. Lotta ore, lotta merchants. Lotta mercs too. You got anything good?"

Koran hummed. "Sold pretty good. Coulda gotten more, but the crew was antsy for a real drink and, like you said, lotta mercs. You here for something?"

"A deal. An offer, if you will. The Crowns are growing, and we need all the raiders we can get. Rewards are split between all members, but the more you take the bigger your bonus."

Koran raised an eyebrow. "We've been here all of a few days, and your already offering a job? Seems…rushed. And rushed jobs are bad jobs."

"Hah! I like you. But no, the jobs are not rushed. This isn't an offer as much as it's a…interview of sorts. Your crew did well, but not well enough to get a day one offer. Keep up the good work, and we'll see if you have a place in The Crowns."

"Nice to know y'all have standards, at least." He replied. "Hope we make a good impression."

"At this rate, we'll be seeing each other real soon." As the Nikto stood up and made for the door, Koran sent a discrete message to his team through a hidden button on his suit. The team knew that meant to get to the ship without drawing attention.

They had their foot in the door. Now it was time to slip in.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Darna Sabrir
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia

As Darna was packing up for the day, tossing her PDA and thermos into her bag, she thought over the past few months. Ever since the Governors rant about slavery nearly a year ago now, a debate had raged within her. It had only grown throughout her time here.

The Rebellion.

She'd left because the risk to her life was not worth the miniscule difference she felt she was making. All the raids, attacks, sabotage, and propaganda, yet the Imperial machine kept on moving.

And yet, she still held sympathy. How could she not, after all she had seen and experienced. But despite that, she was hesitant to engage with her old friends in orbit. Multiple times she had been invited to go back to the orbital yard, but every time she had made an excuse.

She didn't want to face Sid, knowing that she couldn't support her. Minda had become home, and the Empire here didn't feel like the Empire she knew. When the flags weren't up, it felt like the stories that she had heard about the High Republic. A place of prosperity and peace.

It was with thoughts like these that she made her way towards the Governor's office, to tell him goodnight and ask him if he needed anything.

As she knocked on the door, a faint "come in" was heard. Entering, she saw Governor Mola at his desk going over paperwork, a cup of his favorite hot cocoa cooling on his desk. Mugwuffin was asleep on her tree shaped bed just behind him, but popped an eye open as she entered, as though scanning her, judging her.

Mugwuffin could be scary sometimes.

The Governor himself looked dead tired. Bags under his eyes, he had been working a lot of overtime due to the recent pirate attacks. Mining companies had begun to complain about the constant pirate attacks, especially since the new promised anti-pirate flotilla was slowed down. It had been slated to arrive a week ago, but an incident with a series of faulty fuses in the Gladiator meant that when it arrived in Muunilinst, it was put directly into a dock and would be delayed by another week.

Looking up, he greeted her. "Hey, Darna, what is it?"

"Late, sir. It's late. You should go to bed, like I am."

He looked at her with confusion, before looking out his window and realizing the time. He shot an accusing glare at Mugwuffin.

"Why didn't you tell me the time?"

A light purr.

"That's no excuse."

The creature trills.

"Oh, so you want me to drop dead of exhaustion."

A yip.

"You know that means no more BBQ treats, right?"

Mugwuffin immediately jumps down from her little bed tree and grabs the Governors sleeve, tugging him towards the door.

"Oh, so NOW you care. What a rat."

As he seemingly bickers with an animal, Darna can't help but be reminded of her own conviction. Of why she worked here. She wasn't here for the Rebellion, nor the Empire, not even for the Governor, no matter how good a boss he was.

She was here to find a home. Accordia, no, Minda, was that home. And she would protect it from whoever sought to bring chaos.

It was with that thought in her mind that she said goodbye and left for her quarters, a million half baked plans running through her mind, slowly but surely being pieced together.

Minda would stand strong. She was sure of it. Because she would ensure it.

No matter what.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kel Loyu
Muunilinst System, Muunilinst Orbital Dockyards

The Muunilinst Dockyards were large. Not as large as Fondor or Kuat, but larger than most. It was a testament to the Muun's economic power that they were able to afford dockyards like this all the way in the outer rim.

She looked out from the window of her ship as Kai docked in the refueling station. Kay was dressed in plainclothes, ready to go out and pay for the fuel while they stayed inside. Someone had to keep an eye on their beskar, and Kay was the most personable of the three, best suited to interactions. She negotiated most of their contracts, actually. Very persuasive.

So Kel stood there, on the bridge with Kai in the pilot's seat, facing out of the hangar they were docked in. The shipyards stretched in front of them, large disconnect platforms with so many ships flying between them they looked like they were tied together with ropes.

"You sure about this plan, Kel?"

"...No."

He looked up at her, the question clear in his eyes.

She refrained from letting out a sigh. For all that she tried to be honest with them about the state of affairs, she rarely showed her own weakness. They looked up to her, and she could not allow them to believe that she wasn't ready.

"While I am not sure of the course we are taking, it is the only one that has presented itself to us. We have few other choices, and while it's a long shot, it's better than taking no shot."

"So we're just flying blind, huh?"

"Everything is going to be okay. I'll make sure of it." She said.

Kai looked at her again, this time with a sadness in his eyes that she didn't quite understand.

Before he could say anything, Kay came barging in, excitedly waving her hands.

She bounced up and down, sending her short curls flying as she pointed out of the cockpit window.

"Look, look! It's huge!"

As they both turned, both Kel and Kai's eyes widened. Engines burning upwards and away from the dockyard was a massive, six hundred meter Gladiator-II-Class Star Destroyer. The beast of a ship was escorted by almost twenty other ships of varying shapes and sizes.

An Imperial Flotilla.

Kay continued to speak, either not noticing or not caring about her siblings' shocked states.

"I talked to the dock workers, apparently that fleet is heading for Minda! That's where all the pirate attacks are happening!"

"Flotilla, not fleet" Kai corrected automatically.

"Whatever, it's still awesome! If Minda needs that kind of firepower, then there has to be plenty of work, right?"

Smiling as she slipped into the co-pilot's seat, Kel was feeling good. A bounty rich system was perfect for them. Might even be able to snag some longer term contracts.

Life might be going in their direction after all.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Saw some people saying that Las's POV was good, but lacked a lot of interaction or interest. Considering that he won't be leaving the office for most of the story, since it's where he does his work, I decided that expanding on alternate characters would help flesh things out.

And for those degens over on QQ, yes, I did want to include a muscle mommy, for I am a man of culture. The Adeptus Sororitas vibe was unintentional, I just like white hair.

Also, wanted to know whether or not it's worth it to continue to post on Sufficient Velocity, and instead just stick to SpaceBattles and Questionable Questing. I rely on reader commentary to improve my writing, understand the lore better, and in general guide the story in a way I find interesting. I don't get more than 4-5 comments on a chapter over on SV, and I'm not sure if it's worth it to post there. Let me know what you think.

As always, feedback and commentary are appreciated.

Thank you for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 14, 2025

Chp-19: Family Time!(violence edition)

Gortaz Bullhorn
Minda System, ZH-40 Tribune-Class Light Freighter Godly Greed

The times were good! Profits were up, and for all that Minda was a prickly fruit of a star system, it was a sweet one as well.

He swiveled around the gunner's turret, looking for the target. As members of The Crowns, the crew he was a part of, the Golden Eyes, were sent to intercept some miners in a far off claim.

"Ships entering sensor range, ratheads! Get yer eyes and guns ready!"

Gortaz hollered into the comms alongside the rest of the crew when he heard the captain get on the mic. He activated the gunnery station, and swiveled the turret in the indicated direction.

The Godly Greed throttled its engines, burning for the miners' positions. Three undefended ships, two miners and one cargo. This would be easy, since the miners would most likely abandon the cargo. All the better for him.

As he opened fire with the ion cannons, he imagined what he would do with his upcoming share. Maybe there was a fine woman aboard the ship, ey? Might take her.

He just shook his head instead, throwing away the fantasies.The Captain got first right, and the seconds she left behind weren't even sloppy, they were just disgusting.

His Captain was an ugly woman, and he'd met his mother, so she had developed a complex of sorts. Was real rough with the newest slaves. Had a…thing… for breaking new slaves in personally.

Not his preferred method, he just wanted a hole and a face. But who was he to judge? Gortaz is a pirate, not a prude.

He's shaken from his thoughts as the ship shakes. Not the normal shakes, from turbulence and fast turns. No, he turns his guns up as a new ship flies into range, firing ion blasts in his direction.

"What the!? Enemy ship! Shoot it down!" He screams into the comms, opening fire as the ship launches ion torpedoes. At this range, he manages to hit one on accident, before the remaining two slam into the hull.

He holds down on the trigger to no avail, cursing as the gunnery system shuts down around him. This thing is barely held together as it is, he's lucky it didn't snap and send him flying into the void.

As he struggles with the emergency release straps, cursing all the way about the many colorful things he'd like to do to the enemy ship, a thump resounds from outside the turret ball.

Looking up, the only thing he saw was the vast expanse of space, and the helmeted head of a Mandolorian.

Oh kriff.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kai Loyu
Minda System, RD-800 StarSkipper Basilisk Hound

Having deposited his two more martially inclined sisters on the hull of the enemy ship, Kai turned the Basilisk Hound away towards the Miners. They had been contracted to deal with any pirates in the claim by the small company, and the only reason he hadn't blasted that Tribune out of the sky was because the Mindan government had put out a call for captured pirate ships.

They could end this job with a little more scratch than before. If the ship was good enough, however, they could get some tax cuts in their mercenary dealings while in the system. The Guild was doing well by them, if nothing else.

As he neared the miners, he commed them. "This is Captain Loyu of the Basilisk Hound. You should have gotten notice of our presence in the area, as we were contracted by Drillers United for protection detail around these parts. You folks ok?"

"Yes, thank you." Sounded a voice from the other end, static filling the channel. "We seem to have taken some damage to the comms of our freighter, so we'll be heading back. Could we bother you for an escort?"

Kai shook his head, despite knowing they couldn't see him. "We alerted the authorities as soon as we spotted them. Our shift is over, but the next crew should be here in a minute or so, they have more ships so they'll escort you out"

"Ah, thank you. Have a nice day then." Phew, thankfully, they didn't insist.

"You too," replied Kai, already tired of this conversation. Small talk. The one part of this job that he doesn't like.

As he turns back towards the pirate ship, he connects to his sister's channel.

There is naught but blaster fire, the constant screaming of both Kay and the pirates, and the quiet sighs of Kel.

He turns the channel off.

The pay better be good.
—--------------------------------

An unnecessarily copious amount of blood covered the inside of the pirate ship. And Kel. A fact she did not voice, due to Kay's current…predicament. Stuck, trying to pry her busted weapon from a Twi'leks skull.

She had decided that, for this job, she wanted to go all melee. A club covered with rotating blades, some hellish thing she had conjured up from a scrapheap a few planets back.

It had done the job, killing its targets effectively. It just so happened to effectively splatter said targets over everyone and thing in the vicinity.

That's why Kel was wiping her visor as she walked over to the cockpit, double tapping every corpse she saw along the way. The Nal Hutta job taught her that.

Tossing the pilot's corpse aside, she sat down and started the reboot sequence. It only took a few seconds for the generator to come online, after which she made contact with Kai.

"Everything good on your end?"

"...Yeah."

She gave a little smile under her helmet. "Had to talk to people?"

"...Yeah."

Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she held back her chuckle. "You'll get the hang of it. Regardless, for all that I like Minda, I'm not sure we'll be staying here for long.

He latched onto the new topic with enthusiasm. Well, Kai's version of enthusiasm. "Unfortunate. The Guild is quite a nice system. Though, we might want to slow down. This will be our tenth captured ship after being in system for just two weeks. Don't want to make a splash."

Kel hummed. He wasn't wrong, but still…"This pirate craze won't last long. Either Minda falls and the number of good contracts goes down, or the pirates are taken care of and the same thing happens. With this ship turn in system, we can milk this area for all we can get, then leave."

"...I suppose. You're the boss, anyways."

She repressed a sigh. Their team wasn't perfect, but they were family. They'd make it through this rough patch, like all the others.

As she turned the pirate ship to align with Ugea, she could only hope to one day not fear for her family again.

Only, later that day, when they left the Guild after completing their bounty and turning in the ship they captured, did they get a surprise. The Guild Girl at the desk told them they had an appointment in the Imperial Tower.

As Kai looked at her with a smug face, she sorely wished they didn't have to hide their armor on the ship, so she could hide her grimace.

Not one smooth job, huh?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was piloting my L-99 into Ugean atmosphere, Commodore Veers sitting in the copilot's seat as she taught me how to fly. Finding out that she actually knew how to pilot on a professional level was impressive, as most Navy officers don't bother learning more than the basics. What's the point, when you're going to be giving commands to the pilots instead of sitting in their seats.

It also kinda scared me. Just another point towards her being ambitious as hell. The drive of this woman was insane, and I could only hope that I didn't end up in her path one day.

For now though, she was my flight instructor. And a good one at that. Very calm and understanding. Though that's probably because I'm her boss.

"Now" she said, "hit the comms button and signal Ugean Traffic Control"

I started to tilt my head before - "Without looking" - I tilt my head back down and cautiously lift my hand.

Feeling around the buttons, I settle on one.

"That's the headlights"

I shift my hand slightly.

"Flares"

Odd position for flares.

"Ejection seat"

God awful placement, I should get a refund.

"Correct"

Pressing the button, a bored voice filters in through the comms.

"This is Ugean Traffic Control. Please state your name, ship type and reason for visit."

"My name is Las Mola, my ship is an Incom L-99 Executive Transport, and I'm returning to work"

"Understood. Your transponder checks out with Imperial codes. You're free to land on the Islands pad. Good day governor."

Huh. They maintained that bored tone the entire time, even after finding out I was the governor. Good man. Should get him a raise for being so impartial.

It was as I was making the descent that my personal PDA rang with a notification. It was a Priority 1 ping, which meant that it was important, and I should pick up immediately.

Shifting control over to the Commodore, I get out of the pilot's seat, and move towards the cabin proper while I respond to the ping.

Sitting down in the luxury seats, I look through the info, reading through a few small messages before getting to the big one. I then toss the PDA onto the coffee table, and pour myself a mug of hot cocoa. It is the only time I regret not having alcohol here, even though I never drink.

"Are you ok, sir?" Veers calls back.

"I'm fine. Just more work." I respond, though internally I know that she will be thrilled. All the more opportunities to move up the chain.

A small family of Mandolorians were found doing merc work in the system. While their beskar was technically forfeit by Imperial law, I didn't care much. I would probably still hire them for the job I had in mind.

Then came the last message, the actually important part. The infiltration team had succeeded in gaining access to The Crowns Lucrehulk, a ship called The Duet's Dominion, and had been able to slice a panel, gaining access to their internal files(pirates have shit cybersecurity). Apparently they somehow managed to get the whole exterior painted gold.

Probably because of their backers. The fuckers known as the Zann Consortium. I never played Empire At War, on account of the fact that I was born a year before it was released, but I had done my fair share of wiki diving. They were a smuggling ring of sorts, with their leader being fucking insane enough to hijack Old Man Palpies personal Star Dreadnought, then just give it back. They also don't operate on this side of the galaxy. In fact, none of the major crime syndicates operate much on this side of the galaxy. Yet Tyber Zann and his people decided to expand.

By funding the fucking Crowns.
?
Can't have shit!
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there, folks! Sorry for the late chapter, but today was the last day of PCC's winter semester so I was taking a final. Of course, the spring semester starts next monday, but that's what I get for not talking to a counselor at the start of college and wasting two and a half semesters on useless classes.

Now, to address some things I have seen in the comments, because I read all of them. It's a hobby now. Anyway, I saw that some of you had an interesting discussion about the morality of torture over on QQ. Riveting stuff, I assure you, but I'll clarify some things since my writing failed to do so.

In the scene where Las gets on video call with Kaela, and he holds back a wince at her appearance, then suggests better torture hygiene? That's not him wincing at her being dirty, that's him wincing because he has once again been reminded that his top Army officer is insane.

Does that mean he cares about the person who got tortured? No. To Las, he only cares that Kaela is both capable, willing, and downright eager to torture people. It scares him, which is in line with the fact that he is driven almost entirely by fear. The only reason he hasn't run yet is because he fears being tracked down and killed.

Regardless, it's not as if he can't feel sympathy or empathy. He can, for sure. I am not writing a sociopath. But again, he doesn't care for the person that Kaela messed up. To him, that person barely exists, as the only evidence of their existence to him is the blood on Kaela's face. He has seen no video, heard no screams, hell, he never even saw a bodybag.

To top it all off, it was a pirate. A person actively working in such a way as to make his life harder, therefore increasing his chances of dying. If he had spared it any more than a passing thought, he would have dismissed it as a benefit to his chances of survival, which to him are priority No. 1.

With that finished, I got a question for y'all. While it's still a ways away, since the Pirate Arc is still in it's beginning stages, I want to know what kinds of natives you want to see on Minda 2. I have yet to decide, so any submissions for culture, appearance, unique traits/artifacts/abilities are all the more likely to be taken into consideration.

And finally, while I have been using this site for around a year now, maybe a bit less, this story is my first time posting. Ever. Never even commented before this, or liked either. So any information on how the site works, tips and tricks, and patience when I inevitably make mistakes is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 15, 2025

Chp-20: Intimidation?

Kel Loyu
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Island, Imperial Tower

She was nervous. The most nervous that she had been in a long time. An Imperial Governor was asking to see them? Bad news.

The only reason she was there was because some guards had shown up to escort them. They had taken a transport, and while she was confident that they could have fought their way out, two things stopped her.

The first was the AA guns that she could see out the window. While their design was different than she was used to, there was no doubt that an attempted escape would result in their deaths.

The second was that they had been called for a job offer. A lucrative job offer. The kind that could set you up for a long time. Kay and Kai had been amenable to it, the former more than the latter. Kay wanted a big bang of a job, while Kai, cautious as he was, knew that denying a governor would mean that the cash cow that was Minda would be forever closed to them.

Of course, they did have an escape plan. They each had hidden weapons on them at all times, enclosed in specially made internal pockets that could resist most scanners. If push came to shove, they had the power to fight back.

Now, they were standing in the waiting room, as the receptionist, a sharp eyed teal skinned Twi'lek checked their ID and appointment status. A few seconds later, they were ushered through.

The first thing Kel noticed about the office was it's size. It's walls were covered with filing cabinets, and the floors were bereft of any carpets. There were no paintings, statues, or any kind of extravagance. The closest was a small side table with what looked like a coffee machine, but the scent was far sweeter. Most likely that local chocolate drink that Kay liked so much.

Behind the desk was a tall structure covered in a carpet of sorts, like the one on the Basilisk Hound's. It looked not unlike a tree, with platforms attached at odd intervals.

The desk itself was a simple thing. White with gray accents, it held a terminal, cup of cocoa, and a small miniature replica of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

It was what was behind the desk that was important. Governor Las Mola. A man of about 5'11, pale skin, brown hair and eyes, early twenties. He did not hold himself as if he held power. The way he sat conveyed a distinct fatigue, and yet it was not his stance that conveyed his power. It was the whole ensemble.

The simple room accentuated nothing but the large window behind him, showing off not just the entire city, but the horizon peaking in the gap between the surrounding mountains. Just below was the entire Imperial Island, holding on it the Garrison, Imperial Spaceport, Milita Academy, Guild HQ, and more. Combined with the four guards flanking the sides of the room in their strange yet familiar armor, carrying large weapons, it was a subliminal statement of his power and control. That, no matter what, the Loyu family was in his territory, and there was nothing they could do about it.

So, when he spoke, she nearly flinched despite his tired yet polite tone.

"Ah, hello there. You are the…"he checks his terminal for a second, and she feels sweat break out across her face "Loyu family, yes? Mercenary tag is 'Starforged Wardens?'

They tensely nod.

He nods back. "Good name." Internal sighs of relief.

"Now, I feel like I have to broach this subject before we continue, so I'll just say it. We're offering an acknowledgement program for beskar. Do good work for us, and we don't take it, and you get a Remit that allows you to own your beskar officially. The Empire has enough already, so we can get away with leaving yours alone. In the Minda system, that is. Can't guarantee anything outside of the system."

As soon as he said beskar, the three of them started to move, their hands about to fly towards the hidden weapons in their jackets. It would be tough, but they could get out of this, though they would be worse off for sure.

But their hands never moved more than half an inch. Before even the exosuited guards noticed their movements, a creature walked around from behind the desk. While it seemed completely nonchalant, simply hopping up on it's little recreational tree, the three siblings knew.

They couldn't move. As it started at them with one eye half open, they were physically incapable of moving. No matter how much Kel's muscles screamed, she couldn't budge.

And the governor spoke on, as if nothing was happening, Kel understood. The entire setup was to make them understand that this was a deal they could not refuse. And so, she relaxed, and as her siblings followed her lead with scared and confused eyes, the creature closed it's own, and she felt the control slip.

"We'll do it" she said as soon as she could physically speak.

The governor blinked in obviously feigned confusion. "I…didn't even finish the offer. Before you jump the gun, let me explain it, please."

"Doesn't matter" she said, shaking her head "We'll do it."

"...Ok…I'm still going to explain it."

He pulled something up on his terminal while muttering, probably planning his next steps. He then turned the terminals screen towards them and gestured for them to approach.

They did so, each step feeling to Kel as if she was stepping closer and closer to the open maw of a Krayt dragon.

Pointing to the images on the screen, he continued. "These are three of the lieutenants of The Crowns, the pirate gang that's terrorizing the sector. They have the largest outstanding bounties of the entire documented gang, with all the bounties coming from outside the sector. Your job will be to capture these three alive for interrogation. Upon capture, you will be rewarded with all three bounties, alongside an extra rewardd and the Remits. Total value overall with come up to about 900,000 credits."
He then passed her a data shard, which she took with the utmost care. "This contains our networks most recent movement data for your targets. Are there any questions."

None of them dared speak, so they just shook their heads, a tense, almost robotic motion.

"Ah, great. Happy hunting, folks. Try not to die, and all that."

With that, they turned around and left, escorted by the four massive guards to the elevator, after which they were escorted by Stormtroopers until the spaceport.

Only once they were back on their ship, and flying out of the atmosphere, did the three share a sigh of relief.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the door closed behind the Mando's, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been quite scared that entire time. Who wouldn't? Three Mandalorians, even without their armor and weapons, are a terrifying foe. I'm just glad they didn't notice the exosuit my guards were wearing are prototypes, and nowhere near ready for actual combat. They were there solely for the intimidation factor so they wouldn't gut me like a fish the second I said 'beskar'.

Speaking of intimidation, I'm confused on what went so well. I mean, even with the armor and all, they, at best, should have been discouraged from starting something. But they were stiff. As if I was holding a knife to their children's throats or something. It was odd. Very odd.

Ultimately, it was useless to think about, because I had bigger plans. The Crown's base is old. And big. Old and big enough that there's no way that they would know how to service that whole thing on their own. That meant that there had to be engineers coming in from the Consortium. And, given the whole royalty motif, I doubt the leaders of The Crowns like being at the mercy of the Consortium.

That means an opportunity for deeper infiltrators. Once our current team gets more rep with The Crowns, we can plant a second team. The first team will introduce the second as some criminal engineers looking for work. The Crowns will accept them because they want to rely less on their backers and gain more freedom. And, therefore, given some time, we gain access to The Duet's Dominion's deepest internal systems. Making it far easier to capture or destroy. Hard to run if your thrusters don't work and the hangar bay doors won't open.

But that was for the future. Right now, the infiltration team was laying low, not drawing attention inside the gang with big jobs or hauls. Waiting for the right moment that our second engineer team is trained and prepped for the job.

Looking over the list of lieutenants I sent the mercs to hunt, I can only hope that they can get the job done. I mean, their mando's so probably, but still. Make no mistake, there were better options. Or, one option. Cad Bane was spotted in the southern end of the sector for some other job, so I probably could've had my people catch up to him and make an offer. Thing is, for all that I could've offered him, I couldn't afford to get in a bidding war. And that's the thing with Bane, he doesn't keep his word as a merc. If the enemy offers more, and I can't compete, he's switching sides faster then Mugwuffin runs when I say BBQ.

She perks up from her napping spot, and I sigh. Fucking space cats.

Regardless, Bane isn't trustworthy, and kinda the worst. Boba Fett is more likely to keep his side of the agreement, but he's in Hutt space last I checked, and I want nothing to do with that. So, random Mando merc family it is. They look competent enough, at least.

Turning back to my terminal, I switch over to the newest set of plans being put into place. Even with the pirate menace hurting trade, business is still booming. As more and more Imperial Mining Facilities are set up, so did the capacity for more industry. And out here, there was a perfect industry to target that could benefit Minda and make a profit off of every other governor.

TIE fighters.

They were cheap, weak, and all but useless for most things other than swarm tactics. Except, out here, pilots aren't as easy to come by.

So, the plan was to start up a TIE factory for a modified TIE variant with a hyperdrive, shielding, life support, and the works. Wouldn't be as fast or cheap as a standard TIE, but it would be survivable and still affordable enough to outfit the few Gozanti crews that usually defended most near barren colonies around these parts.

The techs even had some designs made in mere days! Apparently, like the projectile turret that was now actually functional as an AA weapon around Accordia, many of the techs, with all their government mandated off days, had been designing TIE variants for fun and competing with them in simulated AI battles.

I actually watched some of those, it was very fun. Like playing TABS back when I was on Earth. God I miss my PC. And my thousands of dollars of unplayed Steam games.

But, the techs had made some interesting designs. Some were silly, like the TIE mech, while others were actually viable, like the Demolisher, Mangler, and Supremacy. A couple weren't even fighters or bombers, just gunships and transports like the Stingray or the Vigilante.

Now, would this factory be done anytime soon, or the dozens of other factories needed to create an entire supply chain? No. Hell no. Do I want to even start this project? Also no, the paperwork will kill me. But the fact of the matter is that more and more attention is being brought to this system than ever before, regardless of my actions, and things are going to get worse before they get better.

With the long term project of an alternate, outer rim TIE project, at least I have a deep dark hole with which to funnel money and resources into, hopefully reducing the rate of expansion to something more manageable and less attention grabbing. Hopefully.

A TIE variant factory should be enough to satisfy Momma Mola, right? I check Las's memories real quick.

Fuck me, I have a lot of work to do.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Honestly, spent more time surfing ArtStation's bevy of TIE variant concepts than I did writing this chapter.

Really good stuff over there.

Also, before I go, this marks the 20th chapter of this series. As the Arc really starts to kick off after this, I want to ensure more quality. On top of that, my winter semester just ended and my spring semester kicks off next week. Therefore, I won't be posting daily for a week or two, both to get used to my new classes and schedule, and also to create longer, hopefully higher quality chapters. So, don't worry for my health if I don't update in a while. Honestly, I was really only updating daily because I liked seeing my username on the weekly polls SB and SV do for stories, but I've come to realize that not that many people look at those, so It's kinda irrelevant. Also, I don't want to burn out chasing the clout of internet strangers. Not worth it.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 19, 2025

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

Freefaller · Feb 22, 2025

Chp-22: Investigation

Kaela Grant
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Island

The Island was in chaos. Troops were swarming the entire complex, on her orders, and she herself was sitting in the Towers medbay, communicating with the rest of her soldiers through her PDA while she kept watch over the Governor. The governors pet, Mugwuffin, was laid down on the ground by the governor's bacta tank. She had refused to move, and Kaela saw no reason to do so.

The explosive test of the MASA had caused severe damage. In the beginning, it had just seemed like bad luck. The ferrocrete structure that they were watching the test behind just happened to break. In the governor's exact spot. Leaving almost everything else intact or slightly burnt. Just a coincidence, right?

Then the facts started to pile in. Sure, the MASA, like all the other prototypes, was still in the early experimental stages. You could see the welding and exposed wiring. Most lacked even basic features, like the EHMA's and EDCA's being unable to move at the speeds advertised, the HDCA being so heavy it struggled to walk, the MASA lacking internal controls, and a great deal more. These were personal projects, after all, and the prototypes had been developed quickly, for sole use as showpieces and proof of concept. Still months from a fully working version, and years from production in good quality and quantity. And that's assuming the whole department was working on a single one at a time.

The MASA, however, was different. Kinda. While it was roughshod, and the jump jets still had a bevy of problems, the firing mechanism was solid. They were basically the same torpedo tubes you find on TIE bombers, for the sake of simplicity and logistics. Reliable, proven tech. So why did they fail?

Internal security had scoured the data and tapes, and found something. One of the recent hires to the R&D team. Like many of the techs, he had come from the richer core and colony worlds. Places like Coruscant, Corellia, and Kuat. Not for the pay, but for the creative freedom that was promised, and because, like many, the pale man had been practically exiled because of petty power plays and office politics. And, like many of the techs, he seemed to greatly enjoy the freedom given, with special care being put into the MASA. He even worked on it overnight. Thing is, he had called in sick the day of the test. And had failed to pick up his PDA calls.

Her people were hunting him. And when he was found, she would have a long conversation with him about proper work ethic. A bloody conversation.

As she thought about the fate she was to inflict, her eyes caught her reflection in the darkened screen of her PDA. Teeth bared in a furious snarl, eyes dilated into pinpricks, she looked like a beast. A monster. Flashes of old memories lit up in her mind. Of scorn. Of disgust.

Of neglect.

Only the beeping of the bacta tank drew her out of her fugue, and she glanced over at the Governor. The ferrocrete had taken the brunt of the explosion, but not the heat. Burns covered his body extensively. While the bacta would deal with all of the actual injuries and he would turn out perfectly healthy, the scars would forever mar his body. Especially the burns on his face. Covering the left side of his face was a burn that stretched over his eye and left ear, but never reached his hair.

Was it her fault? Logically, no. Emotionally, it felt like it. The defense of Ugea, and by extension the Governor, was her duty. And she failed.

Before she could spiral, her PDA beeped. A message, that all the R&D techs had been assembled and cleared, save for the suspected infiltrator, who they were still hunting. With a single message, she had them brought to her.

First through the door was the Head Engineer, Yop.

"C-Commander, Ma'am. We swear, n-none of us had anythin-"

"Silence"

He obeyed. Her voice was low, but not soft or gentle. Her eyes contained the rage of a beast tempered by the patience of a hunter. A far cry from her usual boisterous state, yet far more terrifying.

"As the second highest officer on the planet at this time, I am afforded emergency powers until the governor recovers. As such, I am effective immediately canceling any and all personal R&D projects for the foreseeable future."

While scared, the various scientists seemed on the verge of complaining. For good reason, to. They had left cushier jobs in the Core for the freedom offered out here, and now they were being told that freedom was to be taken?

Her gaze stopped them in their tracks.

"Failure to properly vet projects before testing, rushing what can only be called the prototypes of prototypes for live exercises, failure to vet personnel. The R&D department has been given a great deal of freedom because the governor believed in your ability to push Minda as a system forward. No longer."

"The main focus will be on the TIE project that is already underway. Any personal projects will not be allowed to enter any stage of production past simulated models. In regards to the armor projects, only the Expeditionary and Mk II trooper armors are to continue background research."

Again, the techs sought to complain, and again, she shut them down.

"For all your technical abilities, you lack the experience needed to understand what is viable on the battlefield. The Expeditionary armor has promise, but not as an individual unit. Instead, its biggest advantage is as a platform. Make the armor and limbs easier to remove and replace. A modular system allows for more practicality and for different kits to be taken on different missions. It might even see success in the civilian sector if done correctly."

Her input seemed to silence them, their scientific minds taking the idea and automatically working them over. Taking this chance, she continued.

"As for the trooper armor, remove the life support and thin the armor panels enough to allow for higher durability than regular armor, but not heavy enough that you can't remove the exoskeleton. For all that your prototype was good, like most of the armors it was over engineered, and the exoskeleton added far too much complexity. Speaking of, the rest of the armors were just that. The defense armor was far too large and bulky, the elite armors were too advanced, and my armor was a massive waste of resources for a single infantry sized unit."

She kept the fact that she still wanted it to herself. This was not the time to complain about her lack of toys. No matter how much she wanted to.

"There will be increased security measures throughout the labs, including full background checks, scans/pat downs during entry/exit and you will no longer be allowed to bring your work home. You can still use your break times to simulate personal projects, but the use of government materials to build said projects is strictly prohibited until the governor is back on his feet, at which point you may petition him for changes to the rules, or present said personal projects for approval."

There was definite grumbling, but the techs acquiesced. With what was likely sabotage having just occurred, restrictions were expected.

"Full cooperation with the investigation is expected. It will be your duty to determine how the MASA prototype failed."

She leaned forward, her tall frame ensuring she was eye level with them even when seated.

"Do not fail. Understood?"

As she spoke, Mugwuffin raised her head, spines straightened and eyes narrowed. A primordial sense of danger permeated the room, and no words were said in response to the Commander. Only frantic nods, none of them nearly confident enough to speak a coherent sentence.

"Good"

As they left, Kaela turned back to her PDA, pulling up the Commodores contact information.

There were preparations to be made, defenses to be reinforced, and people to track.

She would not fail.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sidheth T'vor
Minda System, Ugean Orbit, Forged In Orbit

Sidheth moved with a calm pace through the station, making her way towards the executive office. While she moved like someone with no worries in life, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

The Governor almost died.

Normally, that might be a cause for joy. But as she enters the elevator, she knows that couldn't be farther from the truth.

The current governor of the Minda system, for all that he had bulked up the defense fleet a significant amount, had done nothing against the Rebellion. His laws, reforms and initiatives had brought a relatively large amount of prosperity to the system.

Minda's permanent population had grown from 200k to 500k in a little over a year, with at least another 50k transient population of merchants, traders, mercenaries and commerce convoys that passed through. The average income had risen drastically, and the system as a whole was far richer than before.

Dubrillion had been the premier system of the sector, boasting a population of nearly 30 million, and by far the largest economy of the sector. A few other border worlds held the subsequent positions due to passing trade, while Minda held the position of 7th largest economy/wealthiest system in the sector. Considering it had been at the bottom of the list just over a year ago, it was quite the rise.

A rise the rebellion couldn't use.

For all they spoke of hope, their greatest weapon was the cruelty and incompetence of their enemies. For every city the empire clamped down on, they gained supporters. For every system exploited, they gained a cell. Some cells even incited those atrocities themselves. Disgusting, even if she understood the reasoning.

But Minda lacked that. The Governor here wasn't just competent, he was downright generous. The people of Minda would be very hard pressed to turn, and Sidheth didn't want to turn them. Not that she didn't want more Rebels, but she just didn't believe that the risk was worth it.

And so, she finally entered the office floors. Passing by the variety of workers that managed the bureaucracy of the growing station, she worked her way towards her private elevator, which led to her office.

Forged In Orbit, their company, wasn't a shell company for the Rebellion. It was a fully legal, fully functioning company that actually ended up supplying independents far more than the actual Rebellion. They just ensured that when they scrapped ships for parts, some of the parts other cells needed were deemed overly damaged, and only fit to be sent on the next scrap hauler.

If a container of scrap was lost on the way, who would really bat an eye.

Sitting down at her desk, she began to compose a message for Vilil. On the surface, it was a message to a supplier of industrial tools asking for a shipment of newly needed welders. Which they did actually need. Underneath, it was code. Simply, Governor injured, sabotage, who? A question. She needed to know if this was another cell, like the more radical Partisans. If it was, then their entire operation was in jeopardy, and she couldn't have that.

The Rebellion relied on the parts this station produced, and it's operations could not be jeopardized by some overzealous idiots.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hiya folks. Shorter one today, and a little late. Got caught up reading The Knight Only Lives Today on Comick, cause it's an absolute BANGER of a story.

Anyways, I had an extra POV planned for this chapter, but I figure I'll just toss it in as the opening for the next one.

Spent way too long watching Snatch with friends and complaining about the lack of mechanical and worldbuilding depth in Pokemon games, before realizing I'm yapping about kids games.

Regardless, feedback, comments, yadda yadda, ya know the drill. Though, please, for the love of whatever celestial creature you hold dear, stop the yapping about mechs. It was something I threw in for the sake of plot, but y'all have been arguing the pros/cons for ages. It's real simple. Tanks can do most things mechs do, but are usually fairly slow and can more often struggle in urban/dense environments. Mechs are very mechanically complex, and generally outclassed by tanks, but if built big enough to carry heavy equipment, but small enough to move fairly quickly and low down, they can be used as specialized armored infantry and the like, and excel in urban environments where mobile heavy weapons are needed. This, of course, varies greatly from universe to universe, and situation to situation. Gundam does mechs cause its gundam, and Avatar does mechs because Pandora has got megafauna up the ass, while Battletech does mechs cause the people from that universe are all techno-barbarian scavenger state savages that don't know how to make fucking toasters, and venerate the ancient toaster making factory without knowing how it works. Like the Mechanicus but without the benefit of hyper durable millenia old factories.

Rant aside, thank you all for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 26, 2025

Chp-23: Various Interludes 3

Darna Sabrir
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Tower

They had caught him. The saboteur.

It hadn't been particularly difficult, as he was not an infiltrator, but instead just a greedy techy who let the shine of credits outweigh his sensibilities.

He had almost gotten away, a backup ship already prepared and everything. Thankfully, Darna had contacts.

Many contacts.

She had spent the last few months building up something akin to a spy network of sorts. Friends that she invited over to gain new, calmer, better lives. They were often ex rebels, dissidents and the like who had left that life behind, and were willing to work to keep this little slice of the galaxy peaceful.

While they lacked the ability or power to make any real moves, they did function well as an information collection network. The mood of the people, internal company problems, the criminal underworld. While the web was not as all-encompassing as she wished it was, it let her hear a consistent stream of news on the next actions of the big local corps, unions, and crime groups. It also let her sneak an anonymous tip to the local enforcement squad of a suspicious vehicle.

It doesn't take a genius to realize who's ship it was.

At that very moment, as she continued to send out new orders, manage the day to day bureaucracies that she normally did, and prepare herself a cup of hot chocolate(the governor's love for it had rubbed off on her), the poor saboteur was sitting in a room some floors underground, stuck with the Commander.

His fate was sealed, and Darna didn't care for him in the slightest, but the idea of what might be happening still made her shudder.

The dinging of her terminal alerts her to a new message. Opening up the app, it reveals a report detailing the new influx of pirate attacks, with some sightings of corvette and even frigate sized ships. She frowned. They were getting arrogant. The governor's status had yet to be made public, so they likely assumed he was dead, and Minda weakened.

Then, a thought crossed her mind. The rebellion wouldn't like their newest important outpost to be jeopardized like this, and might see fit to intervene. It would be to their benefit, after all. Save the outpost, save the system, cast doubt on the Empire.

It was with this in mind that she sent an encrypted message through a dozen different towers, bouncing and bouncing the signal so much it would take a comms specialist a week to figure out where it went, much less what it said. At the end of its journey, it landed in Sidheths personal terminal.

It's contents a warning. Stay still, or begone. There would be no rebel interference.

Darna let out a sigh, then sipped her drink. Even the sugar couldn't settle her mind, quell the sadness at having just threatened a good friend of hers.

Unfortunately, it had to be done.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grot Gurr
Dark Space, The Duet's Dominion, Engineering

Gorza was hot as bantha dung walking through the maintenance tunnels, the piping that made up the walls trapping the heat. Sure, he was Esral'sa'Nikto, and so his face fins were doing wonders to regulate the heat, but even then it felt like he was taking a bath in an ISD's main thruster.

Thankfully, his PDA was built for these kinds of environments. It was a specialty model, built to look just like any other commercially available engineer PDAs. It was, however, different. Aside from the better security measures, it was chock full of military spec soft/hardware. Thermal sensors, wiretapping apps, and, most importantly for him, high-performance malware.

Turning down another pipe-filled corridor, Gorza approached the terminal near another one of the main thruster systems. The place had actual patches of rust, and clearly cracked pipes, but no cameras. Plugging his PDA in, he ran the basic diagnostics, and found a load wrong with the ship. Now, the CIS built these things tough, real tough, so the problems, like the fact that only half the cooling systems were working, meant that the ship still had a good while before it went under. Unless, of course, more systems just…didn't work.

And so, Gurr started uploading the virus, the progress bar so slow he wished he hadn't lost that rubber ball in a pipe a few days ago. The virus would ensure that, should the correct code be transmitted, the thrusters would cease to work. Amongst other things. It was one of many viruses that he and his teammates were tossing about the ship. Hell, his sister was working on the hyperdrives, and the team lead was working on the main computer.

He shuddered. All this spy work already made him nervous, he couldn't imagine trying to do this somewhere with a bunch of other techs. Almost makes the heat worth it. Almost.

The scratchy tone of the intercom system startled him from his revelry.

'...th-s…-ing….o-.....ally! Hello, go-d sailors of the mighty Duets Domi-ion! It is I, your benevolent King, Olmil Troddreessa!'

'And I, yo- magnific-nt Queen, Tir Troddreessa! And we come with such wonderful news! Our endeavors have been very successful, and now we can begin to expand! Soon, the neighboring systems will be ours, and after that, the entire sector!'

'Of course, my beautiful wife is correct as always! With the death of the Mindan governor, that pesky system will soon be ours for the taking. And, of course, the Admiral of the sector fleet is as flaky as ever. It won't be long before we can call the Myto Arrow our very own Kingdom!'

As they kept on rambling about their insane ambitions, Grot tuned them out and checked his messages to see if the team lead had heard all that. The small, encrypted reply confirmed this, and he sighed in relief. He couldn't bear to try and actually listen to what these two morons are saying for more than a minute, so he's glad that someone will be really dissecting the speech for clues.

When he turns back to the terminal, he notes the virus's completion is almost finished.

He smiles. Then winces as a rubber ball comes bouncing out of the piping directly into his face.

"How haven't you melted?" he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead.

The ball did not respond.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ife Veers
Minda System, Gladiator-II-Class Star Destroyer Theorem, Imperial Mining Outpost 3-4-A

Ife was not having a good day. Which was odd, as one might be inclined to believe that destroying as many pirates as she had today would be a great thing for someone who wished to advance her career as she did.

The problem lies in the fact that the pirates are getting bolder and stronger, and instead of beating them back, she is desperately defending.

"Approaching outpost 3-4-A, unidentified ships on scanners" sound off a crewmember.

"Ready the ion cannons, deploy the TIE's in standard positions, and send a warning. I want those ships obliterated the second they tell us to kriff off."

Out the viewport, she could see the pirate ships circling the outpost. A larger group than usual, it consisted of a smattering of light freighters and a Consular-class cruiser. For a pirate group, it was large. Compared to her forces?

Nothing.

She could see the minute they heard the order to stand down, their ships already turning to run.

Looking towards Hrax, she raised an eyebrow. The girl checked her PDA, confirmed the status of the ion cannons, then nodded towards her.

"Fire for effect"

"""YES MA"AM"""

Veers watched with a muted sort of glee as the barrage of blue bolts saturated the field of battle. While the freighters dodged and weaved, a veritable wall of blue slammed into the Consular, its shields buckling and its engines going dark.

The TIE fighters pushed into attack formation, focusing down individual freighters like a deadly swarm, chewing through the flimsy second hand armor panels like Mugwuffin chewed through BBQ.

As the remaining pirates escaped towards hyperspace, Ife once again turned towards her second.

"Contact the outpost, check if they're alright. Have a team clear out that cruiser, standard pirate procedure, and once that's finished have the Rationale tow it back to the yards."

"Understood, ma'am." Hrax simply said, already relaying her orders to the rest of the crew.

This had become a standard procedure for the defense flotilla, hunting pirates across the system. The Consular wasn't even the largest ship they had encountered. That honor went to an old republic Hammerhead-Class Cruiser. It was a powerful ship, or, at least, it had been. However the pirates managed to make that thing fly, it clearly wasn't enough, because it took only two barrages to shut the whole thing off.

Now it was permanently landed in Accordia, restored to act as a museum piece as it would be far too expensive to upgrade to modern standards, teaching about the Old Republic from the times of the Great Galactic War. Not much information about the war was available, but it was still a decent attraction, acting as one of the centerpieces of the Mindan Galactic Museum that had been built on the outskirts of Accordia as an attraction.

Now, as the boarding craft approached the Consular, Hrax approached her.

"Commodore, I've just been informed that you have a priority call awaiting you in your office."

"Understood." turning towards the pit officer, he nods, logging the change of command "I relinquish bridge command to you then, Second Officer Hrax. Keep things smooth"

"Yes ma'am"

Hrax saluted, and Ife made her way towards her quarters. While Captains quarters were located in a variety of places depending on the ship, on Star Destroyers of any kind there could be found at least two captains quarters. One was more of a well furnished broom closet of sorts, fit with a single bed, small desk and a kitchenette depending on preference. It was found on the bridge itself, for easy access.

This was not the quarters she was going to. Entering the elevator at the end of the bridge, she makes her way down a floor, walks down the hallway, and enters her room. She finds herself in a decently wide office, a stark black desk taking up the center of the room. She rarely used it, finding more use in the bridge-side office, but it was more secure.

Sitting down, Ife activated the holo center while wondering what could be so important. When Grant pops up in the holo, her face contorted in a mixture of barely contained rage and glee, she knows its serious.

"It's Edin."

The abrupt start confused her for a second. "...what? Who-"

"We caught the saboteur, and its Edins governor who ordered the hit." Spat Kaela, her eyes wild. "Likely connected with the Consortium."

"...You know we won't be able to pin this on him, right?" Ife nearly winced as she spoke, knowing the response. As she did, her hands began to type, a message asking for reinforcements to be sent to the Admiral. It was an order from the governor to send these at a semi-regular rate, if only for there to be evidence when the whole pirate situation eventually exploded.

"WHAT!" Snarled the Commander, snarling so hard that for a second, she thought she saw canines in the woman's mouth. Even over the comms, this woman was distressingly scary. Ife almost stopped typing at that, her hands freezing as her instincts told her to cover her face, while her training told her to keep typing.

She barely kept her hands on the terminal.

"We lack the evidence, as any confession given under torture or duress is suspect at best. The Moff also dislikes having such things brought to him, so he would likely dismiss the case outright."

Grant continues to stew, but eventually controls herself. "When the governor awakens, which should be soon, I'll inform him. The next course of action can be determined later, once the situation has been evaluated."

"Of course. I'll reinforce the Edin-Minda lane in the meanwhile." Almost sighing in relief while she sent the message, she could only be glad for Grant's considerable professionalism. Her ability to refine the beast within was remarkable.

Grant nodded, said her goodbyes, and left. It seemed every conversation with her could go a dozen ways. From the subtle competitiveness of trying to gain the governors favor during personal lessons, to the pleasant times spent actually planning those lessons together on the rare occasion they happened, to the professional exchanges they had just now.

Commander Kaela Grant was a wildcard, but a necessary one at this point in time.

And though Ife would never say it aloud, Kaela was a wildcard she liked.

But only a little.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zyx Mola
Corporate Sector, Etti System, Etti IV

Zyx was, to summarize a story that would take to long to tell, incredibly bored. After she had last been to Minda, she had taken on a few more missions, eventually being sent to a safehouse. Thats the worst part. She was not informed of her next mission, or when it would be, only to stay put and wait.

Thankfully, there was enough supplies around to keep her fed, and she had access to the holonet, so it wasn't a complete bore, but still. No social interaction! She couldn't freak people out with her observation skills, which was the best part of being a spy!

So, she sat there, munching on some snacks as she watched some mediocre Neimodian drama. The characters gasped more realistically when credit coins were dropped down a drain than when their families were killed, but it was still entertaining in an ironic sort of way.

That was when her PDA(she was one of the first to be assigned one. It was great) beeped with a report message. It was the reports she requested be given to her on Minda. She was a decent ways up the totem pole all things considered, especially for an Agent, so she was afforded some niceties. Of which reports on her brothers little governance experiment was going.

Pausing her show, she brought up the report, and sped read it. A useful skill, and one that all M.I agents were taught. Reports were sent in specific codes that, with the aforementioned skills, could be read and understood in mere seconds.

Upon finishing reading, she felt like shooting something. A muted sense of anger and worry pooled in her gut, only held back by her training and the fact that she was half a galaxy away. Anger would do her no good here.

Regardless, her fingers tapped the screen a little too hard when she sent a request to investigate Minda. Her baby bro had almost been killed. She couldn't let that stand!

Of course, the request would likely be denied. But still, she had to try. After that was sent, she had two messages sent to both Shal and Alvi detailing the event.

"Kriffing politics" she ground out, trying not to bite her nails like she did as a child. "Why couldn't we just, not kill each other."

The silence gave no answer.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alvi Mola
Lothal, Imperial Factory

Alvi was not doing the best. As she swerved the Seeker through the air, she knew that the turn wasn't as good as it could have been. Again, she swerved, this time firing a barrage at the pre-set targets. Not bothering to check her hits, she finished the exercise and landed.

Olrat was, unlike every other test flight, not immediately upon her. Instead, he was more reserved, and tense. Why?

That was when she caught sight of the Grand Admiral, and immediately saluted.

"Sir!"

"At ease, Squadron Commander." he said, studying his PDA. "Why were your scores lower this run? Your accuracy fell to 73% from 92%. And your speed was down by 20 kph."

Alvi almost seized up right there, still stuck in her salute. It took a few seconds for her mind to catch up, and when she did, he was looking her in the eyes, an inquisitive gaze unlike any other.

It scared her. Enough that she refused to speak a lie, knowing she would be caught.

"I-its my…brother, sir. Just before the flight, I received a message that he was almost a-assassinated, sir." Her breath caught a bit as she recalled the message. It had been short, and to the point. Zyx only ever wrote like that when things were bad. She much preferred talking around the point, just to annoy people.

Thrawn's eyebrow raised a smidge. "Your brother? The Governor, in the Bright Jewel Oversector?"

"C-correct, sir."

He hummed. "What made him a target?" By then, she had calmed herself, her stutter disappearing as she mentally fell back into her role.

"I don't know for certain, sir. Apparently some weapons testing demonstration went wrong and he was caught in the blast. A saboteur was identified, but I was given no more information."

Thrawn studied her, then made a quick few adjustments on his PDA. Unbeknownst to her, he was ordering a full report on the Minda system, as news about it kept popping up.

"Understood. Take the rest of the day off, Commander. I won't have our best pilot flying with a clouded mind. Center yourself, and return tomorrow with a clearer vision."

She saluted again. "Yes, sir! Thank you sir!"
A Grand Admiral giving her the day off?

Will wonders never cease.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke Skywalker
Tatooine, Mos Eisley, Docking Center

In the decently cooled interior of the repair bay, Luke was guts deep in a pit droid, its brain open for all to see. Despite this, his eyes weren't on the open machinery. They were instead glued to the PDA he had propped up against the wall of the workbench. It was connected to the droid, giving him real-time data on its status as he messed around to see what was wrong. Just as he made the right connection, a voice rumbled throughout the structure.

"Boy, get over here. I have need of you."

"Gotcha boss! Be right there!" Luke yelled back. A few more tweaks, and the droid was up and aware.

"Hey there buddy, all new, huh? Just watch where you're going next time. Your headplate isn't that sturdy anymore, kay?"

The droid beeped a thanks in binary, before darting off. Job done, Luke made his way out of the workshop. Crossing the center of the bay, filled with machinery, bits and bobs, and even a few ships! He loved working on those the most.

As Luke passed through, he greeted some of the other techs that were working. His shift had a good mix of those who were friendly, and those who weren't, but the boss had made it clear that such tomfoolery wouldn't be allowed in the port.

Finally, he reached the end of the bay, entering through the backdoor of the offices. Up the stairs and a few turns later, he was at the executive office.

It was there that he stopped, took off his gloves, and knocked politely. A low, powerful voice spoke out in such a way that his very bones rattled.

"Enter."

And that he did. Closing the door behind him, he took in his Boss. The Gamorrean was large, green skinned and powerful. She also had a cybernetic right eye, and a number of scars across her face.

He dipped his head slightly, as a show of respect. If not for her stature and appearance, her voice would command fear alone. After all, she hadn't contacted him with the intercom, and he had been working on the other side of the bay. That was a good 60 meters or, with all the noise of a bay in the way as well. A testament to her powerful vocal cords. And he was pretty sure it wasn't a Gamorrean thing, she was just built different.

"Boy. You have done well by the port. I was right to hire you."

He couldn't help but grin a bit. With the PDA, he had learned a great deal, and when he fixed up the speeder during a trip into town, the Boss had noticed him, and offered him a chance at employment.

Uncle Owen had been skeptical at first, but after he came back with a solid paycheck, there were no real complaints.

The Boss continued, unaware or uncaring of Luke's reminiscing.

"A merchant has come, in need of repairs. His freighter is a CEC model, easy enough. You will repair it."

A ship! He got to repair a real ship! His eyes sparkled, the excitement palpable.

Boss snorted, her organic eye seeming to smile in place of her mouth. "Calm yourself, young one. It is a test. To see if you have the skills to proceed. Do not fear failure, for this is to see how your skill has improved, not to determine your future here."

He nodded, the small bit of nervousness now gone. Good, his job wasn't possibly in jeopardy.

"The ship is in Docking bay 100. Go, test yourself."

He thanked her, and started speed walking towards his tools.

After a few minutes, he finally made it to the bay in question. In it sat a beauty of a ship, a well maintained Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-2000 light freighter. A limited production run, it was still part of one of the most ubiquitous lines of ships in the galaxy.

Quickly, he made his way over, and immediately began work. The pit droids scanned and checked about while he checked diagnostics on his PDA, hooked up to the nearby terminal.

After identifying the problem, he set about working at it. Ordering the droids about, welding, connecting and disconnecting wires. For all that the ship was well maintained, and for all that it was a CEC production, it had a great deal of signs of overuse and fatigue that were wearing down on it. Not to mention that some of the aftermarket parts were not good for the ship at all.

Luckily, he remembered that the Boss didn't want him improving customers' vehicles without charging extra, so he would wait until the customer returned to tell them about it.

As he was working, time seemed to fly by. Suddenly, it was the middle of the day, and someone was calling out to him.

Extracting himself from the guts of the ship, he looked over to the source of the commotion,

What seemed like the crew of the ship had entered the bay, the captain approaching him.

"Hey there kid. You the techy Boss said, was working on Ol Franz here?"

"Yup!" he replied, keeping his cheer up even as he lowered his hands casually. Of course, he was actually keeping his hands near his knife. If Boss had taught him anything, it was that keeping a weapon on you in this city was a necessity.

The captain looked around the engine, humming to himself. "Looks like a good job, if nothing else. Especially for one so young."

Before Luke could respond the captain continued, noticing the PDA left on the ground where he had been working.

"Ah, that makes a little more sense. One of those can come in real handy."

Luke was startled a little. "You know about PDAs?"

He chuckled. "Course I know about 'em. They were part of my cargo. Sold a bunch on the way here. Got 'em right at the source too. Great pricing up there."

Before he could stop himself, he was already speaking with far too much enthusiasm for a conversation with a stranger. "You know where they're from! Please, you gotta tell me!"

"Hey, relax kid! It ain't no big secret. PDA's are a Minda born tech. That's up in the Myto sector, other side of the galaxy, kid. Oversector Bright Jewel."

Lukes face fell. Bright Jewel was literally on the other side of the galaxy, while he was stuck in the Red Tails oversector. Middle of nowhere.

Noticing his gloom, the captain gave a small chuckle. "Relax kid. With your skills, I'm sure you could get a good job on a larger ship headed that way. Besides, last I was there, the Governor was tossing a bunch of money at their R&D, and was hiring like crazy. Might get a sweet gig if you're up to the challenge."

Luke considered his words as they parted ways. Minda, huh? It wasn't the Academy, like he'd talked about with his friends, but still. An adventure is an adventure, isn't it? And he would love to meet with the people that came up with this.

His resolve seemed to harden in his heart. Minda, the system that might hold the key to his dreams. He just had to get there.

All of the sudden, his wallet just felt a whole lot emptier.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Sorry for the later update, but I kinda overplanned this chapter. I filled it with like half a dozen POVS that I just didn't find another place for. Honestly, I spent more time planning this chapter in class instead of doing my work or writing the damn thing.

Also, there seems to be a great deal of discussion on TIE tanks for some reason? I mean, I know they technically exist but there are better options, not that tanks are needed right now anyways. Kinda weird direction to go in, but I digress. The TIE variants chapter is coming up with the finalized TIE variants, the reasons for their existences, and how much Las had to bribe Seinar officials to get approval for the factories(hint: it's a lot). Also, yes, the R&D pov chapter is on the way. Just gotta get through this arc first, cause we're nearing the end.

Regardless, feedback and commentary on where this story might be headed is always appreciated. Also, I don't crosspost the Omakes, and there is a surprising amount on SB and QQ, with none n SV. I recommend checking them out, because they range from funny little crack stories to actually surprisingly well thought out, especially Roadripper on SB, who makes the majority of Omakes there. Very nice.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 28, 2025

Chp-24: Awakening

There was a soft light that seemed to encompass me. It was…pleasant.

Like falling asleep in the car ride as a child. A sort of peace and security.

But worse. There was a distinct uncomfortable feeling in the back of my mind. But it was spreading. It made it itch under my skin. Then, I couldn't breathe, and I was burning and there was light and sound and-

My eyes snap open, and I immediately start coughing. Something is in my throat and I can't breathe again, but it's different. A muted beeping swam its way through the greenish liquid surrounding me, and it started to drain.

Dropping to the floor of some kind of pod, I rip the tube from inside my mouth. I'm almost nude, only a pair of stark white boxers covering my dignity. As I bring my hand up to the pod window, I notice something. My skin is…warped? As memories flash through my mind, I am reminded of a Vietnam vet who had skin like that. Caught in his own napalm, if I'm correct.

Before I can consider my state of being further, the pod doors slide open. Looking around, I recognize the Tower medbay, its gray walls and rows of beds seeming to stretch into infinity to my blurry eyes.

Another set of beeps, and I recognize the med droid we had installed for the bay. It was a fairly good model, if a few years older than we wanted. All things considered, we probably would've gotten a better one if we just bought it ourselves. Better bacta too.

As I try and get up, the droid grabs me by my arm, stabilizing me.

"Hello sir. It is good to see you awake. Your injuries have been healed in full, but the quality of the bacta available was less than sufficient to fully heal surface injuries. You will need further rest. Please, sit down."

I wanted to argue. I mean, how much paperwork piled up? But, if I knew anything, it's that you don't argue with doctors in times like these.

Sitting down on one of the beds, I seemed to feel a presence of sorts, and just narrowly dodged Mugwuffin pouncing on me from the shadows.

"Woah! What the-Mugwuffin! What did I say about jumping on people?"

Completely ignoring my chastisement, the creature pounced again, succeeding in tackling me into the pillows of the bed. She then proceeded to curl up on my torso, and release some sort of full body purr. Like a massage chair that sits on you. And eats your food.

"Expensive ass cat" I murmur, petting her on the head.

Turning my head, I regard the med droid. "So, doc, what happened?"

"You were admitted two weeks ago with severe burns across your body and multiple broken bones and embedded shrapnel fragments. After the fragments were removed, you were admitted to full body bacta immersion. Unfortunately, due to the subpar quality of the bacta, many scars still remain. Further treatment is medically unnecessary, but bedrest is recommended, as is counseling."

"Huh. Neat. What I meant, was what happened to get me into this state?"

Before the bot could answer, the doors swooshed open. Standing in the doorway was a haggard looking Commander Grant next to a more professional but still tired looking Darna.

"Sir!" exclaimed the Commander, "I'm happy to see you have recovered, but we have a serious problem!"

Before she could continue, I raised my hand, stalling her energetic advance. "Darna" I said, turning to my secretary, "Can you get me-"

A bottle of water was pushed into my hand, and a cup of hot chocolate placed on the bedside table.

"Hydration first, sir." She said with a slight smirk.

Damn. That was fast. Regardless, I shrugged in confirmation and started drinking, gesturing for Grant to continue.

"Of course, sir. You've been out of commission for the past two weeks, and things have gotten worse. The pirate attacks have become more brazen, with larger ships going so far as to hit official mining outposts, and even destroyed a Blastboat station! Our infiltrators have heard that their leaders plan to expand even further across the sector, most likely with reinforcements from the Consortium."

I hummed as I considered that. The Consortium was unlikely to keep up its support, since it was going to fall soon. I had personally never played Empire at War, or its expansions, but I did know that Tyber Zann was kept in a Hutt prison of sorts, and that the DLC took place not long before and immediately after the Battle of Yavin. That meant Zann was either already behind bars, or was going to be soon. Considering that we were still around the 3rd month of 1BBY, I had some time to nip this in the bud. Just have to figure out how to hire a good assassin that won't immediately turn on me.

While my thoughts bounced around, the Commander continued to explain the situation to me.

"The TIE variant designs have been finished, and testing is already underway. It is far more rigorous, and the security measures are far better this time around."

"Did we get the go ahead from Sienar? Last time I had any correspondence, they were clearly fishing for bribes."

"We have yet to gain explicit permission to manufacture TIE-line parts, but the techs hope that the prototypes will be enough to convince them."

I waved my hand dismissively, already against the idea. "Nah, don't bother. Whatever paperpusher is holding us back clearly wants a bribe and knows we're too small a time to go around, so just give it to 'em. Make sure to push the majority of the bribe funds from my personal account. Can't have people think I'm using public money for this."

Grant looked like a fish out of water for a second, mouth open wide long enough that both Mugwuffin and Darna gave out little chuckles. Clearly, she was insulted by the inefficiencies in the Imperial government and nationalized corporations, a very sensible thing to be insulted by.

"Now, do you have videos of these tests? I want to see what the skunkworks came up with."

She shook herself out of it, and Darna handed me a PDA, already open to the relevant files. Thankfully, neither one of them pressed me on what skunkworks was. Cause, outside of explaining skunks, I don't know where the word came from.

The TIE variants, on the other hand, were far more interesting. Just like the last line of TIE variants, they were interesting, but far more refined. Built for specific concepts. The very first wasn't even a new TIE. Instead, it was a TIE retrofit plan that added more bulk on the back of the cockpit and struts that connected it to the s-foils that held a shield and better life support. It still lacked a hyperdrive, but was now a better snub-fighter, as it could take more than one shot to destroy.

The next design was both very out there, and also incredibly useful. See, one of the biggest directives of the Variant project was to include TIE parts as much as possible to increase redundancies and reduce repair and maintenance costs. Somehow, through very creative use of the smaller interior TIE panels and strut pieces, the crackheads in R&D cooked up the TIE Patroller. They abused the ever living shit out of what little interior pieces are built into the standard TIE line that the interior of this ship, not counting the wiring and tubing, is like 80% standard TIE parts. The s-foils are just chunks of regular TIE s-foils. All in all, the TIE Patroller is made up of a whopping 57% standard TIE parts, with the rest being easy enough to repair or replace with aftermarket parts. It was like a YT series ship fucked a TIE, thats how easy it is to repair, replace, or modify this thing. Ridiculous.

Now, its purpose? It acts as a cheaper replacement for the Blastboat for systems that want a decently armed patrol ship, coming in at about 175,000 credits. Sure the Blastboat is great, but the GAT-12 is old, with few still in production, while the GAT-18 is nice but not cheap, with an oversized and expensive generator that powers the massive light turbolaser it has strapped to its crotch. The Patroller will be able to monitor areas, chase down enemies with good engines and a nice suite of weapons, and, with a set of extendable docking clamps on the bottom it can carry with it two TIE fighters. Sure, it can't land with them on, but neither can a Gozanti, and that thing has shit firepower, relying entirely on its TIEs like a carrier that was dropped on its head as a child and never grew up into a Quasar.

The next variant is the TIE Striker, built as a longer range variant of the TIE. Boasting stronger shields than the retrofitted standard, along with two extra laser cannons, life support, and a class 1 hyperdrive. Because of redundancies, its cost comes in at about 95,000 credits in total. It's about 5 or so kph slower than a standard TIE, but it's ability to actually patrol a system combined with the standardized parts makes it a godsend. Its standard part rate is lower than the patroller, at about 35% standard TIE parts, but like before, the techies made sure it was moddable as hell. Again, CEC meets TIE line, but in a loving way instead of a hate-fucking kinda way that you'd expect from competitors.

Finally, I approached the last of the variants. It was a beauty, the TIE Whirlwind, and it was expensive as well. While it did share a solid 24% redundancy rate with the standard line, it made up for that with its custom rotating hardware. This thing wasn't just fast or strong, which it was considering its shields and cannons were a step above even the Strikers, but its ability to basically flip itself made it a powerful creature. Those pilots who had been testing the prototype said that, in the moments where they actually understood the metal beast they were flying, they could perform what were almost full 180 turns, nearly on a dime. They felt like Gods. Of course, the Whirlwind came in at about 380,000 credits and was just barely around the same speed as an Interceptor but at more than twice the cost. An Ace only kind of ship, and not one that would see widespread production. In fact, it was designed almost solely for Accordia's defence force, as we could afford to create a small amount without delegating a substantial amount of factory space for it. Really only the best would be flying these on strike missions, and most would stay planetside to defend the capitol and the rest of Ugea.

The previous TIE variants that had been proposed before the current ones were finalized hadn't been bad, but their issues were prevalent enough. The Demolisher was a great bomber, but wasn't necessary. The Mangler was powerful, but its wings obstructed view and its oversized weapons made it power-hungry and difficult to maintain. The Supremacy was just an old Sith design and got scrapped once people realized that. The Stingray was like the Demolisher, good but not needed, and then Vigilante was cool but had an obstructed view and not enough firing arcs for a gunship.

Turning back to Darna, I finally took a sip of my hot chocolate. Pure ecstasy, I tell you, unfortunately I had work to do.

"These all look good, but make sure extensive testing is done. Don't want half baked products coming out of this whole debacle."

Sounds reasonable, and she nodded in agreement so I must be right. Of course, more testing means more money dumped down the drain which was the whole point of the project.

"Now, before we get back to the whole pirate problem, how did the thing with the power armor go? Also, before I forget again, what happened there?"

The two looked at each other, before Grant turned to me. "Sir, one of the techs was bribed by Edins governor to sabotage the testing of the mobile artillery suit. Its torpedos exploded far too close to you, and while the ferrocrete barrier absorbed most of the blast, you were still caught in it."

"Huh". So that's why light was my last memory. Closest thing to a vacation I've had in a year now, so I'll take it.

"Gotcha. Anyways, how are our infiltrator teams doing?"

The two seem concerned about something I'd said, but their professionalism takes over, and Grant continues the report. "Our infiltrators have successfully implanted themselves as near vital engineers in the enemy's command ship. Not only that, but with our superior technology and knowledge, we have gained the ability to control certain parts of the ship, such as navigation and hyperdrives, along with the sabotage devices ready for activation when needed." As she speaks, I check over the summarized reports and maps.

I considered this. Then, I turned to Grant. "Get in contact with the Commodore. Have her move the flotilla to the Edin-Minda hyperlane."

Before she could respond to that, I turned to Darna. "I need a message sent to the Sector Admiral. Send him the pirates coordinates, and tell him that we interrogated a captain for the info. Lastly, tell him they have plans to leave the Sector soon."

She nodded, PDA already out and typing.

As she does, I take another sip and start pulling on the clothes the med-droid has brought me.

Once I'm dressed, I look towards Grant.

"Commodore"

"Yes, Governor?"

"Contact the infiltrators. They'll need to be ready."

"For what, sir."

A grin spread across my face.

"To succeed."
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Again, sorry for the longer wait, but this chapter was a doozy. My math teacher for this semester is a self proclaimed luddite and that means I can't write in class while pretending to take notes. It also means I'll prolly get a decent math grade this time around. Sacrifices, I guess.

Also, I intended for there to be a POV for the engineer infiltrator team lead, but I felt that would give away a little too much.

I also figured I'd get the TIE variants out of the way. While, as stated, they are not at full production as the factories are still being built(and hamstrung by the pirates), I wanted to introduce the near final results. The Mindan skunkworks biggest achievements are really high logistical efficiency ratings. Gonna make Thrawn salivate. Anyways, I'm always down for last minute TIE variant suggestions and the like. Always room for improvement, and there is a chance these don't end up as the final variants.

Also, with the whole Kanan being blind thing, don't worry. While I'm no real expert on Rebels, I do know that he was blinded and gained force-sight before he died in 1BBY, and that his son was born the same year, so working off the Galactic Standard Year, and assuming that Twi'leks have the same 9 month pregnancy period as humans, that means that Kanan died in the first quarter of the year. So, around the current time of the fic. Though whether or not he dies is yet to be seen here.

Regardless, feedback and commentary is always appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Feb 28, 2025

Chp-25: Juked

Admiral Geral Wasti
Mid-Hyperspace, Victory-II-Class Star Destroyer Arrowhead

Geral was pissed. How dare those pirates try to run now of all times! They had been a threat for only a scant few months and had not generated nearly enough fear to make his annihilation of them as heroic as he needed it to be.

And to think that he had almost missed it!? Ever since the pirates began their little raids, the governors, and especially the Mindan governor had been sending request after request for reinforcements. All of them had been dismissed, of course, until his secretary informed him of one that was different. A message that claimed the pirates were about to leave, and even gave coordinates. He didn't even have time to verify this information, so he just acted. To think that a lowly governor would have any use. Of course, if he was wrong, then Minda would burn. No one made a fool of Geral Wasti and lived.

His anger must have shown on his face, for all his subordinates seemed to skirt around him. Thankfully for them, he was focused on the fight ahead. The portion of his Sector Group that he managed to scrounge up in time was composed of the Arrowhead, three Victory-I's, thirty Gozanti's and ten republic-era Arquitens. It wasn't a large force, but the Myto Sector Group was already half the size of a regular Sector Group, coming in at 12,000 ships, and 12 Star Destroyers.

Regardless, they were on route to intercept the enemy flagship. Some glory was better than no glory, and those pirates would feel his wrath for failing to present a bigger threat for him.

It was then that they finally dropped out of hyperspace, and were given a view of the pirates main station. An ageing Lucrehulk-class battleship. A powerful beast of an era gone by, painted a gaudy gold.

"Order the entire fleet to open fire! I want that thing turned to slag!"

And open fire they did. Barrage after barrage flailed against the shields, only to be met with counterfire from the ship's bevy of turbolaser batteries. While most of the ships armaments had been made unusable over time, it still held a fearsome array of weaponry.

While this occurred, the TIE's were launched, zipping about and getting turned into dust against the hundred or so remaining functioning laser cannons.

All the while, Wasti is screaming at his men to fire more, faster, stronger. Every missile in the arsenal is fired at the ship, it's shields flaring up in a massive blue wall each and every time it's struck.

The fire between the opposing forces is so much, it seems to saturate the space between them. In the chaos, two of the Arquitens and a half-dozen Gozanti's were turned to slag by the sheer wave of fire.

During this, one of the sensor operators noticed something. "Enemy fighter craft detected!"

The Admiral scowled. "Launch all remaining TIEs!" The number of enemy fighters just kept increasing. 40, 80, 100, 270, 420, 690, 800.

A veritable swarm of vulture droids dragged themselves from the Lucrehulk's rusting hangars. Most didn't have fully working thrusters, many lacked functioning weapons, but they still had mass.

Wasti watched in horror as the metal wave smashed into one of the Victory-I's, ripping it to shreds in suicide attack that tore the bridge to shreds. The attack didn't end there, as the swarm split, ramming into every ship in range.

The screams that echoed over the comms would leave the few survivors with night terrors for years to come.

As he watched his entire plan fall apart, the Admiral could barely think, barely fathom what was occurring. Only when the swarm turned to the Arrowhead did he move.

He slammed other officers out of the way as he steamed towards the escape pods. Jumping into the first available one, he started punching the buttons as quickly as possible.

A few others tried to enter with him. Some pulls of the trigger ensured they would not. He refused to share any of the meager emergency supplies in the pod.

With a whoosh the pod was ejected from the side of the bridge, moving a solid hundred meters before the swarm impacted the Arrowhead.

And impact it did. The remaining droids slammed into the bridge like a hammer to a skull, tearing it to shreds, leaving nought but the beheaded corpse of his flagship.

So, there he drifted, amongst the graveyard of his failures. Watching as the Lucrehulk powered its hyperdrive and shot off into space, the remaining droids deactivated without the center brain there to keep them alive.

All the while cursing the universe.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commodore Ife Veers
Minda System, Minda-Edin Border, Gladiator-II-Class Star Destroyer Theorem

When Ife had received the order to move practically the entire fleet to the Minda-Edin border, she had been surprised. Of course, she also quickly analyzed the situation and came to understand the reasoning. Edin was where the majority of the pirates were coming from, and since the Sovereigns were rumored to have incoming reinforcements, she needed to be stationed in the most likely spot.

So, when the sensor operators reported an incoming hyperspace signature, the fleet was ready.

"Hyperspace signature, incoming! It's alone, but whatever it is, it's massive!"

"I want all ships ready for action immediately! Get the fighters ready as well!"

"""YES MA'AM"""

A sort of childish glee tickled the back of her core at that response. To know that all the people here respected and followed her was pleasing. A reminder of the work she had put in to make it this far.

Of course, the feeling was immediately suppressed. She could be joyful later, right now, she had a job to do.

"Hrax, I want an immediate call sent to the nearby defense forces to be on high alert. If the enemy is sending a ship this large, it might be a distraction for smaller forces."

"Understood ma'am" responded the XO, already tapping away at her PDA and moving towards the comm officers. She was a bright child, who had the right mindset, willpower and work ethic for the job. Another year or two like this and she might be given her own command.

It was then that the enemy ship finally exited hyperspace. A massive Lucrehulk-class, it towered over even the Theorem. Yet, despite this, it's hull was smoking and scans showed its shields were low in a variety of places.

The unmistakable golden sheen told her everything. Before she could give the command, her PDA alerted her to a priority message. Checking it quickly, she realized that the infiltrators had already left the ship. Good.

"Fire."

There was no response necessary, as the ships in her flotilla opened fire on the battleship. As that happened, the infiltration team sent another message. The sabotage devices were already active, and soon the Lucrehulk would be brought down. As the message came in, she could already hear the confusion emanating from the sensor operators.

"H-huh? Their weapons are…powering down?"

"Yeah, looks like. Their ecm is also failing…do they even have life support?"

A few more minutes, and the shield shattered. It was at that point that the ship was practically dead in the water.

"Cease fire" she stated, looking over the Lucrehulk. "Get the Commander on the line. She has a ship to clear of pirate scum."
—---------------------------------------------

A day later, and the whole of Minda was celebrating. Ife looked down from the Imperial Tower as people paraded along the streets. The Governor had given people the day off to celebrate the end of this major pirate threat.

In fact, he was standing next to her, eating a recently made local snack food. Some sort of hand eaten sticks of fried plant fibers. They were green, greasy, and oddly sweet. He occasionally tossed one over to Mugwuffin, who was enjoying Darnas deft hands.

Still, despite all the festivities, despite the fact that a large painting of her, her officers, and her flotilla was being made on a wall to be shown at the cultural museum, a question nagged at the back of her skull. A question she had ignored when the action was happening, because she was a professional, and professionals have standards.

"Sir" she said, turning to the Governors scarred visage. He hummed in a questioning tone, eyes never leaving the horizon.

"How did you know the pirates would appear where you sent me?"

He looked at her, confusion evident in his face. Then his eyebrows lifted. "Ahh." he said "We forgot to tell you. Apologies, that is highly unprofessional of me, and I'll avoid such mistakes in the future. What myself and the Commander forgot to tell you was that the infiltrators had secretly taken near complete control of the battleship itself. That meant that we could make it jump to hyperspace directly where your fleet would be, then turn off all the weapons for an easy kill. Or, in this case, capture."

Mulling over this, she realized the whole scope of the plan. The Admiral had been told that the pirates were leaving that day, and when he rushed there with a less than adequate force, he was blindsided. Then, the Lucrehulk jumped to Minda because of the infiltrators, and got bodied by her flotilla. The victory could be attributed to the Admiral weakening it before having his fleet destroyed instead of revealing the sabotage and not only was the Admiral completely humiliated, but Minda got the win. She got the win. Quite the victory to help boost her career.

Again she turned to the Governor, in awe of this political maneuvering. He had played the admiral like he was a simulator, removed the pirate threat, and gotten Minda a whole CIS battleship. Sure, it couldn't be used for war, but it was chock full of space and materials just waiting to be used.

However, as she was about to congratulate the Governor on his successful planning, his face seemed to scrunch in some manner of negative emotion, before he let out a soul sucking sigh.

"Grand Moff Vanko sent a message." He said in a strained voice. Handing her the PDA Darna had given him, she reads over it, and nearly gasps.

With the large amount of evidence available, like the various calls for reinforcement that were brushed off, or the many recorded interrogations of pirates, alongside records of the Moffs general incompetence, someone had made an actually smart decision and contacted the Office of Grand Moff Vanko. If the rumors about Vanko were true, then he preferred to sweep things under the rug when possible, and this was exactly that. The Myto sector Moff and Admiral were being replaced, likely with Vankos own cronies.

What was different, and likely what caused the governor's strained look, was the passing of governance of the Edin system from the soon to be executed governor to Governor Mola. Vanko really wanted this all to end, and was essentially bribing the Governor with an entire system. His voice was strained because he was so happy!

Of course, it would take her years to realize that he was stuck with an absolute fear of the paperwork he was about to encounter.

God help him, because no one else will.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi there folks! With this chapter, the Pirate Arc is over! Sure, the next few chapters will still seek to tie up loose knots and the like, but since the Arc is officially over I will be returning to the regular, shorter, daily chapters while I work on setting up the next major arc.

These interim chapters will be a lot of that nation-building busywork y'all supernerds get worked up about, so any comments, suggestions, and the like regarding how Edin should be built out are appreciated.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Mar 2, 2025

Chp-26: More Responsibilities

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This was the mantra that drummed in my skull as I sat at my desk, trying my best not to slam my face into my palms and cry.

A new SYSTEM!? Come on! I was already stressing the fuck out about the one I currently have, and I get an entirely new one dumped on my lap with absolutely zero fucking preamble. I didn't even meet the Grand Moff, he just sent a letter. And it wasn't even him! His secretary sent it!

But now I was in my office, planning to clean up Edin. Which was why Commander Grant was also in the room, with the Commodore on call.

"So, Commander, Commodore, what do you have in mind?"

They studied the holomap between them, each likely formulating a dozen plans. The Commodore was the first to speak.

"We could lock down the planet fairly easily. We captured a great deal of light freighters, gunships, and even the odd corvette or frigate, so while not the best or even most compatible with our current logistics lines, we have enough ships to blockade every major port, and monitor the rest of the planet for incoming and outgoing ships."

The Commander perked up at that. "If we combine this with the data we snatched from the Duets Dominion, we could have orbital supremacy over the majority of the criminal outposts on the whole planet. We could turn them to dust from orbit!"

Ah yes. The 'data'. While the Lucrehulk had been old, and we had compromised the vast majority of its systems, there was one thing our infiltrators had missed. The Sovereigns had a personal, completely off the grid terminal that held confidential information. Only after torturing the two crime lords did we gain access. Funnily enough, they actually loved each other, and only agreed to talk once we tossed them in the same room and started threatening to kill one of the other wouldn't squeal. Guess even pirates can love, huh?

Regardless, the information revealed a startling amount of criminal activity. Not just their bases, but every reported base they could get info on. It was part of their expansion plan, to take those hideouts for themselves, screwing over the local gangs and crime families in the process.

Now we had the info.

"We lack the firepower to conduct such a coordinated strike" said the Commodore whilst I was thinking. The puppy dog eyes Grant employed were not effective.

"The Sector Group might be willing to help? Their new Admiral is apparently not a complete douche." I responded, liking the idea of getting rid of these bases in one fell swoop.

Veers hummed. "I have yet to meet the new Admiral, but if he has any semblance of intelligence, then he will seek to ensure that his reputation is better than that of his predecessor. It would be easier now more than ever to gain access to few of the Sector Groups VSDs"

I look at her in confusion for a second. "Okay, I gotta ask. Does Myto not have any ISDs?"

She shakes her head. "Just a few. ISDs are being produced in great numbers, but the vast majority are fielded in far more contentious areas. Oversector Outer gets most of them fresh from the Kuati Yards, so many sectors out here in the Galactic North, with little rebel activity, make do with older models like the Victory Class. The only ISD's in the whole sector were commandeered by Moff Tarry for Dubrillions protection. Whether the new Moff will change that is yet to be seen."

"Huh. You know, while we're on the topic of starships, I've always had this question but never gotten around to asking. Why don't people use droid controlled hyperspace suicide attacks? I always felt it was kind of obvious but never brought it up."

The two of them looked at me with an odd expression, before Veers let out a low chuckle.

"While it is certainly possible, it is extremely unlikely. You see, when a ship enters hyperspace, it is immersing its mass partway through another dimension,. If a ship hits another in hyperspace, its real world mass is so little that it would be destroyed by particle shields. To achieve an attack with a hyperdrive it would require extremely precise timing, in which the ship achieves its highest possible acceleration before its mass is put in hyperspace. This timing is then combined with the fact that particle shields fluctuate, and you would need to aim at the weakest point at the weakest time. All these factors change from nanosecond to nanosecond, requiring very powerful computing centers. It's just cheaper to engage in regular warfare to be honest."

I blinked. This had been nagging me ever since I saw it happen in the sequel trilogy, but now it made sense. That pink haired lady whose name I can't remember just got incredibly lucky. Like, stupidly so.

Before I could continue my line of questioning, Grant intervened. "What if we used the Lucrehulk? It may not be in the best condition, but so long as enough turbolasers work, we could shut down a large portion of the planet by just parking it in orbit."

The two of us just stared at her for a second, astounded that we had missed that. While the yet to be renamed ship was slated to be cleaned up and used as just another orbital station, this would be a far better use.

Veers tapped her chin, contemplating. "It wouldn't just be effective, it would free up other elements of the flotilla to engage the Belt Haven at the same time, meaning neither element could warn the others."

I nodded, seeing the logic to it. "Commander, for those elements that cannot be dealt with from orbit, what would you recommend?"

It was here that her seemingly animalistic nature reared its head. A grin stretched across her face, bloodlust evident.

"First" she seemed to purr "we hunt for the smaller bases. Their outposts, hidey-holes, stashes, and distribution houses. Stalk them in the dead of night, employ jammers so that come morning, the site is gone." She licks her lips, teeth suddenly seeming sharper than before. "This will push them to huddle up, scared of our power. They will hide. Consolidate their resources and either lay low or try and make a deal. That's when we hit them from orbit, destroying their encampments and eradicating the greatest number of them in a single blow. After that, cleaning up the scraps will be far easier." By the end, her eyes are practically slits, and she resembles an animal more than a person.

Holy shit. Every time I think she's just an overzealous Imperial, I get reminded that the Commander is a vicious predator that just so happens to wear the uniform. Thankfully, Mugwuffin is there to calm my spirits. I hide the rest of my fear behind a sip of hot chocolate.

Veers gives me an astonished look. Yeah, I know she's scary, just roll with it.

As the sugar enters my system, I calm down and compose myself.

"Commander" I say in as firm a tone I can manage. "What do you need to complete this operation?"

Snapping out of her reverie, she contemplates my question.

"As this will be a series of smaller strikes, the current number of StormTroopers is satisfactory. What we really need will be rapid deployment vehicles and the like." She whips out her PDA, already looking for options. "Preferably well armed and armored. And transports of some kind that can hold the LECAs, as they will be used to make up for the troop deficiency."

"How will the LECAs make up for the lack of StormTroopers? Also, I was under the impression they weren't finished?"

Without looking from her PDA, she answers quickly. "LECAs are powerful enough to act as a one machine vanguard for small operations like these, meaning I can use one or two along with a squad or two. Also, the LECAs were the most finished of the armor projects, and are now viable as modular platforms, though not many have been made. Only 20 or so are currently operational."

I hum in agreement, before she places her PDA on the table and slides it over to me. "These are my suggestions for the vehicles needed."

The first was the LA-AG, the rarely used Imperial successor to the LA-AT. A great gunship with good troop capacity and weaponry. In this case, the carrier variant would also be used, allowing multiple LECA's to be carried into the various engagement sites alongside troops.

The second was, as Grant explained to me, more of a central area for these types of operations, especially since this would not be the last time these attacks would occur. It was the AC-AT, a beast of a transport ship designed to carry a large amount of troops, armor and supplies. One alone could field operations for weeks, and would reduce the amount of ship traffic, increasing stealth.

The final vehicles were the simple yet highly effective K79-S80 and its bigger cousin, the Trexler 906 Armored Marauder. The K79 allowed for a good amount of troops to be deployed, and could carry cargo on its top, allowing for the extraction of valuable goods from the pirate outposts, and the transportation of LECAs in their folded forms. The Trexler, on the other hand, came with upgraded armor and firepower, which would serve it well as both a patrol vessel and as the vanguard for ground assaults on harder to reach pirate bases. The only downside was that it lacked cargo and that it was more expensive.

"Impressive, Commander. I can get you one AC-AT, around 5-7 LA-AGs, some 40 or so K79s, and around 20 Trexlers. Note, these are rough numbers, so send a more detailed report later so I know what the minimum will be."

She nodded in with an expression of barely contained glee. "Of course, sir! These vehicles should give us the speed and operational flexibility needed to complete the operations. I estimate that, with our current troop capabilities, we can clear a quarter of these bases within the next two months or so!"

I smiled, happy that the meeting would soon be over. "Good, very good." I turned towards Veers. "See if you can't get in contact with the new Admiral. We could use the Sector Groups forces to help with both the space and ground operations. More StormTroopers would speed things up, I'm sure."

She nodded, hand on her chin. "It could work. He's new, and will likely be looking to prove that he's more competent than his predecessor. This would be a good place to start, and allow him to start earning a reputation earlier than he might otherwise."

After that, we finished up the remaining plans for Edin. Once the initial sweep of the capital cities crime families was finished, we would begin to upgrade infrastructure and increase the standard of living while Grant was clearing out pirates in the boonies. The construction crews would be shipped over to start tearing down old, outdated buildings and bringing an actual decent living experience to the place. The Guild would also set up, putting out a great deal of bounties, and I would have to start a variety of programs to lift people out of poverty. It was bad down there, but seeing as it was now mine, I had a solemn duty to fix it.

As I looked at the massive list of tasks I finished writing by the end of my meeting, I could only sigh.

Shoulda just run.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Admiral 'Thrawn' Mitth'raw'nuruodo
Sev Tok, Imperial-I-Class Star Destroyer Chimaera

It pained Thrawn that he had been dragged into this mess with the grallocs. While he wasn't particularly well versed in the political side of the Empire, even he could tell that this was a plot to slow him down, and pull potential funding from his Defender project.

As he contemplated potential strategies to deal with this pest problem, his PDA pinged with a message. It was an incredibly useful device, and his personal modifications meant that the veritable brick he was holding could not be hacked remotely by anything less than a ship sized facility, that would have to be within 10 meters.

And the software. By the Sights was it useful. The most concise and flexible spreadsheets and calculators, with incredible management apps.

Checking his message, he saw something quite incredible. The report he had asked for about the Minda system had finally been compiled. It had taken longer than expected, if only because the system apparently had both a semi-closed network and a recent wave of piracy had made communications sparse.

Thankfully, his agents were quick and effective. The report detailed that Minda had grown rapidly, and that the PDAs were made in an effort to create more interconnectedness, and apparently the governor hated how inefficient terminals could be. A man he could understand.

Minda had also begun a great deal of R&D, though it seemed to have backfired when an incident recently harmed the governor, but efforts continued. While the security measures meant that his agents couldn't get far without revealing themselves, they did acquire a decent amount of information. Apparently, Minda was paying Sienar for the licenses to produce TIE line parts, and their own TIE variants. As per the agreement, Sienar got copies of the blueprints, which allowed him access to them as well.

What he saw was, in its own way, brilliant. The four variants worked well in their own ways. A TIE retrofit made it more economical for Outer Rim systems, where buying new TIEs didn't work with their pilot pool. The newly named Ranger worked as an economical patrol fighter, while the Patroller was a logistician's heaven for a ship of its size. The Whirlwind was an incredible fighter, if more lightly armed than the Defender.

He had the data sent to the Lothal lab, as these advancements might be able to reduce the astronomical costs of producing the Defender.

He also had an order sent to ready one of the hyperspace relays on the way to Coruscant so that he could have a call with Governor Las Mola. The man clearly had good ideas, and ran a well made system. The Defender project was facing a myriad of challenges, and he wanted backup plans in case it failed.

Thrawn turned to view the vastness of space. Things were strained, but his objective was unchanged. If Minda could become another pillar that made him indispensable to the Empire, then so be it.

Whatever was needed to eradicate the Grysk threat.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! The Pirate Arc is over! Finally got around to doing another Thrawn POV, which is lacking in dialogue. For that, my only excuses are that Thrawn feels like the kinda guy to be deep in thought a lot. That, and the fact that I am currently playing online Cards against Humanity while writing the entire second half of this chapter.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Mar 5, 2025

Chp-27: Wounds and Worries

Chp-27: Wounds and Worries

Sabine Wren
Hyperspace, VCX-100 Ghost

Shaken. That was the only word that could be used to describe the Spectres at that moment. They were shaken.

Sure, throughout their many adventures, they had close calls more often than even she would've liked, yet never like this.

The rescue of Hera had almost cost them everything. While the initial stages went well, the extraction was incredibly dangerous. The jumpacks she had designed meant that they had made it pretty far from the Defender factory, even as Pryce destroyed it to get to them.

What almost got them, however, was the TIE's. A Defender, accompanied by two other TIEs with X shaped wings. They were all powerful, fast, and utterly wrecked the Ghost.

Even now, looking out the window, she could see the myriad of scorch marks and slagged armor paneling. Their shields were wrecked, some thrusters had to be deactivated to avoid detonation, and both her and Chopper had been hard at work to repair what they could from the inside.

Now in the common room, she could see Hera coming down from the cockpit. Like the rest, she was shaken. The ace that had flown that Defender, combined with those weird new TIE's had been a massive threat, and even Hera's exceptional piloting skills had only barely gotten them out.

In fact, it was due to Kanan and Ezra using the force to drop a boulder from one of Lothals passing spires on the Defender that they were able to get away. It didn't destroy the ship, whoever was piloting clearly had the talent to just barely dodge, but it gave them the opening they needed.

It was then that Kanan walked in, followed by Ezra and Zeb.

"Group meeting, everyone." he stated, motioning for them all to sit.

As they did, his milky white eyes seemed to scan them, the Force giving him a sight of sorts.

"While this mission was a success, considering we were able to both free Hera and destroy the Defender factory, it's clear that this was the closest call we've ever had."

And it was. Kanan had one arm in a cast, Hera was still shaking from the interrogation, and the rest had a myriad of bruises and cuts. Chopper even had scorch marks!

"The Ghost is in worse shape than us" Kanan continued "And Phoenix Cell said that they don't have the parts to spare for our repairs. Thing is, they need us for further action, so their sending us to get more permanent repairs."

Sabine perked up at that. "The Rebellion doesn't have any repair yards close by, right? Where are we going?"

"Minda" he replied, and Sabine barely contained her excitement. "We've got an orbital yard over there that is secretly run by the Rebellion. They don't normally like operatives showing up in person, and prefer to just send out parts discreetly. Unfortunately, the only other repair centers that are both safe and can repair the Ghost have either recently been destroyed or are beyond our reach."

"So we're laying low and lickin' our wounds, then?" growled Zeb, clearly unhappy.

Kanan nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Minda is an out of the way system, but advanced enough that we can get repairs, and maybe even upgrades that will help in future missions. Phoenix cell, and the rest of the Alliance is moving to start the war."

At this, he sighed, and sat down by Hera, the two interlinking their arms. "You all know my misgivings on starting the war now, but it's going to happen whether we want it to or not. As we understand it, Minda has been advancing and progressing its economy and technology sectors quickly. If there's any place we can get our hands on some upgrades for the Ghost and ourselves without too much risk, it's there."

He then gestured at Sabine. "And someone is clearly excited to go."

She couldn't hold back anymore. "It's Minda! They apparently have some great stuff! PDAs better than this one, StormTroopers with power armor! I even heard they aren't humancentric!"

Ezra gives a light laugh at this. "So that's where that terminal you love so much comes from. I thought it was a paradise given how much you like that thing."

Before she could retort, Chopper rolled in, beeping. They were coming out of hyperspace, and needed to pick up some quick supplies an do some really sketchy patchwork repairs.

As they filed to their positions, one thought bounced around Sabines head.

Once they won this war, she was vacationing on Minda for sure!
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sergeant Mory Kaylee, LK-778
Edin System, Edin 2, 40 miles south of Edin City

The wind whipped past the window as the K79 zoomed through the night. Her and nine other troopers were packed into one of the two transports that were approaching a criminal hideout.

Scouts had identified it as a local distribution hub of locally made, and highly illegal narcotics. It made her want to spit, but that would just dirty her helmet.

Her parents rampant drug abuse was what pushed her to the Academy, and what pushed her to do her best. When she and her squad were assigned here, she wondered if she had insulted someone.

But now, she was doing her job, and loving it.

Checking her PDA, integrated into her new armor, she saw they were approaching their destination.

The facility was nestled under an overhanging cliff from one of the local massive plateaus. Scouting indicated that it was a decently sized facility, complete with walls, turrets, multiple buildings, and the possibility of a cave system that burrowed into the plateau.

"Alright squad, we're approaching the objective. I want one last suit check, pronto!"

"""Yes, Sergeant!"""

As they did that, she got into contact with the other part of their squad. Unlike the other squad in the K79 next to theirs, the pilot that sat above them was different.

He piloted one of the few LECA models that had been produced, and was in its cockpit, magnetized to the top of the transport. VH-221 had proven himself incredibly adept, and because of that would be their heavy fire support for this mission.

His LECA had been outfitted with what was being called the Fire Support kit. That meant that alongside his rapid fire blaster cannon, his shoulder mounts had an E-Web turret on one and a short range missile launcher on the other.

"221, status"

"Diagnostics read all green, Sergeant."

It was then that her PDA pinged once more, indicating that they were approaching the enemy base. The camera connection allowed her to see the enemy base in the distance, and the blue streaks of the ion torpedoes that just slammed into their front gates, while some more hit their comms tower. No real damage, aside from the complete shut down of any communication equipment and turrets within.

Feeling the transport slowing down, she reconnected to her squad frequency.

"Alright Troopers, this is it. 221, I want you on that vanguard, the rest, split into battle buddies. Intelligence suggests that there are three buildings within the compound. Squad 1 will be covering the other two, and it's our job to clear the first one. Keep your guns up, comms open, and feet quick, understood!?"

"""YES MA'AM"""

The LA-AG blasted the gates open, and in went the transports. She could hear the blaster cannons on the front of the K79 opening fire as the doors opened, and her squad rushed out.

Immediately they took cover behind the transport as 221 stepped down, weapons spraying red death in multiple directions. She started picking off what few pirates were still scrambling to reach cover.

Scanning the battlefield, she entered comms. "513, 690 and 730, I want a breach and clear of that door now!", pinging the front door of the building in front of them.

It was a prefab of some kind, two stories tall and covered in scrap metal sheets where the walls had worn away with time.

Advancing with the rest of her squad, the previous three troopers lined the wall. One opened the door, another tossed a flash, and the third entered soon after.

In mere seconds half her squad was clearing out the building. Room after room, they spray through the door then check for survivors, leaving none alive.

Outside they could still hear 221's LECA E-Web and main cannon roaring, turning the few remaining static defenses to chunks of meat and slagged metal.

Finished with the first building, her squad exited out the back, aiming for what seemed to be the living quarters. The patterned repeated, clearing rooms, tossing flashbangs, and copious use of full auto in the enclosed quarters. Thankfully, they had all come equipped with newly made extended magazines. The techs had thrown together a simple modular kit for the E-11 could simply be attached, like putting on a glove. It increased ammo capacity and came with a simple cooling system for the barrel.

It was no DLT-19, but it did the job and kept the cost below 1500 credits, cheaper than an E-22. It also made spraying down the longer sight lines of the barracks easier.

Once they finished the barracks, they left to find that the third building had already been cleared.

"Troopers, I want a perimeter established yesterday! And 221, guard the gate!"

Ignoring the chorus of affirmatives, she switched comms to field HQ. "HQ, this is LK-778, we have secured the site, over."

"...778, this field HQ. Hold position, and identify any potential valuables. Transports and army troopers will be there to take over in an hour. Over."

"Understood, HQ. Over and out."

With the exchange finished, she sighed. For all that the training they received as StormTroopers was some of the best, fear was a constant.

Before she could continue on her way, her comms lit up.

"Sergeant, we have a cave opening here. Permission to investigate?"

"Negative trooper, wait until I'm there."

It took less than a minute for her to be back in the main building. Some troopers were gathered around a newly revealed trapdoor that seemed to connect to an underground cave system.

Shining a flashlight revealed nothing but the steps downward. Until she noticed something…else.

Something small was reflecting light at the very bottom of the tunnels. An itch began at the back of her mind. Something was off.

She activated her PDA's scanning function, and narrowed the radius to around 40 meters ahead. Pointing it down the tunnel, she saw what she feared. A little blip, confirming a life source. Then another. And another.

That's when they screeched, bounding up the steps like an animal.

"Fire!" she yelled, and the four of them did, sending a wave of blaster bolts down the hatch. That only served to slow the beasts, yowling in what was either pain, rage or both.

"Retreat!" she ordered, knowing they couldn't kill these things with infantry weapons. And retreat they did. Booking it out the front door and into the main courtyard, she yelled out to 221. "All weapons trained on that building!"

While confusion emanated through the comms, the LECA pilot complied, turning his weapons to the door just as a small horde crashed through it. Now in the light, it was clear that these were, or used to be people. Their eyes widened and mad, the skin on those that still had it was hardened and ashen. And their jaws, covered in blood and nearly unhinged.

She promptly lost sight of these features as the LECA's main tri-barreled main weapon opened fire, hosing down the incoming horde in so much red it was like looking at a star. The shoulder mounted E-Web blaster joined in, as did the rocket launcher, turning the horde into chunks.

After a few seconds, the blasts stopped, and the horde was no more.

Breathing heavily, Mory analyzed the situation, and realized that there was more at play here than what she could handle.

Comm HQ once again, she knew only one thing for certain.

This wasn't going to end well.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Woulda had this out sooner but I've been struggling to figure out what the next arc should be, as well as how fast or slow things should progress. Worry not, though, as the R&D POV chapter is on the way and will be both glorious and incredibly informative as to why the skunkworks have been so goddamn effective and fast.

Aside from that, it's ground vehicle time! Upcoming issues on Edin and beyond will force Las to upgrade his ground forces. Thankfully, by the time that happens, he will be much richer. This, of course, means that the name of the game will be quality over quantity(though quantity is still appreciated). Effective ground vehicles, be they cannon, fannon, or just cool concept art like the Storm Walker is all appreciated and will be taken into serious consideration. Prolly cause I read every comment like a madman.

Any feedback on where the story should go is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Mar 5, 2025

Chp-28: R&D Interlude

Military Development Department Supervisor Yop Calio
Minda System, Ugea, Accordia, Imperial Island, R&D Laboratories

Things had been rough for the past few weeks. Their freedoms had been nearly entirely revoked, with only the sims left to play around with.

Make no mistake, Minda had far better conditions than all but the cushiest corporate labs, and even those were pushed by pure profit.

Here, they had been given a blank cheque and told to go all in. What they never realized was that in the pursuit of their technological dreams, they forgot to check their corners. When the governor had nearly died because of an infiltrator they had failed to catch, and who had only succeeded because they had rushed their projects, well.

The whole lab was lucky they weren't executed for incompetence.

A knock on his office door dragged him from his mind.

"Yop? Its Hry, I wanted to talk about a project?"

Yop sighed. He figured this would come at some point. "Come on in, then"

The doors slid open, and in walked a bulky pantoran. Hry was still relatively young, at about 23 years of age. He had studied engineering in his family's factory since he was incredibly young, and had dreams of building a variety of things since then.

He had been hired to the Mindan R&D team after leaving a corporate lab unsatisfied with his work. He had been here only a week, and was now encountering the same problem that they all had.

"I just…I wanted to talk about the sims. We're allowed to make simulated projects to test, but is there any way to get them approved for actual research and later production? That was the vibe I got from the recruitment ad at least."

Yop refrained from sighing, not wanting to demoralize the new recruit. "I was afraid this would come up. You see, the ad didn't lie, but it was also put out a few months ago. You see, around a month ago, we rushed multiple powered armor and light walker designs that we had been making on our own time into production. They were not ready, but we had gotten overzealous and wasted a significant portion of the budget on them before we stopped ourselves. When we tried to show them off as proof of concept, a saboteur took the opportunity to try and assassinate the governor with a bomb hidden on a prototype."

Hry's eyes were wide at this point. "We could've caught on if we had been more careful, taken more time, and been more cautious. But we weren't. You see, a lot of the people in the labs here are those who have incredible ideas and monumental skills. The kinds of people who have been studying and designing a set few projects almost their entire lives. One of the canceled prototypes, the A.E.G.I.S, was one of our engineers' life's work. She has been working on that suit of powered armor for the past 15 years, studying and learning, just so she could make one high mobility suit of combat armor. A dream she had had since she was inspired by some children's show."

"And now we can't do that, can we?" asked Hry, understanding glimmering in his eyes.

"No…no we can't" Yop responded. "Despite the massive amount of skill and resources and the sheer lack of restrictions as to how we develop the projects put in front of us, what we make is now restricted. At least we get things finished faster now. The TIE program had been developing steadily for nearly 6 months now, yet by putting all our efforts, and many sleepless nights, we were able to get functioning, safe prototype designs out just a month after the incident."

Hry's eyes widened. "That's…that's absurd! Ship development takes far longer than that! Not to mention the cost, the amount of custom parts, the testing…how?"

The older researcher chuckled, amused at the newbie's astonishment. "A combination of massive funds, incredible skill, logistical redundancies, and a healthy dose of fear. The governor essentially gives us as close to a blank cheque as he can, all our technicians and researchers and engineers are incredibly skilled, the TIE line has a massive amount of parts to draw from to reduce the workload, and we were all scared shitless thinking that if we didn't produce something worthwhile fast, the governor would have us killed when he woke up."

Another chuckle. "'Course, he didn't. Governor Mola may be young, younger than you even, but he's got a good head on his shoulder and works real hard. Every time I see him, he's got work in his hands and bags under his eyes."

Hry chuckled with him, but it petered off. "Does that mean…that we'll never get to use our personal projects again?"

"I don't know, kid." said Yop, mood souring. "I really hope so, but the governor only woke up a few weeks ago, and then there was the whole debacle with The Crowns, and now he has an entire new system to manage."

Seeing the newbie's mood falling, Yop perked himself up. As a supervisor, it was his job to keep team morale up! "But, I bet that if we can succeed with the TIE project, and keep both the StormTrooper armor and the LECA suits well researched, then we might be able to start petitioning the Governor for the ability to work on personal projects again. We'll probably need more evidence that the projects can work, and more approval, but still. The possibility is there. We just need to grasp it."

That seemed to life the Pantoran's spirits. "Thanks, Director. I just…I came here for a better chance, you know? More opportunities. Felt like I was lied to, but it's nice to hear that there's hope, ey? I've gotta go now, the LECA team is working on refining the current module line up."

"Of course, Hry. Don't let me keep you."

As Hry left, Yop couldn't help but smile.

They had messed up, but there was a path to redemption. A chance to push forward.

They just had to grasp it.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Shorter little thing here, just felt like I hadn't expanded on the R&D team, or why they are just so damn fast. As shown above, they like to rush. Alot. While things like better software and the like are easy for them, the mecha projects were rushed prototypes, and while TIE variants seem to be coming out quicker, they really put their all into them. Also, the TIE variants are not in full production. Even with The Crowns put down for good and Minda back up and running, it will take time for both the designs to be refined, and the factories to be built. The only produced TIE's are the retrofits. No Rangers, Patrollers, or Whirlwinds just yet, outside of a select few testing versions. R&D has learned their lesson, and are taking their time.

The only reason the LECA's are being used is because they are simple enough to produce and design compared to entire starfighters and the like. Because they were the most simple of the mech projects, their prototypes ended up being the most stable. A few weeks of tweaks and the like, and a solid 30 or so were ready for use in Kaelas Kill'em All operation. Sure, there are definite tweaks and upgrades and refinements to be made, but their basically scaled up droids mixed with scaled down walkers, and none of the elements that made either difficult to make. That is, a droid's AI or a walker's mass.

Also, for the StormTrooper armor I showed in the last chapter, that is not the power armor variant spoken about during the tech expo chapter. It's the modified version that is being produced on the orders of Kaela after she explained to the techs that their version was overengineered. This suit has better protection and more advanced tech than regular armor, but has no powered exoskeleton like the original concept. Just better armor with more gadgets.

All in all, I wrote this to stave off my Project Stardust addiction. It's a surprisingly well made fleet battle game on roblox that has a ship unlock tree for like half a dozen franchises. From Star Wars to Yamato to Battlestar Galactica, it has it all. But, if your like me, your stuck grinding 10 mil xp for the Tier V Onager and crying all the way because these FUCKING PLEBS keep voting for close range brawler maps, and all the ships leading to the Onager are MISSLE BOATS that need to be FAR AWAY. Shit pisses me off.

As always, feedback on the story's future is highly appreciated. Also, for some reason, was struck with the urge to write a PJO mercenary fic based about a OC-SI merc who does work for the magical human underground. Let me know if that sounds interesting, cause its really just like a two line description right now.

Thanks for reading.

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Thursday at 7:06 AM

Chp-29: Speech Time!

A speech. I had given a few of these over the course of my short career, and yet they were as nerve wracking as the first. Sure, the people of Minda now seemed to actually like me, but still. Any public appearance was the chance for rebels, assassins, criminals, and political rivals to take a shot at me.

Unfortunately, a public appearance was necessary every now and again to keep people happy, and keep a positive image of me present. While I enacted a variety of changes, I was rarely present in announcing them, so the public subconscious seemed to slide over the fact that I was behind them.

If nothing else, I could thank the now defunct Consortium for burning a solid chunk of my face. Because of that, I had the perfect excuse to wear a nice helmet. Of course, I made it a whole fit. I had a little hud inside, and a nice K-3 Vindicator blaster hidden beneath the cloak. Looked badass, if nothing else.

Now I was standing on a podium in front of the capitol building, a large crowd gathered in front of me. Just a year and a half ago I stood in a similar position, on a watchtower, telling people to fuck off cause I was lowering taxes.

Now I stood here without them yelling or screaming or throwing rocks. Partially due to the fact that I had informed people that I would both be here, and that news channels were allowed to report on this.

Yes, we have news channels, no, we don't give them much freedom. I start handing out free press, I get executed. Instead, news channels are basically told that you can report on what you want, but any anti-empire news or opinions get shut down, and if we tell you to say something, you say it or heads roll(Grant's part, of course).

The other reason people weren't rioting(aside from the fact they have no reason to) is because of the people beside me on the podium. Commander Grant was decked out in some custom armor next to Mugwuffin. Sure, it wasn't the mech suit she wanted, but it was a cut above the rest. Oh, and you can't forget the two modified LECA's on each side. The Commander had insisted that I have extra heavy protection, and I could find no reason to disagree.

These Executive LECA's used the standard modular frame, but came with beefier armor, power systems, weapons, servos, you name it it was better. Costlier to, but apparently it wasn't seen as particularly weird for me to get the best of the best. These poor oppressed bastards probably saw it as normal. Weirdo's, the lot of them.

Staring out over the crowd, I waited patiently for the last murmurs to quiet down before I began.

"People of Minda. I come to you with news. A few weeks ago, the pirate gang called The Crowns was taken down by Commodore Veers and captured by Commander Grant. It was discovered that they had illegal ties to the now deceased governor of the Edin system. Both the Sector Group Admiral and Sector Moff have been removed from their positions on charges of incompetence, and the new Moff has seen fit to give Edin over to me. That means that my time, attention, and resources will be split between Edin and Minda. For all of you, that means that many construction projects will be slowed or halted, and immigration will be put on pause. Many of you may even find yourselves working in Edin for our teams there. It will not be easy, as Edin is a cesspool of criminal elements. In fact, when she isn't here, Commander Grant is on Edin coordinating strikes against criminal hideouts and bases."

Slowing down to catch my breath for a second, I take in the crowds' reactions so far. They seem accepting of such a thing, but there is some apprehension lingering. Clearly, they know theres more, and think it might be bad. Regardless, I resume.

"Because of the sorry state of the Edin system, it will require my full attention, and I will be relocating myself and a large amount of staff to said system. While I am gone, I will be assigning my Secretary, Darna, as Interim Governor. She has worked for me loyally and effectively, and understands the job just as well as I. She will be managing Minda for some time, and it is expected that she will be treated with the same respect as I would be. Any, and I mean any reports of harassment, riots, or other such malicious actions against her tenure due to her species, gender, or any other such trait, will be punished with extreme prejudice. I pushed for the acceptance of non-humans because it is conducive to the prosperity of Minda and the Outer Rim as a whole, and I will be damned if that's ruined just because I'm not around to babysit, understood?"

As I take a small breather, I once again scan the crowd's reaction towards my little rant. A little overboard it might have been, but I knew how the Empire got regarding aliens, and I needed that drilled into peoples heads. People seemed surprised that I would speak like that, but I could discern no real anger. The general vibe of the people, as far as I could tell, was acceptable. And I had gotten pretty good at telling how people felt as of late. Like weirdly good. Should get that checked out.

Mugwuffin purred, looking over the crowd imperiously. Smug little shit, shoulda never let her on the podium.

Ignoring the offended look she sends me, I begin speaking once more.

"Now, I will be gone for some time. Are there any questions?"

At that, the news sections surges forwards, comlinks raised out to get a quote. It takes one slight twitch of Grant's head for them to immediately compose themselves, instead politely stepping forward, cameras kept a respectable distance away.

Eenie meeni miney-"You" I say, pointing at a Umbaran man in a sharp fitting, very high collared suit of some kind.

"Ulwe Tork, Ugean News Central. How will the Guild be affected by this new system, Governor?"

"Good question, Ulwe. There are plans to expand the Guild into Edin once Edin City has been made safer. It will undoubtedly be a center for mercenary contracts, as Edin is chock full of criminal elements that will have a great deal of bounties to hunt."

Pointing at another reporter, a human man. "Glac Morno, Accordian Daily. Governor Mola, does the expansion of the Guild and an increase in the bounty contracts mean that the government is incapable of dealing with Edins criminal element."

Ah. One of these. Well, best get to it. "While we most certainly have the power to deal with these criminal elements, our current forces cannot stay committed to a single area for too long. To do so would leave other areas under defended for longer." It was at this point that my PDA pinged, the message appearing on my helmet hud with a quick prompt.

"Ah, and I've just received a message from the Commodore. Nearly one hundred major criminal hubs across Edin 2 have been identified and subsequently destroyed with orbital turbolaser fire. The new Sector Admiral was all too happy to lend some forces to assist us. Of course, no civilian deaths, these locations were all in the countryside. With that, the main criminal houses of Edin have been severely weakened, and will be eliminated in the coming months. However, something always falls through the cracks. We cannot spare the forces to track down every pirate, marauder and gang that wasn't caught in our initial strikes. That's where the Guild will come in, offering bounties to help keep down the criminals that survived. The Guild will also start offering longer term contracts for mercenary groups to act as militia units for farther out towns and cities until more local forces can be trained up to an acceptable standard. Does that answer your question?"

Apparently, my helmet was even more intimidating than I realized, cause he was wider eyed than an anime girl. Well, it was either my helmet, or the fact that we just shot artillery at a planet. Shit happens, man.

With that, I moved onto the next one. This continued for another twenty minutes or so, with the questions ranging from legitimately interesting questions about future economic plans, to that one crazy looking girl that wanted to desperately know if I was dating Grant, Veers, Darna, or all three.

It was none of them, of course. I'm their boss, that would be highly unprofessional.

Another asked what boss of the recently released high fantasy soulslike Grudge Killer that was the flagship game of the new YewCast ExperienceMachine gaming terminal was my favorite.

"Requiem of Vengeance"

"Isn't that the most broken boss in the game? People have been complaining about near impossible parry windows?"

I inhaled. This could ruin my career. I didn't care. "Skill issue, get gud."

And with that, I left. The distinct aura of astonishment emanating from the crowd behind me. I really had to go to the doctor. Feeling others emotions like this isn't normal.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks. Originally planned a second Kaela POV for this chapter, but I started writing late and I try to release at least one chapter a day when possible, so the next chapter will just be a little longer. Thankfully, I have two classes tomorrow, from 8 to 4 so I have plenty of time to not pay attention.

As for the whole discussion about the things in the cave from chap 27, I obviously won't get into too much detail, even though more will be revealed in tomorrow's chapter. However, I will confirm that it isn't a zombie virus or pathogen or any type of infectious anything. Only hint that I'll give is that those things were failures.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Freefaller · Friday at 5:24 AM

Chp-30: Meetings

I was once again back to work, and in a new office at that. I had considered requisitioning an Imperial Planetary Occupation Facility, like the one on Lothal, but thought against it. It's quite expensive, and is something of an eyesore.

Also, I can't fill that thing with people. I literally lack the staff necessary.

So here I am, inspecting the previous Governors office in Edin City's Capitol Building.

The Capitol building was an ugly thing, a large, blocky tower that tapered off into an antenna at the top. It towered over the rest of the city, which itself was not that great.

Sure, the buildings that surrounded the Imperial center were luxurious and tall, but only a few blocks after that was where the slums started. No real middle class to speak of.

I'd have to fix that before it started causing problems.

The office I was in was…gaudy, to say the least. Twice as large as my own office, there were valuables scattered about. And gold. So much gold. Gold isn't even that valuable, he just wanted to feel rich.

Turning around, I looked over at my new secretary. She was a Chiss woman who had been assigned to me because her high scores from Theed University were so good, not hiring her would be seen as speciesism. After that speech I gave? Hell no.

Her name was Brocso'ior'ovinor, and went by Oioro. I also didn't trust her at all. I mean, a Chiss? As I understood it, Chiss were rare outside of the Unknown Regions, and Thrawn is only out here because of the Yuuzhan Vong and all that. Meaning, any Imperial Chiss is for sure a fucking spy.

Worst part? She's actually fucking competent, meaning I can't even complain about her performance and fire her, cause I really need a good secretary.

Just gonna have to quintuple check my secret messages and shit beforehand.

"Oioro, have the design teams get rid of…" I wave vaguely in the direction of the office. "...All of this. The gold hurts my eyes, and the paintings don't fit. Have them sold at auction, any historical ones can be set aside for a museum or something. Just get them out."

She nodded, tapping away at her PDA, waiting for me to continue.

"Also, please make sure to check for bugs. The previous governor was deep in criminal pockets, and I don't want any spyware while I'm here."

Again she nodded. As she noted down my orders, a feeling came over me. A wave of emotion from around the tower, yet it was focused. Looking down, I noticed Mugwuffin was staring at one of the paintings, spines tingling. Focusing, I felt…something behind it. Or, someone. Someone who could feel emotions.

Fucking space cats man. Where on my character sheet does it say my class is Ranger, cause familiars are their territory, right?

Pointing at the painting, an ugly thing depicting the previous governor near naked in some sort of classical pose, far skinnier than he actually was.

"This one worth anything?"

Oioro looks up, scans it with her PDA, then shakes her head. "No, sir, it was a custom piece and likely has no valu-" I cut her off by pulling out my Vindicator and firing four shots through the painting.

The K-3 Vindicator was a hefty heavy blaster pistol, its chunkier barrel giving it an extra kick.

Whoever was behind the wall certainly felt it too, a yelp of pain emanating before a silence filled the room.

Not two seconds after I fired, my security busted into the room, scanning the room for threats.

"Behind the painting, there's someone who shouldn't be there. Deal with them." I say, nodding my head towards the painting while I holster my blaster.

They comply, dragging out the body of a duros. They were equipped with a scattergun, clearly hoping to deal with me up close and personal.

Again I turn towards Oioro, ignoring her now slightly wider eyes. "Please have the construction crew be extra thorough when doing their scans, I want a full map of all the secret tunnels and such around the entire building."

One of my guards, while inspecting the tunnel, calls back out. "These tunnels seem to stretch far. The system must be massive."

Before I can ask 'you know what's massive?', Mugwuffin slaps my leg with a paw.

"You have no sense of humour."

Sense of disbelief.

"Don't give me that, my jokes are hilarious."

Sense of amusement.

"I'll prove it. Hey, Oioro, was my joke funny?"

She seems confused for a second. "You…didn't tell a joke, sir."

Sense of amusement increases.

"Oh shut it you little rat. It would've been funny if you hadn't stopped me from telling it."

Sense of horror.

"It wouldn't have been that bad."

Before the smug asshole could send some garbled emotions my way, I realize that I've been having a conversation with a fucking cat, and stop my stupidity.

Sense of amusement.

I don't deign that with a response, even as the emotion persists. Instead, I look towards my new secretary.

"What's next on the agenda."

Clearly shaken by my amazing sense of humor, she clears her head and checks. "Well, sir, it seems that you are being called for a meeting by one…Grand Admiral Thrawn. It's not on the schedule sir, should I ask for it to be pushed back."

Thanking my helmet for hiding my quickly paling face, I steady myself before answering.

"No. I'll take the call on my shuttle. Have the building secured, and start sending droids into the tunnels for a preliminary search. Don't want to overburden the designers."

Without waiting for a response, I make my way up towards my L-99 shuttle, sitting pretty on the building's external landing pad just to the right of the antenna.

The entire way there, my mind is filled with a repeat loop of 'oh fuck oh shit oh fuck oh shit'.

Sitting down in the lounge, I make sure I look presentable, and remove my helmet, Oioro giving me a look that reminded me she had never seen me without it. Sure, it looked pretty good(Darna looks had told me she disagreed, even though she never spoke a word about it.) but to wear a helmet I didn't need at the moment to address a superior? It would be rude, to say the least.

Is Thrawn my superior? I'm not sure if we're on the same chain of command. Then again, he orders around Pryce, so maybe?

As Oioro connects her PDA to the holotable, I banish those thoughts. Regardless of chain of command, he's got more power, connections and support. His lack of political acumen means nothing when he has sheer weight behind him.

The projector flickers as Oioro leaves the room, and there stands the bust of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"Governor Mola, I presume?"

"Correct, Grand Admiral. How may I be of service" Please be nothing please be nothing please be nothing

"I heard about you from your sister, one Alvi Mola. She has spoken well of you, and the Minda system as a whole. I find myself agreeing with her sentiments"

"Thank you, Grand Admiral." I say with a slight nod of the head. Gotta show deference and all that.

"Tell me, Governor. What do you see when you look at the Empire? And please, speak your mind. I want an honest answer."

My entire being stills, and time seems to slow to a crawl. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a light bluish glow emanating from Mugwuffin. Crazy ass space cat with crazy ass space powers.

Sense of amusement.

Fuck off. Anyways, I take this opportunity to compose myself. He wants honesty. And he's Thrawn. That means real honesty. Kinda.

I can't just call the Empire a gaggle of fascist toddlers run by a sadistic pedo(don't think he is, but he sure looks like it). But, I can appeal to his sense of efficiency, and focus on calling out the Empires more logistical and morale based failures. Hopefully, I can avoid talking smack about Ol'Puckered Anus and his little Sith game.

As my perception of time resumed its normal course, I looked him in the eyes. Seems like the right thing to do, give him that kind of respect.

"The Empire is a beast with a strong jaw and weak legs. For all the power it can bring to bear, it lacks flexibility and undervalues the smaller, individual parts of the machine. It survives only because of its momentum and the fact that there is no major force to contend against."

He raises an eyebrow, studying me through the holo connection.

After a few tense moments, the smallest hint of a smile appears on his face.

"Governor Mola, I just so happen to share your sentiments. After hearing about your system, and later the TIE variants and retrofits you've had designed, I wished to approach you regarding a…deal, of sorts."

I give a slow nod. "What kind of deal, Grand Admiral?"

"Your willingness to expand and innovate is a quality I find of great importance. Recently, my bid for funds to continue a project I have been championing has failed, due to other projects vying for the credits and the main factory of said project going up in flames just a few days ago. While I no longer have the backing of the Empire's monetary reserves to fulfill my ambitions, you might."

I appreciate the offer, Grand Admiral, but I must warn you. For all that I am governor, neither of the systems under my control are particularly rich. And most of my forces and revenue are tied up in dealing with Edins criminal problems. I'm not sure I'll be of much use."

He gives a light smirk. "I know. The plan is to have you hold the schematics of the project and continue background research until such time that I am able to secure the Empires funding. After which research and later production would be moved to Minda. Of course, this will be a boost to the Mindan economy and prestige once the project is finished."

I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell him to fuck off back to the unknown regions, but I stayed myself. Realistically, while the Grand Admiral had no official authority over me, in truth he had enough power to screw me over.

"That sounds like quite the project. The prosperity of the systems under my command are my priority, so I humbly accept your offer, Grand Admiral. Pray tell, what is this project you speak of?"

Its at that moment that my PDA pings. A quick look shows me multiple files, each containing unique TIE designs. I looked back up.

"I believe that we can make this work. The techs would love to get new designs to tinker with, after all."

His smile widened a bit. "That is very good to hear, Governor Mola. I would love to visit-

Fuck no please no stay the fuck awa-

-but I have pressing matters to attend to-

Hell yeah!

-and will be away for some time. One day, I hope to see Minda myself."

"Of course, Grand Admiral," I say with another light nod. "We will welcome you with open arms. Safe travels, and godspeed."

"Hmm…godspeed. I like that. Good day, Governor."

As soon as the holo shuts off, I nearly collapse into my seat. Fucking hell, that was goddamn terrifying. Only reason I agreed to this shit is cause I have little recourse, and because if things go like they should, he get's tossed into the fucking void by some whales.

Now, I just need nothing else to go wrong.

Sense of irony.

"Fuck off."

Sense of amusement.

"Rat"
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commander Kaela Grant
Edin System, Edin 2, AC-AT Bulwark

As Kaela sat in the officers quarters aboard the Bulwark, scanning over her tac-map, she couldn't help but smile.

It was a predatory smile, that much she knew. But, she also knew that it was worth it. Things were looking up on Edin.

All across the planet, teams of stormtroopers and pilots and LECA units devastated what few known criminal hideouts remained. The rest had either been dealt with, or turned to dust from orbit.

As she ruminated on her next steps, like the beginning of a better local milita, her PDA pinged with a priority report.

Checking it, her brows furrowed.

A small horde of people, from a variety of races, all…insane? She checked further. Increased strength, speed, durability against blasters. It took a LECA to put them all down.

They had come from a cave found in one of the gang hideouts. The local officer had ordered small scout droids down, and found what seemed to be a hidden laboratory of some sort.

Pressing her comm, she spoke. "Have an investigative squad sent to site 8-12-F. Make sure they have biohazard gear, and be extra cautious. Refer to report 8-12-F-778 for further information. Tell them to keep it quiet."

"Yes Ma'am."

With that, she leaned off the comm, and started drafting a report. It would, of course, go straight to the Governor himself. That new secretary was competent, but she was new. Darna had proven herself to be competent and trustworthy, this new 'Oioro' has not.

This had the makings of a new threat. One that she would take pleasure in dealing with.

Her fun was just beginning.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi there folks! Finally planned out the new arc, with this as the start! Welcome to Governor's Gambit second Arc, Whispers in the Dark! Obviously, I won't be giving much away, can't be out here ruining all the suspense, but I will say, a new companion awaits Las at the end of this arc. One that he will be both grateful and scared by in equal measures. And no, it's not Thrawn.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

-Freefaller

Governor's Gambit - Star Wars SI into Imperial Governor

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Chp-27: Wounds and Worries

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