Ten years and twenty-second day after the Battle of Yavin…
Or the forty-fifth year and twenty-second day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Seven months and seventh day since the arrival).
Life is arranged quite amusingly.
Especially when it intertwines with the needs of the rear, supply, and planning of a military operation.
Not even a day had passed since Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon and I had been reviewing the current reports from shipbuilder Ryan Zion, and now, in an expanded composition, I was preparing to discuss the current realities of the impending confrontation with the "Zann Consortium."
Not just criminals, but a state entrenched within another state.
And one cannot discount what the Corporate Sector truly represents.
It is not simply "another" section of the galaxy, the tip of one of the galaxy's arms, the Tingel Arm.
And not just over forty star systems that had successfully and boisterously developed for centuries thanks to corporate ethics, unrestricted entrepreneurship, vast capital, and loyalty to the Galactic Empire in the last decades.
There are hundreds of inhabited planets there, but not all of them are well-studied due to their remoteness or unattractiveness to investors or for placing production facilities, headquarters, warehouses, and other corporate "goodies."
It is one enormous commercial machine, at the head of which stand shrewd businessmen for whom profit has always stood and stands at the forefront.
Not to mention that, beyond the known and mapped inhabited and studied systems, within the Corporate Sector or in its nearest borders, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of uninhabited and unknown-to-the-galaxy planets from which necessary resources are extracted, and military bases or garrisons are established.
One way or another,
The Corporate Sector, which locals abbreviate simply as "CorpSec," is a state within a state.
Which, moreover, has the support of one of the most ruthless criminal organizations, led by a man whose military and administrative talents are universally recognized.
In other words, by going against Tyber Zann and his bandits, we are confronting a state that, over centuries of control of these territories, knows them better than we do, has its own vast fleet, trained army, specialists, equipment, armaments, factories for production and repair.
And they have an army of criminals.
Which controls one of the largest shipyards in the galaxy and has the capability to produce clones by the millions.
One can be as proud as one wants of how, not long ago, the tiny fleet of the Dominion—tiny compared to the combined might of the New Republic—tormented Coruscant and what blows were struck against it, how many prisoners were captured, how many ships and pieces of equipment were captured as trophies…
Victory over the New Republic is ensured not least by the presence of sources of information within it, as well as my post-knowledge regarding current events.
But as for the current fate of the "Zann Consortium" and the Corporate Sector, I know absolutely nothing.
Except for what has been gathered by scouts and spies over the last few months.
And it is precisely on the basis of this information, as well as the available historical chronicles, that I must develop a strategy of confrontation with the "Zann Consortium."
Of course, one could simply do nothing.
After all, what business of mine are the corporates and their connection with criminals, whatever it may be?
None—if based on the postulates I myself declared earlier.
The Corporate Sector, as well as the territories it controls, is not part of the Dominion.
And we weren't even invited there, factually.
Confrontation with the corporates and Zann is a risk.
Not just because they have hundreds, if not thousands, of warships of various types, including Imperial designs.
But also because the Dominion and its periphery are a juicy target.
For the New Republic.
For the Alliance.
For the Imperial Remnants.
For Palpatine.
The order of attacks and the list of participants can be anything.
Suppose that for some of the opponents, I already have countermeasures developed and applied, but for others—no.
Not yet.
But I am working on it.
Diverting large forces from the Dominion is a danger of "not making it back in time" when our defensive lines are breached by hordes of enemies.
And they will be breached if we do not continue to strengthen them.
Literally this morning, I already received information about attempts to breach the Dominion's borders by scout ships from Orinda.
The patrols that responded to the intrusion destroyed the violators before they could escape and report on the security systems of our borders.
Which continue to be strengthened day by day.
Grand Moff Ferrus once showed me the economic charts of the Dominion.
Up to seventy percent of enterprises in the metropolis are "defense industry" and dual-use enterprises.
The civilian sector is present, of course, but its share is small, though it increases in tiny portions each week.
Billions of sentients from across the Dominion are involved in one way or another in military-industrial or dual-use complexes, but tens of billions more are unemployed.
And this is a problem that, though slowly, is being solved.
Because even with the acquisition of the technological base and design documentation from "Santhe Technologies," we do not possess the necessary enterprises to produce the same gravity well generators, solar ionization reactors—these enterprises are still under construction.
And to complete them requires not just building materials, labor, droids, and architects.
They need machine tools, conveyors, foundries, auxiliary equipment.
All of this could have been captured on Lianna.
In the case of full occupation of the planet.
But I lacked the necessary forces to carry out this ground operation without the danger of revealing the true perpetrator of the attack on the planet.
Too few ground troops in the Dominion.
And our only chance to seize the initiative is to continue to have an advantage in space battles.
While continuing to monitor the homeland of the "Imperial Hammers"—the Empire's most elite armored division, which is on the southern frontiers of the galaxy, not far from Eriadu.
Attracting them to my side before Palpatine's destruction is foolish, because they still adhere to the policies of the New Order.
Yes, they strive for a strong leader, and I am more than certain that if the question arises—who to be loyal to: me or Palpatine—the answer in favor of the latter will not be considered treason on their part.
The "Hammers" and their ground army are, without a doubt, a juicy morsel for a one-time elimination of the shortage of ground forces.
But the game is not worth the candle—I have put too much effort into ridding the Dominion and the ranks of the armed forces of spies and potential traitors.
And to desperately rush to them for help, with all chances of getting several hundred thousand battle-hardened, ruthlessly trained, and excellently skilled armored troops, stormtroopers, and other army specialists right in the rear—is foolish and reckless.
For the same reason, I am not currently undertaking attempts to join to myself the secret laboratory of Tarkin hidden inside the Maw cluster, along with its scientific potential, four Star Destroyers with fully crewed complements, and nearly forty thousand stormtroopers, not to mention the superweapon.
It is a dangerous game that is not worth the candle.
Such allies should be courted only when they have no serious alternative choice of whom to serve.
And if, against the backdrop of the Imperial Remnants, my campaign looked presentable, then compared to Palpatine and his might—it is simply child's play.
He alone has enough battlecruisers, Star Super Destroyers, and dreadnoughts to grind my fleet to pieces and not even break a sweat before burning the planets of the metropolis.
The state balances on the brink of crisis because wartime requires military production first and foremost.
The civilian sector is coping so far with the necessary minimum, and Ferrus is running himself ragged to establish as many purely civilian industries as possible under current conditions.
It's good that we got lucky with agriculture and trade planets, the income from which and their activities as such help us avoid hunger and immediate collapse.
Honest to goodness, it reminds one of the good old Soviet society with a planned economy in the hands of monkeys.
The comparison is, of course, far from the real state of affairs, but the problem here is not so much that we have problems at every turn, but rather that there is a severe shortage of competent managers on the ground.
Grand Moff's clones work in the new sectors, simulating Ferrus's direct involvement in solving their problems, but this game of "hide from civilians that you have a bunch of clones" cannot last long.
In the regular fleet, such things work—people who end up there are sufficiently motivated and vetted sentients, whom the Oath and nondisclosure agreement do not allow to chatter extra even to family.
But in the "civilian sector"…
It's a whole different story.
And this brings us to the fact that the war with the "Zann Consortium" and the Corporate Sector is vital for the survival of the Dominion as a state.
As imperialistic as it may sound, CorpSec will either become part of the Dominion, or we will fall apart.
Such are the harsh realities of what is happening.
And the issue is not even that the fragile economy, currently fueled only by the aurodium reserves of the "Sa'Nalaor" and taxes from trade planets, may crack, and default is a thing that is not pleasant in itself.
We can hold onto power, but what is the point of all this if there is no possibility to normalize the functioning of the state.... Under current realities, in five years we could achieve an unwavering budget surplus and at the same time build everything necessary to provide the population with everything the soul desires in volumes that interest the consumer, not those that the state can provide.
But we do not have these five years.
And this is the second, but main, reason why I will have to go to war with the corporates and the "Zann Consortium."
Precisely the existence of their symbiosis.
According to intelligence reports, crime is deeply rooted in the governance of CorpSec, which means only one thing—Zann has no problems financing his criminal activities.
To maintain the operation of his factories and bases that we captured or destroyed, as well as to build a fleet and droid army, he needs money and resources.
The Dominion is incredibly rich in resources—that's why I bet on annexing precisely these Outer Rim sectors.
Here there is at least minimal industry, many asteroid fields and dead celestial bodies that can be used to extract resources.
Which, in turn, go to defense production and the settlement of new planets in the metropolis and, to a lesser extent, the periphery.
Another side of the issue is that in the past, Mitth'raw'nuruodo was precisely the sentient who contributed to Tyber Zann's expulsion from the Imperial military Academy.
And then, during the Galactic Civil War, the Chiss crossed Zann's path again.
A criminal is vindictive and does not forgive such things.
Especially in light of the fact that I took from him the factory for producing the latest model droids.
Given that there are fewer than a dozen such factories in the entire galaxy, one can imagine the losses to Zann's army.
Not to mention the economy of the criminal underworld.
It is also quite obvious that the Dominion, and therefore I personally, stands behind the fact that the "Vultures'" operation to acquire military property has ceased to exist.
If Zann is not eliminated before he gets an army of clones, then fighting him, with rich and technically well-equipped allies, will become incredibly difficult.
Because, unlike the New Republic, he will not have stretched borders, internal strife, or the need to stretch his armed forces across thousands of star systems.
And therefore, crews had to be split, mixing veterans with former Defense Fleet servicemen, mercilessly exploiting the Spaarti cloning cylinders to build up the regular fleet's forces.
While not forgetting to grow the necessary military industry and economy.
Simultaneously conducting intelligence activities across the galaxy to be able to monitor how the military activities of the Imperials, Republicans, and rebels develop.
I place great hopes on the fact that my specialists will still figure out who the author of the cloning cylinders for the H1 faction is, but preliminary conclusions already suggest that it is Arkania technology.
From what I remember, it was the Arkaniians who created, in the final stages of the Clone Wars, hasty Spaarti clones for Palpatine.
Which went mad and had extremely mediocre professional skills and a very short life cycle.
But that was mass production.
And the volumes of captured cloning autoclaves do not pull to the concept of "mass production" at all.
In this regard, I have an assumption that Palpatine, after abandoning the clone army, evacuated most of the Arkania cloning production equipment from Centax-II.
And surely it is with the help of precisely this technology that he is building up his human potential on Byss.
Another issue with clones that needs to be clarified is the Grappa Hutt copy of Baroness D'Asta.
Who, where, under what circumstances and conditions created the one who is now, under the tireless control of my guards, leading an open struggle for the D'Astan sector.
And it would also be desirable to understand where the real baroness is and how to most profitably realize the situation that has arisen with the "duality" of the legitimate heiress of the late Ragez.
And there are hundreds of "smaller" matters as well…
It's good that Grand Moff Ferrus is making progress in solving civilian administration problems.
As much as I internally would like to deprive the moffs of the military component of their positions, handing over the care of sector security to fleet admirals and planetary tranquility to ground generals, I simply do not have that possibility under current circumstances.
The defense forces of the metropolis are holding only thanks to conscripts, outdated equipment, and periodic patrols by the regular fleet, which now and then catch small pirates and lone adventurers.
And if a month ago it seemed to me that everything was calm in the Dominion, now there are no such exaggerations.
There are so many problems that reading their list starts the most severe migraine.
But one of them I thought I had solved by now.
Before me lay the data from the medical scan of shipbuilder Zion.
For once, it had been possible to complete a full medical scan of the man, which takes an indecently longer time compared to examining an ordinary human.... And the results are discouraging.
Cybernetic prosthetics, including interventions in parts of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system, did not make him unsuitable for cloning.
Taking cells and multiplying them is no problem.
But making a mind copy…
Experimentally, it has been established that those who have implants in their heads, even optical sensors, like Zion and Reyes, lead to burnout of the mental imprint apparatus.
Well… We have spare apparatus, even if not available, but the loss of two devices will not stop the process itself.
Although I should have guessed something like this, since such technology looks like a magnetic resonance tomograph, into which it is contraindicated to enter with metal.
Hope was for a bright future and progress, but the laws of physics, it seems, cannot be cheated.
Well, at least now we have two apparatuses that can be "disassembled and examined" without fear of breaking them and having them not work.
Already broken.
Already not working.
On one hand, this is an opportunity to study the technology.
On the other—this is a statement of fact that it will not be possible to easily increase the staff of narrow-profile specialists quantitatively and qualitatively.
Even the thought flashed that it was not for nothing that among highly qualified specialists in Imperial times there was a "fashion" for optical prosthetics or integration of electronics into the head.
Perhaps this was precisely an figurative way for the technogenic or creative elite of the Galactic Empire to protect themselves from cloning, whereby a fully loyal, uncomplaining copy could be created without wasting time working with the original.
Well, sad news.
But at least there are small advances in working with the Fett genome and creating new clones based on it.
The experimental batch has just left the aforementioned cylinders.
Now it remains to observe them and evaluate how effectively the imprints of clones of his father from the "Blizzard Force" and the few clones of other specialties from the renowned 501st Guard Legion of the Dominion Armed Forces have taken root on Fett's body.
The one who appeared as a gray shadow on the threshold of my apartments in the headquarters, little different from those on the "Chimaera" and the "Guardian," Rukh with a short report in purring intonations informed that the participants of the expanded military council had arrived.
I ordered the officers to be let in.
The solution to the problem of the existence of the tandem "Corporate Sector and 'Zann Consortium'" was beginning.
***
Grodin Tierce reported first.
The adjutant gave a brief historical summary, generously sprinkled with intelligence data regarding our opponent.
I was familiar with the report in advance, unlike the attending Pellaeon, Shohashi, Doria, and I-Gor.
At present, these are all the officers honored with the ranks of senior command of the Dominion's regular fleet.
If one does not delve into chronological thickets, the Corporate Sector is located just a few remote sectors from the northeastern borders of the Dominion's metropolis.
Historically, the Corporate Sector was created to resolve disagreements between the legislators of the Galactic Republic and the heads of many of the galaxy's largest corporations.
The Corporate Sector is located in the Outer Rim, in the far-from-the-galactic-center part of the Tingel Arm, bordering the Aparo and Vil sectors.
In addition, the corporates are located at the end point of the Hydian Way, which allows reaching virtually any point in the galaxy in short order, using the already blazed for thousands of years one of the key hyperspace highways.
Scouts managed to obtain the most up-to-date data on the sector's astrogation, which differed markedly from the data we had based on the library on Obroa-skai.
In fact, the Corporate Sector includes thousands of inhabited systems, as well as over a hundred thousand uninhabited systems.
Is that a lot?
Honestly, virtually any sector in the known part of the galaxy includes a similar number of systems and planets.
But the difference is that in the known part of the galaxy they are mapped and studied, while the corporates resolutely keep their secrets.
The sectors controlled by the Dominion are also superficially studied, so it is not surprising that upon detailed study of astrogation we will discover another couple or three thousand planets.
But this is not a general rule—after all, this is the galactic outskirts, where the gravitational forces of the Deep Core are the least strong.
Unlike those same arms, in which, essentially, the greatest density of planets is concentrated.
That is why for most sentients only four-odd dozen planets are known within this part of the galaxy.
Judging by the fact that nowhere in open sources or even in the archives of Imperial Intelligence is even a close number mentioned, the corporates know how to keep secrets much better than the Imperials themselves.
Which means that inside the sector one can not just hide anything, but make it so that no one finds out about it at all.... Unless the sector's rulers themselves want to.
And they clearly will not want to.
The scale of the upcoming campaign was beginning to take on massive proportions, which was not envisaged initially.
Now I understand why many regimes in the galaxy wanted to subjugate the Corporate Sector for themselves, and only a few succeeded.
And came the understanding of why even Palpatine decided not to tangle with the locals, and they, in turn, preferred not to conflict with the corporate government and imposed tribute in exchange for old military equipment.
It is also noteworthy that in the Corporate Sector, even after Palpatine's death, construction of a palace for him was underway.
Due to communication problems—as paradoxical as it may sound, but the repeaters in this part of the galaxy are quite outdated, and therefore unreliable—the construction continued for some time after the actual completion of the Battle of Endor.
Which indicates an obvious weakness in the corporates' communications with the rest of the galaxy.
Note the thought.
This is a very useful observation, because the "Holonet" repeaters in the galaxy are the fastest and most accurate way to coordinate armies, fleets, and transport ships, not to mention civilian communications and so on.
At present, the Dominion has no direct borders with territory controlled by the corporates.
Our northeastern border—the Korva sector—adjoins the Bosf and Happih sectors, and those already to Aparo.
In the north, there are also formations, but they are in the exclusive zone of corporate influence, and therefore for me they represent precisely one target, not several.
The Corporate Sector and its nearest neighbors—the Aparo and Vil sectors.
The southern border of the Corporate Sector is the Vil sector.
Sector Vil.
One can penetrate into the Corporate Sector via two main space routes.
This is the already mentioned Hydian Way—sequentially flying through the Happih and Aparo sectors.
Or, at the southern borders of the Happih sector, on the planet Listehol, set off along the Listehol Run to the planet Zygerria, crossing the Vil sector and making a stop in the Chorlian sector, from where via the route known as the Shalithin Tunnels one could reach, bypassing a number of border systems, straight to Etti IV.
Through the northern territories one could also reach the "innards of the sector," but this path is dangerous.
Primarily because corporate testing ranges are located there, and therefore the most advanced defense systems.
Secondly, but no less importantly, such a journey is dangerous because it passes in immediate proximity to the gravitational anomaly surrounding the galaxy.
And a failed hyperdrive is essentially certain death for anyone caught in such captivity.
Because there are no chances of reaching the destination at subluminal speed.
At least not for the next few hundred years.
It is also curious that despite the capture of border sectors to the Corporate ones a couple of years after the Battle of Endor, and another year later—the galaxy region itself by warlord Zsinj, the Happih, Aparo (and the Catarl subsector within it), Vim sectors—all of them at present are managed by Imperial moffs themselves.
But they prefer to obey the corporates.
As does the former Moff Harsh from the Bosf sector, who intends to regain what he lost.
"In other words, we have a powerful production, economically stable sector possessing its own satellite sectors with considerable armed forces," Doria summarized Tierce's presentation. "Not to mention their fleet teeming with Victory-class Star Destroyers, as well as the armies of both the corporates themselves and the 'Zann Consortium' fighters. Including the latter's fleet, about whose quantitative or qualitative composition we know nothing."
"One might think you didn't know this before this report," Pellaeon grimaced.
"This is nothing more than a summary," Doria stated coldly, throwing me a quick glance. "In no way did I intend to offend or hurt anyone."
Pellaeon intended to respond as well, but apparently remembered my instructions regarding the conflict with Doria, which I suggested half a year ago to resolve with a simple gentlemanly blaster shootout, and decided to stick to his opinion.
"I beg your pardon," he said hastily. "Emotions."
"Apologies accepted, Vice Admiral," I replied. "Henceforth, I ask each of those present to keep themselves in hand. We are not cadets at the Imperial military Academy to waste precious time in this manner. Let us proceed to the details of our plan."
The senior fleet officers silently exchanged glances.
"At present, the Bosf sector has fallen out of the corporates' sphere of influence, but they are striving to regain control," Pellaeon said. "They naturally do not need the planets or the local population, but they clearly will not refuse the rich deposits of useful minerals."
"Given the territories they already control and the resources extracted from them, one can assume they are used for the corporate armed forces," Rear Admiral I-Gor stated.... "Including," Tierce confirmed. "However, droid spies detected dense traffic of freighters both along the Hydian Way and through the Shalithin Shafts. The freighters are full of ore, and according to the bills of lading, this is raw material directly for creating armor—for both ground forces and starships."
"Was it possible to establish exactly where the ore is supplied?" Erik Shohashi asked, making notes on his deck.
"Intelligence managed to track some of the truck convoys," Grodin did not embellish reality. "Undoubtedly, there is a number of commercial enterprises in neutral systems where the Corporate Sector sells its resources. We have formed two flows of freighters. The one going along the Hydian Way is of no particular interest—it is simple goods sold just as in the past. The second route is transportation along regional routes of the galactic eastern outskirts. All recipients of this category of cargo without exception are concentrated in the east of the galaxy, predominantly in Hutt Space. We are unable to track the further fate of the supplies at present—deep infiltration into Hutt spheres is required."
Grodin fell silent, not voicing the obvious.
Criminal overlords do not like it when noses are poked into their affairs.
If deals with metal sales have nothing to do with the "Zann Consortium," then such actions against Hutt companies could provoke a full response from their side.
This is essentially making enemies out of thin air.
On the other hand, during the formation of the Dominion, we have more than once stepped on Hutt interests. True, they were not the most influential, and their attempts to harm my plans ended soon after they transferred advances to mercenaries: the Noghri cut out both the clients and the performers.
But large metal supplies are no joke.
These could be operations of leading Hutts with weight.
Every Hutt is by nature quite the schemer.
And the stronger his gang, the weightier he intends to make it.
Some Hutts have entire mercenary fleets on payroll, and it may well happen that one of them needed resources for repairing old or producing new starships.
Attacking supplies of an influential Hutt will inevitably stir up their leadership, and the hunt for the culprits will be joined by all those same mentioned mercenary fleets.
Thus, ill-considered actions will put us in the position of a war on two, or even four, fronts.
Here, one does not even need to think about winning.
Such wars never lead to anything good.
One can squeeze all the juices out of oneself and even the most advanced industry, supplying the front with more and more equipment, but when you are hit from all sides—it hurts.
And deadly.
Therefore, exhaustive measures must be taken to understand who the ore is supplied to and for what purposes.
Because I have a draft of confrontation with the Corporate Sector anyway.
It just needs to be adjusted to current realities.
Or perhaps radically revised.
That is why I do not intend to voice it to anyone, even senior officers, fully.
Only those elements that they will need to perform separately from the main forces.
Operation "Crimson Dawn" was reviewed, edited, and modified more than once so that the final version became what it was implemented a few weeks ago.
"Purification by fire" is also just a draft, but over time it will grow all the necessary elements.
It is only necessary to learn as much as possible about the opponents.
"Let us proceed to our current goals," I said. "Major Tierce, report to us on Moff Harsh from the Bosf sector and his ally, Seth Kabul. The Bosf sector is our priority target at present."
Not because everything there is easy and simple.
But because there are already reconnoitered rich deposits there, and a significant part of the sector's population are experienced miners.
Upon execution of the plan, we will get not just an enterprise that is currently reviving after sabotage, but also an excellent staff of employees.
Part of which can always be lured to other developments in the Dominion, especially since the Defense Fleet regularly provides headquarters with data on found asteroid belts, dead planets and moons rich in minerals and other useful fossils.
"If you'll allow, sir, I would like to supplement the information on 'Kabul Industries,'" the former guardsman said.
"Proceed."... "As I already indicated in the report, 'Kabul Industries' is a formerly prosperous mining company owned by the Kabul family from the planet Otunia in the Bosf sector. The company's founder, Mr. Lorne Kabul, back in the days of the Old Republic, managed to conclude a lucrative contract with the Coruscant authorities. In exchange for guaranteed purchases of metals and other products from his mines, the Republic sent convicts to the Bosf sector who had not been noted for serious crimes. Lorne Kabul used them as hired workers, and given the working conditions in the mines, he had the opportunity to reduce the sentence due to the high hazard of the work. This move worked, and in a short time he assembled a huge staff of employees. The enterprise extended these contracts, including with the Empire, but they began sending outright thugs there as well. Output decreased, and according to the Imperial archive, Coruscant decided to take the mines under direct control, dissatisfied with the enterprise management's loyal attitude toward subordinates."
"And at that moment, Moff Harsh appears in the sector?" Rear Admiral I-Gor clarified.
"Yes, sir," Tierce confirmed. "This man underwent cadre training at the military academy with the highest marks. In addition, his instructors also noted in him a penchant for politics, instilled by his mentor outside the Academy—one of the members of the Imperial Senate."
The guardsman paused, giving the gathered time to digest the information.
"Senators do not favor just anyone," Doria said, his face changing.
"I agree," Shohashi said. "He is clearly a senatorial protégé, and therefore his assignment to a region with rich mineral deposits is hardly a merit as such. It is protection."
"A corrupt scheme," Pellaeon grimaced. "I never liked this military-civilian activity of moffs."
"The fleet and army never treated moffs as equals," I-Gor agreed. "With rare exceptions, of course. But the collapse of the Empire and the multitude of warlords from former moffs, as well as their sad results, directly prove the harmfulness of such a combination of positions."
The attending officers, except for the indifferent Tierce, nodded in agreement.
The movements were more like reflexes than deliberate approvals.
The slightly glazed gazes indicate that each of them is now somewhere in their own memories.
No wonder—almost every Star Destroyer commander, and even just fleet officer, has his own (and sometimes more than one) story of negative interaction with an Imperial moff.
Note the thought—the senior officers of the regular fleet are cautiously but purposefully indicating that the military component should be removed from the moffs' powers.
A good attitude—it is necessary to monitor the situation further to understand how correct such a division would be.
At present, under conditions of tension, arranging cardinal changes is fraught with confusion and bureaucratic delays.
We do not need that.
But the problem exists—not every moff is capable of adequately commanding armed forces.
"Continue, Major," I ordered.
"With the support of his senatorial patron, Harsh quickly rose through the command hierarchy. At a fairly young age, he received the rank of captain and took command of an Imperial-II class Star Destroyer named 'Cauldron.'"
"Did this happen before or after the start of the mass refit of 'ones' into 'twos'?" Shohashi asked an unexpected question.
"Before," Tierse replied.
Doria drummed his fingers on the table.
"This means his lobbyist was hardly from the rank-and-file senators," Pellaeon voiced the general thought. "'Cauldron' is one of the first 'twos' in the Imperial Starfleet. They were given to the most distinguished and close officers as a sign of their exclusivity."
Gilad himself, then just a simple officer on the Star Destroyer "Chimaera," was bypassed by such "mercy."
The "Chimaera" went through the path from "one" to "two" on general grounds.
And at present, it even includes quite a few elements from the "Three" modernization program.
"At the beginning of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Harsh was sent to the planet Chabosh, where he headed the fleet under orbital blockade conditions after the Imperial governor of the planet was overthrown by rebels," Tierce continued. "Harsh personally led a company of stormtroopers in the final assault on the rebels' planetary citadel, protected by powerful deflector shields. During the attack, which was crowned with success, Harsh was seriously wounded but survived. He quickly earned a series of promotions compared to many other senior officers, and a year after his victory on Chabosh, Emperor Palpatine personally bestowed upon him the title of Moff of the Bosf sector."
The gathered were silent.
Each of them mentally convinced himself of what real power the patron of Harsh possessed.
From commander of a destroyer, albeit one, straight to the position of moff... It is a dizzying success that evokes envy in friends and a desire to inflict plenty of dirty tricks in rivals.
"On Palpatine's orders, Harsh conducted an orbital bombardment of the planet Bosf to destroy the Force-sensitive sentients living on it," the new portion of the story painted the moff's personality in new tones. The most unflattering ones. "Harsh blockaded the planet and slaughtered millions. Some time after the Emperor's death, Moff Harsh, now an independent warlord, desired to put 'Kabul Industries' under his control, disagreed on this point with the company owner. After which he approached the latter's brother, Seth Kabul. With his help, he planned and carried out a terrorist act that took the life of the corporation's owner. It was believed that his daughter, the enterprise's executive director, also perished, and Seth Kabul entered into inheritance. Shortly thereafter, it turned out that this was not the case. The murdered man's daughter, Arista Kabul, along with her comrades, arranged mine explosions and put them out of commission for many years. At present, Seth Kabul, nearly bankrupt, received a large sum of money from unknown benefactors, which he directed toward restoring major mines. Based on the nomenclature of extracted goods, components for building combat spacecraft are being mined."
"What forces do Seth Kabul and Moff Harsh have at their disposal?" Rear Admiral I-Gor asked.
"Within the sector—a Star Destroyer 'Cauldron,' which escorts ore convoys to the borders of Bosf, after which it hands over the cargo to Corporate Sector ships, whose squadron blocks movement beyond the sector by any ships except their own," Grodin reported. "According to the latest data, a legion of stormtroopers with heavy equipment support landed on Otunia, guarding the operating mines. The local population's desire to engage in labor activity interests no one."
"In other words, a banal robbery of a sector bordering ours is taking place," Doria summarized.
"Harsh sends miner detachments to more and more new deposits," Pellaeon reported, tearing his gaze from his personal screen.
"The former moff is ramping up extraction volumes," I agreed. "And supplying more and more metal to the Corporate Sector. Which clearly indicates demand for this metal within the sector."
"Based on intelligence data, somewhere inside is Tyber Zann's fleet, and they clearly need resources," Doria suggested.
"But at the same time, they supply it to Hutt Space," Shohashi clarified.
"If this is mobilization of resources for building a fleet or droid army, then the reason for export is unclear," I-Gor pondered.
Interesting, has anyone of them paid attention to what I said about the "Zann Consortium" at the council of all linear ship and formation commanders?
"Rotana," Pellaeon said, surveying those present. "They are transporting the ore not to the Hutts, but to Rotana."
"Then why not directly?" Doria wondered. "An illogical act—to build a fleet in secret, but at the same time use Hutts as a front."
"Given that according to intelligence, Tyber Zann long conflicted with the Hutts," I-Gor supported.
"Not with the Hutts," I objected. "With Jabba the Hutt."
"Who is currently dead," Shohashi picked up. "In other words, Zann's direct enemy is dead, and with the rest he could have secretly concluded an agreement on protecting his ships. Sending cargo ships on a detour requires a large escort fleet. Zann does not want to reveal himself before time, therefore he cannot use his own fleet for freighter escort. The design of his starships is quite recognizable. Therefore, if at least one pirate group that attacked a cargo convoy survives, rumors of the 'Consortium's' actions in this part of the galaxy will spread, and this will attract attention from the New Republic, which has military bases nearby. Similar questions will arise if the Corporate Sector fleet, which never ventured beyond its zone of influence, escorts freighters. This is literally a direct indication of the value of what is carried in the holds."
"Which means collective attack by pirate bands for a fat piece," I-Gor agreed.
"And convoys traveling under Hutt protection near their Space are attacked only by madmen," Pellaeon said. "But again, this is nothing more than a hypothesis that we cannot confirm or refute."
As if no one guesses that, having received data on cargo movement from the Corporate Sector to the Hutts, I will not send reconnaissance there to figure out what is happening.
The council is being held primarily to understand the level of abilities of my senior officers, in fact—the flagmen of squadrons—to preemptive analysis of intelligence information.... "Purification by fire" in particular assumes long-term operation of squadrons autonomously from the entire fleet.
And, in my opinion, as a person rises in ranks, he should increase his level of operational art and ability to foresee the consequences of his actions several steps ahead.
"If we take into account how many warships we saw guarding the 'Zann Consortium' planets attacked—Hypori, Salukemai, Shola, part of which were destroyed, then one can also assume that they do not have enough of their own warships to ensure base security and escort ore convoys," Shohashi said.
"Or they are under construction and need protection at their basing sites," Pellaeon noted. "Judging by how much Imperial weaponry they took from the warehouses of Sullust and Sluis Van, clearly what is planned is the construction of an entire fleet. After the attack on the 'Consortium' planets, Tyber Zann could have switched to defense and thereby try to draw us under a Hutt strike, calculating that it is precisely the Dominion behind the attack on the New Republic's supply lines."
"Cutting logistical chains is almost a textbook tactic," Doria reminded. "Without hard evidence of the Dominion using captured starships, accusing us of anything is absolutely foolish."
"Wrong," I said.
The gathered officers looked at me with interest.
"The New Republic was forced to seek evidence of our involvement to justify their actions to the population that chose life under democracy and illusory security," I stated. "The 'Zann Consortium,' masquerading as 'Black Sun,' has no such problems as justifying their suspicions and fawning before the population. A criminal has no need to justify his criminal actions."
The gathered officers nodded their heads in unison, agreeing.
"Continue, Major," I requested. "Report on the Corporate Sector's allied sectors. The gentlemen officers should know as much as possible about their future targets…"