Returning to the Luminary, Daimon decided to rest for the day and sleep on his thoughts. They had seen all they needed and now it was up to him to make the decision which he was going to make the next day.
On the other hand, the Hutts were scheming behind Daimon's back, eager to gain the rewards of this encounter without being forced to compromise on anything. The fact that Daimon came in there and didn't show proper respect besides bringing gifts, made the Hutts believe that he was full of himself.
They didn't know what type of technology this strange fleet got, but what they did know was that they had more ships. And with a few days to spare, they began to gather some of their most powerful mercenary fleets in order to take down this fleet and steal any technology they had.
They believed that with enough fire power, they could win and profit from this battle. This would have been true if they were dealing with somebody else, but unfortunately, they were matched against Daimon and his Imperium which has fought many battles outnumbered against greater foes.
As they next day came around, Daimon had a meeting with his officers. In the main conference room of the Luminary, Daimon sat at the head of the table with Elara and Sera on either side of him. Commodore Kelthar, Lord Maxim, and several senior officers filled the remaining seats around the room.
A holographic display of Nal Hutta and its surrounding space was set up in the center of the table, showing real-time sensor data of ship movements throughout the system and on the surface of the planets within the system.
"Over the past twelve hours," Commodore Kelthar began, "we've detected significant fleet movements. At least 50 Hutt-affiliated vessels have entered the system from various jump points. They're positioning themselves in what appears to be an encirclement pattern around our current location."
Lord Maxim leaned forward, studying the display. "Their formation is sloppy, but the intent is clear. They're preparing an ambush."
"How long until they're in position?" Daimon asked.
"At their current rate, approximately sixteen hours," Kelthar replied. "They're being cautious, probably waiting for more ships to arrive before making their move."
Sera shook her head. "So much for Hutt hospitality. They invite us to a gathering while planning to destroy us."
"It's what I expected," Daimon said calmly. "The Hutts are vile money hungry slugs. They believe superior numbers will compensate for inferior technology."
"What are your orders, my Lord?" Kelthar asked.
Daimon stood from his seat and walked toward the holographic display, studying the positions of the Hutt fleet. "We'll let them think they have the advantage. Continue standard operations, make no defensive preparations that would alert them to our awareness. I want them to be confident when they attack."
"You're going to allow them to attack?" Elara asked, wanting to know what exactly the plan was.
"Not exactly," Daimon replied, turning back to face the assembled officers. "Commodore, how many of their vessels would you estimate are crewed by actual Hutts versus mercenaries?"
Kelthar looked at his datapad. "Intelligence suggests fewer than five percent. The vast majority are contracted crews and various species working for credits."
"Good. Then most of those people are victims of circumstance rather than true believers in the Hutt cause." Daimon returned to his seat. "Here's what we're going to do. When their fleet moves to attack, we'll disable their vessels without destroying them. Target engines and weapons systems only. I want casualties minimized."
"My Lord," one of the tactical officers interjected, "that will require significantly more precision and time. We could destroy their fleet in minutes with conventional tactics."
"Which is exactly why we won't," Daimon said. "I'm not interested in creating martyrs or giving the Hutts propaganda about foreign invaders slaughtering their people. We're going to demonstrate the futility of opposing us while offering those mercenaries an alternative."
"You want to recruit them?." asked Sera.
"Not recruit," Daimon clarified. "I want to show them that if they continue fighting for the Hutts then they will ultimately lose their lives. The Hutts don't have a standing military but does have a massive mercenary system that allows people to make money fighting on behalf of others. I will offer those who want to change sides a chance and those that don't will fight and die with the Hutt Clans."
Lord Maxim nodded approvingly. "A psychological operation combined with military superiority. We demonstrate power while offering mercy. It will undermine Hutt authority far more effectively than simple destruction."
"Exactly," Daimon confirmed. "The Hutts rule through fear and the promise of credits. We'll show their hired forces that neither is sustainable when faced with a superior power."
Commodore Kelthar began making notes on his datapad. "We'll need boarding teams for the larger vessels. If we're taking prisoners, we'll need more personnel to secure the ships and process the prisoners."
"Coordinate with the ground forces," Daimon instructed. "I want those ships secured once the battle starts. In the future, we'll retrofit them to meet our needs.
"What about the Hutt Council?" Elara asked. "Are we going to get rid of them or use them."
"They'll be captured and taken hostage while we start our expansion for, but once they outlive their usefulness then we can get rid of them." Elara nodded, understanding his plan.
Daimon looked around the room looking for any more questions, but there were none. "Alright then, this operation will begin during the gathering that they have invited me to since that is the most likely time that they will attack. A comprehensive plan will be sent out in a few hours which will give each battalion their battle orders. That is all I have so let's get to it."
Daimon ended the meeting watching as all the officers got up from their seats and returned to their stations. The battle plan was relayed to the fleet, and everybody was put on a heightened alert status in case things kicked off sooner than Daimon expected.
For the next few hours, Daimon was in meeting after meeting, creating a plan of invasion for the Y'Toub system and the surrounding Hutt controlled space. The intelligence division had provided him with detailed maps of Hutt territory, showing approximately two dozen systems under direct Hutt control and another fifty or so that paid tribute but maintained nominal independence.
"The key systems are interconnected through established hyperlanes," Captain Ryven of Imperial Intelligence explained, projecting a star map across the conference table. "If we control these five major hubs, we effectively cut off communication and reinforcement between Hutt clan territories."
Daimon looked over the map, thinking about the defensive stations he saw over Nal Hutta. "What about their defensive installations?"
"Primitive by our standards," Ryven replied. "Orbital defense platforms dating back centuries, maybe millennia. Their shielding technology is adequate against conventional weapons but wouldn't withstand our advanced systems for more than a few minutes."
"Population centers?" Daimon asked.
"That's where it gets complicated," another officer interjected. "Most Hutt worlds have massive civilian populations, predominantly slaves and indentured workers. Any military action risks significant collateral damage."
"Which is why we won't be conducting orbital bombardments," Daimon said. "This will be a ground-focused campaign. We secure population centers, liberate the enslaved populations, and establish provisional governments. The Hutts themselves will be removed from power, but the infrastructure remains intact."
Lord Maxim leaned back in his chair. "You're talking about occupying dozens of worlds simultaneously. That will require hundreds of thousands of troops and years of sustained operations."
"True. We will be here for a few years and set up a provisional government that will operate on our behalf and continue to improve the situation in what will be the former Hutt controlled systems. In the beginning, we will use the Imperial military to conduct operations and invade other planets, but after some time we will also train up a local force under our control that will take over for us." explained Daimon.
Sera spoke up. "What about the Republic? From our understanding, they have just established contact with the Hutts just a few years ago and maintain limited trade and diplomatic relations with them. This could give them justification for intervention."
"The Republic won't intervene," Daimon said with certainty. "They're too focused on their cold war with us and their internal political struggles. Besides, they can't publicly defend a criminal empire built on slavery without exposing their own hypocrisy. They'll condemn us in the Senate, issue strongly worded statements, and do absolutely nothing of substance."
The rest of the meeting was spent establishing certain procedures and outlining plans for the establishment of a temporary government that will rule in the Imperium's place for a few decades.
———
Back on Veldari, Cortana was continuing her duties researching the technology of the Celestials. She had made significant breakthroughs in understanding their dimensional manipulation techniques, though practical applications were still a work in progress.
Most of the technology required an astronomical amount of power, something the Imperium couldn't produce by normal means. Because of this, she was considering Dyson spheres which would be able to produce the energy required for other megastructures.
That would be another thing that required an immense number of resources and time, both of which they have.
On top of that was the Rakatan data recovered from a number of vaults from Lehon and other planets. Force-infused technology was at the top of the things being researched due to its capabilities if fully understood.
Most of her time was spent on this project, in addition to developing other technologies for both civilian and military use. Almost every year, new technologies, whether small or big, were introduced to markets or secretly created for military use.