Chp-107
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Chp-107
2.2 ABY, 2 months later
The Arbiter-Class was a sharp vessel, all jagged lines and harsh edges. Its hull was a dark grey, its bridge almost blending into the rest of its superstructure.
The one point of contrast was the name, painted gold upon the durasteel.
Vigil of Starless Night
I watched as the ship sailed from its berth, cutting through the void like it was already searching for prey, its hull glistening with weapons emplacements.
The Arbiters armaments were varied and powerful, though still lacking in comparison to a Victory-Class. It came with 24 turbolasers, a mix of 8 heavy and 16 medium spread across the hull. Instead of the massive 80 tubes of missiles the Victory came with, the Arbiter was reduced down to 20 instead, filled to the brim with concussion missiles. And dotting the hull were some 25 PD turrets, creating a formidable defense against both missiles and fighters.
But all of this paled compared to the Arbiter's true purpose, its fighter complement. 96 total craft aboard each ship. Most of that was pure fighters, but a portion was dedicated to bombers and another to troop transport and scouting. Finally, each ship had 3 TIE Patrollers on board for longer range missions.
However, this came at the cost of troop capacity. Instead of a whole 2000 troops, the Arbiter fit a single line battalion meaning some 800 troops and light armor element composed mostly of Broadswords and its variants, alongside LECA's to act as heavy infantry support. While heavier walkers were available, it was decided not to include them to dedicate as much space as possible to fighter craft.
Ultimately, the Arbiter-Class was a heavy cruiser-carrier at heart.
The berths around the Vigil of Starless Night were filled with similar hulls in various stages of construction. Two hulls per berth, with Vigil's twin only a few days away from completion. I was sure the Vigils crew would tease them about being the older twin.
Of the twenty berths on the Mard, ten had been dedicated to the new class.
My feelings on the ship class were mixed. On one hand, it was a massive step forward as a versatile, entirely home made ship class that could respond to a variety of threats without much of an escort or incurring the cost of larger vessels. These capabilities would be enhanced by its escort craft.
The escorts would vary based on what we could get, but the basic idea was that each Arbiter would be escorted by 1 Lancer-Class frigate for its incredible anti-fighter firepower, given the Arbiter would be the biggest target for bombers. Two Arquitens or, if possible, Carracks for flanking and putting pressure on enemies. And some Gozantis if needed. It was a shifting doctrine, given we used what we could get, but it was a solid plan.
However, here comes my problem with the Arbiter. Not the ship itself, but its crews. They were lacking, to say the least.
"I don't like it"
To my left stood Ife, staring out the window with eyes narrowed in thought.
"They aren't trained enough. We're going to see losses as this ramps up."
"You don't think the trained personnel we spread around will be enough?" I ask, guessing her answer but wanting confirmation.
"Correct. While we've got more experienced officers in charge, that's not going to be enough. There are more new recruits than veterans."
I sighed, knowing she was right. The academies had speed out tens of thousands of barely trained sailors who were now being given positions they weren't entirely ready for. It was a mess.
"Current estimations put potential ship losses at 23% of planned hulls."
To my right was Roius. His eyes scanned his PDA while the neural implant wrapped around his skull blinked with dozens of lights.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ife twitch slightly when he spoke. She said nothing, but I could tell she was at least a little uncomfortable, given Roius was a cyborg and all.
Thankfully, she stayed professional despite her prejudice, else I never would've considered her for Sector Admiral. Prejudice brings inefficiencies and failures into a system, and I can't afford that.
Honestly, if not for COMPNOR, the ISB, and the Empire as a whole, I'd implement some sort of sensitivity training.
Unfortunately, cyborgs aren't considered citizens under Imperial law, so that's off the table.
23% was bad, given it was 23 of the 100 planned ships of the class. That meant not just 23 lost ships in the worst case scenario, but at maximum some 80,000 people lost, alongside hundreds of fighters, bombers, and other material.
"Sir" It was Roius once more. "The Governor-General has just sent word. He wishes for a custom order of painted, modded Whirlwinds. A squadron, for his palace's defenses."
I wanted to throw something, hard. There was the source of my current problems in just about every case.
Aren Hiral. I'd gone to him with the Mard project because I feared rebellion from my people, and decided debt was the way to go. I then continued supporting him with the Mard, gaining his protection as Governor-General.
However, it seems as though my contributions aren't seen as being nearly as important as those of his new friends down in the Mid-Rim, and it shows.
Across the Oversector, there were mobile Oversector patrol fleets, meant to move about and give help when needed. These, alongside the wider Oversector Army and Navy apparatus, where the Governor-Generals direct purview.
And Hiral decided that the Mid-Rim and all its magnates and wealth was in the direst need of protection, dragging every spare ship and trooper to reinforce his new allies' sense of safety.
Whatever opportunity Hiral had found down there, it was clearly something he found worth protecting. Likely some new connection that could get him a better position further coreward.
"Send them the fighters. But put it at the end of the current production cycle. The sectors ships come first."
I didn't want to send him shit. But as much as he wasn't doing me any direct favors, there were two things I still got from him. The public reputation of our connection to one another, which meant other Moffs tended to be a little more careful around me, and his apathy. I'd rather him ignore me than be angry at me.
Turning from the window, I made my way out of the observation deck, Ife and Roius in tow.
"How goes the anti-piracy campaign?" I asked.
"Things are…evolving." Ife replies. "Before, pirates tried building permanent bases. They were attempting to create their own raiding hubs and shadowports, all of them trying to fill what was previously relatively empty space in the underworld market. However, our more aggressive patrol doctrine and superior ground forces make this an untenable proposition for most groups, and the lesson seems to have been hammered in quite hard. Now, most have switched either to out-of-sector shadowports or mobile bases as their raiding hubs."
Mobile bases? I didn't quite like the sound of that. For a smaller group it wasn't that big of a deal, but we were seeing a lot of activity. For some groups said mobile bases might be fairly sized for what a pirate can get.
"I see. Do you require any additional resources to combat this?"
She shook her head at that as we reached the shuttle bay of the Mard. "No, even with the training quality and projected losses of the Arbiter-Class, it will be enough to handle this. The problem is that this behavior is indicative of the wider state of the criminal underworld."
By then, we'd stepped into my shuttle, settling into the comfortable interior. Mugwuffin, the spoiled brat, had her own elevated sleeping platform. And, in line with her spoiled nature, I decided my lap was better than the custom piece.
I wouldn't mind as much if she wasn't so heavy.
Indignation!
Ignoring the creature, I motioned for Ife to continue.
"I've been working closely with intelligence from Governor Mur, given his connections. It's from him that I learned about the upheaval in the criminal underworld. The Zann Consortium has been destroyed."
What.
"While information is sparse, it seems that the Empire was able to cut the head off the snake and destroy the Consortium's leadership. Some contacts of mine in the Empire corroborate this, and it explains this behavior. The Consortium rose to power quickly, and with it brought immense amounts of assets. Now it seems the Consortiums corpse is ripe for the picking, and fragmented members are fighting for scraps. Others simply seek to find their own fortunes abroad, leading to our current problem."
"There is no way the Consortium was so large as to create such a problem? It seems as though the entire galaxy is aflame with piracy? Or did it only exacerbate things?"
"Intel suggests that yes, the Consortium was large, and its death only pushed a pirate heavy Outer Rim further down the spiral. Now, Consortium ships, especially bulk freighters and larger, are being used as mobile bases for pirate groups raiding the Oversector."
I'd forgotten about the Consortium. After the Crowns, I'd been wary but nothing ever came of it, and other problems occupied me. I suppose this was always to be their fate, though I would've preferred if they could've caused fewer problems in death.
"And Oversector Command does nothing about these shadowports. Amazing." I sigh, taking a sip of coco as the shuttle docks at the Golan.
"While we've gotten assistance from the Braxant forces in searching that sector for shadowports, it'll take more time to comb it over, made more difficult by the lower pirate presence there making interrogation sparser."
From there, the discussion continued on as always. Problems were brought up, always security related, and they were either solved or shelved until a solution was found. There were more of the latter than the former, and it hurt. The pile of future work was simply getting taller.
If nothing else, some things had gotten better.
After getting back to my office, I reviewed more economic reports. Despite the piracy, the economic boom had stabilized. Things were getting back into a more predictable rhythm, but with more workers, more goods being moved, etc… Trade had reached such a volume that the pirates weren't actually creating massive problems on the normal trade lanes, but could still create problems for more fringe and frontier colonies still being developed, which was a real threat.
At least the Auditor program was going well. I couldn't wait to watch that go down.
–
Governess Liona Trya
Belladoon
Myto Sector
2.2 ABY
"-the ball is quite garish, don't you agree?" Said Liona, taking a sip of some unnamed, expensive beverage.
"Why yes, I do! Having the servants be aliens? I'd prefer droids, to be honest." Responded Governess Boltra.
The two were on Belladoon, a major industrial world in the sector. Though, given their servants were aliens now, clearly the world's status was falling to the wayside.
"I imagine it's because of the Moffs' new programs, yes? Belladoon now has far more competition in the sector." Liona continued, eyeing the Governor of Belladoon, Yriad as he stepped up onto the stage.
"Likely. Did you hear they recently lost a contract to the Mindan Yards for hyperdrives to a new factory?"
"Really? Why, what an embarrassment. How can he stand on stage in confidence, especially with the cameras?"
Before Boltra could respond, the doors to the ballroom burst open. The Stormtroopers the governor had placed about all suddenly swiveled, weapons raised, only to lower them upon seeing the entrants.
Walking in through the door was a full squad of Stormtroopers. However, these didn't wear the regular armor, but the modified armor seen mostly among troops from Minda, or in the roving patrol fleets. The design was taking time to make its way across the sector.
At the head of the squad was an individual wreathed in Imperial grey, face covered by a full helm. It was a blank thing, nothing more than a simple, featureless, gleaming metal helmet.
"Governor Yriad of the Belladoon system!" The helmeted figure stated loudly, voice distorted into a digital growl.
Before the Governor could recover his wits, the figure continued.
"By the decree of the Auditor Corp, and by the power vested in me by Moff Las Mola, I hereby arrest you for charges of tax evasion, fraud, conspiracy to defraud the Empire, collusion with criminal elements, weapons trafficking, drug trafficking, and abuse of governmental funds for personal gain!"
As Yriad yelled and made a fuss, he was subsequently stunned by blaster and dragged bodily out of the ballroom, feet dragging across the carpet. As he was, the Auditor continued, arresting half a dozen other people all on various charges. All in collusion with the Governor.
Once the Arbiter was finished, they turned to the crowd.
"I have spent the last three months gathering data on Belladoon. My comrades do the same across the sector. Do not give us something to find."
And then they left. No grand speech, no executions or lockdown of the palace. The ballroom was simply left dead quiet.
They'd all heard about that fateful day months ago, when the Governor had sat down hundreds of officials and read off their crimes one by one. They'd thought the rumor to have been exaggerated, a propaganda ploy.
Now…now Liona wasn't so sure.
"I-I believe I have…some work to do, Governess Liona." Boltra's voice startled her for a second.
"H-huh? A-ah, yes, I understand, Governess Boltra." Liona said, nodding to her acquaintance. She likely had work to do as well.
If these Auditors were hidden everywhere, were they hidden in her system? Had they found her own skeletons? She didn't know, but she knew one thing.
She refused to go to prison. If that meant having to follow the law more rigorously than she was used to, well, she'd find a way to cope.
So long as she didn't one day wake up to a silver helmet.
–
Yo. Been playing more starsector.
The UAF keeps going to war with everybody and its tanking my rep with the Hegemony! I just want to buy some Atlas's!
Other than that, this chapter took longer because this isn't the first draft. I know right? Me, making drafts? Actually planning a chapter out and re-writing it? Fucking wild. Truly, I am changing from someone who knows jack shit about writing, to someone who knows fuck all.
Trust me, there's a difference. Just need a microscope to tell.
One Piece? More like Fraud Piece, amirite? Hahahaha, I'm a fucking comedy GENIUS!
-Freefaller
2.2 ABY, 2 months later
The Arbiter-Class was a sharp vessel, all jagged lines and harsh edges. Its hull was a dark grey, its bridge almost blending into the rest of its superstructure.
The one point of contrast was the name, painted gold upon the durasteel.
Vigil of Starless Night
I watched as the ship sailed from its berth, cutting through the void like it was already searching for prey, its hull glistening with weapons emplacements.
The Arbiters armaments were varied and powerful, though still lacking in comparison to a Victory-Class. It came with 24 turbolasers, a mix of 8 heavy and 16 medium spread across the hull. Instead of the massive 80 tubes of missiles the Victory came with, the Arbiter was reduced down to 20 instead, filled to the brim with concussion missiles. And dotting the hull were some 25 PD turrets, creating a formidable defense against both missiles and fighters.
But all of this paled compared to the Arbiter's true purpose, its fighter complement. 96 total craft aboard each ship. Most of that was pure fighters, but a portion was dedicated to bombers and another to troop transport and scouting. Finally, each ship had 3 TIE Patrollers on board for longer range missions.
However, this came at the cost of troop capacity. Instead of a whole 2000 troops, the Arbiter fit a single line battalion meaning some 800 troops and light armor element composed mostly of Broadswords and its variants, alongside LECA's to act as heavy infantry support. While heavier walkers were available, it was decided not to include them to dedicate as much space as possible to fighter craft.
Ultimately, the Arbiter-Class was a heavy cruiser-carrier at heart.
The berths around the Vigil of Starless Night were filled with similar hulls in various stages of construction. Two hulls per berth, with Vigil's twin only a few days away from completion. I was sure the Vigils crew would tease them about being the older twin.
Of the twenty berths on the Mard, ten had been dedicated to the new class.
My feelings on the ship class were mixed. On one hand, it was a massive step forward as a versatile, entirely home made ship class that could respond to a variety of threats without much of an escort or incurring the cost of larger vessels. These capabilities would be enhanced by its escort craft.
The escorts would vary based on what we could get, but the basic idea was that each Arbiter would be escorted by 1 Lancer-Class frigate for its incredible anti-fighter firepower, given the Arbiter would be the biggest target for bombers. Two Arquitens or, if possible, Carracks for flanking and putting pressure on enemies. And some Gozantis if needed. It was a shifting doctrine, given we used what we could get, but it was a solid plan.
However, here comes my problem with the Arbiter. Not the ship itself, but its crews. They were lacking, to say the least.
"I don't like it"
To my left stood Ife, staring out the window with eyes narrowed in thought.
"They aren't trained enough. We're going to see losses as this ramps up."
"You don't think the trained personnel we spread around will be enough?" I ask, guessing her answer but wanting confirmation.
"Correct. While we've got more experienced officers in charge, that's not going to be enough. There are more new recruits than veterans."
I sighed, knowing she was right. The academies had speed out tens of thousands of barely trained sailors who were now being given positions they weren't entirely ready for. It was a mess.
"Current estimations put potential ship losses at 23% of planned hulls."
To my right was Roius. His eyes scanned his PDA while the neural implant wrapped around his skull blinked with dozens of lights.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ife twitch slightly when he spoke. She said nothing, but I could tell she was at least a little uncomfortable, given Roius was a cyborg and all.
Thankfully, she stayed professional despite her prejudice, else I never would've considered her for Sector Admiral. Prejudice brings inefficiencies and failures into a system, and I can't afford that.
Honestly, if not for COMPNOR, the ISB, and the Empire as a whole, I'd implement some sort of sensitivity training.
Unfortunately, cyborgs aren't considered citizens under Imperial law, so that's off the table.
23% was bad, given it was 23 of the 100 planned ships of the class. That meant not just 23 lost ships in the worst case scenario, but at maximum some 80,000 people lost, alongside hundreds of fighters, bombers, and other material.
"Sir" It was Roius once more. "The Governor-General has just sent word. He wishes for a custom order of painted, modded Whirlwinds. A squadron, for his palace's defenses."
I wanted to throw something, hard. There was the source of my current problems in just about every case.
Aren Hiral. I'd gone to him with the Mard project because I feared rebellion from my people, and decided debt was the way to go. I then continued supporting him with the Mard, gaining his protection as Governor-General.
However, it seems as though my contributions aren't seen as being nearly as important as those of his new friends down in the Mid-Rim, and it shows.
Across the Oversector, there were mobile Oversector patrol fleets, meant to move about and give help when needed. These, alongside the wider Oversector Army and Navy apparatus, where the Governor-Generals direct purview.
And Hiral decided that the Mid-Rim and all its magnates and wealth was in the direst need of protection, dragging every spare ship and trooper to reinforce his new allies' sense of safety.
Whatever opportunity Hiral had found down there, it was clearly something he found worth protecting. Likely some new connection that could get him a better position further coreward.
"Send them the fighters. But put it at the end of the current production cycle. The sectors ships come first."
I didn't want to send him shit. But as much as he wasn't doing me any direct favors, there were two things I still got from him. The public reputation of our connection to one another, which meant other Moffs tended to be a little more careful around me, and his apathy. I'd rather him ignore me than be angry at me.
Turning from the window, I made my way out of the observation deck, Ife and Roius in tow.
"How goes the anti-piracy campaign?" I asked.
"Things are…evolving." Ife replies. "Before, pirates tried building permanent bases. They were attempting to create their own raiding hubs and shadowports, all of them trying to fill what was previously relatively empty space in the underworld market. However, our more aggressive patrol doctrine and superior ground forces make this an untenable proposition for most groups, and the lesson seems to have been hammered in quite hard. Now, most have switched either to out-of-sector shadowports or mobile bases as their raiding hubs."
Mobile bases? I didn't quite like the sound of that. For a smaller group it wasn't that big of a deal, but we were seeing a lot of activity. For some groups said mobile bases might be fairly sized for what a pirate can get.
"I see. Do you require any additional resources to combat this?"
She shook her head at that as we reached the shuttle bay of the Mard. "No, even with the training quality and projected losses of the Arbiter-Class, it will be enough to handle this. The problem is that this behavior is indicative of the wider state of the criminal underworld."
By then, we'd stepped into my shuttle, settling into the comfortable interior. Mugwuffin, the spoiled brat, had her own elevated sleeping platform. And, in line with her spoiled nature, I decided my lap was better than the custom piece.
I wouldn't mind as much if she wasn't so heavy.
Indignation!
Ignoring the creature, I motioned for Ife to continue.
"I've been working closely with intelligence from Governor Mur, given his connections. It's from him that I learned about the upheaval in the criminal underworld. The Zann Consortium has been destroyed."
What.
"While information is sparse, it seems that the Empire was able to cut the head off the snake and destroy the Consortium's leadership. Some contacts of mine in the Empire corroborate this, and it explains this behavior. The Consortium rose to power quickly, and with it brought immense amounts of assets. Now it seems the Consortiums corpse is ripe for the picking, and fragmented members are fighting for scraps. Others simply seek to find their own fortunes abroad, leading to our current problem."
"There is no way the Consortium was so large as to create such a problem? It seems as though the entire galaxy is aflame with piracy? Or did it only exacerbate things?"
"Intel suggests that yes, the Consortium was large, and its death only pushed a pirate heavy Outer Rim further down the spiral. Now, Consortium ships, especially bulk freighters and larger, are being used as mobile bases for pirate groups raiding the Oversector."
I'd forgotten about the Consortium. After the Crowns, I'd been wary but nothing ever came of it, and other problems occupied me. I suppose this was always to be their fate, though I would've preferred if they could've caused fewer problems in death.
"And Oversector Command does nothing about these shadowports. Amazing." I sigh, taking a sip of coco as the shuttle docks at the Golan.
"While we've gotten assistance from the Braxant forces in searching that sector for shadowports, it'll take more time to comb it over, made more difficult by the lower pirate presence there making interrogation sparser."
From there, the discussion continued on as always. Problems were brought up, always security related, and they were either solved or shelved until a solution was found. There were more of the latter than the former, and it hurt. The pile of future work was simply getting taller.
If nothing else, some things had gotten better.
After getting back to my office, I reviewed more economic reports. Despite the piracy, the economic boom had stabilized. Things were getting back into a more predictable rhythm, but with more workers, more goods being moved, etc… Trade had reached such a volume that the pirates weren't actually creating massive problems on the normal trade lanes, but could still create problems for more fringe and frontier colonies still being developed, which was a real threat.
At least the Auditor program was going well. I couldn't wait to watch that go down.
–
Governess Liona Trya
Belladoon
Myto Sector
2.2 ABY
"-the ball is quite garish, don't you agree?" Said Liona, taking a sip of some unnamed, expensive beverage.
"Why yes, I do! Having the servants be aliens? I'd prefer droids, to be honest." Responded Governess Boltra.
The two were on Belladoon, a major industrial world in the sector. Though, given their servants were aliens now, clearly the world's status was falling to the wayside.
"I imagine it's because of the Moffs' new programs, yes? Belladoon now has far more competition in the sector." Liona continued, eyeing the Governor of Belladoon, Yriad as he stepped up onto the stage.
"Likely. Did you hear they recently lost a contract to the Mindan Yards for hyperdrives to a new factory?"
"Really? Why, what an embarrassment. How can he stand on stage in confidence, especially with the cameras?"
Before Boltra could respond, the doors to the ballroom burst open. The Stormtroopers the governor had placed about all suddenly swiveled, weapons raised, only to lower them upon seeing the entrants.
Walking in through the door was a full squad of Stormtroopers. However, these didn't wear the regular armor, but the modified armor seen mostly among troops from Minda, or in the roving patrol fleets. The design was taking time to make its way across the sector.
At the head of the squad was an individual wreathed in Imperial grey, face covered by a full helm. It was a blank thing, nothing more than a simple, featureless, gleaming metal helmet.
"Governor Yriad of the Belladoon system!" The helmeted figure stated loudly, voice distorted into a digital growl.
Before the Governor could recover his wits, the figure continued.
"By the decree of the Auditor Corp, and by the power vested in me by Moff Las Mola, I hereby arrest you for charges of tax evasion, fraud, conspiracy to defraud the Empire, collusion with criminal elements, weapons trafficking, drug trafficking, and abuse of governmental funds for personal gain!"
As Yriad yelled and made a fuss, he was subsequently stunned by blaster and dragged bodily out of the ballroom, feet dragging across the carpet. As he was, the Auditor continued, arresting half a dozen other people all on various charges. All in collusion with the Governor.
Once the Arbiter was finished, they turned to the crowd.
"I have spent the last three months gathering data on Belladoon. My comrades do the same across the sector. Do not give us something to find."
And then they left. No grand speech, no executions or lockdown of the palace. The ballroom was simply left dead quiet.
They'd all heard about that fateful day months ago, when the Governor had sat down hundreds of officials and read off their crimes one by one. They'd thought the rumor to have been exaggerated, a propaganda ploy.
Now…now Liona wasn't so sure.
"I-I believe I have…some work to do, Governess Liona." Boltra's voice startled her for a second.
"H-huh? A-ah, yes, I understand, Governess Boltra." Liona said, nodding to her acquaintance. She likely had work to do as well.
If these Auditors were hidden everywhere, were they hidden in her system? Had they found her own skeletons? She didn't know, but she knew one thing.
She refused to go to prison. If that meant having to follow the law more rigorously than she was used to, well, she'd find a way to cope.
So long as she didn't one day wake up to a silver helmet.
–
Yo. Been playing more starsector.
The UAF keeps going to war with everybody and its tanking my rep with the Hegemony! I just want to buy some Atlas's!
Other than that, this chapter took longer because this isn't the first draft. I know right? Me, making drafts? Actually planning a chapter out and re-writing it? Fucking wild. Truly, I am changing from someone who knows jack shit about writing, to someone who knows fuck all.
Trust me, there's a difference. Just need a microscope to tell.
One Piece? More like Fraud Piece, amirite? Hahahaha, I'm a fucking comedy GENIUS!
-Freefaller
