Chp-2: I will Criminalize Paperwork
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. 15,000 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'sMinda 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 Gauntletis 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.