Chp-16: Plots and Plans
Chp-16: Plots and Plans
The attacks were getting worse.
Just an hour ago, one of the security stations was attacked. The stations were small facilities that dotted the system. They contained a small amount of personnel and each managed around four Gat-18 Imperial Blastboats that patrolled the areas around them. The blast boats had been a more recent addition, as they were perfect for monitoring lower traffic areas and responding to threats faster than the larger corvettes and frigates of the defence fleet could.
Except at about two in the morning capitol time, I woke up because Mugwuffin was pawing at my face to answer my PDA. That cat-thing is smart. Suspiciously so.
And now here I was, in the main conference room of the capitol building, which I had named the Imperial Tower, because it was the center of the local imperial government, and because it's a tower. Very creative, I know. I miss name generators man.
I sat down in a chair next to the holo-table, wearing a nice warm robe over my pajamas while sipping on a mug of a locally made hot chocolate type drink as Commodore Veers and Commander Grant spoke about the incident.
"They've been getting far too brazen. This must end!" said Veers, annoyance written across her face. "They attacked not some miners or mercenaries, but one of ours!"
"If only I could get my hands on them, maybe I could wring out some information from their putrid lips!" snarled the Commander.
Her eyes lit up. "What if we capture a crew, and have them executed publicly! That would send a message, wouldn't it? Then they would fear us more than they envy our prosperity!"
"Yeah, no." I sip from my cup as the two look at me.
"No executions. I haven't spent all this time and effort uplifting this system just to dive straight into some warlord type shit by holding a public execution. Instead, we're going to play this smart."
I point at the Commodore. "How organized do these attacks seem to you?"
She considered my question for a second before her eyes light up in realization. "Far too organized. Not on the level of professionals, no…but more than the average disparate pirates and raiders. You believe someone is leading them, sir?"
I take another sip. Good stuff, little on the bitter side. Gotta ask Darna for more sugar next time. "I suspect it, yes. Some flavor of pirate monarch. They pop up occasionally, right? Someone with a modicum more smarts and charisma gathers a bunch of lowlifes and convinces them that they can raid and pillage all they want so long as they listen. Never last long, of course, because they shatter as soon as the leader dies."
I take another sip. "Unless we're talking about the Nihil, who lasted a good while. Still got their shit kicked in by the High Republic eventually but they certainly lasted longer than most. Regardless, chances are that someone is leading a bunch of pirates around the sector raiding and the like. I've gotten reports confirming that other systems in the sector have been under attack as well. I also sent a request to the sector fleet to investigate, but have yet to receive a response."
Veers winces, a look of annoyance crossing her face. I look at her with a raised eyebrow, sipping on my drink.
"...permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted." Long sip. I should see if I can nationalize the chocolate business..
"The Admiral of the sector fleet, Admiral Wasti, is…incompetent at best. He is ambitious, but lacks the willpower or the skill of cunning necessary to climb the ladder farther than his family name allowed. He embarrassed himself during a pacification campaign in a different Oversector and was thrown here as a result. It's likely he intends to allow the threat to fester until he believes it worthy of his attention, after which he will take action and all the credit for himself."
"Ah." My fist clenches around my mug tighter than usual, before Mugwuffin lays her head on my lap. Petting her, I calm down.
"Okay. So, we're on our own for the foreseeable future. No backup, pirate king running around. What're our options?"
Commander Grant steps up. "I believe that interrogation will allow us to gain access to information that will lead us to the enemy, sir!"
Commodore Veers nods. "We'll attempt to capture enemy craft more often, see if we can grab some captains and the like."
"Good. Get what you can from the captives. They are bound to have a homebase somewhere. Also, while we're at it, we need an upgrade to the defense fleet in the meanwhile. Commodore, send me a list of what you think we need, split into the categories of preferred, possible, and necessary. I'll see what I can do from there. "
I make my way towards the exit. "Anyways, I'm dead on my feet, so I'll see you two in a few hours."
Behind me, I can hear them sending out orders and coordinating with each other about plans of action and the like.
By the time I reach my room, I can't be bothered to care. As I pass out on my bed, Mugwuffin using my legs as a pillow, I can only think of one thing.
Tomorrow's problems for tomorrow's me.
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Past me was a massive prick. And not in a good way. In a bad way.
Because here I am, in my office, looking at the list of ships that Veers had sent in. It was…extensive to say the least. At least she kept to the categories.
Preferred:
3 Imperial II-Class Star Destroyers2 Lancer-Class Frigates per ISD2 Gladiator-Class Star Destroyers per ISD3 Interdictor-Class Cruisers2 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruisers per Interdictor
Possible
3 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruisers2 Lancer-Class Frigates per Vindicator2 Gladiator-Class Star DestroyersNecessary
1 Vindicator-Class Heavy Cruiser3 Lancer-Class Frigates
God damn. She wanted a fuckin fleet.
After looking the list over, and sighing in exasperation more times than I think is healthy, I make a decision. Or half of one, at least.
The Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer was the only one on this list that I was convinced was actually viable here. While the Vindicator was a good ship, it was more geared towards brawling rather than towards anti-piracy. Same with the ISDs, not to mention that getting an Interdictor would be basically impossible considering the fact that they're fairly new. Surprised she didn't just ask for the fucking ExecutorI. Cool name though. Very badass. If only its owner wasn't such a massive ass.
Gladiators, on the other hand, were much better for that. They had longer range capabilities, meaning that they could lock down entire systems for up to two years with the supplies they had. All things considered, they had the best chance to combat the pirate threat by simultaneously having good firepower, large hangar capacity, and long range. They're versatility also meant that it would be viable for system defense even after this whole debacle was over. It might even allow for an attempt on the jungle hellhole that is Minda 2.
Now, I just had to choose what other ships would fit into this anti-pirate flotilla. The system defense fleet would have to stay behind, it was already stretched thin dealing with the myriad of pirate attacks, so I would need a versatile flotilla that could center around a Gladiator, but also not get Imperial High Command on my ass for buying a shit ton of capital ships and the like.
As I was considering how to burn my hard earned tax credits(my soul weeps) I received a ding on my terminal.
Seems like Veers was right. On my terminal is a curt and professional message from Admiral Wasti that more or less just told me to fuck off and get gud.
Even Mugwuffin was growling, and she didn't even know he existed.
Putting the fleet list to the side, I instead sent a quick request for further explanation and support, then pulled up the dossier Darna had made for me about the Black Sun.
Sure, they probably weren't involved, but it would be an interesting read.
Not like I have anything else to do.
(I have so much work I want to die)
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Admiral Geral Wasti
Dubrillion System, Dubrillion Orbit, Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer Crushing Blow
As Wasti looked out over a map of the sector, he smiled.
The increased level of pirates had been an unexpected windfall for him. They were concentrated in the southwestern and western portions of the sector, and therefore could be mostly ignored for now. He had the fleet occasionally destroy some pirates to keep up the illusion that he was doing anything, but really he was just waiting. Biding his time.
The pirate threat was growing. Sooner or later the sewer scum would congregate in one way or another, and his fleet would be ready. A swift, decisive victory that would boost his career, and put him squarely back on the path to achieving greatness.
He turned to his side, looking at his terminal. An automated message from the Moffs office thanking him for his gift of exotic wines told him all he needed to know. That Moff Tarry was either too drunk, too lazy, or too sleepy to respond himself.
Good.
So long as the fat slob was happy, he would ignore Geral's actions, if he even knew pirates were about at all. Moff Tarry had utterly failed the political game before the Empire even came into existence, and was lucky he got the position of Moff at all.
Hell, the only reason some of these star systems were still bothering to pay taxes was because Geral still had control of the fleet. It was proof that Tarry did not deserve his position.
If the pirate threat got big enough, and Tarry failed to respond, it would be up to the great Admiral Wasti to save the day. It would be proof of Tarrys incompetence and could get him a great deal of fame and political sway.
He might even get to replace Tarry as Moff!
The ideas excited him so much, he didn't notice the little black rubber ball he accidently kicked until it was too late.
His mood was ruined by the black eye it gave him, and the embarrassing journey to the med bay.
When he was Moff, rubber balls were banned!
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hi there folks! Good news! I finally got my shit together and made a real plan. Evey chapter before this had basically been me flying by the seat of my pants and hoping to god it would all work out. But now, I have an actual plan! I drew a timeline of events and characters and twists and everything for this arc, which I'm calling the Pirate King Arc(no relation to one piece). Obviously, I won't be revealing the plans for this arc, but suffice to say that this chapter was a big set up chapter for the rest of the arc.
Another thing. I'm sure you mega nerds noticed the fleet list I smacked into the middle of the chapter. And the fact that I didn't finish fleshing out the fleet. That's because I'm going to do the lazy thing and foist that responsibility onto you schmucks! It's currently 9:30 PM here in forest fire filled Los Angeles and when I wake up tomorrow and 8 for some grand ol community college I expect to have a veritable cornucopia of answers to sift through instead of paying attention in class. Please keep in mind that the budget Las is working with is around 40 Mil after buying the Gladiator. Fan designs are welcome.
As always, feedback, commentary, and the like are my crack. Speaking of, Roey over on QQ commented twice on my last chapter with great advice and a very useful educational video that not only pushed me to purposefully plan out the whole arc, but has motivated me to do better with my writing. So, sincerely, thank you.
Thanks for reading!