After so much time since my arrival in this world—which until a few years ago was only fiction but is now reality, my reality. After years of hardship, struggles, tough moments, and happy moments, and despite the growing opposition to my person, at last the former Grim Covenant, subsequent Gaian League, and current Imperium, with a total of 18 planets under our control, an increasingly powerful and robust industry, inter-space commerce comparable to the major corporations, and a progressive revitalization of what they call here a "slugthrower." An army of 6 million soldiers and a fleet of 290 warships ready for deployment, in addition to some of the best minds this galaxy has produced ready and working to improve our technology, especially now that what will be known as the Clone Wars looms over all the inhabitants of this galaxy. At least a semblance of normality has settled in the capital and its adjacent worlds thanks to news of constant victories and the liberation of planets under the rule of pirates or corporate puppets, which have become our main buyers, especially in security matters through massive purchases of artillery and catalog-export weapons—of course, at least one or two generations older, and in some cases even armored vehicles. Naturally, air forces and combat ships such as license-produced Hammerheads-class cruisers have also been sold. In addition, the Legacy and Unity (Terminus) class ships have undergone a rework where their shield power has been increased, several operational defects have been fixed, and in the case of the Legacy class, its armament has been reduced. Furthermore, the new generation of equipment has begun to be deployed to all our operational forces, which have practically abandoned the FN FAL, M4 Carbine, or SCAR for more modern weapons like the HBRa3, KF5, or the Bulldog combat shotgun, although older designs of shotguns remain in use for both police and military purposes.
Furthermore, the new capital ship class, the Unreasonable-class, has produced results and its mass construction has begun. In addition to being slightly larger with a total length of 1,500 meters—only 100 meters short of an ISD-I—and carrying a similar amount of armament, its main difference compared to the latter is that the shield generators are located inside the ship.
With Asajj on her way to the capital, everything possible running in the right direction, my main opponents off the map along with those who supported them, firm control of the armed forces, and my five main admirals on their way back to plan the largest operation carried out by my Government since its foundation.
The hours passed as I made sure everything was ready for the moment of the meeting, and finally, at 1200 hours, the door to the room opened, giving way to the most important people of the now-constituted Imperium. First entered Candara, one of the people I trust the most, followed by Ann, the Chiss woman and the second to achieve the rank of Admiral; third was Admiral Johan Quin, who despite his advanced age of 64 still maintained a certain level of athleticism. The three took their assigned seats just as Rilo Cui's hologram appeared in the room—the only exception, due to the fact that he had to secure space dominance to avoid losing control of the newly taken (liberated) planet. Each of them waited patiently while the rest made their way to the meeting room.
The fourth to arrive was Terry Burns, an old acquaintance who now truly lived up to his surname, as part of his face had been burned during combat in the Outer Rim territories against slavers, and who now required a half-mask to live his day-to-day life as an Admiral. And finally, Asajj Ventress—my disciple, my protege, my executing fist in the eyes of many within the Army and Navy—accompanied by the newest admiral among my forces and one of the hardest nuts to crack, Calli Trilm. Who in the future would have been a Separatist admiral now formed part of my forces.
"Gentlemen, today we stand before one of the most important and decisive moments that will certainly change the destiny of this, our new Imperium. As everyone present knows, war is looming over us; the CIS and the Outer Rim worlds will rise against the Republic in a war never seen in these a thousand years of peace. We do not know how the Republic and the Senate will do it, but I am sure that right now they possess some kind of military force outside of the Judicial Forces and the PDF. This war need not concern us in the slightest; our only goal is our own profit, and that is why in this meeting each of you, along with your fleets, will take on various missions to carry out a new beginning for all of us.
On these holodiscs are the missions assigned to each of you; of course, the timeframes to complete them are relative, and we will adapt to the situation as the theaters of operation develop. With that said, please provide the data for your current fleets."
After reviewing their objectives, the admirals were expected to report their fleets, service records, and capabilities to the people in the room, but especially to Maximus.
The first to get up to the screen and insert a device into the projector was Johan Quin, the First Admiral and the most veteran of those present.
"My Lord, the First Fleet, The Sons of Horus, is composed of a total of 70 ships, of which 20 are Legacy-class, 28 are Unity-class, and the remaining 22 are composed of Crusader-class corvettes, CR90s, and 2 Vigilant-class ships." On the screen, the different ship types could be seen along with their characteristics, status, and deployment location.
Several of the members present analyzed the fleet's capabilities and service record, but what caught their attention the most was the new ship class designated as Vigilant and its characteristics. To the point that another person present, Calli Trilm, took over the conversation.
"I see this new ship provides a large number of craft and combat support, but its weaknesses are also clear: ship-to-ship combat capacity is minimal, saved only by the fact that its armor is extremely compact and hard, and its shields are of high power, which according to this data are capable of blocking turbolasers, heavy turbolasers, various types of missiles, etc. Also, if you don't mind, what is this about a 'bubble'?"
"A 'bubble' is a type of capability that only certain ships with extremely high power currently possess. It draws inspiration from the shields of Mon Calamari-class ships, which can reinforce their shields by creating a visible layer on the outside of the ship. Our approach, on the other hand, focuses on the fact that when the time comes, a shield envelops a space, thus creating a protective bubble in space to shield the fleet. According to the engineers responsible for this project, the duration of this capability depends on the damage received, but as you can see further down in the report, the bubble is capable of withstanding the prolonged fire of 6 Unity-class ships for 20 minutes without collapsing. Of course, as your colleague pointed out, this ship must primarily be positioned in the center of formations or in the rear due to its scarce ship-to-ship combat capacity. However, it possesses several advanced tracking systems, anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems, as well as 4 missile launcher systems with different configurations, without forgetting, of course, that in a pure fighter complement it is capable of carrying 200 combat ships if they are of a single type."
"The ship's data is truly positive, but why does only the First Fleet possess this type of ship?" added Terry Burns, alongside whom two other admirals also nodded.
"I am afraid this is due to the high manufacturing cost and assembly time; furthermore, of course, these have been assigned to said fleet for two reasons: its service record and for being in charge of protecting our vital space, our worlds."
This argument somewhat calmed the attitudes of the three admirals, but it did not dispel their desire to be next in line to receive this new type of ship. On the other hand, those who had not spoken were making calculations and strategies on how to integrate such ships into their fleets.
"We currently have a total of five ships of this type ready for service, with another one ready to deploy by the end of this year. Of these five, two belong to the First Fleet, and of the remaining three, two will be assigned to the Third Fleet, The Emperor's Hammers, under the command of Calli Trilm and her zone of operations. The remaining one will be deployed with the Fifth Fleet, The Outer Rim Crusaders, commanded by Rilo Cui."
After clarifying all the details regarding the distribution of ships, their objectives, operational zones, and the characteristics of each fleet, the session was brought to a close.
"Asajj, stay for a moment."
Thus, only the two of them remained in the room, where a nervous Asajj waited while her master watched her.
"I want to congratulate you on your last mission and how you made certain decisions and acted. But I must also warn you: from this moment on, the galaxy knows that the Jedi are not the only ones who use lightsabers in the galaxy, and the latter may come to see you as a criminal or even an enemy. But remember, as long as you are who you are and stay by my side, the Imperium will stand with you regardless of your enemies. Also, be careful, because as I told you, the Jedi are not the ones with access to the Force, and right now you are a good challenge for some and a potential threat to others. For this very reason, your training regime will be expanded and you will not go out on any more missions for the time being."
"Yes, Master." With a tone happy for the praise, but resigned to see her freedom temporarily restricted, Asajj marched toward her quarters where she hoped to get some well-deserved rest. And, unbeknownst to her, a warm sensation settled over her chest—something she hadn't felt since the death of her former master: happiness.