Not long after Solo and Ahsoka finished their conversation, the communicator suddenly rang. Lieutenant Milo's voice came through: "Commander, the Transport Escort Group has arrived."
"Where did they land?"
"I'm not sure, Commander."
"Ensign, I know you've hacked into the local network. Just tell me—where did the transport ship land?" Solo's voice sharpened with impatience.
"Uh, Commander, it's at Landing Pad Three, the far end." Milo responded immediately.
"Ha, Mon was right." Solo chuckled. "When you put your mind to it, you can still get things done."
He turned to Ahsoka. "Want to go check out our new toy?"
"Master, I—"
"Don't hesitate. Let's go." Solo ruffled the girl's hair and stood up first.
Meanwhile, Jasmir stepped gracefully out of the shuttlecraft, standing on the duracrete surface of the landing pad.
High above, the massive DK-220 transport ship, its silhouette tiny against the sky, prepared to descend.
These freighters, over two kilometers long, have been in use by Kuat Shipyards for over a millennium, specifically designed to transport large cargo and even small vessels across the galaxy.
Jasmir had seen them up close through her work. These were Kuat's largest current freighters; the only vessels larger were the eight-kilometer-long Mandator-class Monitoring Outpost Ships that protected the Kuat Sector.
"This is quite a spectacle, isn't it?" A familiar voice interrupted Jasmir's thoughts.
She smiled and turned to look at the source of the voice. In the distance, a small shuttlecraft was parked beside a young man's figure.
Jasmir mentally equipped him with armor, instantly confirming his identity. Moreover, he was accompanied by a Togruta girl.
Apprentice.
The word finally came to her. She nodded politely to the girl. "I presume you're Ahsoka Tano."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both. To be honest, I'm surprised to encounter you here. What brings you to this place?"
"Oh, I'm just waiting for my equipment," Solo replied, clasping his hands behind his back as he watched a transport ship descend.
"Your equipment?" Jasmir frowned. "May I remind you that most of this cargo consists of experimental gear—"
Before she could finish, Solo interrupted. "As far as I know, there's a substantial amount of equipment here that I urgently need. So I requisitioned it, and this way I can help you with some field testing."
"I see." Jasmir's frown deepened. "But why wasn't I notified? I'm responsible for all equipment testing within the Sector."
"Oh? Does that mean you're getting a promotion?" Solo's tone carried a mocking undertone.
"You're joking," Jasmir said with a smile. "This isn't my accomplishment at all—it's entirely due to your report." As she spoke, the events of the past few weeks flashed through her mind.
Ever since receiving Solo's report, everything had moved forward rapidly.
Instead of sending it back to the company immediately, she spent hours carefully studying it, growing increasingly intrigued.
After nearly a full day of analyzing the documents, she combined Solo's arguments and requirements to draft a supplementary report.
At first glance, Solo's suggestions seemed absurd.
As an expert, Jasmir could tell at a glance that he lacked technical expertise and had a vague understanding of how the equipment worked.
But upon deeper consideration, she found there was merit to his ideas.
After sending the report to Kuat Headquarters, a response arrived the very next day. She was summoned to the company office, then immediately dispatched to Kuat Prime.
The report sparked intense debate among designers and developers.
In the end, the Council decided that retrofitting the already mass-produced project was impractical. They only adopted one modification: strengthening the air defense weapons on the Hailfire-class amphibious assault ship.
The designers installed four twin light laser cannons at the stern of the ship, with two positioned behind the bridge's raised structure and the other two squeezed into the space above and below the hyperspace drive and deflector shield generator.
This required sacrificing several backup technical corridors, but they ultimately succeeded in integrating these weapons into the ship's power system.
The controversy intensified for the equipment not yet in service, especially within Kuat's internal security department, which was furious.
Solo had somehow learned about their most confidential research project!
Kuat had always prided itself on its secrecy, allowing it to develop ships and equipment for the Republic's new military forces under complete confidentiality. Such a severe breach of information had never occurred before.
However, they didn't sound the alarm. After all, the client was the Jedi Order, and it was reasonable for them to know certain classified details.
Even so, the board expressed strong dissatisfaction to the security director.
These events gave Jasmir the opportunity to meet Lila Blissex, the brilliant designer hailed as a prodigy.
At first glance, she seemed somewhat eccentric, with striking features, bright red hair styled in a bold, attention-grabbing coiffure, making it difficult to take her seriously at first.
But her intellect was astonishing, far surpassing anyone Jasmir had ever met before.
To enhance her productivity, Lila had designed and installed cybernetic implants that replaced portions of her brain tissue.
A universal interface at the back of her head allowed direct connection to computer systems, greatly improving her design efficiency.
At the time, Lila's Venator-class Star Destroyer quickly became the Republic Fleet's primary transport warship.
After reviewing Solo's report, Jasmir watched as Lila loaded the project onto her workstation, plugged the cable into the interface at the back of her head, and fully immersed herself in creation.
Without needing any explanation or proof, she could instantly calculate the feasibility of various solutions and make decisions.
The spaceship blueprints unfolded in a holographic projection, updating at a dazzling speed.
It was as if Blissex was creating the ship with her mind alone, its details continuously refining.
Additional armor and Particle Shield Generators were added to the bridge. Twelve rapid-fire cannons were arranged along both sides of the hangar doors, and ten more were added to the stern. The twin medium turbolaser cannons on the flanks were removed, and the internal bulkhead layout was reconfigured. In their place, twelve turbolaser cannons were installed along each flank, totaling twenty-four.
Jasmir was deeply shocked. This already highly lethal spaceship was becoming even more formidable and dangerous.
Lila, completely absorbed in her work, seemed to be in a state of frenzied concentration. She waved her arms, manipulating diagrams and holographic projections, muttering incoherently to herself:
"Improved damage resistance—reduces the risk of ship disablement—tripled broadside firepower—reduced firing restrictions in the bow arc—20% increased energy consumption—requires additional independent reactors—plan feasible—adaptable to linear warfare—recommend installing two pursuit turbolaser cannons—optimize fuel tank layout—compartmentalize hangar design—reinforce magazine—add emergency power supply—"
Several hours later, Jasmir watched the girl, still hard at work, with admiration. Finally, Lila leaned back in her chair, exhausted. "The report you've prepared is outstanding, significantly enhancing the ship's efficiency. However, I must point out that these improvements and flaws should have been revealed only through combat experience. Yet no ship of this class has even left the dock. How did you achieve this? No need to answer. The Jedi possess abilities beyond mortal comprehension. Perhaps you foresaw all this long ago. In any case, I'm delighted that my project has become far more refined—"
In the end, Jasmir received a substantial bonus and a promotion, becoming the Chief Observer at Twelfth Sector Command.
Returning to her post a few days ago, she immediately threw herself into her busy work, assembling a team of advisors and observers.
Soon after, she received notice that Kuat would be sending new technical equipment samples to Lantis for testing, and they hinted that they hoped to receive a similarly detailed assessment report.
Returning to the present, Jasmir asked, "So, what's your plan regarding the equipment?"
"We were urgently dispatched to Jabim, and you happen to have what we need here," Solo replied. "By the way, what's worth seeing this time? What technical samples do you have? I didn't receive much information."
"What are you interested in?"
"Hmm, some new Overlords—"
"Oh, you mean the A6-type heavy assault armored vehicle, the Overlord?" Jasmir clarified.
"Exactly," Solo nodded.
"This is an exceptional piece of equipment, an improved version of the highly-performing A5 Series. By the way, here they come." Jasmir nodded toward a convoy of vehicles driving onto the landing field. "Are you taking these as well?"
"Yes."
"Those over there... they look like SPHA self-propelled heavy howitzers."
"You're right," Solo replied. "But they're unsuitable for Jabim."
"Why's that?"
At that moment, the transport ship slowly touched down on the landing field. The ramp lowered, and the equipment began to be unloaded.
Solo explained, "You misunderstand. The equipment itself is excellent, but Jabim is covered in terrible mud, and there are no suitable targets for them there."
"That's why our wheeled armored vehicles are the perfect choice." Jasmir nodded toward the massive wheeled behemoth rolling down the ramp.
"What are the features of the new model?"
"This armored vehicle is an improved version of the A5 model, scaled up by a factor of two. It's fifty meters long, thirty-one meters tall, and twenty meters wide. It carries twenty Clone Troopers, eight of whom are gunners."
In terms of personnel, it can accommodate fifty fully armed soldiers plus thirty tons of cargo, or three hundred soldiers when no cargo is carried.
Its maximum speed is 160 kilometers per hour, with a cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour and a range of 30,000 kilometers.
The armor thickness has been significantly increased compared to previous models. The weapon systems include one heavy laser cannon, one rapid-fire laser cannon, two anti-infantry laser cannons, and two twin-mounted light blaster cannons. Additionally, there are two universal launchers, each capable of carrying seventeen high-explosive shells and four rocket shells, with a total ammunition capacity of forty-two shells per launcher.
"Indeed, it's impressive," Solo said, shading his eyes with his hand to carefully observe the armored vehicle passing by.
Beside him, Ahsoka leaned closer, looking up in admiration.
"Our designers put tremendous effort into this vehicle. The new three-segment independent suspension wheels provide excellent stability. The interior is divided into three decks, including a dedicated infirmary stocked with medical supplies and three medical droids. General, how many do you need?"
"Sixty. I'll take all of them."
"Ahem, alright," Jasmir said, somewhat surprised. "Do you have any other requests?"
"Do you have any AT-XT Walkers?"
"Those? Yes, we have 150. They're already in mass production and will soon be widely deployed."
"I'll take 120."
"Anything else?"
"Anti-gravity tanks?"
"No, I'm sorry. They won't arrive for another week. However, we do have the newly developed AT-AT Walkers." Jasmir gestured toward a transport ship in the distance, which was unloading the equipment.
"No, thank you," Solo Victor quickly waved his hand.
"Is there a problem?"
"The design concept is very appealing, but... the armor is too thin, the stability needs improvement, and... the mud in Jabim will trap them and render them immobile."
"General, I have a small request," Jasmir said, deciding to make one last attempt. "Please take a few AT-AT prototypes. I need your combat reports; the previous one was extremely valuable."
"Really?"
"Yes, Lila Blissex herself agrees with your assessment."
"Lila Blissex..." Solo frowned, trying to recall her name.
"She's the designer of the Venator-class Star Destroyer."
"Alright, I'll take twelve AT-ATs. Let's see how they perform on the battlefield."
"When can I expect your report?"
"I'm afraid it will take quite some time, given that we're in the middle of a war."
"I can wait," Jasmir agreed, understanding his reasoning.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 10+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon