Ten years, one month, and twenty days after the Battle of Yavin…
Or the forty-fifth year, first month, and twentieth day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Eight months and five days since the Arrival.)
Having finished reading the report, I set the datapad aside and looked at Colonel Astarion with such an attentive gaze that the head of the Dominion's counter-intelligence preferred to look away.
There wasn't even a need to ask the usual question in such a situation — whether this information was accurate, whether it had been verified multiple times, and whether the confirmation sources could be trusted.
I had no doubts about the competence of the colonel's subordinates.
And if the conclusions were exactly this, then their veracity was not to be doubted one iota.
"Izbela Saarrj," I said slowly, as if tasting the sounds of the woman's name.
That was the name of the one who became the donor for the female 'Vultures' of the 'Zann Consortium.'
"Yes, sir," the head of the Dominion Security Bureau echoed. "Cross-analysis with Imperial databases gave a complete match on appearance and retina; ninety percent match on DNA. We ran the comparison against all known identification criteria and got an unambiguous answer. Except for one identification block, of course. Confirmation by fingerprints and palm prints is absent, but that is determined primarily by the fact that clones' prints are directly different from those the original had."
I am aware of the last fact.
It is used by our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify clones.
When more than half of your armed forces consist of people with the same appearance — willy-nilly, you'll need to find a way to identify them.
Dactyloscopy, as it turned out, had no equal in this matter.
Fingerprints are a unique pattern of papillary ridges formed during a person's life cycle.
There are many criteria for fingerprint matching, but never have people been born with the same prints.
Even among clones, they are always different.
And the last fact is a strictly guarded secret of the Dominion, for the preservation of which the counter-intelligence will lie down with their bones but will not allow it to leave the confines of its department and the very narrow circle of people initiated into the secret.
At this stage of scientific development in the galaxy, dactyloscopy, even as a forensic tool, has receded to a secondary plan and is used in such an insignificant number of investigations that the fact of its use could be considered an error.
Or, as physicists say, 'a quantity that can be neglected.'
But not in the Dominion.
Over the years of its existence, the Empire has accumulated tens of thousands of reports on methods of forging personal identifiers for sentients, as well as other official documents, including spacecraft identifiers.
The identity card of a Dominion citizen was developed and put into production taking into account all available comments.
The criteria for citizen identification include several hundred items, including biometric data, which includes papillary patterns of fingers and palm prints.
The name of the 'Vultures' donor was discovered quite a while ago and is no longer a secret to us.
And at the same time, it sheds a little more light on the personality of Tyber Zann than before.
"In that case, we can draw a conclusion about the attitude of the head of the 'Zann Consortium' towards those opponents he considers dangerous," I concluded, voicing my thoughts regarding the data on the donor's identity.
"Sorry, sir, but I don't understand what conclusion," Astarion admitted.
"Almost ten years ago, after the Battle of Yavin IV, Izbela Saarrj compiled an analytical memo that became part of an objective report that reached Palpatine for personal study," I tapped my finger on the datapad screen, as if indicating the source of my knowledge. "In that memo, a lieutenant of the Imperial Judicial Intelligence described the 'Zann Consortium' as one of the greatest dangers — yes, such an organization also existed in the Empire. In general, the Empire had about two dozen intelligence organizations. Which harmed each other more and fought for power than they cared about the welfare of the state." And note, Colonel. Virtually everything the lieutenant indicated as probable paths for the criminal organization's evolution has been implemented.
"Yes," Colonel Astarion admitted reluctantly. "I studied the analytical memo inside and out, thankfully there is a copy in the Ubiqtorate archives. After his defeat, Tyber Zann developed the 'Zann Consortium' almost exactly as Lieutenant Saarrj hypothesized nearly ten years ago. The girl clearly should have become a seer instead of slaving away for Judicial Intelligence for twenty thousand credits a standard year."
I shook my head negatively.
"No, Colonel," the statement caught Astarion's attention. "We are not talking about predictions. And we are no longer even talking about Tyber Zann's genius. Izbela Saarrj made logical conclusions and assumptions, outlining scenarios for the development of events, predicting the probabilities of Tyber Zann's actions based on available data about him and his organization. And today we learned that she, genetically altered by Kaminoan scientists, became the donor for the numerous 'Vultures' who carry out all those many operations that allow the 'Zann Consortium' to be what it is at the current moment."
Astarion looked at me, his brows furrowed above the bridge of his nose.
He was clearly brainstorming, mentally sorting through what was said and what was not spoken.
"At some point in time, either before or after his defeat, Tyber Zann captured Izbela Saarrj," I said. "Given his corrupt connections, I'll assume he learned about the report and Palpatine's reaction. And he decided to take into his personal possession the one who had calculated him so thoroughly and in such detail. How exactly he secured her cooperation is not such an important question at the moment. The key point is different — Tyber Zann is not perfect himself. Shadow control of the criminal underworld, the use of shell companies to cover his main activities, the multi-directional actions of individual parts of the organization — all this was hypothesized by Saarrj in her analytical memo. Tyber Zann is merely using ready-made solutions that others developed for him. However, let's not deny the fact that he undoubtedly did something personally. I will assume with a high degree of probability that, during the subsequent study of Imperial archives related to work against the 'Zann Consortium,' your subordinates will discover that a number of Imperial engineers who studied captured Zann ships or otherwise analyzed them, pointing out design flaws, have disappeared. And the ships of the 'Zann Consortium' have now become more combat-capable."
"This fits the concept of the 'Vultures' stealing Imperial equipment and weapons," Astarion nodded. "So, the Empire itself helped Zann revive, doing his post-mortem analysis for him."
And also greatly facilitated this by allowing Zann's infiltration of the 'Eclipse' and gaining access to Palpatine's secrets.
Secret accounts, numerous luxury items that could very well be liquidated (after all, unlike me, who knows for certain that Palpatine is alive, Zann likely does not possess such information, and therefore could have sold off what Palpatine kept as trophies)…
All this provided Tyber Zann with the means to begin his underground activities to conquer the galaxy.
As is known — a sacred place is never empty.
Therefore, Zann used the crisis of power in the Empire that arose after Palpatine's death for his own purposes.
It is highly unlikely that he predicted the Emperor's death under those conditions.
Most likely, the cloning of Moffs and other Imperials was done even before Endor, and Palpatine's death merely simplified the substitution procedure.
And until now, Zann has done nothing openly for the reason that he intended to weaken remnants like the Imperial Space and the Pentastar Alignment as much as possible, so that his actions would not face serious resistance.
"Should my people continue working on studying the Imperial developments regarding the 'Zann Consortium'?" Colonel Astarion clarified.
"Yes," I replied. "I need the names of those who studied Tyber Zann's organization and especially those who assessed its armed forces, economy, and made constructive proposals, like Izbela Saarrj. They have probably all disappeared under one circumstance or another and now work for the 'Zann Consortium.' But their names and identities will allow us to understand what exactly in Zann's organization has been changed by Imperial forces."
This information will give me an understanding of how fragmented, or on the contrary, monolithic the organization is that I intend to destroy.
To eradicate cancer, you must eliminate all metastases — otherwise, there can be no talk of a cure.
So, a temporary respite, nothing more.
"Understood," Colonel Astarion replied, making a note on his datapad. "The last thing I wanted to report, sir. Grand Moff Ferrus is ready to participate in Operation 'Speculation.'"
The first large-scale counter-offensive against the 'Zann Consortium' since the time we even learned that this criminal organization hadn't been destroyed earlier.
"Excellent," I stated. "All pieces must be in their places by the time the fleet is in position and ready for action."
"My subordinates are on combat alert."
As are the auxiliary forces.
As is the regular fleet.
As are our stormtroopers, pilots, soldiers, and sailors throughout the Dominion.
"Good," I said. "As soon as our bait takes the designated positions and makes itself known to the enemy, you will receive further instructions."
"Yes, sir," Astarion, understanding that the meeting was over, rose from his seat.
Silently saluting, he left my quarters.
I, after rummaging through the information chips with reports, found the one that interested me more than the others.
* * *
Around the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Isen system in the D'Astan sector was experiencing birth pangs, with a still-forming star and an endless sea of rocks in orbit.
Imperial research groups had designated four approximate orbits, based on the assumption that planets would eventually form in these regions.
The gas giant, named Isen, was also still forming.
The system was constantly bathed in radiation emanating from the new star, and asteroid debris made navigation difficult.
For this reason, no one in their right mind would spend millions of credits to settle here, or risk capital on surveying potential mineral deposits.
And the three asteroid fields, named Kisen, Kossan, and Kossim, clearly had rich mineral deposits.
But at the same time, there were always desperate daredevils who used the dangerous system to save time and fuel on delivering goods to customers.
For the most part, these were various kinds of smugglers, for whom the word 'risk' was a second name.
These factors made the system an ideal place for those who intended to stay away from the attention of the sector authorities.
In the current realities, such adventurers were a pirate band known as the 'Void Demons.'
According to data from reconnaissance droids, the pirates had equipped a hidden base on the planetoid Isen IV, the fourth in the orbit of the eponymous gas giant.
Due to the actions of the 'Void Demons,' Isen IV had become the final resting place of several destroyed starship hulls.
A terribly small portion of them belonged to the merchant fleet of House D'Asta — they were also the first victims of the pirates.
Baron Raghez D'Asta had conducted several punitive raids in his time, but achieved no significant success because the pirate base was in an extremely remote location, and the direct route to the base was blocked by minefields and radiation fields.
The pirates had their own fairway, which they used to reach their base.
But they wisely kept quiet about it.
When the civil war broke out in the sector, the 'Void Demons' became active, emerged from the Isen system, and attacked convoys of transports loyal to the Baroness.
Thus demonstrating their bias in the current conflict and direct interest.
Their possession of several 'Interceptor'-class frigates, built on the basis of the 'Action IV' transport ship, allowed the pirates to pose a significant threat to virtually any transport convoy escorted by light forces.
And to protect their own transports from their actions, the Baroness's supporters had to exert considerable effort.
But today they made their final mistake — they attacked Dominion transport ships piloted by droids.
'Interceptor IV'-class Frigate.
And now, the 'Abyssal Fury' had followed the signals of the beacons installed inside the starship hulls in such a way that the ship itself was turned into a transmitter.
It's terrifying to imagine how much money was spent on such modifications of simple transports.
Fortunately, old starships captured by the Dominion in the past were used for these purposes.
And they were used as 'bait' because maintaining them, let alone repairing them, was very difficult due to the lack of highly specialized industry that could provide spare parts for these specific types of starships.
"'Interdictor' and 'Prison' report that the vectors for exiting the system are blocked," the watch officer reported to Captain Stormaer.
"Long-range communication suppression?" the Star Destroyer commander clarified.
"'Prison' is jamming all long-range communication channels, and 'Interdictor' is jamming in-system communications," the lieutenant confirmed the execution of another order.
"In that case — order to our 'Dragons': 'Begin the blockade,' Antonias ordered." The destroyers are also to follow us and prepare for battle.
The tactic of luring an enemy with bait had been used by the Dominion more than once, but in other regions of space.
Thanks to the blockade of star systems, including communication links, and the complete elimination of pirates, the spread of information about Dominion tactics does not occur.
Consequently, the 'Void Demons' have no information about what they will have to face.
Two 'Interdictor'-class Star Destroyers, having set traps at the system's exit, supported by six 'Crusader II'-class corvettes and their own air wings, would stop anyone from trying to escape.
The 'Dragons' one through three, participating in the operation, had delivered to the battlefield several hundred TIE fighters, which were to engage the pirates' small craft.
Well, and the 'Abyssal Fury' itself, as the flagship, would deliver the final blow against the enemy.
"Aren't you being a bit hasty, Captain?" came the voice of the Mandalorian who had approached Antonias.
"Rushing the acquisition of all the trophies that interest us is not the best way to end an operation with minimal losses," Stormaer replied sharply, glancing at the leader of the natives from the planet Kol Atorn.
Yeah…
How many sentients in the galaxy know that Mandalorians live not only in their own sector?
Probably not that many, otherwise the news that in this operation the 'Abyssal Fury' would use not its own stormtroopers as boarding forces, but Mandalorians — who, incidentally, are also citizens of the Dominion — would not have caused such a shock among the Star Destroyer's crew.
"Yes, yes, yes," Hedge Spar grimaced. "You're always so slow. Not like striking fast, so the enemy doesn't even have time to raise their ships and pull up their trousers… What glory is there in such an operation if you give the enemy time to prepare for the attack, instead of dropping right on their heads in their own nest?"
That's the logic of the Mandalorians.
What strategy?
What tactics?
Fly in, swoop down, strike, get into a fight — and damn the consequences.
The main thing is that everyone on the battlefield has the opportunity to prove themselves as a ruthless warrior.
Mandalorians are not interested in losses.
But the regular fleet command — very much so.
Especially Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Spar didn't know this, but the participation of his men in the attack on the 'Void Demons' base was a test of his troops' combat capabilities before they openly took part in battles on the side of the Baroness.
The Isen system was perfect for this, like no other.
Blocked, remote, without a developed communication and surveillance network.
Whatever happened here would remain a secret among those who took part in this operation.
Whether the 'Void Demons' supported the rebellious aristocracy or simply decided to exploit the sector's fragmentation to expand their 'hunting grounds' the counter-intelligence would figure that out.
But they would not intervene until all members of the pirate group were killed or captured.
And for that, it was necessary not only to destroy their fighter fleet, but also to capture the base built inside the planetoid.
Why capture, and not destroy?
Because the Isen system is located in close proximity to several regional hyperspace routes.
By subjugating it and occupying the 'Void Demons' base, the allied forces loyal to the Baroness would not only be able to get rid of losses in their own transport convoys, but also reduce the strain on the number of escort ships forced to be used for convoy protection.
And the fewer starships involved in escorting cargo ships, the more of them could be sent to the front line or on raids behind enemy lines.
Despite the fact that Antonias understood the necessity and importance of playing a double game with the enemies and even the allies of the Baroness, the fact remained.
For a direct strike on the pirate base, the Baroness lacked sufficient free forces and ships.
The Dominion could not openly support her — otherwise it would risk exacerbating problems with the Imperial Remnants.
Therefore, to remain within its power, the Dominion had offered the pirates its droid-piloted ships.
Their capture allowed for a local military operation to destroy the pirates, and no one would ever dare to present the Dominion with claims regarding the protection of its interests on the territory of a foreign sector.
Because only the authority in D'Astan, namely the Baroness D'Asta, could exercise such a right.
But Antonias assumed that there would be no serious objections from her side.
However, this operation clearly pursued other goals as well.
Antonias assumed that the destruction of the pirates would directly or indirectly spur on other forces involved in the civil war in the sector.
Intelligence directly stated that in D'Astan, with the start of the civil war, too many parties interested in a certain outcome of the conflict had appeared.
Informants of Imperial Space operated on the planets.
Rebellious aristocrats had settled on Serenno.
And on the planet Rentalles, according to data from Republic intelligence archives, there was once a base of the Rebel Alliance.
A listening post, through which, without getting directly involved in the conflict, one could become involved in what was happening and gather all necessary information.
And at the moment, there was no certainty that the New Republic or the Alliance would not want to use the old base to grab a piece of the action during the civil war.
"Those are the basics of tactics," Stormaer cut him off. "Going in here without reconnaissance, not knowing where the pirate base is and what capabilities it has, means having every chance of mission failure."
"That's why I'm here with my soldiers," Hedge Spar declared smugly. "No matter what mess you make here, we'll finish the job and capture that base for you. You'll be thanking us later that it was we who attacked the planetoid, not your 'pinch-grabbers.'"
The Mandalorian nodded his head towards the guard.
Shock Troopers in their galaxy-standard white armor stood frozen at their posts, paying no heed to the Mandalorian's bravado.
But Antonias's patience had run out.
"To be honest, I'm more inclined to think that the soldiers from Kol Atorn are fighting in the D'Astan sector just so the regular fleet doesn't kick them off a planet that belongs to the Dominion," he said in a level tone, looking the Mandalorian in the eye without any fear. "And besides, Grand Admiral Thrawn gave you that battleship not so you could lounge around this sector in it, but to ensure your mobility in carrying out the missions assigned by the General."
Spar's helmet had no visor, so Antonias could see the muscles clenching in his jaw.
It was a kind of non-verbal threat, meant to intimidate the commander of the Abyssal Fury.
"So," the Abyss continued, "spare me the empty rhetoric, Hedge Spar. You and your men are just mercenaries. At least for now. And it's not your place to lecture me on how to fight. There's a huge difference between you and me. I earned my ship through service to the Dominion and as recognition of my professionalism. You and your men were given a battleship as a down payment."
The Mandalorian bared his teeth in a grin.
"A battleship packed to the brim with military supplies and weapons," he clarified. "And yes, Captain, you're quite right. Don't compare us. I know by heart all the exploits and glorious deeds of every Mandalore. War is what I absorbed with my mother's milk. And I can perform equally well commanding a ship—our glorious Rottaran—or in ground combat. But if they put you in command of your shock troopers, you'd all be slaughtered like young nerfs at a slaughterhouse."
Antonias opened his mouth to retort in the same venomous tone, but his eyes caught the watch officer.
"Sir, the transponders on the transport ships activated. Scanners under the hull probed the planetoid and the immediate vicinity."
"Did we get a navigable path?" Stormaer asked.
"Yes, sir," the watch officer nodded, pointing at the holoprojector. "I've sent the data there."
"Come, Spar," the commander of the Abyssal Fury suggested to the Mandalorian. "Now I'll explain why we're 'taking so long to do everything.' I think you'll be interested to get the intelligence before you and your men head into the inferno."
As his hands ran over the device's keyboard and a three-dimensional image appeared above the projection surface, the skepticism and mockery easily read on the Mandalorian's face gave way to seriousness.
Layout of the "Void Demons" pirate base.
"Cleverly done," Antonias said, examining the hologram from several angles. "The entrance to the base, like the main modules, is recessed into a canyon, providing natural protection during bombardment."
"Not only that," the Mandalorian said reluctantly, pointing to a massive ridge in the western hemisphere of the planetoid. "Isen IV has virtually no rotation, so the shadow falling into the crater constantly hides the structures from visual detection. That also makes it easy to defend—I think the external modules of the base can easily fire into space, and inside the planetoid there's an extensive network of tunnels and hangars in case of escape."
"Complex mobile sensor systems are scattered throughout the system," Antonias continued. "The pirates are collecting data on the movements of meteoroids and asteroids in the system."
"They're afraid someone will fly into the system, cut their engines, and pretend to be a rock to find them," the Mandalorian said. "The defense is top-notch too. Twelve fighter launch tubes, a landing deck, eight laser cannons, and three turbolaser batteries. Yeah, whoever comes knocking is going to have a rough time."
"All the more reason to act according to plan," Stormaer cut him off.
"Sir, enemy ship contacts appeared at coordinates seven-three-one and nine-six-six," came a report from the pit.
"Identified?" Stormaer asked.
"Yes, sir! Interceptor IV\-class frigates. Six starships of that class detected, supported by three squadrons of fighters. Mostly Headhunters."
So their primary small craft is the Z-95.
Not the most pleasant enemy.
"Upgraded armed cargo buckets with bolts," Spar snorted. "Their destruction won't take long."
That kind of bravado is starting to raise concern.
For a ship a hundred and fifty meters long, with a Class 3 hyperdrive, strong deflector shields, two turbolaser batteries, and a launcher with anti-ship missiles—that's not a "bucket with bolts."
The Interceptor IV was an upgrade to the widely used Interceptor\-class frigate employed by pirate forces across the galaxy, which itself was a modified Action VI transport.
The latter were very popular freighters serving smugglers and traders across the galaxy, with obscenely large cargo holds.
And the "fours" were certainly not "targets for gunnery practice."
The only vulnerability of this starship is its light hull armor.
But its armament, deflector shields on par with a heavy cruiser, combined with powerful engines that give it extremely high sublight speeds for a ship its size, make it a rather problematic opponent even for a Star Destroyer.
Not to mention that this type of starship became the most common vessel in the Zann Consortium until they were defeated and went underground.
"Battle stations, all units," Antonias ordered.
"Are you kidding me, Captain?" the Mandalorian exclaimed. "One of your Star Destroyers alone is enough to dismantle their fleet into screws and send them to the nearest scrapyard!"
"But all they need is to delay us long enough—throwing up their shields—to thoroughly scrub the traces of these ships' origins," Stormaer countered. "If the Interceptors were supplied by the Zann Consortium, I want to know. And my command, in the person of Grand Admiral Thrawn, has the same curiosity."
The Mandalorian thought it best to stay silent.
"Then it would be better to destroy them one by one," he said, seeing that the Abyssal Fury was picking up speed, rapidly closing with its pirate starship opponents.
"I'll take them all at once," Antonias cut in. "Request to the Dragons: targets assigned?"
"Main battery ready to fire," confirmed from the comm station.
"Fire," Antonias ordered.
The trio of Venators spat crimson fire in an instant.
The Clone Wars-era destroyers moving behind the Abyssal Fury expelled droplets of ion fire from their main hangars, which in the blink of an eye took half the enemy fleet out of action.
With the next volley, the last three Interceptor IV s followed their comrades and turned into dead, sculpted pieces of metal.
"Order to shock troopers," Antonias activated his comlink. "Form boarding parties and capture enemy starships. Ship commanders, officers, data carriers—everything must be handed over to Dominion Security Bureau (DSB) personnel aboard the Abyssal Fury."
"A planetary ion cannon on a Venator platform?" Hedge Spar looked at the commander of the Abyssal Fury with new eyes. "That kind of design must require an enormous amount of energy…"
"And they have it," Antonias replied calmly. For him, as for most fleet commanders in the regular navy, the effectiveness of Project Sunburn was no longer extraordinary. "Crew, maximum alert! Interceptors, maintain visual surveillance of the perimeter. Abyssal Fury and Dragon-I are heading to planetoid Isen IV. All other ships, carry out the previous blockade order. All large ships are to be disabled with the ion cannon and captured."
Fortunately, the Dragons and Interdictors also have shock trooper units and support droids.
Turning to the Mandalorian, the Abyss asked Spar casually: "You should probably oversee the loading of your men onto the transport shuttles. As soon as we suppress the pirate base's defenses, you'll land and conduct the sweep."
* * *
Up close, things turned out not to be so simple.
In addition to the planetoid itself, the pirates of the Void Demons had established several outposts in the depths of nearby asteroids, gutting them from the inside and turning them into fortified defensive positions.
Void Demons' defensive positions near Isen IV.
Hedge Spar watched through the transparisteel viewport of the Sentinel\-class assault shuttle as the guns of the Dominion Star Destroyer, along with TIE bombers, repeatedly split kilometer-long asteroids with enclosed turbolaser defensive emplacements into drifting piles of rubble.
The battlefield was strewn with numerous debris and fighter hulls from both sides of the conflict.
Although there weren't that many pirate Headhunters, generously supplemented by other types of starfighters, compared to the armada of Dominion TIE fighters, the latter still suffered significant losses.
On average, as the Mandalorian leader understood, the Dominion forces lost two of their TIE fighters for every one pirate Z-95.
Yes, the losses were exceptional, but in the long run, Captain Stormaer was still inevitably heading for victory.
He had disabled the enemy fleet, crushed its air force, ground the defensive lines to dust—and all without losing a single Star Destroyer.
It was a sight to behold: the Venators, which for fifteen years had been regarded in the galaxy as nothing more than big tubs for transporting starfighters or cargo, turned out, with a competent approach to modernization, to be quite dangerous opponents.
They fired from their eight eight-gun turbolaser turrets, similar to those mounted on the Dominion's Imperial\-class Star Destroyers.
Powered by solar ionization reactors built into the Venators' hulls in place of the lower hangar, these ships had clearly found a second wind, gaining firepower so immense that they could easily match the early versions of the Imperial\-class.
And if you consider the fact that they also had planetary ion cannons…
Yes, Grand Admiral Thrawn and his Dominion knew how to surprise their enemies on the battlefield.
Although such a concept was a priori foreign to the Mandalorians.
"Dragon-I has neutralized the systems above the planetoid's surface," the pilot reported to Hedge. "The landing will be smooth."
Spar grimaced, fastening an oxygen mask to his helmet.
"You say that as if it's a blessing," he remarked caustically. "Mandalorians don't fear suppressive fire!"
Isen IV had gravity, though far from standard.
There was no atmosphere, of course, so protective measures were necessary.
As soon as the landing ramp dropped and his soldiers rushed out, sweeping the sparse security droids—clearly sent by the Void Demons from the lower levels of the base—with blaster fire, Hedge Spar was in the front ranks of the assault.
His heavy blaster rifle fired without missing, hitting the droids in their chassis, punching scorched holes through them.
"They sure knew how to make things that last," Spar admired, looking fondly at his DC-15A.
This weapon, like the entire DC-15 blaster series, was created over thirty years ago for the Grand Army of the Republic's Clone Army.
This weapon brought victory to the countless soldiers created from the genes of the Mandalorian bounty hunter—Jango Fett—in thousands of battles across the galaxy.
And today it was once again in the hands of a highly experienced soldier with Mandalorian genes in his blood.
Map of the "Void Demons" base on Isen IV.
The attack was carried out from multiple sides, but the company personally led by Hedge advanced through the main entrance.
They broke through half a dozen outdated B-1s and several more modern security droids.
Breaking into the security center was no trouble at all—they just had to force open the main entrance's powerless, uncontrolled doors.
Here, they were met by several fighters in heavy armor suits with heavy repeaters in their hands.
The first casualties appeared among the Mandalorians.
The wounded were evacuated, and nothing could help the dead.
But this only spurred the Mandalorian warriors on.
Using every opportunity for cover, Spar's men overwhelmed the enemy with firepower and numbers.
No mercy—these were mere pirates, no commanders or officers to be taken prisoner.
Only killing—simple and clean.
That was why Grand Admiral Thrawn had summoned them all under his banner.
He had summoned them, provided them with everything necessary, including enough force for thousands of Mandalorian warriors from Kol Atorn to fight on his side.
Among Spar's people, there were many hypotheses about the reasons for such an action by the Dominion's ruler.
Some said that Thrawn lacked ground troops that he could "dress up" as mercenaries and send to fight in the D'Astan sector adjacent to the Dominion.
Others speculated that Thrawn was the only one perceptive enough to give the Mandalorian exiles what they wanted most—a chance to leave their planet and fight—in order to avoid having to conquer the Mandalorians.
After all, Thrawn was supposedly not a stupid sentient; he must understand that no matter what bravado he spoke about destroying the Mandalorians on Kal Adorn, he wouldn't be able to carry out his plan without huge losses among his own soldiers.
In fact, this had already been discussed at their meeting.
Listening to the stories about this non-human who led the former Imperials, Hedge was inclined to agree with the second version.
Thrawn was cunning and powerful enough to give the Mandalorians a Keldabe II\-class battleship as a down payment for their future service, a ship not far behind the Imperial\-class in terms of capabilities.
Well, it could be said that he had clearly made the right choice.
Neither of them.
The Mandalorians got what they wanted.
Thrawn got what he wanted.
Everyone was satisfied with the deal.
Except for the pirates, whose fierce resistance began to weaken as soon as the fighters from Kal Adorn entered the living sections of the pirate base.
Reports from commanders, each more successful than the last, indicated that the local pirates' will to fight the Mandalorians lasted only until the fighters from Kal Adorn had secured all key positions.
The enemy was left with only the dark corners of their own base, from which sweep teams would soon flush them out.
By the end of the four-hour battle, the fight for Isen IV reached its logical conclusion.
The enemy was destroyed, the facility and the information-holding pirates captured by the valiant warriors of Kol Atorn, and passed into the hands of the Dominion.