The interior of the command center, at first glance, evoked memories from the second episode of the prequel trilogy.
"Attack of the Clones."
That very moment when Count Dooku communicates with the Separatist leadership in the Geonosian hive.
Making that famous surprised face at the fact that "the Jedi somehow have an entire army."
And then receiving from the formal leader of the Geonosians — Poggle the Lesser — the plans for what would, after a thorough "filing down," become the first "Death Star."
That very moment.
The central part of the room was occupied by a massive round table, in the center of which glowed red-orange lights of backlighting and projections.
Unlike Republic and Imperial technology, this specimen of Geonosian mechanisms had projector lenses positioned above the table, so the beams linking the projectors to the figures before the assembled attendees were striking.
As if somewhere up there, a sentient being hovered, controlling marionettes suspended on the thinnest of light threads.
Around the perimeter of the room, behind the backs of those assembled, acid-yellow and green monitors, vertically elongated, were visible, interspersed with horizontal devices more familiar to the human eye.
The alternation of old Geonosian and modern Dominion screens was quite curious.
"We left the restored Geonosian equipment in place," Colonel Niovi explained, with a short gesture nodding towards the specimens of old technology. "It is fully operational. External transmitters are disabled. The possibility of tracking this technology's operation is completely ruled out."
The Colonel took a seat to my left.
Captain Pellaeon positioned himself on the right.
A little further from him stood Rukh.
On the left, apart from Niovi himself, only one man from the base personnel on Horn was present.
I didn't know the individual personally, but from Niovi's reports, I roughly understood who he was.
"Good," I sat at the head of the round table.
In principle, that wasn't quite correct.
The apex of a round geometric figure cannot be determined.
But counting the number of seats to the left and right, already occupied by the sentients present at the meeting — that was easy.
It turned out the number was equal on both sides.
And only the chair provided for me constituted an odd number of the total furniture count.
"Let's begin," I announced. "Colonel Niovi, report on the situation on Horn."
The garrison commandant on the planet leaned slightly forward and pointed at the holographic structures in the center of the round table.
"At this moment, we have fully restored the functionality of Foundry Number Four," at the mention of this production complex, the mass of volumetric projections changed.
Part of the structures increased in scale, while the rest dissolved beyond the projection's boundaries.
"During the Clone Wars and after them, it served as a hidden base, factory, and repair yard on the planet," the Colonel continued. "The base was a former workshop for producing Separatist droids. It was hidden from detection among the wreckage of the main Trade Federation ships that were destroyed during the bombardment of Ksorrn at the end of the Clone Wars. Currently, we use the same cover, protecting us from orbital scanning."
Layout of Foundry Number Four.
From previous reports, I knew that the Geonosians, at the instigation of the Separatist government, had used Horn for the illegal production of various combat droid models, hidden from the Galactic Republic.
Factories like Foundry Number Four had managed to produce millions of combat droids.
Almost immediately after the start of the Clone Wars, the Republic discovered the facilities on Horn.
After which, the logical course of events turned the planet into a combat zone.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the Republic no longer wished to expend resources on capturing the planet.
The sector fleet bombarded Ksorrn from orbit, destroying dozens of Core Ships that were on the surface at the time.
Most of the production facilities were destroyed or critically damaged in the orbital bombardment.
Foundry Number Four sustained significant damage; all but two of its landing shafts collapsed.
After the end of the Clone Wars, Separatist refugees under the command of that male individual sitting furthest from me on the left, moved to the ruins of Foundry Four.
After repair work, they were able to restore a significant portion of the production capacity.
And used it for their own benefit.
The hologram itself provided a clear representation of what Foundry Number Four consisted of.
When colonizing the planet, the Geonosians attempted to build their traditional hive spires to house the droid foundries on Horn.
However, the planet's thin crust caused the hive spires to collapse before a droid could be created.
To counter this, the Geonosians began "digging" the hives, implanting them into the depths of the soil and rock formations, instead of building them on the surface.
Like other foundries, Foundry Four was excavated on Horn's surface.
Before and during the Clone Wars, Foundry Four was a functioning labyrinth of five separate underground factories, united by a central command center.
Each factory had two landing shafts — one for raw material supply and one for finished product export.
Additionally, they served as exhaust ventilation shafts for factory waste.
The shafts were four hundred meters deep, with a landing platform the size of a corvette.
The landing pads were equipped with four tractor beam emitters to facilitate landing.
Only two landing pads remained operational when the Assembly of the Clan took control of the foundry.
The control center was located above a large magma chamber.
Previously used as a monitoring station, the Assembly of the Clan used it for work meetings.
Currently, through the efforts of both locals and Dominion personnel, Foundry Number Four has been restored to its original state.
And it is fully functional, unlike its recent condition.
Three and a half hundred refugees had begun manufacturing spare parts and starship weaponry on order for various factions.
Among which were representatives of the Rebel Alliance, pirates, and mercenaries.
In a word — all those who had, in one way or another, acquired Separatist warships.
The Galactic Empire found out about this.
As a result, during the Galactic Civil War, Horn once again became the site of a large-scale battle.
"At this moment, we are working on restoring Foundries One through Three, as well as Five," the Colonel continued. "Part of the components we smelt ourselves using the equipment of Foundry Four. Partially, we use old spare parts from the Core Ships, which are too costly to restore."
"I see no point in restoring them at all," Colonel Niovi stated with a grimace. "The design of the LH-1740 is too conspicuous and outdated, not to mention they are generally under-armed for transports."
Judging by his expression, this conversation had been started by this individual more than once.
"I can name sixty-six million reasons why I would recommend restoring all thirty-seven LH-1740s found on the planet by my group," said the sole man I had not yet met personally.
"Too high a figure to be realistic," Captain Pellaeon said in a calm tone.
"But it is," the man said imperturbably. "That is precisely the cargo hold volume of the LH-1740. Sixty-six million cubic meters of cargo can be transported by just one such starship."
"This is our Chief Engineer," Colonel Niovi interjected instantly. "Kasik of the Korsa clan. A native of the planet Galla, as are his people. He represents the Assembly."
The Assembly of the Korsa Clan is the government that ruled the fugitives from the planet Galla on Horn.
Kasik is the title of the head of the Assembly.
Generally, the founder of the settlement on Horn was this man's grandfather.
But he had died under mysterious circumstances, and the locals could not determine the cause of the former leader's death.
Until Captain Irvin, in pursuit of his own planet-base, discovered Horn for the Dominion.
And our garrison was transferred here.
Along with several Jensaarai Defenders and a Dominion counterintelligence unit.
After the necessary filtration measures were carried out, the envious rivals of the current Kasik's grandfather were identified, and their guilt in the murder was fully proven.
This, along with food supplies and the promise of a better future for the local children, brought the clan to our side.
They continue to work peacefully on Horn, satisfied with our patronage, protection, and all the necessary guarantees afforded to Dominion citizens, in exchange for flawless work.
And most importantly — a stable demand for their production.
Despite the fact that Horn is our secret forge-world, and all its enterprises are entirely under the Dominion's jurisdiction, the locals are content with having occupied leadership positions.
And now they no longer have a headache over survival issues.
They have no desire to break away from the planet, where a new generation of colonists has already grown up.
And we, for our part, do everything to ensure this small collective lacks for nothing.
But continues to supply us with everything necessary.
"Are you certain these ships can be restored, Kasik?" I inquired.
"Anything assembled from mechanisms can be restored," the man cut him off. "Provided there's the will to invest the money. I doubt there are many shipbuilding enterprises in the galaxy that mass-produce ships of such immense size and cargo capacity. Any of those Lucrehulk-class battleships you delivered to our orbit is already a warship — not the transport it originally was. It can carry about five million cubic meters of cargo. The LH-3210, a cargo variant of the Lucrehulk, carries only five times that. The Techno Union's Hardcell-class interstellar transport delivers around twelve and a half thousand tons. Your beloved Action-class freighters can carry more, of course, but..."
The man fell silent, realizing Colonel Niovi was staring intently at him.
"My apologies," the Kasik said quickly. "I only meant to say that the Core Ships are perfectly adequate vessels for transporting large volumes of cargo from Horn. The only ship that can carry more is the Separatist supply vessel — five million tons of cargo. Tons, mind you, not standard cubic meters."
"I am aware of the cargo capacity of Dominion transport ships," I said. "And I am equally capable of mathematics. Through simple calculations, one can determine that a Core Ship can transport sixty-six thousand tons of cargo, while an Action IV can carry seventy-five. Even the cargo variant of the Lucrehulk carries less — because a significant portion of its volume was allocated to storing droids, military equipment, and personnel. This is simple math, and it's unlikely that a man of your position and intelligence couldn't perform these calculations. This, combined with the fact that you interrupted Colonel Niovi's report, suggests you are lobbying to revive the LH-1740 Core Ship production project."
The man looked at me, slightly startled.
Yes, we hadn't met in person before, so he hadn't yet encountered how quickly I could draw conclusions from circumstantial evidence.
"Sir, I apologize for interrupting Colonel Niovi," he said, embarrassed. "Yes, my people are lobbying for this project... I thought this was an appropriate time to discuss it with you..."
He trailed off, unable to find the right words.
"We will talk," I promised. "But after Colonel Niovi finishes his portion of the report."
"Yes, sir," the Kasik said, his voice strained.
* * *
."..so by the end of the year, we will have all five foundries operational and be able to produce up to five million battle droids per week. Of each type: B-2 and B-1," Niovi said. "Of course, we're talking about improved droid models. And ore output won't decline. We're preparing to open additional mines."
"Of course," I confirmed. "Can the production of Vultures be expanded?"
"Yes, sir," Niovi confirmed. "Up to a thousand units weekly. We've practically reached that output already. That's from one foundry alone. Once we launch the other four, output will increase to five thousand per standard week."
When asking whether receiving thirty-five thousand obsolete Vultures — quickly annihilated by the enemy — every thirty-five days is a lot or a little, one must consider that no droid-star-fighter project in the context of "cheap, mass-producible, and effective" has ever truly taken off.
"That's sufficient for now," I said.
After all, the sole consumer of this product is the stubborn Captain Irv, who refuses to allow a large number of "living" crew members aboard his ship.
Yes, with the arrival of two Lucrehulks, the demand for droid starfighters has increased.
Both battleships now form the Horn Defense Fleet and coordinate flight operations.
Cheap droid starfighters and droid bombers are the best option for equipping their air wings, given the shortage of pilots.
There's no practical reason to expand production of this type of mechanical unit.
It's far more promising to research another type of unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
The TIE-Droid project hasn't been forgotten.
Even though it performed only slightly better than the Separatist Vultures, we need a full report on what this technology is capable of.
Squeeze every bit of potential from it, and only then decide whether to shut the project down or put it into mass production.
But moving it to Horn would also be wrong.
The planet is capable of producing technology from the era of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
For now, that's enough — even if it's not the most convenient option.
B-1 series droids haven't been real combatants for a long time.
We use them to replace the missing crew members on ships — both combat and transport vessels.
Cheap artificial intelligence, incapable of analysis or developing optimal tactics, completely template-based and predictable.
The same flaws plague the droid starfighters, the B-2s, and even the TIE-Droids.
Equipping any of these platforms with a more advanced production-line AI is too expensive.
More expensive than building a TIE Interceptor, which has become the primary light starfighter for the Dominion's regular Armed Forces.
And more expensive than growing a clone and putting him in that same interceptor.
And even more expensive than losing a clone and an interceptor.
A combat-capable droid starfighter is expensive.
Especially since it will be shot down just as often as a regular pilot.
The difference is that we don't have the capabilities to fully crew combat-ready ships with complete complements.
Even now, the starships captured by the Dominion at Sluis Van are manned only by skeleton crews — just enough to keep the ships operational.
You can't drag starships into space, shut off their power, and leave them unattended.
Even that durable equipment will eventually break down, requiring enormous amounts of time and resources to restore.
That's why these ships are crewed by minimal droid and clone teams and are sitting in numerous "mothball yards" or repair docks undergoing modernization.
After Sluis Van, we have a large number of Sluissi orbital docks where we can upgrade Star Destroyers to the "Mark III" standard in significant volumes.
And faster than before.
But that doesn't eliminate the need to conduct training exercises among our cloned personnel to improve their effectiveness.
Right now, a significant portion of our "field-testing" clones are participating in the attack on the Zann Consortium's satellites.
There's a competent enemy there.
In large numbers.
Enough for all the clones.
"At present, we have twenty million B-1 and B-2 series droids ready for shipment," Colonel Niovi continued. "But we lack enough transport starships of our own to move them, along with ore shipments, to the metropole."
Horn didn't have a large number of transports, or many warships in general.
The planet is practically unknown to the galaxy.
The Galactic Empire took care to scrub it from astrogation charts.
And any trade the local refugees conducted always took place off-world.
Besides, most of Horn's former contacts have already been wiped out by the Dominion — either by regular forces or by intelligence, which continues to hound criminal elements across the galaxy.
No, not out of philanthropy.
It's simply that pirates have bases throughout the galaxy, supply routes, and interesting information — and I need all of it.
By destroying pirate nests, we replace them with our own "sleeper" clone groups, which can launch a destabilization campaign in any corner of the galaxy on command.
This (and much else) is, in fact, the reason it takes so long to crew the starships.
"How productive is your shipyard, Kasik Korsa?" I asked the Assembly representative.
The man looked at me with interest.
Built by a team of engineers above the planet Ksorrn in the Ferra Sector of the Outer Rim Territories, the "Ferra Sector Shipyard," as the locals called it, was a small repair facility eight hundred meters long, hidden in orbit around Ksorrn.
Although its name was certainly an exaggeration, this very play on words led the Galactic Empire to search elsewhere for a much larger structure.
The shipyard was a column of membranous metal structures, tucked along the open lower section of an Acclamator-class assault ship left over from the Clone Wars, with a 100-meter armature sliding along its entire length.
The shipyard's primary function was repairing starships that couldn't use ports under Imperial control or supervision.
However, it was also responsible for refitting cargo vessels and tugs with armor, weapons, and expanded hangar space, turning freighters into combat ships for use by mercenaries, pirates, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
They were delivered here without a crew, relying solely on the clients' trust that the ship would undergo necessary repairs and be returned to them within the required modernization timeframe.
The engineering team achieved this through the judicious use of shipyard droids.
Together, they installed surface-mounted weapons produced in Foundry Four on the planet and converted cargo holds into hangars.
This was the shipyard we used to repair Captain Kalian's task force when he destroyed the Mon Calamari star cruisers inbound from Lantilles.
"We've already proven we can repair Victory-class Star Destroyers in record time," the man said.
A notable fact.
The shipyard was built by his grandmother.
Who was responsible for his grandfather's death.
Such are family ties and values.
"I'm familiar with your work," I said. The man tensed even more. "I'm interested in something else. Whether the shipyard's size and capabilities are connected to your lobbying for the restoration of the Core Ships."
The shipyard can accommodate a ship up to a kilometer long in its open berths.
Ideally, of course, the aforementioned eight hundred meters or less — then the yard's mechanisms can work on the ship with maximum efficiency.
Otherwise, you get the same situation as with the orbital repair workshops.
In theory, they can work with Super Star Destroyers or fast dreadnoughts.
But part of the ship will always stick out of the "bay."
And if repairs are needed on that part, you either have to "maneuver" the ship, docking it nose-first and then stern-first to the bay's base, or use work barges to deliver cranes and materials to the part of the hull the berth's guides can't reach.
"The diameter of the LH-1740 Core Ship's sphere is less than seven hundred meters," I continued. "Consequently, that sphere can be placed into the shipyard's guides without much trouble, ensuring the necessary quality of operational repair and construction work."
The Kasik looked at me, his lips pressed tight.
"From which I conclude that you are deliberately lobbying for the production of this ship type in order to use the remaining blueprints on Horn and its production facilities to become monopolists in that market niche."
The man chewed his lip.
Niovi watched him with undisguised interest.
Clearly, this idea hadn't occurred to the Horn Commandant.
"Yes," the Kasik admitted. "My people have studied these ships inside and out. If we can produce equipment for these starships in even one foundry, then — provided we ramp up production of construction and assembly droids — we can manufacture them in large numbers. And that's beneficial for the Dominion!"
"In what way?" asked Niovi. "These are outdated starships. Not fast, protected only against fighters and small ships. If we're going to produce something, it should be Lucrehulks. Battleships, not freighters. Yes, they carry less cargo, but they don't require an escort."
"Maintaining even one Lucrehulk means having a very deep pocket," the Kasik snorted. "It takes enormous credits to keep one operational. Servicing a Core Ship requires far smaller sums. Not to mention that we're currently using the old landing pads built by the Separatists. And they're perfect for Core Ships. There are about a hundred such landing pits on Horn. And if we use Core Ship-type starships not just to lift ore and equipment to orbit — where we spend a long time transferring them to the same Actions — we'd significantly simplify logistics. Right now, it takes about two days to load a Core Ship with all necessary cargo, lift it to orbit, and transfer everything into the holds of a single Action. Considering a convoy of ten such freighters arrives here, we spend nearly a month loading one shipment and sending it to the Dominion. Meanwhile, our warehouses are replenished with the same volume of ore and finished goods. Effectively, up to half the stock in the warehouses is just waiting its turn for unloading. But if we used not Actions, but a dozen or so Core Ships, we'd send a far larger volume to the Dominion in the same standard month. That's..." he looked at me, "elementary math, sir."
And...
I won't say this man is wrong.
Once a month, a convoy of ten Actions arrives here — the maximum that can be loaded on the planet and delivered to the Dominion without arousing suspicion or inviting pirate attacks.
And, honestly, until now we could only assign a small transport fleet for these purposes — we didn't have enough medium freighters.
So, the calculations are simple.
Ten Actions, each capable of carrying only seventy-five thousand tons of cargo.
Once a month, this convoy delivers seven hundred fifty thousand tons of raw materials and droids to the metropole.
Simply because it takes twenty days to load the convoy's ships using only two Core Ships.
Another five days for the round trip.
With all necessary precautions.
So, over two months, a convoy of ten Actions can complete three full delivery cycles.
That's two million two hundred fifty thousand tons of cargo and finished goods delivered from Horn to the metropole.
Now, let's take the option proposed by the Kasik.
Take the same ten Core Ships.
We get six hundred sixty thousand tons of cargo and raw materials they can carry in one trip.
The numbers clearly favor the Action.
But, the devil, as they say, is in the details.
If we deliver cargo with Core Ships, we don't need to transfer it to Actions.
The latter can't land on the planet's surface at all, because there aren't many stable surface areas for new landing pads.
Remaking the "craters" built for Core Ships is also not the best idea.
Due to the high cost of such modifications.
"How long does it take to load one Core Ship and deliver it to orbit?" I asked.
"One day," the man replied.
So, we have ten Core Ships.
And a potential number of landing pads equal to one hundred.
Thirty-seven ships of this type are on the planet's surface and can be conditionally restored.
We calculate based on the assumption that such convoys — consisting of Core Ships — will be escorted by our regular forces.
But instead of twenty days for loading, with just ten Core Ships as delivery vehicles, we get that we load them in one day, the same five days for delivery to the Dominion and return. Add one day for unloading at the destination.
So, delivering six hundred sixty thousand tons of cargo with ten Core Ships takes seven standard days.
Out of thirty-five in a standard month.
That's five deliveries in thirty-five days.
In other words, ten Core Ships can deliver almost ten million tons of cargo to the Dominion in a month.
Nine million nine hundred thousand tons, to be precise.
But there's a problem.
We only have two Core Ships, not ten.
Consequently, we divide the available figures by five.
That means one million nine hundred eighty thousand tons of cargo and ore can be delivered to the Dominion by just two Core Ships over three months.
Versus two million two hundred thousand carried by ten Action-class freighters.
This is despite the fact that the Actions, with their Class 1 hyperdrive, cannot fly faster than the escorting regular fleet ships, which use Class 2 hyperdrives.
Core Ships exclusively have a Class 2 hyperdrive.
As do their escort vessels.
Yes, fuel is relatively cheap (comparatively, of course), but the very fact that deliveries can be accelerated gets the gray matter working.
Logistics isn't my strongest suit, but these calculations are starting to provoke certain thoughts.
"The proposal warrants attention," I said.
Especially considering that a significant portion of the delivered ore goes toward repairing the former habitable sphere.
"How long will it take you to restore the remaining Core Ships on the planet?" I asked the Kasik.
"If we have suitable hyperdrives, we can put up to twenty ships into service by the end of this half-year," the man replied. "But on the condition that we retool one of the foundries into a factory for manufacturing Core Ship spare parts."
An interesting condition.
It sounds audacious, but in reality, it's a rational trade-off.
Currently, one foundry produces less than a million B-1 and B-2 combat droids per week.
And a significant portion of them are currently sitting idle in warehouses because they can't be shipped out in full.
Same with the mined metals.
If we remove one foundry from the equation, by the end of the year, four of the five foundries will be producing one million B-1 and B-2 droids each.
Every week.
And also smelting millions of tons of metals that also need shipping.
And metal is needed literally everywhere.
In construction, repair, and modernization of starships, small aircraft, shuttles, engines, weapons, orbital defenses, and space stations in general.
It's critically needed for the same purposes, but in the context of the Dominion's ground combat equipment.
A lot of metal (and other materials) is also needed for construction, which the Dominion is undertaking in nearly every corner of its territory.
Military factories.
Civilian factories.
Dual-use factories and enterprises.
Cities.
Bases.
Outposts.
Warehouses.
This list could go on forever.
It's not on a whim that I want to get as many sources of raw materials within the Dominion as possible.
"Alright," was my answer. "You get the fifth foundry at your disposal. Begin its retooling and repair to suit the needs of restoring and building Core Ships..."
"Thank you, Grand Admiral," the Kasik said, looking triumphantly at the Colonel, who expressed complete indifference to what was happening.
"I wasn't finished," I said. My calm tone wiped the amusement off the Assembly representative's face. "You mentioned the Trade Federation supply ship."
"Yes," the man said, now looking slightly less certain.
"I take it such ships have also visited Horn?" I presumed.
"Umm..." the Kasik hesitated.
Colonel Niovi, without a word, switched the hologram so that the three-dimensional image of the foundry was replaced by something resembling a huge, ungainly dumbbell.
"Trade Federation supply ship," he explained. "One of the largest military transport starships ever built in the galaxy in recent centuries. With a length of nine hundred eight meters and a height of nine hundred ten, the starship has an enormous width equal to one thousand two hundred fifty-seven meters. And those are just the whole numbers. The crew consisted of droids. The exact number is unknown, as several modifications existed with different crew complements. Equipped with a Class 2 hyperdrive. Has a hangar deck capable of carrying a large number of transport shuttles. Cargo hold capacity, as already stated, is five million tons. Protected by light laser cannons. By modern assessment, insufficient to repel a full attack from even an Imperial-class Star Destroyer's air wing. Has weak armor, low maneuverability, and sublight speed. High deflector shield power."
"An impressive starship," I said.
Despite the absurdity and complete lack of ergonomics in its design, the external appearance of a spacecraft is the last thing that should concern a person.
A block, a dumbbell, a top, or just a saucer — shape doesn't matter when you're dealing with friction forces that are negligible.
Because in space, friction, resistance, or medium are concepts with laughable magnitudes.
They're not even worth considering seriously.
A starship left in space by its crew, not fixed to a "gravity anchor," can drift by inertia for millennia, unless it encounters a gravitational or other anomaly on its path.
The Separatist supply ship.
"A ship of this kind could supply an entire colonization mission to any remote world in one go," I said thoughtfully, studying the hologram.
"But it was used for something entirely different," the Kasik declared. "Even the CIS forces, whose backbone consisted of mechanical soldiers, needed timely deliveries of spare parts, weapons, ammunition, fuel, and so on. The supply problem was especially acute for the organic soldiers — the millions who fought on the Separatist side."
"This ship was built with the lessons of the Clone Wars in mind," I said, studying the design. "Yes, Colonel, you're right — its armor isn't the best, but at the same time, additional plating for critical sections like the bridge, reactor, engines, hangar, and hyperdrive has been accounted for. This isn't a backyard job — the ship was built this way from the ground up."
"Yes, sir," Colonel Niovi agreed. "This type of transport vessel was hastily created in the first year of the war and likely entered mass production around the same time."
"What can you tell us about it, Kasik?" I inquired.
"Beyond what's already been stated?" the named man clarified.
"Of course."
"I don't know who manufactured them — possibly Hoersch-Kessel," the Kasik admitted. "In addition to what's been said, I can note that these starships were incapable of landing on planetary surfaces, but thanks to powerful repulsors, they could enter the upper atmosphere. Those two hemispheres," he pointed to the side sections of the hologram, "are holds. Each is equipped with a long hangar corridor for ease of loading and unloading, similar to those found on Trade Federation LH-3210 container vessels — a modified version of which the CIS used as a battleship and heavy carrier. The ship's hangars were spacious enough to accommodate C-9979 landing craft. The presence of hangars and colossal cargo capacity allowed these vessels to be used for troop deployment. As far as I know, the ship was quite simple to operate, with a standard crew consisting of B-1 series droids as the crew and a T-series tactical droid as the ship's commander."
"The archives state that the first known deployment of this type of vessel was the Battle of Umbara, twenty-one years before the Battle of Yavin," Colonel Niovi said. "An orbital siege and large-scale landing operation by the Grand Army of the Republic forced the Separatists to supply the besieged from outside, moving cargo from orbit to a local airbase near the capital via landing transports. Only after capturing that airbase and destroying one of the ships supplying the Umbaran forces in a sabotage operation did the Republic troops manage to take the capital. It was also used as a large landing ship during the assault on Dathomir, a year before the end of the Clone Wars."
"After the remnants of the Separatists were destroyed, nothing more was heard of these starships," the Kasik said. "Their fate after the Clone Wars is unknown. Most likely, they were scrapped or fell into the hands of private trading and transport companies."
"At least, I've never heard of the Empire using them after winning the Clone Wars," Niovi said.
Interesting.
So the Empire used the less capacious Lucrehulks, but not these giant flying warehouses?
That makes no sense.
The Empire fought a massive number of wars, yet chose to use Acclamators, Lucrehulks, and smaller starships for delivering weapons, reinforcements, and supplies.
While a single ship of this type could have solved the supply problems of an entire task force for months.
"Kasik," I addressed the Assembly representative, "the Dominion needs you and your subordinates to work out the reconstruction of this starship. With replacement of necessary components with the ones we use, of course."
"Instead of the core ship?" the man tensed.
"Alongside it," I replied.
The logic is incredibly simple.
We have several types of starships we use for military transport purposes.
There are the Acclamators, which have undergone modernization and been converted into large or assault landing ships. Their latest weaponry and Class One hyperdrives allow them to deliver military cargo, troops, and the like to planets even under enemy fire.
Not to mention their ability to land on a planet without a prepared landing zone.
That is a combat vessel, and it should be (and will be) used as part of the regular fleet.
Just like the Venators.
That is — in military operations on enemy territory.
The nearly five hundred Action-class freighters we captured from the Zann Consortium belong to the category of medium-tonnage civilian transport vessels.
They will be perfectly suitable (provided alternatives exist) for internal Dominion shipping under the escort of the Defense Forces.
If necessary.
In fact, Talon Karrde's experience in retrofitting his starships shows that these freighters are quite capable of fighting off small bands of pirates who don't have large ships.
As for the core ships and supply vessels used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems...
"I am prepared to help your clan become the exclusive supplier of this type of ship to the Dominion," I explained to the Kasik. "But I need starships with reliable armor and weaponry that will allow them to fight off light enemy forces. And, without a doubt, they must meet the standards of the Dominion's regular fleet."
The joy on the Kasik's face vanished as if it had never been there.
"Sir, my people don't have sufficient qualifications to practically build ships from scratch," he admitted. "Modernization, repair of necessary components and assemblies... That's our limit. And even then, only with the ship's schematics available. Converting a core ship and a supply vessel to Dominion standards is a complete redesign. We would essentially be creating new-model starships. In an old hull, of course, and even that isn't guaranteed."
"That sounded like you're talking about problems, Kasik," I said slowly.
"These are major problems, sir," the man nodded. "I didn't expect you to want us to build improved versions of such starships. We're simply not ready for something like that."
Ships like those of the Trade Federation were designed as armed transports.
Though the execution fell short, and as practice shows, they weren't all that strong anyway.
But using these particular types of starships will not only allow us to more efficiently extract wealth and products from Horn, but they'll also prove useful in the long run.
Captain Irv won't rest — he'll keep searching for old bases and secret factories of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
And he will undoubtedly find them.
And wherever the Separatists set up their factories, there are bound to be mineral deposits.
And the most capacious and common transports for hauling out such 'wealth' by the Neimoidians — the rulers of the Trade Federation — were, naturally, the core ships.
Precisely for the reasons the Kasik laid out.
So, even if building these starships won't solve the homeworld's supply problems in the immediate future, the fact is clear.
This is a strategic foundation for the future, for when I have to step out of the shadows and openly lead the Dominion again.
Then we'll need the rapid delivery of resources from extraction sites to factories.
And besides speed, we'll also need enormous volume.
Inside the Dominion, all of this can be handled with the Actions and Acclamators, the smaller freighters.
After all, the danger of moving cargo inside one's own territory is much lower than outside it.
For now — outside it.
"We are outside the homeworld," Colonel Niovi reminded me. "If a large-scale military ship production facility is being planned on Horn, we will need much stronger protection than two Lucrehulks and a few patrol ships, sir."
"Nothing less was expected, Colonel," I declared. "The Guardian didn't arrive alone, but accompanied by twelve Imperial I-class Star Destroyers. Commodore Brandei from a separate regular fleet task force will be arriving in the planet's orbit shortly. He will deliver the latest destroyers and their escort to you for the necessary period, which will ensure the system's defense. Damaged ships will be inspected, repaired, and sent for modernization. Kasik," I looked at the Assembly representative. "Chief Engineer Reyes will also be arriving. He will inspect Horn's production facilities, as well as your shipyard. He will prepare an expert assessment of what needs to be brought here from the homeworld to create full-fledged shipyards. With that data, you will travel to the homeworld to meet with Shipwright Zion. He will help you rework the blueprints for the latest ships, which you will build under the Dominion brand. You will also need to meet with Grand Moff Ferrus, who will handle the legal matters of establishing a new shipbuilding company. Is everything clear?"
I'll sort out the supply of orbital defense stations, planetary turbolasers, and ion cannons to Horn with Tavira and Brandei.
Fortunately, they're produced in the Karthakk sector in sufficient quantities for the needs of all Dominion forces.
"Yes, sir. I cannot find words to express my gratitude..."
"Express it by quickly restoring the core ships currently on Horn," I suggested. "While the new design for both types of starships is being developed, the Dominion can rely solely on you returning the ships we already possess to active service. In the shortest possible time, Kasik. I won't allow you to drag out your own initiative."
"Of course, Grand Admiral. However, there is a legal nuance in reconstructing, even in a modernized version, Separatist ships. There could be problems with the rights holders of this technology," the Kasik warned, exchanging a glance with Niovi.
"That's highly unlikely," I countered. "These ships belonged to the Separatists. Built by the Trade Federation. Following the Clone Wars, the latter was assimilated by the Galactic Empire and stripped of all its assets. The Dominion is a pro-Imperial state. Thus, from a formal point of view, we have the right to produce and use what was the property of the Galactic Empire."
"Only if we are legally recognized as the Empire's heirs," Colonel Niovi cautioned.
"And we will be," I stated matter-of-factly. "Not now, but soon. After we eliminate the main obstacle to the Dominion's hegemony over the former territories of the Galactic Empire."
Making a mental note to speak with Gilad about optimizing our existing fleet of military and civilian equipment, I ended the meeting.
Time to return to the Guardian.
The short inspection is complete, new resources and ships have been allocated.
All that's left is to head to where we can empty my flagship's holds.