Jedi Masters and Sith Lords: I rewrote the ending of the previous chapter. Feel free to go back and take another look.
"So, what do you think?" Max asked.
"If you arm it with concussion missiles or proton torpedoes, then it's basically an across-the-board upgraded Z-95 Headhunter," Christopher Rane said.
On maneuverability:
The Z-95-AF4 in service with the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces had a maximum realspace acceleration of 2780G, while the baseline P-38 could reach 3300G.
The Z-95-AF4 did not carry a hyperdrive, while the baseline P-38 came with a Class 2 hyperdrive.
On firepower:
Both the Z-95-AF4 and the baseline P-38 mounted two fire-linked laser cannons at the wingtips. However, the baseline P-38's cannons were fitted with high-efficiency thermal management, giving it sustained fire about 1.5 times the Z-95-AF4's, and burst output nearly double.
The Z-95-AF4 carried one twin MG5 concussion-missile launcher under each wing, for a total of four rounds. The baseline P-38 did not include concussion-missile/proton-torpedo launchers, but it did reserve hardpoints and space for upgrade packages.
On defense:
Both the Z-95-AF4 and the baseline P-38 had robust duralloy hull structures, deflector shields, and armor plating. BTAD, however, insisted the P-38's deflector shielding was stronger than the Z-95-AF4's.
"Our engines provide more surplus power," Martin Mehton said. "That lets us allocate more energy to the deflector generator."
Better, but a lot more expensive.
The Z-95-AF4 sold to the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces by Incom cost 80,000 Republic credits per craft.
BTAD's quote to Max was 138,000 per baseline P-38, equipped with two fire-linked laser cannons and a Class 2 hyperdrive.
On top of the baseline P-38:
Upgrade the Class 2 hyperdrive to Class 1: +10,000.
Add two additional fire-linked laser cannons on the inner wing heavy hardpoints: +20,000.
Add concussion-missile/proton-torpedo launcher pods to wing and belly hardpoints:
one pair: +20,000
two pairs: +36,000
three pairs: +50,000
four pairs: +60,000
"Uh…" Max scratched his head. "Director Mehton, do you support downgrades?"
"Huh?" Martin Mehton blinked.
Max smiled. "I mean—if we remove the baseline P-38's Class 2 hyperdrive, can it be cheaper?"
Money was money. Spend what you must, save what you can.
At this stage, the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces were buying strike craft primarily for planetary defense. They didn't need long-range hyperspace capability right now. If they needed it later, Bespin Aerospace could refit and upgrade. There was no reason to burn credits in this procurement cycle.
"Yes—absolutely," Martin Mehton said quickly, nodding as he found his footing again.
"If we remove the Class 2 hyperdrive, each P-38 becomes 20,000 credits cheaper. However, Admiral Vizsla, I still feel obligated to remind you that a hyperdrive greatly expands a starfighter's operational radius and flexibility. Its significance—"
Max waved him off. "We Mandalorians are a peace-loving people…"
"Huh?" Martin Mehton froze again. "Oh—of course—please, go on…"
"Our fighters are purchased to protect Bespin and the people of Bespin," Max continued smoothly. "We have no need to deploy across sectors, so the hyperdrive just isn't necessary."
"I see. Such noble restraint!" Martin Mehton raised a thumb.
"Strip the hyperdrive," Max said with a decisive chop of his hand. "Then hang the lasers and missiles and torpedoes—everything—fill the racks. Run the numbers. What's the price per unit?"
"198,000 per craft."
Max scratched his head again. "Director Mehton, I can do arithmetic. What I'm asking is: after we max the configuration, is there really no better discount?"
"Admiral Vizsla, that price is already very low. But if your purchase volume is large enough, I'll do everything I can to secure additional concessions."
"Two hundred forty airframes, plus transfer of a production line. Total?"
Martin Mehton visibly shuddered. He took a deep breath, then said carefully, "Admiral Vizsla, I'll request approval from our CEO immediately."
On the morning of February 4, Galactic Standard Year 5, Martin Mehton returned to the suite's reception room with another Pa'uan waiting at his side.
"Good morning, Admiral Vizsla. This is Deputy Mayor Tion Medon of Pau City," Martin Mehton said by way of introduction.
"Good to meet you, Deputy Mayor," Max said, reaching out to shake hands with the "old acquaintance."
Martin Mehton brought BTAD's newest concession package:
Starting from the baseline P-38, remove the hyperdrive; add two additional fire-linked laser cannons matching the wingtip pair; and mount eight single-rack concussion-missile/proton-torpedo pods—this configuration was designated the P-38BM (Bespin Mandalorian) model, priced at 175,000 Republic credits per craft.
BTAD's pulsed production line pricing:
one line: 60 million
two lines: 100 million
Tion Medon also brought news Max hadn't expected: Pau City was willing to provide a government subsidy for Max's purchase of the P-38—10,000 Republic credits per craft.
"If you need other forms of support, you can ask," Tion Medon said. "Everything is negotiable."
"Deputy Mayor," Max said, "am I correct in understanding that Pau City strongly supports us purchasing the Porax-38 from BTAD?"
"Correct, Admiral Vizsla," Tion Medon replied with a measured smile and a nod.
"Then please forgive the bluntness, but let me ask one more question."
"Not blunt at all. Admiral Vizsla—ask anything. I'll answer as candidly as I can."
Max's expression turned serious.
"Deputy Mayor… if—purely hypothetically—we ultimately choose Feethan Ottraw Scalable Assemblies' products instead, would we face opposition or other obstacles from the Pau City government?"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🛡️ STAR WARS: THE RISE OF MANDALORE
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🛡️ MANDALORE WILL RISE AGAIN.
A warrior culture divided.
Clans fighting for survival.
A galaxy slowly moving toward war.
And someone determined to ensure that Mandalore will never again bow its head.
Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore has 100+ chapters ahead available now.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⚔️ THIS IS THE WAY OF WARRIORS
🛡️ Mandalorians
⚔️ Clan warfare
🚀 Galactic conflict
🏛️ Politics & strategy
💥 Fleet battles
🔥 Mandalorian expansion
🌌 A changing galaxy
Mandalore has fallen before.
It has been divided before.
But warriors remember.
🔥 100+ CHAPTERS AHEAD.
👉 Witness the rise before everyone else.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌐 SrMagnusCorp: https://srmagnuscorp.com/
🔥 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus
🐦 X / Twitter: https://x.com/SrMagnuscorp
⚠️ Power Stones help determine future release priority!
🛡️ For Mandalore.