Ten years and the thirtieth day after the Battle of Yavin…
Or the forty-fifth year and the thirtieth day after the Great Resynchronization.
(Seven months and the fifteenth day since the arrival).
Located at the intersection of three regional hyperspace routes at once, the planet Dac—the capital and center of the Mon Calamari sector—resembled a beautiful pearl from space, a beauty that light had never beheld before.
Leia Organa Solo stood by the large viewport occupying most of the briefing room wall, admiring the play of light from Dac's local star on the planet's oceanic surface.
The planet Dac.
Practically the entire world called Dac was covered by oceans. Except for some islands.
Dozens of oceanic cities on the planet gleamed with snow-white walls, rounded designs, and pointed spires, attracting the attention of every tourist without exception who visited this world.
Before the young woman's eyes slowly passed the massive "Galactic Traveler" star cruiser, compared to the previous constructions of the "Mon Calamari Shipyards."
Like the "Defiance," aboard which Leia and the other significant figures of the Alliance were located, the "Galactic Traveler," despite its modified stern section, belonged to the newest MC90-type ships, just built by the mon Calamari to replace the already outdated MC80s.
The Mon Calamari MC90-type star cruiser.
At the moment, there were few such starships—"Defiance," "Galactic Traveler," "Tatooine," "Mon Calamari," "Yavin," and "Star Tide."
The last one was undergoing rapid completion, but like its siblings, it was destined to become the flagship of formations protecting the security of those hundreds of sectors and thousands of systems throughout the galaxy that had joined the Alliance.
At just over twelve hundred meters in length, the MC90 was the first vessel of its kind produced at the "Mon Calamari Shipyards," capable not only of fighting Imperial Star Destroyers on equal terms but also of defeating them.
How many decades had it taken to achieve this result…
But now they had a weapon capable of providing the necessary rebuff to the growing aggression from the Imperials.
Previously, the Rebel Alliance had chronically suffered from a shortage of large combat ships, which is why they tried to avoid open battle with the Imperial fleet.
The situation had fundamentally changed after the victory at the Battle of Endor, which led to the death of Emperor Palpatine and his sole heir—the Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Immediately after the proclamation of the New Republic, the need for large ships had increased even more, as thousands of joining planets needed to be protected somehow.
Many sectors, of course, transferred their available starships to the New Republic Defense Force, but this was far from what was needed. The Republicans, of course, took the "miscellaneous" spacecraft, serviced them, and sent them to war.
However, their repair and maintenance, procurement of spare parts and components, turned into a real logistical nightmare and a monstrous burden on the budget.
The newly formed Alliance went the path of unification, making the ships produced at the "Mon Calamari Shipyards" the basis of its fleet, which eliminated almost all issues of supply and discrepancies.
The joining sectors, of course, brought their starships, but by order of the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, General Garm Bel Iblis, these starships remained in the sectors, forming self-defense forces whose task was reduced to protecting territories from raiders and pirates.
And the maintenance—fell on the shoulders of the sectoral governments themselves.
Until the Alliance's economy was properly normalized, it was not worth thinking about taking on such a burden.
And yet, both Bel Iblis and Han, and General Kota, under whose command the "Defiance," "Galactic Traveler," and "Tatooine" had respectively come, believed that Mon Calamari starships were the best that the newly formed state could have at the moment.
After Grand Admiral Thrawn, in his ruthless campaign that ended with a suicidal attack on Sullust and Sluis Van, deprived the New Republic of light forces and all starships of Imperial design, Coruscant lost an entire fleet—captured or destroyed—and the New Republic effectively lost control over the southern part of the galaxy.
Now, according to agent reports, isolationist and openly hostile sentiments were unfolding there.
Both toward the New Republic and the Alliance.
The Sluissi, who had never forgiven the Republicans for effectively putting them under Thrawn's blow, had withdrawn into their system, ignoring all appeals and fortifying their borders, massively acquiring or repairing starships that now formed their armed forces.
Leia thought with fear that one day the Republicans or Alliance troops would have to go to war with the Sluissi people.
And most likely, the first ranks of the attackers would include Mon Calamari star cruisers.
It didn't matter who it would be—heavy surrogate cruisers MC80 and MC80A in service with the New Republic, MC80B, MC80 "Home One," or the newest MC90s of the Alliance.
Former allies would have to fight each other.
And the blame for this—Grand Admiral Thrawn, who had quarreled parts of the young state.
"Candy," she heard her husband's quiet voice as he embraced her, sneaking up from behind, "everyone's already gathering."
"Yes, I'll be right there," Leia said just as quietly. "Admiring your new ship."
"The 'Galactic Traveler' was good right off the slips, but after I applied my creative approach and the imagination of a self-taught mechanic, it became the fastest of them all," her husband said with a touch of smugness. "It's amazing that the Mon Calamari had so many of these new ships up their sleeve when the Alliance was formed."
"I talked to the Mon Calamari about this," Leia said even more quietly. "They were building them in secret to protect their own sector after the New Republic command failed to safeguard the Hast shipyards."
"Hm," the Corellian said, hugging his wife tighter.
In fact, Leia knew almost everything about the new type of ships.
Immediately after the Endor battle, Admiral Ackbar, who at that time headed the armed forces of the young state, had tasked the "Mon Calamari Shipyards," the best shipyards of the New Republic at the time, with developing a new type of purely combat ship that fully met the new military-political realities.
But fulfilling the order proved not so simple.
The development of the new battlecruiser and the construction of the lead ship of the series, named "Defiance," dragged on for five years.
Immediately after Thrawn, passing off his ships as the fleet of the Ciutric Hegemony, attacked the Hast shipyards on the very borders of the Mon Calamari sector, the inhabitants of the planet Dac, having suffered serious humiliation from the subsequent actions of Counselor Borsk Fey'lya, not relying on protection from the New Republic, arbitrarily launched the construction of this type of starships at shipyards in their sector, shielding them with a veil of secrecy.
Without arousing much suspicion, away from the eyes of Bothan intelligence, the Mon Calamari built, besides "Defiance," four more identical starships by the time the New Republic suffered the weight of defeat at Sluis Van.
"Star Tide" became the last of the "secret" MC90s being completed by the Mon Calamari.
At the moment, such starships, as well as the excellently proven MC80 "Home One" and MC80B, were being built at accelerated rates in almost every corner of the Mon Calamari sector to produce the necessary number of combat starships as soon as possible to protect the fragment of true democracy.
The Mon Calamari themselves classified the new type of spacecraft as a "battlecruiser," pointing to its high speed and significant superiority in maneuverability and armament compared to its predecessors.
Unlike the MC80s, which were conversions of civilian liners, the MC90 battlecruiser was a full-fledged combat ship, one of the few modern worthy opponents of Star Destroyer-class vessels.
The total power of its broadside salvo exceeded the might of the "Imperator's" guns, and overall, the design was not supposed to yield to those modernizations of Star Destroyers of this class that the New Republic had encountered in the Battle of Ossus.
An effective armor system and the power of two deflector generators allowed the MC90 to withstand fire from even heavy turbolasers of Imperial Star Destroyers for a long time.
A very useful feature of the deflectors was the ability to quickly restore the integrity of the protective field.
Because of this, completely stripping the MC90's shields was incredibly difficult by the designers' intent.
According to Han, the control system had undergone significant changes.
Now, MC90s could be operated not only by natives of Mon Calamari but also by representatives of other species.
This was an important and necessary step in the development of the Alliance's fleet, as the number of the state's ships was rapidly increasing, and there simply wouldn't be enough qualified Dac natives to form crews for all battlecruisers.
But the main thing that Han appreciated—and Leia fully trusted her husband in such judgments—was standardization.
All modifications of the MC80 were built "so that each ship differed from its sister ship." The attempt to fix this on MC80B ships was met with enthusiasm.
But the Mon Calamari went even further.
They adopted the experience of the "Kuat Drive Yards," significantly reducing the construction and commissioning time of line-class starships.
The modular structure of the MC90 and standardization of the ship's exterior and interior greatly simplified its serial production and operating costs.
Thanks to the same design, MC90s could even be assembled at non-Mon Calamari-type shipyards.
Which greatly increased the potential for rapidly growing a new fleet.
The MC90 became the first major combat ship of the Alliance built not only at Dac's shipyards.
It was assumed that in this difficult endeavor, the Sluissi would help, but…
The Sluissi sector and its population, disillusioned with the New Republic leadership, preferred isolationism.
There were other options being explored at the moment and were to become another agenda item at today's meeting.
Armed with seventy-five heavy turbolasers, thirty-five ion cannons, six launchers, and carrying six squadrons of fighters and bombers in its arsenal, the MC90 was primarily oriented toward space combat with enemy ships.
The number of troops it could carry was substantially reduced by the designers.
However, even the existing regiment of infantry with equipment was sufficient to capture and hold a planetary base, a small colony, or a space station.
This decision was driven by the fact that the Alliance's ground forces did not have as large a number as the New Republic's, so if necessary, reinforcements could be delivered by other starships, leaving the MC90 exclusively for delivering the first strike and fighting similar-class starships in space.
Unfortunately, due to their small number, all these starships were currently in the Mon Calamari sector, guarding the strategic core of the newly formed Alliance.
Han had argued long with Bel Iblis on this point, arguing that the newest battlecruiser, the only one in the Alliance fleet capable of taking on a Star Destroyer single-handedly, was being held in orbit over the most protected worlds as a scarecrow.
At the same time, old MC80s of all modifications, which had undergone several major overhauls, were to continue being sent to fight and perish under the guns of Imperial battleships.
The compatriot did not develop this discussion, and Leia privately explained the reason to her husband.
The Mon Calamari feared for their sector and did not want significant damage to be caused to it.
Therefore, first and foremost, the newest MC90 arrivals would be allocated to replace outdated ships in this sector. The latter would be sent to the front lines to maintain border security, but time was needed for that.
As soon as the Mon Calamari took care of their homeland, MC90s would flow powerfully into the other fleets.
Mon Calamari sector.
Catching with the corner of her eye the reflection in the transparisteel of Mon Mothma, clad in her traditional white, appearing, Leia gently led Han to the soft chairs encircling the oval conference table.
When all those present had settled into their places, Leia once again looked at the gathered.
At the head of the table sat Mon Mothma, who had not experienced a single day of calm since the split of the New Republic.
The Chandrilan had not left negotiations with leaders of other sectors, speaking at sessions of the alternative to the New Republic Senate—the Alliance Congress.
Her fiery speeches ignited hearts, urging sectoral rulers to "tighten their belts" and not cease preparing for defense, investing all resources into stabilizing the new economy.
To her right sat General Garm Bel Iblis, whose aged face also bore traces of sleep deprivation.
The Corellian rushed from sector to sector, checking the combat readiness of forward forces, rightly fearing that the aggression of the Imperial Remnants would not be limited solely to the New Republic.
Next to him sat Han, General Rahm Kota, Admiral Juno Eclipse, and Galen Marek.
To the left of Mon Mothma sat Leia herself, behind whom stood the irreplaceable C-3PO, serving the present company.
After Leia sat Lando Calrissian, Kyle Katarn, who clearly felt out of place, and Talon Karrde.
And if everything was clear with those seated opposite—they represented the military wing of the Alliance—Lando and "The Claw," though without much desire, were engaged in gathering information across the galaxy through their companions in legal, semi-legal, and completely illegal dealings.
Katarn, like Galen Marek, was primarily involved in special assignments from Mon Mothma.
Honestly, Leia did not know the reasons why they attended almost every operational meeting, but she had no doubt that today they had something to say to those present:
"Thank you for gathering so quickly," Mon Mothma said. "The situation in the galaxy changes every hour and not for the better."
This had been clear in the past six months.
But now…
One could envy Mon Mothma's composure, who still found words without saying outright: "catastrophe."
"Agent Katarn, do you have anything to report?" the Chandrilan asked.
"Unfortunately yes, ma'am," Kyle replied in a gloomy tone. "Jan Ors and I conducted reconnaissance in the Core Worlds to gauge the scale of the Imperial offensive. The results… are discouraging. The Pentastar Alignment fully controls the territories of the Core Worlds and the Mid Rim, effectively capturing the Imperial Center oversector. At the moment, we know they suffered heavy losses during the battles for Coruscant, Empress Teta, Foerost, Chandrila, Anaxes, and Korulag. Essentially, Grand Moff Kaine has exhausted his offensive potential, spending his reserves on capturing the Imperial Center oversector. He has switched to defense, deploying blocking squadrons of Star Destroyers and heavy cruisers on planets along the Corellian and Perlemian Trade Routes to avoid flank strikes. His ground forces operate on planets that were not directly attacked by the fleet but were surrounded and blockaded."
"Quite logical on his part," Rahm Kota grumbled. "I'm actually surprised that with such a small number of line starships he managed to defeat the New Republic's First Fleet."
"There's nothing surprising about it," Leia sighed. "While we were accumulating star cruisers by the dozens, he was building heavy cruisers by the hundreds."
"His tactics are clear," Bel Iblis stated. "He threw all forces into a frontal assault, and when he couldn't break through the defenses fortified after Thrawn's attacks, he switched to attacking Coruscant and a number of key worlds. Then, defeating detachments of the First Fleet separately, he imposed blockades on planets and now, leisurely, having set up a barrier from the remaining heavy forces, will wait for the occupation of the planets to complete. During this time, he will repair damaged ships—now he has Foerost, Grimmal, Anaxes, Kel Seti, and everything that was at the disposal of the New Republic's First Fleet. And then continue the offensive along the Corellian Run to Rendili, besiege or capture it, depriving the New Republic of its largest shipyard."
"I think before that he will strike, if he's not doing it now, at the territories of the former Sixth Sector Army to capture Roxuli, Kril'Dor, and other worlds on the galactic west, thereby organizing a direct path for himself between occupied territories and the Pentastar Alignment," Han said, projecting a galactic map before the seated. "We must not forget that relations between Kaine and the Imperial Ruling Council have cooled lately. He captured Bpfassh," Han pointed to the nodal world at the intersection of the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route. "This will give him the opportunity to continue expansion further south in the galaxy."
"At the same time, after Rendili, he has the opportunity to link up with the Diktat on Corellia," Lando noted. "And there is a pro-Imperial stance, a considerable fleet… Their march into the southern sectors will be quick, bloody, and clearly successful."
"Just where the New Republic doesn't have many forces left," Admiral Eclipse remarked.
"They have none there at all," Bel Iblis stated.
Looking at Mon Mothma, clearly receiving her approval, he added:
"A couple of hours ago, we received a request from the Sullustans to join the Alliance," the Corellian said. "Republican troops and ships remaining from the Fourth Fleet have left Sullust, relocating to Naboo. It is assumed they are heading to join the remnants of the First Fleet to form at least some force. Now we are forming a fleet to send it to defend Sullust while we still have the opportunity to use regional routes in the eastern galaxy."
"Do you assume that they will soon be cut off too?" Karrde inquired.
"You tell me," Bel Iblis suggested. "Based on your data, I get the impression that Imperial Space intends to expand precisely eastward in the galaxy."
"Yes, my informants are convinced of the same," "The Claw" said. "Star Destroyers from Orinda have struck the Colonies and the Mid Rim from the Mandalorian Sector to Bpfassh. Now they are driving the Third Fleet's ships back to their new base on Mimban and have effectively approached the territories of the Hapes Consortium, and in a week or two at most, they will reach Kashyyyk. They already control sections of the Perlemian Trade Route from Bpfassh almost to Taanaab. According to my information, they encountered the same problem as Kaine—they threw all forces into storming all planets in a row, which considerably thinned their capabilities for continuing the attack. The New Republic's Second Fleet is retreating to Denon, where they intend to organize a deeply echeloned defense and prevent further Imperial advance toward Bothan Space. My sources indicate that Orinda is accumulating three strike fists—for continuing the offensive on Taanaab, Lantilles, and further along the Perlemian Trade Route. Heavy fighting is also underway for Taris, and reserves have been redirected there. If they conquer the planet, wresting it from the neutrals—they can then move along the Hydian Way all the way to the Corporate Sector. And there, as far as I know, the 'corporates' don't just fondly remember the Empire, but a considerable part of the nearest sectors is still controlled by Imperial moffs who didn't shine much after Endor."
"And the third fist?" Rahm Kota inquired.
"Mimban and Denon, as far as I know, and further—who knows?" "The Claw" shrugged.
The old Jedi grumbled.
"So I take it the First Fleet no longer exists?" Han asked, looking at his comrade.
"Far from it," Lando objected. "Our acquaintance, Admiral Daala, not only gathered scattered detachments into a fist but also paid Kaine a visit at Coruscant, which ended for the Grand Moff with the loss of ten Destroyers just destroyed. Yes, Daala withdrew from the system as a heap of battered scrap metal, but she didn't lose a single starship and managed to evacuate the besieged Coruscant garrison. I got word from Rendili that she tested some new ship at Coruscant, and it exceeded all expectations of the New Republic Military Command, so they laid down a good dozen more like it at Rendili. At the same time, they are repairing what remains of the First Fleet."
"Most likely, Daala will hold the Rendili shipyards to the last, because after Sullust's exit from the New Republic, there are no such large shipyards and companies on their side," Bel Iblis assumed. "Except Bestine, but there production is mainly concentrated on fighters."
"Ours too," Mon Mothma said. "I've learned that the Verpine have refused cooperation with us. As has 'Incom.'"
"This means big problems with fighter supplies," Lando realized immediately.
"Such a decision from Fresia could have been anticipated," Bel Iblis sighed heavily. "When it became clear that Kaine couldn't be driven from Coruscant, it was only a matter of time before 'Incom' switched sides."
"I don't think it's that bad," Leia shook her head. "Perhaps we'll get a situation similar to the Galactic Civil War, when part of 'Incom's' engineers defected to our side, and the company publicly disowned them."
"Unfortunately, we're not in quite that position," Mon Mothma said. "Some engineers and scientists from 'Incom' have already arrived on Dac, that's beyond doubt, but please don't spread word of this event. According to them, the company has begun mass production of fighters on Imperial orders."
"From the Imperials' point of view, it's logical, since Lianna has lost its production capacity," Galen Marek said. "They have ships, but pilots and fighters are dying. They need to be replenished somehow."
"But we have exactly the same problems," Han reminded. "We have ships, but if they start—and they will—losing fighters, we simply have nothing to replace them with."
"Moreover, the Mon Calamari intend to maximize efforts to deliver MC90s to us," Bel Iblis said. "They need to be equipped with something too."
"But we have neither 'Incom' nor Verpine," Eclipse reminded. "What other options are there?"
"The Mon Calamari definitely won't produce fighters," Mon Mothma assured. "It's an uncharted field for them, and how much time it will take to create and test prototypes is not entirely clear."
"A dilemma," Lando said slowly. "'X-Wings' were supplied by 'Incom,' 'A-Wings' too, 'B-Wings'—Verpine, 'wishbones'—'Koensayr Manufacturing.'"
"At the moment, only the last ones haven't refused us," Leia reminded.
"They are literally next door to the Antimeridian sector," "The Claw" said. "And the moff there wants so badly to get his hands on something that will bring him profit that there's no point in deluding ourselves—the planet and its 'Manufacturing' will soon belong to the Empire."
"That sounds pretty bleak," Han grimaced. "I bet the Bothans negotiated with those same Verpine just to spite us."
"Or they simply don't want to get involved with either side, given that in the past the New Republic failed to protect them," Galen Marek offered his view of the problem.
"Which is most likely the truth," Rahm Kota concluded. "But we need to decide, because words won't fill ship hangars."
"We have a small command reserve, but in case of full-scale battles, we won't be able to equip all ships with these 'X-Wings,'" Bel Iblis unexpectedly admitted.
"That makes the issue of finding a fighter and bomber supplier even more acute," Han insisted.
"We need to contact Koensayr," Leia stated. "Whether they are under threat of attack or not, we haven't received a negative response from them yet. Therefore, at minimum, we can hope for cooperation if nothing happens before we can provide them protection."
"Besides Koensayr, there are other manufacturers," Bel Iblis reminded. "'Kuat Drive Yards,' 'Hoersch-Kessel Drive,' 'SoroSuub,' a multitude of smaller companies. The Alliance to Restore the Republic used many models from various fighter manufacturers. I'm sure some of them will agree to help us."
"I'd advise against dealing with Kuat," Kota stated. "Those business tycoons have their own fleet, and a considerable one at that. They definitely won't fight the Empire, and meanwhile the New Republic keeps retreating and retreating. As already reported, the First Fleet withdrew to Rendili, though it could have dug in at Balmorra, Himbari, or Commenor, finally. But Admiral Daala withdrew much further. If he's not a complete idiot, he either assumes these territories won't be loyal in case of approaching Imperial fleet…"
"Or on the contrary knows that Kaine will break all his teeth trying to defend them and won't be able to advance further," Han stated. "I fought with that guy at Sluis Van; he's a pretty sharp fellow."
"You can be as smart as you want, son, but if you have traitors in your rear, the best you can do is retreat, leaving them in front of you," Rahm Kota said meaningfully and with knowledge of the matter.
Leia knew the history of this Jedi Knight of the Old Order.
During the Clone Wars, he too had been a general, leading Republic armies forward.
But instead of clones, he had gathered an army of volunteers he trusted, unlike copies of Jango Fett.
When Palpatine declared the Jedi outlaws, most of them were killed by clone troopers, while Kota and his volunteers survived.
And later formed a militia that not only harassed the Empire but inflicted a defeat on Darth Vader at Kamino.
After the Dark Lord of the Sith was freed on Dantooine, Rahm Kota and his host remained always on the move, becoming a separate group of rebels operating apart from the Alliance.
Like Garm Bel Iblis in his time.
***
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