This was honestly a straight forward jump, only a single adjustment needed, so I spent my time on the bridge. I was honestly expecting this upcoming meeting to be quite boring. I meet the Dictator-Forever, he agrees to the Republic gaining military access and basing rights, we give him the supplies on our ships and move on to the edge of Hutt space a couple days later. Instead we exit hyperspace to see three Recusants and two Munificents staring us down.

  “BATTLESTATIONS! Bring up the rear line for support. Launch all fighters and bring shields to front, begin calculating an exit path back to Toong’l, hail whoever the kark is in command of the enemy ships and demand an audience.” I bellow, waiting for the first turbolasers to rush towards us.

  Yet as the fighters were launched and the bridge crew jumped to action nothing came at us. No turbolaser fire, no droid fighters emerge from behind the armor and no approaching ships. Instead the Tactical display shifted into the image of an overweight Targonnian wearing a cape, with too many medals adorning his chest.

  “Speak, Republic convoy.” The green avian says.

  “I am Commodore Thraken Dericote, I was ordered to this system to negotiate with the Dictator-Forever Craw. To whom do I have the honor of speaking?” I ask, nervously tapping my fingers on my holster.

  “You are speaking with Dictator-Forever Craw, Commodore.” The leader of Targonn says from his command throne.

  “I was unaware you had decided to side with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, your excellency.” I state watching the signals of the bridge crew, a minute to turn around to jump back, waiting for the order.

  “I have not. However they gifted me with these vessels, if I decided to stay neutral. These ships will ensure my safety and the security of my regime.” The dictator drawls.

  “Then I would beg your forgiveness for our reaction your excellency. If you are certain of your decision we would enjoy taking our leave from your wonderful system.” I say, motioning for them to recall the fighters.

  “Wait one moment, Commodore. I believe the Republic gave you something for me.” The Avian said a greedy glint in his eyes.

  I can feel my shoulders tense up as he says that. I continue forward trying hard to keep my voice calm: “Your excellency, we have nothing to offer for your regime when it has declined the very idea of offering military access to the Republic.”

  “Now, now Commodore. Let’s not be hasty. Dock your ship to the Glorious Craw, that would be the central Recusant, and show me what you wish to offer me.” The Targonnian says.

  “I’m afraid I will have to decline, your excellency. Due to security concerns we have orders not to allow any transfers from ship to ship of any kind between ships during a military operation. I hope you understand and that you remain neutral in the future.” I say.

  “A pity. Off then Republic dog. Get out of my territory and don’t come back!” The Dictator-Forever spits.

  I nod and motion for the communications channel to be cut. The Hologram returns to the tactical display and the Republic formation banks starboard. It takes a little less than a minute for the entire task-force to get turned around and when we finally jump to Hyperspace I excuse myself from the bridge.

  I pace back to my quarters, R4 trailing behind me. When the door locks itself behind me I remove my gloves and hat from my person throwing them onto my desk. I start pacing angrily through my quarters and start shouting off any curse that comes to mind. I insult the idiot who thought of this mission, that Hurensohn Dictator-Forever, the Separatists, anyone I could think of really. After a couple minutes I stop pacing and just seethe for a moment.

  This was not good. A wild card thrown into the local political and strategic situation. The Jedi task-forces kept circling around the general area here, but I was the only damn commanding officer who is both permanently stationed and based around Dac and now I had the honor of dealing with some pompous self absorbed fat-assed fool of a dictator.

  I need to look on the bright side. He hadn’t fully declared for the Confederacy. We could donate the supplies originally prepared for Targonn to Toong’l for an improved relation. Hopefully that would lead to them staying loyal to the Republic instead of deserting us like they did the Separatists. I started pacing again.

  What advantages do I have to the Dictator if he does throw in with the Separatists. He has more heavy cruisers and cruisers, but no frigates or corvettes. He seems to have no fighter protection so a rapid bombing run could disable one of the Munificents if we’re lucky, though he could be hiding fighters and bombers between the outer armor plates and the hulls of his ships. The cruisers mainly have heavy forward facing armaments, so my lighter frigates and corvettes might be able to avoid some fire, but damn him I still couldn’t win something like this.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  If the Separatists were willing to supply a neutral system this many warships to stay karking neutral I was fucked. Dac had maybe two dozen capital ships in their Merchant Fleet, but those ships had lackluster weaponry, stuff to ward off pirates and shields strong enough to only be threatened by a cruiser. Dac also had maybe a dozen MC30cs lying about on patrol and they were working on some light cruisers which could work out well. Those numbers also excluded the various Star Cruisers and frigates of the other worlds within the polity of Mon Cala, though it was unlikely that I would be able to lure them away from their homes and hearths.

  And it’s not like any of that would karking matter if the C.I.S. could throw that many damn ships around. I need to change plans. We will unload the supplies on Toong’l and prepare Munto Codru for an orbital installation. I need to stress in my report the need for reinforcements if they wish for us to maintain the status quo here. Never mind the possibility of further expansion, that was doomed with anything less than a full battlegroup’s worth of warships.

  What could the Republic reasonably send me, though? Maybe a handful of cruisers in another section or two? Unlikely. That would fulfill my full command authority and the Navy generally dislikes doing that unless there is absolutely no other option. They mainly do so so they can attach other units temporarily without exceeding the traditional numbers within the various command formations. Would the Navy send in a superior officer to take charge? Possible, but unless it’s another naval officer it will most likely have to be a Jedi General and they’ll simply rush off to the next hotspot the moment the area looks stable, taking their forces with them. Besides, I could get a demerit for wasting valuable time of a Jedi General and their taskforce if I pressed for that.

  This could be a ruse. I stop at that. I sit down and pull up a star map. The Seps seized Toong’l and moved the ships through to Targonn. They were gifted to a neutral regime. Why? To curry favor clearly. To secure an eventual alliance? That is what I jumped to and if I had reported that as their goal the Republic may have attacked prematurely without evidence or waited until some evidence turned up. The C.I.S. could have spun that into attacking a neutral world on top of gaining a loyal ally and possibly an eventual member.

  So how to combat this situation? A deterrent would be best. A larger fleet stationed at Dac, unbeholden to the local polity, would be the best solution, but then I’m back at the beginning with who the Republic could send. Maybe just keep the current status quo, ignoring the Dictator-Forever? That is possible. Easy to sell too. Maybe request the garrisons have a larger total presence, maybe double the amount of cruisers? No High command would never. That would most certainly mean pulling valuable ships from the reserve and core garrisons. Heavens forbid a world like Serapin, Alderaan or Chandrilla doesn’t have garrisons three times the size of my entire task-force! What would the galaxy come to!

  I open the liquor cabinet and pour myself a drink. I needed reinforcements, preferably soon. I take another look at the star map. Dac, obviously would help, but only for further compensation and it is likelier they would scuttle one of their Star Cruisers than sell it. Targonn has claimed neutrality leaning Separatist. The Centrality further south was founded by a more independent group of settlers and would balk at fighting a war, especially after the recent crop failures and economic depression. The western Ash Worlds were under Separatist control, the less valuable worlds in the east a no-man’s land not yet worth risking the security of the remaining Republic territories. Who knew where Hondo was at this point. He had shown up for his supplies when they’d arrived early and then dipped.

  So no allies, unless Hondo reappears or the Mon Calamari and Quarren have a sudden change of heart. Schei?e.

  We return to Toong’l a couple hours later. I still hadn’t found a satisfactory answer to my search for more ships or allies. The unloading of resources began and I had Luis oversee it as I adjusted my report again, trying to frame the disagreement between myself and the Dictator-Forever into a better light, mainly by throwing the bastard under the speeder and imparting my unease at docking with another Recusant so soon after one was used to almost successfully board the Little Revenge.

  It took a day and a half until the basic resources and the entire power plant was assembled and hooked into the basic infrastructure of Toong’l. I had allowed the extra time since we would have had to do the same thing if Targonn had been more successful. So thankfully we were still on schedule.

  Lieutenant Daffy had informed me that everything had been very calm since we had left. The locals seemed more than content to accept the garrison and the local leadership seemed almost joyous at the idea of a permanent Republic garrison in orbit. If they were happy about the garrison than they were ecstatic that the station would be used as a resupply base and emergency stockpile for medical supplies, rations and hull replacement parts.

  We didn’t stay longer than we had to. Heading further towards Hutt space as soon as everyone bar the garrison was back on board to finish this leg of the escort, then return to Dac for the final part of operation Watch.

  We had left Dac for Munto Codru. The operation had gone well so far. The convoy had made it to Hutt space without a hitch and we had returned to Mon Cala a couple days later to resupply ammunition, a new intelligence report and to bring aboard the necessary materials for the infrastructure needed to establish a military installations in Munto Codru.

  We headed out soon after with the ships in good order. The final information we had been given on the installation was that it was to be more thorough than the tether we had set up in Baros. The infrastructure would consist of a tether to an uninhabitable rock relatively close to the system’s sun alongside the usual sensor buoys and a series of tethers to multiple moon sized objects in the local kuiper belt for early warning systems and an arms depot that could be used in case of emergency to resupply a section sized unit if Dac fell.

  I smile at the thought as the first call of re-entry was given. High Command had actually thought ahead. It was about as thorough as they were likely to do in this area of the Slice, but depending on the situation even Hondo could access the resources there depending on how much you wished to stretch the definition of Republic and Republic aligned force. I would need to see if whoever ended up commanding the garrison was willing to follow such loose orders about the stockpile.

  We exit hyperspace as I continued my musings. The ships dividing into groups of two as they move to establish the necessary tethers and deploy further sensor buoys. One frigate to a corvette while the Little Revenge plows ahead towards the local sun. I watch as we deploy the tether to the small planet while the sun shines her flame brightly.

  The tactical display depicts similar goings on with each frigate and the corvettes moving to deploy their cargo. It was enjoyable to see everything going smoothly. A well oiled machine of a unit. Though outnumbered in the theater of war and close to the enemy’s industrial heartland. Not a good position, probably an untenable one long term, but a position to be held none the less.

  It takes a couple hours until everything is in place. I detach the Dagger and Falchion from the formation to ensure the Separatists or some scavengers don’t see this as free war material to pick up in this decently traveled system. The remainder of the formation departs from the system a couple minutes later. All in all the operation had ended in an acceptable fashion and my report would say so as well.