2772. The destruction of Zaarin
Moving forward to the end of 9 BBY, when Lieutenant General Zell-Johnson was still making his final stubborn resistance, the bad news of Dantooine had already reached Imperial Capital, Imperial Center--Coruscant.
As the New Year approaches, high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and wealthy families are preparing for celebrations under the domes of their splendid mansions. Banquets, fireworks, and grand performances are being rehearsed in full swing.
During those countless dinners, these dignitaries at the top of the Empire chatted and laughed, chatting and talking about various events in the galaxy. In their mouths, the things that affect the situation of the galaxy seemed to be just a recreational topic after dinner, and they were as understated as talking about the weather.
As for the defeat of Dantooine, which seemed a bit unexpected due to the demise of Kingdom of Dawn, it naturally became the target of their ridicule.
Some people even laughed and called the loss of Dantooine a "little cold on the the Empire frontier."
"Have you heard? Governor Dunn lost two million troops in Dantooine."
"Hahahaha, isn't it? Then he's going to have a lot of bleeding. With an army of two million, even excluding robots and clones, he's going to have to pay a huge pension, right?"
"I heard that he even invited Marshal Mateo, but he still couldn't save the situation."
"Why should we worry about all this? His wife is Kuat Drive Yards's Chief Engineer, and she is not short of money. Hahahaha."
"He is really stupid. He actually threw so many troops into that remote place. Now it's fun. I'm afraid he won't lose a fortune!"
All kinds of rumors are circulating among the dignitaries and nobles. In the eyes of these people, the lives of 2 million people are just a unit used to measure pensions.
In this 9BBY, which is also the 11th year since the establishment of the Empire, everything seems to have returned to the era of luxury and wealth.
The cessation of Kingdom of Dawn brought the last peace to these people - a false tranquility that can be shattered at the touch of a mirror.
"Are we going to risk the lives of 2 million people for this secret research base that no one can tell what it is?" Gillard-Perine asked in frustration.
"If you are able to rescue those 2 million people, I have no problem with it." Dunn-Vesex said coldly, "If you can't, then focus all your energy on how to consolidate the defense and how to ensure that Separatists will not use Dantooine to cause us more trouble."
"Given the astronomical position of Dantooine, it will not actually affect our army's strategy." Gillard-Perine said.
Marshal Mateo Bacchi on the side said, "What I am more worried about now is that if Dantooine continues to fight, when the war expands, Separatists will find the position of the Warren. Therefore, the most important thing is to calm down the battle on Dantooine as soon as possible-even if the loser is us."
Dunn-Vesex leaned back on the back of the sofa and looked at the ceiling, recalling carefully, "The Warren... I heard an officer mention it to me before, and it seemed to be called... Bock..."
"Boss-Bors Teraud, a colonel from the Cutting-Edge Technology Alliance." Mateo Bacchi said, "But even I can't view his messages."
"Ah, that's right. I won't remember what a colonel mentioned to me." Dunn-Vesex waved his hand, "At that time, I should have asked Zell-Johnson to pay attention to this base. Then, until you mentioned this to me, I didn't think about it."
He thought for a while, frowned, sat up straight and approached Mateo Bacchi, and asked, "If this base is really a secret project that His Majesty the Emperor is concerned about, then why is the existence of the base not kept secret? If Zer-Johnson is caught by Separatists, won't the information be leaked?"
"He will not know the true location of the base. At most, it is just an office on the ground." Mateo Bacchi said, "The true location of this base is in an ancient Relics, but I cannot disclose more detailed information without the permission of His Majesty the Emperor."
"Okay, then what should we do to take this base out of Separatists's control?" Dunn-Vesex asked.
"It's not about taking it out, but burying the contents completely. It must not fall into the hands of Tang Xiao." Mateo Bacchi said, "I suggest that the people from Dark Prophet help deal with it."
"Then what? Just gave up Dantooine?" Gillard-Perine is still worried about it.
"After Separatists occupied Dantooine, because the planet's astronomical location is very remote, they will not have much defense. When the war there subsides, we will send people to sneak into the planet secretly to do what we should do." Mateo Bacchi looked at Dunn, "What I can confirm is that His Majesty the Emperor can tolerate Dantooine being occupied, but will never be happy to see the Warren found by Tang Xiao. You know what I mean..."
Dunn-Vesex nodded slowly, his eyes gradually becoming serious.
When the war in Dantooine gradually subsided, the war in the other direction of the galaxy was also coming to an end.
Demetrius-Zaarin--the former Imperial Marshal, is also the biggest traitor in the history of the Galactic Empire and even Galactic Republic.
Now, he has reached a desperate situation.
In the previous battle, his fleet was overtaken by Admiral Thrawn and had to face the enemy head-on. However, even though he had TIE Defender fighter, he was still defeated by Thrawn.
The fleet commanded by Thrawn seemed to have read through his every thought, always predicting his actions, and then constantly setting traps to trap Zaarin's warships in crossfire.
Zaarin never expected that in a battlefield environment where this detector could monitor almost all movements of the opponent's fleet in real time, Thrawn would be able to bring tactical prediction to such an extreme.
Later, Arden-Lin took action. She and her disciple Jing Fang piloted a fighter jet to forcefully break through the interception of the the Empire fighter formation, and fired several Proton Torpedo missiles at Admiral Thrawn's flagship. Finally, Admiral Thrawn was forced to command the fleet to change its formation.
In the end, Demetrius-Zaarin finally escaped under the desperate protection of his men, but the base he had finally started to build was occupied by Thrawn - and all the equipment and personnel in the base fell into the hands of the Empire.
To make matters worse, he and Arden-Lin had a huge conflict. In other words, Arden-Lin thought that he had no use value and could no longer help her achieve her goal of killing Darth-Sidious, so she simply left and disappeared without a trace.
If he could still rely on Arden-Lin, the super powerful Force-sensitive, to resist before, then after losing Arden-Lin, Demetrius-Zaarin could no longer reverse the situation with only the remaining fleet and a few loyal lieutenants in his hands.
His escape route was gradually blocked by the Empire, and his supply lines were cut off. Every move was predicted by Thrawn. The once ambitious rebellion plan now only has a few scarred warships lingering in the star field.
The sides of these battleships are spray-painted with a dark blue, huge "Z"-shaped mark, which is the logo of Zaarin's fleet.
At this moment, Demetrius-Zaarin are sitting on the bridge of the flagship, staring at the holographic star map in front of them. The star map is marked with red marks one by one. This is the blockade that Thrawn has jointly constructed with fleets from all sectors. It is completely airtight.
His adjutant, Major Kronda (Crundha) came over and whispered in Zaarin's ear, "Lord Marshal, I got three different answers..."
"Oh? Why three?" Zaarin looked up at the loyal but mediocre adjutant and asked.
"Rebel Alliance rejected our proposal. They claimed that they would never trade with people like us. However, within them, a Bosa leader named Borsk-Feliya claimed that he could pay 5 billion Imperial credits for the technology of the TIE-Defender fighter jet." Kronda said.
"Where is their fleet?" Zaarin asked again.
Kronda shook his head, "They will not use their precious fleet for us."
Zaarin took a deep breath, shook his head and asked, "Where is Kingdom of Dawn?"
"They are very generous. Not only are they willing to give us 10 billion credit points, but they are also willing to send a fleet to respond. But the premise is... they also want all the intelligence data in our hands, especially about Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer. In addition... we must also accept complete incorporation." Kronda said.
"In other words, if I run to Kingdom of Dawn, nothing will be left." Zaarin said coldly.
"But... their conditions are indeed very generous. If they can really get 10 billion credit points and incorporate them, it is not unacceptable." Kronda answered.
"Stupid!" Zaarin shouted sternly, "This power is our last resort. Once it is absorbed by those Separatistss, then even if they give us 100 billion, what's the point? Without power protection, they can take the money back at any time!"
"Then we should..." Major Kronda was confused.
Demetrius-Zaarin waved his hand, "Then negotiate the terms with them. The things are in our hands. If they want it, they have to satisfy me! Then, let the fleet repair it as much as possible, and we will continue to set off!"
"Yes, Lord Marshal." Kronda gave a military salute and then asked, "Where is our next destination?"
"Southern Territory can't get through, it's blocked by Thrawn. Let's continue to Northeastern Territory and go to Mandalore star sector. The political situation over there is very It's very chaotic, we should be able to get rid of Thrawn there." Zaarin said, "But before that, we still need to strengthen our own strength and hire some mercenaries."
When he heard about mercenaries, Major Kronda showed a trace of hesitation on his face, "Lord Marshal, Calamity Legion's group, I don't think they are credible. Their current leader Roan is a cruel and ruthless thug, and he has no sense. I'm worried that if they continue, they may kill us all at any time..."
Demetrius-Zaarin said, "So we need another mercenary force that can compete with the Calamity Legion. It is best that they do not deal with each other. In this way, we can be as stable as Mount Tai in the balance between the two sides."
Kronda's eyes lit up, "So that's it, Lord Marshal is indeed far-sighted!"
"The money for hiring them will be pledged with TIE-Defender's technology in advance. After selling the technology, we can satisfy them no matter how much money they ask for." Zaarin waved his hand and continued, "Didn't we find an information dealer yesterday? Ask him to come over and ask."
"Yes! Lord Marshal."
After a while, a middle-aged man wearing a leather jacket, who looked like he had been wandering around various star regions for a long time, and whose face was full of vicissitudes of life, was brought over.
"Mandalore star sector Are there any mercenaries in this area that are strong enough and have excellent reputations?" Demetrius-Zaarin asked directly.
"Sir, to be honest, your head is far more valuable than the money you can provide." The intelligence dealer said, "It's just that no one wants to deal with the Galactic Empire, so they didn't come to deal with you. But even so, there are not many mercenary groups willing to wade into this muddy water."
"This is a wise choice. Those mercenaries really think they can get the bounty from the Galactic Empire with my head? What a joke!" Zaarin sneered.
The information dealer was unconvinced and just continued, "The larger mercenary group near Mandalore star sector is actually the mercenary group of the Mandalorian. But they only do some ground work. After all, they don't have many battleships... Speaking of which... there is a group of emerging pirates, maybe you can find them."
"Pirates?" Kronda said with some disgust, "The Mandalorian If we don't have battleships, we will have pirates? And it's common for those people to betray their trust. How do I know they won't turn around and sell us out?"
"No, these pirates are different." The information dealer shook his head. "They accept any job. They are actually a mercenary army. It's just that they often rob Galactic Empire's fleet when they are free, so they are called pirates. In fact, apart from seeming to have a grudge against the Galactic Empire, they are very trustworthy towards others."
"Have a grudge against the Galactic Empire?" Demetrius-Zaarin touched his chin, thinking deeply.
"Sir! If you have a grudge against the Empire, maybe you can actually use it to our advantage!" Kronda's eyes lit up.
"Shut up and let me think about it." Zaarin interrupted him. Zaarin stared at the star map in silence for a long time and asked, "This group of pirates, let's get in touch with them."
"But sir... you don't have any money, right?" the information dealer showed a sly expression.
"Hmph! We have the technology for the most powerful fighter in the galaxy. Tell them that as long as it can protect our safety, after I sell the technology to Kingdom of Dawn, they can get 20% of the funds!" Zaarin said coldly.
"I think at this price... they won't refuse." The information dealer laughed.
"What's the name of this group of pirates?" Zaarin asked.
"Ah, their name is...Olegar's Fist."