**Chapter 353: Shifting Alliances and Future Favors**
**Scene 1 – Republic Headquarters, Dentaal Orbit**
Admiral Kinaun leaned back in his command chair, listening intently as First Lieutenant O'Connor delivered her report on the day's arrivals. Eight Marauder-class corvettes had jumped in together—an entire reinforced squadron delivered in one clean batch. Kinaun was about to dismiss her when the doors hissed open. Commander Blam entered the headquarters, accompanied by Ensign S'erata, who was explaining something animatedly to the clone officer. Grand Captain Lee Noriega followed close behind, her red hair catching the overhead lights.
"When is the General returning?" Sumeragi asked, her tone carrying the easy confidence she had earned over the past two and a half weeks of working together.
"In about forty hours," Kinaun replied. "He started some sort of high-level meeting at Dentaal, but the *Sovereign* will soon arrive en route to Coruscant."
Rernatown—Kinaun's aide—had become completely convinced of Sumeragi's competence during their time coordinating fleet logistics. He therefore allowed her some liberties, especially since General Marek clearly intended to promote the young officer to Chief of Staff once final staffing was complete.
"Excellent," Sumeragi said. "Then I won't forward the message to him. He'll read it when he arrives."
"What message?" Kinaun asked.
"It was sent from Rotana Heavy Machine Building headquarters. They're offering the General a list of both new and upgraded equipment. It says, 'In accordance with your wishes and suggestions sent to our testing bureau.' Attached are full materials on the weapon samples."
S'erata grinned. Kinaun's brow furrowed involuntarily.
"Something funny, Midshipman?" he asked.
"No, sir!" S'erata straightened quickly. "I was just wondering why they decided to do this now, and not right after General Dagon sent them those wishes. I'm right in assuming the Commander did this long ago, right?"
"Yes," Lee Noriega answered monosyllabically.
O'Connor spread her hands. "The answer to your question is quite simple, Midshipman. As long as the Commander was a simple Jedi Knight, no one cared about his opinion. 'He'll eat what he's given.' But as soon as they realized their money might end up in someone else's pocket…"
Blam cracked his fingers and looked expectantly at the first lieutenant. "Is there anything worthwhile in there?"
Lee Noriega sighed and handed him a holodisk. "Here's a copy of the files. Essentially, there are only a few genuinely new models. The rest are old designs but modernized—like the AT-TE (m), AT-XT (m), and so on. But there are also new ones: the UAAT gunship, the AT-AP weapons platform, the UT-AT repulsor tank, the AT-OT infantry transport, the AT-AA support vehicle…"
Blam frowned. "Will the General change his mind? I don't think he'll be thrilled with this news."
"I will insist on this," Lee Noriega said firmly, shaking her red hair.
"Why?"
"In essence, the ten types of combat vehicles the General originally ordered fully cover the needs of the auxiliary army. Some models—particularly the repulsorlifts—are far superior to anything currently in service with either the CIS or the standard Republic forces, especially that repulsor tank. The uniformity of the lineup and the high interchangeability of parts and components will significantly reduce supply problems."
Sumeragi activated her datapad and immersed herself in the specs for a few moments. "Where… Aha. We've currently received ninety-eight thousand sentient beings from the auxiliary forces, along with their vehicles. There are now one hundred and four different types—mostly repulsorlifts, but also some exotic options. In particular, there are forty armored hovercraft… I think it goes without saying that such diversity will have a detrimental effect on unit effectiveness. In this case, switching to a narrow, standardized lineup is most preferable—as the General has already demonstrated to us."
She looked up. "However, for clones, due to the specific nature of squad deployments, such equipment remains incomplete and flawed. Each machine alone cannot perform the full range of tasks assigned to them. We need more versatile combat units capable of operating effectively in any environment."
"Do you think so?" Kinaun asked.
"Yes. I'm not strong in design, but I understand perfectly well what kind of machine is needed to perform certain tasks."
"Well, the cards are in your hands," Kinaun spread his hands in a conciliatory manner. "I don't understand this side of things as well as you do."
**Scene 2 – Aboard the Sovereign (En Route to Coruscant)**
**Tarkin POV**
The holographic battlefield shimmered between us—another session of *Empire at War*, the strategy game Dagon had designed with access to old Jedi archives. It allowed players to manage ancient Sith and Republic fleets and simulate real-time battles in remarkable detail. Everything about Dagon was odd, but after the Battle of Dentaal I had come to fully support the General. His unorthodox methods delivered results.
"Your Thranta-class corvettes are exposed in the full line of fire of my two Harrowers," I said calmly, "but I am not going to attack them. Instead, I will target your Jedi light cruisers."
"Interesting move," Dagon replied, eyes glinting with amusement. "Your grandfather, Randulf Tarkin, might have moved to engage the Thrantas while leaving the smaller light cruisers alone."
"Well, still—he led over-armed passenger liners during that Stark Hyperspace War with the Jedi. These are fleet battles, so it's obvious the Thrantas are the diversion and the light cruisers are the trap."
"Yes, that is true." Dagon made a subtle gesture. Suddenly two Valor-class cruisers and eight more Thrantas appeared behind the original three, ambushing and destroying my two Harrowers along with the rest of the eight-Harrower fleet in a devastating crossfire.
I leaned back, impressed despite myself. "Of course you tell the truth and I think you're lying. My grandfather would have followed through."
"Yes, but now you see—dreadnoughts are not invincible, and this war will not be won with sustained fleet engagements alone."
"No, but we are still limited with our fleets."
"I have five more Resurgents stationed at the 12th Sector," Dagon said, "but due to the proximity to Raxus and the main CIS core worlds, we can't move them. Otherwise the 12th risks being overrun and we lose our foothold in the Outer Rim."
"It's a shame we can't move on Raxus right now—especially given the previous raids on the Core Worlds and our recent action at Dentaal."
"No, a great shame indeed." Dagon checked the chronometer. "Anyway, we have arrived. I am going to the Temple. You handle the remaining Valiants and oversee their integration at Centax-2."
"Yes, sir."
**Scene 3 – Coruscant, Jedi Temple**
**Dagon's POV**
The *Silencer* cut through Coruscant's atmosphere with clean precision. Even though the ship was still called the *Silencer*, its engines produced a deep, resonant thrum that echoed across the sky like distant thunder. Soon the towering spires of the Jedi Temple came into view. I observed the new TIE variants Sienar was now mass-producing for the Republic: the Defender and Advanced were deemed too expensive, the Punisher too dangerous for standard deployment, so they had settled on the TIE Interceptor, TIE Striker, and TIE Reaper as the workhorse models. Sleek black solar wings flashed in formation patrols above the Temple district.
I made my way directly to the Council Chambers. The Masters were already assembled—some in person, others as holograms. Yoda sat in his small chair, ears twitching slightly as I entered.
"Council," I began without preamble, "I wish to inquire why only after I defeated the massive CIS fleet and protected both Dentaal and the Fourth Fleet did reinforcements finally arrive."
The Masters were silent. Even Yoda remained pointedly quiet. The honest truth hung unspoken in the air: the Council had genuinely thought I would flee or avoid an all-out battle against such overwhelming odds.
"Nevertheless," I continued, "I don't need an answer. But I do expect a favor from this Council at a future date. Anyway—we have a war to win."
A large galactic map of the warfront materialized in the center of the chamber, glowing red and blue markers showing the current lines.
"Ryloth has fallen. Fortunately, thanks to Cham Syndulla and the support I provided, he managed to evacuate a significant portion of his people and has established a decent resistance network for when we retake the planet. The fleet stationed there, along with the main sector fleet—otherwise known as the Red Tails—has been pushed back to Rothana and the few systems that remain ours.
"To retake Ryloth we must first secure the Corellian Run and keep it open. I will take a few ships and start at the fallen systems, combining with their battlegroup to push forward and establish a grid or defense line in the Colonies. The task will be simple: I will handle the enemy fleets and forces. Then the Jedi I call will arrive and set up bases on the liberated planets.
"Over three hundred CIS ships were destroyed over Dentaal. That gives us some breathing room before the Confederacy can launch any more major offensives."
I scanned the chamber. "Any questions?"
Silence answered me.
"Good. I will depart soon."
As I turned to leave, I felt the weight of their gazes—respect mixed with wariness. The Council might not fully trust my methods, but they could no longer ignore the results.
The war waited for no one.