The Imperial | Star wars

12. The Hunt

We have made progress towards guaranteeing the security of the galaxy with the destruction of Echo Base, which also resulted in the capture and deaths of numerous rebel high command members. I will need to be ready for the rebels because, with them on the run and spreading the word about the Scourge Fleet, they might band together to try to destroy the Defiants. This also contributes to the escape of the Millennium Falcon, Smuggler, and Princess. With their freighter damaged, they will be sheltering in a neighbouring system, and with our forces spread thin owing to engagements ranging from the outer rim to the mid-rim, I will have to call in the bounty hunters to find them.

As I called in every bounty hunter contact, including Jabba the Hutt's help in setting up the meeting location on the Executor, we were fortunate to have some of the top bounty hunters in the galaxy present, increasing our chances of finding the Millennium Falcon.

"Gentlemen, welcome onboard the Executor; you are here to find the Millennium Falcon and its crew; whoever contacts us with information or has confirmed the location of where they have been sheltering for the time being will be given a huge reward for not only tracking them down but also from their bounties on their heads; sadly, the Empire will require you to capture them alive as they wield information about the rebel base and their high command."

Captain Kodo stands in front of Boba Fett, who has joined with him since Jabba formed an alliance with him, and he has a reputation for killing his targets but mostly disintegrating them.

"And remember, gentlemen, no disintegrating because I need them to be able to feel pain and talk. With that said, are there any further questions?"

As the bounty hunters depart the Executor on their spacecraft to hunt the Millennium Falcon, I expect them to return with good news, as bounty hunters never lose their target and will pursue them until they reach the edge of the galaxy. Furthermore, I was summoned to a conference with the Emperor to debate the notion of a second death star, with which I strongly objected; as a result, the Emperor requested my presence to hear my point of view.

On my flagship, the Renaissance II, I had a private conference with the Emperor, New Grand Moff, Director of the ISB, and Lord Vader at the holotable.

"Captain Kodo I appreciate your dedication to the Empire, but why do you have to object to the idea of building another death star, my friend?"

"My Emperor, the idea is blaintly idiocy, my lord, as the rebels are adapting towards creating more warships to fight us, and ever since they destroyed the First Death Star, they may use the similar property of their attack plan from the Battle of Yavin in destroying this one."

"But my friend, once the construction is finished, we will have order towards the galaxy. This time, we will have a shield generator on Endor to protect the Death Star."

"That is the problem, My Emperor. The rebels have spies in our midst, and the moment they learn there is a second death star, they will send all of their resources to destroy it, which will be a financial waste. Hasn't the battle of Yavin taught us anything?"

"We will have to adapt just like the rebels after the loss of Grand Moff Tarkin, which is why a space station will be accessible to star fighters and other ships. But what if we turn the Death Star into something much more?"

"Captain, I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say. Would you mind explaining?" As soon as the new ISB Director started questioning me, I revealed a project I had been working on since I was creating the defendants.

"This is Project Eclipse, which has similar properties to the Executor, Interdictor, and Death Star weapons, making it a dreadnought super weapon. I've been working on this particular ship on Kuat while waiting for the next batch of Defiants to be built."

As the Emperor was impressed by the design and sheer size, he immediately decided to abandon the idea of building a second Death Star in favor of supporting the creation of this spacecraft and appointing me as its lead developer. He also gave me the schematics and information on how the Death Star weapon works, which will give me an idea of the modifications required for the ship to fit on the Death Star super weapon.

For the time being, I will be assigned to guard the Kuat shipyard from any rebel fleet and oversee the construction of Project Eclipse, which will take up to two years due to its sheer size; therefore, this project will be classified and not be shared with anyone other than those who were in the meeting earlier.

Upon my arrival on Kuat, I was informed that the new batch of Defiant warships had been completed, adding more firepower to my armada, for which I was grateful because they are no longer under pressure to create more star destroyers because the Defiant ship model was relatively simple to build in a short period of time.

When I arrived at the command centre on Kuat, I had a briefing with the Head Overseer, to whom I was grateful for his aid in the development of the Defiant warships. But that is not why I was there. After aligning the fleet to create a blockade, I informed him about a ship that may take the majority of the resources but is a gift for the Emperor, and he will be rewarded for doing so. This piqued his interest, so I requested that this meeting be held in private to avoid any prying ears, so he led me to his office and deactivated any listening devices found.

Once the room was secured, I showed him a ship blueprint, and he was impressed with the design and concept, and he is willing to build such a ship because he may have created a super star destroyer like the Executor, but a dreadnought class larger adds more fame to him and his family as the creator of such a vessel, working alongside the designer.

He was excited about this ship creation and agreed to build such a monstrosity to ensure security because he disagreed with the rebels, whom he saw as nothing more than terrorists because they had been attacking his shipyard, but the Defiants Ships on standby were able to repel them in small numbers, forcing them to retreat, so I was his favourite among all ship designers due to his ideals for the vessels.

While the Eclipse class was being constructed, I received notification that the bounty hunters hunting the Millennium Falcon and its crew had called me. When I arrived at my office on Kuat, I was greeted by the renowned Boba Fett, who informed me that the freighter had docked in the cloud city on Bespin, for which I thanked him and would dispatch a force to apprehend the terrorist, but he also informed me that Jabba wanted Han Solo for himself due to the number of credits he owed him.

Once the meeting was completed, I quickly contacted Lord Vader with the bounty hunters' findings. I also briefed on what Boba Fett requested and how to transfer the credits after the crew is arrested, including permitting him to deliver Han Solo to Jabba, which may strengthen our friendship.

Lord Vader was astounded by my relationship with Jabba and how I was able to forge an alliance with the criminal lord while also providing a number of criminal slaves to assist in the construction of several ships, weapons, vehicles, and research initiatives. He also informs me that he will inspect the Eclipse Project on a regular basis if necessary. With that, I closed the channel and continued to supervise the Eclipse's and Kuat's defences and progress.