Grand Admiral

Volume 1 Chapter 15 - Simple Diligence

Nine years, five months and ten days after the Battle of Yavin...

Or forty-fourth year, five months and ten days after the Great ReSynchronization.

To say that Lando Calrissian's Nomad City was impressive would be an understatement.

The hull of a huge heavy cruiser of the Dreadnought type, which at one time was mass-produced by the shipbuilding company Rendili Shipyards, formed the basis of this self-propelled enterprise. Numerous alterations and modifications practically did not remind of the previous status of this ship. And according to Lando himself, the starship could no longer be used for its intended purpose —the engines (those that survived) were seized and sold on the market, numerous systems intended for combat had long been repurposed. This self-propelled giant doesn't even have guns anymore. And its only defense is the few fighters parked in the bowels of the ship. A hangar on such six-hundred-meter cruisers was not provided by the manufacturer, but Lando and his craftsmen managed to achieve the desired result.

Although, admittedly, a big part of Nomad's defense is the terrible astronomical conditions in which he had to work. Increased stellar radiation, the planet's remoteness from the main hyperspace routes, unbearable heat on the sunny side of Nklonn. The only thing that saved the "Nomad" from the last one was the walking supports of forty units of horribly mangled and repurposed imperial walkers. According to Calrissian himself, some of this equipment was bought from scrap metal dumps, stolen, won at cards, or he got it in a completely illegal way.

However, what cannot be taken away from us is that the enterprise is truly excellent. Mr. Calrissian has an eye for profitable projects. And he did not hide his entrepreneurial streak. If earlier he dabbled in semi-legal schemes, then at the moment... The former general of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic sought to make a living exclusively through legal money-making schemes. Or, at least, he tried not to advertise his «shady dealings» in front of his young employees.

— And you know,— a smile began to appear on Calrissian's dark face, —I have never regretted hiring you, Rederick. You make an excellent administrator!

Lando Calrissian.

The young administrator only smiled in response to the praise from his superiors.

—Just think about it! — Calrissian continued to assert enthusiastically. — Persuade me to spend a million credits on the purchase of a new batch of "miners"! And on the very first day, these thirty new drills extracted metal worth a third of its value! Now all eighty-one of my beauties will unload, undergo preventive maintenance and return to work in a couple of hours! Oh, Rederick, you really are worth the money! To increase productivity, you need to have a talent for administrative work!

—This is not my great merit,— Rederick said modestly. —I just noticed that with more plasma drills we can extract more metal. You don't need to be an economics genius to understand the benefits of such a move. If you weren't so tight-fisted, you could have built a couple more «Nomads» long ago. I looked at the diagrams of this enterprise —it doesn't seem to be that complicated technically...

—Okay, boy,— Calrissian playfully shook his finger at him. — firstly, this is not «tight-fisted» but «reasonable financial policy». Secondly, in this huge galaxy, even with a supernova explosion, there are not very many half-broken ships and imperial walkers at an affordable price. But you're right about one thing a couple of new «Nomads» could significantly increase my income. I'll have to think about this.

—You know, I never cease to admire your ingenuity,— Rederick said as they approached the Nomad's control point. — Such an ambitious project... A walking mining platform! Yes, this is a miracle! Just imagine how you can turn around if you spend your money on the development of this project!