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Empire Reforged
Chapter 42: Blueprints for Survival
Location: Kuat Orbital Shipyards – Private Design Chamber, Deck 112-Alpha
Date: BBY 7 – Day 22 of Operation "Glass Veil"
The chamber was spartan — no décor, no guards, just polished durasteel and the glow of holoprojected schematics.
Lucan stepped inside and found Lady Arinh Kuat standing alone beneath a ceiling-mounted projector, a trio of Star Destroyers slowly orbiting in virtual space above her — ISD-I, ISD-II, and a third model that was less familiar. Sleeker, broader amidships. No vulnerable shield domes.
She didn't turn when he entered.
"They tell me you were a logistics analyst before your commission," she said.
Lucan approached slowly. "For a brief time, yes. Long enough to understand the gap between theory and the field."
She glanced sideways at him, then gestured toward the projection of the ISD-II.
"This," she said coldly, "is what the Moff Council still considers our capital fleet standard. Twin deflector domes exposed on the tower. Linear fire control. Reinforced armor… that still bleeds when hit by ion saturation and a flanking wedge."
Lucan folded his arms. "I've never served on a destroyer. I command an Arquitens-class. We can't afford weak spots. If we miss, we die."
He stepped closer to the rotating models and keyed the console, cycling to the last ship — the Sovereign-class.
"You've already seen the simulations."
She raised a brow. "How do you know that?"
"You had to. This isn't a marketing model. The latticework near the dorsal shield relays — that's internal compartmentalization for fire channeling. Only Kuat engineers would try that."
Arinh regarded him with cool curiosity. "And yet you command a patrol cruiser."
Lucan didn't blink. "Which is why I've watched entire destroyers break apart under fire because someone thought symmetry mattered more than survivability."
He tapped the display.
"This refit — Sovereign-class — isn't pretty. It's lethal. Internalized domes, automated CIWS network, lateral fire control arcs, and modular bays that don't lock you into one doctrine."
Arinh watched him. "You believe the Empire would adopt a design that doesn't project ceremonial dominance?"
"I believe the Empire is bleeding ships faster than it admits. If survival ever outweighs spectacle, you'll need a destroyer that can end engagements, not just pose in one."
She turned back to the schematic. "Fewer crew. Droid integration. ECM suites, missile flexibility, AI-powered turrets. Redundant nodes so a single bridge hit doesn't kill the ship."
"And," Lucan added quietly, "it can still anchor a blockade or lead a planetary suppression fleet. That's the genius of it."
Her voice softened. "My father would have called it an engineer's vanity project."
"Your father didn't have to chase pirates across open space with no reinforcements and a reactor running hot," Lucan replied. "I have."
A long silence passed.
Then Arinh walked over to the side terminal and entered a restricted command string. The schematic zoomed into a classified prototype configuration labeled: Sovereign-Class Refit – KDY Design Block Theta.
"You weren't wrong," she said. "We are building it. Quietly. Carefully. We've already shifted one refit frame to a drydock in the Narvian belt — outside Senate audit reach."
Lucan studied the hull lines. "How long until it's spaceworthy?"
"Two years at best," she replied. "But… perhaps less, if the right voices speak in its favor."
Lucan looked up. "Why show me this?"
She met his gaze directly. "Because you saved my life. Because you see the storm coming. And because unlike the admirals, you're not asking for a command to make your name — you're earning it before the galaxy knows who you are."
Lucan took a step forward.
"When the Empire starts to fracture," he said slowly, "you'll need commanders who aren't bound by doctrine. Who see the ship as a weapon — not a parade float."
Her expression hardened — not in anger, but in approval.
"I can't give you a Sovereign now," she said. "But when the time comes — and it will come — you'll get the first one off the line."
Lucan inclined his head. "And I'll make sure it never gets wasted."
Arinh held out her hand.
"Not as a noble," she said. "As a builder."
He took it.
Commander Lucan Virex — Arquitens-class captain, outsider, orphan — had just secured a private bond with the Kuat family strong enough to shape the next generation of Imperial warships.
And when the Empire burned, Kuat would remember who wanted steel over ceremony.