"Sienar—if a galaxy-scale war breaks out, how big do you think the military procurement market becomes?" Max asked.
During the Clone Wars, on the Galactic Republic side, just one major Republic naval armada under the Supreme Chancellor's authority fielded a cumulative total of 6,222 capital ships—heavy cruisers and larger—over the course of the war.
On the Separatist side, the B1-series battle droid line alone surpassed a trillion units produced.
Raith Sienar couldn't be sure. He answered cautiously, "On the order of trillions?"
"Maybe," Max said with a grin. "But it might need a few more zeros."
"And you mean…?"
Max's smile widened. Raith Sienar smiled too, but it didn't reach his eyes. He stared at the Mandalorian across from him, unable to tell what angle this was.
"What I mean is: it has nothing to do with you—or with Republic Sienar Systems."
Max handed him a data cartridge.
Sienar took it, slotted it into the holoprojector, and the first file began autoplaying—internal footage of Rothana Heavy Engineering captured by a micro-probe operated by Mandalorian Military Intelligence.
"That's… a Kuat facility?"
"Yes." Max nodded. "Kuat's secret yard on Rothana. It's running hot, building a new class of warship for the Republic."
"That hull is over six hundred meters," Sienar said, frowning. "Seven or eight hundred, easy."
On the holodisplay, a ship was mid-installation of its hyperdrive: an Acclamator-class assault ship.
Max raised a thumb. "That's why you're you. Your eyes are a measuring stick—about seven-fifty meters."
"That violates the Ruusan Reformations arms-limitation framework," Sienar said, his frown deepening.
"Sienar, that framework is already worthless paper. The Republic and the Trade Federation are past the point of compromise—both sides are arming for war." Max gestured. "Open the next file."
"What's this?"
"Trade Federation purchases of tibanna gas through my channels—multiplying several times over. They're stockpiling war resources."
Sienar's brow loosened slightly. He did the math in his head. (This Mandalorian really is loaded. Adding zeros to orders might not have been talk.) "Are you offering to introduce me to Trade Federation procurement?"
Max shook his head. "Unfortunately, that pie is already divided. RSS isn't getting a slice."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Sienar said, lifting an eyebrow. "If RSS fields a more competitive product, we can still take market share."
Max's mouth tilted into that same calm, irritating confidence. "That kind of play might work for someone else—CEC, for example. Not for RSS."
Sienar didn't buy it. "Why not?"
"Let's start with the Republic. Kuat and the Trade Federation have a blood feud—you know that."
"I do."
"And because of that feud, Kuat is 'trusted' by a Republic preparing to fight the Trade Federation." Max's tone stayed even. "You, on the other hand, manufactured tools for Sith criminals. Coruscant has you on a blacklist. You won't pry a single credit out of Kuat's contracts."
Sienar's mouth opened, then closed.
Max continued, "Now the Trade Federation side. The group holding their starfighter megacontracts is the Xi Char—who hate you. RSS trying to take Trade Federation orders is practically impossible. The Xi Char will squeeze you out at every turn."
Sienar fell silent.
Max didn't press. He let the silence do the work.
After a moment, Sienar asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because I'm telling you not to give up," Max said. "RSS has another opportunity."
"But you just told me I have no opportunity on either side."
"Correct." Max nodded, still smiling. "Because a third player will enter the field."
Sienar's eyes narrowed. "Meaning?"
"Meaning the two current camps have already split the market. If you force your way in, you'll fight for scraps." Max's voice was smooth, patient. "Better to wait. When the third player shows up, that's when you place your bet."
"Place a bet?"
"This war will be galaxy-wide," Max said. "Whoever wins—its suppliers become the monopoly of the galaxy."
"You want to rule the galaxy?" Sienar's brow knitted tighter.
Max laughed—light, unbothered—and didn't answer directly.
"The Republic and the Trade Federation aren't openings for RSS," he said instead. "But the third player will be. I'm only telling you the door exists. Whether you walk through it—and how hard you commit—is entirely your decision."
In the original timeline, throughout the Clone Wars, RSS had almost no presence—aside from producing a single IPV-2C stealth corvette for the Republic Navy.
In truth, RSS had deep roots: it had supplied ships and systems to the Republic for over fifteen thousand years. If Raith Sienar hadn't managed to offend both future belligerents so thoroughly before the war, it never would've been sidelined this badly.
(Brilliant guy—stop begging at cold doors. Come run with me.)
"Vizsla," Sienar said at last, extending his hand again, "then we'll wait until the third player enters. I'll be watching."
"This is the Way," Max said, clasping his hand with a grin.
PS: The force commonly called the "Open Circle Fleet" is more accurately the Open Circle Armada.
An Armada is the Republic Navy's largest formation, comprising 1,000 to 5,000 capital ships, commanded by a High Jedi General (a member of the Jedi High Council).
A Fleet is a subordinate formation within an Armada, comprising roughly 300 to 600 capital ships, commanded by a Fleet Admiral alongside a Senior Jedi General. The famous Fifth Fleet was one of the Open Circle Armada's constituent fleets.
PPS: About 33 BBY—roughly a little over two years before this chapter's timeframe—Neimoidian interests hired assassins and, during a high-level meeting involving Trade Federation leadership and the Galactic Senate's Chancellor, murdered all Kuat executives present and seized control of the Trade Federation.
-
-
-
-
GAME OF THRONES: SECRETS BENEATH THE DREADFORT
🏰🩸 GAME OF THRONES: SECRETS BENEATH THE DREADFORT 🩸🏰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📢 DARK SECRETS RISE IN THE NORTH! 📢
Game of Thrones: Secrets Beneath the Dreadfort has 30 chapters ahead available on Patreon! 🐺🩸
Beneath the Dreadfort, old horrors stir.
Power, bloodlines, betrayal, northern cruelty, and buried secrets wait beneath one of the most feared castles in Westeros.
❄️ The North remembers.🏰 The Dreadfort hides.🩸 And some secrets should have stayed buried.
Uncover what lies beneath before anyone else does.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🛑 ALSO AVAILABLE ON PATREON:
🌃 Cyberpunk: Dogtown Legend🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless👩👦 Cyberpunk: Lucy Adopted Me and I Got a System🧠 My Cyberpunk 2077 Simulator🤖 My Girlfriend's a Cyberpsycho—Who Knew?🛡️ Star Wars: The Rise of Mandalore🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter🌹 R18: Reincarnated in Her World
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🔗 Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus👤 Patreon Name: SrMagnus🐦 X / Twitter: https://x.com/SrMagnusBook
⚠️ The novel with the most Power Stones gets more chapters first!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━