Imperial High Command

Garrick's office was not exactly in-keeping with traditional style, seeming to be more of the order of something a New Republic Senator might use, as opposed to someone who preferred austerity and efficiency as Garrick did. However, the office was personally requested jointly by his son and his staff, in concern over his health as he approached his older age. Not that he needed the concern - he was perfectly fine, but he went along with it for their sake. As such his office was constructed in a neo-deco style, emphasizing comfort and grandiosity of design, as opposed to his old offices, which he much preferred, in their simple, grey, very Imperialist appearance. With a small antechamber surrounded by screens, elaborate wood-and-gold paneling, and an expensive rug, the room was very fitting of a man of his status, even if Garrick himself would not actually agree with that assessment.



On this particular day, Garrick was sitting at the desk in the center of the room, reviewing some last minute figures that the director would likely want to see, when a ping from the elevator informed him that the man had, in fact, arrived. Garrick turned off the holoprojector in his desk, before ordering the death troopers guarding the room to allow the director to enter. As he did, he stood from his desk, briefly fixing his code cylinders, before he greeted the Imperial director.

“Director Ju’oda, the pleasure is all mine. I’m sure you will find that our handling of the Oversector’s economics division has been handling the matter of finances and economic direction in the sector to your liking. I’ve already had my aides transfer our economic data to your shuttle, though
perhaps you would like if I gave you an overview?”

He nods in the affirmative, before he gestures to one of the seats, urging the director to take a seat for the coming presentation. Once he had taken the seat, Garrick dimmed the lights in the room before activating a massive holoprojector concealed behind the wooden paneling in his office. Immediately, blue light filled the room, as a large map of the oversector filled the room, with various systems, trade routes, pie charts, and economic figures filling the air in his office. He allows Ju’oda to review the information briefly before providing his own summary of the data at hand.

“Our economic efforts in this sector have broadly been aimed at the privatization of non-essential industries, in order to help further economic growth in the region. This particular sector has long been a breadbasket of the Empire, and we aimed to keep it this way through our fiscal policy.”

He gestures first to a read out of the key edicts that had been issued economically in the sector, in order to give Ju’oda a better sense of what had been happening.

“As you can see here, these are some of the key pieces of policy that have been instituted, the first being a drastic decrease in corporate and business tax, along with a relaxing of regulation to increase ease of business. The second has been the creation of something of an angel investor scheme, in order to help encourage entrepreneurship in those industries not critical to the military. Another key piece of policy has been the creation of a sovereign fund, which shall be dipped in to in the event of financial difficulties. Likewise, to further encourage competition between these companies, a market cap of 33% has been imposed on companies in order to prevent monopolies in any industry. Finally, my administration has overseen an investment program in infrastructure to facilitate trade as well as ease the pressure on our military’s logistics, using majority state owned corporations in order to help keep free market principles involved in the infrastructure to encourage competition.”

He brought up a large pie chart.

“Here is a chart of the oversector’s spending for this year; as you can see, we are running a considerable surplus, while investing heavily in military development, as well as economic development, infrastructure, mining, and other such projects to boost the economy.”

He paused, allowing Ju’oda to ask any questions about the fiscal direction the government had taken, before he moved on to the individual performance of each planet.

Garrick waved his hand, bringing up further figures surrounding the specific things that Ju'oda had brought up. These were questions he might have expected, and as such, his administration had previously taken steps to this.

"In regards to the monopolism of the Core, that is something of a concern, though the market cap should help prevent that. However, due to our strong connections in trade with the other oversectors, even especially with the core, due to the relative ease of doing business, geographically strategic location of our oversector, and rather crucially the production of crystals on Mygeeto, which is a service the core cannot provide, especially combined with the banking tradition of our sector, and the Banking Clan's established dominance over banking both within the First Order and outside it, our position against monopolism is comparatively strong, especially when compared with other oversectors."

He then brings up a specific chart surrounding the major banks in the sector.

"Our spending has been rather limited, and combined with the surplus we are running every quarter, inflation is comparatively a nonissue, especially given the fact that we have allowed our currency to continue on with minimum adjustment in order to increase investor confidence, and comparing to some of the other oversectors. In regards to the health of the banks themselves, our oversector has had a strong tradition of banking in the past, and that looks set to remain into the future. Muunilinst remains a financial centre with no parallel aside from Coruscant, and Mygeeto's mining of crystals has allowed us a stable natural resource to act as a fallback for investors in the event of a crisis. Likewise, thanks to the implementation of deregulation and free market practices, any investor or bank who makes the decision to buy a toxic asset will, in the long run, suffer the consequences of their poor investment."

Garrick smiles at the mention of entrepreneurship, as this was one of his greatest achievements policy-wise.

"To encourage entrepreneurship and start-up activities in the Bastion Oversector, our administration has instituted a special tax exemption scheme for angel investors called Angel Investors Tax Deduction Scheme. An approved angel investor who invests the minimum quantity required qualifying investment in a qualifying start-up is eligible to claim tax deductions under the AITD Scheme. Under the scheme, the approved business angel can enjoy a tax deduction for each Year of Assessment (YA) based on 50% of his investment amount, at the end of a two-year holding period. This, combined with our strong stock exchange, access to developing markets elsewhere in the First Order, and strong amount of capital in the oversector already, has helped further develop entrepreneurship. With the release of the slaves, a large quantity of which are concentrated in our sector, we are expecting a large boom in entrepreneurship in our oversector."

An officer walks in, carrying a bottle of Alderaanian Red, and two glasses.

"You caught us on short notice, so I didn't have time to prepare the appropriate hospitalities, would you like something to drink?"

Garrick nodded with a look of approval on his face as well. He was certainly glad that the First Order's economics lay in the hands of someone like Ju'oda, who, at very least understood the field well enough to prevent rampant economic damage to the Empire. After all, a happy populace is one that is well fed, has rooves over their heads, well clothed, and taken care of, along with having enough money to enjoy some of the comforts that the prosperity of the Empire offered them, and thankfully, the citizens of this sector were able to enjoy all of these.

"And I remain at ease, knowing the finances of our Empire are in good hands. I appreciate your confidence in our work here, and assure you that it is not ill founded."

Garrick swirled the wine in his glass, before bringing up a further set of figures that would likely be interesting to the director as well, specifically surrounding the shipbuilding industries, the caf industries, and other planetary industries not already mentioned.

"In regards to your idea of a gradient system, we were considering something of the order for the next ten years, especially for the near future given the massive amount of consumers and entrepreneurs that are about to enter our economy. Now, in regards to the other major planets in our sector, Garqi remains a stable source of income, with seemingly limitless growth, as the planet as a complete monopoly over the production of caf in the galaxy, an extremely important resource from an economic and workforce perspective. In regards to Yaga Minor, its shipyards, backed by all of this productivity, have continued to produce designs on the cutting edge of Imperial technology; indeed, with the revealing of the TIE-X, we have managed to pack all the technology for an advanced fighter into a frame no larger then a vulture droid, meaning that it is a rather resource efficient operation indeed, freeing up resources to be placed into other such things. And Bastion has been a longstanding hub of trade in the sector for quite some time now, and will likely continue to be so into the future, especially given the geographical location of this oversector and our pro free trade attitude."

He also chuckled at his comment, as he is well aware of what he is talking about. The Knights of Ren were infamous for their seeming inability to manage anything properly, aside from mindlessly slaughtering hordes of enemies. Not that the First Order didn't need that - but they were simply unfit to be governing anything.

"I'm sure that recent appearance will only help to further entrench the product in the galactic market - I have heard that many in First Order High Command consume it, myself included. Helps stave off the late nights of work. It is certainly an export of great potency and economic power, and one that I believe we can work together as two separate regulatory bodies to harness to its fullest potential."

Garrick nods, before typing a few things into his holopad. When he was informed that the Imperial Economic Authority was in the space above Muunilinst, he was initially dreading this meeting. However, it ended up being an incredible pleasure the entire time, and as such, he was amicable to the idea.

"Certainly; since it seems the IEA's economic goals and plans align with ours, and you seem to be a master of what you do, so this would be of no issue to us at all. I'll contact one of my aides, and the local Moff on Garqi in order to help you get set up as quickly and smoothly as possible. With any luck, you'll be up and running in around two weeks or so, but if not, then expect to be fully ready in about a month. While its not ideal, I am sure it'll be more effective then some of the... other groups you mentioned."

Garrick sighed somewhat, before placing his glass upon the table. While he trusted the Emperor, he couldn't help but question some of his choices for the positions of commanding oversectors, particularly in his selections in the Deep Core. Publicly, he supported the Ren in their opposition to the enemies of the order, while offering no opinion on them directly, at least not in official propaganda. Those close to him, however, knew his true opinions, as he privately believed they were unworthy and not reliable enough to be entrusted with the amount of power they had been, a concern he would at very least subtly inform to Ju'oda.

"I am very well aware of the activities of some of the other oversectors economically, which have not been done with exactly the same goals as we have. A word of advice - avoid the Deep Core if at all possible. You will not like what you find there, both financially and otherwise."

"It's no trouble, and should you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to us here."

He smiles somewhat, picking up his glass. The smile, however, contained a note of disappointment, not towards Ju'oda, but to the delicate situation surrounding the Ren.

"Maybe so, but I fear that those billions could remain unsupervised regardless of if you attend to them or not. The Ren are... stubborn, resistant. Naturally it would not be the best move to simply abandon it, but it would probably be for the best if you stood clear of them, at least for now. There are many other oversectors that have far more amiable Grand Moffs."

He took a sip from his glass, before looking into it rather pensively, considering the situation, weighing the possibilities. After a few moments, he looked up from the clear object.

"A word of advice for when you do visit them; beware the one called Harnan Ren. He is the most dangerous of all of them. Not so much due to his power, which is still good, but not the best among the group, but due to his lack of hesitancy about using it."

"Indeed... it's rather a shame the situation in which we find ourselves, as far as the management of these regions go. However, its an unfortunate reality that we have to deal with. Particularly in the administration of the Prakith SAR."

Garrick deactivated the holoprojector, as the review of finances was over. The yellow, more natural light that normally filled the room rapidly returned, illuminating the room as it was meant to be, with the natural tones of the gold and wood returning. He smiled at the Director's comment.

"Whenever I am next on Coruscant, I will be sure to pay you a visit. Perhaps we ought to meet up at some point anyway, to discuss the goings on in the Empire - I have a feeling we would agree on a lot."

He takes a sip of the wine, then chooses to make a comment on it.

"And, at very least we appear to have a similar taste in wine."

From: FO HQ Imperial Intelligence;
To: FO High Command. Muunilist.
Upon approval: cc: Bilbringi Shipyards Commandant
------------------OFFICIAL DISPATCH-------------
(Following to be decoded by HC Intelligence adjutant ONLY)
[the following is Double coded]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>BEGIN
Greetings High Command,

Please find the following fleet requisition attached. Upon Approval, forward to Bilbringi Shipyards Commandant.

FIRST ORDER REQUISITION REQUEST (for approval of the HIGH COMMAND).

DOOMSDAY FLEET (76+84+24+72= 256)
TASK FORCE 1 – SPECIAL OPERATIONS Total (76pts)
x2 Gladiator class III SDs - 650m (2(16)pts)
x1 Free Virgillia-class Bunkerbuster - 316m (8pts)
x 4 Lancer class frigates - 250m, Anti-starfighter loadout (4(4)pts)
x6 Gozanti-class cruiser - 42m (6(2)pts)

Reserve:
x1 IPV-2C stealth corvette - 99m (2 pts)
x1 GR-75 Assault Transport - 90m. MODIFIED for close air support (like AC-130 spectre), (2 pts)
x1 GR-75 transport - 90m. UNMODIFIED, (2 pts)
x1 IGV-55 surveillance vessel, or Imperial listener ship - 64m (2pts)

TASK FORCE 2 – BATTLE FLEET (84 pts)
1st Element
x1 Victory III class SD - 900m (32 pts)
x1 Vindicator-class heavy cruiser, 600m, (16 pts)
2x Carrack class cruiser - 350m. Anti-starfighter loadout (2(8)pts)

2nd Element
2x Ardent class fast frigates - 400m (2(8)pts)
x1 VT-49 Decimator - 38m “IRON MAIDEN II” (2 pts)
x1 IGV-55 surveillance vessel, or Imperial listener ship - 64m (2pts)

TASK FORCE 3 - “Imperial Raiders” (24pts)
x6 Raider class corvettes 150m. [modified with cloaking devices, exchanging turbo-lasers with torpedoes, Diamond-Boron missiles] (6(4)pts)

TASK FORCE 4 - LOGISTICS (72pts)
GROUP I - PATROL
x1 Vigil class corvette- 255m, (8pts)
x6 C-ROC Gozanti-class cargo cruiser - 74m (6(2)pts) (MODIFIED:to QSHIPS)

GROUP II - REPAIR/ MEDICAL
z1 GR-75 transport is 90m. (MODIFIED: as Medical ship) (2 pts)
x1 GS-100 salvage ship (175m) (4pts)
x1 Deep Space Recovery Vessel L-2783 150m, (4pts)

GROUP III - CARGO
x6 C-ROC Gozanti-class cargo cruiser - 74m (6(2)pts)
x2 GR-75 transport - 90m. (2(2) pts)
x1 PCL 27 bulk freighter - 800m (2pts)

GROUP IV - SIGNAL      2(4)+12+ 1/2(= 24
x4 IGV-55 surveillance vessel, or Imperial listener ship - 64m (4(2)pts)
x6 Gozanti-class cruiser - 42m (6(2)pts)
x8 TIE/sr (4pts)

SINCERELY,
[redacted]
IMPERIAL INTELLIGENCE 

>>>END