Raith Sienar stepped away from his desk, studying the holographic blueprint from a distance. It took the man a few moments before he nodded with satisfaction. The urgent order was finished. He could finally go to dinner. As much as he loved his work, family meant everything to the Sienars.
And no wonder—Raith had been born into a family of hereditary shipbuilders. Five thousandyears ago, during the Unification Wars, hisancestors had built warships for Empress Teta and even then earned so many credits that dozens of generations of Sienars could live comfortably. Yet the history of the Sienarcompany stretched even further back: the first records dated fifteen thousand years. Still, the descendants had never remained idle; they continued the work of their ancestors, expandingthe glory and wealth of the Sienar family.
About two hundred years ago, the Sienars became related by marriage to the wealthy Santhe family—owners of Santhe Security Systems—hailing from the planet Lianna, whose lineage was no less impressive. This union resulted in the creation of a new, far more powerful company: Sante/Sienar Technologies. With their forces combined, the Sienars could be confident in their technologicaland financial superiority over competitors.
Forty years ago, Raith Sienar himself was born. Yet in his youth, he abandoned the traditional craft of his ancestors and devoted himself to space exploration. Investing the inheritance received from his parents into a small expedition, hecharted dozens of new hyperspace routes and discovered several valuable systems in the Unknown Regions, selling their coordinates to various resource extraction firms. By twenty, Raith had made his own fortune without assistance, and only then—having demonstrated what he was capable of—did he return home. He endured a difficult conversation with the head of the Santhe family, but was ultimately accepted back.
Many said of him—and Raith agreed—that he was profoundly talented, though only in particularareas of science. But in those, he stood head and shoulders above his peers. His gifts not onlyfueled his success but also granted him immense satisfaction in his many achievements.
Inspired by the accomplishments of his waywarddescendant, Ingram Santhe—the new head of the family after the death of Raith's father, Narro—prepared him for the position of ExecutiveDirector of Sienar Technologies. The company generated the family's greatest profits, buildinglarge and powerful ships for the Republic and the Trade Federation. To prepare properly and acquire new knowledge, Raith forged documents and infiltrated several competing firms—includingthe Corellian Engineering Corporation, Bactoid Armor Workshop, and Incom—and even stole data from the Trade Federation.
Both the Trade Federation and the Republic were frequent customers of Sienar. When the war began, Raith faced a choice as to whom he would sell his ion engine designs. The genius's decisionwas in favour of the Republic, resulting in a fourteen-percent jump in Santhe/Sienar stock and a six-hundred-forty-million-credit increase to his personal account. However, the work was not merely profitable—it was fascinating.
These thoughts accompanied him as he finallyreached the dining room. The family members gathered there were engaged in lively conversation. Raith noticed two opened bottles of sparkling wine on the table.
"What are we celebrating?" he asked.
"Oh, you don't know yet? The Jedi Order has asked whether we can quickly organize production of a series of bombers. The company that designed and manufactured them—Nubian—can't keep up with demand," Karim Sienar, his cousin, replied, handing him a glass.
"Oh, not bad. How many are they ordering?"
"Forty-four thousand units," he announced proudly.
Raith whistled.
"Impressive. What model?"
"The Scurrg H-6 Bomber. A fairly massive machine, but its firepower is exceptional: six laser cannons, one twin cannon on the dorsal turret, and a bomb launcher. Crew of three sapients, a Class Two hyperdrive with a Class Ten backup. Ten tons of cargo capacity. And the best part—they're ready to buy them from us at one hundred twenty-five thousand credits apiece, provided we mass-produce them. By the way, Nubian sells them for one hundred fifty."
"It'll be interesting to dig into this design. Maybe we can improve a few things…" Raith mused.
Everyone laughed, well aware of his passion for engineering.
"But that's not the main news," Narro Santhe said as he approached.
Raith raised an eyebrow. "What, there's more?" Only then did he notice his sister, Nika Sante-Sienar, practically glowing with happiness.
"Really…?" he asked.
"Yes. Our Nika's work has finally been recognized. The same Jedi Order. They placed an order for our Marauder corvettes."
Raith nodded silently, feeling a warm surge of pride. The corvette had been designed by Nika for the Republic Justice Department. Within thatdepartment's fleet, the Marauders were meant to patrol troubled regions and combat pirates. Yet Senate bureaucrats inexplicably rejected the promising project, leaving the corporation in an awkward position, with a very decent corvette on its hands, the creation of which had cost afortune, but no buyer. Nika was devastated, unable to understand why things had turned out this way.
As a result, Sienar began offering the corvettes to anyone wealthy enough to purchase them. But sales were modest at best and hardly covered all of the manufacturer's costs. Even the start of the Clone Wars failed to increase demand for the Marauders. Thus, despite its excellent design, the Marauder became one of Sienar's rarecommercial failures.
And then—completely unexpectedly—the order came.
"How many?" was all Raith asked.
"Three thousand units so far. The deadline is two months for the first thousand, though we think we can manage it in a month and a half. Price per ship: two million two hundred thousand credits."
Raith quickly ran the numbers in his head. There was a longstanding rule in the family: the developer of any product received a percentage of every transaction involving it. By his calculation, Nika's account would soon be credited with two hundred and forty-eight million credits.
"Nika, congratulations. I always knew someone would eventually recognize that your corvette is a real gem. By the way, do you know who we should thank for this?"
Ingram stroked his beard with a solemn air.
"Actually, it all started with a report from a Jedi named Mikore Vikt. You understand—we receive all the information."
Raith smiled knowingly, but a moment later his expression grew thoughtful.
"What is it?" Nika asked.
"You know… I was working on a project with Kuat on a reactor. They urgently needed to boost the output, but they were limited in size…"
"Is this by any chance related to the new warship?"
"Yes—the Venator. So I remember that name coming up in the documents as well." He paused. "But we'll need to verify it."
"Look into it, Raith, and send me the file. I'llexamine it in detail."
Raith nodded once more. Nothing should be overlooked—every detail, no matter how small, could influence the family.
***
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