**Chapter 718: Prototypes and Conspiracies**
**Scene 1: Lantilles Shipyards – Supreme Commander's Observation Deck**
Dagon Marek stood on the reinforced observation deck overlooking the bustling Lantilles shipyards. Massive skeletal frames of half-completed warships stretched into the void, lit by welding arcs and the blue glow of ion thrusters. His durasteel mask concealed the still-healing burns across his face, but nothing could hide the cold intensity in his eyes as he studied the prototype vessel docked in the central berth.
The ship was different from the elegant, sweeping designs Lyra Blissex had been producing under the Kuat deal. This was *his* vision — raw, brutal, and efficient. A capital ship built for dominance.
"Devastation," Dagon murmured, his masked voice a distorted growl. "My version of a true capital ship."
The vessel measured 1,600 meters in length, with the classic wedge-shaped profile reminiscent of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, but with several critical modifications. Its hull was reinforced with quadanium alloy plating, and the command tower had been lowered and streamlined for better survivability.
**Devastation-class Star Destroyer – Prototype Specifications**
- **Length:** 1,600 meters
- **Megalight per hour:** 60 MGLT
- **Maximum atmospheric speed:** 975 km/h
- **Engine Units:** KDY Destroyer-I ion engines (3 primary) + Sienar-Jaemus -4 ion engines (4, emergency use)
- **Hyperdrive Rating:** Class 2
- **Power Plant:** Solar ionization reactor
- **Shielding:** Dual deflector shield generator domes
- **Armament:**
- Taim & Bak XX-9 heavy turbolaser batteries (60)
- Borstel NK-7 ion cannons (60)
- Dual heavy turbolaser turrets (6)
- Dual heavy ion cannon turrets (2)
- Quad heavy turbolasers (8)
- Triple medium turbolasers (8)
- Medium turbolasers (8)
- Phylon Q7 tractor beam projectors (10)
- **Crew:** 9,235 + 500 gunners
- **Troop Capacity:** Galactic Marines (reinforced battalions)
Dagon's thoughts drifted to the heavy cost that made this ship necessary. During the Mygeeto and Geonosis campaigns, entire elite units had been gutted. The 104th Battalion, the 41st, and nearly half the Galactic Marines — also known as the 21st Nova Corps — had been effectively destroyed. Over 90,000 clones died corrupted on Geonosis under Itsuki's control. Another 120,000 perished on Mygeeto. Both fleet and ground forces had taken catastrophic losses.
Only one clone commander had survived the worst of it: Bacara, CC-1138. The Marshal Commander of the Galactic Marines had been forged in the fires of Concord Dawn's traditions, trained by Journeyman Protector Cort Davin himself. Bacara had fought alongside Jedi like Ki-Adi-Mundi and earned a fearsome reputation. After graduating early from Alpha-17's ARC program, he had become one of the most respected battlefield leaders in the Republic. Now, with the 21st Nova Corps reduced to barely 20,000 troops, Dagon had personally convinced the hardened commander to keep fighting.
*Even clones get depressed,* Dagon reflected grimly. *Blam helped sway him. Good man.*
He turned away from the viewport as the fleet for the upcoming Umbara campaign finished forming up in the staging zone.
**Umbara Assault Fleet Composition:**
- 20 Venator-class Star Destroyers
- 1 Devastation-class Star Destroyer (prototype)
- 5 Accumulator-class Assault Ships
- 5 Arquitens-class Command Cruisers
- 8 Upgraded Invincible-class Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers
It was a lean but powerful strike force. Enough to crack Umbara's defenses, seize their shadow technology and raw materials, and probe CIS strength in the Outer Rim. Dagon intended to lead it personally. Every victory here bought time before the Confederacy's *Spear of Light* struck the Core.
"Begin final preparations," Dagon ordered through his comm. "We jump for Umbara in six hours."
**Scene 2: Hapes Cluster – Royal Palace, Ta'a Chume**
Deep in the shimmering Hapes Cluster, Darth Sidious stood on a grand balcony overlooking the royal fleet yards of the Consortium. The air was thick with the scent of exotic flowers and ionized drive exhaust. Below, dozens of Hapan Battle Dragons rotated slowly in their berths, their dual-saucer hulls gleaming under the light of Hapes' golden sun.
Hapan Battle Dragons were engineering marvels. Each 500-meter-diameter vessel featured a unique dual-saucer design connected by sixteen rotating support struts. Forty ion cannons and forty turbolaser batteries were mounted on circular rotating sections on both top and bottom hulls. As weapons fired and needed to recharge, the discs rotated to bring fresh batteries to bear — a system the Hapans considered far more efficient than traditional static emplacements.
Additional armament included ten proton torpedo tubes, tractor beam projectors, heavy triple ion cannon batteries, and sixteen pulse-mass mines launched from four generator tubes. Each Battle Dragon carried three squadrons of Miy'til starfighters and a full battalion of 500 troops. Crew requirements were 1,200 personnel plus 190 gunners.
Sidious's wrinkled lips curled into a predatory smile beneath his hood. The Hapes Consortium had finally joined the Confederacy. Their isolationist streak had been broken with careful manipulation, promises of power, and the subtle application of the dark side.
*Ta'a Chume,* he thought with cold satisfaction. *The old Queen Mother played her part well. My marriage to the foolish girl and her weak mother has borne fruit.*
The "clone gift" — advanced cloning technology and neural enhancement techniques offered through hidden Separatist channels — had swayed the Hapan nobility. In exchange, the Consortium's formidable fleet would soon flood CIS ranks. Prince Isolder's crimson flagship, the *Song of War*, would lead at least sixty-three Battle Dragons into battle, each representing one of the Consortium's worlds, supported by Nova-class battle cruisers.
Sidious turned away from the balcony, his yellow eyes glowing faintly in the shadowed chamber. Dagon Marek had disrupted everything — the careful decades-long plan, the hidden web of influence, the slow corruption of the Republic from within. The Dragon's rise, his reforms, his brutal efficiency at Geonosis, and his growing control over the Jedi and military had forced Sidious to abandon Coruscant and fully commit to the Separatist cause.
But now the tide would turn.
"With the Hapan fleet," Sidious rasped to the empty room, voice like poisoned silk, "we will push forward. *Spear of Light* will shatter the Core. The Republic will bleed. And then… I will eliminate Dagon Marek."
He clenched a gloved fist, dark side energy crackling faintly around it.
"Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy. The Jedi will be exterminated. The Dragon's fire will be extinguished, and order — *true* order — will rise from the ashes."
Sidious laughed softly, the sound echoing through the opulent halls of the Hapan palace. In two months, the New Year would bring fire to the heart of the Republic. The Hapan Battle Dragons would be at the forefront, their rotating guns promising death on a scale not seen in centuries.
The game was far from over. And Darth Sidious still held the strongest cards.