**Chapter 798: Foundations of Supremacy**
**Scene 1: Republic Military Headquarters – Coruscant**
**Fleet Admiral Kinaun POV**
The war room was thick with tension and the faint scent of recycled air. Holographic displays floated above the central table, showing casualty reports, fleet positions, and the smoking ruins of three major Separatist strongholds.
"So after the assaults on Serenno, Raxus, and Pammant, the *Mentor* from Kuat suffered minor damage and will require two months to repair," General Valentra reported. "The *Annihilator* took no damage. Five Resurgents are moderately damaged, one destroyed. Eighteen Allegiance-class heavily damaged, eight moderately damaged, three destroyed. Nine Venators destroyed, twenty-five moderately damaged. A total of 59,000 troops from ship crews and pilots are dead."
Valentra paused, then added with grim satisfaction, "But given the success of the fleet, I would say it was a decisive victory."
Dagon stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, mask hiding his expression. "The fact that a Resurgent was destroyed shows we are still vulnerable. We must speed up this campaign."
"Yes," Kinaun agreed, zooming the map outward. "While we have victory in the Outer Rim and secured the Core Worlds, the Colonies remain contested. Three major shipyards, Cato Neimoidia, and a few dozen worlds, plus the Corporate Sector. Then we move to Mon Cala and make the final push into Hutt space."
"Mon Cala seems like it might be a death trap similar to Pammant," General Brom Titus warned. "Their defense orbital ring shipyard will be armed to the teeth, plus the surface of Mon Cala and their deep oceans — where we are out of our element."
Kinaun nodded internally. *That was the trick of it. Apart from Hutt territory, where it would be messy but at least easy given the weakness of the Hutt allies, Mon Cala has their oceans and few surface settlements. And then there's the Hapes…*
"We will divide and conquer," Dagon decided. "At the moment we need to divert CIS forces from raiding our troops currently in Hutt space as well as trapping them. As the main fleet is most likely there, we will target Tatooine. We secured part of that sector with the destruction of Geonosis last year, so we move to cut off Tatooine. Fleet Admiral Palleon, Admiral Piett, Fleet Admiral Kobayashi — you will take ships and deploy to secure the space. No ground campaign yet."
The three admirals nodded sharply, already mentally organizing their task forces.
Dagon's masked gaze swept the room. "We hit them where it hurts — their logistics, their shipyards, their will to fight. The war ends when they have nothing left to fight with."
**Scene 2: Advanced Weapons Division – Classified Republic Facility**
**Dagon POV**
The Republic Special Weapons Group had grown significantly since its quiet reactivation. What began as a small think tank for advanced technologies had become a bustling hub of innovation, now focused almost entirely on kyber-based systems.
Doctor Gubacher and Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic stood at the head of the briefing table. Krennic had recruited top minds — Reeva Demesne, Galen Walton Erso, and over fifty engineers from Sienar-Jaemus and Lantilles who were already experienced with kyber processing. I had made sure of that by showing them the Sith methods from Malachor Prime.
Fleet Admiral Tarkin was also present. His relationship with Palpatine had always been… complicated, but his hatred for Sidious was genuine after the near-destruction of Eriadu years ago. Vice Admiral Rampart stood beside him. Both were loyal to the Republic — and to me as Supreme Commander.
"Now then," I began, "as you all know, the previous status of this group was simple: kyber crystals and processing as a stable fuel and energy source."
I activated the central holoprojector, displaying schematics of several vessels. "Resurgent-class battlecruisers, the *Annihilator*-class Star Dreadnoughts, Nebula-class Star Destroyers, *Olympus Mons*, and a few special Venator-class Star Destroyers have kyber-based reactors. Currently, the Resurgent is our most powerful fleet vessel despite the large crew requirement and size. But luckily, due to the acquisition of the Alsakan fleet, we can begin modifying ships to become Resurgents."
"Our problem lies in the kyber source," Krennic said. "As of this moment, we are down to three tons of kyber in reserve at Lianna."
"Yes. And engineers, that is where you all come in," I replied. "There is a sector and planet suitable for a base of operations for kyber research and building. The Abrion sector in the Outer Rim. It contains over two hundred agriworlds and is relatively quiet."
Tarkin stepped forward, bringing up a detailed planetary profile. "Scarif was a verdant, beautiful if relatively small world, measuring just over nine thousand kilometers in diameter. It had a remote and isolated galactic location in the Abrion sector of the southeast Outer Rim Territories. A deep-blue world speckled with clouds, Scarif was comprised of tropical, volcanic island chains rising from clear, shallow oceans. Deeper oceans teeming with life were surrounded by rocky archipelagos. The planet's mantle was filled with dense metals valuable in starship construction. Scarif's sandy beaches were tranquil and idyllic, and some led into jungle canopies filled with wildlife."
"It would be the ideal world," Tarkin continued. "CIS presence is all but gone due to our Outer Rim campaign."
I nodded. "The source of kyber is simple. Some of you may suggest temples and Jedi kyber worlds. While as Grand Master of the Order I see the benefit, I learned something important: the kyber collected from Malachor was processed and stable. The Sith had already refined it. Jedi kyber is unrefined — unstable — and therefore not worth the trouble for mass production."
"Then how do we go about the collection of kyber?" Rampart asked.
"The Star Crusher — or rather a simpler, smaller version the Sith used to extract power from stars. I will collect the kyber and deliver it. People, I expect everything to be ready or at least operational in two weeks when I deliver the first batch."
The room buzzed with renewed purpose. Krennic's eyes gleamed with ambition. Tarkin gave a thin, satisfied smile.
This was how empires were truly built — not just with fleets, but with the power to fuel them.
**Scene 3: Coruscant Skies – R-16 Skelter**
**Dagon POV**
The skelter hummed smoothly through Coruscant's upper traffic lanes as I flew back from the military meeting. Below me, the endless city-planet stretched in every direction — a glittering monument to civilization and excess.
My mind raced ahead.
A campaign to isolate the CIS. A new kyber-based fleet capable of defeating not only the Confederacy, but the threats that would come after them — the Yuuzhan Vong, and whatever else the galaxy might throw at us. The Imperium of Man from my old memories remained a distant nightmare, but I would prepare for it all the same.
Scarif would become our hidden forge. The Titans and Resurgents would be the spears. The *Annihilator* and *Mentor* would be the hammer.
I leaned back in the pilot's seat, watching the streams of traffic part around my priority clearance. The girls were waiting at the Temple. The war was accelerating. But for the first time in months, I felt something close to certainty.
The Dragon had a plan.
And the galaxy would bend to it.