Built Mando Tough

[Captain Larraq]

Larraq arched an eyebrow and stared at the man in disbelief for a moment. “Twice what our Corvettes can field?” He asked incredulously.

“She's running light on ordnance, but her overall weapons profile is impressive. Four heavy turbolaser cannons, four heavy ion cannons, five heavy quad-laser turrets... Even when you include the small, variable ordnance tube, she's still the proud owner of over twice the firepower of current Nabula-class Corvettes.”

“That is impressive.” Larraq said after a moment of pause. “What other secrets does she keep?” Larraq asked the room.

“That's actually about it.” Said the woman with the neat uniform and glasses.

 

[Captain Larraq]

“Good.” Said Rygel Larraq as he tapped on the glass touchscreen on the table. The overhead projector hummed as it powered on and produced a scale replica of the Scion-class Corvette that ran half the length of the table. “As of this moment, we plan to replace the existing reactor with one twice as powerful. What can we do to her primary thrusters, maneuvering thrusters, and hyperdrive engine to make use of her new heart?”

“If we can carve away at some of that cargo space,” began the man with the mustache, “I think we can get nearly twice the drive unit packed into her. And if we reinforce and fill in the hollow section in her belly, I think we'll have plenty of room for one of the advanced hyperdrives that R&D has been working on.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“I like it.” Larraq said. “How much of the new reactor's output will that soak up?”

“At best... Maybe twenty percent. But the new units will drastically improve her performance in realspace and hyperspace.” Responded the man with the mustache.

“Good. I want you working with this young woman.” Said Rygel Larraq, indicating the mousy young woman currently crunching numbers with the help of a few associates sitting near her. “I want absolutely optimal correlation between the new reactor and these new propulsion systems.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“About the retrofit parameters...” Began an older man with graying hair. “The client asked for space for advanced metallurgic and manufacturing facilities. If you're willing to carve up the cargo space on this ship, I think we can go above and beyond in what we give this girl.”

“I'm listening.” Larraq said as he gave his attention to the older man.

“I drafted up some designs while everyone was taking a nap.” He began as he began typing on the touchscreen. “And I think we can squeeze in a full medical bay and laboratory, in addition to a scaled down factory and metallurgy bay.” Four small compartments came to life in the center of the hologram as it zoomed in on the previously empty area of ship.

 

[Captain Larraq]

“Good work.” Larraq said to the man. He was impressed with the initiative and his willingness to push through the demanding schedule to complete this. “When we're done here I want you to get some rest though. Have someone touch up the designs you came up with. I want us to get optimal use out of every inch of this design.” So far, the meeting was going exceptionally smoothly. It was a testament to the skill of the men and woman he employed. Larraq took a sip of his coffee and glanced around the room at the various teams of engineers that were busily drafting one aspect of the retrofit or another. The rest simply tried not to stare at him while they struggled to come up with further innovations.

 

[Captain Larraq]

“While we're on the topic of internal improvements, I want us to take some of the design elements from the design of the Ordo-class Frigate and Concordia-class Dreadnought. The client asked for the capacity to repel all boarders. We can already see that this design doesn't leave much room for a force of Marines, so the ship itself needs to be able to defend itself.” Larraq typed a few buttons on his touchscreen and the hologram moved and shifted in response. Hallways and internal corridors were highlighted as Larraq continued speaking. “I want the ship broken down into several sections. I want each section's life support systems to be completely isolated from the rest of the ship. I want self-sealing bulkhead doors and redundant life-support systems. We're going to hide a little surprise in her walls.” Larraq said with a sly smile. “I want her capable of sustaining over a dozen non-standard atmospheres with reserve systems of gasses and liquids. But hidden in that mix I also want a number of known toxins. Mainly Stun Gas and the active element in ForceBreaker grenades. But if you can manage to safely squeeze something a little more devious in there, go for it.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

“In addition, I want hundreds of turrets recessed into the walls, floors, and ceilings of every major corridor in the ship.” Larraq continued as small dots began appearing on the hologram at areas he was indicating. “What do we have in the way of weaponry?” Larraq asked.

A few of the engineers exchanged glances before the young girl with the mousy hair responded. “We have a few new heavy machine guns... But they'd tare the hull apart.”

“Would a centimeter of Beskar prevent that?” Larraq asked flatly.

 

[Captain Larraq]

A few more glances passed between engineers. One of them gasped in shock at the implications. It was rare to sell Beskar to a non-Mandalorian. Let alone on the scale of an entire starship lined with the precious metal. Eventually though, the mousy girl answered. “Yes... But it would be a very expensive modification to make. Not to mention balancing out the weight difference.”

“The cost isn't an issue. Fix the balance problems and make it work.” Larraq said pointedly to the woman.

 

[Captain Larraq]

“What sort of targeting system did you have planned for these weapons, sir?” Asked the young engineer.

“I don't know. What do we have to work with?” Larraq answered with another question.

“Well... We successfully reduced the weight and size of the targeting systems of the Kebii'tra Weapons Platform as well as miniaturizing the processor for the droid... We managed to work it into a prototype starfighter recently. I think we could expand on those modifications and program it for these new weapon platforms you've proposed.” Said the young engineer, obviously an electronics and software specialist.

 

[Captain Larraq]

“I like it.” Said Rygel Larraq. “Do what you have to do.”

“In addition to this.” Larraq began. “I want the existing plating for this ship removed and replace with the same weight in Beskar plating.”

A few of the engineers gasped. More than one palmed their face. “You want the entire ship plated in Beskar... Inside and out?” Asked one of the older engineers. “I don't know if that's ever been done.”

“I don't care what has or has not been done in the past. It will get done now.” Larraq retorted curtly. “This consumer is the single most valuable customer this company has outside of Mandalorian borders. We will prove to her the value of doing business with Mandal Hypernautics.” Larraq said as he slammed his fist on the table. “Now that is the last time I expect any of you to question your employer on the matter.”

 

[Captain Larraq]

Rygel Larraq's gaze drifted along the table as he looked each and every one of his engineers in the eye in turn. “Now what else do you have for me?” He asked with steel in his voice.

“The vault.” Offered the older mandalorian. “We could make that out of Beskar too.” He said. A few of the other engineers exchanged looks once more, but this time in an optimistic manner. It was dawning on them that they were truly making something special here.

“If the vault is made of Beskar, it could easily survive the destruction of the ship. Assuming anything has enough firepower to blow up a ship with Beskar plating.” Said the man with the red ponytail. “We might as well make the vault include its own life support system. We could put it on rails and include an emergency eject port for the thing. Like an armored drop pod.”

“I like it.” Larraq said. “Make two.”