Despite me drawing a clear-cut line in the sand, stating that the negotiations for the Lucrehulk and the Dreadnought were over, the Rebel Alliance was not prepared to drop it. They were not ready to accept losing the Lucrehulk or the Dreadnought, at least not that easily. For a moment, listening to Commander Vitali again attempt to convince me it was better off with the Rebellion, I contemplated simply standing and leaving. Showing that I was willing to leave the table might be enough to take my words seriously, but it could also come off as a tantrum, an inexperienced negotiator leaving when things aren't going as he planned.

"Perhaps we could negotiate a trade for other ships," Princess Leia suggested, sending a silencing look to Commander Vitali. "The Lucrehulk is a large ship, large enough to put a severe strain on your resources. We could agree to an amount owed, which we would pay in ships of increasing size, as your organization is prepared to utilize them. You receive larger and larger ships as you are prepared to deal with them, while we receive the capital ship we desperately need."

That offer caught me by surprise. The Rebel Alliance was always desperate for starships of any kind, and for her to offer up a material trade rather than credits showed how badly they wanted a ship of this size. Not to mention, it wasn't actually a bad offer. In other circumstances, this would have been a hard offer to deny.

"Had this been any other ship, I would consider that offer, Your Highness," I admitted with a smile. "However, CIS ships are designed to run on an almost completely droid crew. The ship contains more than enough repair and maintenance droids, as well as parts and facilities, to keep the ship working for years without any interference. With small infusions of parts and repairs to droids, you are looking at a decade."

"And if the ship is damaged during combat?" General Dodonna asked. "Do you have the facilities to maintain it then?"

"No, but you do," I pointed out. "And the Rebel Alliance wouldn't refuse to help their allies against the Empire just because they happened to get the better end of a deal, would you?"

"Of course not," Princess Leia said, once again cutting off more words from Commander Vitali. "But they would not come for free."

"Of course, we wouldn't want anything for free," I agreed with a nod. "Shall we now move to negotiations for the other ships? As I have already said, the Lucrehulk and Dreadnought are ours, but everything else is up for barter."

The leaders shared a series of quick looks and nods before, finally, Princess Leia looked back at me and smiled.

"Very well, we will lay the discussion to rest," She said, the look in her eye adding the "For now" clearly as if she had shouted it at me. "Perhaps we should begin by going over the available ships?"

"Removing the ships we already offered as compensation, we have eight ships on the table," I explained. "One Munificent-class star frigate, one Diamond-class cruiser, two Hardcell-class interstellar transports, one of which has the Battle Refit, and four Gozanti Cruisers."

"That is… a significant list of ships," General Dodonna admitted.

"It's under a third of what was there in the first place," I pointed out. "And don't forget, what some of these ships have on board is equally valuable."

I sent the data over to the Rebel leaders, revealing exactly what each ship contained. Cut from that list was anything we had already claimed, including any BX units we found. Before they could dive into the numbers, I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention.

"I suppose the easiest place to start with is the four Gozanti-class cruisers," I suggested. "They don't have much inside save for some minimal supplies and equipment, nothing worth bargaining about. I estimate their worth to be a hundred and fifty thousand credits for each. With your cut discounted, that brings them down to a hundred and twenty thousand."

"The Gozanti is a sturdy ship, but these are old, Admiral Deacon," General Syndulla said with a frown. "That's not much less than an entirely new ship would cost."

"They are well maintained, our teams have been working hard to check for any of the usual problems," I assured her before nodding slightly. "But you do have a point. A hundred thousand for each one."

"Three hundred and fifty thousand for all four," She suggested.

"Three hundred and eighty."

"...Fine, you have a deal."

"Fantastic, I'm glad we could reach at least one satisfactory sale," I said with a smile. "When we are done and receive payment, we will share their coordinates with you."

She nodded in agreement before General Dodonna spoke up, seeing that we were done, a frown on his face.

"Admiral Deacon, if you are looking to charge at the same rate as you just did… I'm afraid we will not be able to afford all of these ships, as well as the cargo they contain, especially not all at once," He admitted. "Following your estimations of value, we are looking at nearly fifty million credits for the ships and potentially another ten to fifteen in ground equipment."

"I am aware, which is why I have some alternative offers. You were able to secure a planetary shield system for this base," I pointed out. "I understand that those sorts of systems are not just expensive but also rare."

"Getting them can be difficult…. However, we may be able to procure more, but it won't be easy," General Rieekan admitted. "For obvious reasons, they are illegal for civilian purchase, and those sold to settlements or cities are highly regulated. They also require large power generators, which we could get as well, but would increase the cost, nearly doubling it."

"I would like the most powerful one you can get your hands on, as well as a power system robust enough to power it at full charge," I explained. "In exchange, I will give you both of the Hardcells, as well as the Hailfire-class droid tanks they have on board. That's a ten million credit value easily, even including your cut, for both the cost and your contacts in procuring a planetary scale shield system."

"That… I believe that would be an acceptable trade," General Rieekan agreed with a nod, casting his eyes over the rest of the leaders.

"Good. We will deliver the starships once we have the opportunity to examine the shield and power system," I said with a nod, the general wincing but also nodding in agreement.

In reality, the Hardcells were barely worth anything to me. They were primarily transport ships and not very good ones at that, so I was happy to see them gone. Especially since the Hailfire droids they were filled with were one-time use at best, and money a trap at worst. Their missile systems were adequate, yes, but the vehicles were way too big for what they could do. On top of that, they were difficult to maintain, the missiles were incredibly expensive, and once they ran out, if they couldn't keep up with production, each tank only had a pair of small laser cannons, barely worth mentioning for a vehicle that size.

Not to mention how big of a target their missile arrays were.

If I had to take them, I would either throw them at the enemy as disposable weapons while I did my business or immediately disassemble two-thirds of the convoy and station them on a craft capable of rapid deployment, like the Whale Shark. I would use them until their parts and missiles ran out before selling them for scrap or just returning to the original idea and throwing them away as distractions. Either way, trading them and the two ships that carried them was well worth a planetary shield system that could cover a couple hundred miles of Nirn, obviously including Vercopa.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Now, concerning the Diamond-Class. Currently, it has some light damage but contains four hundred and fifty OG-9 spider droids and two thousand DSD1 dwarf spider droids," I said after a moment. "I want one hundred of the OG-9s and a thousand of the DSD1s, but the rest are yours. However, I should warn you, between the units on board, I estimate that the Diamond class is worth at least fourteen to seventeen million credits. And yes, that does include reducing the price for the damage and because the droid units are used."

"That is a significant price tag," Princess Leia responded. "These larger droid weapons, do their limbs not present a large weakness?"

"It is their primary one, yes," General Dodonna said, focusing on his tablet and not entirely paying attention to the Princess. "But do not underestimate them. Their primary weapons are substantial. A group of six could take down a Corellian Corvette in short order if it stopped moving."

Seeming to realize who he had been talking to, he looked up to find Princess Leia eyeing him, having firmly shut down her attempt to probably lower the price of the droid weapons. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"I understand they are expensive, but I believe in the right hands, they will be extremely effective," I assured them. "Deploying them as defensive forces, as movable heavy weapons alone would make them worth the credits."

"That may be true, but I cannot invest that much money at once, especially with your other ship, the Munificent, still on the table," Princess Leia explained.

"Well then, how about another trade to lessen the price?" I asked, continuing when the Alderanian princess gestured for me to continue. "Two squadrons of A-wings, as well as the exact technical information so we can make our own repairs. For that, I will cut eight million credits off of the price tag, bringing it down to seven million credits. With your cut, that would be five point five million."

"Deacon, every starfighter we have is precious," Luke said, finally speaking up. "Especially hyperspace-capable ones. We use them to guard supply transport ships and do hit-and-run missions."

"Besides, asking for the technical data is too much," Commander Vitali pointed out, shaking her head. "It would allow you to produce your own if you managed to secure production equipment."

"I am aware, which is why I offered so much for both," I explained.

The truth was that while I loved the X-wing, I wanted A-wings badly. Not only would they be the perfect match for our pocket carriers since two could fit on each side of a hangar bay-modified C-Roc, but their incredible speed and maneuverability matched perfectly with my pilot's enhanced dexterity. Not to mention that if the Rebellion could puzzle out how to produce them without proper mass factories, so could I.

"You intend to manufacture A-wings?" Princess Leia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't see why we shouldn't," I responded. "They are fast, maneuverable starfighters, and their small size means they are easier to fit in small hangars. We are allies against the Empire, correct? Is allowing us to build a competent starfighter really a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily," General Syndulla admitted. "But the plans for all our starfighters are top secret. We can't just sell them."

"To be frank, General Syndulla, that's a load of crap. Your starfighter supply line consists of mechanics shops and small-time workers producing ships by hand. At this point, you starfighters borderline artistic custom pieces rather than mass-produced items," I pointed out, giving Luke a look. "I know for a fact that X-wings are notoriously "custom" for each shop that produces them. Have you ever seen wood paneling or maybe a hand-painted console?"

"I… will admit things like that are not uncommon," Luke responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Those don't exactly sound like state-of-the-art secure facilities," I pointed out, crossing my arms and leaning back. "How hard would I really have to look on the black market before someone handed those plans to me for some spare change and a free meal?"

I let them stew in my statement for a while before finally continuing.

"Look, I'm giving you an opportunity to save some credits by trading something that has, realistically, no real value," I explained with a shrug. "I could just as easily take them myself or go off and find a different suitable starfighter. I hear MandalMotors have some interesting designs, so maybe we should buy a few starfighters from them."

"The Empire more or less controls MandalMotors," Luke corrected.

"The point remains. We could steal some plans, buy some, bribe them out of someone, or even earn them through good deeds. Either way, you would lose out on a good deal."

"If that is the price to add this starship to our fleet…" Princess Leia trailed off before smiling. "Then perhaps the Skyforged could be added to our list of designated producers of A-wings. So long as you occasionally sell us one, then so what if you decided to make some of them for yourself…"

I could see General Syndulla and Luke smiling, both of them realizing pretty quickly what Princess Leia's plan was. It was smart, a solid way to both get me what I wanted and appease anyone who might have issues with handing over these designs. Unfortunately, it was also precisely what I wanted to avoid. No under-the-table deals, no friendly winks as we reap unofficial benefits. No off-the-record payments to keep people from catching on.

"No, I'm sorry, but that is not acceptable," I said, shaking my head. "As I stated before, the Skyforged Vanguard does not feel as if the Rebel Alliance can be trusted to deal in good faith, or with assurances, IOUs, or any sort of under-the-table manner. This is not a casual deal being done between buddies. This is a business transaction being done between two allies. I refuse to leave us open for future reprisal when someone "suddenly" realizes we shouldn't have access to the plans and demands we stop."

All of the Rebel leaders looked stunned at my statement and swift dismissal of the Princess' solution. All of them save the Princess herself. Instead, she looked as if she had seen my response coming.

"I see," She responded, nodding in understanding. "In that case, you have to understand the situation. We cannot unilaterally decide to hand out these plans. It is not a choice we could make alone."

"Unfortunate, but very well," I accepted easily. "In that case, we amend the deal to nine million credits and two squadrons of A-wings."

"Again, I will have to discuss that with others, but I see that deal being much more agreeable," She responded. "Is there anything else you could accept as a trade? On top of or instead of the starfighter squadrons?"

"At the moment, no."

"Then, perhaps, now might be a good time for a recess," Princess Leia suggested, standing with a serene, calm smile. "I would like some time to contact others and discuss amongst ourselves, as I'm sure you would as well. After that, I would like to invite you to a short meal."

"I believe that would be wise," I nodded. "We shall return to our ships, come find us when you are ready."