Summary: Finishing up their quest/vacation!
Warning! Chapters 48-51 were all published back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any of the new chapters!
Chapter 51: An End to the Vacation
Despite having found his lightsaber crystal, as well as collection of useful holocrons and artifacts besides, they didn't leave Tython right away. In part, that was because Izuku discovered the hard way that it was much more difficult to connect to the Infinity Gate from outside its pocket dimension. In fact, without the boost from the Mantle of the Force, he was fairly sure it wouldn't have been possible at all, and they'd have been stuck trying to use the Force to map a viable hyperspace lane out instead.
As it was, it took Izuku a few days of meditation and Aayla's guidance in attuning the crystal before he could connect to the Gate solidly enough to let them leave safely. The majority of that time he spent alone and in meditation, which allowed Aayla and Mei to put themselves and the Wandering Fate to other uses. Specifically, they used the ship to scout around the planet, trying to discover what was still around and what the cause of the technobeasts was. A few scattered Jedi Temples, far older than the one they'd first encountered, were discovered, as were the remnants of several abandoned cities and settlements of various ages.
Of more practical importance, the duo successfully tracked the technobeasts back to their source. That source appeared to be a black-durasteel fortress that looked suspiciously like a decently sized military base. The only good news was that it appeared to be long abandoned, save for the technobeasts themselves, with the archaeology programs still loaded into the Fate from its original owner estimating its age to be somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 years old. That placed it as likely being a remnant of the New Sith Wars. Though the possibility of it having been built by a survivor, one that might have eventually trained a new order of Sith, was plausible enough that they'd likely still have to bring up its existence to Master Tholme when they had a chance.
They had also, to Mei's glee, managed to find a few small stockpiles of unaligned lightsabers crystals of varying kinds. None of them were anything special…but that was the exact reason that Mei was gleeful about finding them, as it meant no one would protest overmuch if she experimented with them. She still really wanted to figure out what bullshit happened with them to make them amplify energy the way they did, even if Aayla and Izuku both warned her it might not be a physical property of the crystals themselves that did it. Then again, she did have access to some samples of Force-based technology as well. So who knew? Maybe she'd figure out something to do with them.
Regardless, it was almost five days after their arrival that Izuku was finally able to reconnect well enough with the Infinity Gate to pull them back to the pocket dimension, after which they transferred back to Felucia in a matter of minutes. There, they'd made a quick stop to pick up what the droids had managed to transcribe from the database, discovering they'd still only gotten about seven percent of the total. That was still enough to make Mei even happier, and they'd left the droids to continue the data copying as they used the Infinity Gate to transfer the Wandering Fate straight into orbit. They'd done so well clear of the few sensor platforms the Commerce Guild maintained, allowing them to easily slip back out of the system as if they were never there.
After which, it had finally come time for Izuku to assemble his new lightsaber.
It was another of those 'let the Force guide you' moments that Izuku expected he'd have probably failed utterly at before the quest for the crystal itself. Which, well, fine. He could admit that he needed to pay more attention to that sort of thing, at least when the Force bluntly smacked him over the head with it hard enough, often enough. As it was, he was far slower about the assembly than Aayla or another properly trained Jedi might have been…but he still got there in the end.
Snapping the lightsaber on, he was pleased by the rich turquoise color his attunement to the crystal had produced. Aayla, watching from nearby to make sure nothing went wrong, clapped enthusiastically as he put it through its paces, feeling how much more natural it was compared to his borrowed blade.
"Excellent! Now, we just need to find somewhere with enough room that we can duel properly to get used to it. If the boosts effect your Force usage as much as the Heart of the Guardian effected mine, you'll need a fair few hours of practice to fully adjust."
Izuku nodded, even as he kept flowing through forms with the blade.
"I think it won't be quite as bad, since I've already been using its primary boost while trying to connect to the Infinity Gate. But you're right that I should certainly get some practice in. We still have a few days of vacation left, anyway…and Mei could use a distraction to pull her away from her new toys before she exhausts herself."
Aayla grinned and held out a dataslate for him as he deactivated his new blade.
"Way ahead of you! I've found us a nice place to spend the last few days of the trip…and I have a great idea how to distract Mei!"
A thrill shot through him as images of what Aayla had in mind flashed through their bond. Izuku gulped, and quickly focused on the dataslate with single minded intensity…
... ...
Given just how massive the Republic was, and how varied its worlds, Izuku should not have been surprised that Aayla somehow found an entire paradise world that was the next best thing to a nudist commune. That said, he sort of was surprised, if only because it was hard to imagine such a world surviving in the relative violence of the galaxy at large. Or, well, it had been hard to imagine until he'd gotten sucked into the fascinating reading about the local species.
While the orange-skinned locals, aside from being an average of 2.5 meters tall, appeared pretty 'near-human,' they very much were not. Not under the skin, at least. Tamorian biology was extremely alien, to the point that their near-human appearance screamed that someone had done heavy bio-tinkering to this race in the past. There was no other explanation for a race that looked like orange skinned, extremely tall, near-universally attractive humans…who absorbed specific wavelengths of light to empower them to the point that their children could bench press an unpowered aircar.
Yeah, there was a reason no one had ever successfully invaded them. They were scary strong, could shoot energy projectiles formed from the light they absorbed, and didn't need space suits to go extra-atmospheric. The few idiots that had tried to invade them in the past had found random civilian Tamorians flying up to rip docking hatches open by main force, then punching their way through a ship's crew until everyone was dead. Frankly, the only reason very few people knew they existed, or cared for that matter, was because it was the next best thing to impossible for them to leave their star system.
While the light from the local binary star might empower them, it was also critical to keeping them alive, and rare. After all, it wasn't just a binary star, but a binary pair of B-Type stars. B-type main-sequence stars might have huge habitable zones…but they were also one of the rarest types of stars in existence. For there to be a binary B-Type? Frankly, it screamed Celestial tinkering in the distant past. Ramor and Remor, the binary stars of the Tamor system, were in fact the only known example of the phenomenon in the galaxy. There were multiple habitable planets in the system, but this single system was also the only place in the galaxy that had the right light mixture for Tamorians to survive. Meaning if they wanted to leave the system, they had to artificially recreate the light mixture. Even then it wasn't good for them, since no one had ever gotten it perfectly right. A few weeks was fine. Any longer? That was a quick way to end up with a sick and dying Tamorian.
So, no one was insane enough to try invading the Outer Rim world and the Tamorians couldn't really leave. They also, due to their durability and the fact they partially lived off of skin-absorbed sunlight, hadn't developed any nudity taboo at all. The fact that the species was relatively friendly, was mostly agrarian, and was quite willing to trade with everyone so long as you didn't try to cheat them? Well, all of that had resulted in it being a popular spot for traders to stop, even if they did lose the occasional crewman to an overenthusiastic Tamorian accidently crushing them during sex. Death by Snu Snu was very possible here, if you weren't durable enough to handle the locals' strength.
Thankfully for those trade ships with crew that wanted fun on leave, quite a few enterprising members of various species had taken the opportunity of a paradise world where nudity and sex were completely normal and run with it. Twi'leks, Zeltrons, humans and more had all set up their own little resorts that catered to off-worlders. All of them clothing discouraged, to fit in with the 'local culture.'
Of course, Aayla hadn't booked them for one of those resorts. Instead, she'd just gotten them a nice suite at a local hotel, in the middle of a local city, and insisted they all embrace 'local culture.' That meant that the locals, both Tamorians and immigrants alike, hadn't so much as batted an eye as Aayla had led them strolling down the Fate's ramp and into the city, buck naked save for her lightsaber belt with her blades and a comm attached. Mei, utterly shameless as she was, had joined her without hesitation. Her curvy body bounced freely as she cheerfully strode down the street with nothing but a toolbelt on.
Frankly, Izuku was extremely glad that his studies in the more physical aspects of the Force had given him the ability to suppress certain…reactions. Aayla and Mei were more than enough of a glorious eyeful for him to have been 'standing at attention' otherwise, and that wasn't even considering the gorgeous locals who were all roaming around in similar states of undress. Among the locals, you could see that jewelry and bits of body paint were the closest most of them bothered to clothing, and even that was just to accessorize. Apparently, the wrist-comms they all wore served for ID and money transfers, making few of them even need something like the belts Aayla and Mei wore.
Even with the Force, Izuku's willpower was running very thin by the time they made it to their hotel suite.
Which is when Mei decided it was time to be herself and shatter that little thread of remaining willpower.
"Awesome! We're here! Is this where you two fuck my brains out? I've been waiting for it! The increased horniness around you two has been very distracting and slowing down my work, as I have to masturbate three times a day!"
Aayla froze for just a heartbeat, before bursting into giggles and sweeping an excited Mei into a breast-squishing hug. Izuku, meanwhile, gave into the inevitable as his exposed dick sprang to attention with the images Mei had just forced into his brain.
"Ohhh! It is! Izuku's ready already!"
Aayla's giggles redoubled, slowing the process of bringing any sort of order to the situation, and forcing Izuku to start the conversation that Aayla had previously promised to handle. All while his brain was not exactly the center of his blood flow. This was very not fair, and he would absolutely be finding a creative 'punishment' for Aayla after this for abandoning him at a critical social moment. That was supposed to be her field, not his!
"Um…Mei, we should probably, you know…talk about things first?"
Mei tilted her head in confusion, but thankfully Aayla got over her giggles enough to take over.
"Mei, I know you're close to Izuku, even if I'm not sure even you have realized that you've had a crush on him for years."
Mei stiffened, and Aayla nodded.
"Ah, you did realize. When?"
For the first time since Izuku had met her, Mei actually looked shy, looking away from Aayla's gaze.
"Um…the elf lady, she sort of helped? But I didn't quite get it. But then…Bubbles and MegaMilk…"
Aayla just nodded.
"A team effort, then. Well, I'm glad they finally helped you realize! It makes this easier. We aren't just asking you here for sex. Well, not only sex. We want you to properly join our relationship. We were pretty sure you were interested…but—"
Aayla oofed as Mei abruptly grabbed her in another hug, showing off just how strong she actually was as she made Aayla's ribs creak.
"Yes! Yes, I want that…but we are going to have kinky sex, too, right?"
Aayla giggled again and nodded.
"Yes, Mei. Lots of sex. We've got days before we need to be anywhere, after all!"
With that, she took the initiative and grabbed the pinkette's chin, capturing her in a kiss…
... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: So, Tamor is NOT a Star Wars world. Instead, I cheated like a bitch and based it (which may not ever appear again) off Tamaran from DC (Where Starfire and Blackfire are from). It's not a one-for-one comparison, obviously. I created the limitation on their travel mostly to explain why such a 'powerful' species wasn't known much to the rest of the galaxy. I always did find it amusing/interesting that the logic the artists/writers that worked with Starfire used to explain her not really having a nudity taboo actually made sense. If you absorb solar energy for power, and are basically immune to heat/cold/day-to-day damage...why would you wear much in the way of clothes? It would only get in the way of charging up easier. Anyway, minor semi-cameo is minor.
A/N 2: Yes, I am cruel and didn't actually include a lemon of their first time with Mei. Frankly, for some reason, it just didn't feel like it fit here? I might show it as a flashback or something? Maybe even as just a random extra I throw in at some point? I also wanted to note that I did consider going with a more romantic approach and slowly easing Mei into the relationship...until I realized that doing so very much just doesn't fit Mei's personality. So, blunt wrecking ball method instead, after a suitable bit of leadup in the last few releases!
A/N 3: I only mention this once per release, but my stories have a Patreon page where some early access content is available. In example, I just released chapters 52-55 of Displaced Hero there, giving it just over an additional 16,000 more words which will remain in early access until next month. Similarly, there are at least a few Early Access chapters there for ALL of my stories, though NONE of them are ever permanently paywalled. All fanfiction content I make ends up here (or on Fanfiction.net and Questionable Questing) eventually, as new content for each story is released.
Patreon
I keep thinking I should do a chapter actually featuring those two, but never seem to get around to it.
Sudden shades of DC lol. I look forward to Mei building Kiber crystal power armor, I can already imagine her flying around like iron man blasting clankers and clones.
Personally I would view her as the type to be more indirect if she ever does get involved in combat. So maybe ride in some sort of combat droid. Maybe something on the scale of a dwarf spider droid, so that she can be free from the distractions of combat, and it is still small enough to go many places.
Actually I find it weird that Mei hasn't yet created any droids that could become their own characters. Given how easy it is to give limited intelligence to even small droids (mouse droids have displayed some level of personality, such as the one that basically shits itself on the Death Star), I would assume some of her creations would have droid intelligence installed, and she wouldn't wiped them often enough to prevent personalities from emerging.
@SuperBort If I remember correctly Mei has intentionally ensured the droids she makes are non-sapients/sophonts. I can easily see her building some sort of mech as well once she starts to see walkers.
@WhiteNekoKnight This, mostly. The starfighters have regular droid intelligences that have backups on their carriers, in order to make them the best possible wingmen for their organic partners. But we haven't actually seen any interaction with those droids 'on screen' as it were. The commando droids are specifically non-sophont as Mei would consider their role to be unethical in the doctrine as they use them if they were. I have considered her making her own assistant droid at some point, but haven't had a good place to introduce one just yet.
As for a mech...she is a mad scientist from Japan ;-). Of course she's going to want a giant robot! Honestly, the only thing I have yet to decide is the size and exact role of said giant robots. I'm currently debating between something like D'va's 'Tokki' mech from overwatch (just over 2 meters, more like power armor), something like a Titan from Titanfall (roughly 6 meters), or significantly more ridiculous like a Gundam Mobile Suit (20+ meters). Along with which of them, if any, would be piloted versus droid controlled. I'm still fiddling with their ground force composition overall, actually, which is why I haven't mentioned them much. I don't like either the Clone Army or CIS combinations. Both are pretty hideously flawed and Mei would laugh derisively at how poorly though through their force mix was. Getting the force mix correct is another matter, though. The Empire actually did quite a bit better, but still had some weaknesses in overreliance on walkers where hover tanks or hover-capable artillery platforms would have served much better.
@NovusPeregrine Tokki! I've seen so many of the other types of mechs I can't help but root for the smaller ones. I'd say you're to hard on the Republic and CIS army's, but at the start of the war the clones have literally 1 ship type while the CIS is made up of random security droids. The Empire/Republic had the best military by the end of the war with a proper arms mix, before swapping over to fear tactics.
@NovusPeregrine I'd say she wouldn't be big on actually piloting, more just building combat mechs for others. So her personal setup would likely be more of a support unit, and it would likely be controlled by a droid brain.
It would likely have tools for working on mechanical stuff in the field (for example improved lifting capabilities to help move disabled vehicles), and maybe some electronic warfare functions since Mei would have a much better understanding of the tech.
While replusor tech vehicles are definitely a key part of any Star Wars army, they do have draw backs. They likely give off far more emissions than walkers, tracked, or wheeled vehicles. There is tech that can disrupt their drive system over large areas. They also interact poorly when entering large scale energy shields. And let's not forget how common ion weapons are.
A good idea to pursue would be mixed crewed vehicles. Basically something similar to a modern tank, but only the commander position is filled by a living being. Such units could function without a commander, but would lack the ability to carry out complex maneuvers, especially in large groups, or during complex operations. While most of the functions would be carried out by one or more droid brains the commander could take control of various systems when necessary. It would also be possible to communicate complex plans to the droid part through various means.
The elite forces could be designed to take advantage of improved man-machine interface technology in the Star Wars universe. They have the tech to allow someone to fully control an artificial hand, so why not use the technology with the equivalent of power armour, or a mini mecha? Basically creating something like the mobile infantry from the original Starship Troopers book (the one from the 1950s).
@SuperBort Why wouldn't she take to the field or pilot her own mech? She may be a Support Hero but she's still a hero. I have a harder time imagining Mei staying out of a fight.
@WhiteNekoKnight There are many roles in combat besides just bashing the other guy's head in with a rock. Conducting field repairs, disabling enemy systems, jamming or spoofing the other side's sensors on the fly, and more, are vital roles in large scale combat. Those are roles best suited to someone with tech know how.
Mei might be willing to fight on the frontlines as an assualt trooper, but her skills would go much farther as a combat engineer. Once things scale up enough, specialist roles become incredibly potent force multipliers.
The presence of droid units amongst their army would also mean that her skills could be very useful assisting them.
@SuperBort She could also build a Supreme commander style mech and do all that from the front lines. In the end it's up to Mei.
@WhiteNekoKnight Well, that's one vote for the power armor style :-p. As for the CIS and Republic, I actually have more issues with their choices of ground vehicles than anything. the Armored Assault Tank was an extremely good design...which makes it weird as heck how little was seen of it. The DSD1 wasn't bad, either. But the Hailfire and Persuader droids were...very horrible choices. Basically only usable in open terrain. Which is a horrific general design for something you're going to deploy on hundreds of worlds. The Clone Army was worse, since the AT-RT was the most horrifically dumb walker design of all time. Yes, let's just put a clone in regular armor higher up so he had no cover and can get sniped instantly (assuming the droids they were facing weren't horrible shots. They were, which is the only reason the AT-RT worked at all). While the AT-TE suffered serious mobility issues. It would have been a decent walker if it wasn't basically their catch-all. Offered as heavy support for an assault skimmer or similar, it would have been fine. But it was so slow and so terrain-limited that it was barely ever useful as more than stationary artillery.
@SuperBort My problem with the force mix of both the CIS and Clone Army is that they basically didn't use repulsor vehicles at all. The only hover unit either side had, so far as I can remember, the AAT hover tank the CIS used. There are 100% legit arguments for having some walkers or tracked vehicles. The biggest one being the shield issue you mentioned. But since the vast majority of battles took place at least partially away from shielded locations, there was literally zero excuse not to have at least a decent ground attack skimmer. You might not be able to take them into a final assault on a fortified position, but getting you there in the first place without being pounded to pieces as your walked takes an hour to crawl into position while being pounded by artillery you should have been able to zero with a ground attack repulsor vehicle? Moronic.
@ Both of You
Mei is unlikely to take the field often in direct combat. It's really not her thing. So far as I know, support course students are not heroes. The only time in the entire MHA series that might fights anyone is during the Sports Festival, where she use Izuku and Iida as living advertisements. She is capable of fighting, if she needs to. But I don't really read her as someone that would seek it out intentionally. Not when she could be happily making a new 'baby' instead. She is, effectively, one of the main R&D heads for their faction, too. Which isn't someone that should end up on the front line, really. She'll gleefully design Battlemechs for others, though...and might want to pilot one once or twice just to say she had her own giant robot. Past that, she'd probably stick a droid brain in hers as a pilot.
@NovusPeregrine The Republic had the TX-130 Saber-class fighter tank for repulser craft. It came in later in the war. The main reason we didn't see all that much hardware is because of budget constraints for the animators and the movies. They also had some speeder bikes, but they where less common than the scout walkers. What mobility issues did the AT-TE have? The only terrain it couldn't cross was sand and swamps, and they made a hover version for that.
@WhiteNekoKnight Those things were super slow. Out in the open they would be easy pickings to stuff like artillery, or air strikes.
To be honest an ACU should never be risked in direct combat unless necessary, and is more of a support unit. I mean its best ability is the fact it can build just about anything given time and resources.
@NovusPeregrine Yeah, hover units definitely have a place. It is sort of like the tracked vs wheeled debate for modern AFVs. Both have benefits, so if you have the resources have a mix of the two, and use whichever is best for a particular role.
In terms of her personal giant robot, is she more of a fan of real or super robots? I could see her creating both options, but feel that Star Wars definitely leans more towards real robots.
An interesting option would be a spider tank like those in Ghost in the shell. First off they are a classic concept that shows up in other series too. Secondly they are effectively independent droids that have the option of carrying a human if necessary, but can otherwise function on their own. Heck they tend to develop into individual characters.
It would allow for a way for Mei to enter combat were necessary without becoming "the load". It would introduce a droid character that could function independently from her, but also assist her in her preferred work. Finally it would fit established styles for both Star Wars and MHA.
Also before I forget, what about C-3PO? He would have been at the shop working away with Anakin's mother. He would have been useful to translate for the Jawas, and would definitely help her in her new position. Has he been totally forgotten? I mean if Anakin has no reason to return to the shop (his mother isn't there, nor will she be murdered the same way), and C-3PO is left there, then he will be unable to fill any of his canon roles.
@WhiteNekoKnight Huh. I didn't know the TX-130 even existed. Which goes to show you how little it was seen, I guess :-p. It looks like it only ever appeared in two videogames (Star Wars Rebels: Imperial Heist and a DLC for Battlefront II). Somehow it doesn't shock me that video game designers decided the Republic needed a Hover unit and just...made one. They pay a lot more attention to force balances than animators :-p.
As for the AT-TE...it had trouble with basically anything that wasn't a flat plane. You already mentioned sand and swamps. But...Mountains? Good luck. Forest? Technically it can do that...if it wastes all its time acting like a logging unit instead of artillery and it's never going to hit anything inside a forest. Ice? Only if you're 100% sure it's permafrost like on Hoth. Anywhere else, its weight is focused enough it's likely to fall through into the water. And...well...you get the idea. The AT-TE is honestly more an artillery piece than it is a tank, but they used it like a tank because they didn't have anything else. The Saber Class helps, but even then they are still missing some basics, like a decent APC. They basically had the LAATs for quick movement and...nothing else. Which, given the limited capacity of the LAATs and the sheer number of other roles they had to fill, was a dumbass decision on someone's part. A lot of the fights we see in the Clone Wars could have been resolved in a fraction of the time if they just had a decent mobility option.
@SuperBort Mei's style is something I've been trying to translate to a Sci-fi setting with mixed results. Her canon MHA style is fairly Steampunk. But that doesn't really fit Star Wars very well. Which is why I've settled on more of a Cyberpunk aesthetic for her in a futuristic setting. That sticks to the 'punk' vibe and is still visually different enough from most of Star Wars tech to give their end result faction a unique look. How that affects Real vs Super robots would probably mean a lean towards something like the Arasaka Minotaur (https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Militech_Minotaur#) or the previously mention Tokki suit that D'va uses in Overwatch.
@NovusPeregrine So the only reason I know about the military hardware of the Republic and the CIS is because I watched far to many military breakdown videos. I enjoy hearing about all the fictional systems and the like. The AT-TE can handle the mountains terrain rather well according to lore, especially as it can climb up vertical cliffs. You're right other wise. As for having an APC, well you'll love this. They simply cut the top off of an AT-TE and made an open topped troop carrier version called the AT-OT. Have you seen the A4 Juggernaut? It's probably one of the few vehicles you'll like. They only showed it during the Wookie battle during the third movie. Oh and the UT-AT is the repulser version of the AT-TE, you might like that one as well. You'll probably laugh at the AT-AP, it was better artillery than the AT-TE.
@WhiteNekoKnight ...I can respect the field engineers who would likely have been the ones to try making the AT-OT, but that is a terrible plan. APCs are suppose to be fairly fast -_-. I actually remember reading about the A4 in another piece of fanfiction but couldn't remember its name. Looking it up now, I can see why I didn't, as it was apparently a centuries old model that Kuat had around and was simply pressed into service for the Clone Wars? Though it looks like they might have made the A5 late in the Clone Wars and the design is absolutely a good filler for the APC gap. The UT-AT is absolutely a good plan...though it looks pretty slapdash. Like they had to rush to make a few when they realized they were idiots and hadn't created a hover unit ;-). The AT-AP is a bit silly looking, but at least they eventually added a dedicated artillery piece. Though the fact that artillery piece appears to be more mobile then their tank-equivalent walker makes me twitch a little...
@NovusPeregrine Lol, the whole war was an experiment in "Oh crap we need an army and we haven't had one for a 100 years!". I don't know if the A5 Juggernaut would be considered an APC, but it could certainly carry a fair amount of troops. That thing was the size of a small starship. Heck the only ship they had in the beginning was the Acclamator. I'm pretty sure no one even knew how to wage interstellar war when everything kicked off.
@WhiteNekoKnight Eh, it's one of the closest things to an APC I've seen in Star Wars. It's listed in the Legends details as having a Troop Capacity of 50, which certainly reads more like an APC than a Tank. Though it really seems like a crossover between the two given its size and guns.
The ship thing isn't quite accurate. They also had the Venator from the first day of the war, as they'd been built in secret just like the Acclamator. The Venator was the true ship-to-ship naval vessel, which means we saw it less, but it was present at Geonosis. They also had at least some Pelta-class Frigates. And, of course, the LAATs and multiple (kinda bad) Starfighter designs. Plus what minimal fleets were still around from the Judicial Forces, with Dreadnaught heavy cruisers and military-fitted Counselor Corvettes. They lacked a light cruiser initially, but rushed to fill that gap with the Arquitens-class. Which was...also a Kuat Drive Yards ship. Basically? The entire Republic Navy was a black project between Palpatine (in his official Chancellor role) and Kuat's ruling houses. It set Kuat up to be the biggest shipbuilder in the galaxy, which continued to be true into the Empire days, since most of the major designs the Empire used were also Kuati.
I'm admittedly more of a ship nerd than ground unit nerd, so I have a better handle on that side of what who had and when ;-). You are right about how basically no one knew how to wage war on that scale anymore, though. It had been 1,000 years since the last Galactic Scale conflict. Which left them groping their way through using knowledge pulled from War Colleges...and even the best trained officers weren't used to thinking in anything larger than a sector scale. At best. It's part of why Palpatine was able to sell the idea of Jedi as war leaders. Because no one else knew what they were doing either. So, why not give it to the mystical order of people who were fond of waving swords around and had apparently 'had the foresight' to order an army?
@NovusPeregrine I'm watching the OWCS and I suddenly want Mei to copy Nullsector from Overwatch. Bastion B73-NS, OR14-NS, Nulltroopers, Slicers, the hero counterparts, and unique boss units. If your looking for a themed Droid force.
@WhiteNekoKnight Sudden thought, I bet Mei could use the Gungans shield tech to make Reinhardt and Bridgitte power armor shields.
@WhiteNekoKnight Hmm, not familiar with the Nullsector. I only have pretty limited knowledge of Overwatch in general. I'll have to look into them, though my initial impression after a quick look is that they bit to cartoonishly simplified, visually.
Yes to the Gungan shields. Seriously, it's an insult to common sense that those exist and didn't get used during the clone wars. Which is, of course, why I already have them somewhat in use by Izuku's group. And Mei wouldn't miss the change to install them on power armor...
@NovusPeregrine I mean, they're supposed to be chaff so you're not wrong about them being almost cartoonish. I'd say the Bastion and Orisa bots are fairly robust as they came out before they started a theme. If you want to see them in action I recommend giving the Bastion and Reinhardt shorts a watch.
Yay Gungan Shields. I'm pretty sure there was a reason they weren't widely adopted but I don't remember what it was. Something about heat.
Edit: The Bastion one is The Last Bastion, 7min long. Reinhardt is Honor and Glory, and it's also 7min.
@NovusPeregrine Gungan shields are likely more difficult to mass produce on the scale to be relevant outside of Naboo. Also the emitter arrays are frankly massive compared to conventional shields.
Finally they don't seem to function as particle shields, so kinetic attacks would largely ignore them. So on a smaller scale frag bombs would shred large formations of individual shield users. On a larger scale the traditional anti-tank missile launcher wouldn't care about such a shield.
@SuperBort After a quick lore dive it seems that the shields where expensive to produce at scale outside of Naboo. Otherwise the can block blaster bolts, kinetics, and even force lighting apparently.
@WhiteNekoKnight Where did you find that? I read the Wookiepedia listing (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Gungan_personal_energy_shield/Legends) both canon and legends and never saw anything about difficulty or cost of production being prohibitive.
@SuperBort They are explicitly stated in even current canon to block kinetic attacks. The only weakness they have is the exact same one regular shields do, that they are permeable at low speeds. Which is true for basically all Star Wars shield, and the entire reason that ground assaults are the preferred way to deal with targets who have anti-bombardment shields.
@NovusPeregrine Reddit discussions. People discussed why the Gungan Shields weren't used by more people or the clone wars. Tis not cannon but the consensus was they where to expensive as they used Naboo plasma, which is apparently better than most other plasma? So when the clones needed Shields the Republic simply fabricated some metal ones. Honestly the whole thing seems to have fallen into the "Not made here" / "Lucas didn't want them everywhere" issue.
The only issue I can really see for their shields is the fact that they take up a lot of volume.
@WhiteNekoKnight Ah. So, more theorizing than actual in-universe lore. I can't quite agree with the reasoning, as there were uses of personal shields later in the war. Some of the BX Commando droids used something like the Gungan shields, and there are some references to high-ranking clone commanders or commandos having personal energy shields as well. Though I suppose it is implied that they are somewhat expensive, since they are only issued to elites. The Gungan shields in particular are better, as they don't seem to carry the risk of radiation damage to organics that most other types do. I'd put my own proverbial bet down on the reason they didn't get used being something a little more...obvious, though. After all, their plasma was literally Naboo's largest export, so calling the need for it as being the biggest issue seems a bit...off.
Personally, I'd put it down to:
1) Canon Naboo was, to the very last, part of the Peace Party. It's unlikely that they were going to jump on mass weapons manufacture for the war effort, even if they could.
2) Virtually no outsiders actually interacted with the Gungans themselves. Leaving most completely unaware that they even had a personal shield tech that circumvented the normal issues. Even post invasion, the Gungans were somewhat isolated in canon.
I specifically got around those two issues by having Izuku find out about them while looking into events of the Naboo invasion (which is only logical after being told there was a Sith to be concerned with). With Izuku directly approaching the Gungans for trade, with their shields being part of what he wanted, it eliminates both issues. The Gungans aren't the pacifists that the humans of Naboo are and showed active signs in legends canon material that they did want more interaction with the outside world. Something shown by them working with the Naboo humans on the G-1 starfighter. A joint project between the Gungan BullbaBong company and the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps. BullbaBong also created shuttles, too, for that matter. Offered a huge boost to trade via Izuku's various companies, the Gungans don't have any reason not to ramp up production of their portable shields as a major export. All the better if exposure to outside tech can help them make them better and cheaper. Meanwhile, the Naboo humans...ah...well, that bit is still in Early Access chapters ;-). Let's just say they aren't quite as happy with pure pacifism as their canon counterparts for a number of growing reasons...
@NovusPeregrine Fantastic reasoning