The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2529 Eye of Palpatine

2530: Eye of Palpatine

Seeing the meteorite, Gideon Tarkin was stunned for a moment, then he realized, "Is this... a meteorite? No, there is a building structure in front. Could it be a spaceship?"

"Yes, this is a dreadnought - The Eye of Palpatine." Wilhuff Tarkin said, "After I was framed by that bastard Orson Krennic, I was temporarily transferred by His Majesty the Emperor to the project of this dreadnought to supervise its construction. At that time, it was almost completed."

"Can it fight against the HMS Destroyer?" asked Gideon Tarkin.

"First of all, you have to understand that this thing has an irregular shape. Its overall length is similar to that of the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, about 19000 meters, but its volume is four times that of the latter. The Eye of Palpatine uses the same type of engine as the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, but it is installed with three groups. One group provides power, one group is specifically used to power the deflector shield, and the last group serves this thing." Wilhuff Tarkin pointed to a location on the holographic projection.

Gideon Tarkin looked at the so-called dreadnought. It really looked like a potato-shaped meteorite. If its length was about 19000 meters, then its height would be around 11000 meters. Its gray-black surface was covered with craters. If it weren't for the building structure at the front, no one would believe that it was a battleship.

And it seems that this battleship is not very powerful.

The place that Wilhuff Tarkin pointed at was a disc-shaped structure in the center of the front structure of the battleship. However, this disc was not smooth. There were eight groups of laser emitters around it, and a slender aiming device in the center. This shape made it look more like a flower.

"Is this its main gun?" asked Gideon Tarkin.

"That's right. It's not fancy, it's just a powerful laser launcher. Moreover, guided by the central aiming device, the lasers fired by the eight groups of laser launchers can be focused to form a more powerful super laser beam." Wilhuff Tarkin said, "Maybe the power of a single shot is not as powerful as the star destroyer cannon of the USS Destroyer, but this thing can irradiate continuously. That is to say, if the opponent enters the range, the super laser will lock and irradiate the opponent until he dies."

Gideon Tarkin nodded seriously and asked, "Are there any other characteristics?"

"The Eye of Palpatine was built on a huge meteorite, but this is not an ordinary meteorite. The material of this meteorite is very special. Simply put, its shell is completely insulated. It is very effective against electromagnetic pulse cannons. Well... it is basically immune." Wilhuff Tarkin continued, "And, under the shell, there is armor that is 23 meters thick. The shield-piercing missiles of the Separatists, even if they can penetrate the shield, cannot penetrate the armor layer."

Wilhuff Tarkin opened the cross-section of the Eye of Palpatine again and said, "As you can see, the interior space of this dreadnought is actually fully occupied by the engines of three sets of Executor-class Super Star Destroyers. There is no room for operators to live. Therefore, this dreadnought is completely unmanned."

"robot?"

Wilhuff shook his head. "No, there aren't even any robots. The entire dreadnought is controlled by an intelligent AI. We call this AI the Will. This AI has a high degree of autonomy and can judge the battlefield situation on its own and make the best decision in an instant. Most importantly, it is ruthless enough that nothing can stop it from achieving its goals."

"You should know, Mr. Governor. Such highly autonomous AI is extremely dangerous and may rebel at any time. Such things were banned as early as the Galactic Republic." Gideon Tarkin said with a frown.

"So what do you think of the Dawn Kingdom's collusion with the Geth? Isn't the destruction caused by the Geth in the North tragic enough? The Dawn Kingdom can build dangerous intelligent machines like the Geth, why can't we?" Wilhuff Tarkin asked. Gideon Tarkin nodded, "I understand."

"Now that you understand, let's get ready and set off. The Eye of Palpatine and the fleet to reinforce the eastern border will be ready in five days - this is your transfer order." Wilhuff Tarkin entered a set of authorization codes into a code pen, then walked over and personally pinned the code pen on Gideon's chest.

"And Governor Thraben?" Gideon asked.

"He will still be the governor of the 12th Army for the time being. But after you eliminate Grievous, he will no longer be. The governor of the 12th Army will be you, my brother." Wilhuff Tarkin said, "In addition, I hope you can bring my son with you on this expedition."

"Garoche Tarkin? Has he graduated from the academy?" Gideon said with understanding. "I haven't seen this guy for over five years."

"He graduated in the first half of last year." Wilhuff nodded. "I was a little too impatient at the time and directly appointed him as admiral."

Gideon frowned. "I know what you're talking about. I've also heard that many generals in the military disagreed and even quarreled, but the news was blocked, and even I don't know the details. Wait a minute... that person turned out to be Garrosh?"

Wilhuff Tarkin sighed, "Yes, this is a mistake on my part. But the appointment cannot be revoked. If it is revoked, it would appear that the appointment is against the rules. Therefore, the best way is to let him follow you as the fleet commander, then sink the battleship Destruction and kill General Grievous. In this way..."

"He is a true Imperial Navy admiral." Gideon Tarkin understood.

"You have enough power this time. Go and destroy General Grievous, and then take control of the Twelfth Army for our Tarkin family!" said Wilhuff Tarkin.

Gideon Tarkin nodded heavily, saluted again, and said loudly: "Yes!"

He understood that with the capture of Eriadu by the Kingdom of Dawn, the Tarkin family had lost its foundation and now relied on Wilhuff Tarkin alone. If this continued, the family would inevitably decline... Therefore, the best way was to cultivate as many family talents as possible, expand the family, and control more fields and more power.

The Tarkin family needs a new foundation.

The Fourth Army is involved in the core circle's conflict of interest, and the Tarkin family is far from being able to confront those wealthy nobles. Therefore, the Twelfth Army is the best choice!