Bottleneck (short story)

Emperor Palpatine gives Grand Moff Tarkin the assignment of looking into a problem that is slowing down Imperial production on a faraway planet. Tarkin thinks it will be a simple task. But instead, Tarkin has to work with Count Vidian, who is becoming a big star in the Empire and is a very good rival. The two strong Imperials use their intelligence and risk being betrayed to get ahead. They also try to avoid the consequences of failing.

Wilhuff Tarkin, the Grand Moff who governs the Outer Rim, is nearing the end of his tour of Tsevuka. During this time the repulsorcraft carrying him and a small group of stormtroopers is attacked by wild Tsevukan riders. The riders, mounted on the native, slippery-skinned Kivaroa, almost destroy the small vehicle. Tarkin manages to regain control and drives the damaged transport the final kilometer through the Tsevukan Swamp to the Imperial Outpost, which was their intended destination. With the help of additional stormtroopers on speeder bikes, Tarkin safely makes it back to the base. The panicked base commander informs him that the route where they were ambushed wasn't as well-defended because there wasn't enough stormtrooper armor available to Outer Rim posts. The stormtroopers have to work in shifts for this reason and can't effectively patrol the untamed parts of newly acquired systems like Tsevuka.

Tarkin is not happy with the situation that the base commander on Tsevuka has told him about. Now aboard the Executrix, Tarkin informs Emperor Palpatine about the lack of armor. The problem is traced back to Gilvaanen, a system in the Inner Rim where the armor for Tarkin's forces is made. It is discovered that armor production is only at fifty percent for the year, which is not efficient. Gilvaanen, which has recently become a problem for Tarkin, was settled by Ithorians who work for private corporations that produce for the Empire. Tarkin wants the Empire to take control of the production process and dissolve the private corporations. Tarkin suggests this solution, but he can't convince the Emperor or Count Vidian, who is a rising star in the Imperial Administration. Count Denetrius Vidian, a ruthless financier from the final years of the Republic, is now working as a corporate fixer. Vidian is one of Palpatine's efficiency specialists. Count Vidian had previously suggested that corporations should remain in control of Gilvaanen's production. He argued that the appearance of competition would lead to better production than using force. Tarkin, who is concerned about the growth of the empire, compares this philosophy to playing games. Count Vidian, who has Gilvaanen in his portfolio, suggests that rivalry leads to high innovation and offers to resolve the issue. Instead, Palpatine orders both the Grand Moff and the Count to oversee the task of improving production.

Tarkin is still on the Executrix and is studying Count Vidian, his new rival. He requests motivational holos that the Count produced because of the hardships he faced. Tarkin tries to learn as much as he can before executive officer Commander Rae Sloane interrupts him. She tells Tarkin that they have arrived at Gilvaanen and that she has been promoted to Captain. This means that she will no longer be flying aboard the Executrix. Tarkin is not surprised by the news and assumes that she is subtly asking for a recommendation.

Tarkin arrives at the factory and meets Thetis Quelton, who is testing blaster-resistant armor confiscated from a species called the Pikaati. Tarkin is not impressed by the show and notices that Quelton collects unusual, often historical items, especially armor. Tarkin immediately starts asking questions about the lack of armor production. Before Quelton can fully answer, Count Vidian appears. The cyborg, who has been there since midnight, has been touring the facility and making suggestions for improvements to increase productivity. He suggests that the break room should be converted into a warehouse after it has been sanitized because Vidian detected several different biological agents. Quelton admits that the Ithorians brought the agents in from the planet's jungle terrain. During a tour of the facility, Tarkin notices that Quelton is blunt with the Ithorians. He also realizes that Count Vidian's suggestions would only make marginal improvements and that Gilvaanen is underproducing by a much larger amount than can be fixed. Quelton defends herself by saying that Cladtech, which has the profitable contract to do the final assembly of what comes out of Quelton Fabrication's, is the reason for the lack of production. Quelton accuses Cladtech's Ithorian owner of tolerating laziness from the workers, allowing them to stage slowdowns, which causes armor plating to pile up at her factory.

Tarkin and Vidian are now at Cladtech and notice that the factory is much more disorganized and run-down than Quelton's firm. This observation also applies to the employees, many of whom have called in sick after learning about the Empire's visit. The factory owner, Mawdo Larrth, treats his workers more gently than his competitor. When questioned about this, he insists that the workers do good work when he leaves them alone and that if he cancels their contracts, they will all quit. The Ithorian notes that the heat inside the factory is due to the injection molds, which run hot and are only shut down when the workers go on strike, resulting in work stoppages. He insists that leaving them on during stoppages would ruin his business. Tarkin believes that more action is needed and has already notified the Imperial Security Bureau to investigate Cladtech, ordering them to find the truant workers and bring them in. The ISB, along with stormtroopers from the Executrix, force the Ithorians who are present to return to work. Count Vidian openly disagrees with this plan of action.

About a week later, Vidian confronts Tarkin back at Quelton Fabrication's. He questions Tarkin about why he has been looking into his background, citing evidence from his aide Everi Chalis on Calcoraan. Tarkin admits that he has been doing so but remains indifferent to Count Vidian's accusations. He justifies himself by saying that he is interested in everything related to the Empire. As Vidian leaves, Quelton tells Tarkin that there are rumors of treason on the factory floor and that he should investigate.

In Galvaanen's capital city, the Imperial Security Bureau infiltrates an abandoned factory where more than a dozen Ithorians are caught in an illegal meeting and are arrested. The arrests are based on the accurate information provided by Quelton earlier. All of the accused are supervisors of the Cladtech assembly line. The ISB now realizes that the accused Ithorians had been planning another strike. Tarkin believes that resistance cannot be tolerated and orders the immediate execution of those captured. However, before the order can be carried out, Count Vidian appears to defend the Ithorians who have been arrested. Vidian saves the captured Ithorians from execution and uncovers the hiding Cladtech owner, Mawdo Laarth, who had been working with his own striking workers. Vidian discovers that Laarth had preemptively powered down his factory equipment before the shifts even started because he had organized the work stoppages. Laarth admits that it was the only way to give his workers a break. In response, Count Vidian kills him and allows the captured workers to go free with the ultimatum that if they do not produce according to the production targets, everyone under their individual supervision will die.

Vidian and Tarkin agree on a freemarket solution. With Tarkin's reluctant approval, they merge Cladtech with Quelton Fabrication, giving the final assembly contract to Thetis Quelton. Quelton seems ready to take on the challenge of supervising the production of both factories. Tarkin approaches her and insists that they celebrate the recent development at Quelton's estate. Quelton is eager to show Tarkin more of her collection and accepts. Tarkin asks Vidian to wait outside and then directs him to look into something in his place while he celebrates with the new owner of Cladtech.

At the mansion, Quelton greets Tarkin wearing the full Pikaati armor display that she had partially on when he first met her. Quelton immediately starts taking him on a tour of her massive parlor, which Tarkin compares to a large museum of history. Tarkin has been waiting for the right moment. He receives a message and then tells Quelton that Count Vidian will be joining them. Tarkin then reveals his true intention for visiting the estate. Tarkin has deduced that the information Quelton provided was sabotage and that she knew that deposing the late Cladtech owner, Mawdo Laarth, would result in her gaining control of his contract. Tarkin had suspected her earlier and had directed the ISB to monitor her communications. They discovered that she had spoken with several radicals off-world. Vidian discovers that Quelton has been manufacturing compromised parts for stormtrooper helmets that help form a seal in the helmets. He makes the discovery in the break room where he first detected the harmful agents. The part gives the helmet wearer a debilitating disease of the windpipe, native to the planet Galvaanen, called Bottleneck. The parlor of her mansion is now surrounded by stormtroopers, and her ploy has been discovered. Quelton admits to the treachery and explains that she had hoped to slow the Empire's conquest of the Outer Rim. Quelton, exposed for her crimes, puts on the Pikaati warrior helmet and immediately collapses and dies. Count Vidian tries to help her, but Tarkin stops him, informing Vidian that she is already dead and that losing the helmet would put everyone in the room at risk because the Pikaati species breathe Hydrogen Cyanide.

In Quelton's former office, Moff Tarkin and Count Vidian meet with Emperor Palpatine to inform him of their findings and the decisions they made after the deaths of the factory owners. Count Vidian has changed his mind and now agrees that Gilvaanen should be Imperialized, bringing all armor production under the direct control of the Imperial Department of Military Research. Vidian suggests that he would be more useful working to improve the construction efficiency of Star Destroyers, which Tarkin agrees with. Tarkin even offers to give Vidian a Star Destroyer from his fleet.

As Emperor Palpatine had suspected, Grand Moff Tarkin and Count Vidian have made an agreement. The count will facilitate faster completion of star destroyers, a job that Tarkin will hand over in exchange for Vidian's oversight of Gilvaanen. Vidian needs a captain for his new ship, the Ultimatum, and receives Rae Sloane upon Tarkin's assignment. All of this is agreed upon to avoid overlapping each other's zones of influence. Tarkin realizes that it would be easier to avoid Vidian than to work against him, so he supports these arrangements in his favor, assuming that it will make the task of conquering the Outer Rim easier in the long run.