Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.

Phase 26: The dust of the stars

=RK=

Part 3

=RK=

GAR Detention center

Coruscant

An ancient battle march sounded, before the screens and holo-projectors of trillions lit up with the familiar logo of The Galaxy at War, perhaps the most popular GNN program since the war began. The stylized burning map of the galaxy shattered in countless moths of light, revealing a well lit up studio, where Victorya Halcion and Brosk Tonfa sat smiling around a round table.

It was a sad thing, that programs like this were the primary source of news for Jedi Master Aayla Secura, almost as sad as the news GNN and company fed her and the galaxy at large.

"Good evening, Coruscant!" The smiling woman announced before the camera focused on the straight-backed Duro.

"And welcome to all our viewers across the galaxy!" Tonfa seamlessly continued. "Tonight, we have a special treat for you."

"We have two famous guests ready to answer questions about the ongoing war effort, the political situation in the Republic, and how we will go forward after all the upheavals both here on Coruscant and all across the galaxy." The camera shifted to Victoria for a few moments before the view switched back, showing a man and a woman sitting across the table from the anchors.

"Tonight, we host Senator Padme Skywalker from Naboo and her husband, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker."

Aayla, who had been bored out of her mind lately, because meditation and answering the same questions, again and again, could go only so far, perked up at that. She still wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Anakin was one of the handful of Jedi left who weren't in prison under investigation and still fighting the war for the Republic, or what passed for it these days. The way the Senate ceased to function after Palpatine's assassination was almost as shocking as the Jedi Coup and the immediate and harsh reprisal from the army.

The Jedi Master was still torn on that point. Aayla was certainly uncomfortable since the moment Yoda and certain other Masters decided that maybe working with a Sith wasn't the worst idea in the galaxy. While that man was undoubtedly proficient and experienced in war, especially one on the galactic scale, something practically no one else alive could claim, his methods were reprehensible and had no place in the playbook of anyone working for the Republic. They were supposed to be the good guys, they had to be better than the Separatists!

Too many people, politicians, military, and most importantly, regular citizens disagreed on that point and gleefully embraced and supported Veil's method. While it was heartening that many others were opposed to the escalation proposed and conducted by the Sith, that only served to further divide the Republic, with perhaps inevitable consequences. It was during Aayla's stay in detention that she began to consider that the Order might have been willfully blind about some realities about the people they were sworn to protect. That began to happen while she kept watching the news with precious little else to do but observe and analyze what she saw. Oh, there were protests against the way Veil and company were conducting the war, whole worlds and systems were seceding over it, true. There was a large number of those who supported the escalation, who were happy, that now the Republic was answering the enemy in kind, even if that meant worlds burning and countless innocent dying in the crossfire. And that was something that the Jedi were blind to, or simply refused to see. Thinking back, about the lessons about ancient history and the old wars, especially those against the Sith, that undercurrent had always been there, tempered by a radically different Jedi and Republic, which had massive military, a Republic willing to use the said military to crush anyone daring to challenge it.

The past thousand years of peace hadn't removed that kind of people, and it wasn't just individuals but whole species and cultures with similar worldviews. With no enemy in sight, they were merely content to mind their own business under the aegis of the Republic. However, with a war on the horizon, especially with one that reached the Core itself? Now all bets were off, the mask hiding the ugly sides of the Republic was torn out and Aayla pitied the galaxy, for she knew, things were almost certain to get worse before they could get better.

Thus the question, what would she do? Secura knew she would likely be declared innocent of knowing and supporting the failed coup, the latest rare message sent by Obi-Wan indicated that much and there was no danger for herself she could perceive through the Force so she was almost certainly good on that front. Would she continue to support the Republic, trying her best to sway Obi-Wan and his wife, the new Chancellor, from falling under the spell of the Sith? Or perhaps it would be better to vanish, seek the Jedi who fled Coruscant and have words with their surviving leaders about what they were thinking?!

Of course, it didn't help that they were technically right, Obi-Wan confirmed that much when he came to see her shortly before leaving to lead the coming liberation of Corellia. Chancellor Sheev Palpatine had been a Sith, he personally cut down a number of the Jedi who went to kill him. It was just that, even now, no one was admitting it publicly, not to mention that as far as she knew, if there was any evidence that he had been behind the war, no one was admitting to finding it. Every single time the news mentioned Palpatine now was in a nearly reverent tone and it was even worse when interviews with the regular citizens were concerned. He died a martyr and that sealed the Jedi's fate as an institution.

The sheer irony didn't escape Aayla. She huffed in frustration before catching herself and strangling that emotion. It was unbecoming, not to mention dangerous.

Secura returned her attention to the GNN program, where Anakin and the Senator were busy answering questions.

"Senator Skywalker, how do you see the Republic proceeding from here on? It is no secret that a large number of systems seceded lately and that unraveled the foundations on which we all stand." Victoria inquired politely.

"This is a complicated question to answer, Victoria." The young Senator answered with a dazzling smile that to Aayla seemed somewhat hollow, empty of substance and the usual earnest honestly that she had gotten to associate with the woman over the years of watching her operate on Coruscant. It was an eerie, unpleasant sensation to see that Padme Amidala had lost something through the ordeals she had to suffer since the war began.

"Every world which decided to leave the Republic and either become neutral or worse, join the Separatists despite all they wrought upon the galaxy, weakens us all. Their actions undermine the foundations of the Republic as you insightfully pointed out, Victoria. The truth is that the Republic we all loved and respected is no more. Too much was lost, due to war, due to corruption and the selfishness of small-minded people all across the galaxy." Padme said sadly. "That left those of us who still believe in the Republic's ideals and are ready to fight for them, in a precautious position. The Republic needs to reform and so does the Senate. We all had a painful reminder that business as usual no longer works. The idea of the Republic is tarnished, the Senate demonstrated it was unable to act when it is most vital it does…"

And so it begins again. It was a sad thing to watch one of the most eager defenders of freedom and democracy say aloud that they failed the Republic, or perhaps it was better to say that the Republic and its members were those who failed said ideals. As a consequence, everyone now had to pick up the pieces in the middle of a war for control of the galaxy, because that was now the truth of the conflict. It was no longer about the Sith, not really, certainly not about the Separatists seceding. If it was so, then a peaceful resolution might still be possible, even if it was little more than a distant dream.

"Our resolve has never been stronger…" Padme continued.

The Senator did have a point. The Jedi did fail the Republic, just as much as it failed them lately, if not more. They were supposed to be the bulwark meant to keep the Senate and its politics from becoming such a dysfunctional web of corruption, self-interest, and greed at the expense of the Republic as a whole. It was a hard thing to admit, that the Republic it wasn't what it was once, that it had been slowly failing and decaying over centuries, while the Jedi stood by and did nothing of consequence.

"As far as the military is concerned," Anakin picked up, "perhaps it's presumptuous to speak in the Grand Army's name given our history, however, I can say this much. We will continue to fight and do our best to bring back peace, justice, freedom, and security to the galaxy."

Say what you will about Skywalker, he didn't lack in conviction. Yet, his' was dangerous. Anakin Skywalker was one of the last loyal Jedi left and he had more to prove, not only to the galaxy at large but to himself, than all the rest combined. Obviously, that was a problem for everyone involved, and depending on her choice, that might be a particularly large issue for Aayla in particular.

Secura tore her gaze from the small screen built into the wall and glanced at the datapad laying innocently on the corner of her bed. It contained Obi-Wan's last message and a proposition for after she got cleared of suspicion about her possible involvement in the coup. Along with Anakin and few others, she was to build the foundation of a new Order, one closely incorporated within the military and security of the Republic, which meant an Oder under close scrutiny and supervision, something that would be inevitable after the failed coup.

=RK=

Part 4

=RK=

CWS Firefront

Corellia

Swarms of droids crawled throughout the former Corellian Cruiser Coronet and her sister ship Invincible, both captured relatively intact during the fall of the Corellian system. In comparison, two of their sister ships were little more than wreckage used by the Confederacy as source of parts and material to repair their new acquisitions. Another massive Corellian Cruiser hung in orbit around Talus, one of the twins among the Five Brothers now turned into a space fortress and a local HQ for the occupation forces fighting all over the populated planets in the system. That particular ship served as the source of Firefront's engines, which were utterly destroyed during the savage fighting, leaving the behemoth crippled and relatively easy prey for boarding actions once Confederate Navy drove it's Republic counterpart out of the system.

The Corellian Cruisers were among the most powerful individual warships in the known galaxy, a seldom rivaled expression of the Corellian spirit and determination to be their own people, yet they were far from invincible, as demonstrated by Admiral Trench. They were also an expression of an incredible industrial and economic power because simply running them in a defensive posture without access to the industrial base, which created them was an issue. The price of actually moving them and engaging in a pitched battle would strain the Confederacy's logistics' capacity within the Core to the breaking point. In fact, none of the captured Corellian cruisers, despite their incredible capacity do deal and withstand punishment were ever meant to leave their home system after changing hands.

Recent events changed the calculus as far as Admiral Trench was concerned and he was glad that his new political overlords agreed with his reasoning. Leaving those ships unsupported for a futile last stand would be wasteful. Pulling them back, considering how much hypermatter they consumed for even a short hyperspace jumps, well doing so wasn't a great idea either. The ships were battered, obviously not fully repaired despite the best efforts of hordes of droids and no one would be building proper spare parts anytime soon, Trench himself saw to that when he laid waste to the industry within the Corellian system. The question remained, how to best use those captured assets to hurt the Republic on the cheap?

The Admiral's plan was audacious and it fell to TK-A-31 to accomplish it. The new model Advanced Tactical Droid had no illusions about its mission profile – barring a miracle as the organics said, it's first mission was going to be the last as well. That possibility would be less than an ideal outcome and thus TK-A-31 busied itself with running simulations, consulting the ever-updating roster of forces available in the Core and it kept reaching similar conclusions. The Corellian Cruisers were very powerful combatants, true. They would be nevertheless severely outclassed during Operation Corsair and even with the older escorts Admiral Trench could be persuaded to part with, the equations didn't pan out. It was a numbers game and the numbers were not in favor of TK-A-31's continued existence.

Being an Advanced Tactical Droid, it had options most of it's lesser brethren weren't programmed to consider in the first place. Options like placing a call to various veteran Tactical Droids not actively engaged in combat and asking for advice and expertise, especially where unconventional tactics were concerned. As of late, an increasing number of war-droids were sharing ideas, combat reports, tactical and even strategic advice through the networks being set up by the Confederacy to enhance the capabilities of their Droid armies and make better use of the upgraded models of command units they were busy implementing across the board.

Many of TK-A-31's compatriots agreed, the odds of success were slim, the odds of survival, even smaller. Most of them agreed as well that the operation did have merit, considering the restrains the Confederacy operated under in the Core, primary being logistics, and secondary, Veil's imminent arrival; the best practical estimates had the Sith hitting Gyndine within three days, perhaps sooner. A Droid led force would meet him there in order to slow down the onslaught and bleed the enemy, however, there was no question about victory – the only force capable of stopping Veil in the area was Trench's and if he pulled out, the Admiral would have to either retreat to Confederate space for the time being or risk being caught between two large enemy forces and destroyed.

As far as the Advanced Tactical Droid was concerned, it was a mistake keeping TK-51's force in an ambush in the general vicinity of Mandalore in wait for the Sith, it would have been better to use it to cut off Veil's line of supply and place him in the same position the Republic put Admiral Trench at. Unfortunately, under the present circumstances, Confederate Command was reluctant to risk a large scale engagement unless they had an overwhelming advantage, especially when Veil was concerned. Considering what the man did and the extreme threat rating put on any force he might command, it was unsurprising, yet frustrating, especially when the consequences for TK-A-31 might very well be terminal.

The Droid Commander still believed that the current unwillingness to face Veil was a mistake, yet there was nothing it could do so it concentrated on the task at hand – surviving its first mission and making it as successful as possible.

That, however, was much easier said than done – hundreds, sometimes thousands of Tactical and Strategic Droids browsing the network and offering their analysis on the situation offered the same conclusions TK-A-31 got by itself, thank you very much. It was very well aware that the odds were great it would soon become a pile of scrap metal. That was until TK-51 sent a message all the way from it's stalking ground near Mandalore.

Change the rules. It is clear that a conventional engagement will result in the loss of your command for not enough tactical and more importantly, strategic impact. While pulling back those super-capitals might be prudent, the logistics of the situation points against it. Said assets need to be expended in the best possible way to increase our odds of achieving a favorable outcome of the war. The last convoys bringing ground unit reinforcements for Case Dagger are en route to the Core presently, E.T.A. one day. Request from Admiral Trench to put them under your command, they can be expended for a better impact in space instead of bleeding the enemy on the ground. Use your ships as a shield to come into point-blank range of enemy battle groups, then launch a massive boarding action screened by all available Droid Fighters. Take control of as many enemy ships as possible, cripple, or destroy them from within. Those captured, even temporarily, turn them against the enemy. If available, prioritize any Republic logistic targets within reach.

The idea was insane on the face of it. With the Guardian and Umbrella systems proliferating across the fleets of both sides, boarding actions against ships, which weren't crippled would be suicidal even for the Confederate military. On the other hand, no one would expect something this audacious and insane… and when all was said and done, expending swarms of Vultures to allow assault transports and torpedoes to reach their targets might be doable.

TK-A-31 began planning and running simulations in earnest. He had less than a day to have a plan ready and presented to command. It had to do it right because this was likely it's only chance of emerging intact from the coming battle.

=RK=

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