Volume 1: The Outbreak of War
Chapter 1: Small beginnings and enlisting
2200 Hours Zerek Time
Third Month, Day 15, 997 RE (Ruusan Era)
Royal Kuatish Defense Force Headquarters, Capital District, Dominion of Grand Kuat
Kuat system, Commonwealth of Kuat (Kuat sector), Coruscant Core
Core Worlds, Republic territory
"The galaxy is at war." was the start of the speech from one of the senior Kuatish officers in the large meeting room where dozens of Generals and Admirals from numerous planets sat at a long black table. "The Chancellor has created a Grand Army of the Republic and reformed the Republic Navy, but we've been left out of it."
Murmurs erupted from the middle-aged, and some even older, officers at the table. This didn't sit well with them, even after hearing it once more out of dozens of times. For many of these men, the defense of their homes and the Republic as a whole was their duty, to some it was an ancestral obligation going back generations. A number of them have honed the art of war. To some such as the elite Knights of Anaxes, the finest warriors of the Core Worlds from the Kingdom of Anaxes, their sworn oath was the defense of the Republic. To others such as the Royal Kuatish Sector Defense Fleet they were the guardians of the Core Worlds, their mighty warships had stood guard over the vast wealth of the inner ring of city worlds and ancient member states of the Republic, guarding it and the hyperspace lines beyond from the threat of piracy.
There were more worlds represented here as well: the Democratic Republic of Coruscant, the Kingdom of Carida, the Republic of Eriadu, the Bestinian Federation, the Republic of Telos, the State of Ralltiir, the Duchy of Esseles, and many others. These same planets formed the bulk of the Republic Armed Forces during the time of the Old Republic. Each of these worlds providing thousands upon thousands, even millions upon millions of able-bodied soldiers amidst times of war and great crisis during that time such as the Old Sith Wars and the cataclysmic invasion by the extragalactic, technophobic Outsiders. And they were ready to stand up toward the challenge of defending the Republic once again, but something prevented that. A new force had been slated to defend the Republic, the Clone army from the rediscovered extra-galactic Kamino system. It had been one week into the war and the Jedi were already in command of the vast Clone armies, not giving the long dormant volunteer forces, SDFs and militias a single glance, the only military the Republic had before the war aside from the now defunct Judicial Forces.
"We all know why we're here." another old voice, it was General Sutre of the Anaxsi General Staff. He was an older man in his late fifties, Sutre wore white and red armor, shiny and clean, a red cape with a handful of gold lanyards across his chest and left shoulder. He had a DL-18 pistol on his right hip and a broadsword-type vibroblade on the other in a scabbard. The vet of dozens counter-piracy and anti-slavery operations stood from his seat and spoke loudly with a great deal of anger. "We have chosen to stand and fight! The war that we have waited long for and feared of has begun, and we've been told to stay out of it!"
"Quite right, but what we are to do?" Admiral Honor Salima, the representative chosen by DRCF Command, stated honestly. "We have no unified force, no command structure, and no logistics; nothing that we seriously bring to the table as a single force."
"That is the strength of the droids and the clones I'm afraid, they've been literally built and breed for this war." a Kuatish commander, a member of the Kuat family, Admiral Yula Kuat, said sourly, "We haven't done that apart from joint exercises. We should have seen this coming long ago."
"Lady Yula's right." the representative of Telos called out.
Sour agreement sounded out around the table once again as the military leaders present grumbled at the frustrating ordeal. Amidst this, one man wearing the Royal Kuatish Sector Defense Fleet's trademark gray dress uniform rose from his seat. This man was Cynan Drexel, the most experienced and respected officer in the room. He still had a head of thick black hair with it graying in some areas, with being a dark gray in his sideburns and the front. His dress uniform was in ribbons, medals, and badges from his younger days qualifying for fighters and his many acts of heroism in the line of duty that earned the respect he enjoyed. His face was showing signs of ages, some wrinkles and slight blemishes here and there, but when he stood people listened.
"We can all agree on one thing here, we're not ready for this war. Individually, we can hold our own in our respective sectors and systems as well as come to each other's aid should the need arise. But the Separatists won't attack us directly, not now, especially not with Kuat's dreadnoughts and battleships on guard in the Core alongside the might of each major Republic worlds's planetary defenses. The initial stages of the war will be waged where we can't it, from the Inner Rim Worlds to the Outer Rim Territories." Cynan began with grim honesty. "In my time teaching at the academy I had time, as many of you who I have taught know, to think of scenarios that may or may not happen. This is one of the scenarios I created, and planned for. Admiral Kuat if you will." he asked, tossing a data drive over to the aforementioned Admiral to be plugged into the holo-projector that sent small holograms of the full file to each seat.
"What exactly are we looking at Admiral Drexel?" General Sutre asked as he pulled up the filled and started to look through it.
"Scenario OR-6359, a full-scale uprising in the Outer Rim that'll inevitably spread galaxywide, necessitating the unification of Republic-aligned militaries." the senior flag officer paused to clean his glasses before continuing. "Granted, it's old and rather general but the parallels to our current situation are accurate."
"Admiral." the representative of Corellia, Fleet Admiral Ulrich Sal-Aves, said absolutely shocked. "What you're asking for is nothing short of creating an entire military. This directly contrasts the treaty that largely disbanded the Old Republic's armed forces centuries ago." Known for his service with the Judicial Forces during the Battle of Malastare Narrows, Ulrich was a firm believer in the Ruusan Treaty, at least he was before the Naboo Incident and the Separatist Crisis.
"Indeed, it is." Drexel replied without pause. "But the situation has changed."
"Even if we could, I don't if our leaders would be okay with such a force being formed from our militaries." General Will Rans of the Republic of Breental Defense Forces pointed out. "After all, much of the Core's defense is based upon deterrence as is that of other major Republic worlds."
"Those will be sacrifices that will need to be made of course, but we have another untapped base of recruitment, beyond the Core and other major Republic worlds, the militias and patriots beyond our normal responsibilities. We are not the only ones willing to fight for the Republic, those young idealists may be untrained, undisciplined, and, hell, even uncivilized; but the planets from the Inner Worlds and Outer Rim is as ripe a place as any to find the raw material to create soldiers." General Sutre said calmly, quickly figuring out a part of Drexel's idea from the notes he read.
"It's just a matter of creating the foundation to build these raw recruits into soldiers of the Republic." Drexel laid it out as plainly as he could. "We'll need bases to train 'em at and drill instructors to mold them into soldiers. We'll also need weapons, equipment, vehicles, and ships for them to fight with; NCOs and officers to lead them into battle, and we need it all as quickly as possible."
There was a moment of silence as the other considered what he said until Admiral Kuat leaned forward. "Kuat Drive Yards still has a handful of slips that are being kept open for our own defense forces. It shouldn't be too hard to sneak in some capital ships and assault ships."
"Carida is home to some of the finest training grounds in the Republic, we can have bases fully operational within a few days." Admiral Magnus Ozzel of Caridian Navy added as a plan started to come together.
"Anaxes has its fair share of base and industrial facilities, we can put those to good use and make some real armor." General Sutre said proudly, banging on his chestpiece.
"I doubt Rothana will sell us any of their vehicles and firearms." the commander representing the Hosnian Defense Forces said. "But we've got contracts with Yultrane-Trakkata and Czerka, should be a simple matter to up the quantity."
"Incom and CEC got passed over in regards to fighter and frigates contracts as well, I'm sure they'll be happy to provide us with the necessary hardware." Ulrich pipped up too, as confidence in the plan and their new force starting to fill the room.
"Praetorian Industries has been working on some new designs for Republic Command, I think we can negotiate a favorable contract with them to supply us too."
"Vaufthau and RSD are currently working on refitting Invincible-class battleships, I'll see if they can provide us with some."
"Some friends from the Sullustan Home Guard contacted me and offered their capital ships as proof of their loyalty to the Republic, they clearly don't approve of Dooku's insurrection one bit."
Soon the idea of an army and a fleet began fleshing out into a plan, a plan that could executed and done so quickly, as time was a precious commodity. The details such as specific items were not discussed, but a list of companies that would willing to supply and equip this new force was filled out rather quickly. And while enlisting the aid of Czerka wasn't exactly seen as a great idea as some considered it to be risky, as their loyalty to the Republic was historically dubious at best. But recent reports indicated that numerous Czerka assets were seized by Count Dooku's forces then promptly given to pro-Separatist companies and Czerka Upper Management was not taking such actions well, so it wasn't seen as an issue now. The representative of Denon also brought up something interesting in regards to the weapons programs run by the family-owned Praetorian Industries, but that was something for a later date. And once that was done, another thing needed to be done.
"We now have another matter to discuss: who will be the overall commanding officer." General Sutre brought it up first. "Someone who can easily coordinate army, air, and naval forces."
"I agree, we will need a supreme commander."
Many looked at the representative of Fresia mostly due to the fact that there hadn't been a Supreme Commander of the Republic in the many centuries since the Ruusan Reformation and the matter hadn't been discussed either. Words of agreement came up as the first instincts of the men and woman present wanted to put forward experienced officers from their own planets. But that instinct was ultimately overruled by military necessity.
"I would like to nominate Admiral Drexel for the position of Supreme Commander." the CinC of the Corellian Expeditionary Fleet Command offered up, much to the collective shock of those present. In the past, even amidst the Old Sith Wars, Corellia and Kuat had been rivals, in a professional sense, so the endorsement of a Kuatish officer by a Corellian one was a surprise. "This is his plan, he knows it like the back of his hand. Let me also add that he is the most experienced and respected officer we all know by name and one that we all trust. I think that's something all of us can agree on."
"I concur." General Sutre said, having been silent for most of the discussion. "Admiral Drexel is my vote as well. All in favor?" A vast majority of hands were raised in agreement as Drexel sighed. "All opposed?" Next to no one raised their hands in opposition to the proposal. "Admiral, do you accept this position and responsibilities that come with it."
Sighing once more, Drexel stood up. "Very well, I accept the position. And what will be name of this…new force?"
"I think the Republic Volunteer Corps is as good a name as an." Admiral Kuat suggested. "After all, it is what it is."
The other men and women agreed, the Republic Volunteer Corps was now official, as official it could be until they receive approval from the Galactic Security Council. As the group broke for recess many of the officers came up and shook Admiral Drexel's hand. Once that was done, and Drexel himself walked out, he was greeted by Admiral Kuat, an old subordinate and someone he'd mentored before transferring to being instructor at the academy.
"Admiral Drexel." Lady Yula Kuat said with calm respect. "Walk with me?"
The much younger flag officer was a distant member of House Kuat, far from the highest in line for great power among the Kuat family, such as the royal family and those who supervise and practically run Kuat Drive Yards. Despite this, she still had enough connections to politick her way into commanding the Royal Kuatish Sector Defense Fleet. And she'd done a good job thus far, nothing had happened that would indicate her as being a incompetent and poor officer, and Drexel knew his old protégé would do a fine job in her position.
"Of course ma'am." Drexel said, nodding as he fell into step with her.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised you took the job." she said once they were out of earshot of the others.
"Referring to my retirement?" Drexel replied evenly.
"Of course, you'd been planning it for a while." Yula said as she briefly looked outside. "Of course, I would expect you to come in as consultant when needed, but I really didn't see this one coming."
"Situation's changed." Drexel firmly but nonchalantly responded to that.
"Which is why I'm wanting to ask a favor of you." Admiral Kuat tentatively asked.
"And that is?"
"My son, Wain, he's just graduated from the academy." the Kuat CinC took a breath. "I'd appreciate it if you could put him on your staff. Knowing him he'll ask for a combat position."
"Concerned about him?" Cynan said, amused.
"Of course, I'm his mother." she chuckled. "I always worry."
"I'll see what I can do, but don't be surprised if I give him a combat posting later, especially if he presses for one." Drexel replied to his protégé. "But I'll need a favor in return."
"And that is?"
"I'd like my old flagship, the Basilisk, back." Drexel asked, making her snap her head to him in surprise.
"One of the dreadnoughts?!" Kuat snapped.
"It's the newest ship of the Mandator-class, her crew's experienced, her engineers have a complete working expertise of her systems, and they know me, I trained them."
"That'll take some time, Drexel." she said with some discomfort. "The Basilisk is the one of the few Mandators that was upgraded, even beyond the Ruusan and Farixen limitations. The Admiralty won't like parting with her."
"Each one of those seven, modified dreadnoughts is still under Kuat command." Admiral Drexel replied calmly. "They don't have a say. Besides they have ships twice that size coming down the line."
"At least you're not asking for one of those." she sighed, knowing he was referring to Project Asperity. "And what else? I know you want more."
"I taught you well." Drexel laughed. "I'll also need Venators and Acclamators."
"Makes sense, they're combat proven." Yula said in a matter of fact tone and she wasn't wrong.
The Venator-class attack cruiser, also known as a star destroyer by Anaxsi standards, was introduced twenty years ago by KDY and Allanteen Fleet Works as a replacement for existing cruisers of the time and as a complement to active carriers. It was well-armed: four batteries of dual DBY-827 heavy turbolasers on each side of the ship's superstructure, two duel medium turbolaser cannons, an extensive point-defense suite, 6 heavy tractor beam projectors, 4 heavy proton torpedo launchers, a number of missile cells, and a number of deck guns mounted on both sides of the ship. Recent models were also armed with a single super-heavy turbolaser cannon mounted on the bow and some were also being refitted with concentrated beam weapons. Venators alone could carry 420 fighters and 40 dropships when outfitted as such, providing many fleets who can not afford a purpose-built carrier with enough air power to make a difference. They proved themselves at Malastare Narrows as they formed the core of the Jedi-Republic task force, defeating a corporate fleet led by the Harch Admiral Trench, presumably killing him. Since then, whenever the Jedi involved themselves in military matters as needed, they favored the Venator-class as their command ships for its flexibility and command n' control network. Planetary militaries and militias alongside private security companies and PMCs also favored them as they were some of the cheapest, yet high quality cruisers on the market, so they were common in private fleets. The Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship had a similar, yet shorter service history, recently introduced to replace their predecessors.
"We both know that Rothana probably won't sell us any of their equipment right now so I'd like the designers to modify the assault ships to accommodate some of KSE's F-Line dropships."
"Combat Bricks? Those things are rather expensive aren't they?"
"Can't take chances with the lives of my troops." he shrugged.
"Well, which ones?" Kuat asked, wanting specifics.
"The F6 infantry carrier and the F6V vehicle carrier. Both use the same parts, and our own ships have used the same storage collars on them as well as having a proven safety and combat record."
"We've got plenty of those laying around in storage somewhere. That shouldn't be any issue whatsoever." she affirmed to him, and then something else came to mind. "Have you thought about uniforms? In case you didn't notice but none of us have the same basic uniform."
"I was thinking about that earlier, and something tells me our friends from Anaxes already have the right idea. Instead of looking to now, they're looking to the past."
"Anaxes?" Kuat questioned as she arched an eyebrow. "Oh boy, can't wait to see what they come up with."
1120 Hours Zerek Time
Third Month, Day 21, 997 RE (6 Days Later)
Training Camp Bravo-6, Saint Alcis Province, Kingdom of Carida
Ord Carida system, Argai sector, Fringe Colonies
Colonies, Republic territory
The shaking of the CR25 Troopship as it landed was the last sign that the fifty recruits aboard the ship had before there was a thud as it touched down. Aboard was a mishmash of recruits from across Taanab, a major ag-world in the Inner Rim that supplied food to countless people galaxywide while also mining nearby asteroids on the side. There were city kids from the ports, farmers from the countryside, and everything in between.
Among them was one Wyatt Lullian, an eighteen year old volunteer from the northwestern continent of Taanab. Prior to enlisting, he'd been a ranch hand most of his life, using a slugthrower to fend off predators and thieves on a few occasions. But he'd experienced nothing close to combat before as the Taanab Defense Force was strong enough to dissuade pirates, criminals, and some of the more daring slavers from causing trouble. However his immediate reaction was to volunteer for military service upon hearing of the outbreak of war. Unfortunately his first attempt had been an outright insult as he'd been told that he'd be placed in a support role in the Republic Navy as a cook.
After storming out he'd then heard of a new opportunity for volunteering in a new force being created for volunteer troops. He'd walked into the recruiting office, got medically evaluated, and signed up to serve in the Republic Volunteer Corps. They were already such troops on the frontlines in the form of RPKC units and joint service expeditionary forces deployed by major Republic worlds and the GSC, taking the fight to the Seps, operating alongside the Grand Army. They were formed prior to the war's outbreak at the request of the Galactic Security Council and Republic Command as a contingency plan, so that in the event of hostilities, the Republic wouldn't be totally defenseless. He sure that they were surprised by the reveal of Clone Army as much as everyone else.
Now, he was about to start his first day of training after departing Taanab with fifty other Taanab natives and a few others from other worlds. He was standing up upon the order from the crew chief wearing a red, black, and yellow uniform with a red and yellow helmet and orange goggles. He thought it odd, having never seen such an outfit before, never amongst Taanab's small but potent defense force or the Judicial Forces and offworld soldiers that visited his homeworld for exercises. He was still wearing his civilian clothes, a worn leather jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, and boots.
He had a thin unshaven beard as well that he had been informed would be gone the moment he arrived for training, along with the rest of the hair on his head. Although nothing could have prepared any of them for what they were going to encounter here upon arrival. The ship's bow ramp hissed as it began opening and the light of numerous flood lights flooded in, and so did the Drill Instructors.
"Get outta here meat! Move it! Move it!" the first armored man yelled fiercely as he entered, storming up the ramp as other white and red armored instructors stood at the bottom of the ramp and were awaiting them, also yelling loudly.
The young recruits shuffled out as quickly as possible, disoriented by their sudden confrontation. As they ran out, whoever was carrying a bag had it ripped away and were shoved forward into a grid of boot prints where they were forced into a formation. Around them they saw in the hot humid night that other CR25's were unloading their own cargoes of recruits. Everyone was yelling, the recruits were all disorientated, confused, and unsure of what to do aside from where they were supposed to go and do.
But soon enough all of the troops were assembled into five company-sized formations in the area where two rows of ten ships had unloaded their cargoes. However, to get there, entire companies had been forced into pushup position at least a dozen times.
"Battalion! Left, face!" one of the officers yelled loudly.
The units turned accordingly, somewhat poorly, but they managed to get it right. And upon the orders to get moving forward they began marching. They all realized that they were on a landing platform that was in a basin, and that three other such basins were to their left, and as they walked up the ramp they saw that the other ships were beginning to lift off, moving into the air as other columns of several hundred recruits marched up and out. It was a rather poor attempt at marching in-step, and there was hardly a moment when the Drill Instructors weren't yelling for them to get in step.
Eventually the masses were marched to a large grass field surrounded by boxy buildings and covered by floodlights. There were floating cameras filming the occasion as a tall stand with a podium on it. Wyatt now saw just how many people were here, about several thousand in fact. He recognized a handful of the people around him, but no one beyond whoever had been aboard the ship with him, and even then he only had one friend who he'd signed up with, Eva Quartin, the girl whose father owned a packing plant where he frequently had to drive livestock to slaughter. She was standing beside him at attention like him and everyone else.
None were wearing uniforms aside from the white and red armored instructors, who they now saw had helmets as well. These helmets had the look of a mix of a Mandalorian and Clone helmet. It had a black T-Visor, thicker than the ones used by the Mandos or the Clones, in the horizontal portion with the vertical portion having two small pieces of the black visor jutting out like a rectangle on either side until it came to a line shaped like a frown on someone's face, giving the wearer a grim appearance. Above the horizontal portion was a shallow brim that went out over the top of the visor and back down to protect from glare from the front and sides. This came back to connect with the helmet itself and the actual plate was colored the same red as a stripe running from the middle of the chin all the way up to the top of the head and back. This stripe ended at a black line running above the ears behind where the red brim ended.
The armor itself that these men wore was a very close match to the armor that the clones wore, but with a few slight differences in the shape of the shoulder pieces and the addition of two pads a foot long that draped from the belt on both hips with clips for secondary weapons or other equipment. There was also a much larger amount of paint and detail painted or molded in. Red stripes were on the edges and middle of the arm and leg plates. On the chest piece the borders of the armpits and bottom were red and a black, segmented, neck-guard draped down over the navel and around the collarbone to cover where the chest piece was connected to the back plate. The shoulders were cupped in a hook-shaped bowl shoulder pad and a full utility belt completed the package over a black undersuit. There were other such differences even among the troops, each had a Republic emblem on their right shoulder piece over the red stripe down the middle but each man had his own planet's image emblazoned on the left shoulder.
Some said Anaxes, some said Carida, a few even said Kuat, Breental, Coruscant or Pantora, and he swore he saw one that said Alderaan as well. But Wyatt was relieved to know that these were not Clones training them, these were people, with lives, homes, and loved ones like him. They had something to fight for other than being bred for war. As they stood there they saw someone walk up to the podium wearing a double breasted black and red and yellow uniform and a red officers' cap with a disc on it. He didn't recognize him at all, and once more saw that the uniform was of an old design, looking like the ones used by the Republic a long, long time ago.
"Recruits, you have been gathered today because you are united in purpose." the man said aloud, his voice echoing thanks to the speakers to his left and right. "You have volunteered to fight for the Republic. If that is so, please raise your right hands."
The formations of recruits all did so, holding them up the same as he did, elbows at a right angle.
"Now repeat after me. I, state your name, do solemnly swear…" he said, and was repeated word for word, aside from the names. "…that I will show true faith to the Republic. I pledge to defend the Republic and its interests from all enemies who wish to destroy it, foreign or domestic, even it means my death. And that I will obey the orders of the supreme authority and those officers appointed over me."
With that he brought his hand down and placed both hands behind his back.
"Welcome to the army." Eva proudly said from next to him.
"Oh yeah." Wyatt grinned as he tried to keep quiet.
"Drill Instructors, the recruits are sworn to duty, training commences now."
With the announcement Wyatt and his comrades were ordered to fall out. Nearby were several buildings they were all forced to stand outside of as lines began being ordered inside. Wyatt waited at attention in dark of the humid night for his turn until an instructor ordered his unit inside. He was one of the first, and the first thing he did was pass through a scanner with his arms held out and then had a medical droid inject a set of steroids into his arm along with an ID tag into his neck. Moving to the next station he was sat down into a barber's chair and the automated clippers just went to town, buzzing off his whole head of hair and his beard. And once that was done he was jumped by an Instructor.
"Get up out of that chair! Get your ass into your uniform! Move!"
"Yes sir!" Wyatt responded, and then the DI went off.
"I am not a sir! I am a Non-Commissioned Officer!" the DI yelled. "I, work for a living! You will refer to me as Drill Instructor!"
"Yes Drill Instructor!" Wyatt yelled in response.
With that he was ushered to a long table where he was ordered to grab a bag of equipment and uniforms. They were ordered to get into the mostly blue uniform with black boots. The uniform went on and then he was ushered into a barracks where he was pointed. Stowing the equipment he was given away, he now stood in the front of his bunk alongside Eva, who had stuck with him the whole time. The others, also stood side-by-side along the long barracks, amounting to a full platoon of forty-two people. They were missing their officer, but were about to meet him.
"Welcome to the Republic Volunteer Corps!" a voice bellowed out, and in walked a man in the same armor but his helmet was off, and he walked in amongst the unit. "You are hereby designated as the First Platoon of Echo Company, Third Battalion of the 25th Regiment, attached to the 3rd Volunteer Legion. I am Lieutenant Yuno, your platoon leader, It is my job to keep you alive. But you will have to listen and obey the orders you are given. And that starts right now. Do you get me?"
"Yes sir!"
"Very well, get into your racks, get some sleep, because tomorrow we begin training all of you greenhorns to fight in this new war."
Hello everyone, I just adopted this story from its awesome author, BIG Z1776, who not too long ago after he decided to retire from writing fan fiction. I'll be picking up where left by rewriting the original story first. I'll also expand on a few things that I think need to be expanded.
BTS:
Zerek Time is the Star Wars equivalent to Zulu Time, figured it would help keep track of time.
In case you haven't noticed, RE stands for Ruusan Era, I thought that using BBY in this period of Star Wars history BEFORE the Battle of Yavin would be weird. The Ruusan Era is named after Ruusan, a planet in the Mid Rim where the Sith were supposedly destroyed and where the Ruusan Reformation was signed by the modern founders of the Galactic Republic and what led to the Golden Age of the Republic.
I'm sure you noticed that some of the planets that will help form the RVC have official names for their respective governments. I figured that it'll drive home the fact that the Republic is home to so numerous diverse peoples and many nations devoted to freedom and democracy. I also think it would help explain that Republic is a supranational government as not every planetary government was republic or a straightforward democracy. I actually got inspired by the Tion Hegemony, which is the name of the dominant political body of the Tion Cluster. Speaking of that, I'm using Tion as a stand-in for a China expy in the Star Wars galaxy, because I think it fits.
Czerka and it's loyalty being called dubious is a nod to the KOTOR games and SWTOR's Titans of Industry update, if you look at the Legends article, the Czerka Corporation had shifted their allegiance countless times from the Republic to the Sith then. Also the fact that Czerka assets were seized by the Separatists will be touched on later in the story.
Praetorian Industries is a private company based out of Denon that is connected to one of my SWTOR OCs, my Trooper, and being the descendants of the first post-Tavus Havoc Squad commander would come to influence their products for the Republic military. The backstory of the Praetorian family and it's millennia-old business will be explored at a later date. On a side note, the Praetorians are well-known and well-connected patriots of the Republic, while also being aligned with a clandestine group dedicated the protection of freedom, democracy, and life itself. Needless to say they are anti-Palpatine and while likely resist him when the time comes.
The Invincible-class battleship take its class namesakes from the Invincible-class heavy cruiser, which served the Old Republic and its allies as a heavy capital ship in service alongside the larger and far more recognizable Valor-class battlecruiser. Eventually playing a big part in pushing the reconstituted Sith Empire back to its pre-Great Galactic War borders, the original Invincible and her sisters earned them a place in the books of naval history as one of the ships that ultimately pushed the Sith to the negotiating table much like the Sith had done to the Republic decades earlier. The Invincible-class battleship was introduced by Rendili Stardrive as a complement to the Dreadnought-class heavy cruisers serving with the Republic Navy, the Judicial Forces, and the Republic Peacekeepers. In the years leading up to the Clone Wars, RSD and Vaufthau Shipwrights began to put the active duty and reserve Invincible-class battleships in federal service through an extensive refit modernization package. This meant that the new reformed Republic Navy had access to effective capital ships at the start of the war, capable of engaging Paruni-class dreadnoughts (my name for the larger sub-variant of the Providence-class cruiser) on an even playing field.
KSE stands for Kuat Systems Engineering, subsidiary of Kuat Drive Yards that specializes in the development of advanced starships, specifically in regards to light military starships, particularly fighters, bombers, gunships, and militarized shuttles. They have notably produced the Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor, the Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor, the Firespray-31-class patrol craft, and the R-15 A-wing tactical fighter (a predecessor to the rest of the A-wing line that I came up with, think of it as being F-14 and F-15 of the era).
Kuat Systems Engineering also produced the expensive, but safe and capable F-6 dropship, more famously known as the Combat Brick.
The Republic's Galactic Security Council consist of major worlds who have a vested interest in galactic peace and (obviously) security with the founding worlds of the modern Galactic Republic being permanent members while observer and non-permanent members rotate on a yearly basis. Think of it as a Star Wars take on the UN Security Council, though unlike the UN Security Council, it only requires a majority vote to pass certain motions.
Notable permanent members:
Coruscant
Kuat
Naboo
Anaxes
Taris
Mon Cala
Rendili
Duro
Alsakan
Rothana
New Uphrades
Trantor
Bakura
Carida
Arkania
Balmorra
Commenor
Raithal
Alderaan
Hosnian Prime
Byss
Eriadu
New Holgha
Corellia
Empress Teta
Aargau
Denon
Fondor
Halcyon
Bothawui
Pantora
Abregado-rae
Republic Command coordinates operations between the militaries of star nations that are apart of the Galactic Republic, the Republic Peacekeeper Corps, and the Judicial Forces. Think of it being as cross between United Nations Command and NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe or as I like to call it: North Atlantic High Command. Trantor comes from Asimov's works.
On Wookiepedia, the Canon article for the Venator-class star destroyer states that it was introduced twenty years before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, aside from that pretty much nothing, which gives some leg room for me to work with. In my eyes the Venator was brought into the picture as a replacement for most cruisers in the RKDF and as an exportable cruiser for KDY to sell to clients across the galaxy. Hence why there were so many for the Republic Navy to deploy against the Separatist fleet at the beginning of the Clone Wars. Its introduction date also lets me give them some more background, such as having be apart of the reason why Trench was beaten by the Jedi Master Kep-She. The Venator-class was still relatively new at the time and while they took part in operations against pirates, some major crime syndicates, the occasional warlord, terrorists, and slavers, this was its first real test. In spite of losing at least half a dozen and more in varying states of damage, Trench's first flagship, which I like to call the Fury of Ando, was destroyed and presumably the man himself along with it, for The Clone Wars fans reading this, well, you know the rest. Another reason why I think Trench was defeated was a lack of critical intelligence on the part of his employers, such as enemy commanders, force composition of the Republic relief force, and known, exploitable weaknesses he could capitalize on.I also added the fact that it is available for anyone with enough credits to buy it and resources to maintain (like how Pirates, the Mandalorians, the Zann Consortium, and various fringe groups had access to them in Empire at War: FoC), so expect to see some Republic privateer groups and PMCs to have some Venators as serving either the center of their fleets or as the backbone of them. I also figured I should give the Acclamator-class some headcanon love as well, but there is no confirmed date as to when they are introduced, so I gave them a shorter résumé in a manner of speaking.
I also put something in there that'll slight deviate from the original story. And that is the fact that major Republic worlds actually assembled expeditionary forces to fight the CIS, due to the fact the Confederate military wrested control of the galaxy's major hyperspace lanes, isolating the Republic from the bulk of its Grand Army. I like to think that this was also the reason the why the founders of this new army of volunteers created, they were unable to sit by and watch the Separatists continually gain ground. As for where they'll be when the main force is activated, I'm just going to say have a choice between transferring into the RVC or returning home. In essence, these expeditionary forces are loosely modeled off of the British Expeditionary Force and the Allied Expeditionary Force of WW2. They will get mentioned by our colorful cast of characters every now and then, but their story will be told in a prequel of sorts covering certain battles that occurred prior to the Battle of Christophsis, including a campaign to destroy an ancient Sith superweapon and another on a certain mudball.