Entry Forty-One – Days after Geonosis, Two Hundred Fifty-Five
Anakin Skywalker has won another great victory on the behalf of the Republic, or actually two, though only one has been made official public knowledge. The other will no doubt leak shortly. The clones are extraordinarily loyal but remarkably loose with information in casual conversation. The amount a single Twi'lek waitress can get out of a group at a bar is immense. Perhaps in other regions, with non-stop Republic propaganda on all displays, this does not penetrate far, but in the Bucket that message is dampened almost below the point of audibility, while rumor shoots through the piping. Of course, most residents are disengaged from the war save when development crews pass through. Only a few people pay close attention.
Regardless, it seems Skywalker is well on his way to becoming the Republic's most famous, and most popular, Jedi. His defeat of Grievous at Bothawui, and his subsequent destruction of the listening post that enabled a brutal Separatist offensive of nearly two months duration, has restored equilibrium after a series of severe defeats. The loss of Bothawui would have been a disaster, especially if the Bothans tried to sue for peace. Theirs is an influential, if not especially well-liked, species, and such a defection might have fractured the Republic irretrievably. If the tenor or the Bucket's streets is any guide there is much fracturing among the public already.
Support for the Republic is strongest among humans, and muted elsewhere. As the months have stretched out this variance has grown into a real divide, one that threatens to become a severe rift. It is something that I, who somehow find myself claimed by both sides, cannot avoid noticing.
Perhaps Skywalker will help to serve as a bridge. His padawan, Ahsoka, was also lauded across the HoloNet. It makes for a particularly photogenic pairing, though it is difficult for me to watch images of Ahsoka's, or any other padawan's, great accomplishments. I never had such skills myself. I do not think I would have lasted long on the front lines. The distribution of casualty numbers suggests this hard truth had been expressed across far too many young students.
I worry about how many will be left when this is done. The war shows no sign of ending, and certainly not swiftly. The GAR grows in size by the day, but Separatist forces must be increasing in numbers likewise. Even if Bothawui is the furthest they should come, I cannot imagine we are even halfway to the finish. Dooku's public addresses no longer play, but the police keep capturing whole stacks of datacards filled with them. He remains utterly defiant. Grievous, the chief general, is Kaleesh, a species whose language does not even include the word 'surrender.' Isoxya, who I can trust to understand the warrior mindset, fully agrees with me that he will fight to the bitter end, and Kayi has made clear the impossibility of breaking the morale of an army composed primarily of droids. I can access production figures and estimates easily enough, and the arithmetic is not complex at the galaxy-wide scale. Republic industrial production at least matches that of the Separatists, and our growth rate is significantly higher, an overwhelming advantage might not be achieved for a full decade. For the present, we are several outnumbered and likely to remain so for some time.
Projecting casualty figures for a conflict at this scale it not all that dissimilar from doing so for a disease outbreak, the shape of the curves differs, that's all. Morbidly, I cannot help but make such projections for the Order. At present, a two year war will claim nearly two-fifths of the Order, a three year one half, and a five year one over two-thirds. I do not know if the Order can sustain such immense losses. We are not droids. When do we break?
Notes
The victory referred to at the top is the combination Battle of Bothawui and destruction of Skytop Station.