Ch2: Shadows of War

Naboo, Chommell Sector, 22 BBY

"Now, Gentlemen," Jackson explained to the assembled group of Naboo Pilots around him, "It is important to note that in the role of close-quarters protection, you cover all angles; am I understood?"
There were nods, of course, but the young Mandalorian knew that he was being, on the large, ignored.
As a matter of fact, the two most invested listeners seemed to be Captain Quarsh Panaka and Senator Padme Amidala.
The Republic Navy Commander huffed to himself in amusement at the irony.
He was inexperienced, yes, when compared to the grizzled old Commander of the Naboo Navy, but those who were assembled before him?
Dramatically more.
"Alright," he feigned concession, "let us get in the air, and we'll see just how damn well you're able to defend the Senator here."
Suddenly wary, they rose, and at the back of the room, Panaka shook his head in disappointment.
"Commander?" he asked, drawing the attention of the glowering Mandalorian of Clan Tritonis, "Take it easy on them, will you? They are only young, and they have long careers ahead of them."
"War is on the horizon, Captain, and while I admire your people's dedication to their tenets of peace, I will reiterate that these Separatists will not simply let a Naboo ship go by because its people are committed to diplomacy."
The man nodded with a little grimace.
"Go well, Commander."

Karlinus System, Chommell Sector, 22 BBY
The Naboo pilots formed up in close order, maintaining formation around the diplomatic cruiser which they were assigned to protect, piloted by Panaka. The Republic pilots watched with some degree of satisfaction as they observed their teachings coming into fruition.
They knew, however, that the bare bones of theory would not be sufficient; not at all.
Both groups, attackers and defenders, knew that the location at which the convoy would drop out of light speed would be in the old Naboo Colony, the Karlinus System, whose authorities had granted a significant portion of their space for the Naboo Protection Force's pilots to be trained by the Republican troops who had come out all this way.
The Republic Cruiser arrived first, the Arquitens-Class Craft Ardent, which Percy had commanded for the year or so since his elevation to his current rank, deploying a sortie of five fighters. It was a superior force, but not unbeatable for the Naboo.

He watched as the convoy dropped out of hyperspace, sighing as he noticed the disarray in which they had emerged, sending a note of it off to Panaka via his comms room.
They reformed quickly enough, he noticed, but there was very little use in the matter when the Republic fighters entered the fray.
Neither side was using lethal ammunition, but all involved had been instructed to react appropriately should their computers flag them up as having died.
The Republic pilots didn't fly the X-Wings or Torrent Starfighters that tended to be utilised, either on patrolling missions or on air-to-air combat strikes; instead, they utilised Y-Wing Fighter-Bombers. The two-seater craft were slow, but that was what Jackson had decided to use instead of pitching his vastly superior pilots and craft against the Naboo.

The Naboo reacted quickly, their N-1 starfighters making incredible use of their manoeuvrability to outflank the first Y-Wing, removing a Republic Pilot from the simulation.
The next three, however, rolled out of the attack line, pilots watching as the N-1s shot by, and tail gunners capitalising with pleasure. Two Naboo starfighters were knocked out of the simulated dogfight, the remaining two now split up, one continuing to tail the VIP vessel, a lone guard clinging to his primary objective.
That, however, didn't last long at all.

The Republic trainers swept in with no mercy, driving through and making short work of the remaining craft, and they quickly surrounded the Naboo Cruiser, Jackson shaking his head at the ease with which his forces, however, experienced, had made such short work of pilots who claimed to belong to a professional military, however much the politicians of the world desired to designate them a defence force.
He switched on his comms, ready for a scathing debrief.
The message would never be sent.
The Naboo would get their Senator to Coruscant, but losses would be sustained in the process, only trickery and wile saving the life of Senator Amidala, and yet costing the life of her decoy as she arrived to attend crucial talks on the future of the galaxy.
Republic Navy Cruiser Ardent jumped into hyperspace for an emergency meeting of Commanders and those senior on Coruscant only a few moments later, the mind of her commander whirling with possibilities.

Republic Naval Academy, Anaxes, 22 BBY

The meeting, as it turned out, was one of frightening magnitude.
The only place large enough to hold it, as it had turned out, was the main parade ground of the Officer Training Academy on Anaxes, and possibly for the first time, every Officer of the Galactic Republic had been gathered in one place in some form, be it the commanders of active warships cast by holograms into the meeting, or the more junior of the officers, seated in the stands as he was.
The speaker addressing them was a familiar one, yet by no means a Naval Commander of any description.

"Officers," Grand Master Yoda began, "At war, the Republic is."
This statement was no surprise to those present, and yet that fact did nothing to prevent the murmur that ran across the crowd.
"Assembled an Army, the Separatists have, across their domains. Destroy it, we must, so that returned to peace, the Galaxy is."
This statement was met with a resounding cheer, the thousands of Ship's Commanders present stamping their feet on the floor and clapping.
The Master raised his three-clawed hand for silence, and once more the crowd died down.
"An Army of our own, we have assembled," He explained to them, his voice continuing to be magnified by the microphone and loudspeakers in the arena, "Engage this foe, we shall, with a landing fleet."
At that, the planning began.

Never in his life had Percy imagined that he would be involved in such a meeting, and yet here he was. Protocol dictated that the briefing would trickle down a chain of command; move down step by step, and each unit handle a separate set of objectives.
Today, however, there was no time.
Orders were rushed; vague and poor, given for weary and unprepared commanders of a Navy that had not seen large-scale conflict in millennia.
There were talks of huge-scale invasions, hordes of troops that would charge in on the great dusty plains of Geonosis and engage a foe that appeared to number in the millions of Battle Droids.

Kamino, Abrion Sector, 22 BBY

It was a newly minted Commodore Perseus Jackson who landed on Kamino, surrounded by the officers who would take up the leadership of the warships that accompanied his own in Naval Task Force 38.
Many were familiar to one another, as was the intention of those who had assembled these forces, the Admirals and Jedi who had coordinated the war effort at large having looked to their Officers' Academy classmates and seniors when they had assembled the new structure of the Republican Navy.
His right-hand man would be Captain Jason Grace, the Kuati Officer with whom he had accomplished so much while at the College on Anaxes.
Third In Command, and captaining the final Venator Star Destroyer of their Task Force would be another classmate, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano; though they couldn't hope to know where their other comrades from their Module had been designated. All were likely in posts around the newly-formed Fifth and Sixth Fleets, though not all of them would have been in the prestigious roles which the trio had found themselves in; responsible for a warship which housed more than seven thousand crew, and a further two thousand land forces.

Their arrival on Kamino was frantic; the journey from the assemblies on Kuat to here had been at short notice, ships understaffed and managed by Commanders who were all still reeling from the shock of their whirlwind change in role.
The next jolt to the senses came in the form of the thousands of men who flooded aboard their craft; all identical clones, all clad in the same Republic Navy uniform and set apart only by nametag, designation number and rank tab on their front.
So this was their army.
The arrival of so many new faces had Percy jogging up to the bridge, where he would be spending so much of his time over the span of this war, pulling his communicator out of his pocket as he strode from the bay at the ship's rear towards his command centre.
"All command staff of Republic Star Destroyer Negotiator to the Tactical Bridge for briefing in ten minutes," he demanded, taking his seat and exhaling in a long, weary sigh.
He was twenty years of age; the property of a filthy slaver not even ten years ago, and a pirate stowaway after that.
How was he now in the command of one of the most powerful objects in the galaxy?

The new senior staff of his Task Force's flagship, the Negotiator, strode in together; eight identical faces facing him, though it was notable that one was dressed considerably different to the rest.
"Gentlemen," he greeted, scanning the room. "I am Commodore Perseus Jackson, born to Clan Tritonis of Mandalore and Commander of this Task Force. Your own names, if you will?"
The Clones began from the right, moving apparently from most senior to the least.
The roles were familiar, from Navigator CT-1121 'Splash' Fighter Commander CT-1066 'Twister' and his Second, CT-6708 'Axe' to his Comms Operator, CT-4662 'Fuzz' and Fire Controller CT-0400 'Shocks'
The most interesting to the young Commodore, however, was by far and away the Clone in the Grand Army of the Republic's armour; one Clone Marshal Commander CT-2244.
"Name's Cody, Chief, I'm the Clone in charge of the 212nd Legion, under General Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Well, Commander, there's a common point between us, then; that would make you my Grand Army counterpart, then?"
"Indeed it would, Chief."
The two shook hands, and at a gesture from the Mandalorian, they went with Fuzz to the Comms Room, ready for a meeting with the other Commanders of the Task Force.

It was a group of ten who appeared on the Holotable before him, their blue translucent projections appearing as they finished their own introductory briefings with their staff.
"Ladies, Gentlemen," Jackson greeted, acknowledging his subordinates, "As you know by this point, we are Task Force 38, under the Jedi Command of General Kenobi, and under the Republican Jurisdiction of the 5th Fleet, Open Circle Armada."
Nods greeted his statement, and he took a chance to look across the team.
Each was his age or younger still, the lowest ranks present being Lieutenant Commanders in charge of his Medical Frigates and Blockade Runners.

After introductions came tactics.
Their entire force was being deployed on a level unseen in centuries, the Republic launching a simultaneous Air and Ground Assault on the Separatist-Controlled Desert Planet of Geonosis, in the Outer Rim. They would have at their disposal several Task Forces of the brand-new Fifth Fleet, who were tasked with escorting twelve Kaminoan-serving, Rothana-made Acclamator-Class Assault Ships to the Geonosian Surface; and two entire Sector Armies of the Grand Army of the Republic, fresh from Kamino itself.
It would be few short of 300,000 Clones who were put onto the surface of the Desert planet, and it was their collective responsibility to ensure that they would damn well make it in.
Their mission was a successful invasion of the planet, and an extraction of the Jedi who had been placed there, including the man in command of their own forces, General Kenobi, who had all been inserted on the planet on an intelligence-gathering mission.
Upon arrival, they would establish and maintain aerial and spatial control of the entire Geonosis System, destroying any Separatist Warships present, by way of utilising their Venator-Class Star Destroyers and Arquitens-Class Light Cruisers, supported by their fighter complements as they escorted the Acclamators to surface.
Checking for doubts, Jackson went from person to person, from Lieutenant-Commander William Solace who commanded the Medical Frigate to Commander Annabeth Chase of one of their Arquitens Light Cruisers.
Satisfied at his Task Force's understanding of their mission, he signed off.
They cast off from their mooring and took up carefully planned positions, spearheading the wedge that would be driven through the Separatist blockade. At the tip of the Galactic Republic Navy's formation was RSD Negotiator and its supporting ships, the captains ready and waiting to engage.
The Galactic Republic was going to war.

Geonosis, Arkanis Sector, 22 BBY

The Republic Fifth Fleet dropped out of hyperspace, a force of thirty Star Destroyers and all the vessels that supported them emerging in tight formation, the hangar doors of the venators opening to unleash their fearsome complements of starfighters upon their foe.
Of course, that was when all hell broke loose.
Within moments, space was filled with cannonfire, the vivid blue and green bolts of Republican fire and sickly scarlet of Separatist guns returning it.

Within a moment, the fiery BOOM of a destroyed Capital Ship rent the sky, a Separatist Recusant-Class Light Destroyer having fallen victim to RSD Scipio's main battery of DBY-827 Heavy Turbolaser Turrets. The kill was confirmed over comms and attributed to Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. Jackson smiled.
With a single order, Chaos Squadron of the Negotiator raced forwards, all 24 V-19 Torrent fighters breaking the swarm of Vulture Droids and driving through in a punishing attack run on the first Separatist Providence-Class Dreadnought, and removing its shield generators.
That particular ship would not survive too long past that point under heavy fire, the Negotiator seeing its first Capital Ship kill of the war and the Republic pushed forces through the newly created gap in the Separatist Admiral's tight defence.
From his right, Jackson observed as Task Force 49, under Admiral Wullf Yularen; the commanding unit of the entire Invasion Force, pushed forwards themselves, the experienced commander's punishing assault driving a Separatist Dreadnought into evasive action, its shields made redundant and its fighters cut to pieces by the superior clone pilots.

Acknowledging Yularen's aggressive move, the Mandalorian pushed Malcolm Pace's Light Cruiser Paladin into attack position, the Negotiator and Scipio screening his move with simultaneous barrages from their primary armaments, challenging the enemy's Capital ships as the Alderaanian Officer, cousin to Annabeth Chase, eliminated the brunt of the enemy starfighter threat, withdrawing rapidly once more behind screening fire when it received potentially overwhelming fire and the battle returned to a steadier rhythm, though this time it was with a significant advantage on the part of the Galactic Republic Navy.

"Boss!" Fuzz called from the Comms Room, "Transmission from the Brass, Sir."
Jackson nodded, transferring control of the ship to his Navigator, the Clone known as 'Splash'.
The Comms room was a quiet haven in comparison to the rest of the ship, the sound-insulating walls providing a stable environment from which people could conduct meetings such as this one, even over the din of battle.

"Arriving soon we are, Yularen," Grand Master Yoda informed them, "Break the blockade quickly, you must."
"Understood, Master," Yularen responded, "Jackson, drive your force through the centre, where we have made the most progress. That should in theory break the line to the extent that we can push our assault craft through."
"We'll make a drive, Admiral," Jackson responded, "But I expect that we will need to remove the Battleship on the Left flank."
"It shall be done, Jackson," the Admiral confirmed, "Just ensure that we have the centre secure, and that we can release the Army for their ground run."
At that, the transmission cut, and Percy strode back into the Bridge, bringing up an image of the battlespace on his holotable.
"Shocks," he called into his communicator, "focus all forward batteries on our forward position, and divert power from rear deflectors to front and broadside. We're about to punch a hole through the enemy lines."
"Affirmative Sir," he heard in response, and immediately he contacted Reyna in the Scipio and Jason in RSD Tempest, confirming the same order on their part, calling their designation of three Arquitens-Class Light Cruisers, Overseer, Warmonger and Paladin under Chase, La Rue and Pace respectively to cover their rear and flanks as they made their run for the surface.

Off to the left, he saw a swarm of Clone Starfighters performing a daring flanking manoeuvre on the largest Separatist Capital Ship, a gargantuan Lucrehulk-Class Battleship; a modified cargo freighter which had been repurposed by the Trade Federation to serve as both a command vessel and a Primary Capital ship.
Seeing his opening, he made his run.
Six ships; three Star Destroyers and three Light Cruisers made a driving push, and the flanks followed. Tempest struck first, Jason Grace deploying three full squadrons of fighters, and the V-19 Torrents did well.

Jackson mirrored the move, taking advantage of the fighters' presence to deploy BTL-B Y-Wing Bombers to drive an attack run of their own, and sent out a complement of his own Torrents to screen for the slower bombers and protect them from the Vulture Droids which remained all too prevalent across the battlespace as they whirled about, most notably as Republic began to lose craft, swooping in to pick off the escape pods before Consular-Class Cruisers and the rare support craft present arrived to retrieve survivors.
The bombers' run was a good one, driving ahead of the fleet at large and launching the ordered attack passage upon the Cruiser out ahead of them and allowing the heavier vessels to punch through to force a gap that would allow through the awaiting force of 12 Acclamator Assault Craft, the First and Second Sector Armies of the Grand Army of the Republic itching for a fight, and the Commanders of the Fifth Fleet in no position to deny them that desire.
The greatest warriors of the Galaxy were all present on the surface of that planet, and they would be damned to a man if they were to lose the majority of their command as a result of their inability to break a blockade.

To her left, Captain Ramirez-Arellano of RSD Scipio watched as the Republic lost their fifth and biggest vessel of the fight; this time an Arquitens Light Cruiser limping out of the fray.
By some miracle it was able to withdraw under its own steam, but its shields were all but beaten, the hull of the vessel smoking as it limped away.
The separatists, however, did not relent from their barrage upon the vessel, and immediately she understood what was about to happen, and exactly why.
She would not allow it.
"Riddler, change our heading to 035, and present broadside to the Cruiser pushing that Arquitens."
She would receive backlash for her actions, yes, but if the Court Martial had the sense to watch her actions from the perspective of a competent tactician, she would be excused; lauded, even, for her actions.
Sending off a transmission off to Jackson's Negotiator explaining and apologising for her actions, she made her move.

Jackson could not help but swearing as he heard his subordinate's message, and he immediately made for his holotable, inspecting their portion of the battlespace.
The loss of Beckendorf's Cruiser Sabresmith from the left flank had indeed blown a hole in their attacking formation, the heavier warships of the 13th Task Force being drawn in to withdraw their ship and as such giving way for the enemy cruiser which had moved into an advanced position too dominant on their flank, and beyond his own ships. Not only did it have access to his support craft, but it also had the ability to break the weaker cruiser line to access the underside and rear of the Republic force.
Reyna's actions, impulsive as they had been, were nothing short of brilliant, dropping under the main battle line and opening up to present the top-mounted turbolaser cannons and Ion Torpedo Tubes of Scipio's Broadside to the enemy vessel, forcing it to take evasive action.
To the Republican Commanders' delight, however, the Separatists had realised their error too late; the Anaxes-Born Officer's manoeuvre had been timed to absolute perfection as she closed the trap, readjusting course to appear behind the salient vessel and targeting its now exposed and undefended rear, unleashing a punishing barrage on each of its broadsides as Separatist Captains attempted to follow their comrade into the wedge he had created.
Jackson couldn't help but let out a laugh as he realised exactly what had just happened.

"Clarisse," he called to the Corellian Commander, "Take up attack position on my 8, focus fire on the final cruiser; we're going to knock that battleship out of orbit."
"Gladly, Jackson," he heard in response from the Cruiser commander, and he smiled, striding off the Venator's bridge and into the Comms Room where the projections of the other Republic Star Destroyer Captains were already assembled.
"Master Yoda," he addressed the old Jedi with a bow, "The path is clear; you are free to make your run on the surface."

"Grateful, I am, Commodore," The Jedi acknowledged, "Done well, you have, young one."
"Excellent stuff Jackson," Yularen echoed, "and congratulate the Captain of Scipio for a battle remarkably well fought. Two Capital Ship kills is no mean feat, and your own two is nothing to shy away from. Tempest, too, played his part masterfully."
"Thank you, Admiral," Percy accepted graciously, "I shall pass on your compliments to Reyna and Jason."
At that, he saluted the experienced old man, and left the call, returning to his command post and watching in amazement as the landing force pushed through; taking fire, and yet so insignificant that the craft might as well have been moving in unopposed.
Sighing in relief, Perseus Jackson sat down for the first time in the four hours since the fight had commenced.
The Jedi would be saved.

Geonosis, Arkanis Sector, 22 BBY

It was late in the day that he would be given the chance to be taken down to the surface of Geonosis, the sun having set and the Clone Troopers having set up a concrete perimeter around the Republic's newly taken position.
Already, the Separatist Commanders had fled, the ships which had survived the planetary Naval Invasion having taken what little numbers of survivors remained in the aftermath of what had been a horrific battle.
Even now, the planet's dusty surface was littered with shrapnel and the bodies of the fallen, the Jedi in particular having taken significant losses over the course of their botched operation of subterfuge, the mighty warriors having been caught by surprise by hordes of droids before they had been relieved by the Clone Gunships of Grand Master Yoda's 41st Legion and extracted under heavy fire.
Among the survivors, however, were the Jedi Generals whom he sought out.

The first had been his own Commanding Officer, General Obi Wan Kenobi, under whose authority the entirety of Task Force 38 and the 212th Legion would fall. As it turned out, the man himself was one of those deployed first to Geonosis, there on an espionage mission which had gone badly wrong. General Anakin Skywalker, alongside whom Admiral Yularen would serve, could be found later.
Both had gone through a hell of a lot over the duration of the last few rotations, including a confrontation with the fearsome Count Dooku.
The sight of a Clone Commander and a Naval Officer, therefore, should never have prompted the genial smile that the warrior offered them as he beckoned them to have a seat.
Shaking his head at the unflappable persona that the Jedi presented, Percy found himself taking the offered seat, giving the Jedi Master a bow of respect; one that Commander Cody mirrored.
"I take it you're the ones I'll be keeping alive over the course of this war, then?"
Oh, Jackson liked this one.

"Commodore Jackson, Master Kenobi, and that would be Commander Cody on your other side," Percy explained to the Jedi, gesturing to himself and the Clone in turn.
"Indeed, gentlemen," He responded with another smile, "I do hope that the both of you are prepared to be acquainted with my Padawan too, then? He does seem to enjoy dragging me into bad situations."
"So I've heard, Master," he joked back, "He is with Admiral Yularen, in our sister force."
"Ah, excellent," Kenobi drawled sarcastically, "We shall never be rid of him, then."
The trio chuckled, and they settled into an easy conversation. Tactics and war could wait for another time. Today had seen the first of many battles that they would fight alongside one another, and each had experienced more than was their remit for the day.
For now, they could relish the fact that there was life still in their bodies and joy still in their hearts.

A/N
Happy Star Wars Day!
Or at least, it has just become May the 4th as I edit this down to be posted.
I hadn't planned on posting, but then I wrote about 3,000 words in the space of 2 hours and suddenly I had enough to keep me going through exams. I'm sitting on Chapter 4, now, which would have enabled me to post a bit quicker over that period, we'll see when I post from here on out. I realised what the date was, and made an impulsive decision.
The slightly rushed segment between Naboo and Geonosis isn't necessarily my best, but let's face it, you'd much rather read what I've given you than the several thousand words I would have written detailing complex military reforms made by an unprepared galaxy shortly before a large-scale invasion.
The introduction of the Venator is a contentious one. The one I referred to in the previous chapter was quite obviously a test vessel, though this would in theory be a fully fitted out one. Nothing I've found says that the Venator wasn't the flagship vessel of the Republic at Geonosis, because we don't see the space battle. Let me know if I'm wrong, but be kind about it, it's not like I've broken the universe by adding a ship or two to write an admittedly rather nice fight scene.
Thanks to Dudududhehe for his help in betaing and fact-checking me here, a great writer in his own right. Check out his stuff if you somehow haven't already.
Until next time then,
Sol
I don't own Star Wars, Percy Jackson or any related media.