Oval Office - White House - 10:23am EST - July 6 1988

Kaiser Wilhelm IV of Germany stared at the Jedi in front of him, as Chancellor Helmut Kohl circled the two. "Hmm... Interesting." The Kaiser said. "Kaiser Wilhelm, thank you for agreeing to meet with us." Obi-Wan said. Wilhelm nodded slowly. "Helmut?" he said slowly. Kohl sighed. "Ich trust zem. Barely, zo." President Reagan, sitting at his desk, smiled. "Excellent, excellent. The Republic's representatives will arrive shortly." "Good." Kohl said, eying Anakin. Wilhelm sat down. "Zo, Jedi, zeese 'Zeppies', how bad are zey, truly?" the Kaiser asked. "They have committed horrific atrocities." Obi-Wan said.

Kohl snorted "And you?" he asked. "No nation is pure, Jezdi." Obi-Wan nodded somberly. "We have done things that I find detestable." "Za Reichstag will love to hear zis!" Kohl said. Wilhelm adjusted the black-white-red tricolor pin on his suit jacket. "Ronald, what zall we tell ze Deutsch people?" "You tell them the truth, like I'm about to do." Reagan said. "Maybe with a little joke, a little story." "Zat's your zing." Kohl said, chuckling.

National Airport - Washington, DC - 10:40am EST

Mace Windu and Senator Bail Organa, together with 10 Clone Troopers, stepped off their lander onto the tarmac at the National Airport in Washington. The group takes in the scenery and the early July breeze. "It's nice." Organa said. Two DC National Guardsmen walked over to the group. "This way." one said.

Press Room - White House - 10:46am EST

President Reagan watched the reporter's stunned faces. He had just dropped possibly the biggest bombshell of all time. The reporters, from CNN, Fox, ABC, the New York Times, and others stared at the President. "C-can you repeat that?" asked a young female reporter from CNN. Reagan nodded and repeated his statement. The United States had made contact with aliens, human aliens, and had learned of a war, a war in a galaxy far, far away.

The NYT journalist gagged before breathing into a paper bag. "There is nothing to panic over." Reagan said, a bit irritated. "The Republic is peaceful towards us, and has offered help in keeping our world safe from these Separatists." "So will we ally with them?" asked the ABC reporter. "That is up to Congress and the United Nations Security Council." Reagan responded. Over the next ten minutes, Reagan answered many frantic questions, helping to calm the millions of Americans watching. But one thing was for sure, today, the world would change forever.

Hallway - White House - 10:50am EST

Mace, Organa and their clones stepped into the White House. While not as grandiose as the government buildings of Coruscant, it was still quite a sight. Soldiers marched past, while officers and workers watched the new arrivals carefully. Several soldiers in dress uniform with rifles stood by. "Your men will wait here." A soldier said stifly. Mace nodded, and he and Organa followed a soldier down the hall.

In the Oval Office, Mace and Organa entered just as Wilhelm and Kohl exited with their aides. Mace stepped forward and bowed to the President. "President Reagan, it is an honor to meet you." He said. Organa followed suit, also bowing. "Thank you for the opportunity to better explain our side." Reagan smiled good-naturedly, as he thought intensely over the situation. He wasn't sure he could trust these aliens, but, these Separatists, were they truly as bad as the Jedi made them sound?

"Now, Mr. President, as you understand the basics of the situation, I want to go over possibilities for a partnership between our governments." Organa said. Reagan's face went neutral before he spoke again. "Senator, I do not know how I can trust you. Please, do go over why I should, and why the rest of this planet should as well." Organa nodded, expecting this. "Here." He said, placing several holo disks on the President's desk. "What are those?" Reagan asked. "HoloNet Newsreels of Separatist warcrimes." Organa said. The disk began to play, as everyone in the room (including Reagan's guards) began to watch.

Horrible things were showed on those clips, horrific warcrimes committed by Separatist troops. When the clips finally ended, Reagan leaned back in his chair. "Fascinating." He said simply. "As you can see, Mr. President, these Separatists are dangerous. They want to bring every planet possible into their empire, and will not be kind to your world." "And why should I believe the Republic won't?" "The Republic is not interested in conquest, only defeating the Separatists." Organa said. Reagan doubted this. "I will consult my generals, then Congress." he finally said. "Look, Mr. President, I understand you are hesitant to trust us, but, we want your planet to be free, not another slaving subject of the Confederacy."

Reagan sighed. "I want to believe you, but, I will need more than this. My people will need more than this." Organa nodded. "Say it, and I will make sure it happens."

Kremlin - Petrograd - Republic of Russia - 6:53pm MST

President Boris Yeltsin of Russia watched the press conference on repeat, his jaw almost at the floor. Other Russian officials gathered in the room stared it shock at the Television on the wall, as Reagan's words came through its speakers. "My god..." said Vladimir Putin, a high-ranking State Security official. One of the few not to be executed after the USSR's fall. Yeltsin turned to his fellow Russians. "What does this mean?" asked Mikhail Gorbachov, another holdover from the USSR who had survived by renouncing communism. "It means that everything changes." Yeltsin said. "Whatever happens, we cooperate with Washington." Putin said. Yeltsin nodded. "Yes, yes." Gorbachov said, waving his hand dismissively. "This... Republic, what if it does not want to help so much as conquer?" another official asked. "That is possible." Yeltsin said. Putin sighed "Whatever they want, I'd rather deal with them than these 'Separatists', they do not sound like ones willing to conduct diplomacy."

"how do you know?" Gorvachov inquired. "We have only heard the Republic's side of this. For all we know this CIS could be comprised of saints on horseback." His remark raised a chuckle from the assembled men. "I trust President Reagan's judgement." Yeltsin said. Putin stood. "I will consult the SSA with this." Yeltsin nodded and waved his hand towards the door. "Yes yes Vladimir, quickly now." Putin exited the room, walking down the hall, before he encountered another man. Slipping a small device into the other man's hand, Putin whispered "To DC. Now."

10 Downing Street - London - Republic of England - 3:58pm GMT

President Margaret Thatcher of England watched the press conference, shock freezing her to the chair. Her assembled aides and secretaries were equally as shocked. "Madam President... what does this mean?" asked Home Secretary Douglas Hurd. Thatcher replied with "We listen to Ronald's judgement and cooperate with the United States. I can only hope this Republic is as honorable as it seems." George Younger, Secretary of State for Defense, snorted. "I doubt that." he said.

The Lodge - Canberra - Federal Republic of Australia - 2:59am AEDT

President Bob Hawke of Australia sat in his office with several cabinet members, watching the press conference. "How..." was all he could manage.

Situation Room - White House - 11:03am EST

President Reagan, Vice President Bush, the Marshalls, and both Obi-Wan and Anakin stood in the "Sit Room" as they waited for something. Bush sighed. "So, what is it you people are going to provide us to make us trust you?" he asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "Senator Organa has something in mind." Obi-Wan said. Suddenly, all of the Americans' pagers began going off wildly, and the group -joined by the two jedi- ran outside the room, out of the White House onto the lawn and looked up. Far in the sky above Terra's orbit was a large star destroyer, a Venator class. "My god..." said Arthur MacArthur. "Gentlemen!" Organa said, striding confidently across the lawn. "a gift from Chancellor Palpatine to the United States of America, a star destroyer!"

Reagan stared in shock at the thing, as did Bush and the Marshalls. Schwarzkopf crossed his arms. "Does it have firepower?" he asked. "More than you can imagine." Organa said.

New York City - United States of America - 8:34am EST - July 10 1988

It had been four days since the arrival of the Jedi. Four days since the world was shaken. Four days since the United States was gifted a Star Destroyer. A lot had changed in those four days. Congress had voted nearly unanimously to side with the Republic in exchange for more weapons, while the UNSC was preparing to hold a vote. The destroyer was named USS Liberty at Reagan's insistence, despite many recommending it be named USS Ronald Reagan.

Meanwhile, the Reichstag of Germany had voted to also side with the Republic after it was gifted its own star destroyer as well, naming it the RS Prussia. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin had spent the last four days absorbing Terran -mainly American- culture, but in different ways. Obi-Wan, fascinated by the history of this nation and planet, had been reading as many books as possible on history, particularly the American Revolution and American Civil War. Anakin, on the otherhand, had absorbed the planet's popular culture, especially televised media from the 1950s through 1970s. Things like muscle cars, leather jackets, westerns, and American suburban life had fascinated the young jedi.

President Reagan had called both Jedi -along with Windu and Organa- to attend the UNSC's meeting in New York City to vote on the Republic/CIS matter. They were fascinated by the city, which, while much less advanced than, say, Galactic City, was still massive and developed. As they arrived at the UN's building, Obi-Wan took note of the flags flying outside it. He had taken time to study flags of the various nations. The ones he instantly recognized were the United States of America, Empire of Germany, Republic of China, Archduchy of Austria, and Republic of Hungary, the five permanent members of the UNSC.

Inside the UN building, the group was ushered up to the Security Council's meeting room, where delegates had gathered. Small desk labels marked who was who, along with a flag graphic printed below it. The Secretary-General of the UN, Javier Cuellar of Peru, began the meeting. "Members of the United Nations Security Council, we have come here today to discuss a matter most important to the future of our great planet." After giving a brief rundown of the situation, Cuellar stepped back to allow Organa and Mace to make their speech.

"Members of the Security Council, I thank you for giving me this opportunity. This matter, and the result of the vote here, may very well determine the fate of your planet. You see, as you know by now, the Confederacy of Independent Systems is also in this galaxy, and we believe they may soon locate this planet." "And if they don't?" The Chinese delegate asked. "They will." Organa said. "And when they do, they will seek to subjugate your world." "And you don't want to?" the Austrian delegate shot back. "We do not. The Republic wants to see your planet prosper, free of the Separatists. We are not asking you to join us, rather, we are asking you to ally with us."

The delegate from the Republic of England -a temporary UNSC member- spoke up. "And why do you want to risk us not joining you? Would it not be easier to just conquer us?" "It would be, yes." Organa said. "But we do not want to conquer. We understand you may choose to not ally with us, if that is so, we will respect your choice and leave your planet be. But if you do, we will supply you with all you need to fight off the Separatists, and maybe even grow past your planet's limits. We have already gifted star destroyers to the United States and Germany. We have so much more to give all of you."

The delegate from Italy spoke. "And what of these Separatists? Why are they so bad?" "Because, if they find you, they will attack you. They will not be diplomatic like we are." Mace said, speaking up for the first time. "They will ravage your cities, steal your resources, and turn your planet into another cog in their war-machine." Murmurs broke out in various languages.

Obi-Wan stood and spoke. "We are stronger together. With the weaponry we can provide you, you will be able to stand up to any threat. Who knows what else lurks in this galaxy of yours?" The American delegate stood. "I agree with the Jedi. We are far too weak to take our chances with these Separatists and god knows what else is out there." The German delegate nodded with a shout of "ja, ja!" The Brazilian and Chilean delegates looked at each other, before the Chilean stood. "On behalf of President Augusto Pinochet of Chile, I must ask, what is the Republic? Are you capitalists, communists, dictators..?"

"We are a democratic nation." Organa said, not sure what a communist or a capitalist was. "We stand for freedom, the Separatists stand for oligarchy. Corruption. Slavery." The speech continued for another half hour, with Organa, Mace and Obi-Wan answering questions from many delegates. In the end, the UNSC voted, and came out narrowly in favor of the Republic. With such narrow results, Obi-Wan worried about the UN General Assembly's vote. One thing that eased his mind was American and German protectorates and client states seemed inclined to vote with their suzerain. But others? Many nations, such as France, China, Italy, and Indonesia were hesitant, while others such as Sudan, Egypt, Tripolitania, and Mali were openly against the Republic.

In the end, the vote came through. The General Assembly had voted to ally with the Republic, with only a few -China, Indonesia, Sudan, Egypt, Tripolitania, Syria, Babylonia, Persia, Saudi Arabia, Central Asia, Mali, Chad and Abyssinia voting for neutrality or the CIS.

Having gained a decent mandate, the United States began the process of building more weapons and adding its new flood of Republic equipment to its branches. Germany did the same, as both superpowers began giving tech to other allies. The close relationship between Washington and Berlin meant both nations new space fleets would work closely together, ensuring a more united and cohesive front. The US was a bit conflicted about which branch had authority over its starfleet, the Navy or Air Force. The Navy eventually won the day.

The public was shocked by all this, but celebrated patriotically for their nations, ready to fight the CIS, assuming the CIS found Terra.

Meanwhile, Mace had begun searching the planet for force-sensitives, aided by the FBI, CIA and Interpol. He was able to locate several, all orphans, and all infants.

Smithsonian Museum - Washington - 11:23am EST - July 17 1988

Anakin, in a leather biker jacket, entered the Smithsonian, where he found Obi-Wan intently jotting down notes on a holopad next to a display about the American Revolution. "Master." he said. "Oh, Anakin, sorry, I'm just-" he noticed Anakin's new clothing. "Anakin, what the devil are you wearing?" "A jacket, y'know like the Fonz wears." Anakin answered. Obi sighed. Anakin really had gotten way too into American televised media. "Anakin, we're here to aid in military defense not spend all our time watching pointless holoshows." "Says the one spending all his time in libraries and museums." Anakin shot back. "That's different, I am researching this world, it is always important to understand the locals and their past. "And I'm doing that too." Anakin said. "I'm learning their culture, isn't that a good thing?" Obi-Wan sighed, before noticing two men in black suits approaching.

"Ah, here comes our escort." Obi said. For the past week, Anakin and Obi-Wan were allowed to explore Washington, but only with supervision. The guards that were assigned to them usually kept back, sometimes they even wore regular Terran clothing to blend in. One tapped Anakin on the shoulder. "General Skywalker, here." the man handed Anakin a parking ticket. "What's this?" Anakin asked. "A parking ticket." the guard answered. "You parked your car in a bush." Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin had managed to get ahold of a 1960s Musran or whatever Terrans called it, and had spent all week driving it around DC. Apparently the DCMPD was not very fond of him. "Anakin," Obi began. "You've got to stop recklessly driving that Musran-" "Mustang" Anakin corrected. "around this city!" Obi-Wan finished, barely even noticing Anakin's interruption.

The guard sighed. "President Reagan needs you back at the White House." He said. "Why?" Anakin asked. "Important reasons." the guard answered.

That's Chapter 2! Chapter 3 will focus on military training, and what the Seps have been doing in the Milky Way all this time.