August 2, 1990/25 BBY
United Nations HQ, New York City
"Sputnik Station has reached 60% completion. It's estimated that it will still take over a year to finish her, and another eight months before she'll be fully ready for operation" Fera Tracker, Republic trade officer, stated.
"Let's hope they finish her on time then. The Corellians are ready to have a port that they don't have to learn eight different protocols for. Though I have heard they have been harassed by Trade Federation ships at some instances. However, considering how the Federation is doing these days that's unsurprising" a UN official, Walter Times, whose office the conversation was taking place in, replied.
"Indeed. They have been in tight straits for some time ever since the occupation of Naboo led to them losing their monopoly on Outer Rim trade".
"How the hell exactly are they still in business after invading a planet and subjugating its people? Here they would have either disbanded or had all their military assets seized and forced to pay reparations." Walter asked.
"Because the Republic doesn't have much control over the Outer Rim. The Core has been attempting to gather more influence out there for the past few decades. However, many of those worlds have accused the Republic of corruption, and those that have seats in the senate have been talking about secession from the Republic if their world's demands aren't met." Fera finished.
"Let us hope that people start to agree on some things then. Now I believe that several Naboo freighters have been reporting piracy issues-".
Rapid knocking interrupts the conversation. Walter wonders what would be so important to come to his office since he asked not to be disturbed.
"Come in."
The door opens and in rushes his aid. "Mr. Times, my apologies for interrupting but you have to see this." He quickly turned on the tv in the corner, changing it to CNN.
"This just coming in from our counterparts in the Persian Gulf. Iraqi tanks have crossed the Iraq-Kuwait border, and aircraft have begun bombing Kuwait City..."
November 14, 1990/25 BBY
White House
It had been three months since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The United Nations had almost immediately sanctioned Iraq and enacted a naval blockade to enforce it. Iraq had offered several solutions, most of which involved several Arab nations withdrawing from contested areas across the Middle East and replacing mobilized American troops in Saudi Arabia with an unspecified "Arab force". These requests, alongside holding several nations citizens practically hostage by withholding their visa's, led to the majority of both western and Arab nations to turn against Iraq.
"Tell me what assets we still have available for deployment" President Bush asked. The individuals around him were his national security council, there to assist with, obviously, matters regarding national security. The topic of current discussion was the military units that could be ready for action in the case of active hostilities.
"In terms of units ready now, the 3rd Infantry Division will be ready within a week", Brent Scowcroft, his National Security Advisor, said. "The 1st Calvary and 2nd Armored Division's will follow within two weeks after that. The Missouri and Wisconsin SAG's (Surface Action Group) are already in The Gulf and will be soon joined by the Alaska and Guam within three weeks once they are out of their refit cycle".
"Whilst the UNSC will hopefully be able to enable a peaceful solution, we will continue to prepare for a possible conflict. We must remember that we will not be in this fight alone. We will request that the British send HMS Vanguard to help facilitate a naval bombardment if it becomes necessary, alongside that the French send two more squadrons of fighters to assist in a potential air campaign" Bush concluded.
The meeting continued for several more hours, with discussion varying between the Iraq invasion, the remaining aftereffects of the Soviet withdraw from Afghanistan to the increasing divide amongst the stars with the now termed 'Separatist Crisis'.
Eventually, the meeting was dismissed, and its members dispersed. Bush made his way back to the oval office, taking his seat at the Resolute Desk. He had only just begun to prepare a draft of a planned address for the public when an aid walked through the door.
"Apologies for the interruption Mr. President, but this couldn't wait. We have a request from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to be able to speak with you as soon as possible", she said with the utmost seriousness.
Bush visibly raised his eyebrows. What could the Chancellor of the Republic possibly want with the President of one nation, albeit a powerful one, on a world so far from the Core.
"Please tell him, I shall see him immediately".
The aid nodded and then left the room. Bush made his way through the White House to the newly installed Interstellar Communications room, one of only three on Earth at the moment. The other two were both located at the United Nations building in New York.
He walked up to the holotable, upon which the visage of the Chancellor quickly appeared.
"President Bush, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance at last" Palpatine said.
"Likewise, Chancellor. May I ask why you requested me to speak with you at such short notice? Earth is one of many worlds after all, and I am sure you have many other matters to contend with" Bush replied.
"Indeed, however I wished to reach out personally to inform your United Nations of the possibility of Republic assistance in dealing with your current 'Persian Gulf Crisis'."
Bush raised an eyebrow. "Why would the Republic bother with a conflict between simple nation states on what many would consider a backwater world?"
"It is quite simple. This Iraq has conquered another state, and it threatening to do so to another. If they accomplish this, they will control a sizable amount of the current source of your world's fuel. To prevent this from spiraling out of control, and interfering with later exploration attempts of the remainder of the Unknown Regions, we wish to assist in ending this conflict. Whether that be economically or militarily" the Chancellor finished.
Bush contemplates this in surprise. Given the Republic's lack luster performance at resolving the Naboo Crisis due to internal gridlock, he is surprised that they were willing to do something like this.
"I will ask our ambassador to relay this information to the UN Chancellor. Let us hope we can make Hussein see reason before it comes to further violence" he said.
"Let us hope indeed that it will not come to such measures. I look forward to speaking again once your UN has made its decision" Palpatine finished. As the hologram faded away, he turned to look out his office window to the Coruscanti skyline.
He was not lying to the Terran when he said that the Republic wanted this problem taken care of quickly. However, that was not the only reason he had pushed for the senate to act. A military campaign would help emphasize the growing unreliability of the Judicial Forces, help galvanize the militarists amongst the senate to accept both an official military force, and the clone army when it was revealed. Meanwhile, that same 'blatantly violent action' would help to drive the secessionist movement to further heights, especially if Dooku played his part.
For now, he simply had to play the long game just as every Sith since Darth Bane had done before him. Their ultimate vengeance would come soon enough...
January 16th 1991/24 BBY
Saudi Arabi
Joint American/Republic Air Base 'Frulan'
The UN had made their decision with surprising speed. Helped of course by incentives by the United States via financial aid and other economic and military offers. UNSC Resolution 678 had offered Iraq until January 15th to leave Kuwait.
They had not.
As such, the 'Gulf Coalition' was now preparing to force them to leave and restore Kuwaiti independence.
In preparation for this possibility, the Coalition had drawn up a sizable force.
Nearly a million soldiers, thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft, alongside dozens of warships were now poised to strike at both Kuwait and Iraq itself.
However, one element of the gathered forces stood out amongst the rest. The Republic had honored its word and sent elements of the Judicial Forces to assist with the operation. In terms of ground forces, these mainly consisted of roughly ten thousand soldiers, alongside a few dozen speeders, and thirty HAVw A5 Juggernaut tanks. Despite their larger size, the juggernaut's had proven exceptionally resilient to damage, even against sustained fire from dozens of anti-tank emplacements during the Stark Hyperspace War.
However, what made up the most important of the Republic contribution to some, were the nine cruisers and over one-hundred and fifty starfighters sent as well. Plans were already developed on how to best integrate these forces into existing battle plans.
All of that meant only one thing to Reily. That this conflict was to be one for the ages, one way or another.
"Let's hope all this firepower leads to a quick war" she said to herself.
Having been reassigned to command the now refitted Sriko, this would be her first combat deployment.
She was not alone in that regard, however. Looking down at the line where the six Consular cruisers, including the Sriko, and the three Carrack-class cruisers were parked. At the farthest end, lay the ship that she had helped though its trials just a few short months before. The newly commissioned USS Gladiator, the first of possibly many Terran starships, had gone through her trials with flying colors.
Now she was meant to accompany Republic vessels above the terrestrial naval forces to provide further defense against possible missile attack. Which given the fact that Iraq had one of top air forces on the planet based on numbers alone, not counting their experience during the recent Iran-Iraq War, would not be as simple as some would make it out to be.
She then took notice of a pair of men near one of the ships exit ramps. Making her way over, she recognized one of them as the commander of the Gladiator.
"Captain Riker!" she called out. Quickly looking at her and obviously recognizing her, he dismissed the crewmember he was speaking to. Turning to meet her, he held out his hand.
"Captain Scruk, a pleasure to see you again" he said.
"Likewise. How's the girl holding up? Any post-trial quirks yet?" she asked, referring to the Gladiator.
"Well, she's been having some issues with the CIWS pivoting gyros. They aren't moving as fast as they should be, but other than that she's good to go. We should have those gyros fixed before we take off".
"Make sure of it. I have full faith in the Republic's weapons, but we know your ships type of weapons will work against what we're trying to destroy. I'd rather be safe than sorry".
Riker nodded. "Fair enough. What I am really looking forward to is these new coilguns," he said gesturing to the three respective emplacements.
"I'm especially hoping to beat out Captain Weskly. He's the captain of the USS Alaska, and we made a bet that whichever one of us managed to destroy more Iraqi positions would have to cover the others bill at a bar of their choosing" he said with a grin on his face.
Reily laughed. "Let's hope you win, as I want a place at that bar party" she said.
Just then a flight of F-16s flew overhead, shortly followed by a veritable swarm of Z-95 Headhunters. As the F-16s came onto land via the runway, the Headhunters simply hovered over to their designated landing zones, eventually creating what seemed like an unending line of starfighters.
Riker then looked over at Scruk. "Even with all this firepower, this isn't just going to be a cake walk. Iraq has the fourth largest air force on this planet, and she just got out a war with Iran, so experience is not going to be something her soldiers lack" he said.
"Then we will make certain they get a new set of experiences. Of being pushed either off the territory of Kuwait... or six feet into it" Reily responded.
Riker raised an eyebrow at the very much Earth saying. "How long were you in the states being an advisor again?"
"About a year and a half" she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Yeah well, let's hope you don't stay in the states too much more if you go back. I don't want to hear you swearing like a Texan when you show up to the bar party" Riker replied sarcastically.
"I will make no promises" Reily said with a smirk.
The pair would continue conversing about the coming conflict for some time, eventually being joined by several crewman and even two of the Carack cruisers captains, wondering what tomorrow would bring.
However, everyone knew that this war would bring at least two things.
Destruction and death.
For whom, however, would have to wait until the next day to be seen.
"Master Kenobi? General Neni and Admiral Callum would like to speak with you".
Said Jedi Master turned to face the solider sent to fetch him. "Thank you" he said, the solider giving him a salute in response, despite his lack of a true military rank.
Making his way across the airbase, he noted the forces gathered here for the planned operation. He and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, had been sent as representatives of the Jedi Order to assist the Judicial Forces with whatever they needed to in turn assist the Coalition with the assault on Kuwait and Iraq.
Making his way to the improvised command center, he passed the pair of guards and entered through the flap that served as a door.
He immediately spots the commander of the Republic's ground forces, General Renald Neni, alongside the vice admiral of the naval task force, Vezo Callum, as well as several officers surrounding a holotable.
"Ah Master Kenobi, good" Callum said.
"You wished to see me admiral?" Kenobi asked.
"Yes, I wish to make a request of you and your apprentice" Callum replied. Turning to the holotable, he pulled up statistics showing force locations for both the Coalition and known Iraqi troop concentrations.
"We have already finalized the operation at strategic level. Now it's up to our men to win it at the tactical one."
Neni placed his hands on the holotable and looked at Obi-Wan.
"The only thing we have yet to decide on is how to use you and your apprentice in all of this" he said, gesturing to the map.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you have in mind? We are keepers of the peace, not soldiers."
"Don't worry we're not planning to send you alongside tank columns" Neni said. "The Force, however, does grant you abilities that provide an invaluable advantage in combat, specifically in the realm of special forces."
He then pulled out a folder, handing it to Obi-Wan who then opened it. Inside was what looked to be personnel files of several Terran soldiers. "We put together several SF teams for sabotage of SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) installations and SCUD missile launchers, to prevent effective counter attacks and prevent them from dragging anyone else into this war. This team, made up of members of the British Special Air Service and the US Army's Delta Force, is going into Baghdad with orders to hit their communication lines on day three of the operation."
Neni took a breath. "However, this is most likely to be amongst the deadliest missions of this war. They will be expecting them, or if not, being incredibly prepared for the possibility of such teams attempting what we're about to try. Hence why I ask you to accompany them. Your assistance with this mission could be a matter of this team escaping with their lives or not".
He looks Kenobi right in the eyes. "Will you help them?" he asks.
Obi-Wan closes his eyes, then opens them seconds later.
"I would be glad to accompany these men. We will not fail" he said, his care for those in danger overriding the Order's usual role.
Neni smiled. "Good, however I believe Admiral Callum has something else in mind for your apprentice" he said.
"Unfortunately, one of my Headhunter pilots suffered a crippling injury in an accident two days ago. He will recover, but he won't be fit for combat for months and his replacement won't get here for another week." Callum said.
"Your apprentice's skill in flying starfighters is legendary, even amongst the Judicial Forces. I was hoping he'd be willing to fly sorties with Hammer Squadron during the opening phases of the attack and continue to do so until at least the replacement pilot arrives" he requested.
Obi-Wan slightly smiled. "I think he would relish the opportunity to refresh his skills, I don't believe he's flown a Z-95 since the time we were sent after to negotiate a ceasefire between a pair of rival clans near Onderon. He hijacked a fighter after one clan decided to lock us in the hanger and blew up our transport."
Callum blinked. "Then hope he remembers quickly. Hammer is assigned to escort a number of Terran F-15s on a bombing run on the first day of the campaign. Aerial combat is a high probability given the proximity of several airfields near the target. Send him over to the squadrons hanger to get him acquainted as soon as possible, we only have less than a day before the operation kicks off."
"I'll send for him immediately. Is that all gentlemen?" Obi-Wan asked.
"That will be all Master Kenobi, thank you" Neni said.
Obi-Wan then left the tent, the two guards still at their post. Anakin would certainly be excited to hear about this. He only hoped this went as smoothly as one could hope.
Though given how war was, that was not an exceedingly high possibility. Only time would tell he supposed.
Hello everyone. Apologies for the amount of time between these two chapters and the first pair, but real life called for sometime. As some of the more eagle eyed among you can tell, this world changed even before the Republic arrived.
Just how exactly, I'll leave up to you to find out.
Cough Wiki cough cough fandom sol-defense-initiative cough cough.
Any ways, I hope you all enjoy these chapters. Please don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism in the reviews, I read every last one of them for advice.
Thank you all again for your support, and can't wait until I have the next chapters ready. Until then, cousinxcaps out!