Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.

Interlude: Historical Notes

=RK=

"How did the Republic fall? It's easy to blame the obvious culprits: Separatists, Jedi, Sith, selfish Senators and governments. They all must shoulder the blame. We could endlessly debate how would our galaxy would change if one of those factions acted differently. If they were more reasonable or luckier.

The Republic's ultimate fate wasn't sealed when the Clone Wars began. There wasn't a single act that led to its fall. It was a gradual process that began long before that infamous conflict. Examining history, we could argue that the seeds of the fall were sown as far back as the Russaan reformation. Perhaps even earlier, in one of the previous iterations of the Republic.

If we look dispassionately at the formation of the Confederacy of Independent systems, when we examine the reasons why so many worlds joined the Separatists, we would find a number of fact that would be disturbing for many a Republic loyalist. The few systems in the Core that supported the Secessionist movement did it for reasons not dissimilar to their Rim counterparts. Issues with tariffs, taxes and the services the Republic was meant to offer in exchange. There were also disagreement over policy with the Senate but ultimately those three were the major reasons why the Separatists movement became so popular.

A number of Senators hurried to accuse anyone even entertaining thoughts of supporting the Secessionist movement in greed and corruption, which to be honest weren't entirely unfounded. However, the heart of the matter ran much deeper than most people back then realised. In that regard, the situation today isn't much different. All across the galaxy, people either idealise the Republic or see it as the reason for all the strife following the Clone Wars. It is ironic then, that few actually understand what the Republic was.

If we're to examine the reasons why the Republic fell, first we need to answer one vital question – what was the Republic?

It was often described as the cradle of interstellar civilisation, a bastion of freedom and liberty. At the same time, the Senate was often perceived as a den of corruption rivalling the worst places in Hutt space. It was the sole superpower in the galaxy for a thousand years.

All of those descriptions are at least partially true, yet they miss the point. When people talk about the Republic, they usually see it as a monolith structure, one that was more than the sum of its parts. While such a description is technically correct, it misses the point.

The Republic... It wasn't a nation. It never was. Arguably, it could never be. There always were significant cultural differences between its members, compounded by the way different species perceive the world.

At its core, the Republic was an agreement between governments. Those governments ceded certain amount of power to the Republic in exchange for various benefits. Protection, free travel and trade all facilitated by common currency. In exchange the Republic received taxes from its members to pay for all the above.

This is it. Those deceptively simple agreements were the foundations upon which the Republic was built by our ancestors.

At the beginning it worked and the benefits were enough to ensure that the Republic would not only preserve but prosper and expand.

How did such agreements grow up into the Republic we knew? This work would answer those questions before we continue examining the reasons why the decline of the Republic happened and how it made the Clone Wars or another similar conflict all but inevitable...

One of the biggest flaws of the Republic it was the way it was set up from the beginning. It wasn't meant to become a nation, for it was build of nations which until the end fiercely defended their interests. That was a feature of the system meant to prevent a tyrant from gaining too much power or for that matter for the Republic itself having too much of a say in the affairs of its members. For a thousand years it worked. However, when the Clone Wars began, this vital foundation of the Republic turned into one of the primary reasons for its fall.

Independent worlds and systems looked for their protection first. They hoarded resources, including their system defence fleets. The individual members demanded protection as it was their right, for protecting its members was one of the most important, the most important function of the Republic.

Yet, that was a function that the Republic was incapable of meeting. Peace has reigned for a millennium. For hundreds of years there was no credible threat for the Republic as a whole and slowly but steadily funding for the military dried up until all that was left in the last few centuries were just the Jedi and Judicial Forces. The later were incapable of facing any threat more serious than the odd pirate. In theory that wasn't a big issue. The Republic had the right to request forces from its member states if circumstances demanded it. In practice, when the Clone Wars began and every threatened system cried for help, only the secret Clone Army was available to help. It took weeks of haggling and deals for any significant forces to be released from the individual members SDFs and even then both the absolute number of hulls and the percentage of the forces technically available was minimal.

The consequences were predictable...

When the GAR implemented their contingency plans in preparation for the Separatist offensive in the Core and recalled as much of their navy as possible from strategically unimportant systems, it was the right military decision. Most historians and military analysts agree that considering the strategic situation, it was the only decision the Republic military could make unless they were prepared to lose the war then and there.

A nation could have weathered the storm. During the war we saw it again and again when individual cities and provinces on scores of planets had to be ceded so their defenders could consolidate and one day liberate their compatriots. However, the same principle didn't apply to the Republic as a whole. When individual systems were abandoned to their fate, their people and governments had to ask a few simple question. What use is the Republic when it couldn't protect us the first time a war happened? Why did we pay all those taxes? Why should we suffer for a Republic that abandoned us? Why should we have any loyalty to those who betrayed us?"

"The Fall of the Galactic Republic" by Lillian Solo,

first edition, Corellia

=RK=

Phase 7: An Alliance born in fire

=RK=

Part 1

Bridge

Corellian cruiser Freedom

two light seconds above Sullumun

Sullust system

Our arrival wasn't spectacular. The fleet re-entered real space with the local star to our side and immediately accelerate towards our first objective. ECM fed by gargantuan reactors surged to life and flooded the surrounding space with screeching jamming and siren song of false images. By the time nearby civilian and military ships could raise a warning, my fleet was already on its way to the closest of Sullumun's eighteen moons. Warning of our arrival was spreading across the system, just as planned. Soon the perceived purpose of our visit would be announced for all to see too.

The first sensor sweep noted the position of everything larger than a light freighter on our side of the gas giant. The data was examined, targets chosen. Weapons crews across the fleet followed my orders to the letter. They locked in all available targets and concussion missiles left their launchers. Next were the gunnery crews on the Freedom. They gleefully targeted her longer ranged turbo-lasers and unleashed hell upon the moon we were approaching. Meanwhile, ready recon flights launched to locate the Separatist fleet meant to defend the system.

Before the enemy's garrison could reply in adequate fashion, Sullust's industry began to burn. Warheads meant to gut capital ships expended their fury upon extraction plants, refineries and storage facilities. Mines and processing plants across Sullumun's moons simply vanished in flashes of light. In three separate cases, ten capital missile strikes in close successions were more than enough to destabilize the small planetoids housing their targets. Shock-waves, earthquakes and tidal surges tore apart those moons throwing their mass in Sullumun's planetary system like tremendous shotgun blasts.

Lorena, the first target for the Freedom's guns ignited when all the tibana gas storage facilities upon the surface went up in a chain reaction. That moon, one of the few with fully breathable atmosphere in this system, wouldn't stop burning long after we left.

Millions died and we had scarcely begun.

Freighters tried to escape. Few even succeeded to enter hyperspace before frigate packs, bombers or Torrent squadrons heavy with proton torpedoes few upon them like the hammer of an angry god.

The bait was in place. Now it was time to see if my Separatist counterpart would bite.

=RK=

Flag Bridge

Confederate Dreadnought Suncrusher

Sullust

When the attack came, admiral Kirst was temporarily gripped by indecision. Was this merely a diversion meant to draw him away from Sullust and its shipyards? His current position was reasonably secure. The planet and its fixed defences were at his back and they all were surrounded by a large asteroid bay that significantly reduced the vectors of approach towards Sullust. If he stood his ground, Kirst could guarantee that the most important industry in the system would be all but invincible.

"Star Dreadnought presence confirmed within the enemy fleet." One of the Droids acting as the admiral's staff reported.

A savage smile appeared on Kirst's face. His target actually came knocking.

"The fleet will assume Starburst formation. Plot intercept course through a hyperspace jump. Every battle group is to activate full networking capabilities." Kirst ordered.

Then he had to wait and listen as report after report came in of gutted industry. The local government began screaming at him with demands to do something and he ignored them. His fleet broke into six sub-formations, made a jump above the asteroid field and manoeuvred so every ship could point its prowl in the direction of the enemy.

Kirst sneered. The Republic fleet began turning towards them. It wouldn't help them. He had the numbers and fire-power to match the enemy and the full network integration of the droids under his command would give him enough of an advantage to win.

He hoped. Even now, when battle was about to be joined, Kirst couldn't help it but feel uneasy at how much he had to rely on the Droids. He made the plan. Now it was up to the machines to execute it making him a glorified observer.

This wasn't a proper way to wage a war!

"Admiral, Spear Point reports critical damage to three of Sullumun's moons." A Tactical Droid brought Kirst's attention back to the tactical plot. There three of the blue spheres surrounding the gas giant blinked crimson.

As he watched, one of them blinked one final times then its image was replaced by an expanding sphere of debris. The other two moons followed suit less than a minute before Kirst's fleet was ready to jump into battle.

"Kriff." The admiral hissed. Everyone was going to blame this on him. He had to win here or his career was over.

Kirst's eyes went for the Freedom. Killing that ship and the Sith it carried, that would wash off any perceived sins.

The fleet's individual battle groups flashed green one after another. They were all in position.

"Proceed. The Freedom is the primary target. Kill that ship no matter the cost. Launch all fighters only when we are about to enter point blank range." For a brief moment the tactical plot froze while the fleet made a short jump through hyperspace then they were back not too far from Lorena, one of Sullumun's moons.

The individual battle groups were converging one the enemy fleet which was already unfolding into a sub-formations of its own. Missiles slammed into the leading elements of two of Kirst's task forces biting large chunks of Munificents before their UMBRELLA systems could react.

The Confederate fleet acted as a single hive-minded organism. At least a dozen ships targeted a single enemy craft and their weapons spoke with coordination and precision impossible for organics. Kirst knew that victory was inevitable! His forces could concentrate their fire and kill the enemy better than the Republic crews could imagine in their worst nightmares!

That's why he was astounded when the enemy responded in kind and their first coordinated barrages came screaming mere seconds after the Confederacy opened fire. Kirst felt his courage leaving him. More despair than a human mind could handle descended upon him. His bowels turned into water and he stared at the plot through unseeing eyes.

A concerned Tactical Droids came to check on him, while the rest of the machines continued to fight to the best of their abilities caring not for the break-down of their organic commander. They had their orders, they had their mission and the enemy was under the barrels of their guns...

And on the bridge of his Flagship, for the first time TK-51 wondered what use were his organic commanders.