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Phase 20: The calm before the storm

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Part 4

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Briefing room Delta-1

Kuat Star Dreadnought Defender

dark space

Over a hundred and twenty flag officers, including multiple admirals gave me less than pleased looks when I entered the compartment. While the reasons varied, there were some they all had in common. First, up until we arrived in this place – dark space, light years away from Fedalle, most of them were under the mistaken impression I would immediately lead them into glorious combat to kick the Separatists out of the Core or something. Even those few who knew better, like Yularen and the Kuati admiral in charge of the Defender, got rather sour after a week of extensive exercises where I commanded the opposing force, usually much smaller than their own and handled them their asses by judicious use of Battle Meditation and sub-formations. While certainly exhausting, it was worth it – now no matter how displeased everyone felt they were all at least paying close attention to everything I was trying to teach them.

Yularen was particularly sour. After all he was the one officer in the Republic navy who had the most time to train his forces in advanced manoeuvres, however book learning from ancient records simply wasn't enough considering how little time he and his people had to work with and all the issues they had to deal since Palpatine got himself turned into Force Ghost.

It wasn't all bad at least. After taking out Yularen's forces during the first exercise I did use them in most of the consequent ones in order to better train them through Battle Meditation. By the end of the week, we did have one fleet that given reasonable odds I would have taken against most competent fleet commanders of the Empire or Old Republic.

That still left us with the rest of the fleet to train up and no more than a few weeks to do it. While no doubt the crews and officers were competent, they were still too much in love with more conventional tactics using larger formations as blunt instruments. That tended to work when we had the better ships and the enemy didn't successfully try something fancy. What I faced at the later stage of my way back home and intelligence gathered from the raids and counter raids in the Core suggested that the Separatists were busy experimenting with more advanced tactics that no one has really used since the last galactic war a thousand years ago. I smelled Perrion's hand in this or perhaps admiral Trench was simply that good now that he was in charge, which was a scary thought.

I took my seat between admirals Yularen and Reno Panka – the man in charge of the Defender. The later was clearly a political appointee whose primary claim to fame was being Onara Kuat's creature and thus ours. He at least was smart enough to know his limitation and listen to good advise, which put him head and shoulders above many others of his kind I've seen in the past. On the other hand, Flag Captain Bellinda Konig was competent and obviously in place to make sure such an expensive asset as the Star Dreadnought didn't get mishandled too badly.

"We just received a confirmation from General Kenobi. What I'm about to tell you is classified Code Black under Code Word Butterfly." Which meant that the fleet was already locked down under solid field of ECM and there would be no outgoing calls. I paused for a moment so my words could sink in and was rewarded with many an officer leaning forward suddenly looking very alive. "It's both good and bad news. First I now can confirm that we'll be launching a major offensive in the Core in less than a month."

That news made a lot of people feeling both relieved and anxious. The Kuati were eager to get the enemy away from easy striking distance of their home, others felt the same or even better, they looked up to liberating their own home-worlds.

"We however aren't tapped for that offensive, though despite what some of you might fear I didn't use my space magic to convince the powers that be to throw this fleet at the Siege of Mandalore." I got a few nervous chuckles though not everyone looked quite convinced. Sometimes my reputation was a double edged sword it seemed. "Instead, we're going for something much more ambitious."

A few conversations with Obi-Wan and company, some inquiries of what exactly can be produced and ready in deployment over the next month and my original plans got expanded quite a bit. I called up a map of the galaxy and focused on the section east from the Core.

"As of last night, Lantillies has been heavily reinforced from our garrison at Tanaab and units from the strategic reserve. Once we've completed our exercises and added some additional ships to this fleet, we'll be using that system as a launching point for the first step of the liberation of the Core."

Now, some captains did look at me weirdly, while others were busy staring at the map and trying to figure out the method behind my madness.

"Our mission is simple. We will secure Kashyyyk, set up a forward base of operations there and use that system as the jump off point towards our primary objectives. First, recon assets have confirmed that the Zeltros-Cona-Manaan pocket still holds and we will relieve our forces there by retaking Umbara. This serves two purposes – saving our people and allowing us to open avenue for attack in the Core towards Commenor. Second and of equal importance is taking and holding Randon. Control of that system will force the enemy to either dedicate significant forces to re-capturing it or add days even weeks to their transit times in the region. Third, we will launch a strike towards Balamak and eventually Charros with the intention of pocketing any and all enemy forces between Ambria and Togoria." After that we would be using the forces relieved from our own pocket to reduce the cut off enemy naval elements. Only when that was done and Kenobi was busy launching his offensive in the Core I would be leading a relief force at Mandalore. Hopefully, by then the Separatists would have figured they had much bigger fish to fry.

"Once we've secured the Core you and Kenobi intent to crush the enemy sector between Randon, Antar and Nanth'ri." Yularen stated after focusing on the map for a long time.

"That's will be one of the objectives once we've secured the Core and re-established contact with the Mid-Rim Alliance. Once those two objectives are achieved our primary targets would be capturing that triangle and of course, Fondor."

Everyone perked up at mentioning striking that system. If Fondor fell while we kept Kuat intact, the war would be basically won with the only question being how long and expensive defeating the CIS would be.

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Interlude: Historical Notes

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Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the primary reasons why large parts of the Kuati military and civilians alike supported the Rise of the Empire and the radical changes in government in their systems was the Skyfall. We know for a fact that before that tragedy happened, KDY's Board of Directors, which for all intents and purposes was the power behind the supposedly democratic Kuat government called the shots and they kept Kuat's large fleet home for various reasons. While there are persistent rumours claiming that Director Onara Kuat released a powerful part of the Kuati fleet for offensive actions against the Separatists a few weeks before that tragic accidents, any and all declassified documents over the past two decades claim the same – those units were merely sent to act as Opposing Force during fleet exercises between the Republic's Navy Strategic Reserve under the command of admiral Yularen and never moved far away from Kuat…

To this day, there are various conspiracy theories surrounding the Skyfall, which given the circumstances is understandable. The events on Kuat's surface that unfolded at the same time make it easy to conclude that said tragedy was in fact on incident but instead either sabotage committed by Separatists aligned Bothan Spy Net agents or outright Separatist hostile action. However, to this day there is no conclusive proof. Despite long, transparent and thorough investigation there have been no evidence pointing towards anything but a tragic incident…

One of the more reasonable conspiracy theories is based directly upon the events on the ground happening at the same time. What gives said theory a veneer of legitimacy were various actions committed by Separatist general Jerrod Perrion later in the war…

from "The truth behind Skyfall"

Medea Publishing House

Kuat

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Part 5

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The Valley of the Jedi

location classified

The Force Nexus that the Force itself led Jerrod to hummed with power. It was pure, so far untainted by the Dark Side that was busy shrouding the whole galaxy. It was the one place that could keep the Jedi Master somewhat calm lately. The knowledge what that monster Vael did to his precious Kira… That very thought made him shake with rage. He felt the Nexus respond to his emotions and forced himself to become as calm as possible, which wasn't working well enough if he was to be honest with himself. Perrion couldn't help but feel that everything was heading towards a culmination point, one that might decide the fate of the whole galaxy, yet he was far from certain that whatever would happen would be for the better. Despite all his efforts the mockery that was this new Republic fell squarely into the hands of the Sith and those they corrupted. He should have expected it – anything and everything Sith like Vael touched inevitably became twisted and tainted, just like impressionable young Ashara all those years ago, not to mention the way that bastard broke Padawan Wilsaam and turned her into a monster.

Now that the so called Republic of this era finally showed its true colours by supporting Vael's butchery at Bothawui, the die was cast. Any chance of peace that had existed before was now gone, which was possibly the only silver lining in these dark times.

Perrion grimaced when he recalled the last intercepted government transmission from Kuat – Darth Zash wearing his wife's body as a set of robes kept appearing right beside Director Kuat. The implications were anything but pleasant. By now there was no doubt that the foolish corporate woman was fully under the control of the Sith and sooner than later the rest of Kuat's government would follow. What passed for Jedi of this era were broken and scattered. The Sith and their minions like the Kenobis no longer had to even pay lip service to laws as the events on Coruscant indicated. Perrion earned to lead the Confederacy forces in an offensive that would remove the Sith's taint from the Core, yet he stayed his hands. Instead, he spent long hours persuading the Confederacy's leadership, both military and civilian alike that such an act at this time would be a folly. He vividly remembered how his Republic fell. It wasn't that long ago for him after all. Whole Republic fleets threw themselves at Sith strategic worlds and had to fight and bleed through rings of defensive platforms, battle stations, local System Defence Forces and finally the Sith's navy itself. The enemy had been ready for them, turned their systems into fortresses and while some of them did fall, the price, oh the price had been terrible to behold… and when the Sith's own offensive came, there simply wasn't enough of the Republic's own navy left to stop them. That damned Silencer didn't help once it got deployed en masse, something that the Confederacy would be facing sooner rather than latter too. It was good that his allies did listen and declined to launch an offensive into the teeth of the Sith's "Republic" before they were ready. Better let the traitors attack and once their mobile forces got mauled, they could strike at Kuat and ensure that the war would be won.

At least after Sullust the people in charge of the CIS finally listened to him and his people and began extensively training along with what few naval officers he had to improve their tactics. While they weren't up to speed yet, their forces were improving, fast, especially those under the command of admiral Trench.

Now, if he could only find a way to prevent Kuat from fully falling under the Sith's sway before it was time to neutralize that system…

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Perrion stood inside his command centre surrounded by the most senior officers and advisers he had planet-side. In front of him hovered holo-images of admiral Trench and the members of the Separatists Council. The Jedi Master finished outlining his fears about Kuat and a suggestion of how the Sith's efforts there could be disrupted and waited.

"I must agree. While form all we know of KDY's directors, they would love to merely sell material and send volunteers, while keeping their fleet home, the Sith might be able to change their minds. After Bothawui..." The few natural eyes Admiral Trench had left narrowed.

The members of the Triumvirate as they were popularly known nowadays looked at each other sharing non-verbal messages.

"We are forced to concur. However, has the strategic calculus changed?" The cyborg asked. "If we strike now, before our next construction cycle if complete and we have a number of our new designs operational, we're liable to suffer unacceptable casualties going on the offensive in the Core. Especially if we strike Kuat where all their super capitals would be backed by extensive fixed defences and the Republic's strategic reserve."

"That is true. Neutralizing a number of these ships would be much easier if they come to us." Admiral Trench agreed.

"I'm not advocating an ill-conceived offensive at this time." Perrion explained. In six to eight months there would be enough new construction ready to give them a realistic chance of cracking Kuat without breaking themselves upon the enemy's defences. "What we need to do is neutralize the Sith controlling Onara Kuat. I need your aid to insert myself and a strike team to Kuat." Not to mention to arrange a viable extraction strategy, because Perrion didn't feel like dying before he could see Vael broken at his feet.

The holo-images looked at each other and soon nodded in agreement. The Jedi Master didn't show the relief he felt. Soon he was going to avenge Kira.

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Part 6

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Starlane Transport

Kuat airspace

For most of the galaxy, the Reaving of Bothawui or whatever the media called it today, was the one singular event that drew a line in the sand and showed where everyone stood. It further divided the rotten Republic, it further reinforced the Confederacy's determination to fight for a victory because the price of defeat was now clearly terrible to behold. Some called it an atrocity, a war-crime to top all others in a war already full of them. That event proved to Jerrod that he had been right from the start – a "Republic" that would not only condone but support the Sith in such a madness needed to go. Most importantly, as far as he was concerned, the Rape of Bothawui was perhaps the single greatest miscalculation that Vael ever did. In one fell swoop he showed the whole galaxy the kind of monster he was, revealed the true faces of those who supported him and even more importantly… drove the whole Bothan Spy Net in the Separatists hands thus making Perrion's vengeance possible.

Without Bothawui, Jerrod would have had a very hard time gathering support for his current mission – a covert strike at the heart of the Republic's most fortified system, aimed at the one of the two most dangerous people on the enemy's side. The fact that bringing Zash to justice for what she and Veil did to his wife was more important to Perrion than the strategic benefit of removing a very powerful and dangerous Sith Lord from the playing field was something that those in the know wilfully overlooked. After all, many an officer within the Confederacy suffered chronic sleepless nights from nightmares of Zash repeating Veil's madness above Bothawui.

It took Perrion months to gain authorization and support for the assassination mission, time well spent planning insertion and exfiltration strategies, putting pieces in place to facilitate a confrontation with Zash. The one thing he didn't plan in detail was what most people would consider the most important piece of the puzzle – the assassination itself… and they would be wrong. You didn't take out a Sith Lord or a Jedi Master for that matter by making elaborate plans to trap and kill them. The Force would almost always warn them. What you did was engineer a situation where they would want to fight… and if you had to engage them yourself, well, planning how to get to the battlefield in one piece and then depart was simply common sense.

In the end, the "plan" Perrion decided upon, after he was already on Kuat and on the way to face Zash was deceptively simple and ironic. The Sith presented themselves to the masses of the Republic as the good guys and the very thought made Jerrod snort. He was about to use that fact – go after Onara Kuat, remove that pawn and Zash would have to either come to him or flee, in which case many of the Sith supporters would see exactly how little importance their dark masters placed upon their continued well being. Zash would fight and die or run, tarnish her kind's reputation even further if that was at all possible, in which case Jerrod would gleefully hunt her down.

Perrion pushed pass through the wishful thinking and looked over the small strike team the Bothans helped smuggle to Kuat along with their gear. Six experienced Commandos clad in power armour sat in the back of the truck around him, weapons at the ready. Bothan agents with nothing left to lose and everything to gain by exacting bloody vengeance were ready to cause distractions and Onara Kuat along with his real target was just about to start a press conference, one that his apprentice attended while still maintaining her cover as a journalist. The Jedi Master closed his eyes, concentrated and for a moment the Force cloaking his very presence on Kuat flickered just enough for him to sense Denii Strum and confirm that Zash was in place. He felt the Sith's sick presence that was like a pulsing tumour in the Force. Surprise flickered within her oppressive aura when she figured something was wrong and by then it was far too late. The shield masking not only Jerrod but the whole truck was back in place and a mental nudge was enough for the driver to head straight for the KDY tower complex where Zash awaited her reckoning.

Perrion's face twisted in a mockery of a smile that didn't belong on the face of a Jedi. At long last, Kira would be avenged!

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KDY HQ

Press Conference auditorium

Denii Sturm felt out of place. For months now she had maintained her cover and every passing day made her wonder that the local security forces were still none the wiser about her nature. Back in the real Republic, she wouldn't have been able to keep her cover for so long. There would have been at least a dozen experienced Jedi or more helping various intelligence agencies protect a place as vital as Kuat from the threat cloaked in shadows. The security she had to deal in comparison? As long as she was subtle in use of the Force everyone was none the wiser though it helped that she had the support of disgruntled and now positively murderous Bothan agents.

Nevertheless, she shouldn't have been able to make her way to the same room with possibly the two most important women currently on Kuat, even if one of them was a Sith… especially if one of them was a Sith. Denii couldn't help it but feel that she had willingly walked in the lair of the beast and wouldn't leave without getting mauled, if she was lucky. On the other hand… she was here, within reach of them monster who wore her dead Master's face and body as a spare set of robes! All her training was barely enough for Strum to keep her emotions in check without acting as a beacon for the Sith. She was furious, chock full with righteous anger… and afraid. She was in the same room as Darth Zash – a Dark Council member, the last one still alive, a monster who had been ancient centuries before the Republic or the Jedi even knew that the Sith Empire was back. Denii had no illusions what would happen if she had to fight the monster by herself. Even now, when she had her mental shields locked down as much as possible, she could feel the sweet corrupting taint that practically came in waves from Zash, washed over everyone and everything in its path and clung to them, seeking to pervert them.

When she felt a brush of her Master's power, Denii almost collapsed in relief. The one person who could go toe to toe with the monsters who twisted and corrupted this new Republic and engineered the war was here and he would slay yet another monster just as he dealt with their Emperor all those years ago!

Denii couldn't keep a small, vicious smile off her face when Zash twitched. The Sith felt something and soon she would know that her reckoning was at hand!

Onara Kuat was saying something but no one paid her any attention. Everyone in the room had their eyes on Zash whose head suddenly twitched to look at the ceiling. Her face twisted in a grimace, that had to be of horror at the realization at what was about to happen. Alarms blared, security personnel rushed towards the podium, however it was far too late. Now that he was almost here, Denii could feel her Master clearly even if she still kept her shields firmly in place. The ceiling behind her fragmented, pierced by a lance made by the Force itself, one that surrounded an ordinary looking truck, one amongst millions of the same make on Kuat alone. The machine decelerated sharply, smashed through the right part of the room turning scores of reporters and Kuati security into so much paste and the only reason why it didn't do the same to Zash and Onara Kuat was because the Sith managed to stop it in the last possible moment. That didn't help her much – an instant later, the back of the truck disintegrated and Jerrod exploded from a maelstrom of flying metal. He had an azure lightsaber held in each hand and as far as Denii was concerned, he looked like an avenging angel coming down from the heavens to smite the wicked. A group of armoured figures piled out after him and engaged what was left of the security forces, making sure no one would interrupt her Master. One of the commandos saw her and threw a cylinder her way. Finally Denii let her shields go, summoned the offered lightsabre using the Force and threw herself into the fray with a suicidal abbadon.