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.

Phase 22: The seeds of an Empire

=RK=

Part 9

=RK=

Only now, that I survived a real galaxy wide war I know one thing for certain: the opening stages of the Clone Wars were a sham just like we were – both the heroes and villains of those early battles. Even after Veil became Supreme Commander and we lived through the Liberation of Ryloth and following it, Second Geonosis, we still lived a lie. There wasn't a single moment of revelation for any of us. As the war progressed our eyes opened slowly but surely… It was the Separatists Grand Offensive that gave us a real taste of hell along with the planning that Generals Veil and Valentra did in preparation of it.

We had to abandon systems so we can make the enemy bleed when it came to take others, whole sectors in order to hold the line in the Core. And even then, as the Corellian system fell and the Five Brothers burned, while whole sector fleets ground each other to stardust across the galaxy, that was merely a taste of the hell to come.

Do you know what it takes to assault a friendly world where the enemy has entrenched whole army groups complete with the supplies to last them years? It was even worse on contested worlds where the population was divided and that made a good portion of the Mid and Outer Rim after we had to abandon them. That was one of the best strategic choices we could have done then given the realities we faced. Those actions allowed us to not lose the war during the Grand Offensive. Yet, at the same time, it was those same choices that helped seal the fate of the Republic and ensured the Senate couldn't, wouldn't work.

"Shattered Dreams: From Geonosis to the End"

=RK=

Blue Ballroom

Senate building

Coruscant

Four of us stood on guard, ready to face the ravenous horde. Satine was to my left, with Obi-Wan in tow just as I had Bo on hanging on my arm and holding for dear life. Who would have thought that my wife would have a fear of such events at least when they weren't out of our more practical and fun Mandalorian stripe? My eyes flickered over the crowd seeking familiar faces. There were over three hundred politicians in here sent to represent the most powerful factions aligned to our cause within the Core. At least twice that number local worthies – from high ranking government and military officials, enterpreteours, artists, holo-net celebrities and anything in between gathered tonight to end the Coruscant Summit.

Anakin was at one side of the crowd escorting Padme, while Zash was on the other on the arm of a Garm Bel Iblis of all people. I could see Valentra with his wife, a bit younger petite Zabrak woman who along with Bo and Satine wore among the few more sensible dresses for tonight's event. Most of said crows was clad with whatever passed for the height of fashion either here on Coruscant or in their corner of the galaxy. They wouldn't be out of place in a familiar Imperial function and would have blended splendidly among the gaudiest, most eye-searing and impractical crowds I had the misfortune to navigate in the past.

This was it – after tonight, Obi-Wan and I would be off to the war and this time Bo would be attached like a limped to my side while we would leave Satine in this den of wolves with only Zash as occasional company. To he honest, I could still scarcely believe that our schemes came to fruition…

First came the meeting with the representatives of the systems that could offer most direct military aid. We did gather them together to meet Kenobi and I, while Satine and Zash, with Palpy in tow no less entertained many of the other politicians… My mind drifted to the past tenious forty eight hours just as Satine began her speech.

"My friends, tonight we're gathered here, burdened with a glorious purpose..."

Unfortunately, our goals weren't so simple to achieve that a mere Mind Trick could have done it. Just like when dealing with the Senate, merely 'persuading' these representatives to see things our way would cause more harm than good when the time came for them to sell any deal reached during this summit to their own governments. A few months back, when the Jedi were still a power to be reckoned with on Coruscant, doing something like that would have been outright suicidal too.

Today, the only Jedi on the planet were either on our side, deep underground, running from everyone or incarcerated, awaiting judgement about their involvement with the coup. Obviously, that mere fact untied or hands.

I knew that right now a very uncomfortable Obi-Wan, and a peeved off Zash were in similar conference rooms overseeing meetings with other groups of our 'friends and allies'. I watched fifteen ambassadors, Prime Ministers and one King take a seat and look at me with ill disguised fear. Little did they know how right they were in their feelings…

"… Upon this night, we renew our pledge to all citizens of the Republic!" Satine continued her rousing speech. She had more than enough natural charisma and experience to make it one for the ages, something helped a lot by the fact that the best PR people on Coruscant helped craft it in the first place. "The reforms we agreed upon and I'll bring to the Senate tomorrow will ensure our future prosperity and security! No longer..."

My will alone shifted the currents of the Force, just like Obi-Wan and Zash as we began our betrayal in earnest and I could feel their presence as shining beacons. We acted with a singular purpose and our combined power made every Force Sensitive in the system tremble. When we spoke, we laced our honeyed words with the might of the Force itself. We probed and pushed at the minds of our opponents seeking any and all possible edges. We could feel the right words, the correct incentives and the subtle threats that would serve us best.

We weren't merely trying to make people see things our way. Instead, we persuaded them to help us convince their governments to support our cause. We asked leading questions, offered suggestions and deals, made demands, even implied wholesale annihilation until representatives and even heads of government worked alongside us to further our agenda all the while they believed they got the better of the deal… which they often did, in the short term anyway.

A union that lasted a thousand years was betrayed and subverted in a manner of months or even days depending on how you counted. I was sure that many Sith of old would break something laughing at the sheer irony of it. Sith had to destroy the Republic to save it from itself. If someone wrote that as a story back in the days of the Empire, no one would have believed it plausible.

I continued to examine the crowd. Many watched Satine riveted by her performance, others merely pretended. There were people quietly murmuring to each other too. I felt a sudden jolt of amusement come through my bond with Zash just before she sent me a snippet from her conversation with Garm Bel Iblis.

"And so here democracy die… less out of a choice, but of necessity."

"With your complete backing, dear Senator." Zash purred. She greatly enjoyed this moment as I knew she would.

What greater power is there than turning your enemies to your side and way of thinking? What greater victory is there than making them your allies?

"What other choice do I have? Corellia needs the Republic more than ever. And if we can't get that, the military aid from whoever could provide it. Today, you're the only game in town." His resentment was strong enough to feel it from all the way up here where I stood in front of the crowd.

Our betrayal ran deeper. It wasn't just the oaths we gave to the Republic we broke these past few days. Even as we convinced them to aid and back our cause, we betrayed our allies or barring that, sowed the seeds of their future subjugation. Again and again we made conflicting promises, bound ourselves to betray or even break one ally so another could advance and they knew it. There was too much greed, too much bad blood, too much power and money to be gained for those willing to invest in our future Empire to be any other way. How could be different when during this conference the best of the Core and the galaxy took a step back and at best a supporting role? Some of the main leaders and proponents for freedom and democracy in the whole galaxy had to back our scheme either to protect their worlds or help us liberate them. Others did it in a misguided attempt to ensure our Empire would be stillborn and destroy itself in the war with the Confederacy so they could be in a perfect position to not only pick up the pieces but ensure our failure would be complete.

In another time, two thousand systems would have backed Mon Mothma and Padme Amidala in a petition for Chancellor Palpatine to step away from power. Those Senators, their governments and worlds would have been the beacons of democracy in the Republic.

These days? After all that happened to Naboo, not only their people but even Padme Skywalker, nee Amidala, were reforged by the flames of war. Alderaan and many others reluctantly backed us seeing us as the lesser threat, for the time being anyway.

That left idealists like Mon Mothma who were determined to work against us from within from day one…

A touch of the Force and experience in lip-reading, something I hadn't had to indulge into in a long time and I could see what Padme and her old friend Mothma spoke about. The treacherous Senator from Chandrila had a smile on her face that could have fooled everyone, yet among the mostly gleeful crowd her real feelings shone like a beacon.

"Unacceptable! I will not abide this… perversion of everything the Republic stood for! Padme, how could you honestly back this insanity?!" I could practically hear the venom in Mothma's voice.

"…tread carefully, Mon… you path is one of treachery. And I will not, can not support you in this. I saw the records Veil brought from Naboo. I read the instructions sent by my Queen and people. Did the Republic or democracyprotect my home? Will they ensure Naboo's recovery? Do they have the fleets and armies to send so it won't be attacked again?"

Anakin went to hug and hold Padme closely. For a casual observer it might even seem that they were overwhelmed and joyful by the momentous occasion.

Satine finally completed her speech and the ballroom exploded in thunderous applause. Roaring cheers shook the air itself.

This was it. The Republic was dead and we began forging the foundation of an Empire upon its still smouldering ashes.

=RK=

Part 10

=RK=

I missed the Coruscant Summit and only heard stories of how Generals Veil and Kenobi convinced the highest ranks of GAR High Command to support the future Empire. At the time, I was too busy training a large gathering of ships into becoming a proper fleet for what would become known as Operation Star Hammer.

Do you know what nowadays I find strange about those first days of the Empire, when we didn't even know it would be a thing? How quiet it was. Many of us were too busy to pay much if any attention to the politics at the heart of the Republic and some of our comrades regretted it in the years to come. For us, the Coruscant Summit merely ensured we would continue to receive the support we needed for the war and that was enough. We were about to launch the largest Republic offensive since the conflict began and nothing else really mattered in those days.

How were we to know that friends and allies alike conspired to reshape the galaxy while we were too busy fighting a war for our very survival? And more importantly, why should have we cared if we knew? They ensured we had what we needed to continue fighting, survive and perhaps even win.

"Shattered Dreams: From Geonosis to the End"

=RK=

CIC

CIS Providence class dreadnought "War-sworn"

Corellian system

People and droids alike moved all over the compartment like a hive of busy ants, just as they did across an increasing number of Confederate fleets with organic commanders. Admiral Trench and his colleagues did learn the lessons Veil taught them at Sullust and during multiple other encounters after all. Multiple holographic screens hung in front of said Admiral's face, at least one per organic eye he had left. A small distance away from he reports he was busy glancing over floated more and lager screens displaying tactical information from all over the system. Even more data streamed right into his artificial eyes fed by his Flag's computers.

Trench felt more content than usual – just like a spider waiting patiently and comfortably in the centre of its web.

Small warship squadrons darted all over the system ready to chase any and all Republic scouting parties. A smaller number of larger and significantly more powerful battle groups moved in randomized pattern to ensure no Jedi or Sith led enemy force could easily surprise them and at the same time be ready for tactical hyperspace insertions in order to box the long awaited enemy liberation fleet.

The backbone of the Confederate defence effort was significantly deeper in the system held safe behind extensive fixed defences, gravity well generators and minefields. The four more or less secured "Brothers" had whole droid army groups deployed ground-side complete with enough supplies to last them years. Those captured Republic words were the sites where the Confederacy built some of the most extensive fortifications outside their own core worlds – both on the ground and in space. While the burden that made it possible further strained the already stretched thin logistics of the CIS, it was going to be worth it. The Republic simply had to secure the Core before they could even think about striking anything vital within Confederate space and their time would run sooner rather than later. If Trench could keep a salient leading to Kuat open until the next major CIC construction effort was complete - he needed a bit less than a year now before many warships of new classes and improved older models could be complete and send into the fray, then he might just win the war. Given the political turmoil of the Republic, or what passed for it these days, the Admiral would be content with a victory won outside the field of battle. After all, war was nothing more than continuation of politics with different tools.

Speaking about politics, it was time for his weekly chat with the Confederate Council or at least the three beings who for all intents and purposes ran the Confederacy.

The call from the CIS capitol came in and after a few moments of computer systems separated by tens of thousands of light-years shaking hands and exchanging long and complicated codes, a new window opened in front of Trench. There was Ilroth – one of the few Neimoidians that could be considered more than a stain upon the galaxy holding a data pad in one hand and a large mug of steaming beverage in the other. To his right sat the holo-image of the cyborg in charge of the Techno Union and thus CIS R&D among other things. To the overgrown toads' left sat the man busy running the Confederacy's banking and overseeing the economy. He too had his nose buried into a data-pad.

"Admiral!" Ilroth grinned when he saw the connection came through. He put down his mug after taking a long sip and cheerfully waved. "Our new Bothan friends managed to smuggle a lot of interesting data lately. I believe you're already briefed on the so called Skyfall? That was a great morale boost after Bothawui for all of us."

"I've seen the estimates and gone over the Jedi's debriefing."

"The Sith survived." The cyborg rumbled.

Trench focused his MK I Eyes on him. It was hard to tell under the protective covering preferred by many Techno Union members, however the Admiral was rather sure that there was even less flesh and more cybernetics under the hood compared to the previous week.

"Despite that failure, our Bothan friends and Jedi allies did well at Kuat. Estimated loss of infrastructure and industry significantly decreases the odds of enemy victory in the long term." Kleo Vombra continued.

No one mentioned that such was the case when the Confederacy lost a very big chunk of all industrial capacity at Sullust – in the short to medium term the disruption could be handled better than in the long run. Still, if the war stretched beyond two to three more years there odds of anyone achieving ultimate victory would be slim to none baring some unforeseen disaster. At least in that the Confederacy held an advantage – with the loss of Kamino, the Republic lost their source of expendable troops and soon, very soon the pampered people of the Core would have to shed oceans of blood on the front-lines. Once that happened, it would be a race between the Republic somehow winning or at least forcing terms upon the Confederacy and political and economic implosion.

"So far the economy is looking rather good." San Hill looked up from the data-pad he was reading from. "Our best estimates are that we'll be able to keep going at full war footing for years to come as long as we can keep our core territories safe. Incorporation of Bothan colonies and various other Republic break-away systems has been very good for the treasury even though many of them lacked significant heavy industry."

"Bothawui itself is a mixed bag. Whatever Veil did to the planet itself made it a lost cause. Sending organics down there makes them sick in a short order no matter what shielding and protective suits we employ." The cyborg let out an electronic sound of exasperation and frustration. "Even droids don't last long enough to make trying to salvage anything worth it. Fortunately, the effect has been significantly reduced in orbit and most of the infrastructure there is salvageable. We're almost done towing it to the other planets in system." Another electronic whine came from Vombra. "The ships from the Bothan home fleet that lost their crews still cause random malfunction on droids serving as new crews and make organics sick after spending more than a few days on board. We're running all kinds of experiments on them to determine the cause." He paused. "We're requesting the aid of our Jedi allies." The cyborg definitely sounded pained at that admission.

"I'll relay your request." It wasn't like Perrion was in a state to be on the front-lines anytime soon after Veil nearly murdered him on Kuat. Given his own necessary cybernetics, Trench could be sympathetic toward what happened to that human – his lower jaw ended up with the bones practically liquefied that led its complete removal and there were shock-related cracks all over his skull and upper part of his spine. The Admiral would never know how the human didn't end either paralysed or brain-dead. The only answer anyone had on how Perrion not only survived but was slowly recovering was the Force and for obvious reasons that gave Trench the creeps. What did it take to kill someone like their ally or the Sith leading the Republic? From all accounts, Perrion had all but killed that Zash woman at Kuat, kicked Veil's ass too, yet both of those were obviously alive and all over the news at Coruscant over the past week!

As if reading the Admiral's thoughts, Ilroth took another sip of his drink and grimaced. "We've moved as much of our strategic reserve as we could afford for the operation at Mandalore. It's all droid run so Veil couldn't liquefy the brain of another of our best admirals." He nodded at Trench. "I hope that TK-51 can rid us of that particular Sith at least. As our plans require, the rest of the Reserve is in place to either aid holding the Core or at least cover your fighting retreat and further bleed the Republic navy as they retake the Core."

Trench nodded. It was nice to have another confirmation that he had the trust and backing of his new and what was left of the old political leadership.

"How does the new construction programmes go?" The Admiral inquired.

"On schedule." Vombra's answer was short and to the point. "We've completed the shift in Munificent production – now they take only twenty five percent of our overall capacity and the MK III model has been engineered from the ground up as escort with some teeth. We've discontinued production of the B-1 – series of droids as combat platforms and are now relying on them merely as crews and in a pinch, labourers. We're running just a few production lines for new units and spare parts. The rest of our ground forces would consist of B-2 MK II and MK III Supper Battle Droids as the backbone, augmented by as much Commando Units we can build with the manufacturing lines and factories repurposed from the B-1 construction. Various heavier and specialized units will act as power multipliers – were still testing what works in that regard."

"Mandalore has turned to be a great test-bed." Ilroth grinned at the irony of using the Mandalorians in that way. After all, the whole Clone army was modelled after one of their best and trained by them. As if not more important, all those new volunteer units being trained in Republic space would inevitably be a few steps down from either the Mandalorians themselves or the Clone Armies. Anything that worked against the later would be more than enough to face if not crush the former.

"New and upgraded tank and IFV models are making very good showing. I'm in fact upgrading the Trade Federation organic forces with that new gear." Ilroth confided something that was a public secret nowadays.

"I'm more interested in the naval situation. It doesn't matter how many droids, tanks and or any other ground unit our factories can build if we lack the ships to deploy them to the front and keep them supplied. This war will be won or lost in space. Anything else would merely slow down the enemy and make their victory more painful." Trench warned.

"You're correct." Vombra made an additional sound of agreement to underline his words. "Another twenty five percent of construction capacity goes for Recusant Light Destroyers MK II with improved droid brains, UMBRELLA systems and general weapon coverage. The MK II B variant is larger and can serve as a carrier for ground forces and the newer Vulture models as bombers and air-superiority fighters."

"The other fifty percent already go for dedicated capital ship construction?" Now that was a good news. That transition was still underway during the meeting last week.

"Correct. We are keeping twenty five percent for various Lucrehulk Battleship variants – they're good enough for both front-line services, dual-purpose troop transport and in a pinch, heavy armed and protected logistics vessels."

The downside was that they consumed hyper-matter at a prodigious pace, however with multiple new refuelling stations established or captured from the enemy along with new refineries for that precious resource, the CIS forces in the Core were now well supplied. Besides, it was thanks to a few hundred Lucrehulk battleships that Trench managed to fortify Corellia and the other hubs on along the major hyper-lanes now controlled by the CIS to the extent he was more or less comfortable with facing everything the enemy could now throw in his face.

"Fifteen percent go for the Providence MK II." Which meant an incorporated UMBRELLA into the design, less hangar space, better armour and weapon coverage as well. "The remaining shipbuilding capacity is divided between the Subjugator Project and Bulwark Project. We're experimenting with a possible answer for the enemy Silencer. The almost ready Devastation is being completed at the Pammant Docks where we have laid her three sister ships. She has prototype Ion-Pulse Cannons using captured Force crystals as focus. We got those during one of the last operations ordered by Count Dooku before his removal from power. Preliminary tests show promise."

"Good. Time until completion?"

"Two months. Three until she'll be fully ready for service barring unexpected complications with the prototype systems." The Cyborg allowed a hind of pride in his modulated voice. We have another three of them being build at Fondor along with a third of the Bulwark MK II battlecruisers. The original production run at Foerost is being upgraded during construction with the UMBRELLA system and the delay was deemed acceptable. We already have a the first operational squadron being under extensive trials and as agreed, we won't deploy them in action unless we have a full fleet assembled or the enemy strikes Foerost in force. The other locations building those ships, like Fondor, are beyond the enemy's reach for the time being. At this time a third of the Bulwark MK II's are being build at Foerost, with another third at Fondor and the rest spread throughout the various shipyards deep in friendly space. We're currently experimenting with various new classes as well but won't commence any major efforts until and unless their prototypes show enough capacity to justify an industrial shift to their models and increased logistics burden."

"Those are good news." And a very nice update on how the new shipbuilding programs were going. "Do we have further news and better analysis on the purpose and potential effects of the Coruscant Summit?" Trench changed the topic to the political side of the meeting.

"We're getting some mixed signals. Initially our agents and analysts were almost sure that the Skyfall would finally shatter the Republic and handle us the victory." Ilroth grumbled. "This morning's announcement during the ball in the Senate sent a very different message."

"Reforging the Republic, in the Sith's and Mandalorians' image no doubt." Trench snorted. He was sure that if Perrion wasn't in medically induced coma after the operations to fix him, he would be up the wall after said announcement by the Chancellor. The Jedi from the Old Republic and high ranking military personnel he had to deal with or heard of over the past few hours were little better. The same could be said about the few Jedi who were captured or decided to defect after their failed coup and Order 66. At least they were primarily Perrion's headache or at least were until he left for Kuat and returned jawless. Now they were one more headache for Trench to manage.

"It was too bad that the Jedi's Coup failed." The banker grumbled. "If they had been able to remove the Sith a peace might have been possible. Now?" San Hill lowered his large head. "We need to win or we're all headed for the chopping block for betraying the Sith."

"They did betray us all in the first place." Ilroth pointed out.

"It's not like they would care." Vombra added after a piercing electronic snort. "It's victory or death for all of us. Even more now that the Sith reinforced their grip through this Summit. Do any of you hold any illusions about what it means now that they managed to keep things together?" He asked rhetorically.

"Our analysts agree – the Sith successfully made the deals they needed to build their Empire. On the bright side, we're the good guys now." Ilroth chuckled. "Fighting against Sith and Mandalorian tyranny and to keep freedom alive in the galaxy."

No one needed to add that the Confederacy council had no intentions of leaving many if any important decisions to the Confederate Senate, especially now that all had seen what democracy without strong and firm leadership could lead to. If it wasn't for the CIS military reaching its logistic limits, the chaos on Coruscant following Palpatine's assassination might have allowed them a successful knockout blow against the Republic. They would never allow such a problem to arise within the Confederacy on their watch… at least until the war was won for good. The Confederate Council knew very well that they either hung together or the Sith were going to murder them one by one until they were all gone.

"Speaking about good publicity and causing our Republic friends some issues, in a few days we'll have the Senate vote in on the Confederacy Constitution and we foresee a few snags among certain of our members." Ilroth grew serious.

"The type that would require military intervention?"

"Yes." Ilroth nodded firmly. "We're giving you a head's up now – we made the decision just a few minutes ago after digesting the latest events on Coruscant. We're eradicating slavery within the Confederacy's borders, however pledging not to intervene in the internal workings of outside powers as long as they are courteous enough to do the same."

"Shadowfeed will lap it up." Trench nodded. Along with many citizens in both the Republic, the Confederacy and nominally neutral space, like the Hutts, Hapans and systems that recently seceded from the Republic. It would be a PR coup that would further strengthen support for the Confederacy and infuriate certain members that practised slavery. "I'll make the necessary arrangements. ROEs?"

"Secure the systems in question, pacify unruly locals, liberate the slaves and those who we need, make sure that they get decent treatment and get paid. We have enough free B1s to replace unskilled or lowly skilled slave labour and those with useful skills we have the money to pay. Those who we need but refuse to play ball after being liberated, well it sucks to be them." Ilroth shrugged.

"I see." Trench nodded and actually smiled. The Council played the long game and planned for a future where the Confederacy would be either victorious or force the Republic to accept terms that left it a viable state under more or less the current political leadership. This particular part of the Constitution would more or less cement said leadership in the eyes of the common citizens.