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 6: Lootforce One

=RK=

Part 3

"Warfare is based on information, intelligence and thus deception. The failure on that front was one of the, if not the, the greatest failing of the Republic at the beginning of the Clone Wars. That state of affairs is at least partially understandable. The Confederacy wasn't an outside threat where the intelligence agencies should have concentrated their efforts. A lot of systems only joined the CIS shortly before or in response to the Republic unveiling its Clone Army. The nature of the conflict is another reason. As years pass, people tend to forget that when the Clone Wars began, they were a Republic civil war between the central government and a secessionist movement. There's a reason why the Confederacy of Independent systems is to this day referred to as Separatists by both official documents and the common citizens.

When the war began, the CIS military and budging intelligence services knew more about their Republic counterparts than any outside enemy ever could without gross incompetence and grand treason rearing their ugly heads. Up until Coruscant and Naboo, the Confederacy persisted in having multiple high ranking sympathisers within many branches of the Republic government – from the Senate to GAR HighCom to intelligence agencies.

That state of affairs shifted briefly in the aftermath of the bio-weapon attacks. ONI, SI and other branches of Republic intelligence services were purged of proven or suspected Separatist agents. There were all indications that the agencies were at least moderately successful in their efforts. We know for sure that various Republic intelligence agents were critical in uncovering Confederate build-up at Geonosis, their plans to lay a grand trap for the Republic military and neutralizing the planetary shield generators, which allowed a successful campaign to cripple the CIS industry there for the rest of the war.

Yet, most of the damage was already done. Even before the war began, many Republic intelligence agents had their identities compromised, the Separatists knew of safe-houses, procedures, often even up to date codes... That regrettable state of affairs persisted up until the end of the conflict. While the intelligence services of individual Republic members would often distinguish themselves, the official Republic agencies suffered setback after setback...

The Jedi Coup and its aftermath broke ONI, SI and most other Republic intelligence agencies. A significant number of high placed agents, at least one director and multiple special operations groups went rogue and did their best to ensure the success of the coup. Their efforts are credited with making the assassination of Chancellor Palpatine possible in the first place by crippling GAR response and giving enough time to former Jedi Master Mace Windu to cut his way through the defenders of the Senate and accomplish his murderous mission.

The consequences were predictable – neither GAR nor the surviving Republic government could trust any intelligence agency bar the army's Military Intelligence. While it was suspected that the majority of agents were not traitors, no one could afford the risk. All known ONI and SI sites were raided as soon as practical and their agents hunted down either as traitors or for interrogation to determine their culpability. In the first days after the coup attempt many of those people on Coruscant resisted believing false information fed into their system that a GAR backed coup was into effect. A significant number of agents were convinced that was in fact the truth after the Clones went after them..."

"How the Republic lost the Intelligence war"

Leinna Marcel, Eriadu Military Academy

=RK=

Kuat Broadcasting Corporation Yacht "Starlight"

thirty light minutes from Kuat

"As you can see, we're well protected here even without Republic naval forces in system." A spokesman for Kuat's government smiled affably at a group of journalist from all over the Core. "We're just about to pass besides the Pride of the Core, the flagship of our invincible defence fleet." He continued.

The human spokesman looked slick, so perfect that Denii couldn't help it but feel he was a fake. She had seen many people like him back in the real Republic. They all promised victory in the war, that a state rotten to the core like the Empire could never triumph over a free democracy.

It was a nice sentiment. One Denii used to believe in until reality intruded. As a young Padawan she fought in multiple battles. She even killed Sith who were hell-bent on killing her and destroying everything she stood for. For a time, Strum could hope that the enemy could be beaten. She knew the Sith could die just like everyone else. The Jedi was aware that they weren't some invincible juggernauts.

Yet... The Republic lost. She hard the reports – of failed desperate counter-offensives. Sith onslaughts that couldn't be held back. The Navy stood its ground and died. Tried to run only to be hunted down. The situation on the ground wasn't much better. Only worlds with newly deployed theatre and planetary shields could hold in the face of Imperial orbital superiority.

Denii knew that the fleet she was part of was recalled for Coruscant along with the bulk of surviving military for one last desperate attempt to stop the tide.

They didn't make it and had to learn from history books that the outcome they feared materialized – the Republic lost. It fractured as consequence and only the Sith turning on each other in a time honoured fashion prevented them from claiming the whole galaxy.

At least the Republic eventually reformed. It might have been glorious one, once centuries ago. However, the Republic Denii and the rest of the remnant found in this forsaken future was anything but. It was as bad or even worse as the Sith propaganda of her time accused it to be. Corrupted, inefficient, not really democratic... An oligarchy at best.

The revelation that their Chancellor was a Sith when it came... A sad smile sneaked its way to Denii's face. The Sith had won and no-one seemed to notice. Or care. If it wasn't for the Separatists – themselves led by another Sith, she doubted the Remnant would have found a way to change this rotten galaxy for the better.

Her smile grew and she beamed at the spokesman. Two of the Sith were removed from power, another was suspected to be dead or at least heavily wounded. Only that monster from their own time remained on the loose and he would be hunted down in due time so he could be made to pay for all his crimes.

Today, Denii would make sure the Jedi would be a step closer to stopping that madman. The time was right. She could see the Pride of the Core coming into view in the window behind the Kuat PR specialist. Denii opened her mind to the currents of the Force and through it her perception became impossibly clear and vast. She could sense everything living on board the yacht. She pushed further and the Mandator they were approaching was within her awareness. The Jedi Knight gathered the Force within herself and blazed like a beacon. She pushed everything she could perceive through her connection with her new master, Perrion and looked at the spokesman. The Force sang through her and all she could feel was euphoria at her feat.

"Sir, Denii Strum, ORR. May I ask you a question?" The Jedi asked in an excited tone.

"ORR? I'm afraid I'm not familiar, young lady. Please, do ask, but quickly. We're almost on top of the Pride." The spokesman gave her a condescending smile.

"How secure do you really think you are? Do you believe that your navy could protect Kuat from justice?" Denii asked of the cameras and everyone looking at the live broadcast.

"Of course we are!" The affable smile never left the man's face but his eyes narrowed at Denii. "We've got all seven Mandator Star Dreadnoughts deployed in system. The Separatist threw their worst at us and bounced. They hadn't made any further encroachments in the Core ever since our navy evicted them!"

"Is that so?" Denii smirked and pointed at the window.

A hundred short ranged assault transports piloted by Jedi exited hyperspace on top of the Mandator. In an impossible feat of piloting and coordination they flew at the gargantuan battleship and landed before its defence systems could be released to engage them. They landed into open hangars or next to access points that Denii managed to divine and send to her new master along with the precise location of their target.

"I'm not convinced." Denii smiled. Her connection with the Force faltered and she stumbled to her knees. The Jedi didn't really feel the strain of doing what many would call impossible while she was busy actually making it happen but now that the assault teams were in... Denii felt something wet on her face. She raised a hand to her cheek to touch it and the looked at her fingers.

They were red with blood. Huh. She didn't feel pain. Her eyes rolled back and Denii collapsed on the deck.

No one really noticed. Everyone in the compartment was too busy starring through the window and making sure their cameras were catching everything.

=RK=

Part 4

Republic Star Dreadnought The Pride of the Core

thirty light minutes from Kuat

A pang of regret lanced through Jerod Perrion's heart when he felt his new apprentice lose consciousness. That emotion was immediately swallowed by a wave of pride Denii's achievement and anticipation. She did it! His strike groups were hitting their targets thanks to Strum's sacrifice and he was going to make it all count. The assault transport slammed into the Dreadnought's hull with a dull clang and its ramps were blown off by carefully placed charges to ensure fast disembarkation.

Perrion walked out into open space on the heels of his soldiers and the Force was with him. Her power pulsed in tandem with the beat of his heart and her soothing caress made the pain of losing his wife a distant, bearable thing. Even arranging Denii's part into the operation no longer stung – it was merely what had to be done to bring down the corrupt twisted image of the Republic that mocked the sacrifices of everyone who ever fought, suffered and died in the name of freedom.

Now Jerod had to simply ensure that the sacrifices of his own people counted. That much he could do. The will of the Force was his will, her might – he could wield it for as long as his body could handle it.

The Jedi Master raised his hands and his power surged around him obeying before he could even finish the gesture. Ten GUARDIAN turrets were swinging around and aiming to erase him and his men from the face of the universe.

There was no sound in space, yet Jerod could swear he heard the screech of tearing metal when his telekinesis tore the weapon emplacements from their cradles and let them drift pass the slowly moving Star Dreadnought. A though was all it took and the heavily armoured hatch providing maintenance and DC access to this part of the outer surface was assaulted by his telekinesis. Mere metal, even the unnaturally tough alloy making a capital ship's armour was no match for the might of the Force. The hatch followed the turrets example and flew away in a heap of crumpled metal.

Perrion's men were already jumping in using their armours in built repulsors to propel themselves into the ship. He simply walked after them taking a moment to check how the initial assault was going. Jerod smiled when he could vaguely sense all his Jedi, even Denii though her presence was very faint. If she survived the backslash of overstraining herself, he vowed to go back and retrieve her no matter what.

Then there was no more time for such sentimentality. The Jedi Master was into the Pride of the Core and he had a ship to hijack.

"No alarms yet?" The oldest member of his strike team asked incredulously.

"No?" Jerod paused for a heartbeat once his armoured feet touched the deck. Indeed, there were no alarms blaring within the Mandator. The only doors which were closing were the comparatively light bulkheads meant to contain atmosphere, not the much thicker armoured ones.

That oversight was immediately corrected by the crew and red lights began to flash the length of the corridor the strike team used for insertion point.

"That's better." Another commando nodded.

Even if this Republic was the enemy, seeing any kind of sloppiness by the people sworn to protect it grated to those who spent decades fighting the Sith to preserve their way of life. It was almost as bad as figuring out that this Republic was a democracy in name only. Why the people of this time couldn't see the truth and raise against those who took their voice, Perrion would never know.

"Enough." The Jedi Master snapped as much to himself as to the troopers surrounding him. This wasn't the time to think about what ifs. They had a job to do.

The Force signalled her approval with a cool caress that helped Jerod focus his mind. Perrion sheathed his will within the endless ocean of power at his disposal and jogged in the direction of the CIC. He didn't need to make a single gesture to help himself channel the Force. She simply obeyed Perrion's intent and every pulse of power passing through his body strengthened his determination. The first set of armoured doors simply tore apart at his approach as if they were made of wet rags. A group of witless crew had just a moment to stare at the running apparitions before vacuum sucked them along with the precious air and warmth keeping them alive. They bounced off invisible barrier and flew above and around the intruders without hitting or even slowing them down.

Three hundred meters and two more armoured doors later, Perrion met the firs real resistance. A squad of lightly armed Kuati tried to stop his advance. The Jedi Master glared at the obstacle. The Force pulsed after reading his intent and they were all crushed against the floor.

Jerod had forgotten how good it felt to be in combat. The only regret he had was the lack of worthy enemies. These poor bastards crewing the ship? They had no concept what he unleashed upon them. Perrion and his Jedi were done hiding. No more holding back. This was the war for the Republic's, no the galaxy's very soul and they had to win, no matter the cost.

=RK=

CIC

Republic Star Dreadnought the Pride of the Core

thirty light minutes from Kuat

"Captain, we've got intruders in all hangars. Multiple breaches one thirty of the outer decks."

"We just lost contact with the fleet. Jamming devices attached to our hull are compromising communications. Attempting to compensate..."

"We've lost sections of the GUARDIAN network. We can use that information to pinpoint the insertion points of the boarders..."

"That's what I want to hear! Secure all critical compartments. Dispatch security to all suspected breaches. Lock down my ship!" Admiral Berd Jillian hissed in a passable Basic – a respectable achievement for a Bith. His species was infamous for usually being unable to properly talk the language, if they were able to pronounce most of the correct sounds at all. "Comms, burn through the jamming. Find out if there are other ongoing attacks. Keep the GUARDIAN up and make sure we don't get any more uninvited guests. This has to be a distraction. A few thousand soldiers at worst – they have no prayer in hell of capturing this ship. Look for enemy reinforcements. If you have to, dispatch small craft to raise the rest of the fleet!"

Jillian's words finally shook his command crew from the stunned disbelief that someone had the sheer nerve of boarding the Pride of the Core in the middle of their own home system. It took them precious moments but soon everyone was acting with the efficiency the admiral drilled into them in the past six months since taking command after the Mandator's refit.

"Sir, you need to see this! The intruders are Jedi!" A disbelieving voice rang clear across the CIC.

"Jedi? What are those madmen doing on my ship?!" Jillian's own tone wasn't much better. Wasn't the mess they did on Coruscant and Corellia enough? Did they come here just to make sure Kuat felt included or something?

The admiral walked briskly to the console where a marine lieutenant was overseeing the status of the ships internal security. Multiple monitors showed pictures of the boarders. They all wore sleek advanced looking armour of unfamiliar design, carried heavy weapons as if they were toys and each group was led by a lightsaber wielding maniac. What's worse, they were simply tearing their way through anything standing on their path. Reinforced blast doors were either cut through by energy blades, breached with heavy duty shaped charges or worse – here and there a Jedi simply raised a hand and the armoured allow was torn asunder by invisible force.

Three marine platoons converged on an enemy force a quarter of their number and fifteen seconds later they were either dead, dying or sent running. Only a single intruder was left behind and another seemed to move a bit slower than the rest but that was it.

"Make sure security breaks out the heavy weapons. Pull up a schematic with their progress." Jillian ordered.

A dull sound echoed through the CIC.

"DC what did they do to my ship?!" The admiral growled.

"That's... that's impossible..." The commander in charge of coordinating damage control stammered.

"I've got them on camera, sir." The marine LT whispered. His tone was a mixture of awe and disbelief.

Jillian was sure he heard a hint of fear in the young man's voice.

Another rumble echoed and the admiral felt the slightest of tremors below his feet. Then another. He looked back at the monitors in front of the lieutenant and stared. There was a large jagged hole in the deck. The image changed, another corridor, another pit torn into its floor.

"Sir, that's right above us – seventeen decks." The lieutenant swallowed dryly. "Sixteen now."

"Security to the CIC." Jillian's voice was hollow. This was surely impossible! Even Jedi couldn't possibly...

Thuump. A metallic shiver followed by a quiet scream of alloy being torn apart.

"Transfer control to the bridge, captain Hokings has command. Have the secondary CICs ready to assume command if necessary. Lieutenant Aler, find us a safe route to evacuate." Jillian found his voice, though it was a dry, parched thing.

"Admiral, we need to leave, now!" The lieutenant exclaimed.

The deck below them shook and all Jillian could hear was abused metal screaming. The lights flickered then went off only to be replaced by dull orange emergency...

A deafening screech of tearing metal made the admiral and everyone else grab their ears and collapse in pain. The ceiling twisted as if it was made of jelly and something was funnelling it away.

Jillian's hands went for a side-arm he no longer carried with him and he was left to helplessly watch as armoured figures simply jumped through the brand new hole in the ceiling.

One of them made its was straight for the admiral and he suddenly found himself suspended in mid-air. The monster raised a hand and placed its armoured gauntlet on Jillian's face. The admiral felt as if he was submerged into a freezing pool. His awareness narrowed until he could only perceive the figure standing in front of him.

Jillian tried to speak, to scream his defiance. His efforts were met by grim amusement that was shortly replaced by cold, pitiless anger. The admiral felt something cool touch his mind but that was surely impossible.

Right?

The touch turned into a thousand stabs that sent pure agony through his very being. Jillian tried to scream but he found out that he had no voice to scream with. He felt his very being unravel. Secrets he was sworn to protect unto the grave were torn off from his mind. Command codes, procedures... everything this monster needed to take over Jillian's ship. The admiral struggled. Tried to fight despite feeling such agony that even thinking was almost impossible.

It didn't help. The pain increased. Jillian felt something within his very soul wrench apart... The admiral silently keened in horror at the pitiless violation and then he could think no more.

=RK=

Perrion discarded the empty shell that used to be admiral Berd Jillian, noted that his people had exterminated the CIC's crew and were securing all entrances and nodded in approval. He closed his eyes and knelt to the floor. It took him few moments to centre himself after tearing through the admiral's mind, even longer to achieve equilibrium with the Force after all the raw power he channelled to get to the CIC this fast and only then he could muster the concentration for what had to be done next.

Controls on multiple stations began moving as if on their own accord. Command codes entered the Star Dreadnought's systems and slowly but surely the Pride of the Core network was compromised from within. The bridge was physically cut off from the network leaving it with access to just its surrounding decks and thus mostly harmless.

If only engineering could be secured before someone could scuttle the main reactors or primary engines... Perrion smiled in relief. He guided the Force around himself and spoke into an open channel to engineering using admiral Jillian's voice. He had the correct codes. Those who could contradict his version of events were cut off from engineering one after another. There were multiple strike teams racing to secure the main reactors and Jerod hoped he bought them enough time.

To his relief, the Force surrounded him in a soothing cool embrace. He did all right, surely?

=RK=

AN: How much of the interaction between Jerod Perrion and the Force is actually the Force messing with his mind and how much it was his mind playing tricks to him will be revealed at a later date.