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 9: Shattered union

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Part 4

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GAR HQ

Coruscant

"That's a fine mess." General Valentra muttered darkly. For the last day his face had been etched in a semi-permanent scowl as the situation on Coruscant deteriorated even further.

"Give me a status report." Obi-Wan did his best to swallow a dejected sigh. Two days ago, Satine was elected as the new Chancellor in what for all intents and purposes was a bloodless coup backed by most relevant local governments. Roughly seventy percent of the Clones decided to follow her orders despite the shaky legal foundations of said election.

It was a much better outcome than anyone dared hope for. The whole scheme was an act of sheer desperation after all. Yet, even such a success left a lot of lose ends. Thirty percent of the Clones... that was still billions of soldiers. A lot of ships too. The fact that when the Clones decided to obey or not they usually did it as whole units was a mixed blessing. Initially it prevented the situation from blowing up in everyone's faces, which was excellent. On the downside...

"The stand-off up here continues." Admiral Coburn didn't bother hiding his own scowl. About a quarter of Coruscant's defence fleet refused to obey orders from a Chancellor they deemed illegitimate. Currently they were keeping station above one of the industrial districts where they were under the protection of Gollan stations whose crews shared the sentiment. "We have the... rebels trapped against the planet. However, reducing them is likely to result in unacceptable loses and damage to the surface. The system is still locked and we're only letting in food shipments at this time as ordered. Reinforcements from Anaxes are en route and should be here in the next six hours."

"Let's try to defuse the situation in orbit without shooting ourselves in the leg. Any success in negotiating with them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"None so far. They demand we stop our madness and get a properly elected Chancellor in place." Yularen said. "Any chance of doing it? Will the rest of the Clones still follow the Chancellor's orders and disregard Order 66 if she abdicates if it comes to that? We can't really afford to lose a third of our forces if we simply let them go do their own things. If we have to actually take them down..." That didn't bare thinking about. If it came to that, the planned counter-offensive to remove the Separatist from the Core would become a pipe dream.

"Satine will be in talks with the relevant governments tonight. We might offer free and safe passage to any Clones who don't recognize her authority to systems that share the same sentiment." Obi-Wan raised a hand to forestall the inevitable backslash of such a plan. "I know that makes them all a ticking time bomb. We don't have much of a choice. The alternatives might be worse."

"Can we really afford to let so many formations defect? Because for all intends and purposes that's what we're talking about. We'll have to dedicate sufficient forces to watch them anyway just in case." Coburn spoke in frustration.

"Starting a second civil war will be worse. We'll seek a peaceful resolution. Half the Republic is already tearing itself apart. Let's not add more fuel to the flames." Obi-Wan slammed his fist on the table they were all gathered around. He paused for a moment and stared at his hand. His emotional control was shot to hell. He had to watch for it before he did something he would regret. "Anyway, Telar, the situation on the ground?"

"Fluid. A number of protests petered out. Some of the riots are dying out too and security forces are retaking control in most regions where the population is supportive of the new developments. However, almost everywhere where the citizens oppose the way our new Chancellor was elected, the situation is becoming critical." Valentra's fingers danced over a control panel of the main holo-tank and the image changed from that of the situation in space to a map of the planet itself.

There were vast swaths of ground blinking yellow – where the situation was improving. Precious few were green designating peaceful regions and a lot of them were thanks to overwhelming military and security force presence. There was a distressing number of red zones resembling malevolent tumours. Even worse, some of them were the same places where rogue Clone units were dug in and refusing orders. A few military bases, two whole industrial zones and most distressingly, six heavily build up residential districts that rose in opposition to Satine's election. Those had the potential to become very ugly.

The map refreshed under Valentra's ministration and a multitude of blue, loyal units were displayed. Some were holding place keeping the peace, others were securing high value locations and a much smaller number were moving en route to surround the Clones who refused to follow orders. There weren't enough of the former to deal with the later in a short amount of time and that was before the possible collateral damage was taken into account. Too much of the forces on Coruscant were tied down in trying to keep the peace or at least the riots from getting totally out of control.

"There's something curious one of our analysts noted and brought to my attention." Telar continued. "Almost exclusively the units that refused to follow orders from the new Chancellor are the newest we got. Virtually all veteran formations who were in the fight from the start of the war chose to acknowledge the Chancellor's authority. Unfortunately, while green our problem children are usually up to full strength in both men and hardware. At this time we've got no good answer as to why those units chose to rebel and not others."

"Curious indeed." Yularen muttered thoughtfully. "Any news about how the Separatists will react?"

"So far they've simply increased the tempo of their raiding campaign and continue to dig in across the hyperlanes they control. Admiral Trench is playing it safe and refuses to throw ships at our fixed defences. I believe he plans to let us bleed ourselves as we attempt to dislodge them out of the Core and then counter-attack when the Separatist complete their next major construction cycle. And we can't just wait for them – we need to push them as far from Kuat as possible before that happens and keep them as far as possible from that system." Coburn commented.

"First we need to resolve the current mess, though keep working on assault plans. We need to retake Corellia ASAP, for both economic and political reasons. Every day we waste means more fixed defences and ships we will have to face when we strike there. Is there anything else I need to know right now? Otherwise, you're to keep the shop running while I'll go negotiate with our rogue units." Obi-Wan looked at his colleagues.

"Nothing you need to worry about right now, sir." Valentra shook his head.

"I'll notify you if there are any changes in orbit." Coburn added.

=RK=

Historical Notes

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"Often I lay in bed at night and wonder, how everything went so wrong?! Was it obvious and was I just too blind to see the clues? Perhaps it was and I wilfully ignored them. Looking back...

For me and my unit things went weird when the Jedi Coup hit. There were no signs of that first treasons. To us, the Jedi were mostly distant figures of awe. The closes we got to one before that fateful day on Coruscant, was back home, on Kamino, when General Shaak Ti reviewed the legion's final training exercise before we were shipped to the front. It was the last time we saw either her or home.

A month later we were in transit after our fist combat deployment in the East Theatre of Operations. Two weeks of brutal combat across three different star systems followed, then we were recalled to Coruscant for a R&R period. The news was shocking. We couldn't really wrap our heads around it.

You see, I've spoken with veterans who fought since the first battle on Geonosis. To them the Jedi were different. They saw both the best and worst of them until months later those unsuitable for the posts HighCom issued them at the beginning of the war were demoted into positions suiting their capabilities. Many of my brothers saw or worse, experienced, the Jedi making mistakes. When the Jedi Coup happened, it often didn't hit them as strong as it affected us. I won't say that they should have seen it coming. After all, those who looked for something like that were either accomplices or deceived by people who they trusted implacably.

All I'm saying is that many of my brothers saw the Jedi as people. For us, the new meat, they were symbols. The same was true for the Republic and its people.

Looking back... Yeah. It makes a twisted amount of sense. Since birth, we were taught that the Republic and its people were worth fighting and dying for. We went to bed with stories why we should value it. We were patriots, faithful to the ideals of freedom the Republic embodied.

We were naïve.

Would I make the same call if I somehow found myself back on Coruscant during the Second Coup? Honestly, I don't know. I'm reasonably sure that many of my brothers who were in my position, if they were alive today would give you a similar answer. We hadn't experienced how many a Republic Citizen didn't care about us. We fought, bled and died for them, yet they were often indifferent at best. Many threw us hateful glares. We were blamed for the war as if it was our fault. Oh, there were those who cheered us on too, a lot of them, especially in the few weeks before Coruscant went to hell.

My point? The Republic we were taught to love, it was turning out to be quite different from the one we bled for. At the time, we told ourselves that those people simply didn't understand. That the majority would support us without reservation, that they weren't out doing so because they were too busy actually doing something productive like doing their jobs so they would contribute to the Republic and the war effort. I don't know. That might very well have been the case. There were trillions upon trillions on Coruscant. As bad as the protests and riots were, only a fraction of the population was out on the streets. Hell, we could even understand their frustration with the Senate. Really, who hackles uselessly for more than a month while the government is practically decapitated?!

I could even understand why General Kenobi and his wife along with GAR HighCom went traitors. We were frustrated too. We wanted to do something more while the Republic we wanted to protect was too busy falling apart around us.

Some even say that we should really blame those behind the Second Coup.

I disagree.

We were all different men. The war brought us different experiences. I can't honestly say that my beliefs are the right ones. Perhaps, we were the traitors. Many called us such anyway. I can't blame the Kenobis and their supporters for their sentiments. However, I can blame them for giving up. Instead of trusting in the Republic or doing their best to fix the flaws they saw, their actions during the Second Coup destroyed it.

For us the Republic was and still is an ideal worth striving for. Even today, we would gladly lay down our lives for it.

Looking back... I would like to say that I would make the same call, no matter how futile it seems in retrospect and I hate how uncertain I am of doing so if the chance presents itself.

When we heard Satine Kenobi's proclamation, when we received orders indicating that GAR HighCom was on board with her ascension to Chancellor, it threw us for a loop. We were on Coruscant. We knew what was happening in the Senate. We knew well enough what was supposed to be the lawful way to elect a new Chancellor. More importantly, we knew that this wasn't it. What happened was stunning. Hearing unit after unit acknowledge those unlawful orders threw us for a loop. It was heartening when the odd unit asked for clarification or confirmation, yet most of our brothers apparently didn't care.

I understand why some of them did it. There was a new Chancellor. Contingency Order 66 was no longer active and we were free to go on with the war. Hunting down the Jedi who betrayed us all was no longer the one overriding priority.

It sounds simple, right?

For us it wasn't. The Senate was the one body in the Republic meant to elect the next Chancellor. They didn't. They were sidelined and ignored. Ergo, Satine's election was unlawful. Any orders she gave, we shouldn't obey. Any unit following such orders if they had the same information we did, would be committing dereliction of duty at best, treason at worst.

Or Code of Conduct was clear. We were taught for years how to handle certain contingencies and the election of a new Chancellor was no different. After all, the Separatists getting lucky and taking out Palpatine was always a possibility.

Even today, there's still a part of me that rebels at the very thought of obeying orders I know to be unlawful. Back then... Satine wasn't the dully elected Chancellor. The Senate was under lock and key guarded by at least a division. It wasn't long before the sheer disbelief turned to anger, though it took time for the implications to properly sink in. Another coup had just happened and we were being presented with the aftermath.

That's why I refused any orders coming from HighCom. It was the same reason why I ordered my subordinates to begin contacting the nearby units as well as any still loyal assets in space. We had to do something. We had to either fight this treason or regroup at a safe place and plan on how to counter it if doing otherwise was not practical. "

From the memoirs of General Green,

ret. Alliance of the Core Armed Forces Chief of Staff

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Part 5

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Zone B-60

Garesh Sector

Undercity

Coruscant

Sergeant Blay nervously scanned one of the tunnels his platoon was responsible for. Blinking neon lights pierced the sunless depths of the Undercity throwing dancing shadows all over the large tunnels and platforms predominant in this zone. It all made the rioting crowds look like an unending tide of sinister monster who relentlessly crashed into a thin ring of Riot Police. The Security personnel were the only thing standing between Blay's men and their hot weapons and the out of control civilians.

'We need more police. Military or otherwise.' The Clone trooper thought. The cordon was still holding, however the policemen and women didn't look like they could keep going at it for long. When, not if, they broke, Blay would have little choice but to use live fire. He had his orders – his platoon had to hold this section at all costs. Dug in as much as possible, if the situation allowed.

"Crank, Bery," Blay spoke and the comm unit in his helmet sent his words over the platoon net. Without his helmet, he would have been unable to direct his people because of all the deafening racket made by the crazy civies. Didn't those fools know that there was a war going on?! Blay glared at the crowd below from his vantage point – a raised platform leading into a closed aircar parts shop.

"Boss?" Crank, replied after a brief delay. He was one of the best men in the platoon and on the short list for promotion into an NCO when a slot opened.

"Sarge?" Bery was in charge of the single squad reserve Blay could afford to keep away from the three tunnels covered by the platoon. While unimaginable, he was a solid and dependable soldier.

"We aren't getting reinforcements." Blay said. "We've got bigger problems than the riots." He reluctantly added.

It was up to him to break the news to the platoon. Usually that would be up to the LT, however that worthy managed to get himself iced on their only combat deployment before coming to Coruscant and there was no sign of any replacement coming in – something unlikely to change any time soon.

"Bery, I want you on overwatch on the right flank. Crank, cut lose a fire-team and send it to the left." Blay checked his data-pad which was linked to the police net, including the cameras. The left flank was facing the least number of rioters, while the right... the tunnels leading there were packed and the damned civies were more interesting in clashing with the police than fighting each other or vandalizing the place. That would soon turn very ugly.

"Men, I won't lie to you." Blay spoke after checking to make sure his whole platoon would hear. "The situation just went to hell. From what the Commander is getting, there was another Coup; successful one this time. The Senate is in custody and an unlawfully elected Chancellor is issuing illegal orders. I..." Blay grit his teeth in anger. He still couldn't believe that most units were simply accepting such a treason and going on with it as if nothing was wrong. What the hell was wrong with their brothers?! "Some of our brothers chose to obey those orders. We have to assume that they are either confused about what is happening or complicit to treason. The Commander is doing his best to sort out this mess and orders will be coming as soon as we've got a plan of action. Until then, we're to hold this position come hell or high water."

"We weren't on Coruscant when the Jedi betrayed us all, Sarge. We're here now and no treason shall prosper while we draw breath!" Crank answered after long seconds of stunned silence.

"That's the spirit!" Bery added in a clipped angry tone.

=RK=

Assault Shuttle Vega-552

Coruscant

Ahsoka Tano never imagined she would return to Coruscant this way. She was safely strapped in a shock harness in the belly of an assault shuttle besides a part of her command section and a two squads meant to keep them all intact. That by itself wasn't something particularly notable – she did the same exact exercise multiple times at the war college. It was the destination and reason they were going there that should have been unthinkable. She closed her eyes and her earlier conversation with Obi-Wan flashed through her mind.

"Ahsoka, you're a sight for sore eyes." Kenobi looked harried.

"Colonel Tano reporting for duty, sir." Ahsoka gave her mentor a textbook salute. "It's good to see you again, Obi-Wan." She added less formally.

"I wish it was under better circumstances. Have you been briefed?" Kenobi looked away to something off-screen.

"Division sent me all they had." She grimaced. "It looks very bad down there."

"It is. We've got the equivalent of a whole army with some additional loose formations refusing to obey orders. Certain units are ready to negotiate for a lift off world but others... Ahsoka we're getting chatter of a multiple regiments preparing to move on the Senate and High Command. If we try to intercept them from the air or orbit, there's a significant force of rogue warships that might interfere."

Initially, Ahsoka though she misheard. Obi-Wan was talking about what suspiciously sounded like a potential civil war on Coruscant. It couldn't be, right? This was Coruscant, the heart of the Republic!

"I... Where do you need me, Obi-Wan?"

"I'm sending you coordinates, maps and all the intelligence we've got. I need you to link up with two battalions – one armor one motorized infantry and stop 196th Assault Legion from leaving the section of the Undercity they're occupying." Obi-Wan sounded more tired than ever.

No. She didn't mishear.

"ROEs?" Ahsoka's training kicked in. She was pretty sure it was only the time in the academy that kept her from totally freaking out. Externally at least. Inside... her gut was twisting with worry and fear. How could this happen? Why?!

"Attempt to talk them down. If not..." Obi-Wan's face hardened. "Use any and all means available to neutralize the threat."

"Yes, sir."

"And Ahsoka... Come back safe." Obi-Wan added.

Someone called him and he cut the connection.

That was three hours ago. It took that long to get everyone ready to deploy and get the outline of a plan that had a chance of not getting everyone killed. It was an excellent timing, a tiny bit better than anything her regiment managed during training.

It was at least an hour more than a similar Clone unit would have needed to sort things out, though the planning phase might have taken as long if not longer.

"Greg, are they still refusing to talk with us?" Ahsoka asked her staff Intelligence officer.

Major Gregory Wilson was a thin but tall ageing man who looked like a light breeze could push him over. In his case first impressions would be deceiving. He was a former police captain who volunteered shortly after the Separatists released Blue Shadow on Naboo. Thanks to his work in investigation and analysis for Anaxes security force, he got a rushed OCS course along with at least two more grounded ones that placed him in his current billet. Distressingly, he along with Ahsoka was one of the few more experienced officers in the whole Second Army.

"The 196th is still keeping tight EMCON, sir. I'm trying to patch through the Security Forces net and get us some fresh Intel, perhaps a backchanel line to them too." The Major added.

"Keep the good work, Greg." Ahsoka smiled. While very, very green, her people were eager and well motivated.

She hoped it was going to be enough. That she would not fail them.