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Phase 18: The long road to Mandalore

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Part 8

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Detention centre

GAR HQ

Coruscant

"Obi-Wan, what happened to you?!" Aayla managed to interject when Kenobi paused his rant.

Briefly, he looked at her as if he was unable to comprehend the question, then realization dawned in his eyes. Obi-Wan's shoulder's slumped and he leaned on the wall next to the door.

"This war happened. Do you know how many people are under my command right now? My responsibility? Just the combat troops are in the billions with multiple times their number in support personnel. The confirmed military casualties so far are in the hundreds of millions and with a significant number of our ground forces cut off I know for sure we've lost many more. The casualties suffered by the various local forces across the Outer and Mid Rim before the Separatists cut us off from them? We never got anything but an rough guess. Billions for sure. The civilians caught in the middle of it all? It doesn't bear thinking about. That's my life now, Aayla – I have to sent people to die in numbers the human mind couldn't really comprehend and its going go get worse. As the Supreme Commander, I have to be thankful that the bulk of the army and navy so far has been Clones. Now that multiple army groups are being raised all across the Core and the still loyal parts of the Mid-Rim, when the casualties begin coming home by the freighter-load, a great deal of people would begin to wonder why should they send their loved ones to fight at places they had hardly heard of, most of them had never been to nor could they particularly care. Unless everyone's guess is very, very wrong, we'll need people like the Mandalorians, from warrior cultures and with military traditions! We'll need people like Veil to rally and lead them, to serve as an example… and our pet monster to keep the enemy honest or else." Kenobi whispered the last sentence barely loud enough for Secura to hear. "You don't want to know the contingencies we need to consider in case the war escalates even further." Now he appeared haunted. "It's the stuff of nightmares."

"That's… I don't know what to say, Obi-Wan."

"It puts things into perspective, doesn't it? At its height, our Order had ten thousand active knights. Even with the Coup and everything else that happened, a lot of them are still alive. The same can't be said for all too many soldiers and civilians alike who suffered because the Council decided they knew what was best for the galaxy. Frankly, Aayla, there have been days lately I don't care if our esteemed friends had good reasons for the treason they committed, though I would admit that a part of me still hopes they really did."

"For what little it's worth, I'm sorry." Aayla said in a comforting tone.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong. I'll leave you for now, before one of us says something we'll regret. Take care and do cooperate, please." With those parting words, Obi-Wan left.

Aayla sat on her bunk and thought about everything Kenobi told her.

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Operations room

GAR HQ

Coruscant

Obi-Wan was still trying to gather his thoughts and centre himself after his conversation with Aayla. He couldn't believe how easily he lost his temper with her. Kenobi knew that the pressure of his post affected him but until now he believed he had it more or less under control. He had to get a grip before he made an avoidable mistake that would get a lot of people killed. Obi-Wan called his chief aide and arranged to clear up the next few hours of his schedule. A bit of meditation and quiet would do him some good, he hoped. The former Jedi locked himself in his office with standing orders not to be disturbed unless it was something critical and he fell into a meditative trance. He had barely began to sort out his thoughts and emotions, when his comm chimed.

Kenobi shook himself back to the present and with an exasperated sigh he switched out the comm. "General Kenobi speaking. What is the issue?"

"Sir, we just received a priority transmission from Tanaab. Just a few minutes ago another fleet jumped to Gizer."

"The Separatists are making a concerned push for our naval station at Tanaab then?" That possibility got Obi-Wan's undivided attention. Tanaab couldn't be allowed to fall. Too many other systems relied to it for food and security now that it was the regional Republic naval HQ.

"That's just it, general! It wasn't the separatist! We got preliminary reports of a number of Venators, Acclamators and one of our mobile docks along with a supply train. We're still waiting for confirmation but it appears that General Veil finally got back. We got garbled report that the enemy forces at Lantillies had been eliminated and a comprehensive AAR about their actions will be forthcoming soon. Admiral Illona is investigating and will get back to us once he's confirmed this isn't a Separatist trick. The Admiral is requesting instructions if it's really Veil."

Well, not everything just got that much more complicated. Obi-Wan could already hear politicians howling for Veil's blood while others would be eager to shower him with praise and try their best to unleash him on the Separatists, often for all the wrong reasons…

Obi-Wan? He was still conflicted. One thing he knew though, Veil needed to explain himself and that explanation better be damn good!

"I'll be in the operations room shortly. Call me if we get confirmation before I arrive. If it's indeed Veil, I want a secure channel with him ASAP!" Kenobi dismissed his aide and went behind his desk from where he accessed the secured line with the Chancellor's office. Less than a minute later, Satine's holo-image materialized in front of him.

"Obi-Wan! You aren't calling with bad news this early in the morning, are you?" His wife smiled at him and judging by her words and light tone she was currently alone in he office. Her smile made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, something that as a Jedi he should have found very dangerous and concerning. Nowadays? Satine was one of the few things he had left to keep him sane in this mad galaxy.

"That's entirely a matter of perspective. I just got a preliminary report indicating that Veil's fleet arrived at Gizer. Our forces there and at Tanaab are currently investigating and will get back to us shortly."

Satine's eyes widened in shock. She took a moment to gather back her composure and when she addressed him again, she was in her full Chancellor mode – all efficiently professional. "If true, this certainly complicates things. We've had to make certain promises that we can hold him to account and keep him from pulling another Bothawui or Sullust for that matter without authorization. If push comes to shove, can we contain him?" Satine asked bluntly.

"Technically." Obi-Wan admitted.

"That's the best and worst kind of answer, you know."

"So you tell me. In truth, the questions we should be asking is can we afford to antagonize and deal with him if it comes for that… and can we afford not to? As the Supreme Commander of your military, Madam Chancellor, this is a question I need to raise." He could play dutiful soldier to the hilt when he had to, though it took a lot of trial and error to pull it off properly.

"General Kenobi, get me answers – about Kamino, Sullust and Bothawui. Find out his intentions too. I'll have a political firestorm to deal with."

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Part 9

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Operations room

GAR HQ

Coruscant

"Comm links established. Encryption checks. We're secure sir."

The main holotank lit up and shimmering strands of light formed up into the ethereal forms of multiple people.

"Well done. Now, everyone except General Valentra and Admiral Jerjerrod, clear the room."

Soon only three living people were present, joined by the holo-images of Admirals Coburn and Yularen.

"Well, isn't this ominous." The oldest officer looked in turn at everyone linked up by the conference call.

"Veil's back. He arrived a few hours ago at Gizer and is currently on his way to Tanaab. We've got his and his surviving officers AARs for every battle they fought since leaving for the Unknown Regions to deal with Crimson. Complete with attached sensor logs from the ships that made it back." Obi-Wan cut to the chase.

"That's a good news, isn't it? Gizer… Wasn't Lantillies in enemy hands?"

"Not any more unless the Separatists reinforced the system since he left. After leaving Hutt space he hit Randon, where only the Separatist fleet in the system engaged him. The local SDF declined to fight Veil unless he approached their world, which he didn't. He mauled the CIS forces there, passed through Kashyyyk without accident and on arrival at Lantillies engaged and destroyed the enemy naval elements holding the system. That's on top of the reports of what happened in the Mid-Rim..." Obi-Wan sent the preliminary reports of the engagements Veil fought from Kamino onwards – summaries really, because there hadn't been enough time for anyone go get through them properly, much less analyse the contents.

A few minutes of silence followed while everyone digested the new information.

"It seems that the plan worked better than we expected." Yularen was the first to speak. If that Mid-Rim Alliance Veil clobbered together still holds anyway and even if the Separatists took them out, they would have suffered casualties doing it – they couldn't have many reserves left after Veil was done with them. That's multiple sector fleets he annihilated in the past months."

"We'll have an opportunity once the Core is secure." Coburn noted.

"That's well and good, though I don't believe General Kenobi gathered us just to break the good news." Jerjerrod pointed out the obvious.

"There wouldn't be a point of keeping this under the lid. The Separatists must know Veil got back safely." Valentra agreed. "What aren't you telling us, General Kenobi?"

"While the news of Veil's return and successes in the Rim will certainly boost morale, it also puts us all in a delicate position."

"Ah. Politics at their finest." Coburn scoffed. "What do our civilian lords and masters want this time? Didn't they cause enough damage already?"

Obi-Wan winced inside at the acidic tone of his colleague. Coburn was one of the old hands in the GAR, a career military who had served both in his home system's navy and the Republic Judicial forces before the GAR was established and he volunteered to serve. Until recently, he had been a firm believer in civilian control over the military, however the way the Senate and certain local government handled the war so far, changed his tune. From what Kenobi knew of the man, that had been a tremendous achievement… which explained why he was on board with the scheme that ended up with Satine as a Chancellor.

"As you all know, certain deals needed to be made in order to secure the political support we needed to get a new Chancellor elected. Now it's time to pay for some of them. One of the main promises we gave was that we will investigate Veil's actions, keep him from going too far and if found guilty..." Now Kenobi didn't bother trying to hide his wince.

"Why do I have the feeling that none of our friends in the Senate want Veil anywhere near the Core when he's about to be Judged?" Jerjerrod's sarcasm was as dry as Tatooine's deserts.

"Well, some do want him to parade him around and shower him with medals and accolades." Obi-Wan admitted. He still found it hard to wrap his head around the idea of some people being gleeful about what happened at Sullust and Bothawui. This war… it tore the Republic apart on a fundamental level and the former Jedi was becoming afraid that this time, there might not be a way to put it back together.

"Others scream for his head on the news." Jerjerrod added. "It's most entertaining." His tone became sombre. "Like it or not, Veil is one of us now. Do you really expect us to throw him to the krath hounds?"

There was a moment of uneasy silence. That was one can of worms no one wanted to touch.

"What we need to do is investigate what happened at Kamino, Sullust and Bothawui. At least one other flag officer – Admiral Joanna Holt, has been with him all the way. We have her reports too, we will be questioning them both, over the Holonet, along with any of the senior officers in the fleet who survived to come back home." Obi-Wan explained.

"You know, under other circumstances, someone in Veil's position might be expected to fall upon his sword for the good of the Republic." Coburn said.

"I don't see a foreign head of state doing so. Let's not forget that despite his short but distinguished service with the GAR and the current rank he holds, he is Mandalore." Jerjerrod reminded them. "Of course, there's the little fact that he's a Sith, though what that really means nowadays is apparently anyone's guess."

"Well, lately he did more for the Republic than the Jedi, that's for sure." Coburn concluded. "Still, I would like to know the kriff happened at Kamino. Sullust is clear and cut case in my mind – he did go after legitimate military targets. While it might have been nice if possible to minimize civilian casualties, are you telling me that we're going to go after Veil for simply doing his job?"

The other officers made sounds of agreement.

"About Sullust? Not really, though we might have to put up a show for the Senate and the civilian population. Kamino is iffy at best and Bothawui..." Obi-Wan trailed off. They had discussed Veil's actions there multiple times and never agreed.

"We know your thoughts about that, General Kenobi. However, the primary issue most of us have with his actions there was the level of escalation in represents. We are all eager to hear more details..." Jerjerrod began, earning himself a scowl form both Yularen and Kenobi. He was known as one of those who approved and wanted the capability to repeat the feat on demand as a deterrent against the CIS continuing with their usual atrocities now that they were no longer controlled by the Sith and their mad dog, Grievous, was dead.

"That's why we're here. We'll be speaking with Veil and Admiral Hold shortly. Ideally we would have more time, however the Senate would get a whiff of his return sooner rather than later. The Chancellor wouldn't be able to keep them at bay for long after that." At least not now when a number of the Senators got replaced or their seats became permanently or temporarily vacant until the war was over and the Republic fully restored. Too many Senators now took their marching orders from governments that for one reason or another supported the new regime. Their concerns couldn't be dismissed without shattering the delicate balance that made most people believe that despite everything that happened it was still business as usual on Coruscant.

"Then by all means, get them on the line." Coburn sounded rather impatient.