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 21: Skyfall
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Part 10
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Near KDY HQ
Kuat
A nondescript truck came flying straight at Denii and the commandos carrying her. She allowed herself a moment of relief when she sensed the fain presence of her Master coming from the approaching machine, an emotion that was gone almost immediately after the sound of collapsing multi kilometre building became deafening scream. The young Jedi dared look over her shoulder and her eyes widened. The upper part of the building was already in a complete collapse and even its reinforced structure couldn't keep it together any longer. Metal floors collapsed as if made of tinfoil, cut bearing columns wavered, bend and finally broke and the massive structure began tearing itself apart under gravity and its own weight even as it slid towards the ground. Soon it turned into a speeding avalanche of twisted metal, furniture and people whose screams were soon cut short.
Denii and her carriers hit the truck hard and they barely took a grip on its side before it dived to outrun the collapse. A third commando managed to take hold but the last was lost, cut down by concentrated fire from diving enemy soldiers, most of whom were both enraged at what was happening to their world and knew they simply weren't fast enough to make it to safety. That left them long enough to stabilize their descent and open fire. While Denii was somewhat safe thanks to the overlapping deflectors of the soldiers who carried her and the Force, the other troopers weren't so fortunate. The last one who got to the truck had his defences breached and his armour had gapping holes to prove how close he came to dying. Even now, the Jedi could feel his pain and the iron will required to keep holding on despite his wounds.
The same could be said about her master who was in the back of the truck and going by what Denii could sense through their bond, his whole world was agony.
Before she knew it, the truck got to safety just before the collapsing building could sweep them away. Even now she could sense the fury emanating from the Sith who were on the other side of the avalanche. From what she saw, they were at least as messed up as her Master, which was good – the Jedi Knight doubted she was up to the task of getting away from them otherwise.
The truck dived through a swarm of ascending vehicles and went into a long tunnel leading through a nearby commercial building. It slowed down so they could actually get inside or so Denii thought.
"We're getting off nearby. Get the commander." One of the commandos' ordered.
She crawled over the side of the truck until she got to the back door and used the Force to open it. Inside she saw Master Perrion strapped to a seat bolted along the left side with a tired Bothan trying to tend his wounds. A glance was enough to see that her Master was deep into a healing trance and the very fact that he was still in agony was telling.
"I've done what I could but he needs hospital, soon. You need to get him to out of here." The Bothan medic said.
The driver hammered over the thin sheet of metal separating him from the cargo compartment.
"Ten seconds. There's a platform on the right. She'll slow down so you can jump. There's a small freighter waiting on the far end of the building. We have a droid waiting to guide you there."
Denii didn't waste any time. An exertion of her will snapped the safety harness keeping her Master in place and she cocooned him into a telekinetic field before taking him in her hands and moving towards the exit. The truck slowed down and when she saw the edge of the platform passing by, the Jedi made a Force assisted leap. The commandos followed using their rocket packs.
The Jedi Knight didn't know it, but the truck would soon enter a large freighter preparing to leave with as many civilians as could cram inside before it had to lift off to outrun the crashing pieces of the array. The Kuat Navy would be able to intercept and board that ship in search for Perrion and his strike team. Meanwhile, the small freighter waiting for them would have slipped away, lost among thousands of craft racing to get away from the unfolding disaster.
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"Make no mistake, this is the face of our enemy. To no one's surprise, now that there is no 'Sith' leading them, the Separatists are the same. This isn't a war fought by an oppressed Outer Rim against the 'Evil' Republic. This conflict that has cost us tremendously, is nothing less than a naked power grab. We don't fight for dominance of the Core, not even for the ideal of the Republic. We all fight for something more basic and fundamental – for the right to make our own path in life and chart our destiny free from the murderous control of the Separatists. If they have their way, the Separatist would see us all in chains, toiling for their benefit..."
from an interview given by Onara Kuat,
after a failed attempt to assassinate her during the Skyfall crisis
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For a week after Skyfall, the Republic was in disarray almost rivalling the dark days following Chancellor Palpatine's assassination. Many wondered if this latest tragedy would mark the final collapse of the Republic, which was in dire straits despite the superhuman efforts of the Satine administration to put things to right. A large number of pundits predicted an imminent political collapse, one that was nonetheless averted, if barely if certain persistent rumours are to be believed…
What we know for sure is that four days after Skyfall, multiple political and military leaders aligned with the Republic and its allies met on Coruscant behind closed doors. Three days later, precisely one week after Skyfall, the Republic's response to the tragedy and claims that the war was all but lost not came in the form of Operation Star Hammer…
The Separatists had been preparing for a general Republic offensive in the Core ever since Admiral Trench took Corellia. Both sides had marshalled tremendous forces for a clash unseen since the New Sith wars. Yet, even as Republic fleets and army groups under the personal command of General Kenobi prepared to retake Corellia, GAR High Command unleashed Star Hammer and the target of that operation caught off guard friends and enemies alike.
Both the CIS and many Republic aligned government and military officials believed that if the GAR launched any other major offensive besides the one aimed at the Confederate positions in the Core, it would be to relieve Mandalore. It was a logical deduction considering that Satine Kenobi, the Chancellor who had dictatorial powers was Mandalorian and General Veil, one of the Republic's best of that era, was Mandalore himself. In fact, intelligence captured during Star Hammer claims that a large part of the CIS Strategic Reserve was sent to lay a trap at Mandalore aimed at eliminating General Veil once and for all. So it came to a surprise when Star Hammer's first targets were…
Rise of an Empire: Operation Star Hammer
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Part 11
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There is little doubt that the Galactic Empire was engineered by the Sith. What many still argue, from the halls of power on Coruscant, Kuat, Alsakan, Eriadu and Naboo to cantinas all over the galaxy is when and why General Veil became disillusioned with the Republic and arguably committed treason by working for its replacement with a working system all the while he fought and bled to protect it…
People close to the General were known to confide that it all began after his return to Coruscant as Mandalore, when instead of receiving a hero's welcome because of his actions at Geonosis or the role his planning had in saving lives at Mandalore during General Grievous' last offensive, he instead faced an inquisition in the Senate led by no other than future traitors to the Republic like the Jedi and Senators from systems that seceded during our darkest hour, like Sylvaris. While it is widely known how that particular Senate hearing turned out, it is the belief of this author that the seeds of the Empire were born with the deals General Veil had to make in order to weather the storm.
We know for a fact that he met with Chancellor Palpatine, the man widely believed to have been one of his political mentors and a number of Senators, the more notable of whom are Skywalker, nee Amidala from Naboo, Organa from Alderaan, Mon Mothma from Chandrila and Bel Iblis from Corellia. Later events can help us deduct some of the deals made behind closed doors – it was no accident that after the Crimson Affair, upon his arrival at Naboo, Veil engineered the creation of the Mid-Rim Alliance. Even if most histories give credit to Admiral and later, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, there's a little doubt that the alliance would have been stillborn without the backing of General Veil. The reveal of "secret" weapons factories in the Chandrilan system during the Troubles are often claimed as the price for Senator Mothma's backing…
There were three pillars upon which General Veil built his political power. First were his people – the Mandalorians. Even as the world where their culture originated was under siege and burning, Mandalorians all over the galaxy moved with a new purpose. Many took up arms and headed home to fight as warriors, however arguably, those who helped their people and the General the most were the Mandalorians who fought with words and credits instead of arms. By the time Operation Star Hammer was underway, over thirty worlds in the Mandalorian Sector alone had Mandalorians work together, consolidate and take power, often completely legally and with backing from the local populations. Those people and the worlds they wrestled control of would serve as the backbone that made the recovery of Mandalore possible as well as the cradle that birthed the resurgent Mandalorian civilization…
The second pillar of the General's political power was the Mid-Rim Alliance he helped establish and fought a bloody campaign to secure…
The third, well that one surprised the galaxy as a whole and as far as anyone but a conspiracy theorist would tell you, wasn't of his own making. In fact, the only reason General Veil managed to win himself such wide support and backing from Kuat was the fortune of war at its finest – he was at the right place at the right time and when he saw an opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands and ran with it…
Rise of an Empire: Operation Star Hammer
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CIC
Republic cruiser Victory
Dry Dock Sigma 3
KDY Array
Kuat
The first time anyone knew something was wrong was when the alarms came online. Those working outside the ship felt the deck below them vibrate, however for the people deep inside Victory, it was Vicky's announcement that made them aware the sky was falling.
"Battle stations! All crew and support personnel, secure for emergency deployment! I repeat, all crew and support personnel, secure for emergency deployment!"
"Vicky, report!" Admiral Holt bolted from the captain's seat from where she was overseeing a training simulation for the skeleton crew currently on board.
"There was a massive explosion on the Array, Admiral. The facility is on a high alert and the fleet will be locking down the whole system ASAP. All ships that can are to leave in case of an attack or further sabotage if this wasn't an accident. I'm coordinating with the engineers to either clear the dry dock or come onboard, whatever is practical before I launch."
"You heard her, look alive people. I want us patched in both Array security and the fleet Alpha channel. If the Separatists come to visit I want to know the moment they drop from hyperspace. We might find ourselves into a battle any moment now and we'll need something to shoot with. I want status on our munitions, yesterday!" Joanna began issuing orders.
The crew was still busy locking down the ship for immediate deployment when another tremor ran through the whole array and this time it could be felt on the CIC.
"There was another explosion, thousand klicks spin-ward from the first." Vicky's holographic avatar blinked in shock. "The Array has been compromised. Emergency launch is authorized. I've just received confirmation – Planetary Defence Command issued Case Omega. Planetary Shields are coming online. We're being patched into Fleet command channels. With the Array compromised, Admiral Sanchez on the Shield is assuming command of the Kuati fleet. Ma'am you're the highest ranked GAR officer in system."
The main holo-tank showed images from Array security – a direct camera feed from an intact part of the installation showing the inner ring of the massive station ringing the planet. An expanding shock-wave rippled over a segment of the facility and in the far corner of the image another one could be seen. It soon became clear that a huge chunk of the array had been torn off it as it began tumbling through space. A tiny in comparison ship went for intercept and it wasn't until Vicky helpfully put a label to it that Joanna finally comprehended the scale of the unfolding disaster – that ship was Defender a KDY build star dreadnought that was over eight kilometres long yet it was looked absurdly tiny compared to the broken piece of the Array.
"Patch me through to all Republic Naval elements in system. This is Admiral Joanna Holt, on the Victory. I'm assuming command of all GAR elements in system. Primary objectives at this time are defending against possible Separatist incursion, preventing debris from the Array from hitting Kuat if at all possible and executing SAR operations. Admiral Holt, out. Vicky, how long before we're ready to launch?"
"My hyper-matter reactor is cold. Under fusion power we won't have FTL capability, however I have enough juice for propulsion, shields and what weapons I can shoot with current ammunition stocks. ETA three minutes for emergency cold start."
No one commented that doing so would shave off at least a few years from the engines life.
"Time until the dock is clear of personnel?" Joanna asked. Once the engines went online, anyone unlucky to be outside would either fry from the heat or radiation – even those who for one reason or another had environmental suits on. It took a lot of energy to move something like a Victory Star Destroyer and a lot of it unleashed in such a confined space would turn it into a crematorium.
"Five minutes." Vicky helpfully reported.
"Unless there's another explosion or enemy forces arrive in system we're launching in five then. If any of those happens, don't wait for verbal command but get us out immediately, Vicky." The Admiral ordered.
"Aye, Ma'am." Vicky's avatar saluted smartly. There as no trace of her usual cheek nor her peppy attitude. "Admiral, I'm collating data from all available sources. There have been multiple reports of terrorist strikes all over the planet a few minutes prior to the explosions on the Array. Just as they happened, there was a reported attack upon KDY HQ planet side. There are unconfirmed reports of a Jedi leading the attacks." Vicky paused. "Scratch that. I'm intercepting Alpha channel call between the Defender and Shield. General Veil executed orbital drop leading a marine battalion towards KDY HQ shortly before the Array was compromised. My conclusion is that there is at least one Jedi Strike team down there and the General is moving to intercept."
"And once again he goes to have all the fun and leaves me behind." Bo-Katan muttered from nearby.
Joanna glanced to the left and saw the younger woman take a free seat at the weapons control station.
"Trust me, from what I saw of his antics, you're better off up here."
"As far as he doesn't get himself killed."
There were no more explosions nor surprises in orbit and the Victory managed to leave her dock without having to fry some of the engineers who helped build her. That was as far as good news went. With no ammunition to speak of her only armaments were the Guardian system laser canons, which were woefully underpowered for the task of dealing with a continent sized chunk of armoured stations that was now busy hitting the atmosphere.
"Emergency channels planet-side are going crazy. Even I'm having trouble make up heads and tail of them..." Vicky was providing the best overview of the situation she could. While in orbit elements of the fleet were moving to save as many people from the falling chunk and at the same time tearing at it with their weapons and trying to slow it down with tractor beams, on the ground everyone was busy running or going to any shelter that could survive the impact if it didn't land too close. The bad news there was that the KDY building was collapsing and Vicky had no idea if her father had made it out intact.
She hadn't felt so helpless in her short life, nor did she feel so angry at anything before. That day, as the place of her birth burned, Victoria learned to hate.
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Defender herself could have turned a thousand square kilometres of rock into a molten lake in a short order. When backed by the ships of the Kuati navy that responded to the unfolding tragedy, they could have sterilized unprotected planet within a few hours using turbo-lasers alone, faster with the help of concussion missiles.
A thousand kilometre long piece of the KDY Array on the other hand – there was more tonnage contained in there than a significant chunk of the whole Republic navy and it wasn't built to commercial standards. That very fact did help, otherwise the whole array would be already shredding itself. On the other hand, millions of megatons, many of them warship grade armour and a lot of it, were falling towards the planet. Even as spreads of missiles tore chunks of the broken Array and turbo-lasers boiled away hundreds of tons worth of armour and tractor beams tried to slow it down, it kept on going.
The good news for Kuat was that the planetary shields did come online soon followed by theatre ones all over the planet. The bad one however was that reaction times were slow. When the piece slammed into the defensive screen, it was far from full power. The sheer kinetic impact released gigatons upon gigatons of power that vaporized a significant part of the broken station and finally shattered it into million pieces. That however was too much for still charging shield and it suffered a partial collapse in the strained area. Molten metal and chunks of malformed and twisted station fell all over a whole hemisphere like a demented orbital bombardment. It was there where the theatre shields paid for themselves in the span of few minutes as whole cities and billions would have perished without them. Yet, many of them were still charging too and more than a few had to tank impact of metal shards larger that the biggest star dreadnought that KDY ever built.
Some shields survived even that punishment if barely – those were the ones whose crews were fasted to bring them online and their maintenance personnel had everything working perfectly.
Others, well there was no one left alive after megatons worth of metal punctured them and slammed within their protective bubble. The only saving grace there was that before said shields failed completely they contained most of the fury of the kinetic death.
When the skies stopped falling, over three hundred million Kuati citizens were gone, with more soon to join them from secondary effects.
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Dock Alpha
Republic cruiser Victory
Low orbit over Kuat
An assault shuttle touched down just for long enough for us to disembark. Couple of survivors of the doomed battalion I led helped me and Zash to get off faster while a few others dragged a load of shocked civilians out. The moment we were clear, the shuttle turned around on its repulsors and shot back towards the burning hemisphere below. Medics rushed to check on us while a small smattering of Clone troopers and Kuati Security tried their best to keep the order.
A medic ran a scanner over me before pressing a Bacta injector to my neck and pumping the healing substance into my bloodstream. Another injector sent a warm and calming sensation through me – painkillers. I paid the man little to no attention. I was too busy watching another world burn and this time I had hard time keeping my conscience at bay. For the first time in a long while I wondered what the kriff I was even doing and why I did it. The way the Dark Side kriffed me over down there was exquisite and under different circumstances I could appreciate a well done treachery.
Here and now? I hadn't been this furious since Ashara died in my hands but this wasn't a hot all consumed fury. Instead, it was a cold and calculated. My conscience kept nagging at me, claiming that this was my fault. After all, I did my best to escalate this war and make it a real one and along with Perrion's maniacs I was the only other person in this whole kriffing galaxy besides Zash who had any idea what that really meant. Worlds burned to ashes, the dying screams of trillions echoing through the Force and with the way the Dark Side acted today, I might very well add the laughter of thirsting gods too.
All I should be seeing in this tragedy should have been an opportunity to advance my agenda. Instead, I remembered a beautiful blue sphere that I fought to prevent from burning. I remembered clearly the man I used to be before he died at the Sith Academy on Korriban for the monster who I was today to emerge and was disgusted at what I saw and did. The worst thing – I couldn't see a better way to bring this madness I helped bring into existence to an end without playing my role to the bitter end. The Republic under Satine was currently kept in line at least in part by the fear of Sith reprisal. Of more worlds burning at my hand, yet the idea now made me want to puke.
At the same time, the Dark Side was right beside me, offering me her poisonous gifts. It would be so easy to make my 'weakness' go away and put my conscience aside.
"Right there, that big fire… that's my home. My sister's behind." A young voice trembled nearby. More than one person was crying as they watched their homes burn.
"Father, are you all right?" Vicky's familiar voice came from behind me.
I finally turned away from the shielded doors of the hangar and looked deeper into the cavernous hold. Vicky's holo image hang behind me and she looked critically at me.
"Mother's on her way. She was worried about you. Pissed off too, though from what I see I'm glad she was up here, safe."
"Vicky, contact Task Force Red. Have them bring their Acclamatros here to help evacuation efforts. Have GAR provide immediate support and dispatch assault ships and supplies, on my authority. I'm sure Kenobi and Satine will be doing the same once they're aware exactly how bad it is. Contact whoever is in charge and assure them that help is coming. Kuat won't stand alone in its hour of need." That was all I wanted to do – help and soothe my conscience. Yet, doing just that would solve nothing. I had a role to play still. This war had to end before the whole galaxy was set afire.
"I'm doing it right now, father." Vicky responded crisply.
I ground my teeth at that thought and wondered how many worlds I would have to burn to end the war I began.
"Once we have a handle of the situation, contact all surviving members of Kuat's government and military. We need to make sure the Separatists won't be into a position to capitalize on this nor make a repeat performance."
Choices. When all was said and done, it all came up to choices. I could not take advantage of this situation I guessed. According to some, that would be the moral thing to do. On the other hand, doing anything but my best to end the war… how many more people would die needlessly unless I played the role I chose for myself so long ago?
I felt the presence of my wife approach and a part of the tension gripping me receded. Bo strode until she was in front of me and gave me a once over. She frowned at my ravaged appearance and gently brushed her fingers under the lower part of my face.
"You're a mess."
"I'll live."
Bo's eyes softened. I could feel her worry and relief at seeing me more or less in one piece. She came closer and gave me a gentle hug trying not to aggravate whatever wounds I had under my brutalized armour.
"This is worse than what Grievous did to Mandalore..." My wife muttered after glancing through the open hangar doors.
"We'll end this and make them pay." I vowed. I was hypocrite – once this was all over I should be standing a trial right along with the Separatist leadership. If we can bring them to justice that is. With this blow, we might now lose the war but pushing to a complete victory? That might be beyond what was left of the Republic.
We stood there, staring at the burning Kuat as more and more shuttles came up to disgorge rescued survivors, something that repeated itself throughout the fleet. There had to be a lot of space on the Array but I had no doubt that the whole station was under lock-down and would remain that way for the foreseeable future.
I could still feel the echo of the millions who died here today as well as the pain of the billions suffering. I enjoyed every moment of it all and that made me sick.
The Dark Side laughed at the back of my mind the whole time.
Thirsting gods indeed.