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 23: Operation Star Hammer

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Interlude: A Master and Apprentice – the art of falling

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They stood upon the scorching sands of Korriban watching Sith practising lightsabre combat. The fights were vicious, often with little to no control as they all used the Dark Side to augment themselves.

"Do you know why when a Jedi falls, they usually become worse in a sense than most Sith?" Aria's Master asked.

Was that a trick question, she wondered? Through his memories she had seen the worst the Sith could be… yet, now that she thought about it, from where her Master stood, while the Sith were generally more dangerous, the greater threat, the fallen Jedi, like that girl Wilsaam…

"The lack of control?"

"In a sense. Many, both Jedi and Sith had tried to control the Dark Side. The truth is, if you play with it, for all the offensive and destructive power it will grant you, there will be times when you blink or it simply manages to catch you in the wrong moment and get one over you." Veil, no that was most definitely Darth Vael speaking, smiled at her. His expression was a cold, mirthless thing. "There comes a moment when you come down from the high and have to face the consequences of your actions – see and feel what you've wrought with your own hands..." He trailed off and looked expectantly at her.

"What happened at Kuat – it was one such moment for you, Master. It broke you."

Vael smirked. "It did. Just as the Dark Side intended. Just as I knew it will from the moment I decided to walk the path of the Sith. While there were moments I allowed myself to believe that I can keep it constantly at bay, deep down, I knew it would be inevitable."

"Did Delkatar Veil know that?" She insightfully asked.

"He was the one to make the choice of becoming a Sith instead of dying on Korriban. And speaking of us as we're two different persons?"

"You're the two sides of the same coin. One is the mask the other becomes when needed. The same yet different." Aria paused. "You took it a step further when Ashara died, didn't you? The Mask ability shouldn't have worked as well as it did with you, nor as long."

"Strictly speaking, depending on your point of view, there were a few instances I fell in the past only for certain people to help me claw my way back into sanity. Perhaps its arrogance, or the fact as I didn't fall as deeply and low as many others that allows me to keep the delusion that I haven't really 'fallen' until Kuat."

Aria thought about what she experienced through Vael's memories and nodded. Perhaps it was merely semantics, perhaps not – however she wasn't going to press the point at this time.

"When I held the dead body of my wife, I was falling. I knew that and all I cared was that I needed to avenge her, something that I couldn't achieve as a raging beast. So I bound myself with the Force, put Darth Vael back into a box and brought out Delkatar Veil. I became him and as expected it lasted long enough. However..."

"It was a deception, not just to the galaxy at large, you were lying to yourself too."

"Darth Vael is part of who and what I am. A name given to me as a mere jest that I made my own – a tittle I wore proudly for decades."

"It wasn't Delkatar Veil who Ashara married. It was Darth Vael – a 'light' Sith so to speak. A soldier serving the Empire, one who wanted to redeem it into something worth his allegiance." Ashara concluded. "Who is Delkatar Veil then?"

"Who indeed… but we digress. The Dark Side and falling is the lesson of the day."

Aria relented. She was going to ponder that question later while looking back at her Master's memories.

"I'm ready to learn, my Master."

"Such a dutiful Apprentice I have." Vael spoke in a tone of fond amusement. "Most Jedi have their lives regimented and planned since they were toddlers. Their minds were shaped with a singular purpose." Vael snarled and the mind-scape shook at his sudden rage. "They are all brainwashed and crippled since the start and don't even know it!" He took a deep breath and his fury abated. "It's all about consequences on one's actions, Apprentice. Once they have a taste of it, most Jedi believe that they can handle the Dark Side without truly falling to it… then suddenly they see with wide open eyes what they've done. That they've fallen and the only thing that can soothe their pain, rage and grief is the welcome embrace of the Dark Side. Those very natural and expected emotions are then used to further twist them until they're locked in a vicious self-sustaining loop and bad things happen to those unprepared who try standing in their way."

"Fear." Aria concluded. "Not just the in individual Jedi but the Order as an institution – it has been built on a foundation of fear. Teachings that were too dangerous, Padawans who had to be taken in as children in order to mould them into a proper Jedi and more importantly – that way is easier to teach hem how to 'properly' think. So they could have no bonds affecting them or learn from the get go how to disregard them when they need."

"There are very few species who can pull that off. Such a philosophy is suited for a very small number of individuals even among the Force Sensitives who are already a fraction of the galactic population. Most of us mortals, we can't properly divorce from our emotions and stay mentally healthy. However, we can learn how not to let them influence us. At least some of us." A wan, sad smile appeared on Vael's face.

"Unless we're trained Force Adepts. Then the equation changes." Aria nodded in understanding. What ordinary people could do without risking to fall and could recover of with a bit of therapy could be what drives many a Jedi into the embrace of the Dark Side. Especially during a war.

"The Dark Side feeds on our negative emotions, yet they're something natural. The Jedi are taught to avoid and suppress them. To divorce themselves from them. And when they fail to, when they taste what the Dark Side has to offer – a piece of them that they've been taught to deny for their whole lives, it is oh so easy for it to twist them and show them that all the Jedi Order taught has been a lie meant to keep them from achieving their full potential."

"And from a certain point of view, that is most certainly a truth." Aria could see it. It was done with the best of intentions, it even worked for the longest of time with this era's Council. The Jedi didn't really create a monster they couldn't put down and all they had to do to achieve it was to cripple themselves. "Do they have a point however? About forming bonds?" she wondered aloud.

"You're speaking about the three women I fell in loved as a Sith. Vette, Ashara and now Bo-Katan. The pain is still here, every single day." He patted his chest above the heart with a gloved finger. "There were people who helped me deal with Vette's passing."

"Ashara however..." Aria flinched when she sensed a flash of molten rage coiling within her Master.

"I've been bottling it up since the moment I felt her passing. It worked in the short term, however the Dark Side used that to manipulate and eventually break me on Kuat." Vael's voice as calm, almost serene, yet she could clearly feel his rage through their Force Bond. "Once upon a time I fancied myself a honourable man. A soldier fighting to protect his homeworld and I had the privilege to die twice for Earth and the Eurasian Federation." As he spoke, there was something different in her master – a shadow of the man he used to be before Korriban. "I betrayed that man and everything he stood for on the odd chance that he could have a third chance. A chance I've been assured he got."

When all was said and done, Aria didn't really want to think about the implications of her Master's origin and the existence of the entity that made his presence in her galaxy possible in the first place. Hopefully, that way she wouldn't get its attention, especially now that she was the third person who knew about it.

"That is what happens when you fall, Aria. The Dark Side shows you how much you've kriffed up and there is no hiding it – you know in your heart that it was all your fault. A Jedi, with the way they had been made to think and not fell, they can't handle it. That understanding breaks them so much that the only thing that they can find solace into is the Dark Side's embrace. At that point, even their best friend, lover, spouse or even child couldn't break to the person they were. Give enough time and the correct circumstances, those people if they existed, might bring them back."

"Or die trying."

"Or die." Vael nodded. "Just as you would have died before you could bring me back, Apprentice, were you made of flesh and blood."

"And who you are, now my Master? The Sith broke you on Korriban and thus set the stage for Darth Vael to be born. Baras and Zash made you into a Sith Lord. You became something else when Ashara died, then when you removed your mask back on Mandalore. Then Kuat happened. Who are you now, my Master?"

"This, my Apprentice, is an excellent question."

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Part 3

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Politics, logistics – those always were the two most important factors in not only starting a war but dictating its course. The Clone Wars were no different. It was the political situation that gave no real power to hundreds, if not thousands Outer or even Mid Rim colonies within the legal confines of the Republic that birthed the Confederacy of Independent Systems. While many, not without a reason, argue that most of those worlds and systems were merely deceived by the Sith and their power hungry cronies, it is hard to argue that from where they stood, many CIS members had little to no use of the Republic, on the contrary. In no small part, the golden age a large part of the galaxy enjoyed over the past thousand years was fuelled by their resources and industries, yet they saw pittances of the profits.

That by itself wouldn't have been enough to spark the war – the Republic was incredibly vast and powerful sleeping giant at its heyday. Yet, it had systematically disarmed itself as military budgets got cut and cut again until they were practically gone and the great majority of military power was now held by individual member states. That state of affairs offered the worlds of the Outer Rim an unprecedented chance – while it was a folly to fight a long war, a properly executed short one offered the potential of independence and long dreamt freedom from the Core…

The political realities that saw the Republic being a toothless beast at the eve of conflict continued to cripple the war effort for years to come…

In contrast, once the CIS had their successful coup, the Confederacy military and civilian leadership enjoyed a unity of purpose that the Republic could only dream of during its height under Chancellor Palpatine. Ultimately, two things kept the CIS from winning the war before their enemies could mobilize – first, it was the insane or perhaps, non-existing end strategy under the Sith, Count Dooku's leadership. To this day, debates about his end goal, and those of certain Sith parties during the war remain a mystery… And second, one that a mere coup could never fix, well that was the bane of military forces since anyone could remember – logistics.

The Confederate Grand Offensive that ultimately took the Corellian system burned through tremendous quantities of fuel, munitions and spare parts. Whole fleets needed yard time to become combat effective again and as importantly, now the CIS had to supply and maintain a tremendous force all the way to the Core. Those tremendous difficulties were made that much harder by all the new territory the Confederacy captured during the offensive and now had to police and the fact that whole Republic fleets went to ground only to later emerge and hit at the CIS logistic's network. That was an issue compounded even further by the simple fact that many of the CIS warships used to be a part of its merchant marine – and every single lost vessel or one needed to the front, to patrol or in anyway busy with the actual fighting or patrolling was one less to haul cargo or earn profits. Further, merely having free Lucrehulks or Munificents didn't meant that you could efficiently transport fuel and munitions for your ships. Ideally, you needed super-freighters to haul gigatons of Tibana gas, hyper-matter fuel and whatever the CIS engineer corps could get to supplement the fusion reactors of their ships…

All of those difficulties combined with the need to fortify critical systems in the Core, meant that for most practical intents and purposes, the Confederacy was stuck in defensive posture in the Core in order to build up the logistic network it needed to sustain operations in that region of space. At the same time, the CIS had to fight in multiple other theatres and secure the newly conquered territory...

from "Prelude to Armageddon" author unknown

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Flag bridge

RSN cruiser Praetorian

Randon

Tense oppressive silence clung like heavy cloak over everyone's shoulders. For over a month now, both the Senate and military Council were at odds with their Confederate allies. After the Sith's visit, Admiral Zellick returned, promoted thanks to him engaging and surviving Veil even if the 'battle' for Randon had been a one sided slaughter, he came back with heavy reinforcements too.

A hundred Lucrehulk battleships, fifty Providence dreadnoughts and over three hundred escorts complete with swarms of fighters. The latter weren't much of a threat to a powerful Republic fleet and the GAR wouldn't send anything else their way. Against Randon's defenders who had only a handful of ships outfitted with a domestic variant of the Umbrella system?

Council Tionni had no illusions why Zellick was back, it wasn't just to keep the Republic from capturing the system. The cyborg was here to keep him, the RNS and Senate in line. It might have worked, really it could! All the CIS had to do was launch another offensive in the Core and end the war… something they still weren't in a position to do without risking everything. Their units on the sharp end were constrained by logistics, a problem exacerbated by Veil's murderous march home. Let's not forget that Mid-Rim Alliance he heard so many rumours of – if the CIS decided to neutralize it, which they did have the forces to do even after the cataclysmic campaign Veil waged in the Rim, they would have to put to hold any plans for striking the Core in force for another six to twelve months. They had the number of ships, but not the logistics to wage those two campaigns while keeping the enemy at bay in the East, not to mention all those Republic units playing corsairs all over sectors the CIS captured in the past year.

As both a military officer and someone who spent years in the merchant navy, Sulla knew logistics, he knew why the Confederacy declined to wage everything in a single roll of the dice – that was the prudent decision on their part. It was too bad that such explanations rang hollow when the citizens were terrified of Veil or another Sith coming to visit. While the situation on the ground had calmed down, somewhat, there were still more protests ongoing than Randon had seen in the past hundred years combined.

The Senate itself was still divided and now, now everything was going to a head. Three days ago, a large number of Republic light units arrived at Lantillies and chased away the CIS scouts keeping an eye on the system. A day ago, even more enemy light units swarmed Kashyyyk.

The Republic was on a move and the only question was if this was a diversion as everything Tionni knew about strategy told him or the Republic and the Sith running it had other ideas… This time around, the CIS units stationed at Kashyyyk fled instead of facing the main force those enemy light units had to be the vanguard for, but not before they saw over three hundred enemy cruisers arrive in system. For a diversion, that was quite the powerful force. Even if that was all the enemy brought, if someone like Veil was in command…

Tionni glared at the tactical plot. He wasn't confident that Zellick could win alone against what was coming and he had no idea what way the Senate was going to jump if another Sith led the enemy. At least there was the slim hope that Veil was dead, however the Council wasn't ready to bet on it, especially when the news coming from Mandalore were unconfirmed. The CIS forces there had destroyed a Republic fleet that attempted to relieve the system, while if Republic Intelligence was correct, suffered disproportional losses for it. That certainly sounded like the Sith and hopefully he had finally bit more than he could chew.

'Gods be merciful, let that monster be dead!', Sulla prayed silently – something that was out of character for him.

"Sir, we've got multiple pings from the IRIS system – over a hundred light contact just exited hyperspace at the edge of the system. Vectors put their starting point in the vicinity of Kashyyyk."

"So it begins. Set Condition One through the fleet. Inform Council Command and the Senate that the enemy scouts just hit the system. Get the planetary defences online." For all the good they might do if the Republic brings one of its pet butchers…

"We're being hailed by Admiral Zellick..."

"Put him on."

"Council Tionni, will you fight this time or confirm you and your people are traitors to the Confederacy?" The cyborg asked.

"We will protect Randon from any and all hostile elements." Sulla answered without missing a beat. They both knew for a fact that the only reason the Confederacy hadn't declared the Republic an enemy had been because they didn't feel like expending the resources needed to kill the RNS. After today, that calculation might very well change.

"I'll hold you to this promise, Council." The cyborg cut off the connection.

"Enemy scouts are advancing. We're beginning to lose IRIS platforms." An aide reported.

The plot refreshed showing the enemy ships spreading out from their arrival points and heading into the system. This had to be a diversion – to pull or hold back units that otherwise could head for the Core or keep the stranglehold the CIS had on Mandalore. Randon was a strategic system, if it fell to the Republic, the Confederacy would have to either retake it ASAP or not only add days to weeks to transit times but have to reinforce multiple systems along the hyper-lanes passing through it or risk deep enemy raids. This diversion if not stopped cold had the potential to become a strategic defeat.

The only question was if the enemy had enough assets available to pull it off or not.

Five minutes later, the Republic fleet arrived – the same three hundred cruisers the force that fled Kashyyyk detected.

That wasn't too bad – even if Zellick kriffed up, again, the enemy would bleed enough that Randon should be safe, the Council thought in relief. Just as soon as he did so, another, larger enemy fleet exited hyperspace – there were still enough IRIS platforms left in position to observe said transition. Four hundred cruisers and escorts surrounding a massive form that had to be a star dreadnought.

Sulla's blood chilled in his veins. He had miscalculated the Republic's intentions – this was no mere diversion, nor raid. You didn't waste such assets on that kind of operations.

"Enemy jamming spiked, IRIS is being degraded… preliminary scans put the Republic fleet in system to close to a thousand ships…"

"Give me a secure line to the Senate." Tionni demanded.

"We're receiving a transmission – wide beam, very powerful… Sir, you need to see it..."

"Put it up." Tionni frowned. The fear in the comms officer voice…

A hated face blinked into existence in the middle of the Flag bridge. Veil looked better this time around even if there was more white and silver in his hair than black. He was no longer gaunt and exhausted at any rate.

"Council Tionni, its good to see someone sensible is in charge around here." The monster smiled. "You are to stand down, shut down your weapons and prepare to be boarded. Randon will become an example if my boarding parties face any acts of resistance or sabotage. It is high time, your Trade Republic returns to the fold."

"And if we politely decline your gracious request?" Sulla glared at the condescending bastard. He wanted to scream at the Sith, tell him where to shove his suggestion! However, the images of Bothawui and Sullust kept his tongue in check.

"In that case I will make an example of Randon and ask nicely the next system on my list if they would like to share your fate or if they would have the common sense to offer unconditional surrender."

While they spoke, the Republic forces divided in six smaller formations and raced towards Zellick's fleet.

Tionni answered with a look of a pure loathing, yet when he opened his mouth there was no trace of how he really felt. "That is a decision only the Senate could make."

"Then, for your and your peoples' sake, I hope your Senate could reach a decision shortly. You're out of time, Council Tionni."

"You aren't going to offer the same deal to our Confederate allies?" Sulla dared to ask.

"There will be no deals with the likes of them while enemy forces hold even a single world in the Core or Mandalore." Veil cut off the connection.