Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial aim. It is not for sale or rent.
Phase 29: Tainted liberation
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Part 7
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Observation deck
"Shield Maiden"
Acclamator Assault Ship
above Coronet City
Corellia
A large uneven circle of the ravaged building rose from the ground like rotten, gnarled fingers, pointing accusingly at the sky. A larger circle of almost utter devastation surrounded them, separating Coronet's heart from marginally less devastated outskirts. Smoke from countless fires kept choking the city and thickening the black clouds above it. Streams of craft moved up and down towards the island of dubious safety in the city center. They were busy evacuating wounded and sick people, who took precedence. Their passage created billowing winds that threw smoke and ash in all directions.
Right below the Shield Maiden, convoys of ground vehicles raced down what was left of one of the largest boulevards in the city. Relatively intact divisions held that lifeline's extended flanks, backed up by a murderous amount of air support. More Acclamators and lighter ships hovered above the ravaged city, while ground forces cautiously advanced towards the center.
They had broken the siege of Coronet, yet fully securing the city was nowhere in sight. There were dozens of smaller CIS incursions on Corellia alone, and they all needed GAR and CorSec's attention before anyone could even think about liberating the other four of the Five Brothers.
Hells, just clearing Coronet from the remaining droids and any other nasty surprises left by them would take a lot of precious time, General Victis thought.
The Corellian General turned his back on the observation window and wearily made his way to the center of the deck. The former bridge of the Acclamator now spouted a well-stocked bar, lounge, and more importantly, a state-of-the-art communication suite. The latter was particularly useful, while Victis' staff and the ship's captain were busy coordinating the evacuation and Coronet's clean-up operations.
The General activated the comm-suite, entered his credentials, and waited for the security check to complete. When that was done, multiple crisp holograms came to life, giving him access to up-to-date data from his staff. Soon, more images would pop up for a quick conference concerning the battle.
First, Victis focused his attention on the updated casualty reports. They were grim reading and largely inconsistent. While casualties were heavy all around, some units got away lightly enough to be considered combat capable by anyone's standard. Other units sustained casualties that by all means should have seen them break long before they lost that many soldiers and material.
The attached notes and preliminary AARs showed that there were certain commonalities among the most gutted formations. First, they were usually the least experienced. Second, due to the breakdown in communications and having to feed in platoon and company units in the fighting at a steady pace due to terrain constraints, larger units would continue to commit troops to the fighting even when under more conventional circumstances command would consider them no longer combat effective.
The worst offenders were battalions and regiments that couldn't scrape up more than a company or two of combat-capable troops when pooling in all survivors from their frontline troops.
A few units were notable exceptions in how they lost much of their roster in mere hours of intensive fighting. The first group here were the spearhead units, which fought until rendered combat ineffective only to create an opening for the follow-up echelons. That blood
y strategy had even worked in creating breaches in the enemy lines, though the price was astronomical.
The second group was the poor bastards who made the orbital drop above Coronet. A conservative estimate had them suffering up to ninety percent casualties when they
had dropped straight into the trap. The only real surprise there was that despite all odds, elements of that advance force managed to consolidate and reach the CorSec defensive lines, where they held their position against everything the CIS could throw at them until relieved.
There would be unit-wide citations and awards for the survivors there, though Victis suspected that those would be very cold comfort for anyone who survived that cauldron of a battle.
The turbo-lift doors leading to the observation deck opened with a quiet hiss to reveal an exhausted-looking General Kenobi. GAR's Supreme Commander slowly walked out of the elevator and headed for the holoprojector. He wore a simple dark green field uniform that was not a perfect match for him. The Jedi's blond hair was still wet and his haunted eyes had a distant stare that Victis was painfully familiar with.
"Sir!" The Corellian saluted.
Kenobi blinked and stared at him for a long moment before shaking himself and returning the salute.
"General Victis," he nodded tiredly, "You did a good work today."
"It wasn't good enough, sir," Victis answered after glancing at the constantly updating casualty lists.
"The enemy gets a vote too, and we had to play by their rules," Kenobi pointed out.
Coronet was a trap, that much was painfully obvious. The civilians and CorSec units cut off in its center, a bait the GAR had to go after.
Kenobi stopped at the other side of the holo tank and looked over the displayed data with weary eyes.
"We can't afford many more such victories," The Jedi muttered. "Neutralizing the other CIS strongholds on Corellia will have to wait. We need time to reform many of our frontline units and allow them to recover."
It was either that, or deploying Clone Legions on Corellian soil, but that was a political non-starter.
"The Director-General might disagree, sir."
"Then she'll have to find the forces to do it without suffering unacceptable casualties somewhere else," Kenobi didn't raise his voice, however, there was an edge to his tone.
Speaking about the devil, two more holographic images popped up above the holo tank. General Hughes' stark face appeared closer to Victis. The CorSec commander looked less than happy at the way they won.
The same could be said about the Diktat. Shyla Merricope didn't look like she was trying to rein in her fury.
"General Kenobi, General Victis," the Diktat gave them a sharp nod, "When we accepted Republic aid in liberating Corellia, this wanton destruction wasn't what we had in mind. Please explain yourselves!"
Victis kept his face impassive. And so the political nonsense begins, he bitterly thought. If Coruscant was anywhere this bad, and the General was pretty sure it was worse there, it was a small wonder the Republic hadn't flown apart yet, instead of finally getting itself into gear.
"Considering the constraints we had to operate under, we did better than my personal expectations," General Kenobi shot back, in a way that was less than diplomatic. "What you're seeing here, Diktat?" He waved at the holograms showing live streams from the city, "It's going to repeat itself all over the Core as we liberate it from the Separatists. It's going to be worse on the other four planets they still hold in this system. From a purely military perspective, the only sane option is to cut off and ignore all major concentrations of Separatist ground forces as we retake systems, and concentrate on reducing their navy and industry. Realistically, such a strategy is politically unacceptable, as people keep telling me! What we're looking at, is a bloodbath and destruction at a scale this galaxy hasn't seen in a thousand years, and it won't be happening out in the Rim where people in the Core can ignore it. It will be right here! From Corellia and Duro, all the way to Fondor, Bestine, and Allenteen! Hundreds of old, well-developed worlds will see devastating fighting in their cities. At the same time, the Separatists will have a free hand to rebuild and come at us for one last decisive clash. That's what we have to look forward to, Diktat! It's going to be attrition warfare of the worst kind, and only the other side now has access to disposable troops!"
The silence following Kenobi's outburst was deafening.
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Part 8
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Chancellor's office
Senate Building
Coruscant
Satine briefly glanced through the windows behind her desk. An Acclamator Assault Ship hung above the Senate Building, barely visible from her vantage point. By now, its presence was a painfully familiar sight, making it just another part of the cityscape.
The same was true for the few escorts constantly present above the governmental district containing many of the institutions and people supposed to keep the Republic running.
That was a sign of the times. Even Coruscant, the supposed beating heart of the Republic, was anything but safe these days. There were secessionist, if not Confederate enclaves, mere hours of hyperspace travel away. While all of those were under close watch and often blockaded by the stretched Republic Navy, no one was taking chances by leaving critical political or industrial targets open for another surprise attack.
As a consequence, the GAR was stretched thin, and the situation worsened with every liberated or captured system. Despite its wild success, Operation Star Hammer simply wasn't enough to decisively decide the war. The Confederacy refused a decisive battle at the Republic's terms. By doing that, they most likely avoided giving the GAR the one chance it had for a clear military victory. The painful truth was that despite its apparent strengths, both the GAR and the Republic, or what was left of it, were hollow and brittle. After the losses sustained during Star Hammer, most of Satine's dubious allies would no longer offer their SDFs for offensive actions.
Without those raw numbers, the GAR simply lacked the sustained might to win the war.
This was the one thing that betrayed the Republic again and again – Core politics. Satine was already sick of those, yet there was no end in sight for her. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Chancellor already had a large stack of documents, memos, and demands pointing at a singular fact. Most of her allies wouldn't be sending even a token force for the liberation of Mandalore when the time came, citing the need to rebuild forces lost under Veil's leadership.
They were using GAR's most successful campaign to date to doom Satine's home and deny Veil any chance for gaining useful domestic support. Under different circumstances, the Chancellor might have been impressed by their audacity. Instead, Satine was infuriated. What little patience she had left, was quickly burning out. Every politely veiled condemnation, or assurance that there would be no more naval support for the war in the foreseeable future, chipped at it.
The Chancellor looked with disgust at the stack of datapads and chips burying part of her desk, before schooling her features into a polite mask. Most of her current allies were duplicitous bastards. Now it was time to gain some fresh support to counterbalance many of her current allies.
Shutters closed in front of the windows drowning Satine's office in the shadows. A panel on the Chancellor's desk lit up, indicating that a secure connection was now ready. The Chancellor took a moment to check up on her appearance. When she deemed it satisfactory, she switched on the holo-projector in her desk.
The image of General-Governor Shyla Merricope, Corellia's leader appeared to the far right. To her credit, despite all Corellia had been through, the Diktat retained her composure and still looked tough as nails.
Two Corellian Generals flickered on besides Merricope. One was the infamous Garm Bel Iblis, Corellia's former Senator. He was a key figure in rallying Corellian civilian support and their surviving military after the fall of the Corellian system.
Finally, there was a face Satine was familiar with only from a few briefings – General Hughes, the man in overall command of Corellian Security.
Obi-Wan's tired face came next, and the Chancellor spent a few more seconds looking him over for injuries than it was strictly professional.
Generals Victis and Valentra completed the group. The former's presence ensured that all people in charge of the liberation of Corellia were present. The latter was here to give his advice on the logistical challenges facing them all.
A round of introductions and empty platitudes followed before they could get to the point of the conference call.
"General Iblis, did you have a chance to properly inform the Diktat and your colleagues about the political realities we're all facing now?" Satine began.
"There are still large Droid concentrations on Corellia itself, yet you want to talk politics, Chancellor?" General Hughes scoffed.
"Politics will decide what amount of aid Corellia will receive to rebuild. They will determine how we will approach liberating the rest of your system. If we can survive, much less win this damned war," Satine answered bluntly. "While I'm sure that General Iblis suspects it, I can confirm that many of our allies would gladly block any bills in the Senate to offer Corellia financial and material aid so it could regain its former position in the foreseeable future."
"From what I hear, the Senate doesn't matter these days," The Diktat shot back.
"That's my point. Any such bills that reach it will be dead on arrival. The Republic is not what it once was," Satine paused, momentarily unsure how honest to be. In the end, she decided that this was one case where the truth might be more useful than honeyed lies. "In fact, the Republic we knew is no more. Officially, I represent a failed system, propped up by Core Worlds, who find the dubious illusion business as usual, useful. What we're in practice, is an alliance aimed against the Confederacy and its bid for galactic domination. What I can offer you, is a place in this alliance."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and slumped. The truth was out now. If the Corellians made this conversation public, there was going to be a hell to pay politically. More importantly, this was an admission of the Chancellor herself, that the Republic was a dead man walking.
"You're aware what kind of political time-bomb you just handled us, aren't you?" It took Merricope long seconds to absorb Satine's words and respond.
"I am. I'm also aware that unless you consider unconditional surrender to the Confederacy, we're your only credible option to see the Corellian system free. In an ideal world, seeing that done would be simply doing our duty. In the world we're living in, it comes with a price." Satine grimly announced.
"From a military point of view, the worst thing we can do is waste time and resources liberating worlds which will be a net drain to the war effort for months if not years," Obi-Wan admitted. "Politically, and morally, we would like to liberate those worlds anyway."
"You need to liberate those worlds you mean," Iblis pointed out. "You need their political support and the credibility it buys you."
"That's true. It is also true that for some of us, such support would be worthless if it means we lose our home for good," Obi-Wan countered.
"Mandalore. You want support in liberating and holding Mandalore!" General Victis was the first to voice that truth.
"Your current allies are reluctant to see it done, aren't they?" The Diktat noted.
"And you want Corellia liberated and safe," Satine reposed. "The price is political and military support both for the war effort and bringing forth a new galactic order that might endure." Satine proposed.
"I must admit, I didn't expect such cold-blooded calculation from Satine Kryze, the Peace Duchess of Mandalore." Merricope wondered aloud.
"This war has a way of changing people and not for the better," Satine admitted the obvious.
"I find it curious that Mandalore himself isn't a part of this discussion. What is his part to play in the new galactic order to come?" Iblis asked.
"Like it or not, Mandalore the Reclaimer is one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy. Fortunately, he is on our side."
"He is a monster, or so an increasing number of people all over the galaxy believe. His mere existence is incredibly divisive." The Diktat made a good point.
"Fortunately, he is our monster, Director-General. Otherwise, we would have already lost this war." Obi-Wan stressed his point. "General Veil is busy ensuring Admiral Trench leaves the Core and in the process, doesn't destroy the Mid-Rim Alliance he helped create. That brings us to another point, Diktat. While Corellia's support will be invaluable, it is no longer as critical as it once was. Securing your system will take time, lives, and material. Rebuilding your industry will take time, credits, and resources," Obi-Wan made a point to put stress on every single word, "You no longer negotiate from a position of strength as one of the most powerful systems and alliance leaders in the galaxy."
Kenobi didn't bother to elaborate that there were groups within the Core, which would love to ensure that Corellia never returned to its previous place of economic, political, and military power.
"Let us discuss details then," The Diktat said. "What exactly do you want from us, and what can you offer us both in the short and long run in exchange?"
Obi-Wan glanced at Satine. Now they had the Diktat's measure. The only question was what was Merricope's, and through her, Corellia's price.
=RK=
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