64 A different galaxy [2/2]

Part 4

Mandalorian Embassy

Ambassadors suite

Coruscant

"Did you have to practically blame everything on the Jedi?" Obi-Wan grumbled from the couch where he was sitting with his wife resting her feet in his lap.

I got the better if more distracting deal – relaxing in a comfortable armchair with Bo cuddled in my lap. Before we married and I got to know her better, something that was still an ongoing process, I wouldn't have put my wife for one loving to cuddle. She shifted to get a better look at Kenobi, knowing the how it made me feel and grinned.

"Well, the Jedi are to blame..." Bo smirked.

"I know some of them are still your friends Obi, however we needed someone else to take the blame for well, everything. It will make getting what we need so Mandalore could recover easier and that isn't a trivial concern." Satine glanced at her husband. "Don't stop please."

"Yes, dear." Kenobi sighed and continued to massage her feet.

I bit off a snigger, but not good enough and earned myself a soft poke in the ribs.

"You know they'll be causing us all a lot of trouble, don't you, Obi-Wan?" My wife asked. "The longer they waste dealing with inquiries and answering question the better we'll be."

"Ideally the conservatives will be too busy defending their position for long enough so Yoda could find a solution that doesn't blow in everyone's faces." I said.

"Do you really believe that? After today?" Bo stretched and rested her head on my shoulder.

I breathed the floral scent of her hair and relaxed. "I hope so. Otherwise sooner or later we'll have to deal with the conservatives after they do something very stupid."

"They've been keeping things within the law so far..." Obi-Wan sounded like he was trying to convince himself that such a state of affairs would continue.

"Yes, and tonight they failed miserably. Instead of Delkatar being sacked and kicked out of the military, it's the Jedi who will have to answer some pointed questions." Satine pointed out. "You two know them better than me. Will they simply concede defeat and go minding their own business in the Temple?"

"Not likely. There's this big bad Sith around they have to stop before he corrupts any more maidens." Bo poked me in the chest.

"My dear wife is right and you know it Obi-Wan. If you believed I was up to destroy the Order and turn the Republic into the Sith Empire's newest edition would you be prevented from acting just because you've got no more legal ways to stop me?" I asked.

"You've practically destroyed the Order without doing anything..." Kenobi grumbled.

"Not fair! I actually tried to save some Jedi. We'll it was mostly Ahsoka, the rest were just to save face and not be accused that I gleefully left them to die. Close enough. While I didn't consider the Jedi of this era my enemies, at least before the conservatives began making trouble, there are just a few of you I care about. The rest aren't my problem unless they make themselves one."

"You should have know it by now – no good deed goes unpunished." Satine quipped.

"Hey, I'm a Sith! My good deeds are long and far between."

"That's so reassuring." Obi-Wan shook his head in exasperation.

"Cheer up, buddy. We won't be dealing with the Senate tomorrow. Not any time soon either if we had a bit of luck left." I told Obi-Wan.

"The Chancellor can have them all. On that we can agree." Kenobi grimaced. I'm sure he was thinking about the riot that began after Palpy made his abrupt revelation of the Intel reports. That's how tonight's session ended – with another recess until tomorrow so everyone could calm down. Before we separated, Palpy told us he was sure he could tie up both the conservative Jedi and Sylvaris' allies in the Senate with endless inquiries.

I was actually hoping that he'll succeed and wasn't that a weird idea. Then there was the fun some poor sods in Intel were going to have briefing the Senate.

It was one thing to know that the enemy will be starting a new offensive soon. It was something quite different to know that the CIS would be outnumbering us by the equivalent of multiple whole sector fleets and we were in no position to meaningfully disrupt their buildup. That was a sad state of affairs and our esteemed Senators had no one but themselves to blame for it.

"Have you thought what to say to Snips?" I changed the topic.

Obi-Wan groaned. "Ahsoka deserves better. She shouldn't be paying form my choices or Anakin's mistakes."

"That she does." I nodded.

"What's the deal with the kid?" My wife asked.

"Well, she's an energetic little thing that grows on you. Like a mold." I shrugged. "You'll like her."

"A mold? Seriously?" Obi-Wan deadpanned.

"I'm not sure the pun translates well in Basic." I shrugged. "Anyway, Snips."

"She won't be going to the Agri-corps, I'm sure of that." Obi-Wan declared.

"Duh. While I haven't know her as long as you, that much is obvious. Even if she does, Snips won't last a week there before she grows too bored and seeks something else." I declared.

"The conservatives will make it an issue. Unless she's expelled as long Ahsoka is a minor, the Jedi Council has legal authority over her." Obi-Wan said.

"They really don't want to go there. Conscripting child soldiers to fight their battles? The media will eat them alive even before the public and Senate can get a piece of the fun." I hook my head.

"What's your point? Did those two Jedi Masters looked like they would be stopped by such a minor consideration?" Satine asked.

"Well, they acted a bit more reasonable than I expected. Very foolish in hindsight, but I'll chalk that to the fact that they still hope for a legal resolution." I shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Unless they're ready to stop soon, your conservative friends will have a little recourse but to escalate things. In that case it would have been more prudent to level their accusations and try taking out Delkatar at the same time. That way they would have gotten their narrative out first and he wouldn't be around to protest. Oh, don't look at me like that! I didn't say that it would be a good idea. I can see that the army and navy would consider something like that treason and would act no matter if Mandalore was still around or not. Now however, the conservatives would be completing their political suicide if they act against Delkatar. After tonight, there's no chance that they'll gather enough support to survive any violent adventure." Satine explained.

"I'm afraid that they might do it anyway and we'll be left to pick the pieces. Don't you find it hilarious? I'm a Sith and right now I'm trying to figure out how to stop the Jedi so they won't kriff themselves up once and for all." I chuckled.

"The irony isn't lost on me. I just don't find this mess funny in any way, shape or form." Obi-Wan grumbled. He looked at the small caf table between us. His comm unit rested there along with his lightsaber. He called the communication device using the Force and made called Ahsoka.

We chatted idly until the call could go through to Snips.

"Master Kenobi! I'm glad to see you again." Ahsoka exclaimed. From what I could see of her holographic image – which was her back, she appeared to be holding up better than this afternoon.

"Ahsoka. Its good to see you're a bit calmer." Obi-Wan greeted her. "How are you?"

"Better." Ahsoka paused. "I think."

"Snips, have you decided what you want to do?" I asked aloud.

"General Veil? Good evening sir. All I know is I don't want to go to the Agri-corps. I don't want to leave Rex and the other to fight alone. It doesn't feel right." Ahsoka informed us.

"You can cut off the formality. It's juts and our wives here."

"Ah. Thank you. Its good to hear from you, Delkatar." Ahsoka relaxed a bit.

"Well, she has the right idea." Bo perked up. "If your Republic types are too dumb to keep her is she's really a decent commander, we might pick her up."

"I haven't thought about that." I smirked at Kenobi and Satine. "I'm quite busy with being Mandalore and all that, but how about you, Obi-Wan? Do you fancy getting a kid and teaching her all about being Mandalorian? Training her in the Force too." I nodded at Ahsoka's hologram.

"Well, she is, was my Padawan. I see no issues with continuing her training." Obi-Wan said after thinking for a few seconds.

"Uh, what are you two talking about?" Snips asked.

"Hi there, Ahsoka. I'm Bo-Katan, our resident Sith's much better looking half. Adopting kids is a long honored Mandalorian tradition. You know, looking after them, teaching them all about what it means to be a proper Mandalorian," My wife gave her sister a pointed look at that, "training them as warriors… I'm sure Delkatar here can call in a favor or two and have that Rex of yours and his buddies assigned as a part of his new command. As a Mandalorian you can volunteer for the unit too and I'm sure my husband would be glad to have you on board."

"That's not something I expected." Ahsoka frowned. "I don't know what to do." Her shoulders slumped.

"It's your call. Just know that whatever you decide our door is open. You have options." I added.

"I'm not sure about becoming a Mandalorian." Ahsoka sighed. "Do I have to? Can't I just I don't know, enlist or something?"

"That's an option too. Just don't expect to be sent back to the front immediately. It might actually be for the best if you go through a military academy. There are a lot of things they could teach you. In the end there's more to being an officer than leading soldiers in combat and being a good tactician." I gave her my two credits.

"I'll talk with Rex and the boys… but do you really think I need to waste time in an academy?" Ahsoka pouted.

"It will be useful. Your call." I shrugged.

"Can I be under your command alongside Rex and the boys if I go to the academy first?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't see why not. I'll be requesting the 501st as a part of my ground forces." I confirmed.

"That's good. I guess…"Ahsoka gave us a nervous smile. "I'll would like to go enlist. Would it be possible to continue my Jedi training even if I'm no longer a part of the Order?"

"Of course. We might not call it Jedi training because doing so might sent the conservative Jedi ballistic when we don't need further complications on that front. What do you think, Obi-Wan?"

"I'm not training Sith even in name only." Kenobi narrowed his eyes in my direction.

"Republic Knights? Something in that vein perhaps?" Satine suggested.

"Mandalorian Knights if one of you begins training our people. I don't know about your Republic types." Bo said.

"What do you think Snips? Fancy being a Knight of the Republic?" I asked the Padawan.

"It doesn't sound too bad." Ahsoka looked thoughtful. "I'll be enlisting." She straightened up and gave us a determined look.

"Good for you. I'll be in meetings with Valentra and other high ranking officers tomorrow. I'll ask around and find you the best military academy in the Republic. I'm sure that a recommendation from Obi-Wan and me will bet you in."

"Is that proper?" Ahsoka's cute frown was back.

"Its the least I can do. When all is said and done, my very presence is responsible for the current unpleasantries with the Order. Call it balancing things around."

"Thank you all!" Ahsoka perked up and gave us a huge smile.

=RK=

Confederate Military HQ

Raxulon City

Raxus

Outer Rim Territories

Even if they did a good work, the highest ranking Confederate officers were getting quite restless from being cooped up in the sealed conference room for most of the last few days. All of them were getting quite irritable, but that was a small price to pay in order to keep spies away from what they were doing.

The simple, but by no means easy part of their current task was more or less complete – they had made plans for overhauling the C&C structure of the Confederate military and most if not all less than competent people playing at being officers were going to ether be sacked, reassigned to where they could do no real damage or in some special cases investigated and placed in front of military tribunal for either incompetence or corruption.

It was harder finding enough competent people to fill up the fresh vacancies, much less to command the new construction that was coming online almost daily. No matter the misgivings of Trench and his colleagues, they were forced to entrust a significant portion of the fleets to Tactical and Super Tactical droids. The new programming implemented by Techno Union scientists did make the machines reasonably competent at least during limited engagements.

That was at least one thing that Dooku did right lately. As one of his last acts before his removal, the Sith authorized a series of probing strikes against Republic positions in and around Kamino's sector led almost exclusively by droids with the new updates.

All of the machines showed increased tactical aptitude, with a few going far beyond all expectation and won decisively. Most notable was a single Tactical Droid that ended up capturing a pair of Venators.

Trench dismissed those thoughts. No matter how uneasy making the war droids smarter made him feel, it was inevitable. In retrospect the CIS military wasn't built to fight the Clone Army. Oh, the droids and fleet did well enough until the Republic began to field some new hardware in numbers. The Admiral had read the reports from Geonosis multiple times – both from space and the ground, which led him to make some less than pleasing conclusions.

The Republic war machine was evolving and if the Confederacy was to win they had to not only match, but surpass it. Unless, he and his colleagues managed to win the war in the next few months.

That was the main reason why they were still in that blasted room. The Admiral sipped his drink and scanned his colleagues. It was a second day they were arguing about what to do with all the new construction that was becoming available.

It was thanks to the officer's impasse that today they had guest from the Confederate Council – Kleo Vombra, who had deemed the proceedings important enough to be separated from overseeing the CIS R&D programs. The Techno Union's leader was the closest thing the new political leadership of the Confederacy had to a military expert. Rumor had it that Vombra had been neck deep in weapon development for decades. Hopefully the cyborg wasn't totally clueless.

For the past half hour, the officers were explaining their major problem – they were divided between two competing strategic ides. The Admirals were pushing for more conservative and realistic goals, while the generals wanted to use the significant material advantage the Confederacy would enjoy over the next few months to end the war in one swift devastating campaign.

"It's tempting, general Farstar." The cyborg said. "Very tempting. When thins conflict began, we all counted on a victory in mere months. The existence of the Clone Army came as a huge shock for us all. While it is unlikely that the Republic has any more such surprises for us, we can't discount it."

"A strike at Coruscant can end this in a single blow! We'll have the numbers to break through!" General Durd exclaimed. "With my new weapon we'll crush the Republic on the ground. All we need is for the navy to keep the orbitals neutral and we can deliver you any Republic world, even Coruscant!"

"If we go for the capital, the Republic will throw everything they have at us. They'll have control of most Core hyperlanes, allowing them to move forces faster than us. If they manage to cut off our attack fleet at Coruscant it would be a disaster." Trench stated.

"Its true that we'll have the numbers to both break through, secure our line of retreat and deliver a devastating blow to Coruscant while tying up as much of the Republic Navy as possible with spoiling attacks. In theory. Coruscant has heavy defenses, redundant planetary shields and many theater ones. This time around we can't count on commando forces to give us any meaningful advantage. The Sith and their terror poodo blew up that opportunity. We'll have to break through multiple heavy defended systems, while the Republic scrambles to move in reinforcements and their reserves." Tonith spoke.

"While such a plan has merit, the dangers are too great. It's main flaw is the all or nothing nature. We won't have the forces to both take Coruscant and either capture or eliminate the Republic's leadership and hit enough of their industrial centers to matter. Even if everything goes as planned, we break through the enemy defenses and secure their Capital, even if we take out both the Chancellor and Senate – what happens if the Republic doesn't capitulate? If they continue to fight?" Trench looked at the cyborg. "We would have spent a large percentage of our fleets for nothing and be left dealing with a Republic Navy that would be reinforced by a large numbers of Venators."

"Our optimistic projections are that if the strike at Coruscant fails there are sixty percent chance we'll lose the war in the next year. Seventy five in the one after that and over ninety that we'll suffer a military collapse in three years." Admiral Kirst spoke for the first time today. "If we destroy less of the Republic Navy than estimated before their Venators are complete, the numbers look much worse."

"I see." Vombra turned to look at Trench. "The less risky proposition is your idea I understand, admiral." The cyborg stated. "Convince me that its the better idea."

"I'll do my best, sir." Trench moved his hands over the terminal built in front of his seat and called up a map of the galaxy updated with the territory held by both sides. He pressed a button and a dozen star systems lit up. "As you all know, prior to the ware, an extraordinary large part of the infrastructure needed for building capital ships was concentrated in three systems – Kuat, Corellia and Fondor. We are controlling only the last one and unfortunately, Corellians sided with the Republic after the Sith's actions outraged their leaders. That by itself gives the enemy a significant industrial advantage – one that will prove fatal in the fullness of time."

The Admiral waved at the other lit up systems, which were all currently under Republic control.

"At a minimum we need to significantly reduce either Corellia or Kuat. A tall order, but a necessary one. Further, the Republic is still dependent on their Clones for the bulk of the military personnel. Even with all incentives they're are giving for those enlisting and their ceaseless propaganda campaigns, it will be months before they could field ordinary citizens as soldiers, much longer for properly trained Navy personnel. Kamino has to go. Neutralizing that world will give us a significant mid term advantage once we've managed to kill off enough of their exiting clones. The morale effects shouldn't be underestimated. Without a source of expendable soldiers, we believe that the Republic might become much more sensitive to losses, especially on the ground where our droid armies give us a significant advantage in that regard. Further, the Clones had spent ten years in intensive training. They're much better and effective than anything the Republic could train in the middle of this war. As the Clone numbers diminish so will the combat strength of the enemy formations."

"That makes sense." Vombra noted. "What about those other systems? I recognize them all – major shipyards of various capacity the Republic has been expanding."

"Indeed, sir. We need to raid as many of them as possible and destroy their infrastructure. However, my plan calls for the capture of these, the coloring of the systems closest to Confederate space changed their color among other things. While largely neutralizing the Republic's economic and industrial advantage is our primary goal, my plan has two almost as important secondary objectives. As you can see, our territory is divided in four major parts. We'll use our numerical advantage to change that."

Trench pointed at the north western part of the map. "First, we'll dedicate a sector fleet strength formation to secure our rear in that region. Second, we close the pocket between Kira and Naboo. That will require us to capture only two systems – Naboo and Kalindra, which will be an opportunity to destroy the Republic Navy elements quarantining and protecting the Chancellor's homeworld. Then we'll move in forces to finally Malastare and reduce that pocket."The Admiral shifted the map north. "Once Naboo is secure, we'll move on Ryndelia, Kaliida Shoals and Trigals cutting off this pocket of Republic territory. The enemy won't posses significant naval forces there once we've smashed the detachments securing the hyperlanes. We can blockade the whole area easy and leave them to die on the vine."

Then Trench pointed to the east. "As a part of the offensive aimed at Naboo, we'll secure Herdessia and Randor in a preparation for a strike at Rodia and Christophsis. With those two systems are in our hands, the Galactic South will be almost secure." Trench pointed to the north. "Another offensive will take Foless, Chandaan and Tynna linking our territories here and finishing sewing up this whole part of the galaxy. If all offensives are successful, Kamino could be left for latter to reduce, but I'll advise against that. While we'll do our best to isolate the whole Western and Southern regions of the galaxy from the Republic, we can't guarantee a success in closing all hyperlanes. Not without sending troops better used elsewhere. No matter the final outcome, those are offensives we'll have to launch in order to tie up and reduce the Republic Navy in that part of the galaxy."

The admiral took a sip of his drink and waited for his words to sink in. The cyborg studied the map for a few minutes before asking any questions.

"Am I to presume you'll want to secure our borders in the galactic south east along Hutt Territory?" Vombra asked.

"Indeed. Limited offensive to deny the Republic the hyperlanes should be sufficient. We can leave the rest for the Hutts – they should be able to at least tie up the local garrisons so we don't waste time and resources on reducing the Republic presence there. Its on the edge of the Core, North and North East we'll have issues. Finally reducing that pocket will be our priority." Trench pointed at the far North Eastern corner of the galaxy. "Once that's done, it will free some additional assets for the primary campaign. Securing Pindar and goes without saying and then we'll have to make some important decisions." Trench pointed at the Inner Rim and Core worlds.

"Corellia." Vombra stated. "It's relatively close to Fondor, where most of our capital ships are constructed. While we'll have at least twice the numbers in the North East, most of them will be Munificents. Not ideal for heavy fighting."

"Correct. We plan to hit the Republic across that whole sector before we launch our main offensives against Corellia. If we're lucky, they'll redeploy some of their reserves there making our initial push easier. We plan to use lighter forces to clean up the way and two sector fleet equivalents heavy on capital ships for the hammer blow. Another smaller formation will leave earlier taking the long way. It will hit Angara and Chamm before making its way to Corellia too."

"Days before that operation begins, we'll strike all across the front in the North and East. The primary objective there is destroying as much as possible of the Republic Navy and gaining better jump off points for following offensives. Even if our secondary objectives are partially successful, we would be in a much better position to fight a prolonged war."

The Techno Union leader gazed at the map, before nodding slowly. "Admiral, I find this plan more reasonable than a dash towards Coruscant. I want to work on it and be ready to present it to the Council as soon as possible."

=RK=

Part 5

General Valentra's office

GAR High Command

Coruscant

Early next morning, Kenobi and I made our way to the HQ and went to meet Telar. We found him in front of his office, sipping caf and speaking with a tall, regal looking human admiral. The Navy officer had short cropped black hair and a thin mustache on his gaunt face. While he was solidly built, the man looked positively exhausted.

"You two." Valentra glared at us. "What the kriff am I supposed to do with you? Did you manage to engineer another headache specially for me since the senate went crazy last night?"

"Blame the Jedi and certain Senators." I shrugged.

"Oh, I do. The pair of you aren't off the hook either. I spent half the night answering inquires from the Senate's armed forces committee about the Confederate build up – as if I know better than our various Intelligence service, not to mention reassuring them that I'll be making use of your talents while making sure you don't learn any more sensitive information about the Republic's military capabilities."

"Talk about conflicting orders. You had fun, night I take it?" It was good to see that the Senate was continuing to piss of the army. They were playing straight in my hands while trying to diminish the threat I may one day represent.

Telar grimaced. "It was a kriffing waste of time. Come with me." He waved us with his free hand then nodded at the navy officer. "This is admiral Mark Jerjerrod. He's been trying to untangle the Navy's procurement for years now."

"General Veil, General Kenobi. It's good to meet you in person. I've heard a lot about you." The admiral offered us a hand and we shook it.

"Only bad things I hope? I do have a reputation to maintain." I quipped.

"Yes, that's the problem." Obi-Wan muttered.

"Good things as long as I'm not listening to some of my acquaintances in the Senate." Jerjerrod said.

"How is the navy buildup going?" Obi-Wan asked.

"A bit better than expected. We'll be getting a significant number of Acclamators complete and ready for deployment by the time the Separatists hit us. There are couple of thousand escorts scheduled for completion during the next month and that will give us a sorely needed boost, but we'll still be heavily outnumbered. While thanks to Kuat and Corellia we have at least fifty percent advantage in capital ship construction capacity, it took us too long to begin constructing Venators at capacity. Even longer to expand the necessary industries, find trained personnel and expand the shipyards." Jerjerrod paused to breathe. "It will be at least eighteen to twenty months before our industrial advantages could become decisive – not before we finish the next Venator construction cycle."

"And that can't happen before our ongoing construction is complete." Valentra added. "That's what we'll be talking about." He said as he led us deeper into the building.

We passed through two checkpoints and entered a secure briefing room. There was a group of officers siting around a round table either chatting or browsing data pads. They were there for some time if the few empty caf carafes were anything to go by.

"General on deck!" A black haired commander stood at attention and shouted.

The officers stopped what they were doing and all stood up and saluted.

"At ease. Get a place and someone make sure we've got secure connection with the otherwise unoccupied members of High Command." Valentra ordered.

I looked around. The room was covered with something resembling rubber – a sound absorbing material I guessed. Besides the table and chairs around it, the place was virtually empty.

I sat next to Telar along with Obi-Wan and the admiral.

"First, introductions are in order." Valentra announced and nodded at Jerjerrod, who began.

To the admiral's left sat the commander who announced our entrance – one Adar Tallon, a starfighter ace who worked under Plo Koon. The Jedi Master had sent him back to Coruscant so he could help in devising new small craft doctrine and help in the development of units that could survive and be effective in Guardian dominated environment.

While the introductions continued, he busied himself calling the members who couldn't be present in person.

Next were a pair of captains – Terrinard Screed and Jan Dodonna. They introduced themselves staff members working for Jerjerrod until their ships – Victory Stardetroyers came close to completion. From what I gathered they had their time split between helping ensure that the navy procurement didn't go to hell and training their command staffs in simulators. It wasn't an ideal arrangement, but the attack on the HQ a few months back practically decapitated the GAR High Command and cost us a lot of experienced officers.

Screed was an aging officer with complexion identical to that of the Clones. According to his service ribbons, he had been a part of the Judical Forces for years before the war began and had seen combat more than once. His short brown hair was mostly hidden by his uniform cap.

Dodonna had receding black hair, revealing a prominent forehead and accenting his large nose.

Both of them wore the standard deep green naval uniform and had their medal ribbons proudly displayed on their chests.

Beside the captains sat a human naval officer.

"Admiral Felix Dao." He introduced himself. His thin face make him look almost gaunt not unlike Jerjerrod. However, the middle aged admiral appeared to have much more energy. His blue piercing eyes practically shone with it.

"It's good to see you again, Admiral." I greeted Dao. I vaguely remembered him from Ryloth – he was in charge of a Venator division at the time. His ships didn't fare too well after being unfortunate enough to be targeted at the beginning of the engagement. I recall that he was wounded when his flag was crippled but it was obvious Dao's wounds haven't slowed him down.

"The same to you, general. I'm glad that you didn't decide to leave for Mandalore after last night."

"It would take much more than a group of misguided fear mongers to make me turn my back to the soldiers I've fought with for months now." My words were met with universal approval by the officers.

The last officer was navy too.

"I'm admiral Barton Coburn." He introduced himself with a gravel like voice. The man appeared to be in his sixties. He had receding white hair and sharp light green eyes.

As it turned out, we were going to discus things with only two more people. One was Yularen, who was overseeing the repairs of the fleet we led above Geonosis. The last member of our little gathering was another familiar face – Joanna Holt. She was making her way to Corellia along with her ship and surprisingly wore the insignia of a rear admiral.

"Congratulation about the promotion, admiral." I smiled at the Corellian woman. I did owe her one – even if I planned it, she did come through and saved my ass on Mandalore.

"General Veil." She nodded. "I hear things on Coruscant got quite interesting with your return."

"Too interesting." Obi-Wan snorted. "I can't help it but notice I'm the only Jedi in here."

"Former Jedi." Telar gave him a wan smile. "After yesterday, I don't exactly trust the Jedi not to make mess of things. Besides, its been months since they were actually in command of the army or navy, no matter how many of them are generals."

"We make up the majority of surviving Republic High Command as well as highly ranked allied officers. If we're to work together without kriffing up by the numbers, we need to reach an understanding." Admiral Coburn stated.

"After the Senate had its temper tantrum yesterday, we need to chose a new Commander Republic field forces, to fill in the shoes of General Veil. I'm open to suggestions." Valentra spoke.

"This last year, I've fought along Force users a lot." Admiral Dao said. "While a lot of them have no idea what to do in command of anything larger than a squad and should have never been given the authority they had at the start of the war, those who know what they're doing have some advantages the rest of us simply lack. With General Veil no longer an option and the Jedi in disarray, I nominate General Kenobi for the position."

"I agree. While he had some rough edges, I believe Obi-Wan Kenobi is up to the task." I offered my support and earned myself a glare from the former Jedi.

"If it had slipped your minds, I'm no longer a Jedi and became Mandalorian the same evening he did." Obi-Wan pointed at me. He didn't sound thrilled by the idea of being put in charge of all combat force.

"Oh, we know." Valentra looked at Kenobi. "You might be a Mandalorian, but aren't Mandalore and that's what's important. All of us has home worlds that hold our loyalty alongside the Republic and it hasn't been an issue. While general Veil as a leader of your people might have divided loyalties, yours are as secure as our own."

Obi-Wan frowned at Telar. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"I'll admit a part of it is making a point to the Senate. However, if we didn't believe you up to the job, we wouldn't offering it general." Valentra explained.

"Do you all agree with this?" Obi-Wan asked and looked around the table.

"That's a Republic internal issue." Admiral Holt shrugged. "From what I hear you should be able to do the job."

"We discussed you last night." Admiral Jerjerrod added. "Besides all of us currently have duties we can't in good conscience leave. You however haven't been actually commanding since Geonosis so you're free to take the job."

"While we can't force you to take the position, its our recommendation that you do so." Admiral Coburn offered his support to the idea.

"If I didn't know better I would be sure this was your idea." Ob-Wan glared at me.

"This time I'm not guilty as charged."

"You're aware that the Jedi Council won't take this lightly, right?" Obi-Wan tried.

"The Jedi's internal politics aren't of any concern to this body. The Council already did more than enough to jeopardize the war effort." Valentra grimaced.

"Look at the positives. If you take the offer, you'll be better placed to keep me in check if I went on the deep end." I beamed at Obi-Wan.

"There's that." Kenobi groaned. "I know I'll regret it, but fine. I accept."

"Congratulation general Kenobi. I'll make sure that all the paperwork is in order so you can assume your new responsibilities before the end of the day." Dodonna announced.

"Now, with that out of the way, item the second. General Veil, in order to ensure proper coordination between the GAR and our Corellian and Mandalorian allies, you'll be taking command of all allied forces along with contingent of our own." Valentra announced.

"All?" My eyebrows went up at that. This was another slap in the face of both the Senate and the conservative Jedi.

"Well, as Mandalore, you're already the ultimate authority as far as your people are concerned. You did a good job leading Corellian forces at Geonosis and the same is true about various ground units not nominally under GAR control."

"The Anaxxian Rangers and Caamasi Lancers." I nodded. While I had little interaction with their commanders, there were no real issues when they were under my command. Those two outfits were a strange case – not really a militia or a planetary defense force, which were usually simply placed under the overall command of the GAR officers in the area. Instead, the rangers and lancers were long standing military units that worked alongside the planetary defense forces of their respective home worlds but technically weren't part of them.

"What am I looking at as Corellian and Republic assets?" I asked.

"Admiral Holt's new command after her ship goes a partial refit on Corellia along with the units you were supposed to command before Geonosis – the eleventh legion and attached fleet elements." Valentra stated.

Telar had obviously been quite busy lately.

"May I request that the remnants of the 501stare placed under my command? I've worked with them before and we have an excellent rapport."

"That shouldn't be an issue. You'll be getting additional staff officers to help you run the combined allied command or whatever we end up calling that damn thing. This completes item the second and now we come to the primary reason why we're here." Valentra agreed. "We all know that in two months the Separatists will have enough new construction coming online to create from scratch multiple sector fleets. They're going to throw them at us as soon as they can. According to all our intelligence sources, the Confederacy is currently overhauling their military command, cutting off the dead weight and busy deciding how to use their new ships against us. We wont know for some time what they plan. We may learn it the hard way, because a lot of our sources within the Confederacy had gone dark. This is the primary reason why we're gathered today – to decide how to meet the coming enemy offensive. General Veil." Valentra put me into the spotlight.

"Yesterday, before my meeting with the Senate, general Valentra informed me of the estimated enemy strength. Even with some escorts and a lot of Acclamators coming online soon, we'll be on the wrong end of a significant numerical disparity – much more than can be make up by the superior quality of our capital ships. If our fears are realized, the Confederacy is going to put competent people in charge across the board and give them largely free reign in prosecuting the war." I paused. "In the past few weeks, admirals Trench, Ningo and Tonith had been recalled to Raxus and we haven't heard from then since."

"Can we be so lucky that the Separatists dispose of them for us as unreliable?" Dao asked.

"Unknown. We can't rely on such a good fortune unless we have a solid proof that they're all dead or imprisoned." Coburn rumbled. "We have to plan for the worst – competently led determined enemy that outnumbers us significantly."

"That's my thought too." Valentra added. "I briefly discussed the situation with general Veil yesterday. "While I agree with his thoughts on the matter, there are issues." He looked at me.

"Even if we go with the conservative estimates, the Separatists will be able to hit us across the board, tie up a lot of our forces and then concentrate overwhelming numbers on their primary objectives. Lacking solid intelligence on their intentions, we'll have to decide where to reinforce and dig in and which systems we can't afford to defend unless we wish to have a significant chunk of the navy defeated in detail." I turned my attention to the terminal built in front of my seat and activated the holo projector that was in the center of the table, then called in an up to date map of the galaxy.

"If I was in charge of the Confederacy's military, this state of affairs would be unacceptable." I pointed at the four big parts in which the CIS controlled space was divided. "One of the first things I would be doing with all those brand new ships would be to connect the various Separatist territories then deny the Republic use of the main hyperlanes to the outer rim. That part is a no brainier. While it would be good if we could keep the Confederate territories divided, I believe that would be a waste of resources at this time. The exception is the central corridor here." I highlighted it with three blue circles. "If we lose the hyperlanes in these areas, Kamino will be cut off along with a significant part of our holding in the Mid and Outer rim."

"It's also a lot of territory to cover. The Separatists will find it much easier to connect their other holdings and secure the lanes between them." Admiral Coburn noted. "Even if we can't stop them at any given location, our fleets will have a lot of space to maneuver – retreat if necessary and be ready to assist us in opening the lanes once our Venators are ready. The same can't be said for the expanse sandwiched between Hutt space and these two Separatist territories." The old human's hands flew to his terminal and he circled the large piece of the Mid rim he had in mind."

"What about our territory to the west?" Admiral Jerjerrod asked. "They're practically cut off, even if the Confederacy has to keep heavy forces to contain them."

"If they have the spare ships, they might sent them to secure the area. Once our naval units in the region are attried enough, the Confederacy can ignore the sector and thus free a lot of assets. Its the same with the pocket to the far North East." I lit up the areas in red. "Mon Calamari too – as things stand, our only way to reinforce them is through Hutt space. Given its location, if the Separatists decide the hit some of the neutrals in the area, they can cut off the system and reduce it when convenient.

"You have a suggestion, I recon." Coburn stated.

"An idea, that the Senate won't find pleasing. We need to pull off as many assets as we could from the west. Even with the hyperlanes under enemy control, if our naval units in the region can quietly concentrate they stand a good chance to punch through. At the same time I would like to leave a lot of light recon element in the area. As for our ground units – they should either be extracted or concentrated on planets with planetary shields where they can hold out for a long time even if the enemy has orbital control."

"You suggest abandoning a lot of territory." Dao frowned.

"True. Most of those world are of no strategic importance for the war and we need the navy deployed where it matters. We'll need to keep a corridor to Kamino open at all costs or at least for as long as we can keep the planet safe. If the enemy dedicates enough assets on an attack there, we may lose it anyway. We can't afford to sent too many reinforcements there, not if we're to keep a route to the Core open at the same time."

"What about Mandalore? Coburn asked. "It's very close to Separatist controlled space and they will be launching offensives in the area to link up their territories and put pressure on us."

"A fleet in being standing under the planetary shields. If reinforced and given some heavy equipment, my people will turn any ground assault in a bloodbath for the enemy. Given its position on the trade lanes, we'll need to retake the system sooner rather than later if we're to wage war in the galactic North East."

"That's not what expected." Coburn gave me a nod of respect. "I was fearing you would want us to keep the system out of Confederate hands at all cost."

"I would want any uninvited guests kicked out promptly once the Venators are ready, but that's it. It would take us a few years to rebuild our fleet and we'll be slowed down by pulling down to the surface the most important parts of the space infrastructure, but having Mandalore under siege for few months won't be too bad." I smiled grimly. "Most of our people are spread all over the galaxy even if I gave the call for them to come back. As long as we can keep the bulk of our planet side industry intact we'll recover. Besides, we simply can't afford to tie up too many ships keeping my home safe." I pointed at the map. "If the enemy is smart and we can't afford to expect anything less, they will be coming after our industrial nodes. Kuat, Corellia and our smaller shipyards. The big question is where will they concentrate their efforts? The two industrial powerhouses? Can they afford to strike both systems and hope to succeed? Perhaps only one and raids on our other shipyards?"

"What if they go after Coruscant again?" Jerjerrod asked.

"Unlikely unless they decide for all or nothing throw on the dice. Yet, we can't neglect such a possibility. Our friends in the Senate won't let us if we tried anyway. For all we know, whoever is running things on the Separatist's side nowadays might think its a good idea."

"They might feint that way anyway to draw forces from their real targets too." Coburn thought aloud. "A strike towards Ord Mantell for example could be just a feint, an attempt to secure better positions for the next phase of the war, clearing up the way for following assaults on our industrial nodes in the Mid Rim or even a prelude for a strike towards Coruscant. The same goes if they secure Mandalore and move up the hyperlane leading towards the Core." He lit up parts of the map in orange.

"We'll have to keep a strong reserve force against such an attempt." I conceded. "What concerns me is how close Corellia and Kuat are to enemy held territory. "If the enemy finally manages to take Antar and then Quellor, they'll have a clean run to Cato Neimodia and then use it as both a supply base and a forward staging area. Then all they have is to break through whatever we have in place at Commentor and the route to Kuat is open. Alternatively, securing Kelada will give them a route to Corellia. I won't be surprised if they do both just to force us reinforce both systems. The nature of the hyperlanes in the region is such that once we know where they're sending the bulk of their forces, it would be days until we can shift our navy from the other threatened system. That's could be more than enough time to lose a lot of industrial capacity and incomplete construction."

"Our friends in the Senate will want us to reinforce both systems heavily." Valentra said.

"That's why I want to strip everything we can from strategically unimportant systems." I shrugged.

"Like Revan did against your own people all those years ago." Dao stated.

"It worked." I pointed out.

"As I see it, we'll need to keep a decent sized reserves at Coruscant, Ord Mantell, Corsis and Denon at the very least along with reinforcing Corellia, Kuat and Kamino with whatever we can scrape up. In addition, placing additional forces at either Kalindra or Naboo so they can be ready to fend off any attacks on the lanes in the area would be prudent." Obi-Wan spoke after listening to the discussion and carefully examining the map. "Reinforcing Christophsis will help us contest the that region and we can pull the naval elements there back towards Kamino if necessary."

"That sounds good." Valentra mussed. "Ultimately it's your call after all. Finding all the assets we're going to need will be harder."

"I'll back you up when you decide it's time to talk with the Chancellor about it." I said.

"We'll need to craft proper contingency plans first." Jerjerrod pointed out.

"True, true." I conceded. "Lets start, shall we?"