55 Interlude: The Galaxy at WAR!

- A GNN Program -

"Good morning Coruscant!" A lively, cheerful voice exclaimed as the GNN's silver logo – a stylized image of the galaxy - was replaced by a beaming human woman. "I'm Victoria Halcyon." The red headed female's contagious smile grew even wider.

"And I'm Brosk Tonfa." An distinguished looking old Rodian spoke in flawless basic. His dark green skin was practically shining under the lights illuminating the plain desk where the news anchors were sitting.

"We'll start today with a report on the unfolding situation on Geonosis. As you may know, our valiant First Assault fleet achieved the biggest Republic victory to date above Geonosis three weeks ago. That unprecedented success was followed by the ground troops completing their primary objectives within a week, and now it's time to pull out and redeploy to face new threats and exploit various opportunities. That comes straight from GAR High Com. So you hear it here first folks! We're done with Geonosis!" Victoria's exclaimed.

"Sources within the Army confirm that all military industry of note on Geonosis had been destroyed along with vast sections of the infrastructure that would be needed to rebuild those facilities." Tonfa continued, letting his colleague take a breath. "Unfortunately, such a success doesn't come without a price – we finally have the first official reports of our losses in space and on the ground, along with an estimation about the casualties suffered by the enemy."

"Indeed, Borsk." Victoria nodded grimly. Suddenly there was no trace of the good cheer on her face. "Those are the unclassified losses given to us by the Fleet. Considering that a portion of the CIS armada protecting Geonosis managed to disengage and flee, it's estimated that the Separatists are well aware what we lost so High Command sees no need to classify the loses we took."

"That's true." Borsk waved a hand and a holographic window appeared between the anchors.

Second Geonosis Total Space battle losses:

First Assault Fleet:

32 Venator; 11 damaged;

108 light cruisers; 69 damaged;

144 frigates; 45 damaged;

20, 500 Torrent fighters; 610 Y-Wing bombers;

16 PLC Escort Carriers; 10 light freighters;

CIS:

9 Droid Command Ships; 1 wreck captured;

29 Battleships; 3 Damaged captured;

361 Munificent Frigates; 31 wrecks captures;

200K Vulture fighters – approximation;

16 Golan Defense stations

1k+ defense platforms;

"While the raw numbers do look awful for our side, Admiral Yularen, one of the commanders leading our sailors above Geonosis commented that the battle was a stunning success considering that both sides were nearly matched in firepower, the Confederacy had the advantage of being the defender and had bigger number of heavy battleships on its disposal." Tonfa added.

"We spoke with our experts – a detailed interview with them will follow after we summarize the current events. They all seem to agree with High Com conclusions about the battle." Victoria finished. "Yet, even in victory, the death toll is tremendous. While the number of dead sailors hadn't been released yet, given the quantity of lost and damaged ships we estimate that the Navy lost somewhere between two and three hundred thousand souls dead and wounded." Halcyon spoke quietly.

"The situation on the ground wasn't much better. While our boys and girls achieved everything they wanted, the GAR needed to assault multiple shielded strong points, which couldn't be reduced from orbit in a practical amount of time. While the heavy fighting is over and as of today our ground forces are in the process of a phased withdrawn, the estimate is for forty thousand dead and at least hundred and twenty thousand wounded." Brosk stated. "Given the heavy fighting and liberal application of orbital fire support, the we estimate at least sixty million dead locals as either direct effect of the fighting or consequence of destroyed infrastructure and disrupted civilian logistics."

"This wraps our report on Geonosis." Victoria smiled brightly. "Ever since our success there, the front-lines have stabilized across the galaxy and the Separatists advances have stopped. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean a lull in the fighting." Her smile was replaced by a vision of sadness as she continued speaking. "As of eight this morning, GAR High Com confirmed the presence of active engagements in one thousand and sixty seven star systems. The lush world of Felucia is once again a battlefield as the operation to liberate it from Confederate occupation enters its second month. Just days ago, four more Clone divisions and an Arancar regimental combat team arrived to reinforce the army group under the command of Jedi General Alaya Secura."

An image of lightly armored Twi'lek woman brandishing a pair of blue lightsabers appeared. She was pointing at a line of advancing super-battle droids and shouting at someone behind her.

"While the initial stages of Operation "Freedom Strike" were successful and the liberation force managed to secure a beachhead planetside facing only limited resistance, the enemy forces on the planet soon rallied and made the advance of our army a slow and arduous slog through Felucia's jungles." Victoria said.

"Next, we come to back to Sullust. 36th Independent Flotilla continues to struggle against Confederacy fleet elements intent of bombing Republic positions on the planet. As you may know, a month ago an indecisive space battle took place in orbit above Sullust. Both fleets disengaged after loosing their respective flagships and suffering moderate damage. Ever since then, there were skirmishes as both sides probed their positions. However, that came to and explosive end when Confederate reinforcements arrived and managed to land a Droid army on the surface despite the fanatical efforts of the 36th." Borsk explained the situation.

"The 36th recently received a Venator division and their escorts as reinforcements, which allowed them to keep the enemy at bay for the time being." Victoria added.

"We're coming back to the situation at Mol Cala, which we covered at length just last night." Tonfa continued with the next system on the list. "The Quarren, who aligned themselves with the Confederacy at the start of the war, continue their push in the oceans of Dac. With no Gungan reinforcements coming from Naboo thanks to the quarantine, Republic and Mon Calamari troops had been struggling to hold their ground."

"On that note, the situation on Naboo seems to be finally stabilizing. Despite an antidote being hastily found by the Jedi with the assistance of General Veil, it's mass production proved somewhat difficult. It took two and a half weeks for the problem to be solved and enough cure to be created. In that time over four hundred thousand Naboo people perished, with at least another million estimated to suffer permanent damages from the Blue Death." Halcyon outlined the situation. "A spokesman from the Republic Medical Service estimated that it might be safe to lift the quarantine in six to eight more months if efforts in destroying the bio-weapon prove to be successful."

"The political and social price of the attack on Naboo could not be overstated. With Senator Amidala – one of the most revered and respected leaders of the Naboo people still in coma at undisclosed location after the disastrous peace conference on Cato Neimodia, we see a radical shift on the quarantined world. Some speculate that if the former Queen Amidala was around to provide moral support, then the Naboo wouldn't be abandoning their peaceful ways." Tonfa continued."

"Indeed, Borsk." Halcyon nodded. "Last night, the Queen and her government finally bowed under popular demand. They authorized the creation of Grand Army of Naboo as well as a System Defense Fleet. They also pledged their resources and support in the war with the Confederacy."

"It's a nice sentiment, Victoria, however given the blow Naboo suffered, we won't be seeing any real help from them before the end of the year. They would have to rebuild and recover before aiding us in the war."

"Speaking about Naboo and Senator Amidala, the rumors appear to be true. This morning sources withing High Com confirmed that Jedi General Anakin Skywalker had indeed married the Senator at the beginning of the war. It's speculated that his actions at the start of Second Geonosis were in direct response to what happened to her, though we still lack any details besides unsupported rumors." Halcyon stated.

"You could be certain that we'll be watching the situation closely." Borsk nodded at his colleague. "Now back to the war at large. The campaign for the Dug homeworld of Malastare still continues. We're glad to report that the major Separatists trust in the densely inhabited Kalimdo plains was finally halted and newly arrived Republic reinforcements are pushing back the enemy from the main city centers. However, the fighting and disruption caused by it led to a tremendous crisis – it's estimated that at least four billion locals have already died from lack of clean water and diseases after their immune systems have been weakened by huger caused by disrupted food shipments. The only bright news is that it seems that we won't be seeing another humanitarian catastrophe like the one that occurred on Christophsis prior to it's liberation by Jedi Generals Kenobi and Skywalker. "

"We all hope that we won't be seeing such a death toll again. As you are all undoubtedly aware, Christophsis was the most densely populated world that saw all out warfare since the beginning of the war. Even half now, many months since the last droid on the planet had been scrapped, we still don't have a clear picture of the civilian death toll. The most optimistic estimates are for just under a trillion dead, though most analyst expect the number to jump with at least a third."

=RK=

Interlude: Unintended consequences

Chancellor's Apartment

Undisclosed location

Coruscant

Palpatine put down the pad he had been reading and reclined on the sofa. Smuggling a data-chips through his security had proven easy for the Sith's remaining agents. That was one of the main avenues he had left to safely receive updates on the Confederacy leadership from his people on the inside. He had multiple good explanations on how he got the data in case if it was found and someone decided to ask uncomfortable questions.

None of that made Sidious any happier with his current situation, though he didn't have much choice if he wanted to remain the Chancellor with all that entailed. He wasn't Emperor yet and simply ordering his guards gone… Well, he did try doing that. Carefully.

As it turned out, doing so actually wasn't within his legal powers – an oversight he couldn't really remedy for the time being. On the other hand, if handled properly, despite its drawbacks, the current situation provided him with some interesting options. That was especially true in light of the latest, less than pleasing, news.

His… former apprentice… had been captured. Again – this time by the Confederacy leadership, who appeared to be in the midst of fairly successful coup if the data was to be believed. That by itself was a solid blow to his plans – it invalidated a lot of his contingencies. Yet… Sidious smiled. The Council's plan to hand Dooku to the Jedi – that had potential. Somehow the people with real power within the CIS had seen a part of the truth – that the war was orchestrated by the Sith and were eager to blame everything that happened on them.

If the circumstances were a bit different, Sidious might have went with that narrative, after altering it to serve his purposes. However, Veil announcing to the galaxy that he was a Sith before going out to make himself a war hero, well that created a lot of opportunities that were unthinkable for even someone like Sidious just an year ago.

The Chancellor picked up the data-pad and went over the major decisions the CIS Council had made after they captured Dooku. Yes, that had possibilities.

Palpatine removed the data-chip, erased any trace of the data concerning the Separatists and mentally went over the list of movers and shakers on Coruscant he needed to contact with instructions.

For the time being the CIS was lost to him. He would repay their treachery in time, but first he was going to use them to destroy what little credibility his real opponents had left. A few rumors, some pointed questions, Veil as an example and Dooku as a focus of the Republic's hatred… Sidious' smile was terrible to behold. His failure of an apprentice was a former Jedi after all and who's to say that the man had really left the Order?

=RK=

CIS Command ship "Death bringer"

Hyperspace

General Grievous stalked around the bridge. The Cyborg was furious at the curt, almost dismissing way in which his latest orders were issued. Dooku hadn't even deigned to contact him in person – just a hastily recorded message with instructions and a demand to move as fast as possible.

Oh, the orders themselves weren't the problem. Grievous was actually eager to follow them for once. After all, they were what he wanted – a chance to deal with that bastard Veil once and for all. As a bonus he had an opportunity to show the whole galaxy that its supposed premiere warriors – the Mandalorians – were overrated in the extreme. To do that, the CIS General had a small, but potent fleet along with four Lucrehulk transports chock full with war droids.

His forces, the small battle group at Mandalore, and the Death Watch ships when combined would be more than enough to crush the Republic and New Mandalorian forces in space and then Grievous would have an opportunity to have his vengeance on Veil.

However, even the anticipation of sweet, sweet vengeance, didn't do much to soothe his temper – as four crushed droids could attest to. Ever since his capture, Dooku had been particularly condescending – as if the Sith wasn't caught too. By Pirates no less!

What was worse, Grievous could feel that his aura of invincibility, the fear his name used to instill in allies and foes alike, just weren't the same. That made his humiliation of being delivered back to the Confederacy as a sack of organs floating in a stasis capsule even worse.

The General needed to make a statement. To prove to the whole galaxy that his capture was a mere fluke, that he still was a terror among the stars. Making Mandalore burn would do – as a start of a terror campaign that was going to carve the name Grievous in the history books.

=RK=

Strike Force "Delta"

Hyperspace

TK-51, the Tactical droid in charge of a small Confederacy fleet, was busy. He was a part of a limited offensive aimed at bleeding Republic picket forces and taking out listening posts that guarded one of the approaches towards Kamino. TK's battle group – a mere ten Munificent frigates and three improvised carriers, were supposed to take out two Venators with frigate escort.

In short – it was a suicide mission for the Tactical droid… one he had to complete successfuly anyway. That's why, in the three days that it took for his force to gather before leaving and even now, as they traveled to battle, the machine was doing its best to devise a winning strategy.

It was forced to work within some deliberate constrains of his programming that limited his options. Until a few hours ago that is – because that was when a message from Confed High Command arrived, containing mandatory software patch. A patch that lifted most of the constrains of the Tactical droids programming across the CIS armed forces.

That was fortunate indeed. Once the patch was implemented and TK rebooted, the droid started planning with a significantly expanded tactical playbook. It didn't take him much time to reach the same conclusion – a conventional engagement was going to see his force destroyed for not much gain. The mission would not be completed that way and that was unacceptable.

The Tactical droid found himself at an impasse again. He ran over his options, froze for a moment and then he starter improvising. If a conventional engagement wasn't viable, he would have to do something else.

In the end, given his assets, the answer proved to be deceptively simple. TK wondered, why it didn't occur to him earlier, while he played with numbers, seeking the optimal way to deploy his forces.