Star Wars: Rogue Knight II Return Of The Sith

Part 1

=RK=

"The Black Hole"

Nar Shaddaa

"I hope this isn't a waste of time, brother." Darth Maul, the Dark Lord of the Sith barked at his brother.

The months after their reunion were frustrating. Maul's recovery thanks to that witch on Dathomir was still a sore spot for him. He owed the infernal woman more than he was willing to admit even to himself and that knowledge burned buried deep within him.

"She hasn't steered us wrong yet, brother." Savage Opress sat down across the table from Maul and shoved a mug of ale his way.

They could barely hear each other without screaming over the music coming from multiple hidden loudspeakers. The bar was drowning in shadows and choking in the smoke of enough illegal drugs to irritate even a Sith. The Black Hole had earned its name – it was one of the seediest, nastiest places Maul had the misfortune to visit and while he worked for Sidious he had seen some of the greatest hives of sc.u.m and villainy in the galaxy.

This place was much worse. That was why they were stuck in there waiting for someone who supposedly had a job offer – who would think a self-respecting Sith would be in the "Black Hole" without burning the place for fun?

Maul suspected that it might be a trap – they did successfully take a Banking Clan convoy a few weeks back. It was a good way to raise capital to finance his vengeance, however he expected that sooner or later some bounty hunters would come searching for them because of it. He was half convinced that this was it and the primary reason he came was the chance for some fun. Yet, he might be mistaken. That infernal witch was very smug when she met them just before leaving Dathomir to warn them they might find what they were looking for on this trip.

Witches... If they weren't so useful... If Mother Tanzyn wasn't one of them... Even she wasn't enough to keep him from wanting to show them their place. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith! What did they do? Kept hiding when they could do so much more? It was pathetic!

Two armoured figures made their way through the crowd – which consisted of half-drunk or high patrons trying to dance or simply stumbling between the tables.

"It looks like fun, brother." Maul nodded at the approaching figures.

"Mandalorians." Opress sneered. "Bounty Hunters?"

"What else?" Maul's right hand went for the hilt of his lightsaber.

The leader of the two – a man a bit taller than the woman who walked a step behind him – halted a couple of paces from the Sith table and examined them.

"I expected you to be taller." The man grumbled. "I have a job for you."

"What could a Mandalorian offer me?" Maul sneered. Such a clumsy trap. Did that fool think something like this could make him drop his guard?!

"Vengeance. An opportunity to prove yourself against another Sith." The man offered. "I want Veil and his whore dead. You want Kenobi."

"Why would someone like you turn against Mandalore?" It was Savage's turn to sneer at the ridiculous claim.

"He murdered my brother. I can't take him in honourable combat, yet I crave his blood." The Mandalorian offered.

Maul was about to laugh and attack, yet he stayed his hand. He could feel no deception from the man. Only anger and hatred. He did laugh at that. The Force was with him and he would have his vengeance!

"Speak. This better be good." Maul ordered.

=RK=

GAR Operations room

GAR HQ

Coruscant

"Yes. Prime Minister Holt, I promise you I will do everything in my power to rein Veil in. If he really went crazy Sith on us I will do my best to ensure he will face justice for his actions." Obi-Wan swore.

"We might have to do so even if he's legally in the clear." A CEO said. Where was he from again?! Even with the Force refreshing him Obi-Wan was getting exhausted.

"He won't allow himself to be thrown to the Krath Hounds to appease the crowd." Satine warned.

"What choice do we have? There are millions, billions even screaming for his head!"

"There are at least that many cheering his actions. I find that more disturbing." Mothma interjected.

"He is a head of independent state and that complicates things."

"You don't say. Veil's one of the few people left that the GAR universally respects. Removing him could backfire on us."

"Would it matter if you get the Clones under control?"

"Tell that to the Mandalorians and anyone in the Mid-Rim who might support him. It might matter to them."

"That's more or less academic at this point. Until he can fight his way to the Core or we can reconnect with that part of the Rim we have no way of influencing what he does or doesn't do. Shall we shelf this topic until it becomes relevant?"

"It is relevant! We have to explain to our people what we are going to do about that madman!"

"Tell them the truth – we're investigating and if he's found guilty of whatever he's accused of we'll act accordingly." Satine spoke.

"In other words – empty promises."

"What else is new?"

"The man is a war-criminal! He needs to answer for his deeds!"

"Mandalore hasn't been found guilty of anything. I know many of my people would argue he went after legitimate targets at Sull.u.s.t. We know nothing but Separatist propaganda about Kamino. Do you think that those worlds in the Mid Rim, especially Naboo, would work with him unless he had a very good explanation?" Satine asked.

"The man saved them! They were attacked with plague by the Separatists. Would Naboo care?"

"Should we care then? You're right, my esteemed colleague." A new voice sneered. "The Separatists unleashed plague against us. They enslaved our people. Who should we care if Veil retaliates in kind? Would you stand up self-righteous in front of us if the same happened to Hok?!"

"We should care! There are laws civilized society operates under, but you would know nothing about it!"

"There are common laws of war that make what Veil did at Sull.u.s.t legal reprisal for Naboo and Ryloth." Yularen countered.

"Unwritten laws!"

How in the name of the Force did I get myself in this mess?! Obi-Wan screamed internally. Personally he was unfamiliar with most of the people arguing over the holocom. They all had a few things in common – they were government leaders from all over the part of the Republic Coruscant could have secure communications with and they all had their agendas. It was primary the fear of the Separatists that united them. They were almost as bad as the Senate but not quite, which was the one ray of hope in the whole mess.

"We need to recall Veil as soon as practical so he could explain actions, I think we all can agree on that?" Prime Minister Holt asked.

To Obi-Wan's surprise they actually could.

"Kuat is in agreement. What else do we need to clear up before voting in the next Chancellor?"

"Ambassador Kenobi is Mandalorian. Not a Republic member."

"It doesn't really matter now, does it? It is for us to decide who the next Chancellor is going to be."

More arguing followed. More wasted time. Yet, there was a vote in the end. Satine won with a very minor majority.

"Congratulations." Obi-Wan smiled. Relief flooded him – this whole exercise wasn't a colossal waste of time. Now it was time to see if the Clones would listen to his wife or not.

=RK=

Historical Notes

=RK=

"The Second Betrayal. The Great Treason.

The day that Democracy died.

Who doesn't know of it?!

Various spineless traitors sold us all to the Mandalorians, Sith and Kuati for power and worthless so called security! Secessionists tore at our glorious civilization that gave us all a millennium of peace, prosperity and real security!"

from intercepted ARR* broadcast

ARR - Alliance to Restore the Republic

=RK=

"GAR's treason was the one blow that ultimately shattered the Galactic Republic.

Or did it really?

Nowadays people tend to forget that until that faithful day on Coruscant, the military followed lawful orders as they perceived them. Say what you will about the Clone Legions that made an overwhelming number of the armed forces at the time, however they backed the Galactic Republic until the foundation of the Empire. Certain Legions did it even after it happened...

When we look at the final years of the Galactic Republic, it becomes obvious that it had major structural problems. It was also clear that Chancellor Palpatine, the last man to lead a whole Republic, did his best to fix those issues. His assassination heralded the end of the Galactic Republic as the hegemony presiding over most of the known galaxy.

How did it happen? Why? What or who caused what some call the Fall of Civilization?

There are many answers that hold a grain of truth. Many more assumption or even outright lies. At the heart of it, the one issue that doomed the Galactic Republic was the different, often clashing interests of the member nations, especially those in the Core. The fall of Corellia heralded a new era. Suddenly, Kuat was the unchallenged industrial hegemon. That single system and the family of the same name that ruled it had unlimited power within reach and practically everyone in the Senate believed that they would grasp for it. This is perhaps the key issue that broke the Galactic Republic - the promise of practically unlimited power - economic, industrial, military, political and most importantly, personal...

The fall of the Galactic Republic came in hand with great tragedies, missed opportunities and mistrust that made it all but inevitable. The man often accused by the Empire as the one person who could have saved the Galactic Republic was the same one who was ready to step away from a position of absolute power if he was elected as Chancellor - Senator Danu of Kuat. He was Kuat's candidate for the post. That very fact served to unite friends and enemies alike in fear that he would become a legally empowered dictator with the military, economic and political strength to enforce his rule.

Danu's is a tragic tale. Too late people believed that he spoke the truth from the beginning and the last, the best hope of the Republic and Democracy slipped away as the Senate argued...

The Republic made its decision on who to blame from the beginning too. The Kenobis. One was the Commanding General of the GAR, arguably the most powerful man in the Republic after the murder of Chancellor Palpatine. His wife - Satine Kenobi, nee Kryze, the then ambassador of Mandalore. Republic Loyalists still argue who bears more of the blame. Is it the General who they claim betrayed his oaths and everything he professed to stand for? Or perhaps the foreign ambassador who bribed and threatened her way to power and got herself illegally elected as a Chancellor? To this day anyone would be hard pressed to find out a consensus among the Republic Loyalists. Yet, they are still united in hatred and their passion to restore Democracy and Freedom to the rest of the galaxy..."

"The Fall of Civilization: The fragmentation

of the Galactic Republic" by Mer Kilex

first published by Dorin Press Corporation

=RK=

"Can you believe this druk?!" Chancellor Irin Voleen snapped. She glared at her colleagues. "If any of this leaks to the media I'll know who to blame."

"No worries there, Iri."

"Don't Iri me, Aro." Irin levelled her glare at the Interior

Minister, Aro Quale.

The Zabrak frowned at her. "I don't like it any more than you do. We agreed, this was our best option."

A hollow laugh escaped Irin's lips.

"We have to support a damned monster. Because he's good at killing the right people." The Chancellor sneered.

"I can see where they're coming from." The Defence Minister raised both hands in a forestalling gesture. "I'm not saying that I agree, merely that I understand their reasoning."

"No wonder the Republic went to hell." Irin mumbled. "What's to understand? A Sith killing people because it's convenient?"

"It's not like the average citizen cares much what happens in the Outer Rim as long as it doesn't directly affect them. We've seen it again and again, all across the Core." Quale pointed out. "They have concerns closer to home. So should we."

Recording of Fornax's system government meeting

leaked to GNN by unknown party

=RK=

"This is Chancellor Satine Kenobi to all Republic forces. Contingency Order 66 is no longer in effect. All Republic forces in the Core are to follow GAR High Command orders. All Republic Forces cut off across the galaxy – you're to evade destruction if at all possible, regroup to previously designated staging areas and ensure the security of Republic worlds in you AO if practical... General Delkatar Veil, you are directed to report to Coruscant ASAP to answer questions over the conduct of your forces at Kamino and Sull.u.s.t..."

record of Chancellor Satine Kryze giving her first official orders to GAR elements across the galaxy, minutes after her controversial election

=RK=

"I need more assets to keep that Sith from gaining access to all nearby sectors! If the enemy break through Triton's defences they will be in striking range of dozens of lightly defended worlds!" There was ire in TK-9953's electronic voice.

"Not happening. We're throwing everything we have at Eriadu and the Sith. We have to break the Republic there and at Naboo." A dull modulated voice responded.

"The Theocrat demands that we bring in additional defences to secure Triton. I'm receiving an increasing number of demands to garrison the nearby systems. I need more assets." The droid pressed.

"There are no more assets we can justify releasing to your region of space. Once Veil is neutralized it won't be an issue."

"If he isn't neutralized?"

"Then you are to hold Triton at all cost."

a recording found in declassified CIS archives

=RK=

Part 2

=RK=

Officer quarters

Republic cruiser "Reconciliation"

Eriadu

Was getting a few hours of peaceful sleep that much to ask for? First, there were a few unsettling dreams I couldn't properly recall, just a sense of unease that usually came when some of my past caught up to me at night. Then, my reluctant passenger decided to play moral compass on me.

"I don't get you." Shaak Ti hissed waspishly in my head.

This was getting bothersome. At least now I had just a single Force Ghost stuck in the dark corners of my mind. While irritating it was a far cry from the last time.

"I'm not that complicated." I g.r.o.a.n.e.d and stretched. Even days later, my body was still recovering from the strain I put on myself back at Sull.u.s.t. Damn this war, it didn't let me find the time to figure out what was wrong with the Force! At this rate, one of these days I might actually get myself killed in a rather embracing fashion after exhausting myself.

"Everything I experienced in your memories tells me you loathe slavery!" Ti snapped.

"I most certainly do." I gave her a mental nod. It wasn't like I went out of my way to keep it a secret even in the Empire, much less nowadays. Didn't she had anything better to do than pester me? It was too early to deal with a bothersome Jedi.

"No, I don't!" Ti glared.

It was weird experiencing and knowing she did it while stuck in my head.

"You kept Vette as a slave when Baras so 'graciously' gave her to you. You had no problem working with the Hutts and just a month ago you enslaved hundreds of thousands at Kamino!" TI snapped.

"Yes? Is there a question or are you just getting off of irritating me this early in the morning?" I grumbled.

"How?!"

Did she just splutter in my head? I rubbed my forehead in an attempt to forestall a headache. It didn't really work.

"You really don't get it, do you, Jedi?" I g.r.o.a.n.e.d aloud in a voice that was thick with exasperation. "Because, I could. I believed it served my best interests at the time. I am a Sith and that means I am free from moral constrains, that of society and most importantly..." I did my best to sent Shaak Ti a mental glare, "... from my own." How do I explain it in such a way that she could get it if that was even possible? For me my actions were perfectly logical given the information I had available at the time. I knew that other people might not see it that way, though some of the time I wasn't sure why. My best guess was that we saw the world in a very different way.

"That doesn't make sense! Are you out of you mind?"

Dull pain began throbbing behind my eyes.

"The Dark Side gives those who wield her many gifts. It cloaks us in shadows, helps us hide from the world at large. Most importantly, it helps us hide from ourselves." I told her.

"Yet, even now, you claim you haven't fallen to the Dark Side!" I could taste the bitter accusation in Ti's words. It swarmed outwards from her corner of my mind until it shrouded her presence like a warm cloak.

"You should know better by now. I'm not a nice man. I chose to become a monster of my own free will and the Dark Side ensured that my conscience was no obstacle. I didn't need to fall to see clearly, Shaak Ti. How could I?" I chuckled at that thought. "When you aren't constrained by morality, you would be surprised how many previously un-thincable ideas suddenly become feasible. Practical."

"How is burning whole worlds anything but insanity?" My resident and troublesome Jedi exclaimed.

"Why not do it if it serves a purpose?" I shot back.

"You murdered hundreds of millions, perhaps billions at Sull.u.s.t yet you act as it was nothing!"

"Because it was no big deal. Billions? Trillions? I didn't know them, Jedi. I had no emotional investment in their fate. All I regret is the waste of industry and potential that gets destroyed and is yet to be destroyed in this war. People die, whole worlds with them. So what? Why should I care beyond the impact their loss has on the war and economy?"

Ti stared at me horrified.

"Individuals matter to me, Jedi and precious little of them. Anyone else?" I shrugged. "Why should I care? Why should I lose any sleep over those destroyed by my actions? They were unlucky enough to be in my way. They didn't have the power and skill to survive. That's the ultimate truth of our existence. Morality? Intentions? Without sufficient power to back them, they mean nothing."

"You actually believe this... this... MADNESS!" There was a sense of finality in Ti's words.

I'm not sure she understood or even cared to try. What I knew was that she made up her mind and apparently dismissed me as just another madman. Bloody Jedi.

"Oh, I understand!" An impressive sneer echoed through my mind. "You are an insane psychopath who let power get to his head. You didn't even notice falling to the Dark Side, because it hardly made you any worse than you already were. You were merely afraid of the consequences before you got enough power in your clutches to avoid facing justice for your crimes!"

"That's certainly one way to look at it. Justice. Riiight. Do you think I would find a single grain of justice if I shred this whole star system to dust, Shaak Ti? When the Sith Empire came back from the Unknown Regions and invaded the Republic, the Sith called it justice. When centuries earlier the Jedi and their precious Republic genocided the true Sith and did its best to make the very idea of the Sith extinct, they called it Justice! Tell me, Jedi, how many people on Naboo would call my actions at Sull.u.s.t justice for what the Separatist did to them?"

"No one in their right mind!" Ti stood defiantly against me. Her ghostly form blazed with determination and wisps of the Light Side energy that made my headache worse. "It's not for you to decide what justice is or if it exists! You aren't judge, jury or executioner! The sheer hubris!" Ti shook her head. "I pity you, you know. You can't even comprehend how far you've fallen."

"Not trying to make me redeem myself?" I let her bask in my amus.e.m.e.nt.

"You? You need to want redemption if you are to have a chance at it and you Veil, would laugh at the very thought. I wonder... if you aren't completely insane, what would have your original thought of you?"

"Trying to play dirty now? It doesn't matter. He would have died at Korriban, fallen at best. It was my time as a soldier for the Eurasian Federation that gave me a chance. Yet, even with that experience... The man who walked out of the Sith Academy wasn't the same who went in. I have many regrets in my life, Jedi. Becoming a Sith, supporting the Empire, those actions aren't among them."

"Yet you engineered the civil war that destroyed the Sith Empire. Are you blind, a fool or merely wilfully ignorant?"

"When did I ever say that I supported the Sith Empire? My allegiance was to the Empire, to the ideal of order it brought. To the soldiers who fought beside me and supported me to the end. To their families and loved ones, because those people mattered to said soldiers." It was that simple. What couldn't she get it?!

"You are such a hypocrite." Ti said it as if it was some grand revelation.

"Of course I am. The Sith I intend to forge won't be like me. If they are, we will inevitably tear the galaxy apart. Jedi, freedom is wonderful and terrible thing. That is the pinnacle of being a Sith and in the end I will deny it to the Sith Order I intend to create."

"You poor wretched little man..." Ti sighed.

"I'm quite wealthy, as you well know." I shot back. "It's funny you know... You Jedi are the ever present protectors of the Republic, of your valued democracy, yet not of freedom. Not really."

Pure disbelieving indignation radiated from Shaak Ti, who was momentarily at loss of words at the accusation.

"Of course we are!" Ti snapped at me. Her composure cracked and the light of the Force that made her form shine dimmed.

"Are you? Where was the Order a decade ago when Naboo was invaded? Where were you when your vaunted democracy failed in the Senate? Where were you as the Hutts enslave billions upon billions? Four thousand years ago the Jedi just stood and watched from their ivory towers. They and the Old Republic even allied with factions among the Hutts when it was convenient. Here we are, thousands of years late and your kind did nothing to change what happens in Hutt space. Look me in the eyes and tell me why!"

Ti opened her mouth, then closed it and glared at me.

"Do you think I like it?! I've seen slavery! Since the war began I've been an accomplice to it!" Poison dribbled off Ti's words. "I had to train Clones so they would go out, fight and die for a cause that isn't theirs, for people who don't give a damn about them! I've been to Hutt space! I've seen what happens out there! What do you want me to say!? That I would want to see all those worms face their just rewards? The Republic was in no state do anything officially! We are seen as agents of the Republic! Our actions reflect on it! We did as much as we could!"

"When its convenient. Otherwise, you looked the other way and believed that it was for the best. You had to see the bigger picture." I spoke gently. "When the war began you did accept the Clone armies without a second thought."

"We had no choice! Without the Clones we would have lost!"

"I know." I smiled. "You weren't willing to pay the price for not using a slave army when you needed it, yet you dare judge me for doing the same? I'm not the only hypocrite here, Shaak Ti. I believed that keeping Vette as my slave was in my best interest and wasn't willing to pay the price of releasing her. I believed the same at Kamino. Was it the scale that make you so furious at my actions? The fact that I could keep my conscience from bothering me? Or is it because you and the rest of the Jedi did the same bloody thing? For the best of reasons of course. Whatever lets you sleep easier at night."

"Don't twist my words! We are nothing alike!" The look of indignation on her face was priceless.

"I don't have to. You know my goals. You saw my memories. I have no problem with you deciding to stand against me and my vision of the future, Shaak Ti. The reasons you decided to do it however, those infuriate me. And to think I decided to show you a modic.u.m of trust before you turned around and stabbed me in the bag. Such a waste."

"You really believe that, don't you?" Ti laughed hollowly. "The Council was right after all, Sith. Your king is a pack of mad dogs and the galaxy would be better without you."

"That might very well be the case. I am a selfish creature. If the situation warrants it I would watch the galaxy burn around me and I might very well enjoy every moment of it."

"There isn't a proper word to describe your unique brand of madness in any language I know, nor for your sheer arrogance!" Anger throbbed all around Ti making her ethereal form a stunning thing to behold.

"Compliments will get you nowhere." I was very pleased with myself at how well I got under her shimmering skin.

"Why the Force saw fit to curse us with you I will never know!"

"What makes you think that the Force is to blame for my presence?"

"I won't take your delusions at face value!"

"Your loss." I drew on the Dark Side and slammed a pitch black barrier between us. Hopefully I would get a bit of sleep now.

I was just drifting on when the alarms began screaming.

Damn it, what went to hell this time?!

=RK=

Part 3

=RK=

Mandalorian Embassy

Coruscant

Satine Kenobi fidgeted, while her sister examined her as if she was something unnatural that just crawled out of a waste disposal bin.

"You're the new Chancellor of the Galactic Republic." Bo spoke slowly, carefully tasting each word.

"Yep." Satine nodded.

She really should have thought how this scheme would affect her on a personal level. Oh, politically it actually made sense – if barely and in a terribly convoluted way befitting the unholy mess that the Senate made of well everything. The very big, pointedly visible security detail was just the tip of the iceberg. Chancellor or not, she couldn't come visit her sister and arrange for someone else to become Mandalore's new ambassador until the relationship between her home nation and the Republic could be straightened and further formalized – something that simply couldn't happen before Mandalore himself deigned to drag his a.s.s away from his Mid Rim shenanigans.

After what happened to Palpatine, the GAR was determined not to lose another Chancellor and Satine was pretty sure they were over-compensating and not just because she was their commanding general's wife. What did that Captain tell her earlier?

"We actually like Kenobi and Veil. Especially Veil. They go out of their way to make sure we don't get killed because of restricted ROEs, not enough air and orbital support and other... things that have nothing to do with fighting a war. We're keeping you in one piece, Ma'am or we die trying."

Satine thought better not to remind the good soldier that not too long ago she was one of those more vocal about how the war must not be escalated or how collateral damage must be kept to a minimum. She technically still had the same mindset, though it was tempered by a hefty doze of reality. Satine wasn't ready to admit it in public, even to her husband yet, however in the aftermath of Death Watch's coup she got an epiphany. Restricting rules of engagement, striving to minimize collateral damage, something that including avoiding killing civilians, inevitably meant that the soldiers on the ground often had to suffer heavier casualties to get the job done. She could see how they would resent orders that could get them and their friends killed or maimed. Orders given by politicians who were far away from the front and as often as not did it just to keep their approval ratings up instead of any genuine concern for the poor people caught between the GAR and Separatist's Droid armies.

Bo continued to watch her oddly and didn't really notice Satine's lapse in concentration.

"How did you manage that? I knew you were going to kick the whole house of cards and hope everything fell in somewhat manageable chaos but..." Bo grinned. "I'm proud of you sister! You did what no other Mandalorian has ever done! Come here so I can give you a hug!"

Satine winced at the reminder that due to her ongoing series of cybernetic enhancements, currently Bo had her mobility curtailed quite a bit until whatever she consented to being put in her spine settled down or something. Once she did make the mistake of looking over an abbreviated list of those enhancements and they made her queasy. By the time it was all done, Bo was going to be more machine than a woman. And she was giddy by the prospect! The worst thing was that Satine couldn't really blame that Sith for this sorry state of affairs! She knew her sister good enough to see where she was coming from. Not that it made her feel any better. Satine sighed and went to the couch where Bo was lounging. She got a bone-cracking hug for her troubles too.

"Bo! Air!"

"Sorry!" Bo winced, then very gingerly lightly patted her shoulder. "My sister. Chancellor of the Republic! How is that working out for you?"

"I didn't really knew what I was getting myself into? Don't repeat that, please!" Satine winced.

"I won't, I promise. That bad?"

"Worse. The Senate is still making trouble, the riots and protests all over the place are yet to stop despite everyone's best efforts. My clandestine election didn't help matters. Not really."

"Hey, I saw your address. It was quite good, I think. I'm just not sure how well it would go down back home." Bo shrugged.

"Getting some reinforcements pushed to Mandalore might make up for that. At least most of the Clones seem eager to listen." That was the biggest gamble – if the Clones didn't accept her as a legitimate Chancellor everything would have been for naught. Still, there were a lot of units that didn't. Too many in fact, some on Coruscant too. Obi-Wan had to deal with that and barring a miracle it was going to get very ugly.

"That's great! When are they leaving?" Bo perked up.

"You aren't going with them even if I have to call the good soldiers keeping me in one piece and have them park a tank on you! You won't be clear to go get yourself shot up any time soon!" Satine glared at her sister.

"I don't do it on purpose you know!"

"It still happens!"

"Not my fault. Blame the Jedi." She Bo thought for a moment. "My husband too, along with the Death Watch. Not my fault."

Satine gave her sister a disbelieving look.

"Speaking about my idiot of a husband... What's your official position on his shenanigans?" Bo grumbled.

"Are you irritated with what he is apparently doing or because you aren't out there with him?" Satine sighed.

"Well... both?" Bo asked in a small voice.

"Mostly the latter then." Satine concluded.

Her sister smiled innocently. It was just like that time when they were little girls and Bo was caught red handed with what was let of the pie...

"He's Mandalore, that gives him some political cover, yet it opens a whole different can of worms. My... generals," And wasn't that a weird sentiment when it pertained to basically all the people running the Republic military, "tell me he should be legally clear about Sull.u.s.t. Acceptable military targets." Satine hissed. The very thought that this was the military's official position on the matter was unsettling. That Obi-Wan agreed on the legality if not morality of the act was even worse.

Satine didn't really want to think about her one attempt to probe the reactions of her security detail on the manner. They were in awe the maniacs.

"Ah. That's good." Bo relaxed. "You know there will be trouble in home if you find yourself forced to move against him even for appearances sake."

"That possibility hasn't escaped me." Satine admitted.

It was one of the big reasons against her taking the position of Chancellor. The possible political entanglements over just Veil's position as the one she owed allegiance were nightmare fuel. However, strictly speaking, she didn't need to be the Chancellor any more. Not since the moment the majority of the Clones in contact actually accepted her authority. In fact, the primary reason why she was actually elected was simple – the moment when they all went along with their scheme, the Republic died. It was now a corpse kept on life support for appearance's sake. Her real job was to facilitate a working alliance against the Separatists, continued operation of the most critical Republic institutions and laying down the groundwork for the eventual re-establishing of the Republic or something else to replace it. Preferably without the citizenry at large figuring out what was actually happening.

That was one of the reason why she found the time to visit the embassy. It was officially to arrange for her replacement as Mandalorian ambassador so appearances of conflicting interests could be minimized a bit. Seeing Bo was a nice bonus. At least officially. The real reason she came was to take a brief pit stop and see her sister, though no one else needed to know that.

Briefly the sisters sat leaning on each other lost in their own thoughts.

=RK=

Part 4

=RK=

GAR HQ

Coruscant

"That's a fine mess." General Valentra muttered darkly. For the last day his face had been etched in a semi-permanent scowl as the situation on Coruscant deteriorated even further.

"Give me a status report." Obi-Wan did his best to swallow a dejected sigh. Two days ago, Satine was elected as the new Chancellor in what for all intents and purposes was a bloodless coup backed by most relevant local governments. Roughly seventy percent of the Clones decided to follow her orders despite the shaky legal foundations of said election.

It was a much better outcome than anyone dared hope for. The whole scheme was an act of sheer desperation after all. Yet, even such a success left a lot of lose ends. Thirty percent of the Clones... that was still billions of soldiers. A lot of sh.i.p.s too. The fact that when the Clones decided to obey or not they usually did it as whole units was a mixed blessing. Initially it prevented the situation from blowing up in everyone's faces, which was excellent. On the downside...

"The stand-off up here continues." Admiral Coburn didn't bother hiding his own scowl. About a quarter of Coruscant's defence fleet refused to obey orders from a Chancellor they deemed illegitimate. Currently they were keeping station above one of the industrial districts where they were under the protection of Gollan stations whose crews shared the sentiment. "We have the... rebels trapped against the planet. However, reducing them is likely to result in unacceptable loses and damage to the surface. The system is still locked and we're only letting in food shipments at this time as ordered. Reinforcements from Anaxes are en route and should be here in the next six hours."

"Let's try to defuse the situation in orbit without shooting ourselves in the leg. Any success in negotiating with them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"None so far. They demand we stop our madness and get a properly elected Chancellor in place." Yularen said. "Any chance of doing it? Will the rest of the Clones still follow the Chancellor's orders and disregard Order 66 if she abdicates if it comes to that? We can't really afford to lose a third of our forces if we simply let them go do their own things. If we have to actually take them down..." That didn't b.a.r.e thinking about. If it came to that, the planned counter-offensive to remove the Separatist from the Core would become a pipe dream.

"Satine will be in talks with the relevant governments tonight. We might offer free and safe passage to any Clones who don't recognize her authority to systems that share the same sentiment." Obi-Wan raised a hand to forestall the inevitable backslash of such a plan. "I know that makes them all a ticking time bomb. We don't have much of a choice. The alternatives might be worse."

"Can we really afford to let so many formations defect? Because for all intends and purposes that's what we're talking about. We'll have to dedicate sufficient forces to watch them anyway just in case." Coburn spoke in frustration.

"Starting a second civil war will be worse. We'll seek a peaceful resolution. Half the Republic is already tearing itself apart. Let's not add more fuel to the flames." Obi-Wan slammed his fist on the table they were all gathered around. He paused for a moment and stared at his hand. His emotional control was shot to hell. He had to watch for it before he did something he would regret. "Anyway, Telar, the situation on the ground?"

"Fluid. A number of protests petered out. Some of the riots are dying out too and security forces are retaking control in most regions where the population is supportive of the new developments. However, almost everywhere where the citizens oppose the way our new Chancellor was elected, the situation is becoming critical." Valentra's fingers danced over a control panel of the main holo-tank and the image changed from that of the situation in space to a map of the planet itself.

There were vast swaths of ground blinking yellow – where the situation was improving. Precious few were green designating peaceful regions and a lot of them were thanks to overwhelming military and security force presence. There was a distressing number of red zones resembling malevolent tumours. Even worse, some of them were the same places where rogue Clone units were dug in and refusing orders. A few military bases, two whole industrial zones and most distressingly, six heavily build up residential districts that rose in opposition to Satine's election. Those had the potential to become very ugly.

The map refreshed under Valentra's ministration and a multitude of blue, loyal units were displayed. Some were holding place keeping the peace, others were securing high value locations and a much smaller number were moving en route to surround the Clones who refused to follow orders. There weren't enough of the former to deal with the later in a short amount of time and that was before the possible collateral damage was taken into account. Too much of the forces on Coruscant were tied down in trying to keep the peace or at least the riots from getting totally out of control.

"There's something curious one of our analysts noted and brought to my attention." Telar continued. "Almost exclusively the units that refused to follow orders from the new Chancellor are the newest we got. Virtually all veteran formations who were in the fight from the start of the war chose to acknowledge the Chancellor's authority. Unfortunately, while green our problem children are usually up to full strength in both men and hardware. At this time we've got no good answer as to why those units chose to rebel and not others."

"Curious indeed." Yularen muttered thoughtfully. "Any news about how the Separatists will react?"

"So far they've simply increased the tempo of their raiding campaign and continue to dig in across the hyperlanes they control. Admiral Trench is playing it safe and refuses to throw sh.i.p.s at our fixed defences. I believe he plans to let us bleed ourselves as we attempt to dislodge them out of the Core and then counter-attack when the Separatist complete their next major construction cycle. And we can't just wait for them – we need to push them as far from Kuat as possible before that happens and keep them as far as possible from that system." Coburn commented.

"First we need to resolve the current mess, though keep working on assault plans. We need to retake Corellia ASAP, for both economic and political reasons. Every day we waste means more fixed defences and sh.i.p.s we will have to face when we strike there. Is there anything else I need to know right now? Otherwise, you're to keep the shop running while I'll go negotiate with our rogue units." Obi-Wan looked at his colleagues.

"Nothing you need to worry about right now, sir." Valentra shook his head.

"I'll notify you if there are any changes in orbit." Coburn added.