01.09 : The Light Begins to Dim

[22 BBY] [Three weeks after the Battle of Geonosis]

[Hotel Manarai, Galactic City, Coruscant]

It was certainly an unusual setup, and an eclectic mixture of individuals, that had gathered together today in onf of the larger conference rooms of one of Galactic City's more prestigious hotels. It was generally unusual to see a cluster of various aliens in anything to fancy business clothes, to military uniforms, or clad in their 'more formal' armour sitting around the assembled tables. Nor was the high level of security around the place, and armed nature of many such as myself and others, largely owing to the nature of some of our business relationships between certain groups present.

Still, all of us mercenaries had aligned interests in this situation despite some groups regularly trying to kill each other in the field normally. Ensuring we good paid well for working for the Republic first, secondly that we didn't get Jedi 'Generals' appointed over us, and finally we got to retain our own operational independence to some degree. For the Republic military folks present it was about ensuring the first desire was cut back in cost as much as was feasible, that the second was definitely granted, and that the third was within the confines of Republic Military regulations.

I was fine with that; my concerns were commanding my own troops and getting paid for doing so. The Ailon Nova Guard was the most opposed on the matter, and we and the others were offering half-hearted support on the position of ensuring some concessions to our operational freedom. In the end we were the more organised pro-Republic groups, and with a few suggestions Republic Intelligence [RI] and Republic Defence Procurement Office [RDPO] and other mercenary groups the ball had gotten rolling over the past fortnight. Representatives of other groups, like the paramilitary Outer Regions Security who we sat near, were also present alongside 'sympathetic' Senators.

'All rather dull though considering the armed and paranoid people here' I mused signing my agreement to the current article before me after discussing with my, very well paid, corporate lawyer. An open ended ground forces contract, minimum two years, that would pay based upon the numbers raised by our various groups with equipment supply left up to us; but with a minimum standard set. The brand new Grand Army of the Republic was tiny really....ridiculously miniscule in the context of a galaxy spanning civilization and there was general idea of throwing credits at a problem rather than manpower as best I could tell.

The shockingly small Clone Army, only maybe two hundred thousand available right now and with three million on the 'initial order' was just....ridiculous. Oh there was system militaries, but a thousand years of peace and no effective Republic military outside of those, the Jedi, and a 'Judicial' force had left things in a weird way here in the Core, and the largest militaries in the hands of Corporate groups like the Trade Federation. Armies of mere millions in a galaxy of trillions....it really was fighting a fake war with the Clones and the Droids, one done on the cheap in truth.

But there was an opportunity here, and why I was now delighted by this particular article; they'd pay for what we'd recruit and train. And it wasn't that hard to recruit and train whole armies worth of sentient beings from the poorer regions of the Outer Rim and fringes of the Unknown Regions. Even without that I full well planned to recruit twenty full equivalents of the Clone Legions in the coming weeks and months from Solem and Karksis alone; the real trouble was getting the ships and skilled staff for the support staff. That'd have to be solved from the Core and Mid Rim I expected, but half a million in total within a year wouldn't be a push if we dug into Clan militias and the unemployed gangs.

'And they won't let us have access to the Acclamators to carry the troops....unsurprising really' I mused listening to the word from the Chancellor's Office, and therefore Supreme Commander, after our strong complaints to the Senate over the Jedi 'Slave Army' being granted the big ships. Palpatine didn't want non-Clones getting access to the big assault starships that could carry and deploy an entire Legion of ten thousand by themselves looked like.

'Overkill really, yes power projection, but better to have a full a warship rather one that tries to be battleship, while also being a carrier...and a troop ship as well just for good measure. I don't really want them....I want the access to actual warships, and I think we're getting there on that, even if not the Venator-class and Mandator-class newer ships'

We'd already started a search for potential vessels, even as we'd hired a large number of haulage and repair ships to grab what we could from Geonosis, and I already had my eye on a Mon Calamari former deep space (and deep sea) colony ship that could be converted into 'heavy-carrier' I hoped. Once it got new engines and spent a few months and a whole pile of credits getting retrofitted and crewed and....general logistics of building a fleet from complete scratch basically....

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[22 BBY][Four weeks after the Battle of Geonosis]

[Holo-Net Recruitment Video, Sponsored by Executive Security Solutions the Outer Rim Republic Express]

Defenders of the Republic!

- images of fighting; armour clad Republic Troopers from surviving holo-vids of past Galactic Wars took cover and fired at distant enemies –

From times past to modern day!

- scenes of the fighting on Geonosis played out. Black clad with silver trim troopers descended from landing craft, firing as they went, destroying Separatist Droids –

Do you have the courage to stand up and be counted?

- starfighters moved through the blackness space with a black painted Consular-cruiser frigate, standing out thanks to green and blue planet in the background –

To defend your home from any enemy; be they traitors or mere pirates?

- officers, green skinned humanoids and humans standing upon a bridge, motioning calmly at the ship's viewscreens as a pirate ship exploded –

Then Join the Republic Aegis Guard today!

Be amongst the Proud! The Brave! The True!

FIGHT! FOR THE REPUBLIC AND VICTORY!

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[22 BBY]

[Republic Aegis Guard Frigate Bright Eagle, In Transit Hyperspace, Corelian Trade Spire, Near Bestine]

Jurdan Ironhill watched the sensor readings supplied by Shining Breeze like a gundark watched its prey as his convoy moved along the most dangerous leg of the journey towards home. They weren't exactly sitting ducks, but it was a more expensive convoy than ever to lose if things went wrong, and the three 'auxiliary' Munificents were only jury rigged affairs awaiting true retro-fitting.

'In the damned mobile repair yard that's probably a thousand years old I'd bet' he thought adjust their route a little more so they passed beyond the sensor arrays of Bestine. This was an off the books affair, and there was a strong suspicion that this whole sector would be a primary zone of Separatist offensive operations once they got themselves sorted out. Something that meant ESS...no, they were official Aegis Company or Guard now...would the easy supply routes back home cut off should the hyperlane be severed as they feared.

His fellow board member, the Mandalorian Chorn, was also the bridge for the same reason; the whole convoy being on full alert for this leg of the journey. Going back to grab recruits for the ground forces on the return journey and to ensure the harsh training programme they'd agreed at the last meeting was put in place alongside grabbing every combat veteran available on Solem for the group. Damn but the young bastard Daron was an ambitious one, but Jurdan was equally as eager; even if just to fight and kill some Feddies, or get back at the cowards in the Core Worlds by proving their weakness.

"Slower than I'd like"

He nodded in agreement with the Mando "Oh, I kriffin' agree, but we're moving as fast as we can off the beaten track while staying silent I'm afraid. Especially with the engines on some our charges, that old hunk of scrap is running on the secondary hyperdrives we installed, and the salvage...wing and a prayer feels like"

"Well, if we can get that hunk of scrap as you call it to where we want we've increased our repair capacity by a factor of forty....spare parts production too, shipbuilding even"

"Yes, in-theory, if it works as advertised" he replied watching the massive blip of the ancient Kuati mobile shipyard alongside the salvaged outer section of a Luchrehulk from Geonosis. That one looked ugly on the scopes since they'd only managed to get it moving by placing an old bulk cruiser where the Core ship went, jury-rigged control links, and then sliced the systems. If it got into a fight with anything more than a few pirates right now the entire thing would come apart "...but it is stressful"

"Fun you mean" the mad female grinned back "...nothing better than a good fight, then a high-risk job taking with you the beaten enemy's own weapons"

Jurdan sighed "If you say so, though I suppose we may get used to it...the galaxy being at war as it as"

"It'll make us rich or it'll make us dead, and with all the glory of battle either way so life is looking up I say"

'Of course you'd say that' he thought motioning at his communications officer to get the 'Prize Ship 03' to tighten up its place within the formation "If you say so Commander Chorn"

In part he could agree with her; this was a move to the big times, and there were plenty of young idiots on the homeworld who'd happily sign up to fight in someone else's war. Even just getting this salvage fixed up along with the repair ships and 'small' mobile yard would make Solem safer than it had been for centuries; after the coup attempt the government were absolutely ecstatic at the idea. Well....safe from anything in the range of pirates and proxies, as the galaxy was showing the game was going to get bigger and bloodier very soon...

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[22 BBY]

[Republic Aegis Guard Combat Freighter Stormcrow, Orbit Santhe Shipyards, Corelia]

"Went well Captain-General?"

"Indeed it did Yulan, costly but we now have ships to move troops and equipment in numbers. Not ideal, but good enough" I replied to my personal starship's Executive Officer as I exited the long, dreary, conversation with the Corellians. He nodded walking along beside me as I handed over a datapad with the general outline of the company's purchases from 'off the shelf' or 'scrap-yard' vessels available in-system.

"Twenty unmodified Gozantis?" he asked curiously and I nodded.

"Twenty-one to be exact, but we need ships right now and while they're slow as a Hutt in a footrace compared to our retrofits, they've the armour and weapons we need to play escort for the GR-75 medium transports we're from the Gallofree Yards...eager they were to sell those to us they were" I replied as he scrolled down through the list of combat freighters, light freighters, and a few retrofitted Consular-cruisers as frigates.

Larger, heavier, fighting ships would have to wait till they were available....and we had crews to man them effectively as we were having to stretch at the moment to do everything we needed too. TIE star-fighters at least wasn't a problem, and the only issue with the Vulture droid-fighter numbers was in ripping out the Separatists programme and drives and inserting our own...so carrier/fighter doctrine it was going to be for the time being 'Cut-rate doctrine at that, freighter-carriers with gozanti's and frigates of various types serving as the escort force. Though, look on the bright side....the Grand Army of the Republic is being thrown together as well, even if using readymade ships and doctrine. I'll just have to go with hit and run, loot and repair....for now at least'

At least with the 'official' fleet anyway, we'd managed to get a few of the hulks at Geonosis and Karthakk up and running enough to send home to Solem, and with the Senate's approval of our Contract an 'obsolete' old mobile shipyard. Cost a damned fortune considering it had been sitting ideal for several hundred years, but the Geonosis and Lok jobs had paid out spectacularly well, and loans had been easily forthcoming thanks to a two year contract with the military. A few small clashes had taken place on the hyperlane routes so far, but neither side had really made a move as yet...

'That'll change soon, and then will come big Trade Fed....Separatist gains' I admitted thinking on the matter as I let Yulan study the details of the ships and crew requirements so he could give me an opinion. Right now the Republic was scrambling to get ships for his Clone Army, which was only available in the hundreds of thousands rather than millions. All while the Separatists had more ships ready, with droid armies prepared, so it just of gathering them and striking out towards the Core regions along the primary hyperlanes. My first objective now was avoiding getting put in the path of that wave, or thrown into a meat-grinder battle to try halt it...