Upon arriving aboard the Acclamator, we all went about our business. After visiting the bridge, I received a datapad from Mirro with the files that had already come through. Secura took her datapad and headed to her cabin. Ahsoka went to the dining area to eat before training, while I had to trudge off to my own cabin—after first informing Cerri of the purpose of the flight. The trip to Nubia would take just under three hours. The number and volume of files were impressive, and I needed to familiarize myself with them before we reached the planet.
However, before immersing myself in reading, I carefully laid out Aurra Sing's trophy lightsaber, placing it alongside Asajj Ventress's curved saber. I set my old blade there as well—I'd decided to keep it, too. In my heart, I hoped that over time the collection of trophy blades—and more—would grow. But when I glanced at a couple of battered helmets from previous armor sets, I could only guess how much effort that would take.
Sighing, I connected my datapad to the desktop terminal, settled comfortably into my chair, and opened the first document…
What can I say? "Until the rooster pecks, the Cossack's freedom will not end." The Jedi Council had finally realized that this war would not end quickly, because it could not be resolved using their usual methods—like those employed during the Yinchorri Uprising or Stark's Hyperspace War. They would have to fight, and fight seriously. And with the chaos that marked the first months of the war, that had been unrealistic. Naturally, changes were brewing.
Although other factors came into play as well. These included the incorporation of planetary and sector armies, fleets, and militias into the GAR, along with the growing influence of Palpatine, who was overseeing this entire process. After all, the new powers he had tirelessly pushed for extended not only into the military sphere, but into the civilian one as well.
The first—and most significant—change was Directive 24-Dorn-1/6. Its essence was as follows: all the diversity of troops, units, and ranks was to be organized into a single register. From now on, ranks would be divided into twenty-four classes, further subdivided into four categories: high command, middle, junior, and lower. The Jedi, too, received formal ranks, complete with all the trappings—rank bars, code cylinders, and even salaries! But judging by canon, if such a reform truly took place—and it must have—the Jedi unanimously ignored it. Yoda held the highest rank, with the code D-1. There was no one above him.
In addition, troops and organizations were now clearly delineated. Aside from the Order, the fleet was listed separately, followed by the pilot corps. Militias and planetary armed forces were placed into their own category—the auxiliary army. Which made sense: placing them on the same level as clones would be somehow illogical. Scouts and the newly formed Internal Affairs Corps (IAC) also found their place in the structure. Well, it's kind of funny: before the war, the Jedi and the Judicial Department handled all of this. But now they're all at the front. And so there's simply no one left to deal with the mundane tasks of guarding trade routes from pirates and catching smugglers. There were no ships—they had been requisitioned by the navy—and no crews to man them. So a new structure was being hastily assembled to patch the gap somehow. But I found the whole endeavor dubious, especially in wartime. God willing, if at least in a year they manage to get their work running properly.
And then there was the headache known as the PDF. I remembered that the abbreviation stood for "Planetary Defense Forces," but here in the GFFA that term wasn't used, and I had no idea where I'd picked it up. Still, it was easier to say than "auxiliary troops" every single time. Units from different planets, different weapons, different supply standards—often not even human, but other sentient species. Well, okay, that's not even the main problem.
No one doubted the loyalty of the clones or the Jedi. Individual deserters or traitors didn't even register as a statistical error—they were pure nonsense. But when it came to ordinary sentient beings, doubts naturally arose. Spies, provocateurs, saboteurs, traitors—none of that could be ruled out. As a result, in addition to intelligence and counterintelligence officers attached to units, personnel from the newly formed Republic Security Service would also serve alongside them. Whether they were meant to be "commissars," "special officers," or "political instructors," — I didn't quite grasp the scope of their duties, the text was far too vague.
Oh well. Their headache was their headache. And even if they end up just loafing around — I'll find a use for them. No one will be left out, that's for sure…
In general, everything had been settled. For example, Ahsoka now held the rank of Jedi Commander with the code O-1 and was considered equivalent to a naval commander, an aviation colonel, or a brigadier general of the auxiliary forces. My own rank was listed under code H-3, equivalent to a fleet admiral or a general of the auxiliary forces, which meant I could command an air force general or an intelligence colonel. Secura, on the other hand, as a Jedi Master, would naturally receive the code D-4 and be placed on par with a Moff or a Grand Admiral. There was no point even mentioning the members of the Council—"only the sky is above us, and only the mountains are cooler than us."
On the one hand, the system was somewhat convoluted, but at the same time it was fairly functional, allowing unnecessary confusion to be avoided. But… there was still that notorious "but." Palpatine would not be Palpatine if he didn't turn the situation to his advantage. In particular, the status of regional governments—that is, the Moffs and their subordinates—remained controversial. Yes, the entire military department had been transferred to Jedi oversight, but Moffs dealt not only with military matters; they also handled civil administration. And that, very much, was Palpatine's domain.
And there was more. The newly formed IAC was completely subordinate to the Chancellor. To the Senate as well, but that was secondary. The Senate Guard, which was also undergoing modernization and reinforcement, was even less subject to Jedi control. What's more, the head of that organization held a rank equal to Yoda's, meaning Yoda could not issue him orders—only make requests. And it was only natural that, in practice, the Guard was tacit subordinate to Palpatine.
As if all that weren't enough, there was yet another point to consider. "Rank" and "position" were two entirely different things. For example, an Acclamator could be commanded by either a second lieutenant or a captain—though it would obviously be more logical for such a ship to be under a captain's command. But… there simply weren't enough captains to go around. And although this entire "table" was drawn up with plenty of leeway, the entire Republic fleet at present counts nineteen fleet admirals and only three grand admirals — the old warhorses of the Justice Forces. No one held a higher rank yet. The same situation existed in aviation: there appeared to be several generals, but the issue wasn't even the ranks themselves. There were no formations of an appropriate size to place under their command. And if there were, then an operation of this scale would be commanded by the Jedi—simply because the responsibility was too great.
So, who was our 'great architect'? Wow! It turns out the main initiator and driving force was none other than Master Oppo Rancisis. Yes, that very four-armed, half-humanoid, half-snake Jedi. He could pull it off, yes. No wonder he's one of the few in the Order to have mastered Battle Meditation.
So, what do we have next…
Aurek-¼/16/64. This directive concerned changes to military command within the Sector Armies. From now on, all troops in an SA were divided into the following formations: each SA included at least forty-eight Star Corps—almost two million clones, counting auxiliary services—as well as numerous smaller clone formations: legions, regiments, independent battalions, separate engineering and medical units, planetary and station garrisons. Altogether, this amounted to up to eight and a half million personnel, plus up to twenty million sentient beings from the auxiliary forces.
In addition to fleet assets—which were considerable, numbering over six thousand vessels of various classes per SA—each Star Corps was supported by two flotillas, each consisting of three to four Acclamators and six to ten corvettes or frigates. On top of that came the SA's mobile strategic reserve, consisting of no fewer than four Star Corps. In practice, however, as far as I knew, these figures were exceeded several times over in some Sector Armies. Which was hardly surprising, given that, according to intelligence reports, the droid army currently outnumbered us five to one in ships, forty to one in starfighters, and a full hundred to one in combat droids. Grim statistics.
Still, the forecasts were fairly optimistic. The total number of clones in the GAR was currently estimated at around two hundred million—and that was despite the fact that not all clones from the first production batch had yet been delivered to the Republic. Deliveries were scheduled to take four years in total, and in the end the GAR could field up to one billion clones. But the losses… the losses…
Damn, almost an hour has passed… And the number of files hadn't decreased by much. What a pity.