OOC Writer Account
The Separatist War: The Conflict that cost the galaxy its' soul.
The Separatist War cover art illustrated by Anarielle Giala Mero
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To develop Anarielle's personal ethics and morality, tying them more closely into Star Wars and Chaos fiction and how their interactions with that world have shaped their attitudes and views in the current story.
Image Credit: Source
Links: Anarielle Giala Mero, Battle of Coruscant, Battle of Thustra, Battle of Umbara, Confederacy of Independent Systems, Independent Movement for Self-Determination, King Alaric (Sephi).
GENERAL INFORMATION
Media Name: The Separatist War
Format: Book, Audio Recording.
Distribution: Scattered (Found near exclusively in ancient history collections, museums dedicated to the subject matter and arcane libraries)
Length: Short (~90,000 Words)
Description: The Separatist War is a memoir authored by Colonel Anarielle Mero towards the end of the "Clone Wars" in order to try and provide an accurate historical account of her and her command's activities during the war out of concern the organic volunteers who served in the Confederacy's military might be charged and tried facetiously with war crimes or treason. Unfortunately, it was not useful in this regard as Colonel Mero had not foreseen or considered the Jedi Order would be exterminated and the Republic's reformation into a far more authoritarian and draconian regime who then proceeded to suppress the memoir's transmission and publication with censors permitting their historical narrative of the war to go for the most part unchallenged. Copies still exist although they are excessively difficult to locate and generally only ancient history enthusiasts and scholars who have an interest in the particular period are even aware the book exists, although for these individuals it's generally regarded as highly valuable due to the rare point-of-view contained within belonging to that of a Non-Human Confederate Commissioned Officer hailing from a system that successfully succeeded from the Republic. Interestingly the release was edited to delete any reference within the work that would imply former membership with the Jedi Order, this was done by one of the Mero family to avoid their persecution by the Galactic Empire and protect Anarielle.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Author: Colonel Anarielle Giala Mero
Illustrator: Colonel Anarielle Giala Mero
Publisher: Samaria Heavy Engineering (House Mero).
Published: ~19 BBY (Electronically), 5 ABY (Hard-Cover)
Reception: Published posthumously after the conclusion of the Clone Wars following what was believed to be the author's demise following the Confederacy of Independent Systems' capitulation. The Non-fiction work's audio version was circulated in the shadownet during the reign of the Galactic Empire and following that brutal regime's collapse was finally printed during the New Republic period. The work never received commercial success due to the obscurity it was forced into by censors however it was of much interest to those who considered themselves students of Political philosophy and history, although despite this The Separatist War was and is regarded by those who own a copy as an excessively harsh and critical assessment of the Galactic Republic's policies rapid militarization and centralisation of power towards that interstellar Government's re-organisation although it is generally looked more favourably upon by those who value the concept of sentient political self-determination.
CONTENT INFORMATION
- Title
- Acknowledgements
"This memoir is dedicated to all the Separatist and Republic soldiers who have died in this barbaric and immoral war, let our children and future generations forgive us for our mistakes and the billions who have died. It would not have been possible to put the memories of the Separatist War to paper without the loyalty and service of my subordinates whom on many occasions have saved my life at the expense of their own out of belief in the righteousness of our cause. I thank my dear family for their understanding and compassion, please forgive it if I do not live to see this work published and weep not for me should I join our kin and comrades in death for there is no greater honour to have lived beside and known such a distinguished and proud company who have sacrificed their energy and often lives in the struggle for the independence of Thustra and our neighbouring systems. Long live the King."
[*]Foreword
- "This work should never be taken as an endorsement of war or total war, many good men and women died during the Separatist War and if it has proven anything to me as a Soldier and Engineer it is this; war is the death of reason and innocence. None who take part in a conflict as destructive as this in the role of a frontline combatant will emerge spiritually or psychologically unscathed, callousness and cynicism towards the value of sentient life will consume even the most resilient. It is, for this reason, it must be of the utmost importance in the post-war Galaxy that a conflict on this scale must never be permitted again and that perhaps it would be best if large centralized interstellar governments do not exist at all for in them we found the possibility for the death of billions. Where mediators and peacekeepers were corrupted into crusaders for the Republic and the Separatist alliance turned its' back on the moral righteousness upon which it was founded, all are made into amoral pragmatist hypocrites this is what my eyes have seen in the course of this conflict where death was meted out on a galactic scale yet unheard of in all the Republic's history and worst of all meted out by those who had sworn to uphold and protect civilisation."
[*]Chapter I: Naboo Crisis
- "In many ways I view the Naboo Crisis' resolution as representing the beginning of the end for the Republic, it should never be forgotten that the Jedi failed to mediate a peaceful negotiation although admittedly not to their own fault. But that doesn't change that the conclusion left a catastrophically high casualty list both among trade federation staff and Naboo's citizens."
- "Chancellor Palpatine succeeded Chancellor Velorum which many at the time considered to be a positive change with the former exhibiting powerful leadership in a time where the Republic's bureaucratic and government apparatus had become too large and omnipresent in the lives of its' citizens that corruption's influence permeated through all levels of Government, from Senators down to Coruscant's underworld Police. Chancellor Palpatine's leadership of the Republic however while ostensibly resulted in the expunging of deceitful senators and public servants steadily drove into the Authoritarian with a frightening cult of personality rising from amongst their supporters."
[*]Chapter II: Passive Observer
- "Upon retiring from the sordid affairs of the Galactic Republic's politics I studied the fields of Architecture and Engineering on my homeworld of Isobe and gained employment with the techno union which was loosely affiliated with the Independent Movement for Self-Determination. Eventually this political organisation of idealists and disenfranchised governments would grow into the confederacy of independent systems under a man who I greatly admire for his political vision and bravery; Count Dooku of Serenno."
- "The Republic started the Separatist War with a Jedi-led assault on Geonosis interrupting local Geonosian judicial proceedings where two Jedi and a Senator had been sentenced to death by execution for crimes analogous as I understood to be murder, trespassing and vandalism in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack. Here, the Republic unveiled an army which had evidently been created in secret with the unmistakable purpose of quelling the rebellious Colonies and Worlds who had expressed interest in succession."
- "I watched as the Republic's Senate and the Confederacy's Parliament declared war and with my systems' own succession braced for the inevitable invasion of the Thustra system due to my people's close proximity to the core and therefore the Republic's precious core planets, I'd hoped to not get involved in the war but the belligerent actions of the Republic I felt at the time as forcing my hand. It was absolutely unacceptable to me as someone who supported the principle of self-determination to permit the Galactic Republic's troops on our planet in the name of occupation when historically the Thustra system had been not just a close and reliable ally of the Republic but also the Jedi Order."
[*]Chapter III: Joining the Army
- "I suspect that my Officer's commission and training was offered due to my education and previous political activity where I'd openly supported the movements that proceeded the confederacy's founding. Adjusting to Army life wasn't highly difficult when my existence has always been characterised by dedicated discipline. The choice wasn't easy to make and was only made on my part after my people's king had made it plain his intention to succeed from the Republic and join the Confederacy though I privately suspected such a choice was inevitable, the impression I got from my family within the system was one of contempt for the Republic and outrage directed towards' its' actions."
- "My initial command included a battalion of battle droids mainly mixed B1 and B2 models with the headquarters staff including a rather cold tactical droid along with a retinue of BX-series Commando Droids for my own personal protection, the Confederacy's Army never lacked for equipment or 'manpower' since the majority of the army was comprised of automatons with many of our general staff citing that our forces outnumbered the Republic's Grand Army on a margin of 100:1 with the Clones having a kill/death ratio with our droid units between 20:1 and 50:1. It seemed we would engage the Republic in a war of attrition and inevitably claim victory as the Confederacy could manufacture droids faster than the Republic's Grand Army could grow and train Clones."
- "Eventually I would be promoted to the rank of Colonel and assume command of an entire reinforced regiment comprising mostly of Sephi Volunteers with significant numbers of automated assets, particularly airborne and armour assets which proved to be greatly useful and effective at depleting Republic Manpower in protracted engagements, when combined with land-based area-denial and air defence weapon systems designed to counter the Republic's superior airborne designs. Our use of this material resulted in the Regiment's tactical victory over superior Clone Trooper formations of similar size due to a synthesis of manoeuvre and attrition warfare. However, my own command suffered high casualties in overwhelming Clone Companies and Battalions."
- "It should be noted that our volunteer and automaton special forces units were simply unable to compete with Republic Aggressive Reconnaissance Commando and Republic Commando units who on more than one occasion came close to taking my life and successfully destroyed valuable assets during Operations, despite our adversarial relationship their efficiency, dedication to the Republic and Loyalty to their Jedi officers is worthy of respect. Clone Prisoners were indoctrinated with these characteristics without fail from the lowest-ranked Trooper all the way upto Junior and Senior Officers, although their officers seemed to possess a greater capacity for critical thinking and strategy. In my experience Clone Officers while superior to our own tactical droids were still inferior to volunteer officers in strategic if not tactical planning the former of which appeared to be in the hands of Jedi and Volunteers who were equal to the Confederacy's General Staff."
[*]Chapter IV: Republic Political Cupidity
- "Predictably the Republic's aims during the war wasn't just to ensure the continuation of that government but to subdue wayward colonies and rebellious worlds who had succeeded and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Several colonies that succeeded to join the Confederacy received amounts of damage that there are simply no words to adequately describe. The Thustra System and my homeworld fell under the Republic's gaze for this very reason, unable to control their own cupidity and greed the Senate would eventually dispatch an expeditionary force to the system and the King's seat in an attempt to prevent the system from following Sephi leadership into succession."
[*]Chapter V: Butchers of Thustra
- "Before the Republic could occupy the entire Thustra system I was ordered to rendezvous on the planet with military and paramilitary organisations to aid in their training to combat the impending invasion force, time was against us given Coruscant's closer proximity to Thustra than our own headquarters up in the Tingle Arm. My mission was a resounding success and given my kindred blood was able to generate significant local trust in the Confederacy's mission and comfort my fellow citizens that the Confederacy would indeed welcome the Thustra System. We managed to correctly anticipate the Republic landings and approximately one and a half-rotations after the Republic Army's arrival contact was initiated by the Sephi Militia and Paramilitary organisations, utilizing suicide tactics with devastating effect and successfully disrupted the Republic's tactical decision-making process with the regrettable elimination of Two Jedi Generals leaving their younger and more irrational Padawan Commanders in charge. Grandmaster Yoda allegedly attempted to broker a peace with King Alaric although this as I expected ended in failure, the Sephi people's will was strongly in favour of succession and this sentiment only brighter when the Republic chose to occupy the Thustra System as witnessed in the fanaticism of our trained Paramilitary and Militia units who continued to assault Republic positions despite taking breathtaking casualties."
- "Our King was betrayed and Grandmaster Yoda framed for his attempted Murder as concluded by a Senate enquiry into the loss of Thustra following our successful succession from the Galactic Republic, this enquiry restored a small amount of hope in me for the Galactic Republic and perhaps resembled one of its' brighter moments during the Separatist War with the Perpetrator who I shall not name ending up justly incarcerated for his betrayal. My belief in there being a little bit of goodness still yet in the Republic and Jedi Order had been vindicated along with the unilateral decision I made without consulting division headquarters to release several hundred Republic Prisoners of war into Republic Custody upsetting several of my superiors who believed that Clone Troopers should not receive the same protections as sentient due to their training and unique genetic modifications, a notion that to this day I find disturbing and reject entirely."
[*]Chapter VI: The Expansion Region Debacles
- "As the war drew on it became more and more certain that the Confederacy would ultimately triumph with the Republic although thwarting an attempt to sabotage the Kamino cloning facilities early on in the war still could not produce Soldiers in quantities necessary to replace battlefield losses. Clone Units proved to be unnaturally durable and unless they were destroyed or captured it was guaranteed that the same unit would appear again in the future with virtually no reaction to battlefield fatigue and psychological stresses of warfare that we could observe when contrasted with our own volunteer forces."
- "The Republic's Campaigns to rebuff Confederate Advances on Republic-controlled worlds in an attempt to penetrate the core was met with a series of tactical defeats on our part although strategically succeeded in our objective to reduce the overall density of Republic frontlines preventing Confederate assets. The Republic eventually committed sufficient resources to cripple droid production on Geonosis which resulted in great difficulty on our part to receive replacement parts and units for battlefield losses. The capture of Archduke Poggle the lesser briefly raised questions about the ability of indigenous planetary defence forces to successfully repel Galactic Republic assault."
- "During the battle of Umbara I was temporarily relieved of my command responsibilities and sent to the shadow world to study the efficacy of Umbaran technology and tactics as the mysterious Umbaran people ostensibly managed to attain qualitative parity with Republic Army units which was an occurrence considered to be rare and outside the case of my own people and the Umbarans I cannot say that I recall any other worlds offering significant amounts of resistance to republic occupation with local military or paramilitary assets."
[*]Chapter VII: When the Hammer Falls.
- "The Republics' string of tactical victories over-stretched their armies and resources permitting the Confederacy's Navy to launch an assault on Coruscant the Republic's Capital itself with the aim of not seizing the planet but rather capturing Chancellor Sheev Palpatine which the General Staff believed would force the Republic to end the war on a negotiated peace and recognition of Confederate Sovereignty. At this point in the war I just wanted the War to conclude, there had been enough death and destruction for several lifetimes and hoped that perhaps the lives that had been lost would be exchanged for a lasting peace and future where these horrors were so vivid not even the greediest and vapid bureaucrats and politicians would dare foment the fires of conflict. Afterall, the only thing they'd be left to line their pockets with would be debris and broken dreams it seemed not a single civilised system in the galaxy escaped us."
- "During the battle of Coruscant my Regiment and I took our aviation assets and attempted to disable the Turbolaser batteries aboard several Republic attack cruisers as they were devastating our Frigates and Cruisers. Thanks to their Industrial support the Republic always maintained their qualitative naval advantage throughout the war much as they did in the terrestrial setting. It was with great sadness that I received news of the Death of Count Dooku after we retreated crushing the hope I'd held for a diplomatic and negotiated end to the war, the political leadership of the Confederacy became uncertain and we'd expended too much material and valuable flag-level personnel in attempting to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine. General Grievous survived but my officers and I acknowledged during a meeting with the battalion commanders and headquarter staff that the Confederacy was losing and the war wouldn't continue much longer and concluded that Parliament and the Separatist Council would soon be forced to enter into peace talks with the Galactic Republic."
- "Here at the end of this war that is so filled with hate and pain, I can only conclude that conflict makes conquerors and warriors out of even the noblest idealists and wracks the Force into an uncontrollable tempest. Reserving no pity for myself I can only pray that the soldiers under my command brave and loyal as they are, go on to lead happy and fulfilling lives after retiring into the obscurity of history, should I escape charges and prosecution my life will be dedicated to my family of House Mero and ensuring that we can rebuild this shattered galaxy and reconcile our political differences to create a lasting peace for future generations who should not have to pay for the mistakes of their ancestors."
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Separatist War was authored by Colonel Anarielle Giala Mero of the Separatist Droid Army nineteen years before the battle of Yavin in the closing months of the Clone Wars as a memoir intended for Publishing after the War's conclusion in an attempt to document her own actions across the conflict along with her Sephi-Volunteer Regiment in the hopes that it could be used as evidence within any facetious trials that followed. The Separatist War would never be published in the form that Anarielle had authored with the drafts coming into the possession of a nephew just prior to the Galactic Empire's formation and Anarielle's subsequent disappearance. The Separatist War would be edited by Anari's nephew to remove references to his aunt's affiliation and training with the Jedi Order in order to protect them in the event they were still alive and within the reach of the Empire's vast cloud of influence. The Separatist War was first published on the shadownet and would occasionally find its' way into private collections of historians and political opponents of the Galactic Empire who attempted to censor criticism ruthlessly. Following the Empire's collapse The Separatist War was made available for purchase on the Holonet by the Mero Family through Samaria Heavy Engineering and finally published in hard-back with archived digital holostills taken during the Clone Wars by Colonel Anarielle Giala Mero printed within. The Separatist War would never achieve commercial success although it was received positively by readers and critiques who found the descent of the Republic into an Authoritarian regime interesting to observe from the eyes of an organic Confederate Officer, although individuals who went on to romanticize the Empire criticized it for being what they perceived as unnecessarily harsh and authored by a rebel insurgent turned Confederate Officer.
During the Gulag Plague and subsequent catastrophes most of the hard-back copies and servers that stored the work digitally have been destroyed. However, several copies persist scattered across the universe in ancient historical collections dedicated to the Rise of the Empire Period. Comprehensive libraries and unmolested institutions of higher learning can often be found to contain copies in their archives, although in the contemporary era The Separatist War usually receives very little interest within education at large due to its' age sometimes it's still studied by Junior military and security officers who appreciate insight into the tactics and equipment of the Republic's Grand Army versus the Confederate Droid Army with some military commentators and historians often describing it as "Showcasing the contrasts in tactics and strategy between maneuver and attrition warfare and how the former is invariably superior to the latter where qualitative advantages in doctrine, technology and training are observed." The Hard-Cover copies of the work in good condition are considered collectibles and highly valued by museums dedicated to the Clone War with them often being sold at auction to the tune of tens of thousands of credits.
