SWtCW: The Home Guard pt. 1

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

Star Wars
The Clone Wars: The Home Guard
As the Clone Wars rage throughout the galaxy, Conradin Hadranus readies his homeworld for the coming storm as the Republic moves against the most recent slew of planets to have joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Unsure of his own abilities to command in battle, he braces for the burden of responsibility he bears for his planet's fate grimly. Declaring that the Republic shall not take one meter of his homeworld's surface, he deploys the forces entrusted to him by his mentor and guardian Count Dooku and wonders what the Republic will throw at him.
Meanwhile, aboard their fleet with the 9th Assault Corps at their command, Jedi General Luminara Unduli and her padawan Barriss Offee move to attack Achilleas. The clones under their command are among the best in the Republic, battle hardened and disciplined, and the Jedi Master and her padawan are just as skilled as the men they lead into battle. If Conradin hopes to hold his planet against the forces arrayed against him, he will need all his skills as a warrior, commander, and perhaps even diplomat....

Surface of Achilleas

Conradin looked up at the night sky wonderingly. Somewhere up there drifted the squadron of warships that Count Dooku had granted him command of, centered around a single Lucrehulk battleship which carried the droid forces under his command. In addition the battleship he had a several cruisers, destroyers and frigates for a total of thirteen ships. Somewhere up there beyond the stars was a Republic fleet moving to invade his homeworld. Since his father's death he'd become the nominal protector, and until recently senator, for Achilleas. He gazed at the planetary ring and the two of three moons he could see. It was all so familiar to him...and the thought that someone was coming to take it from him for standing up to the Republic made him angry. He was grateful for the forces that Count Dooku had given him, he would need them to defend his planet.
“Sir, we've finished deploying the troops to the planet's surface.” a mechanized voice intoned.
Conradin looked down from the stars and nodded at VGR-001, his droid commander. The battledroid was done up in the red and black livery of the House of Achilleas instead of the typical coloring of the Confederacy's forces.
“Thank you Veeger, the moons?”
“They have been fortified,” the droid commander almost sounded admonishing now. “I still highly advise against spreading our forces too thinly.”
“We are not going to yield one meter of Achilleas Veeger...not even her moons.”
The droid processed his words for a moment before replying.
“As you command sir.”
Conradin frowned, wondering what the droid commander really thought of his actions. It was impossible to tell of course, you couldn't use the Force to read a droid's mind, they didn't have one. Still, it would be nice to know what Veeger actually thought.
“Do you think we stand a chance?” he asked suddenly.
“Yes sir.” Veeger replied simply.
Conradin regarded the droid for a moment before turning his gaze back up to the stars. At least someone believed in him.

Aboard the Republic star destroyer Guardsman

Barriss Offee sat in her quarters, her eyes closed in concentration as she focused her mind on her meditation. It was a simple exercise, disassembling her saber and reassembling it once again. She stilled her breathing, going through the familiar motions of opening the casing and removing the intricate crystal matrix and focusing mechanism. Once they were removed, she lowered the casing to the ground and began to disassemble the remaining pieces. She opened her eyes after a moment more and found the pieces of her saber lying before her. She smiled nervously and nodded to herself as she once more closed her eyes, repeating the process in reverse now. The click of the casing closing around the matrix and focusing mechanism signaled the completion of her task and her eyes popped open to see her saber again in its assembled state lying before her.
She reached out and took her saber, standing and clipping it to her belt before turning to the door exiting her quarters. With nothing else to do at the moment she decided to head towards the Guardsman's bridge and check their status. It was a short turbolift ride from her deck to the bridge and as she stepped onto the deck the trooper at the door came to attention.
“Commander on deck.”
Her presence was acknowledged with a brief attention from the assembled bridge crew before they resumed their business. Barriss walked up to Captain Stavros.
“How soon until we reach Achilleas?”
“Forty-three hours.” the Captain reported.
“Do we have anything on what's there waiting for us?”
Stavros' mustache twitched in annoyance as he turned to her, his eyes hard.
“With respect Commander, I am not your intelligence officer. Speak with your clone if you have that sort of question. Now if you please, let me run my ship.”
Barriss frowned but did not protest as the Captain turned his attention back to said vessel. She'd simply wanted to know more of what they were in for. Their orders had been annoyingly vague: retake Ahcilleas. There had been no other information provided on how that was to be accomplished or even who they were supposed to be fighting once there.
She sighed and keyed her comlink. “Gree?”
“Here Commander,” the senior commander answered.
“Are you busy?”
“Negative ma'am.”
“Meet me in the briefing room if you could, I would like some information.”
“Of course ma'am, I will be there shortly.”
Barriss left the bridge and headed for the briefing room. When she arrived she found Gree waiting for her. The senior commander didn't even glance over his shoulder as she approached, instead launching right into his briefing as the image of a planet and its satellites floated in blue hue within.
“Achilleas is a Mid Rim planet with moderate resources. It bears a close resemblance to Chandrilla and Naboo as far as climate goes. It has a large and mineral rich debris ring circling its equatorial line and three moons. Two of the moons have their own atmospheres and have been colonized, the third has a very thin atmosphere but is highly saturated with various metals and gas deposits.”
“Do we know what force the Separatists have in the area?”
The holotank changed to show a man of medium build, seemingly in his twenties, with light brown hair and goatee wearing a red and black uniform with white trim.
“Conradin Hadranus is the current ducal ruler and former senator of the planet. He's been charged with treason for his part in the mass exodus of Republic member states a few weeks ago. We have reason to believe that he has been given command of a droid army with supporting ships in addition to whatever planetary and system forces already at his disposal.”
“What can you tell me about him?”
Gree checked his datapad. “Orphaned at an early age, following the death of his parents he passed into the care of his legal guardian, Count Dooku, a close friend of the Hadranus family. Suspected Force training but nothing confirmed as he was never officially examined by the Jedi Order.”
Barriss caught her breath as her eyes widened. “Wait, he's basically Count Dooku's son?”
Gree's voice remained indifferent. “His ward, does that make a difference?”
Barriss almost asked Gree if he would leave his own children undefended and unguarded in the midst of a war but stopped herself as she recalled who it was she was talking to.
“It...may.” she said simply. “I think unless Count Dooku is completely heartless, he'll make sure that Duke Hadranus is well protected.”
“Should we expect heavier resistance?” Gree inquired.
She considered the uneasy feeling she had as she looked at the man she'd be facing in battle soon and bit her lip fretfully.
Gree glanced over Barriss' shoulder and came to rigid attention.
“General.”
Barriss turned to find Master Unduli standing behind her, she bowed slightly.
“Master.”
“What troubles you Barriss?”
“It's just, this man apparently knows Count Dooku, personally...I'm worried we may face more than we anticipate.”
Master Unduli gazed up at the face of the man waiting for them on Achilleas. She considered him for a time before speaking.
“He is young, and untrained. I do not believe he will pose anymore threat than other opponents we have faced in the past.”
Barriss nodded. “Yes Master.”
Still, the ill ease in her stomach refused to go away, something within the Force told her that she was heading towards something momentous.

Surface of Achilleas, Paladia, Ducal Palace

“My Duke, I don't know that sanctioning the Separatist forces here on Achilleas is the soundest idea. We may invite Republic reprisal.”
Conradin sighed heavily and looked around at the Council of Nobles. He would never understand how his father had put up with the constant badgering of the nobility, however he had to suffer through it, unless he simply wanted to become a dictator.
“The Republic is coming whether we have Confederacy forces here or not.” Conradin replied, looking around pointedly as he spoke. “And they are not 'Separatist' anymore. If we're going to stand among them then we are all Confederacy do I make myself clear?”
There were a variance of nods from around the table, ranging from enthusiastic to accepting and sullen. Conradin would have to ensure the unity of his governing body somehow if he was going to hold the planet against the coming invasion. Count Dooku's latest message did indeed indicate that a Republic invasion force was on its way. Apparently composed of a single Assault Corps and its attendant fleet, Conradin knew that he outnumbered the enemy with the planetary guard and his droid army, however these were crack troops coming his way with at least one Jedi in their number. He was just glad that it wasn't Anakin coming for him, that was the last thing he needed. Conradin doubted that he'd be able to face his friend on the field of battle. As it was, he wasn't sure that he could face whoever was coming for him and his homeworld.
His hand dropped down to the lightsaber at his hip. He'd made it during his time with Count Dooku as a boy. He'd never used it in battle, only in training...once or twice in self-defense too but those hardly counted as duels against trained Jedi. He was far more comfortable with his blaster but he'd seen what a Jedi could do to an opponent with a blaster. He sighed heavily. He would have to make sure that he didn't close with the Jedi commanders of this force lest they slay him.
His attention was called back to the council meeting as someone called his name.
“My Duke?”
He blinked and looked around at the assembled persons.
“I'm sorry, forgive my lapse. You were saying?”
“We were saying that Colonel Drexler will maintain command of the Defense Force.”
Conradin frowned, traditionally it was the Duke's place to lead the Defense Force...it wasn't unheard of for the military leadership to maintain control during a crisis but for the council to automatically give the commanding position to the Colonel...Conradin would have to let it slide for now, he could ill afford to fight his own people at this time.
“Very well, but I expect him to respond to my orders.”
There was another round of nodding heads from the council members and Conradin leaned back in his seat.
“If there is no other business, I will see you all when this is concluded. May the stars look upon our cause favorably.”
After the nobles had all filed out, Conradin sat alone for a time, thinking about what it was he'd set out to do. Independence for Achilleas was his nominal goal, never mind that he would have to rely on CIS forces for the time being to facilitate that. He didn't doubt that once the war was concluded Count Dooku would be as good as his word and leave Achilleas to its own devices. After all, aside from some resources the planet was hardly important. It didn't straddle any major trade lanes and none of the materials found within its system were important or abundant enough to warrant more than idle investment from interplanetary interests. Still, the Republic was coming here as it tried to keep the whole of the secessionist movement under its sway.
He clenched his hands together. Let them come. The sons of Achilleas would happily throw them back into the stars.