The Republic was now at war.
Across the galaxy, systems erupted in violence as the Confederacy of Independent Systems declared open rebellion. Count Dooku, once Jedi Master, now Sith Lord, rallied thousands of star systems to his cause each one backed by Cassian's ship designs and droid factories.
The first salvos had already scorched the stars.
Kamino: The Birth of an Army
Rain pounded the Kaminoan platforms as Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Shaak Ti watched legions of clone troopers march in perfect synchronization. The cloning facilities, expanded and augmented by Cassian's bio-engineering contributions, had already produced tens of thousands of soldiers.
The Kaminoan Prime Minister, Lama Su, offered his cold smile.
"Your order is complete, Master Jedi. And Cassian's genetic modifications have significantly improved efficiency. The Jango-Chief hybrids are… impressive."
Obi-Wan frowned, uneasy.
Somewhere in the facility, data on the Spartan-Fett hybrid troopers was being quietly rerouted archived off-world by Cassian's AI assistant, EVA.
The Republic would never receive the best of them.
Geonosis: Requam Unleashed
In the hidden assembly lines of Geonosis, the Confederate army swelled. Cassian's early schematics had turned into monstrous war machines tanks, starfighters, and the first fleets of orbital carriers.
But it was Requam that Dooku truly admired.
Cassian's improved Grievous prototype a towering fusion of biological nerve tissue and ultra-dense alloy plating was not merely a droid general. Requam was a tactical savant, processing battlefields across multiple worlds in real-time, deploying forces with brutal, mechanical precision.
Dooku stood before him now in the war room.
"Your orders are clear. Secure the Outer Rim. Divide the Jedi. Break their ranks."
"Understood," Requam's voice echoed deep, metallic, intelligent. "War will be… efficient."
Coruscant: Shadows in the Senate
In the Senate rotunda, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine addressed the Republic.
"With grave reluctance, we now defend our democracy. The Grand Army of the Republic has mobilized. We will bring peace… through strength."
Applause erupted. Many cheered. Some whispered.
Padmé Amidala, watching from her seat, sat with folded arms and narrowed eyes. Mon Mothma beside her said quietly:
"He's not relinquishing emergency powers. He's expanding them."
Padmé nodded. But her mind was split. Thoughts of Anakin. Of Cassian. Of how both men, in different ways, seemed pulled by forces far greater than themselves.
Cassian's Forge: A War Machine Awakens
Far from Coruscant, hidden in the Veil Nebula, Cassian's modified Star Forge came to life.
Massive, cloaked, interdimensional its new architecture pulled from Rakatan, Forerunner, and Kaminoan design. The Forge no longer simply produced ships. It birthed entire fleets, bound to Cassian's code and protocols, invisible to both Jedi and Sith.
Within the Forge's command spire, EVA stood beside Cassian's chair.
"Confederate mass production online. Republic manufacturing reliant on Kamino and Corellia. They cannot match our adaptability."
Cassian, eyes on the galactic map, gave a single nod.
"Begin autonomous deployment simulations. Position covert fleets near Bothawui, Ord Mantell, and Malastare. Let them tear each other apart."
Anakin's Orders
Back on Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker stood in the Jedi Temple war room. He was restless.
Assigned to protect Senator Amidala, he could no longer stand idly by. He requested to join frontline operations. Master Windu objected.
"You are too emotionally entangled."
Yoda was more cryptic.
"Careful, young Skywalker. Attachments… lead to fear. And fear… to shadowed paths."
But the Council agreed to a compromise.
Anakin and Obi-Wan would lead the assault on Christophis a Separatist stronghold near the Mid Rim.
As they left, Anakin glanced back toward the Temple.
He sensed a flicker someone watching him.
Cassian's HK-47 unit, reactivated and heavily armed, observed silently from across the plaza.
The Battle of Christophis
Explosions rained down on the city of crystal spires.
Republic gunships swooped overhead, releasing waves of clones. Anakin led his battalion directly through Separatist front lines. Obi-Wan flanked from the east.
CIS walkers built from Cassian's early models stood like titans, unleashing torrents of fire.
But the Jedi surged.
Anakin used his rage like a hammer, smashing droids aside. Obi-Wan coordinated with clone commanders, guiding them through breaches.
The battle took hours.
And when it ended, Christophis burned. A Republic victory. But Anakin's actions disturbed Obi-Wan. His former Padawan had been… unrelenting.
"You're not fighting like a Jedi," Obi-Wan warned.
"Maybe that's why we're winning," Anakin replied.
Geonosis: Secrets Beneath the Sands
Meanwhile, Cassian's HK-47 infiltration unit returned from its mission in the catacombs of Geonosis data core in hand.
The ancient Rakatan AI remnant they uncovered was fragmented, but it whispered secrets: starmaps, archives, long-forgotten planetary forge designs.
Cassian analyzed it all. Behind him, Spartan-Fett hybrid troopers trained in zero-G environments, monitored by EVA.
"Begin synthesis," Cassian said. "Rakatan design merged with Reclaimer protocols. We're not building ships anymore…"
"We're building civilizations," EVA finished.
The Clone Wars had begun.
But for Cassian, for Palpatine, for Dooku, and for Anakin…
This was only the first step.