The room where Anakin and Obi Wan were was far more comfortable than the last room they had been in. The chairs were more "human", which probably had correlation with the number of Mandalorians in the Kaminoan territory. The more than four-hundred Mandalorians working to create this "perfect army."
"If the Mandalorians are trying to build a Sixth Great Mandalorian Empire then I doubt they will be treated with such leniency this time," Obi Wan sighed, "A Mandalorian conspiracy, just what we needed in the middle of the Separatist crisis."
Anakin knew that the Mandalorian-Republic relationship had been rough and uncomfortable. It was one of the few subjects of history he had been interested in. How the Jedi Order could even propose the genocide of the Mandalorian Culture? He had to know why the Order had acted against what he believed was the principles of the Order.
But, it was not difficult to find. The Mandalorians were no better than the Tusken Raiders, uncivilized monsters. Of course, one could argue that civilizations are measured by technology but in his opinion no. Civilization was decided by three things, morality, strength, and prosperity. And if the Mandalorians lacked something it was morality.
Murderers, rapers, torturers, scavengers. Thousands of years ago they used weapons that would destroy entire cities, then leave areas impossible to populate for thousands and thousands of years.
Civilizations sometimes had to use force offensively, the Mandalorians used it for fun in an era that most planets had accepted that peace is and shall always be the best thing.
"I doubt the Mandalorians are behind this Master. They are warriors, savages, but warriors, and a warrior would never allow one of his own kind to be a slave. I have learned of their culture, and they would prefer to destroy a planet than see one of them enslaved. To create a clone army that are basically slaves? No, I don't believe it."
"Slaves?" Obi Wan asked.
"They are slaves," reaffirmed Anakin, "Those eyes, her actions. She doesn't act like a free human."
"Well, SCC-01, she is named like a droid, but a slave? She had been created by the Kaminoans, and she now works for them. That's not slavery, it's just like working for the organization that created and raised you, not different from how a father has kids in order to help him on the farm."
Anakin looked at Obi Wan.
"The Jedi Order…"
"Oh, don't give me that unfair comparison," said Obi Wan with an authoritative tone, making Anakin shut up immediately. In that silence Obi Wan paid attention to the room, it was like the one where they had met SCC-01 but with comfortable chairs. There was a window that showed the ocean, now more passive than when they had arrived, and there were two glasses of water on the table together with some sort of strange food that Obi Wan knew would taste awful.
"But it's what I believe," said Anakin after gaining enough strength to retake the conversation after two minutes of silence.
"Stop acting as if you were deaf, it is not the same thing and you know it. Now before you continue speaking remember that you came with me against my will on your own because you wanted, so now that you are here with me help me. Can you not see how serious this is? We have been told that they have a one billion man army and the next year they will deliver another billion, and will continue like that until they stop being paid. Right now, if I remember correctly, the Grand Navy of the Republic has one billion servicemen scattered all through the galaxy. If the information delivered by SCC-01 is true then I will assure you that as soon as we give this information to the Republic and the Jedi Council everything will explode. An army paid for by the Republic in secret? I can only imagine how the holo-news are going to feed on that, let's not even begin with the possible Separatist reaction. We need someone to blame for this. And so far the Mandalorians are my main suspect."
Anakin's lips showed his sadness to his master attitude but rapidly recomposed with a small smile.
"Aren't the New Mandalorians pacifist?"
"Yes, but they control only two of the more than a thousand Mandalorian planets. The rest are independent or controlled by the Death Watch. Sometimes I hear some radical members of the Order say that it was a bad decision from the Senate to stop us from repeating the Destruction of Mandalore in all the other Mandalorian planets."
"I thought we were pacifists?"
"Pacifists, Anakin, not dumb. Some cultures and species tend to violence more than others. In many cases it is tolerable, for example the wookiees. If they get angry they can split a man in half, but that's okay—everyone in the galaxy knows to not get a wookiee angry and any decent business knows how to de-escalate such situations. But the Mandalorians? Their culture makes them see any other non-Mandalorian as soulless. That justifies for them any act; genocide, slavery, rape, torture. Anything you can imagine they have done because their culture has the tendency to only do two things. War and Oppression. We tried to have peace with the Sith, but they came and tried to destroy us, until finally we in turn destroyed them. The Mandalorians were allies of the Sith, and after the Sith were defeated they continued to try to destroy us and conquer the galaxy. We broke them accordingly, and allowed them to live after they were demilitarized. What have they done after that? Created the Death Watch—one of the biggest terrorist organizations. Even now it's trying to start another 'sacred war' against the Republic. What are we supposed to do when we try to give them the option of living peacefully, but they constantly refuse it? Are we and the Republic to suffer the nightmares of another Mandalorian crusade when they are the problem?"
Despite what he was saying, Obi Wan remembered Satine. The Mandalorians could change, but most of them rejected it. That's how the Death Watch was created, to fight any cultural change that would make the Mandalorians something more than mindless warmongers.
"Although I will stand in front of the Jedi Council and the Senate and defend the New Mandalorians' right to be spared that destiny if it comes to that. Only idealists believe that a Galactic Size Government can coexist without that type of tool. That is what differentiates us from other pacifists, Anakin, we understand when violence is needed, but we will avoid it as much as possible."
"Then why are you always screaming 'Stop, that's murder Anakin!' when I am using necessary violence?"
Obi Wan gave him the side eye with an eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, can you remind me of the last time you deemed violence to be necessary? Because I believe it was when you landed on that planet that asked us to help them to deal with some man-eating local fauna, and you ended up killing their god-given sacred animal because you mistook it for one of them. That almost caused them to become Separatists!"
Anakin raised his shoulders, "How was I supposed to know that thing was a "gift" from god?! It looked like something made from Sith Alchemy!
Obi Wan raised his hand in annoyance, "If you continue with that attitude you will never become a knight and I will have to be stuck with you until you turn forty!"
"So that means if I keep behaving like that you and I will never separate?"
"That means I will abandon you on the planet with the most sand that I can find."
"Hey, that's personal," objected Anakin, but he could not continue as the doors slid to the side, showing a Mandalorian. Obi Wan had been distracted by bickering with his Padawan, but when he saw the colors worn by the Mandalorian he drew his lightsaber from his belt, without igniting it, and prepared for battle. Anakin mimicked him, but did ignite his lightsaber. Both looked at the Super Commando with hostility, and so he did with his guns pointed at them as soon as he saw Anakin ignite his lightsaber.
"I am just a mercenary working for the Kaminoans and I come in peace… So how about you hang your lightsabers back on your belts?"
The air between the Jedi and the Mandalorian was thick with unspoken words, both sides aware of the ever-present danger that simmered just beneath the surface. When Obi-Wan gave the slightest nod, Anakin slowly deactivated his lightsaber, the hiss of the blade fading into an ominous silence. With deliberate slowness, he returned it to his belt. The Mandalorian form never wavered, his fingers steady as he holstered his pistols.
"I have been sent by my clients to answer your questions, any story between the Super Commandos and the Jedi will remain buried, for the sake of professionalism." The Mandalorian said, his voice cool and unyielding.
Obi-Wan's gaze remained steady, but his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Professionalism, is it?" He took a slow step forward, his voice cool. "Then I fail to see how professionalism factors into being armed during an interrogation."
The Mandalorian's posture remain unchanged, "I could say the same about your lightsabers."
The calm response only heightened the tension, like a spark waiting to ignite a fire. Obi-Wan didn't flinch, his posture still as firm and composed as ever. "Our lightsabers are tools of defense, not intimidation."
"Just as my weapons are," the Super Commando smoothly stated.
There was a beat of silence, the air humming with unspoken challenges. The mercenary did not move, preferring to engage in this interrogation on his feet, ready to use any of his weapons in case it was necessary.
The cold voice broke the stillness. "My name is Jango Fett. I assume you've come to inspect the army. Let me assure you, I've delivered a force capable of ending the coming war in months. The Separatists will fall."
Obi-Wan, with a measured glance, responded. "The army you speak of was created in secret, without the knowledge or consent of the Republic's Senate. Yet you claim that you, a Mandalorian, had been working for the Republic."
Jango's posture tensed, but his tone remained controlled. "The Republic is a bureaucratic mess of weak men, wasting time with endless debates while the galaxy teeters on the edge of anarchy. I can't possibly know how or why the bureaucracy of the Republic has contracted my clients but I can assure you I don't work for the Republic, I work for the Kaminoans and I have done a very professional work," His voice filled now with a promise of violence "And I will not accept you questioning my professionalism. I have killed many of my own for lesser insults."
Obi-Wan tilted his head, eyes glinting with controlled skepticism. "I'm questioning your motives to accept this job. You are a Mandalorian, working for the benefit of the Republic? How can I believe you are not conspiring against us?"
Jango didn't flinch, his response cold and matter-of-fact. "You can believe what you want, Jetii. If you want to know the motivation behind the creation of this army perhaps the Kaminoans are the ones you should be questioning. I am an artisan offering my hard work to a state that requires my service. Nothing less, nothing more."
The army itself wasn't the primary issue. The Jedi Order had been in favor of militarizing the Republic since the Sith had reappeared, the coincidence of the separatist movement beginning after the incident in Tatooine was also a sign that the Sith not only had returned, but they desired to recreate a Sith Empire. The problem was the circumstances of its creation. Lies and propaganda would be one of the tools of the Sith to recover what was lost, and it was imperative any dark dealings were brought to the light.
"Have you ever met Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas? He disappeared ten years ago."
"Sifo-Dyas?" Jango repeated, his voice betraying no sign of recognition.
The Mandalorian continued, "Never heard of him. I did, however, know a Jetii who might be of interest to you. Master Lui-Yan. He supervised without the Kaminoan knowledge the creation of your army. An older, elegant man. He came to Kamino often, right until his last visit three years ago, after which he has not been back or in contact."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened. The name hit him like a blast of cold air. He reached into his robe precision, pulling out his datapad and quickly searching for something. He tapped a few commands and a hologram flickered to life—a tall, elderly man, his robes a distinct shade of green.
"Is this man the one you are talking about?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice more intense. He wasn't asking; he was pressing.
Jango locked onto the hologram. The silence stretched for a long moment. And then, with a slight grimace barely perceptible beneath his helmet, he spoke.
"Yes. That's him."
Obi-Wan's gaze never wavered. "If you don't mind, can I ask you some more questions?"
Jango's expression remained hidden, but his voice lowered slightly, becoming more guarded. "I told you before, Jetiii. I am here for one purpose. To create an army. Nothing more. If there's a conspiracy inside the Republic it's not my concern and if you don't have any questions about the army then I will be leaving."
Obi-Wan wasn't finished. His voice was firm, the weight of responsibility clear in every word. "It's everyone's concern now, Fett. The truth of this matter goes beyond just you or your clients. If this conspiracy goes unchecked, the fallout could reach every corner of the galaxy—and that includes the Mandalorians. How would the Galaxy react if this was seen as a Mandalorian conspiracy? Do you want your people to suffer more just because of your uncooperative attitude?"
Jango's posture shifted slightly. His voice was as steely as his armor. "I will answer whatever questions you may have… Jetii scum."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCC-01 moved through the ranks of the clones, her footsteps heavy, every muscle in her body protesting with each step. Her stomach ached, a dull throb that seemed to come from deep within her bones, not just hunger but exhaustion too, as if her very essence were being drained. Weakness clung to her like an unwanted shadow, but she kept her face composed, a thin smile on her lips. It was a bitter thing, that smile, but she had learned to wear it like armor. It's what the Kaminoans demanded, and so she would wear it to please them. The Kaminoans had been merciful this time—they had only given her a token punishment, but that mercy was nothing more than a reminder of her place.
The Kaminoans had their own sense of justice. They had granted a sweet, luscious mercy that she latched on after Kallick Nu's reprimand and the following hour she spent sobbing in her room, oscillating between berating herself for mistake (wherever it was) and being thankful to the Kaminoans. The mercy they gave was always a form of control, a gentle slap that made the pain more manageable, not enough to break the spirit… in most cases… SCC-01 swiftly gathered her thoughts. Better to keep those particular thoughts where they belong. In the past.
SCC-01 paused as she neared a brigade of the 501st, their faces hidden behind the blank masks of their helmets, their postures rigid with the same disciplined precision that had been drilled into them since birth. And yet, for a fraction of a second, one of them—the colonel, CT-7567—broke his perfect mask of stoicism. She caught the subtle shift in his stance. . It was nothing, a fleeting moment, but it was enough.
"CT-7567, why have you broken discipline?" she asked, her voice sharp, a rehearsed line from a play she long memorized to the smallest degree.
The Kaminoans used these moments, these small violations, to demonstrate their power over the clones, over her. They wanted to remind the Legions of their place—to remind SCC-01 that she, too, was bound by the same unyielding rules. But SCC-01 knew what it truly was. It wasn't about discipline, not really. It was about control.
SCC-01 personally knew that this was failing, the clones had no problem with punishments, they did not care about this show of strength and power. They had been raised for one thing only and it was war. This for them was actually a rest, an opportunity to stop the intensive training. Their time to socialize as they activated the sound suppression of their helmets to be able to talk in silence.
SCC-01 felt amused, even the clones that were not considered humans behaved like humans, finding ways to sort the oppression and ignore their shitty lives with a smile on their face. She did not denounce this clear violation of the Kaminoans desires, and nor the other SCC planned to do it.
The bond created between the clones was stronger than that. But still… Some of the tortures the Kaminoans had inflicted upon the SCC and the Clone Troopers were too much. She remembered with fear and sadness some events in the seconds that took CT-7567 to answer.
The colonel's voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried across the hall, cutting through the sterile silence that had hung heavy in the air. "You look in bad condition, Ma'am." His words, so simple, hit her like an unexpected wave.
"That was your excuse for breaking formation? I will have to report this to the Kaminoans."
She did not want to do it, but she feared more the punishment they could inflict on her than the possible consequences of these small actions she was forced to perform every two days. Luckily for her this type of incident usually did not happen, being at most once a month. Yet it was a painful experience, to punish those that had done no bad.
CT-7567 did not show regard for his own punishment, instead he looked at SCC-01 with concern.
"Have you been eating well, Ma'am?" He asked. There was no Kaminoan supervision as far as SCC-01 knew, it was her duty and only hers to punish the troops, and she complied.
"I am currently being disciplined."
The Republic officers had come in the morning, and she was punished without eating before breakfast. Being deprived of three meals was devastating—the Kaminoans served precisely calculated servings to give exactly the nutrition needed for each clone's activities. Missing a single meal would eat into the little body fat needed to be healthy and more would cause muscle mass to be broken down for energy.
She had experienced it before, the sharp pains of a stomach with nothing but acid to work on, pushing through the lethargy to work with low blood-sugar, the headaches verging on migraines that come with sudden fasting.
Food was a privilege, not a right.
Still, it was also a gift in itself, she thought to herself. She was still here. Those hallowed words determined whether she will wake again or see herself waste to nothing.
The colonel moved which drove her from her thoughts and took something from his pocket, giving it to SCC-01, who looked surprised at the offering of a nutritious bar, an offering, a sharing with consequences. For her, if they don't find it she would be okay. But for the colonel he could be punished physically for losing or consuming a military resource when it was not needed.
"Your punishment will become more severe if they find out that you have lost or consumed a nutrition bar."
"Supreme Commander, your health is more important than mine." He said, hiding the nutrition bar wrapped in plastic in one of her pockets and returning to formation.
She looked at her own pocket and then to the colonel, he was a good clone, like all clones. They were honest men trained by psychopaths and expected to become products. Like she was.
This show of kindness was comfortable for her, but it made her feel somehow bad because she knew that in his position, she would have never done that.
But she couldn't say any of that. She wouldn't. She dared not risk displeasing the Kaminoans. So, with a cold, detached nod, she simply said, "Thank you."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obi Wan and Anakin left the room where they had interrogated the Mandalorian for hours. Obi Wan convinced that he had jumped into conclusions about a possible Mandalorian conspiracy and Anakin being smug about him being correct of the Mandalorians not being conspirators but mere mercenaries working for the Kaminoans.
"Told you, I was right," gloated Anakin as they both walked through the sterile endless corridor. The night was coming, and the ocean was once again raging, creating waves that appeared to be tsunamis trying to take down the superstructure.
"Well, what can I say? It's the first time so it is difficult to assimilate," Obi Wan counter-attacked with his own laugh and smug face, to which Anakin acted with a small side punch to Obi Wan's arm.
"Come on, I have been right more times before."
"Oh yes? I don't seem to remember them."
"What about that time in Lande?"
"The planet where you crashed your starfighter into a train?"
"It was a necessity," argued Anakin.
"Yes, sure, if you say so. Anyway we have a bigger problem on our hands…" Obi Wan turned serious, showing that as he could be a friend he was also someone that deserved without a doubt the rank of Knight. "It seems that the militarist faction of the Jedi Order had acted behind the back of the High Council. Sifo-Dyas and Lui-Yan. I wonder how deep this conspiracy can go… there is even a chance that the High Council knew about this the entire time…"
He stroked his beard as he advanced, "Whatever we do it might affect the Galaxy forever. I don't know how it is that I always end up in these galactic-changing scenarios. The Death Watch War, the Naboo crisis, the discovery of the Sith being still around, finding a Clone Army, having the Chosen one as my padawan."
"You're starting to sound like an overworked employee." Said Anakin, less worried by the situation than his master.
"That is because I am overworked! I don't even get a salary! I have seen civil wars start for less. Anyway, my point stands. I don't know what we should do, does your unworried mind have anything to offer me? The least thing you could do after coming with me is to be of use."
Anakin walked by his side as he thought of any option or idea, his simple and careless mind was of great use for Obi Wan when normal measures and logic could not be used. But he would never admit it otherwise Anakin would grow even more arrogant. And he was not only a Padawan but a Chosen One. For many this was a lie, for many others his status as the Chosen One was conditional, for Obi Wan it was the truth. He saw his potential and his eagerness. Anakin was not just a simple force-user, he was the force-user, the one destined to be the greatest force-user in history and to destroy the Sith finally. A prophecy that did not make sense until it was learned that the Sith had never been destroyed.
Humility, professionalism, good ethics and much more were the things he had to teach the Chosen One so no one ever can call him the Fake Chosen One, hate him for his origins and how he grew.
If only he was less problematic… Obi Wan knew that Anakin was good of heart and held the best interest of the ones he loved and the Galaxy before his own life. Anakin had the mentality of a hero, but without the hypocrisy of those that tried to recreate this attitude. He was a hero from the heart, a good person, the Chosen One.
And it sometimes made Obi Wan angry to see the abuse many inside the Jedi Order inflicted upon him. Few believed in him.
"I think probably our best shot is to meet the Prime Minister of Kamino and then decide from there," suggested Anakin, who after many minutes could not find another answer.
"Just as I thought, really, where are your innovative ideas when I need them?" Sighed Obi Wan as he put his hand on Anakin's shoulder, not like his master but like his friend.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She finished the bar, but the hunger still gnawed at her insides, a hunger deeper than physical need. There was always something missing, always something aching inside her chest, something that no amount of food, no amount of anything, could ever fill.
The plastic wrapper crinkled in her hands. She flicked it into the ocean with a sense of detachment, the faintest tremor in her chest at the thought of anyone finding it. They wouldn't know right?... Fear made her stomach ache.
Her mind was a black pit, one thought clawing at the next. "Jump," it whispered, soft and inviting. "Jump and end it."
She inhaled sharply, choking on the salt-heavy air that clung to her skin, but the thought didn't fade. No, it lingered like a weight on her chest, suffocating. It spoke to her in dark, soothing tones, offering release from the aching emptiness that haunted every corner of her soul.
She could see it now, the dark water swallowing her whole. Her mind spun the images, the thought so clear it was almost a vision—her body disappearing beneath the surface, becoming nothing, feeling nothing. All her suffering, her quiet desperation, would vanish.
No. Death wasn't an end, it was the continuation of her suffering in an unnatural way, she did not know what was worse, the thought that if she died she would die forever or that she would reincarnate every time she died in a worse situation than it was before. The thought was too much. The universe wasn't kind enough to let her go. All thanks to Being X.
Her stomach twisted. No matter if she killed herself or not, there was no escape from the consequences of what had happened here.
She wasn't just a product—they'd made her something worse. They made her nothing.
Her gaze drifted back toward the dome, cold lights flickering in the distance, casting long, sterile shadows that reminded her of a graveyard. It was all the same—always the same—every day, every hour. She could feel the walls of her own existence closing in, the weight of her body pushing her further down into the quicksand. No matter how much she fought, it would always be like this. She was just another cog in the machine, her every breath serving someone else's purpose. Even her thoughts weren't her own.
She wanted to scream, but there was no point. No one would hear her. No one would care. Only the Kaminoan's, and they'll surely punish her. No, all she wanted to do was please them. Prove her manufactured worth and make them content.
Was it worth it to live a life like that?
She did not answer her own question, instead she walked back to the dome, wanting to take a shower and change to clean and warm clothes.
"Thank you CT-7567, I will pay you back some day."
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Kaminoan Prime Minister looked with his big and alien eyes to the two Jedi who were in front of him. He had known that they were not happy with the product delivered and that they had been interrogating the Mandalorian who he had personally chosen for the task. He worried if maybe this would mean that the long dreamed position of influence for Kamino in the Republic would never be achieved.
He could not accept that. The resources of their controlled systems were running dry, autarky was no longer a possibility and trading with the Republic without being a member of it would force them to suffer a one thousand percent tariff unbearable for Kamino.
They had to enter the Republic as members with influence in order to benefit from trade with the Republic, and the Clone Army project was their key to success—their way to be part of the creation of the Military Industrial Complex Palpatine had promised to the big private military companies of the Galaxy.
But Palpatine made his promise clear, being part of this deal was conditional to their success. Failure was completely unacceptable.
"I have been told that you are unsatisfied with the product," began the Prime Minister, Lama Su.
If Kamino failed to enter the Republic in the next few years, not only would Kamino fall into starvation but also economic collapse. The Clone Army had drained all the already scarce resources of the ten systems controlled by Kamino.
Obi Wan looked at the Prime Minister with interrogative eyes, judging if the Kaminoans were allies or foes.
"I will be clear, we are not dissatisfied with the Clone Army delivered because when we came here we were not expecting a Clone Army. I desire to ask you a few questions about the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and Lui-Yan who had apparently been key to the creation of the Clone Army."
The Prime Minister nodded with comprehension even if he did not recognize the name of Lui-Yan, "The Clone Army was commissioned by Sifo-Dyas and I have no knowledge of any Jedi called Lui-Yan. As far as I know Syfo-Dyas was acting on the Senate's orders, could you please elaborate what you mean by 'we were not expecting'?"
Was he not the Supreme Chancellor's agent? Was he not part of Palpatine's public militarist faction that wanted to arm the Republic for war? Who was Lui-Yan?
Many things crossed the Prime Minister's head, one of them was how Palpatine had been slowly and secretly remilitarizing the Republic with only a few knowing, hiding under the Militarist faction of the senate. Another is how non-militarist Jedi had been allowed to discover the Clone Army.
"We had been contacted by SCC-01, for that reason we came. At first, I have to admit that I believed this to be a person acting in order to disturb the peace in the Republic, but now I have come to realize that the army is real and had been commissioned—in theory—by the Republic."
Lama Su felt the weight of his entire species and society's survival on his shoulders, a sentiment similar to hate towards SCC-01 grew inside him, but he was too rational to simply fall into this barbaric sentiments. Yet, he wanted to punish her as soon as he had solved this unexpected crisis.
The Prime Minister nodded as if he was a human, learning how humans behaved allowed for a more efficient diplomacy, and he would by no chance ignore anything that could increase his chances of ensuring his species and state's survival.
"I will gladly answer any questions you have."
Whether with lies or truth depended on if the answers would be a threat to the Kamino's survival or if they were harmless.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anakin and Obi Wan were in front of their starfighters, the interrogation with the Prime Minister had answered many questions but also created new ones. The discovery of a militarist group in the senate was nothing new. Since the CIS had appeared many senators had advocated for the creation of an army—that movement being a key element behind the introduction of the Venator class destroyer to the Grand Navy of the Republic, and the beginning of the first military expansion of the Republic in a thousand years.
But the discovery of non-compliant Jedi coordinating themselves with this militaristic faction of the senate was something new. The conspiracy of the militarists grew deeper on the roots of the Republic. The foundations of compliance to the Senate followed by the Jedi Order since thousands of years were being destroyed not by individual Jedi acting on their own, but an actual organization inside the Jedi Order.
"The Senate forced us to stop militarizing when we discovered the Sith had survived their extinction; this probably radicalized many members of the Jedi Order," commented Anakin. It was very dark on the planet, only the lights of the city illuminated the exterior. The rain had stopped momentarily, but both had already assumed that rain was going to be always the companion of the planet and not a temporary visitor.
"It was to be expected, but we were so blind," responded Obi Wan, "We had been since a young age told of the horrors of the wars fought against the Sith; no Jedi would ever believe that peace is an option with them, and the Republic stopping us from preparing for their coming would make many members believe the Republic is wrong… How can you comply with orders that you know are wrong?"
Obi Wan could not feel betrayed because he understood them, it was the same desire he had when the Sith had killed his master; the desire to be better prepared, to not commit the mistakes of the past. Only a hundred Jedi would be needed to help the militaristic faction, but probably they could be in the thousands.
"Master, do you think the High Council knows about this?"
"The Clone Army or the militaristic faction inside the Jedi Order?"
"The latter. I in no way believe the High Council knew about the Clone Army, nor the Chancellor."
Obi Wan nodded, the High Council was compliant to the Republic and the Senate, and so they had stopped the remilitarization as the Senate had told them. The Chancellor, even if neutral in the discussions, was clearly a pacifist—he did not believe in the use of violence to solve the Separatist crisis, constantly supporting the use of economic sanctions and diplomacy to solve the crisis.
How naive, thought Obi Wan.
"It is our duty to inform the Senate and the High Council of this, even knowing the awful consequences of our actions," stated Obi Wan as he took the holo-communicator in his hands. He had the resolve to do this, but he did not know if he should do it.
What was worse? Knowing that this action might spark a civil war or knowing that if he does nothing he will be a traitor to the Republic's institutions, his political beliefs and his own beliefs of loyalty and what is a good Jedi?
"Master, the Separatists will declare war sooner or later, the sooner we inform this to the High Council and the Senate the better."
Obi Wan stood still, not knowing if he should press the button or not.
"Whatever choice you make I will support you Master."
Obi Wan raised his eyes to look directly at his padawan, seeing the undying and unconditional loyalty the Padawan had in him made him happy, but also scared. How scary that loyalty could be if put in the hands of a bad person.
"Anakin, do you remember when you tried to abandon the Jedi Order because of the abuse?"
Anakin nodded, those were hard days for him, twelve years old and the weight of the prophecy had threatened to drag him down; his equals looked at him with hate, envy, and disrespect for the privilege he had been given for being, in theory, the Chosen One. Knights and Masters looked at him and saw an anomaly that should have never been accepted. Few believed in him, except for Obi Wan and, sometimes, Yoda. In those times the indifference of some Jedi was an act of kindness for him.
"I want you to know that if you had left the Jedi Order… I would have left it with you."
Anakin was surprised by this statement—for Obi Wan the Jedi Order was his life, his everything, the thing he felt most proud of. How could his master abandon all this for him?
Instead of continuing to question why he would have done that, Anakin felt the extreme bond he had with his master. They were friends, brothers, master and padawan, and even sometimes father and son. His relationship with him was the only real friendship he had, and the only reason he had stayed in the Jedi Order.
Anakin hugged Obi Wan, and he hugged him back; this lasted for some seconds before they separated.
"Master, I will never betray you."
Obi Wan laughed a little bit, "Of course you will not."
With that the decision was made, they had a duty to comply with, a duty to the Republic, to the Senate, to the Jedi Order, to the High Council. Whatever the consequences might be of this action they would solve it together.
"Call the High Council," said Anakin.
Obi Wan gulped before pressing the button, making the call that would probably change the galaxy.
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The Prime Minister of Kamino Lama Su was in a meeting with the head of the SCC project, his hate was cold and controlled, his eyes showed displeasure and the head of the SCC project was scared because he didn't know why he had been called and why the Prime Minister was angry.
"What have you called me for, Prime Minister?" Kallik Tu asked.
"Information has come to me of how SCC-01 has contacted the Jedi Order."
"As it was ordered, Prime Minister, we believed it was time."
"Yes, indeed it was time to contact the Republic, but not by contacting members of the Jedi Order who were not part of the militarist faction."
Kallik Tu finally realized the mistake that had been committed, the Clone Army was a secret project for the Republic except for some key members of the Senate and the Jedi Order. But how could it be? SCC-01 only had access to known sympathizers of the militarist side of the Republic.
At the silence of Kallik Tu, Lama Su continued to talk.
"Do you realize what danger has she put the entire Clone Army project in? How could she, alone, have put our entire species in danger?"
"Yes, I agree that she had put a big threat on Kamino by incorrectly contacting the Jedi Order, I will warn her about being more careful the next time."
"I do not want you to warn her, I want you to give her the harsher punishment you have, the Ullakar, she is a dysfunctional product that has to learn from its mistake."
The calm of his voice belied the fury in his heart. The entire survival of the species depended on this, and if he had not handled it correctly it would have been the worst day in Kaminoan history. Now the crisis was avoided, but he wanted to see the product, the best case pet, be punished.
"Prime Minister, I can understand your anger, but that punishment is too much, we only use it so the Clone Troopers and the Supreme Clone Commanders do not fraternize."
The Kaminoans had always known the danger of rebellion since they began this project, they spend a lot of resources in understanding the human psychology and history, and so they created the Ullakar system based on the planet Ullakar—a planet where the elites feared revolution from its servants, and so they created a system of local elites from the servants that would serve as the middleman. The key part of the success of this system was making the servants hated instead of the elites of the planet, so revolutions and rebellions could be avoided by just killing the unpopular servant representative.
The idea in its core was the same—the SCC was created as both an experiment of Military Officers taking control over sectors and planets and as the personal elite of the Clones.
They were made of different gender, so the clones would not apply the same logic they did to their own brothers. They were given positions of power that the normal clone could never reach in their life. But that was not enough, and so they created a system where the Supreme Clone Commanders punished the Clone Troopers and vice versa.
Every two days, five clone legions would be chosen at random for the Supreme Clone Commanders to personally inspect. The SCCs would then denounce any misbehaving or underperforming clones, putting the SCCs in the position of oppressors and therefore those who receive the hatred, but that would not cause the Supreme Clone Commanders to hate the Clone Troopers.
There it was decided that the maximum punishment (short of decommissioning) would be two days of torture at the hands of the Clone Troopers. Just as the oppression of the Supreme Clone Commanders towards the clones made the clones hate the SCC, the torture inflicted on the SCC by the Clones made them hate them back.
All so that they wouldn't rebel, an effective system for keeping products with a conscience busy hating each other, unable to organize themselves efficiently for anything other than war.
Kallik Tu knew the physical and mental fatigue that came from such punishments, they were better kept as threats after being used once rather than a tool to be used constantly.
"What do you do when an object does not function correctly?" Asked the Prime Minister, "You either fix them or throw them away. I want you to fix her because each SCC has cost too much money to even consider disposing of them."
Kallik Tu had groomed each Supreme Clone Commander personally, he knew them better than they knew themselves, all of them were loyal to the Kaminoans, and they would be loyal to the Republic as soon as the exchange was made. He had supervised the torture each SCC had received so they would hate the Clone Troopers and be loyal to the Kaminoans. But inflicting more torture than necessary would make them a wasted product. Psychology was not considered a 'real' science, but Kallik Tu had studied it throughout his career, and for that reason he had been in charge. Some SCC had fallen into madness, or killed themselves, but enough of them survived for the project to be considered a success. He could not lose any more because of the Prime Minister's anger.
"Prime Minister, I take responsibility for not managing the situation correctly. SCC-01 was following my directives as she was commanded, and I believe whatever might have happened it had been my own mistake."
He was risking the fury of the Prime Minister because he knew that the project SCC was his path for a higher position in the technocracy of Kamino, a better position with more power and more privileges. His whole career had been invested in the SCC, and he would not allow the rage of the Prime Minister to threaten his life-long project.
"Do you realize that your mistake could have been the end of our species?"
"I will take any punishment the council might put on me."
The Prime Minister looked at his peer as if he was a clone, as a product, because for them a failed product was a failed product no matter the race or if it was on their own. They killed those that were unworthy of living in their species and through genetics made themselves the best version of their species.
"I could have you terminated."
"If the Council sees it that way, I will accept that punishment."
Both knew that the Council appreciated his successes more than the possible mistakes he had committed.
"Keep your products under strict control, or I will have the whole project SCC terminated."
Kallik Tu leaned his long neck, "I will take that into account, Prime Minister."
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Palpatine looked at the Jedi High Council that had come to his office, the serious faces of all the members of the Jedi High Council brought joy to Sheev Palpatine, but he hid it behind a diplomatic smile. He had known it from the start, the Jedi Order had discovered the Clone Army, just as planned.
Padme Amidala had been killed, the master of Anakin Skywalker had moved to Kamino, the domino pieces were falling, no improvisation, like a perfect game of chess all the movements had been predicted, and so he had acted in consequence.
Soon the war with the Separatists would begin.
"We have come because of worrying news from one of our Knights," Begun Mace Windu, sitting in the chair as one of the heads of the High Council, to his left was Yoda and to his right Ki-Adi-Mundi. The consternation could be seen in all of them.
"Did the Separatists attack?" Asked Sheev Palpatine, sounding like a worried old man. Pain could be seen in his eyes as if his long dream of peace had been destroyed, his voice was of a strong man that had become weaker by the past of time. Ten years ago no one, outside of Naboo, knew him. Now the part of the galaxy loyal to the Republic considered him the best Supreme Chancellor in a thousand years.
"The war begun has not," Yoda said, trying to calm the Chancellor, "But peace in danger is."
The Chancellor acted surprised, as if he did not know exactly what the following words would be. Oh, but he did, he wanted them to say it, the words that would destroy their Jedi Order given enough time, the words that would make him rule over this Galaxy.
"What is it then? A new terrorist attack? Is the Death Watch attacking?"
Yoda looked at the rest of the members of the High Council, no one wanted to say those words, they knew that the galaxy as they knew it would disappear the moment they pronounced those words, the words of a treason that did not want to betray but to protect.
The consequences of an act with theoretical good will that would bring endless suffering to the Galaxy, but they, deep in their hearts, celebrated, for they believed the next war was going to be about Jedi vs. Sith, instead of a war moved by petty politics.
"A clone army in secret has been made, conspiracy from a Jedi Order and Senate faction it was, unknown are really the intentions, but know are the results. One billion clones are prepared to fight in a war." Said Yoda in the silence of the rest of the High Council.
The surprise on Sheev Palpatine's face was fake but the Jedi Order could not see it.
"That's horrific, one billion soldiers? From where? How?" Asked Palpatine, "I did not allow such a thing."
Plo Koon intervened.
"It is not our fault, the Senate, you Chancellor and us the High Council were not participants of this. It was a conspiracy to arm the Republic against its own will. The cloners of a planet named Kamino stated that they believed that the Senate knew about this. The Republic had been fooled by conspirators, and now we need to deal with the consequences."
"Does anyone else know about this?" Asked Palpatine, looking at Mace Windu.
"No," Mace Windu answered, "Only those present here, and the knight and his Padawan in Kamino."
Palpatine squeezed his chin carefully as he thought, sometimes plans had a certain random factor that made them more interesting, things might change on a small scale but in reality they would never change anything.
"We have to be honest with the population and with the Senate, hiding this will only do more damage."
"This could cause the Separatists to take up arms."
"No, they won't," said Sheev. "We've been engaging in diplomacy for the last ten years; I trust the results of our ambassadors' efforts. We will address the situation head on and initiate an open investigation into what happened and how it happened. Peace and dialogue are the only way forward, and I intend to commit to the diplomatic route."
Mace Windu looked at the rest of the High Council members and then to the Supreme Chancellor.
"Transparency will cost us the beginning of a war we are not ready for because we, the Jedi, are not soldiers and the only army we have we know nothing about. If you had allowed us to remilitarize we would be ready for such a conflict, but the Senate forced us to detain our preparation for the incoming war. Appeasement and the desire for peace has doomed us to this weak position we are in for when the war starts."
"Militarization, war, conflict, death. You talk like a soldier for not being a soldier. I just want to be transparent, and so I will because I trust in the democratic process, and I trust that the Separatist movement will not react violently if we express clearly our intentions and concerns through safe channels of communication. Now, if you don't mind, I will call for an emergency session tomorrow so you can inform the Senate and the people of the Galactic Republic of the situation."
Mace Windu looked like he did not want to do this, but he knew that it was probably for the better that the Jedi Order—the most respected institution of the Republic—informed about this situation.
"I really hope that your hopes of peace come true, Chancellor," he said standing up. "We will give you a more complete report as soon as our knight in the field sends us a written report."
Palpatine nodded. "I am sure that everything will reach a favorable result for the Galaxy."