As for Order 66? Sorry, Palpatine had nothing to do with it. That fell under the jurisdiction of Garfield Pando Godzilla Pendragon.
The tall, blue-skinned Kaminoans had initially refused his request. After all, not everyone was qualified to place orders with them.
The Jedi Order was an exception.
But after Garfield revealed his identity, they decisively agreed to help him modify the DNA selection for the clone army.
As for which DNA to use, Garfield naturally chose the best players from his game competitions.
The strongest individual fighters. The best commanders. The most coordinated teams.
Unfortunately, the champion, Kasvi and her group had refused to provide DNA samples.
What was even more infuriating was that Garfield couldn't find them afterward.
Still, even without the very best, the remaining samples were more than sufficient.
What surprised Garfield was that some of the DNA selections came from Jedi Padawans.
Cloning Jedi Knights was strictly forbidden by the Jedi Order.
But who was Garfield? He found a way to get it approved.
Incidentally, Garfield also obtained a blood sample from Qui-Gon Jinn and handed it over to the Kaminoans as a high-priority cloning template.
He planned to create a batch of his own Jedi Knights.
Anakin was actually the most promising candidate, but he wasn't suitable at the moment, so Garfield traded a sample of Anakin's blood for a skin set instead, giving it to the Kaminoans as backup storage. Just in case.
Instead of using the rapid maturation method, Garfield slowed down the growth rate of these clones, making their lifespan significantly higher than that of the standard cannon-fodder clones.
Though they wouldn't reach a hundred years old, they could still live to sixty or seventy.
The cost was higher, about three times the standard rate. But this was negligible for the wealthy Garfield.
His main combat force consisted of robots. These clones were intended for key positions only.
With Palpatine now a wanted fugitive on the run, he no longer had the authority to reach out to Kamino.
For safety, Garfield even dispatched a fleet to patrol high-altitude orbit above the planet.
The Kaminoans were initially dissatisfied with Garfield's actions, perceiving it as a sign of distrust.
But then Garfield offered them an exclusive Kaminoan skin set, and everything was resolved perfectly.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
In business, turning ten thousand into a hundred thousand was difficult. Turning a hundred thousand into a million was even harder.
But turning a million into ten million? That was easier than starting with a hundred thousand.
The higher the initial capital, the more methods one had to achieve their goals. And the faster the progress.
As Garfield's funds increased, his power grew rapidly, expanding like a snowball rolling downhill.
Factories on several planets operated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week… producing weapons, vehicles, aircraft, war droids, and Star Destroyers at breakneck speed.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
The Jedi Order became wary of Garfield's rapid expansion.
They held a secret meeting, one they believed Garfield was unaware of.
Present were: Yoda, Mace Windu, Dooku, Plo Koon, Saesee Tiin, Even Piell, Oppo Rancisis, Coleman Trebor, Kit Fisto, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Judging from recent intelligence," Windu began, "Garfield's influence is expanding rapidly."
"If this continues for another two years, he will completely surpass the three major groups… the Techno Union, the Banking Alliance, and the Trade Federation."
"Isn't that a good thing?" someone countered. "It would limit the three alliances. Prevent them from causing trouble behind the scenes."
"Perhaps. But Palpatine is still in hiding. They must be helping him behind the scenes."
Windu raised his hand. "Gentlemen, we are discussing Garfield's power expanding too quickly. The question is… should we put some restrictions on him?"
At this point, Obi-Wan realized what this was really about.
As someone embedded within the Jedi Order who knew many of Garfield's secret operations, he couldn't help but interject.
"Garfield does everything right in front of us," Obi-Wan said. "Without concealment."
Is this really necessary? Besides, with the help of those fleets, many missions can be completed smoothly. Fewer casualties. Less trouble."
The Jedi Knights were highly skilled.
They could anticipate danger, deflect blaster bolts with their lightsabers, and outmaneuver inefficient laser weapons.
But they were not invincible. Casualties were inevitable on missions.
With Garfield's fleet and droids providing support, it was now rare to see a Jedi Knight being chased across a battlefield by a swarm of hostiles.
Rare to hear of one being assassinated in the shadows by some unknown force.
And if the Jedi Knights didn't respond to a mission?
Garfield's standing order to his fleet was simple, arrest everyone involved, regardless of circumstances. Resistance would be treated as rioting.
It was extreme, yes.
But when you didn't know who the enemy was, the one shooting at you was 99.999% likely to be the enemy you were looking for.
As for the love-hate relationships between best buddies? That only existed in anime.
In anime, Garfield admired Asuran Zala, whose fiancée had run off with his best friend, taking his Gundam and battleship along the way.
Not only had Asuran not been angry, but he had even joined the two of them in killing his own father.
What a character.
Although he eventually got the Orb princess as a consolation prize, that green glow on his head… bright enough to obscure half the universe, still kept flashing.
Perhaps it was Asuran's toxic positivity… To live a decent life, you need a little green on your head.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Hearing Obi-Wan's words, Mace Windu sat unhappily in his chair.
"Obi-Wan," Windu said, "do not be fooled by appearances."
Obi-Wan wanted to retort, but then thought better of it.
This young bald man had no idea how many backup plans Garfield had laid out behind the scenes.
His master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had been operating right under their noses for so long, and they had been completely unaware.
They thought he was just some bodyguard Garfield had brought from his homeworld.
As for Windu and the others' concerns about Garfield's growing influence and potential future actions, Obi-Wan wasn't worried.
The longer he knew Garfield, the more unfathomable the orange cat seemed. As if everything was already under his furry paws.
"Alright, Master Windu," Obi-Wan said. "I can shut up. But I want to say one last thing."
Windu was about to refuse, but Yoda spoke first.
"Obi-Wan," the old master said, "speak."
Obi-Wan looked around at all the Jedi Masters assembled before him.
"Actually," he said, "you won't get anywhere discussing this here. Garfield is a king. He naturally has his own thoughts."
"Since he hasn't been secretly developing his power… discussing this behind his back only makes us look like petty people."