In the Memory of Kenny Baker, Carrie Fisher, and John Cygan:

Return of the Jedi:

Chapter VII:

Protocols

The corridors of Tipoca City were as brightly lit as each room that the cloning facility housed, but Obi-Wan soon found his eyes adjusting to it, finding the lights to be strangely comforting to him. Perhaps it was the years of living under two suns on Tatooine that he had simply adjusted to such things, or perhaps something else entirely. He didn't let his thoughts stray too far, however, as his eyes scanned the insides of each room, seeing other Kaminoans working tirelessly by adjusting furniture or manning a console that held some sort of relevance to the facility. Even now, he was stunned at how clean everything was in this place, everything polished and shining and smooth even after walking through the corridors with wet boots, and robes dripping droplets of rainwater onto the polished floor.

Regardless, he stayed silent during the trip to the Prime Minister's office with Taun We leading the way, silent as well. The Kaminoan seemed to be in getting him there, judging by her swift pace, and Kenobi forced himself to stop when the Kaminoan's white boots suddenly came to a halt in front of a massive white door. Taun We keyed in a code of some kind in her native language-that Kenobi didn't even bother to try and decipher-and stepped to the side as the door open up, motioning for the Jedi Master to enter first.

With a polite smile, and a nod of his head, the auburn-haired man complied willingly.

The first thing that caught Obi-Wan's attention was the tall Kaminoan sitting in the middle of the room, sitting patiently in a curved white chair as if he was already expecting the Jedi Master's arrival. He most likely was, Kenobi thought dryly, keeping a cool and collected expression on his face as the Prime Minister studied Obi-Wan's face, blinking his oval wide eyes, and smiled thinly at his guest. Waving his hand, an egg-shaped chair gracefully spiraled down from the ceiling, offering a place for the Jedi to sit.

Obi-Wan watched as Taun We introduce the Prime Minister of Kamino to his newest visitor. "Greetings, your grace," the Jedi said humbly, bowing to the Kaminoan leader before him. "It is an honor to meet you, at last,"

"My many thanks, Master Jedi," said Lama Su warmly. "I trust that you are going to enjoy your stay here with us. We are most pleased that you've come at the best part of the season," Kenobi didn't know if the Prime Minister was making a joke or not, but didn't try to press it any further.

"You make me feel most welcome," the Kaminoan seemed to be quite proud of himself at that statement, much to Obi-Wan's amusement.

After several moments of pleasant talk, Lama Su's face then turned serious, and business-like. "Now then, I hope that you will be quite delighted to hear that we are on schedule. Two hundred thousand units are ready, with another million more on the way."

The Jedi felt an enormous lump grow in his throat that he forced down hardly; memories of the years fighting alongside the clone soldiers on the many fronts of the war came rushing back to him-remembering every victory and defeat, and every soldier lost to the blaster-fire from the cold, emotionless Battle Droids manufactured by the Confederacy. "Ah," he heard himself mumble out through numb lips. "That is... good news."

"We thought you would be pleased," said the Kaminoan, proud of their achievements. "Please tell your Master Sifo-Dyas that we have every confidence his order will be met, on time."

Obi-Wan shook his head sadly, for whatever reason he did not really know, but that didn't stop him from saying. "I'm afraid to say that Master Sifo-Dyas was killed almost ten years ago."

Lama Su blinked in surprise, seemingly hurt by the grim news. "Oh," he whispered. "I see... I'm very sorry to hear that, but I'm sure that he would have been proud of the army we've created for him."

"The army," echoed Kenobi, his eyes glazing slightly. "Yes... this army is meant to serve the Republic, am I correct?"

"That you are, Master Jedi," the Prime Minister replied, looking to have recovered from the shocking news about Sifo-Dyas's grim fate. "You must be anxious to inspect the units for yourself."

Obi-Wan smiled thinly. "That's why I'm here," Obi-Wan answered, somewhat true in his reply; While his real mission was to apprehend Jango before he escaped back to Dooku on Geonosis, his true purpose here was an entirely different story. "Shall we proceed, then?"

"Of course." With that being said, both the Kaminoan and the Jedi Master rose from their seats and left the room without a single word.

Tatooine was hot, severely hot considering this time of season.

Padme's brow was dripping with sweat as both her and Anakin made their way through the crowded streets of Mos Espa with all sorts of gruff-looking humans and aliens sizing up the two before turning away quickly when the Senator sent them a look that could burn through durasteel itself. She then turned to face Anakin's back, her eyes softening at the sight of his grim, yet determined face. Ever since the two had touched down on the desert planet, the young Jedi hadn't muttered a single word to her, or anyone else around them as he lead her through the streets of Mos Espa, expertly zigging and zagging with years of experience behind him. Padme had no idea where he was leading her, but she didn't question it in fear of being yelled at by the much more intimidating young man.

Suddenly, Anakin came to a halt in front of a shop all too familiar to the former slave. There, sitting on a stool near the door with the stench of cheap alcohol and utter shame rolling off him in waves, was an overweight, winged Toydarian with a long snout and a black round hat placed firmly on his head, and a vest too small for the Toydarian's girth. Though Padme's mind was busy trying to recall what this creature's name was, Anakin knew instantly, years of harsh words and hard labor coming back to the Jedi.

Watto.

"Chut chut, Watto," Skywalker greeted curtly.

"Ke booda?" came the surprised response.

"Di nova, chut chut,"

"Go ana bopa!"

"Ding mi chasa hopa," Padme didn't even try to figure out what language the two beings were speaking in. She merely watched as Anakin took a piece of the broken droid from Watto's grubby hands, and instantly went to work on it. The Toydarian's eyes grew wide in surprise as he watched the human go to work, and within a few moments, Anakin sat the broken droid back down. A microsecond passed, and the droid's lone optic then began to glow a bright blue, chirping away in the Binary language.

Watto stared at the droid, dumbfounded, before he slowly raised his gaze to meet Anakin's bright blue eyes. "Annie?" he croaked out. "Little Annie?"

His answer was given to him with a small smile from the towering human, making a wide grin grow on Watto's disheveled face. "You are Annie!" the Toydarian cried, gaining a few stares from the local drunks in the area around them. "It is you! Ya sure sprouted!"

Anakin tried his hardest not to cringe at that remark. "Hello, Watto."

"A Jedi! Waddya know?" chuckled Watto, a greedy look beginning to grow in his bulbous eyes. "Hey, maybe you couldda help me wit some deadbeats who owe me a lot of money-"

"My mother, Watto," Anakin interrupted. "Where is she?"

"Oh," the Toydarian's previous glee soon fell away, revealing an anxious look on his face. "Oh yeah, Shmi. Ah, she's not mine no more. I sold her."

"Sold her?" Padme blinked at how deep Anakin's voice became.

"Years ago," Watto explained, rubbing one of his bony arms sheepishly. "Sorry, Annie, but you know, business is business. Solder her to a moisture farmer named Lars, least I think it was. Believe it or not, I heard he freed her and married her. Can ya beat that?"

Anakin shook his head, trying to digest what he'd just heard; a moisture farmer bought his mother, and married her? Does he treat her right, or does he simply use her to carry out all the manual labor on his moisture farm while he sat back, and laugh with his buddies at his new wife's predicament. The mere thought boiled Anakin's blood. "Do you know where they are?" he asked tensely.

Watto thought about it for a moment, stroking the many flabs of his meaty neck. "Long way from here. Someplace over on the other side of Mos Eisley, I think."

"I'd like to know."

Watto's facial expressions tightened at that remark, and noticing the grim look in his former slave's eyes, the Toydarian knew that he wasn't in the mood for playing games. "Yeah, sure," he said, a bit too quickly for his taste. "Absolutely. Let's go look at my records."

It didn't take long for the pudgy alien to find his records about Shmi, and her current whereabouts. Apparently, she was living in some old moisture farm stationed in the Great Chott salt flat in the Jundland Wastes... a place that was currently recovering from recent raids that was carried out by the savage Tusken Raiders. Needless to say, the two visitors rushed out of the old shop, ignoring Watto's offers for a drink, and leaving the Toydarian literally in the dust.

"Annie du Jedi," he mumbled out, shaking his head fondly at the image of a short, ragged nine-year-old boy coming into work, and always leaving covered in grease and motor oil. "Waddya know."

Great racks holding glass spheres stretched across the immense room to the end of Obi-Wan's vision. Each glass container held a developing embryo, suspended in a mysterious blue fluid, that made Obi-Wan shiver at the sight of it. To think that these lifeforms, practically brimming in strong waves of life energy, would grow up to become soldiers in an mass-produced army for a Republic that could easily replace one of them with another. While Jedi are suppose to remain placid and calm, even he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable walking around in this facility, surrounded by millions of soldiers that could gun him down with a single command.

"I trust that you are pleased, Master Jedi," he heard Lama Su say. "You'll find that our clones are immensely superior to the regular soldiers of your Republic's army, and the war-droids manufactured by the commerce guilds as well. Our methods have been perfected over many centuries, and that has ensure many that our soldiers are the best in all of the galaxy."

"I see," echoed Obi-Wan. "You must be proud of your achievements."

"But of course," Lama Su replied, sounding proud of himself. "We take a great pride in our combat education and training programs." He suddenly stopped to peer down at a class of kids, no more than ten years of standard age, with the same outfits, the same haircuts, and the exact same features and posture and expressions. Each of them manned a console, whatever was on them was a mystery to the Jedi Knight and he didn't want to know. He just wanted this "tour" to be over quickly.

"Would you like to inspect the final product now?" Obi-Wan shivered at how excited the Prime Minister sounded when he said the word "product". Although their scientific knowledge was very advanced for their time, he still found it unnerving how they treated the clones-living beings made of flesh and blood-as if they were some new toy created by corporations to sell to spoiled-rotten children, and suck their parents wallets dry of any credits. He found himself walking alongside the elegant aliens through the commissary next, where he saw hundreds of adult clones sitting in neat rows at tables, all eating the same food in the same manner.

"You'll find that they are totally obedient," the Prime Minister kept on saying, his assistant nodding in agreement behind him. "We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original, of course."

"And the original was...?"

"A bounty hunter named Jango Fett," Lama Su retorted without any hesitation. "We felt that a Jedi would be the perfect choice, but Sifo-Dyas handpicked Jango himself."

Obi-Wan pursed his lips, having an idea of who masqueraded as the late Sifo-Dyas. Dooku. "And where is this bounty hunter now?"

"Oh, he lives here," replied the Prime Minister casually as if they were discussing the weather outside. "But he's free to come and go as he pleases. Apart from his payment, Fett demanded only one thing in return; an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?" Obi-Wan nodded warily, recalling several of his past encounters with the heir to the Fett legacy.

"I would very much like to meet this Jango Fett, if you don't mind."

Lama Su looked to his assistant, who nodded and said, "I would be very happy to arrange it for you."

With that being said, the tour soon reached its climax as the trio came to a stop on a balcony, overlooking a huge parade ground. Below them, thousands and thousands of clone troopers, all dressed in pure-white armor and wearing full-face helmets, marched in formation drilled into their minds with all the precision of programmed droids. Entire formations, each made up of hundreds of soldiers, moved in unison as one.

Behind him, Obi-Wan heard Lama Su murmur in admiration. "Magnificent, aren't they?"

Anakin pushed the Twilight's speed past its normal limits as they barreled their way through the vast deserts of Tatooine, seeing nothing but sand and the occasional Jawa sandcrawler as they made their way toward the Jundland Wastelands. Fear began to weigh heavily on Anakin's shoulders, making everything around him seem sluggish and slower than usual. It had been ten years since he last saw his mother-ten kriffing years!-and he had no idea how she would react to his return. Would she welcome him with open arms, tears streaming down her aged cheeks in waves. Would she reject him, citing to stay with her new husband and abandon everything she once held in her previous life.

You should be talking, Mr. Jedi, a harsh whisper echoed in the back of his skull. You left her alone to fend for herself against Watto, and the other scum of Mos Espa while you and Obi-Wan went gallivanting across the whole damn galaxy for your dumb little adventures.

"Shut up," he growled to himself, his knuckles turning pure-white as he gripped the control yoke tightly.

"That one," Padme's voice broke him out of his thoughts as he looked and saw what her delicate finger was pointing at. There, in the far distance, was a little speck amidst the brown sands of the Tatooine deserts. Squinting his eyes, his face soon lit up with glee when he noticed what it was; a moisture farm.

They found it.

He let out a shaky breath, feeling his entire body trembling anxiously. "I... I'm really going to see her again," he breathed out.

Sitting next to him, Padme reached over to squeeze his arm in a comforting gesture. "I know," she smiled softly at the nervous Jedi. "Don't be nervous."

"Easier said than done," he chuckled nervously, bringing the ship down on a bluff overlooking the homestead. "It's just... I've left her alone to fend for herself for over ten years, and I haven't even contacted her once during that time. I'm scared that she won't even remember me, or she'll..." his breath hitched as he stared at the farmstand. "Or she'll reject for who I am."

His eyes swelled with tears at the image of the kind woman who raised him from birth, how she tucked into bed or cleaned up the various bruises he received from Watto or a fight from the local bullies. There were nights that he wished that he would put this gods-forsaken planet behind him, and soar through the stars like in the stories he heard about from those old freighter pilots.

But never once did he think about bringing his mom with him on those adventures.

"Oh, Annie," he heard Padme whisper, tensing up when he felt her soft hand on his calloused one. "She wouldn't do that. I know that you're scared, believe me I am too. But in the short time I knew her, your mother had to be one of the most kind-heartened people in this galaxy. Even when you brought us to your home, she didn't protest about housing us or question any of the decisions made by Qui-Gon." The Senator's eyes softened as Anakin's morose expression didn't change a bit. "Trust me, Annie, things won't turn out bad as you think. She's still your mother, and she'll love you regardless of who you now are."

Anakin was silent for a moment, mulling over Padme's words, before sighing to himself. Maybe he was overreacting, it wouldn't be the first time that he's done something like this before. "Thanks, Padme." he said softly, smiling at the Senator who beamed back at him.

"No problem," she replied equally as soft. It didn't take long for Anakin to shut down the Twilight, and make their way out of the ship to the course and rough sands that crunched beneath their boots. With every step he took towards the farmstead, Anakin began to feel more and more nervous at the prospect of a family reunion and prayed that he wouldn't hack up his dinner from the previous night on Padme's clothes.

Suddenly, a droid walked out of the farmstead's entrance, forcing the two visitors to come to a complete halt as they observed its design. It was a very thin droid, dull gray in color, with metal coverings obviously beaten from years of harsh weather conditions. Judging by its stiff movements, Anakin deduced that it was in need of a good oil bath as the droid made its way towards them. Both the Jedi and the Senator exchanged a look, obviously not expecting this development.

"Salutations, sir and madame," it greeted in a tone that would be more suited for a diplomat rather than a labor droid. "How may I be of service to you, today?"

Silence hung in the air like an anvil for a long time. "We're here to see someone," Padme answered slowly. "A Shmi Skywalker, if you know her?"

"Mistress Shmi?" echoed the droid, pleasantly confused. "Oh, I'm afraid that she's-"

"Threepio?" Anakin suddenly said, a look of recognition in his eyes that was soon followed by Padme. This was Threepio, the old droid barely held together by wires and scrap metal during her first visit to this planet ten years ago?

Said droid went silent, studying his creator for a moment before his optics suddenly lit up. "Oh my stars!" Threepio exclaimed, beginning to tremble violently. "By the maker, Master Anakin! Oh, I knew that you would return here one day, I just knew you would!" Padme watched with a smile as the droid hobbled over to his creator, taking his flesh-and-blood hands into his mechanical, rusty ones. "You've grown up to be a bright young man, just as I always knew you would. Oh, my circuits, I'm so pleased to see you again!"

"I am too, Threepio," Anakin laughed genuinely for the first time since their arrival. "But I've actually come to see my mother. Is she somewhere around here?"

The joviality that the droid possessed seemed to die away as it shrunk back from the Jedi's presence in a manner that would indicate that he was flustered by the question. "Oh," he suddenly said. "Oh, dear... I think it would be in our best interests if we were to go indoors for this." He then spun jerkily around on his heel, and made his way back to the homestead, motioning for the duo to follow him.

Exchanging nervous looks, both Anakin and Padme complied without a word and made their way towards the entrance.

Minutes later after the tour had concluded, and the Prime Minister left to go partake in some sort of meeting with a Kaminoan doctor about the clones' health, Taun We led Obi-Wan through the cloning facility, passing by various Kaminoan aides and grown clones dressed in the typical red outfit they usually wore before ascending to the rank of soldier, nodding at them politely as they passed. At one point, the Jedi Knight had even stopped to assist a deformed clone pick up the blaster rifles that he had accidentally dropped on the way to the armory, the clone looking on in awe at the man's help while Taun We watched the scene with a small smile on her pale face. Apparently, she was one of the rare members of her species that treated the clones like actual individuals instead of business products.

Kenobi's respect for the Kaminoan grew a little higher with that new information.

The door to Jango's room opened up, revealing-not to Obi-Wan's surprise-the young Boba Fett, an exact replica of a mini-Jango, who regarded the cloaked stranger with a wary look in his eyes before it fell away at the sight of Taun We. Stretching out his sense, Kenobi was surprised at the happiness this boy felt when he saw the elegant Kaminoan at his side, and the only logical reasoning that he could think of was that Taun We held some kind of important role in his life; a maternal figure, perhaps?

"Boba," Taun We greeted warmly. "Is your father here?"

Boba nodded back without hesitation. "Yep."

"May we see him?"

"Sure." the boy stepped back, his eyes never leaving Kamino's newest arrival for even a microsecond as the Jedi and Taun We stepped across the threshold. Kenobi watched as the young boy called out for his father, and it didn't take long for the esteemed bounty hunter himself to walk into the frame, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. His face held many scars, both old and new, with an unshaven stubble on his chin. His body was thicker than the Jedi remembered, but the Mandalorian was still physically imposing, unlike the other Mandalorians he would later encounter in his occasional skirmishes with Pre Vizsla's Death Watch during the Clone Wars. It was quite obvious that the man was clearly on edge, suspicion clear on every line of his scarred face.

Obi-Wan smiled calmly. "Hello there."

Jango grunted in response, not taking his eyes off the odd-looking space monk.

"Welcome back, Jango," Taun We remarked. "Was your trip productive?"

"Fairly," the man casually said, sizing up Obi-Wan as he spoke, his eyes narrowed at him in a not-so hidden gesture of intimidation. "I see Lama Su picked up a new hitchhiker in my absence? What, was Kal too busy spending quality time with the Null boys?" The bounty hunter shook his head, both annoyed, and yet, somewhat amused by the mention of this Kal individual. Obi-Wan didn't know who this mysterious person was, but didn't bother to pressure the already tense Mandalorian for such questions.

"On the contrary, Jango, this is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," Taun We said lightly, an attempt to relieve some of the tension in the room. "He's come to check on our progress."

"That right?"

"Your clones are very impressive," Obi-Wan said. "You must be very proud."

The genetic donor shrugged, making a subtle hand motion to Boba. "I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe, Master Jedi," Jango's simple words had little effect on the Jedi as he stared at the sharp canines in the bounty hunter's smile.

"Aren't we all?" Obi-Wan murmured back, eyeing the silver pieces of body armor lying non-obscurely in a small closet in the Fett's quarters. The sight was soon blocked when the younger Fett, obeying his father's command, stepped over to the other side of the room to push a button on a tiny console that sealed the closet shut with an audible 'hiss'. Not that it mattered, Obi-Wan had seen enough in the previous timeline to know that Fett was guilty of treason. But that doesn't mean that my business here is over yet.

"Tell me, have you ever came into contact with a man by the name of Sifo-Dyas?" the Jedi asked coolly.

Jango's eyes, if possible, grew colder than they already were. "Never heard of anyone with a name as stupid as that one." he scoffed. "If you want my honest opinion, the person probably grew up hating their parents for giving them that name whenever the bullies cornered them in the schoolyard."

"Oh?" Obi-Wan mused innocently. "I thought he was the one who recruited you for the cloning project. You know, the one about the secret army for the Republic?"

"I'm afraid you're wrong, my friend," Jango explained, surprising Obi-Wan by the man's sincerity through the Force. "I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden..." the bounty hunter paused for a moment, staring out at the dark storm roaring loudly outside with its harsh winds and cold rain. "...do you like your army?"

"Very. I look forward to seeing them in action."

Despite the obvious hostility between the two, Jango gave Obi-Wan a toothy smile that can put a Nexu to shame. "They'll do their job well. I'll guarantee that."

"Thank you for your time, Jango," Obi-Wan said, turning to Taun We and started for the door. On his way out, he heard Jango call out in a barely-concealed threat. "Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi," As usual, the Mandalorians were keen experts in the arts of intimidation as they were in battle, but Obi-Wan was a man who did not let such tactics get to him. Years of fighting against the Separatists across the galaxy, and dealing with both the Tusken Raiders and Jabba's henchmen on Tatooine were prime examples to that testament.

With Taun We next to him, the two left the apartment with the door sliding to a close behind them, quietly secured to any outsiders. Stretching out his feelings, he can sense Jango's frustration climbing to a head, and his son's confusion and slight fear evident to the currents of the Living Force, making the Jedi guess that the two would soon make a hasty exit from the oceanic world very soon.

Not if I have anything to say about it, though.

"Now then, Master Kenobi," Taun We's voice brought him out his current state of thinking. "We appreciate your visit to our facility, and are most pleased by your satisfaction of our units, and hope that your next visit will be sooner than our last one."

"Actually," the auburn-haired man interjected with a charming smirk on his face. "I was hoping to know if I could spend the night here to rest 'till tomorrow. With all that time cramped into a small area for several days, I'd say that I at least deserve a warm bed for making such a journey."

Taun We stared, blinking slowly, before a smile graced her features. "I see," she said, bowing humbly at the human before her. "I will consult with the Prime Minister about this, and see if I can arrange a room for you to rest in."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I'd like that."

It didn't take long for the Kaminoans to hastily arrange a room for their esteemed guest of honor; In fact, by Obi-Wan's calculations, it only took them approximately seventeen minutes for them to clean up the room, and another three for him and Taun We to walk to his new quarters. The room was lavish in the standard pure-white background of Tipoca City with the occasional black line marking both the walls and the floor, and a simple-looking bed laying in the middle of the room, silently tempting Kenobi to come over and lie down in it. He would indulge in its silent offer greatly, once he completed his mission. Taun We bid the Jedi Knight a good night, telling him that if he ever needed anything to ring up one of them on the console's communicator. Obi-Wan smiled, and said that he promises not to cause any sort of trouble.

Fifteen minutes later, the Jedi Knight found himself crawling through Tipoca City's ventilation shafts, wincing at the cramped areas of the vents that were incredibly dusty and filled with all sorts of cobwebs. Apparently, Tipoca City wasn't entirely clean as most people thought. He crawled through the air ducts with the stealth of a nexu slowly approaching its prey, careful not to make any loud noise of sort that would alert any nearby Kaminoan aide, or worse, one of their security droids. Ironically enough, the Jedi's eyes flickered down through the shaft that he was currently crawling over to see a Kamino security droid, pure-white and bulky that was hovering above the ground, slowly gliding through the hallway with a bright light shining into the darkened corridors of Tipoca City.

His memory of the facility, while a bit fuzzy, remained mostly intact as he made his way to the point of his destination within the facility. He just hoped he wasn't wrong with his directions of the room. After several minutes of him crawling through the ducts, and carefully making his way through the air fans within the ducts, Obi-Wan then noticed a light up ahead, and felt a smirk grow on his face. Bingo, he thought.

It didn't take long for him to reach the source of light, and he peered out through the air vent obstructing him to see that his intuition was right all along; He had arrived in the embryo room. Tall columns filled with the glowing containers of embryos could be seen as far as the eye could see with small, glowing blue console on every side of each column, a stark contrast to the darkened room that they inhabited in. His eyes then fell upon a shadow, long and bony, operating one of the consoles with the speed of a madman, its posture hunched over. Obi-Wan didn't need the Force to know that this shadow was one of the head genetic scientists for the Kaminoans.

Reaching out with the Force, Obi-Wan slowly unscrews the screws placed within the vents one-by-one before the vent came undone and fell from its position on the wall, rapidly approaching the floor before Obi-Wan outstretches a hand to stop the vent from hitting the ground, mere centimeters away from the polished floor.

After gently lowering the vent to the floor, Obi-Wan then pulled himself out of the cramped air duct, his long legs hanging over the edge before dropping down and landing in the room with a soft audible 'thud'. Pausing, he looked up to see that the Kaminoan scientist was still engrossed in their work, unaware of the intruder in the room. Obi-Wan smirked to himself, rising up from his crouched position and began walking over to the scientist without breaking stride. Coming to a halt before the scientist, Obi-Wan raised a hand to the Kaminoan's body and placed it on a part of the scientist's neck, gripping it ever so slightly.

Like a puppet cut from its strings, the Kaminoan jerked and promptly fainted, its eyes rolling into the back of its head before falling backwards and into Obi-Wan's open arms. The Jedi Knight gently laid the Kaminoan down on the polished floor before turning to stare at the console it was working at. His eyes squinted at the bright display, a side effect of having to crawl through the darkened ventilation shafts for the past several minutes, before they slowly adjusted to the console's brightness after Kenobi blinked his eyes rapidly several times to ease the slight pain it caused.

On the console was a detailed schematic of the cloning facility, each level highlighted individually in a separate area of the sprawling metallic city. His eyes skimmed over each part, naming them off silently inside his head. Central Armory, Security Sector Six, Military Complex... I know it's around here somewhere, but where-wait a minute.

His eyes narrowed at a small sector of the facility, overshadowed by the much larger educational complex, and clicked on it. He grinned at the name that popped up; Clone Embryo Chamber.

Tapping on the highlighted area, a list of the key parts of the room popping up on a menu screen in clear Aurebesh. He trailed over the list until he came to a stop at the bottom, causing a frown to appear on his face. Out of all the categories he had read, there was nothing that had to do with the bio-chip or anything to do with Order 66.

However, he noticed a small icon at the bottom of the screen that was blinking red. Curious, he clicked on it and the screen went black for a moment, making Obi-Wan fear that he had been lured into a trap until the projection of a Kaminoan scientist appeared on-screen. What was this?

"Log Date: 7-15-18948 PGF; This is Ko Sai," The Kaminoan, now identified as Ko Sai, spoke in a slow, melodic voice. "Today, Tipoca City received a visitor from the outside, one that we've grown to receive over the course of several decades. Magister Hego Damask of Damask Holdings came here today, the first time in a long time, and the first time he was alone. But it was his request that peeked my curiosity; He had come here with the questions of whether or not our cloning facility is capable of producing soldiers based off of the blood-sample of a member for the Yinchorri race. The other scientists and I pointed out about how the Yinchorri's natural aggression would be extremely difficult to control in a military environment and interfere with their ability to obey orders. He eventually ceded to our reasoning, but offered to fund a project with the genetic template of a more acquiescent race to serve his cause. The Homo Sapiens species were his next choice, despite our limited experience with their kind, but we should be able to contain their emotionalism with our doctrines. He left, not so long ago, promising us that Damask Holdings would be more than sufficient to help fund the project; We know not when he will return, but we shall await his future requests. Ko Sai, signing off."

There was no words to describe the flood of emotions Obi-Wan was going through at this moment. Hego Damask? Damask Holdings? Creating soldiers based of the Yinchorri species? Just how far back did the idea of the clone army go to, especially considering the fact that the Sith never had any kind of dealings or influence over the Banking Clan until the final months of the war, and the Empire's nationalization of the IBC not long after Palpatine's declaration of a new order.

A brief thought entered into his mind, but it was one that sent chills down his spine; Could it be? Had some members of the Rule of Two had ties to some of the commerce guilds over the millennium following the end of the Ruusan campaign, knowingly sabotaging its finances to sow seeds of dissent against the Republic?

The next log date began playing. "Log Date: 5-25-18969; This is Ko Sai. It's been over twenty years, but Magister Damask's request of a clone army has come to fruition. Today, we received two new guests to Tipoca City; A Jedi Master by the name of Sifo-Dyas, and a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Unfortunately, we have recently been informed of Magister Damask's demise by Master Sifo-Dyas, though the Prime Minister suspected that something was amiss when the fundings for the clone army suddenly stopped during the last seasonal change. However, Master Sifo-Dyas was gracious enough to continue the funding for the project, along with offering Mr. Fett as the genetic template for the army. However, Mr. Fett had but one condition if we were to proceed any further; He demanded a clone for himself without the genetic tampering of its age-limit. It's quite the conundrum, but one that we are capable of performing. Though it truly is a shame with Magister Damask's passing, he truly was a brilliant man in his own right, even more so than the late Rugess Nome. But we shall adapt to this change, such is the way of life itself."

So that's how Dooku managed to convince Jango, Obi-Wan thought, surprised at the revelation of Boba being a younger clone of the Mandalorian warrior. But why did Jango want an unaltered clone for himself, and how does this 'Hego Damask' tie into all of this?

"Log Date: 6-4-18969; This is Ko Sai," Unlike the previous recordings, Ko Sai looked to be irritated about something. "At the time of this recording, the first batch of clones are in the embryo stage with the number estimating over two hundred thousand units that, if our calculations are correct, should be ready for combat within a decade," She then trailed off, a brief look of anger flashing on her face. "However, I am still unsatisfied by the recent development concerning the bio-chips."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes, a feeling of dread bubbling up inside his stomach.

"We originally had the idea of implanting an inhibitor chip into the embryos development stage, as a way to ensure that the units had limited independence and aggression when performing the more... questionable protocols that we were instructed to teach them as they grew older, but Mr. Fett put a stop to that when he caught us trying to implant one into his own undeveloped clone, Boba, if I recall. He demanded us to destroy all of the inhibitor chips that we created and stay away from the Boba, or else, he would raze this entire facility to the bottom of the ocean. When the Prime Minister caught word of this, he supported Mr. Fett's decision but on the condition that he partook in both the physical and psychological parts of the clones' training. The others agreed to this without complaint, but I am... infuriated by this decision, as the clones may inherit Jango's violent tendencies, and could openly rebel against us and their superiors during the heat of battle. Should the day come, I will watch from afar, as all our hard work comes crashing down thanks to the threats of a barbaric brute's 'feelings'. I only pray that Master Sifo-Dyas has mercy on us for this decision."

There the recordings stop, leaving Obi-Wan alone in the dark to muse over this shocking revelation. The clones... don't have an inhibitor chip inside their skull, but rather follow along the protocols like drones. This wasn't what he had expected at all, and even worse so, this changed a key part in his plans to save the Jedi Order; His original intentions was to re-write the command of Order 66 into helping the Jedi Order survive Palpatine's purge, but now it turns out that there wasn't any inhibitor chips. Why? So far, the events in this timeline seemed to match up with the ones in the original, save for him saving Zam Wessell and talking to Palpatine to limit the man's influence over Anakin, but this?

The room started spinning, and he saw spots beginning to cloud his line of vision. Obi-Wan had to get out of this room, quickly, before his already throbbing head could send him into some kind of panic attack.

By the time that the unconscious Kaminoan scientist awoke, Obi-Wan was already long gone from the area.

When a call beamed to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was using scramble code 5, and was marked in the care of "the old folks home", Mace Windu and Yoda knew that it was important. Extremely important. Inside Yoda's lavish quarters, the hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared before them. He looked to be on edge, glancing repeatedly over his shoulder, but Windu narrowed his eyes at the Jedi's expression; It was a mask, a well-crafted one at that, but the Korun could make out faint traces of shock and disbelief within his eyes, something that Windu had never seen come out of Kenobi in... well, ever.

"Masters, I have successfully made contact with the Kaminoan people, more importantly their Prime Minster, Lama Su."

Yoda nodded in approval. "Very good, Master Kenobi. Presume I do that the answers we seek, you have found, yes?"

Obi-Wan hesitated. "Yes..." The two masters glanced at each other. "...and no, Master Yoda."

"What do you mean by that?" Windu asked, folding his hands underneath his chin in contemplation. Next to him, Yoda merely closed his eyes. "Your mission was to track down Senator Amidala's assassin, as well as to find out who 'Tyranus' is? Are you saying that you haven't made contact with either one of them?"

"No, Master. I've tracked down Jango Fett to Kamino, and have learned that the Kaminoans are using him as a genetic template to create a clone army."

Mace's eyebrows rose. "An army?"

"For the Republic," came Obi-Wan's startling answer. "What's more, I have also learned that there have been many attempts to create this army dating back to approximately thirty years ago."

"Is there a chance that this Tyranus may have had a hand in the army's creation?"

Again, Obi-Wan hesitated. "I'm... not sure, but I have a strong feeling that he may have."

"Do not be hasty to assume anything, Obi-Wan," Yoda advised. "Clear, your mind must be if you are to discover the real villain behind this plot."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. "From what I've seen from the Kaminoans data-logs, a 'Magister Damask' has tried to create a clone army for himself many times in the past, the first attempt being with the cloning of Yinchorri warriors, but was rejected due to the species' aggression and resistance towards obeying orders. The current clone army that I've seen today has been in development for the past ten years, and that the first legion of clones are ready for combat with another million well on the way to completion."

"A million clone soldiers?" Windu echoed in disbelief.

"Magister Damask?" Yoda echoed, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, Masters. If you may forgive me for asking, but who is this Damask person? I've never heard of a being like him before."

Yoda hesitated, but Windu continued for him. "Magister Damask was Hego Damask II, the creator of Damask Holdings for the IBC."

"Was?"

"Long passed, he has," Yoda whispered, mostly to himself. "An unfortunate accident on the night of Valorum's vote-of-no-confidence."

"Ah, I see." Obi-Wan looked like he wanted to say more, but held back for some odd reason. Windu saw this, and was about to comment, when the hologram projection continued speaking. "With your permission, Masters, I request for the authority to arrest Jango Fett with the authorization of the High Council."

"Request granted," Windu replied without hesitation. "Take this Jango Fett into custody, and bring him here. We will see all the questions to this plot is solved, that I can assure you."

"Understood, Masters. Kenobi out."

"A clone army," Windu remarked, alone with Yoda, as the hologram winked out. "Why would Hego Damask-"

"An odd being, Magister Damask was," Yoda said. "Wise and possessed a logical mind, he did, but shrouded in secrecy and mystery his activities were. Closely connected he was with Dooku..."

Windu filled in for the gap that Yoda left open. "You believe that he had a hand in the separatist movement, over ten years after his death? Forgive me, Master Yoda, but that just sounds ludicrous. There's no way a dead man, even one as influential as Hego Damask was, could have affected the current state of today's affairs from beyond the grave. It's impossible."

"Many shadows lurk within the darkness," Yoda remarked. "Multiplying, our adversaries are, so to does the mysteries behind this plot. Fear I do that find hidden skeletons, we will." The aged master shook his head, looking every bit as worn and tired with the simple gesture. "Only the Dark Lords of the Sith know of our weakness, and take advantage of our lack of vision, they will."

Padme stepped out of the old moisture farm to see the form of Anakin staring out over the empty desert, watching the setting twin suns in the distance bath the area around them with golden colors. His posture was tense, his shoulders tight as a claw fish's jaws around its prey. Ever since the old man named Cliegg had told the two travelers about Shmi's horrible predication - captured, and held hostage by a tribe of blood-thirsty Tusken Raiders - Anakin hadn't said one word to her, only resolving to track down his mother with his stepbrother - Owen Lars - loaning the young Jedi his speederbike.

She quietly moved towards Anakin, who suddenly spoke without turning. "You're staying here with the others. They're good people, you'll be safe."

"Anakin-"

"I know she's alive," he said, still glaring at the twin suns.

From behind, Padme wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight embrace. "Find her," she whispered. "Bring her back home."

"I won't be long."

Padme could only watch with tears in her eyes as the speeder rocketed away across the dunes with her guardian at the bike's helm. She quietly prayed to Shiraya to keep him, and his mother, safe from harm. Yet a small, cynical part of her believed that it would still be not enough.

Jango briskly made his way towards the landing pad holding the Slave I, Boba following him in his shadow. Ever since his meeting with the Jedi, the Mandalorian had instructed his son to pack their things while contacting Tyranus to inform him of this new development. Oddly enough, the old man didn't seem troubled, but rather... amused, as if he was secretly enjoying some private joke that Jango didn't know about. Despite that, Tyranus ordered Jango to relocate to the planet Geonosis to help in the preparations in the final phase of Tyranus's little operation. Jango, of course, knew what his operation actually was, knew what the consequences of the old man's actions would lead to.

War.

For the first time in nearly a thousand years, total war would be unleashed upon the galaxy after centuries of false peace and restrained tension between the wealthy bureaucrats of the Core Worlds and the dirt-poor residents of the Outer Rim. Tyranus had already laid out the foreground of what the war would bring out, and it sent a chill down Jango's spine; the galaxy would be torn asunder, fire would rain down from the skies of neutral worlds, countless civilizations and races will be wiped out, all to pave the way for a fresh start, for a new order.

An Empire.

Jango was many things; ruthless, cold-hearted, calculating, and conniving to say the least, but the tales that Tyranus spoke of promised anarchy and chaos for the galaxy in the coming years forced the bounty hunter to look for hiding places until the fighting dies down. He didn't care if he died, having accepted the idea of death ever since his days with the True Mandalorians decades prior, but he'd be damned to leave his son - Jaster's legacy - to fend for himself in a lawless galaxy.

"Dad." Boba's voice - soft and quiet - broke him out of his musings and he looked behind to see the boy, looking very much like he did as a boy before the Death Watch killed all childhood innocents on Concord Dawn, staring out towards the landing pad with a look of fear in his eyes. Jango looked up to see what the boy was staring at, and rage burned hotly through his veins.

There, standing on the landing platform with a serene smile, was the Jedi Knight who dared to come to his new home and threaten him without a care in the whole damn galaxy. Behind him, the Slave I's charred wreckage burned brightly in the midst of the raging storm taking place outside of the facility.

And throughout all this, Jango saw the Jedi's lips move to form a single phrase that somehow managed to enrage Jango even more.

"Hello there." was what the Jedi said.