"Something happened during the cloning process". Its eyes open, it is surrounded by a bubbly liquid. "It's…different"
-We'll have to fix this immediately!
-We can't! It would kill it!
-Does it matter?
-It would be killing a human being!
-We've done it countless times before. What makes this time so different?
-It's special, unique. We must preserve it…for now.
It wakes up, going about the usual routine. Looks at the schedule, memorising today's sessions, puts on its uniform, and goes out the door. It sits down in front of the monitor, and slips on its helmet. Its helmet is chrome green, which it finds strange. All the other helmets are either silver or gold. It feels out of place, for the first time it realizes this. Compared to the others, who always work alone, it has three different tutors to suit its needs. It learns at a very slow rate compared to its classmates. This makes it feel inferior to the others. It has spent years learning simple things, while others learned twice faster, and grew twice as fast. They got into the clone army very early. It hasn't even touched a gun yet. "Pay attention clone #50817!" It turns its head quickly, and stares at the monitor for hours.
It slips out of its bedroom late at night. The hallway is dark, lit only by a few service lights for the janitors. It does this often, the repetitive classes bore it. It longs for excitement; it wants something else then to be stuck on Kamino. Suddenly it hears the light footsteps of a Kaminoan and huddles in the darkness. The Kaminoan walks by, unconscious of its presence. The clone runs past a door, and hears soft voices inside. Curious, it sneaks a small peek, and sees two Kaminoans talking with a tall black man. "Master Jedi, we are so glad you have come. We don't know what to do with this clone, it's…special." Says Lama Su, the kaminoan prime minister.
"You say the clone's DNA was altered? That's impossible! All our calculations were correct. No bacteria can get into our hermetically sealed labs." says a kaminoan in a long white coat.
"Perhaps it was the will of the Force" Says the tall man, his hand waving in the air.
"Master Jedi, please accompany me to the child's room. There you can conduct any observations that are required." Says Lama Su, shooting a glare at the kaminoan scientist.
The group starts walking towards the door. The clone jerks and darts for its room. It runs as fast as it can and bumps into something. It looks up and sees… the black man! "Greetings child, what are you doing wandering about at this time of night?"
"I was just… exploring."
"I sense a great amount of fear in you. Do not be afraid, I will not harm you." He kneels down next to the clone and puts his hand onto its shoulder. Lama Su comes down the corridor. "Ah, I see you have met the clone, Master Jedi. As you can see, its physical traits are different from the other clones."
"There's something else about this child. I just can't put my finger on it." The Jedi rises. "Lama Su, I will accompany this child to its room, please leave us."
"As you wish Master Jedi." The kaminoan turns on his heels and walks away calmly. "Come, you must show me where you reside."
"Yes Master Jedi."
The clone enters the room, the Jedi right behind. The Jedi walks around, observing his surroundings like an animal in a new home. The clone was very afraid. Among the young clones, stories of Jedi killing hundreds were frequent. It grabs its pack and slowly walks out of the room. "Where might you be going youngling?" The Jedi asks. The clone dashes away towards the shuttles. The Jedi takes his comlink and activates it. "Lama Su, the clone has escaped. Send a squadron after it". "Right away master Jedi.''
Countless kaminoans look at it, puzzled, while it runs by. Doors open and scientists come out, shouting. They all try to catch it, but it ducks and jumps, weaves left and right, avoiding the numerous hands. It finally escapes from the cloning facility. Just outside the entrance, there are many landing pads scattered about. There are ships everywhere. It runs toward a cargo ship, trying to find refuge. It dumps a crate and climbs aboard. The wooden crate shatters against the cement, it is filled with blasters. The clone picks up one of them and stuffs it down its bag. It squeezes into a tight space and tries to fall asleep. "Maybe I should have stayed back in my room."
"Hey! Who do you think you are?! Get out of my ship!!" "Pardon my intrusion sir, but I needed a transport." "I don't care! Get out now!" The short rodian grabs it by the shoulder and throws it outside the ship. The rodian locks the cargo door and goes into a door underneath a flashing sign. The clone explores its surroundings, it's good at that. Trash is everywhere and the buildings are crumbling. Crowds walk up and down the streets, most wear torn rags or handmade clothes. It looks up and there are speeders crowding the air. It sees an info booth and walks towards it. "Hello young sir, how may I help you?" The droid behind the counter is old and worn. "Hello, I am clone #50817 from the Kaminoan army. I'm running from a Jedi." "Very funny, but I don't have time for jokes. Do you require any assistance?" The droid said in an annoyed voice. "Well, huh, what planet am I on?" "You are in the underlevels of Coruscant. Anything else you want to know?" "No, thank you." He walked away from the old droid. "Coruscant? But there's a Jedi temple here! I've got to go." He said to himself. He walked back towards the rodian's ship, hoping to stow away again. The streets of the Undercity weren't what the clone was used to. There were rows of small shops with blinking signs, heavily armed thugs walking past him, and pests crawling about. He arrived at the ship. He saw a tracking device next to the cargo door! "The Jedi know I'm here, bad idea to stow away there then." He saw a pair of Jedi walking towards him, so he pulled up the hood on his raincoat. He walked by them and they didn't notice him. Once they were out of hearing distance, he hid in an alley. He peeked around the corner. It wasn't him they were looking for. They entered the bar the rodian pilot was in. And they soon came out with the rodian between them. They pushed the rodian against his ship. One of the Jedi searched the ship while the other interrogated the pilot. "You picked up a little stow away on your trip from Kamino, where is he?" "I…I don't know what you're talking about!" A blue blade appeared under the rodian's chin. The pilot was even more nervous. "Come on, Denchar, leave the poor guy alone, the clone's not on the ship." The other Jedi called from the cargo hold. "What did you do with the clone!" The blade gets even closer to the pilot's neck. "Well…I don't know about any clones, but I did throw a small boy off my ship" "What?! He could be anywhere in the Coruscant Undercity! How will we ever find him now?!" Denchar shouts while the pilot tries to sneak away. The Jedi catches him and smashes him on the ship's hull. "I'm not done with you yet!" The other Jedi jumps from the cargo hold. "Denchar, let him go!!" He pulls on Denchar's arm and turns to the rodian. "You're free to go sir, thank you for your help." He says with a calm nod. The pilot didn't need to be asked twice, he dashed away. The Jedi turns back to Denchar and says: "Denchar, can't you stay calm for one conversation? Anger leads to the Dark Side; 'there is no emotion; there is peace.'" "I'm sorry. I don't know why, it's just so easy to give in…so I do." "The life of a Jedi is a long and hard path, just like this mission. Come on, let's go find that clone." "Right."
The clone watched silently as the Jedi left. He saw the human side of a Jedi, and it reassured him, but scared him as well. "What am I going to do now?" He asked himself. "Maybe I could help." The clone turned around and saw an alien only about a meter tall. It had blue fur, large yellowish eyes, the muzzle of a rodent and large pointy ears going straight up. "You're looking at me like you've never seen a Squib before." Said the creature while rummaging through trash. "Well…I haven't…I haven't seen much outside of Kamino." "Kamino? How did you get all the way over here from Kamino? Wait, I recognize your clothes. You're a clone aren't you?" "Why, yes, I am." The Squib got closer and examined the clone. "But you don't really look that much like a clone." "I don't?" "Nope, you're pretty different if you really are one." "I am a clone!" "Kind of hard to believe. But the way you act…you've never been off Kamino right?" "Not until today." "Then give me the honour of being your official welcoming committee! Welcome to the Coruscant Undercity; the happiest place in the galaxy, if you're a Squib anyway." "What makes you say that?" "Don't they make you study us on Kamino? We Squibs enjoy scavenging, bartering and trading in general. And the Undercity is the best place for that. So what's your name anyway?" "I'm clone #50817." "You're not going to survive long down here if you keep repeating that number. Maybe I should give you a name." The Squib paced around thoughtfully. "What about…Jarek? Yeah, that sounds nice!" "Whatever you say." "Oh come on, you like it right?" "Uh, sure. What's your name?" "My name's Davzay, but just call me Daz." "Alright. You mentioned that you could help me?" "Oh right, well, if you're in the Undercity alone you won't live very long, especially with Jedi hunting you. So if you follow me you'll be sure to survive." "I really appreciate your help, Daz" "There's not much to scavenge these days, with the war and everything. This could be fun. So why are the Jedi hunting you anyway?" "I don't know, this frightening Jedi came to Kamino especially for me, and I ran." "Jedi don't usually hunt people unless they've done really bad stuff, like high treason or something." "I haven't done anything like that… well, not that I know of anyway." "Weird. Hey, here's an idea! I saw a Jedi over there, how about we go spy on him?" "I don't think…" "There's not much else we can do is there?" Daz was right. Even if Jarek was against the idea of spying on Jedi, he didn't want to be hunted anymore. "I saw the Jedi walk into a cantina, maybe we should head there." Said Daz. "Good idea. But what if he recognizes me?" "Then I'll be the distraction while you run." Said the Squib with a smile. "You have a weapon right?" asked Daz. "Oh yeah, it's right… Hey, where is it?!" "What's wrong?" "I had a blaster right here! I must have left it on the ship." "Or someone must have stolen it. This place is full of pickpockets. Wait, you have a ship?!" "No, I just stowed away on one." "Well a ship could have been useful right about now. No matter, let's head to the cantina, just stay behind me." Jarek pulled his hood over his face and followed Daz into the cantina.
The cantina was a filthy place. The air was foul. It smelled of strange concoctions and weird smokes. The walls were cracked and vermin were crawling through. The furniture was cheap and on the verge of collapse. Despite this, the cantina was packed; most of the seats were taken. "Come on, let's hit the bar." Said Daz. "But I'm too young to drink!" "It's the best place to be on lookout. But I might sneak a drink somewhere." "Daz!" "Fine, fine no drinks. Let's go." They started walking towards the bar, and Jarek bumped into a gamorrean. The huge beast grunted at Jarek. "I'm sorry…sir, I can't understand what you're saying." The gamorrean wasn't happy. He pushed Jarek on the bar and brought up a huge vibro-ax. The axe was a foot from Jarek's face when a blaster bolt came through the gamorrean. He fell to the ground with a deep sound. Daz was twirling his blaster and walking towards Jarek. "Hey, are you ok?" "Yeah, thanks to you." "I think we'd better get out of here before…" A fist sent Daz flying into a wall. "DAZ!" The Squib lay on the ground motionless. Jarek ran over as quick as he could. "Are you alright?" Daz stirred a little, but said nothing. Jarek picked up the blaster lying by his friend's side and looked for the closest patron. Everyone was charging at each other, and there was great confusion. None of the less, Jarek had his sights set on a Klatooinian that was charging towards him, vibro-blade in hand. He pulled the trigger, and heard a loud clicking sound. The blaster was out! He tossed it aside and raised his shaking hands. He looked over his shoulder and saw Daz, still motionless. His hands stopped quivering and his teeth stopped chattering. He looked the Klatooinian in the eyes. The Klatooinian stopped for a moment, laughed and charged again, but this time headed for Daz. "Don't touch him!" Jarek shouted as he ran towards the Klatooinian. He felt light, as if the air was carrying his steps. It was like a wind was pushing him up. "Worth a try" he thought. When the Klatooinian was a meter away from him, Jarek jumped, somersaulted and landed back on his feet behind him. The patron was confused. He turned around and his face met with Jarek's foot. All the patrons in the bar turned towards him, including a mysterious man in a hood. Jarek picked up the vibro-blade and shouted: "Who's next!? Anybody wants some of this?!". He was angry. He hated the Klatooinian, hated the bar's patrons, hated the Jedi, hated that he had to hide. As hate and anger flew through him he blindly charged at the nearest patron. The hooded man looked on worriedly. He clipped back his weapon and ran to meet the boy. Jarek was about to bring down his sword on a helpless Twi-Lek when someone grabbed his arm. He turned around and fingers settled on his forehead. His vision clouded and he fell, unconscious.
When he woke up, he was in a large room. The sun came in from between curtains. He got out of the bed and found a new set of clothes on the end of the bed. As he put them on he noticed they were similar to the robes of the Jedi. He walked out of the room and saw the hooded man waiting for him outside the door. Only his hood was down and Jarek saw he was a Jedi. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he said. "Where am I?" asked Jarek, frightened. "Do not worry; you're in the Jedi Temple. You are safe now." "Safe?! You're the one who tried to kill me last night!" "What are you babbling about? I saved you." "Saved me from what!? I could've handled all those guys!" "From the Dark Side. Your emotions clouded your vision and you were focused on inflicting pain and suffering." "But my friend was…" "Your friend is in safe hands. He is sleeping in the medical chambers. Now follow me, the Jedi council would like to speak with you." Jarek reluctantly followed the Jedi across the temple. Jedi walked by, not noticing him, focused on their tasks. When he looked at them he didn't see murderers. He saw normal people. Only with Force powers. And lightsabers. He entered the Coucil chamber and saw 12 Jedi seated around the room. The Jedi greeted the other Masters and walked out of the room. Jarek walked towards the middle of the room and recognized the tall black man sitting on one of the chairs. Now he was definitely worried. "Know why you are here, do you?" Yoda asked him. "Am I in some sort of trouble?" Jarek replied. "Don't answer our questions with other questions." Said the tall black man, also known as Mace Windu. "Stay calm young one. We aren't going to hurt you." Said a Jedi known as Obi-Wan Kenobi. "So why am I here?" asked Jarek. "According to one of our Jedi Knights, last night you were involved in a…quarrel." Said Mace Windu. "The bar fight? No listen, it's not my fault!" "Matter it does not." Said Yoda. "We have reports that you were…assisted by the Force during the confrontation." "Wait, all I did was a little somersault!" "Over a creature that was twice your size." Said Obi-Wan, calmly. "How did you feel when you did this?" asked Mace. "I felt light. Like a leaf on the wind." Replied Jarek. Mace turned to Yoda. "Interesting, this is." "Return to your room. We must discuss amonst…" Mace Windu was interrupted by quick steps outside the door, followed by screams. The Jedi all stood up, their hands on their lightsabers. The door opened, and Daz was standing in the doorway, a scalpel in hand. "Get away from him!" The masters sat back down. Obi-Wan chuckled a little: "Your friend's loyalty is to be admired." He said to Jarek. "It's alright Daz, they're not going to hurt me. "Oh." Daz lowered his scalpel. "I think I'll go back to sleep then." "See you later Daz." Daz walked out of the room, holding his bandaged side. "Go back to your room young one. We must discuss amongst ourselves." Jarek walked out of the Council chambers and returned to his room.
