As soon as they were in hyperspace, Anakin looked at Obi-Wan who hadn't spoken since they boarded. "Do you really think it's possible what Dooku said is true? I mean, you knew him better than anyone else except Master Yoda when he was still in the Order."
"I cannot claim I know him as well as you might assume, Anakin. I met him only a few times when I was Qui-Gon's Padawan, though he wasn't one to exaggerate things any more than my old master. The fact he admitted he joined the Sith is certainly the blunt Dooku I remember, for he'd say exactly what he had done or thought even when it countered the Council and the Order."
"Sounds like Master Jinn."
Obi-Wan pushed his sorrow into the Force and managed a small smile. "Of course it does, he was Dooku's Padawan before you were born and I was barely initiated as a Youngling. The only difference between the two of them besides age being Qui-Gon could be less stubborn. Dooku may be on a different side now in more ways than one, but his claim would explain the corruption in the Senate. I am not sure if it is the Chancellor or not, yet anyone in the Senate who has proven dishonorable in the past could have even Dooku fooled as to their real identity."
"I have known the Chancellor since he was a delegate for Naboo, I have seen him do good things for people." Padmé pursed her lips. "Though there were some rumors he'd been supportive of anti-Republic campaigns under the table when he was Senator. They weren't ever proven, yet suddenly all of the papers supposedly supporting his innocence disappeared when he got into office and no one seemed to remember the accusations."
"Aren't all campaigns and supporters supposed to remain on file in case they need to be looked up as references?"
"Yes, though those haven't been the best kept at times."
Obi-Wan thought for a while, eyes focused on the hyperspace sky outside the viewport. "Does everyone in the Senate know about that?"
"I don't think most of them care enough to look much beyond their own records." Padmé admitted with a shake of her head. "Senator Organa mentioned he noticed it when he was looking up something for the Senator from Pantora because some of the dates were off on the transcripts while others were missing entirely. The Pantorans sent in a formal inquiry and were informed the system had errored and was now fixed. I decided to take a look for myself and found that wasn't the case for all the files."
Anakin frowned. "Might explain why there have been attempts on your life, but why hasn't there been any on Senator Organa?"
"He didn't look into the matter beyond helping the other representative and it's possible I may have gotten closer to the truth than certain people wanted me to know. I started out merely curious to see just how flawed our supposedly perfect system was, only to find a lot of old recorded Senate meetings mostly blacked out or missing entirely. At first I thought it was because they were highly classified, yet now I'm wondering if something else is going on."
Obi-Wan hmmmed. "I would say there is. I took the dart recovered from the assassin's body to my old friend Dex when the analysis droids at the Temple couldn't identify it's orgin and he told me it was from a planet in the Outer Rim called Kamino, just south of the Rishi Maze. When I looked it up in the Archives, there was nothing in the exact spot where a planet should be. Jocasta Nu was affronted at the very suggestion anything about the Archives could possibly be incomplete and told me if I didn't see it, it didn't exist. I took the problem to Master Yoda, who happened to be teaching Younglings at the time and he had me describe the situation to them. They came to the conclusion someone must have erased Kamino from the Archives, though it was unclear who could have done such a thing. Deleting something is a very serious matter and takes petitions containing proof of inaccurate information and all the librarians' approval codes once the claim had been verified, which would have appeared in the search and yet there wasn't anything of the sort.
"I took that to mean whoever was responsible didn't want Kamino found and set out to investigate with Master Yoda's approval. Kamino was exactly where it should be upon my arrival, a planet non-existent according to the Archives. Even more surprising, they had been expecting a Jedi Knight to visit to check on the progress of a clone army ordered a decade ago by Master Sifo-Dyas without the authorization of the Council or the Republic's knowledge. I met a man called Jango Fett whom the Kaminoans were using to make the clones and he turned out to be the bounty hunter who had killed the assassin on Coruscant. I never found out who hired Fett, but the fact remains someone has been tampering with Senate transcripts and the Jedi Archives. Master Sifo-Dyas died shortly after his appearance on Kamino, so we can't ask him if he erased information or where he got the money to create an army. Kaminoans take the full payment up front, so it wouldn't be doable on a Master's salary where he'd have to make yearly deposits."
"Dooku has that kind of money." Anakin pointed out darkly.
"Having seen the price the Kaminoans charged, I can guarantee the Count would have little or nothing left over to invest for his Separatist movement. The Banking Clan might be on his side now, but they definitely weren't ten years ago."
Padmé sighed. "With the Banking Clan, money would definitely not be an issue. I know Serenno wants everyone believe there's no limit to their wealth either, yet they spend their credits like misers because few of the original rich families still have their fortune intact. Makes no sense to spend an entire inheritance without some kind of ability to replenish it."
"His Master could have given him the funds, if his claims that this Darth Sidious has access to untraceable and unlimited sources are correct." Anakin shrugged. "And if Hutts can do it, why not Sith who don't want to get the attention of the Order?"
"Indeed, Padawan. In either case, I think it best if we refrain from speaking of this like the Count suggested after we make our report. He might not have been telling us everything, but we still need to investigate this to the fullest extent. In the meantime, let's all get some sleep. It's going to be a long day when we reach Coruscant. Especially since you still have to explain why you two were on Tatooine in the first place." Obi-Wan held up a hand when Anakin opened his mouth to protest. "Gather your thoughts and we'll talk in the morning."
"Yes, Master." Anakin left quickly.
Padmé looked at the Jedi Master as she got up. "What if Count Dooku was telling us the truth about everything?"
"Try not to dwell on what might be, Senator. It will only keep you awake." He watched her head to her quarters and mused how much he had sounded like Qui-Gon as he leaned back in his seat to get some rest.