Enemy Within Chapter 10: Diary of the Sith
They continued to listen to the holocron Plaguis had made to chronicle his career.
"Darth Plaguis holocron entry #2: It appears I am the only one who cares about Darth Tenebrous's death. Everyone else is simply trying to grab up as much of his estate as possible, as they knew him as Rugess Nome, famed starship designer. Sadly, only I will know his true legacy."
"Darth Plaguis holocron entry #3: Tenebrous had a secret apprentice, Darth Venamis, who just attempted to usurp me. I proved my superiorty and Venamis now lies brain dead in my laboratory, a test subject for midichlorean manipulation."
"Darth Plaguis holocron entry #4: I have encountered a young human who has the potential to become a fine Sith. He hates his family, seeing them as weak and useless. His hatred of them has only escalated since they banned him from racing after he hit and ran over an entire family. Now, I only need to see if he truly has what it takes to get what he wants."
"Darth Plaguis holocron entry #5: I was correct about my young friend's potential. After a little prodding from me, as well as some inspirational storytelling, he has killed that useless family of his. I will ensure they go reported as just another tragic hyperspace accident. I will now begin his training. I have given him a new name: Darth Sidious."
Obi-Wan's eyes shot up in surprise when he heard Plaguis name his apprentice. "Is that name important to you?" asked Skirata.
Obi-Wan nodded and said "When Dooku held me captive on Geonosis, he claimed that a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious was behind the Invasion of Naboo and was now in control of the Senate. I thought that he was lying and the council agreed with me. Dooku's later actions only helped convince me of that."
"That is very interesting," said Vau. "Now can we get back to the holocron?"
"Yes, of course," said Obi-Wan.
Vos resume meditating and the holocron reactivated. The next recording showed Plaguis wearing a breath mask.
"Darth Plaguis holocron entry #6: The Gran Protectorate sent Maladian Assassins to kill me along with all of my allies. Darth Sidious and I survived, and Sidious subsequently destroyed all the conspirators along with their embassy but I have not come away unscathed. Most of my nose has been sliced off and I can only breathe with this mask on. I shall leave the day to day management of the grand plan to Lord Sidious and focus my time on unlocking the mysteries of the force."
"So that is how he lost so much of his face," commented Tay'haai.
The next several reports largely consisted of his experiments with midichloreans with several mentions of Sidious taking Darth Maul as an apprentice. Plaguis was trying to create the perfect force user through his experiments, though he did not think he had made any headway towards that goal. Another report had him reveal that Sojourn had been hit with a nuclear warhead as part of an assassination attempt on him. The last entry, however, was very surprising.
"Darth Plaguis entry #22: I have just met with Master Sifo-Dyas of the Jedi council and informed him of the Kaminoan cloning facility. I have made the introduction necessary for them to do business with Sifo-Dyas. In addition, I have made all the necessary arrangements for their funding, though we still need a prime clone. The Blockade of Naboo starts tomorrow, that should convince Sifo-Dyas of the necessity of the Clone Army and eliminate any lingering doubts."
After the last entry played out, Obi-Wan looked very surprised. Skirata noticed this and asked what was bothering him.
"Some time ago, Anakin and I went to Oba Diah to investigate the death of Master Sifo-Dyas," he answered. "When we talked to the local leaders, the Pyke Syndicate, they revealed what had happened. They had been paid to shoot down his transport by one of his associates, named Tyrannus. When I met Jango Fett, he claimed that he had never heard of Sifo-Dyas and that his contact was called Tyrannus. The Pyke drug dealers decided to take some insurance against betrayal by capturing Sifo-Dyas's traveling companion, named Silman. They introduced us to their captive in exchange for us forgetting about their murder of a Jedi Master. Not that it made much difference, as Count Dooku immediately showed up and killed Sillman."
"Why?" asked Vau. "What did Dooku have against some person who had been legally dead for over a decade? Or did he just want to fight his two favorite sparring partners again?"
"He certainly enjoyed sparring with us but the main reason, as the Pyke leader revealed before Dooku killed him, was because Silman and the Pykes knew Dooku as Tyrannus," Obi-Wan revealed.
"What!?" exclaimed everyone. "How is that possible?" asked Skirata. "That raises so many questions. Why did Dooku create an army for a government that he hates? Why didn't he try to appropriate or eliminate the clones once he decided to destroy the Republic? He certainly had the opportunity to do so, and to be honest, he wouldn't have met with much resistance from either the Kaminoans themselves or from any of us trainers." This drew a few looks from Ahsoka, the clones, and Obi-Wan. "Back then, I thought Dooku was just a crank who had legitimate complaints about the Republic," Skirata promptly said. "I didn't know he was a vicious psychopath who is willing to kill entire planets to get what he wants. Why didn't you try to look into this further?"
"We hit a dead end in our investigation," Obi-Wan answered.
"What about the Kaminoans?" asked Tay'haai. "They are a bunch of xenophobic mad scientists who kill any clone they think isn't up to their standards of quality. Do you seriously think they are trustworthy?"
"When you put it like that, no not really," answered Obi-Wan. "Do you think the Kaminoans have done something to help Dooku or the Sith?"
Echo then looked troubled and spoke up. "Maybe. I was talking to Rex the other day about Fives," referencing his dead squadmate. "He said that Fives died as a result of removing his Inhibitor Chip."
"His what?" asked Skirata.
"An implant placed inside the brains of Clones during fetal development," explained Obi-Wan. "Its purpose is to keep clones from developing psychosis."
"Who told you that and why haven't we heard of this before?" asked Skirata.
"The Kaminoans," said Obi-Wan. "At Ringovenda, a clone named Tup killed a Jedi after a parasite in his drinking water caused his chip to degrade. He later died as a result of the infection. Fives had his chip removed in a fit of paranoia and went completely off the rails as a result, before being shot by Commander Fox."
"Why would clones need an implant to prevent psychosis?" asked Gilamar.
"Jango had several less-than-admirable qualities, but he wasn't crazy. And the accelerated growth isn't fast enough to cause insanity like the Spaarti models. It's probably for something else. Besides, there are other ways to cause psychosis, such as chemicals."
"True, but how can we prove it?" asked Obi-Wan. "Do an autopsy on a clone killed in battle?"
"If only it were that simple," answered Gilamar. "Assuming the brain wasn't completely destroyed, the chip would have degraded by the time of the autopsy. The chip will need to be taken from a live clone."
"I'll do it," offered Echo. "After you remove it, place me in isolation for the next two days to see if I go insane."
"Are you sure, Echo?" asked Ahsoka. "There is no guarantee the medical droids will be able to reinsert the chip. You could die!"
"Fives was my pod brother," he replied. "I grew up with him, trained with him, and fought alongside him. I need to know what killed him."
"I shall get the operation room ready then," said Gilamar. We can begin tonight, after I make the necessary arrangements. Meet me in the Aay'han's medical bay in two hours."