Okay, I'm taking an opportunity to settle some things that have been bothering people about this story. Of course, I don't want to bore you so I also wrote this shorter story (oddly enough, once I started writing it, i couldn't stop and it kinda got outta control). I just want to go over the Kaminoan Jedi thing, which has been bothering me to. Unfortunatley, it contains spoilers for the Republic Command book, Order 66, so I'll put it on the bottom after this chapter. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to, but I think it might help clear things up. Thanks.
Tarkin sat at his desk, calmly and efficiently working his way through stacks of orders. Many were deployment orders for the various ships and armies, being deployed to the various worlds to maintain Imperial order. Of course, Tarkin could have had one of his many underlings do the work, but he felt that his own signature added a personal touch; a reminder to commanders that the Empire was watching its ambitious little soldiers.
"After all," he thought, "some of these commanders could be troublesome if they rebelled." He didn't worry too much though. The Emperor had plans for such traitors, most of which ended with violent, quiet, deaths. Then again, that was Imperial Intelligences job and Tarkin preferred to keep his hands out of that dirty laundry. A beeping from his intercom caught Tarkin's attention.
"Yes?" he answered.
"Governor Tarkin," his secretary said, "Armand Isard is here to speak to you. Shall I let him in?"
"Well, speak of the devil." He thought.
"Yes, let him in." The doors slid open. Armand Isard, the director of Imperial intelligence, strode in, the picture of confidence. Perhaps overly confident.
"Good day Governor." Armand said.
"Evening director," He responded. "How goes your work?" Armand chuckled grimly.
"You know, the occasional planet threatening to secede, a leader who gets a little too outspoken. Nothing to out of the ordinary." Tarkin rolled his eyes.
"No, I mean, how goes your work. Your real work." Armand coolly pulled a small holodisk out of his jacket.
"That's actually what I'm here to talk to you about," he said handing Tarkin the disk. "We have many pursuit teams on the trail of Jedi who escaped Order 66, but I need you to give copies of these to your commanders. They contain details on the various Jedi and their appearances." Tarkin activated the holodisk and began sifting through the list of Jedi.
"Shaak Ti, K'Kruhk, Tholme. Why, quite a few high ranking Jedi seem to have escaped. I was under the impression that the majority of the Order was destroyed." Armand shrugged.
"Yes, the majority was. However, many of the Jedi's bodies were unaccounted for and this contains only the ones who have supposedly been sighted. We've managed to narrow most of these cases down to the most plausible." Tarkin placed the tiny disk into his desk for later while Armand scowled disapprovingly. While Tarkin knew that he was within Emperor Palpatine's inner circle, he also knew that there was something mysterious about the Emperor, something that didn't add up. He decided to try to worm answers out of Armand.
"Governor," Armand said disapprovingly, "the Emperor has made it clear that that intelligence is to get to all commands as quickly as possible. I think it would be wise to distribute it as soon as possible." Tarkin sighed dramatically. He truly felt that the Emperor was over exaggerating the threat of the Jedi. Dispersed across the galaxy and hated by its residents thanks to Imperial propaganda, they presented a small threat to the vast Empire. When he voiced his opinion to the director, he only shook his head.
"You know, I am something of a history buff. I find that by studying the past of an enemy, you can often predict their actions today." Tarkin nodded coolly.
"Yes, of course, and an admirable past time and theory." Armand looked at Tarkin, as though evaluating him.
"Do you know that the Jedi have been purged before?" Armand asked.
"I recall reading something like that. By another order of Force users called the Sine or something." Tarkin knew well the history of the Sith, but wished to test Armand.
"Sith," Armand corrected, "and if you know that, then you know how resilient their order can be; how dangerous." Armand leaned in closely, almost nose to nose. "You know that the Jedi hold power that could topple the Empire if united. If the Empire is to survive, then not a single Jedi can be allowed to escape." Tarkin nodded reluctantly, but…
"I still am not sure I agree with you." Armand stood to his full height, cleary trying to intimidate him.
"Really? What flaws do you see with the Emperor's plan?" Tarkin knew he was on dangerous ground now, challenging the Emperor's beliefs. Men had been killed for less.
"No, not questioning his beliefs, merely implying why we're wasting valuable resources and agents on even the Jedi children. Surely they could be put to better use?" Armand looked at Tarkin hard, who sat calmly, face an enigmatic mask. Finally, Armand answered.
"Tarkin," he said no longer using the honorary governor title, "Jedi children grow up into Jedi. We must not give them that opportunity." He smiled.
"And don't worry about resources. We've borrowed from Special Operations and other departments to deal with the overflow. We have plenty of agents and resources." Tarkin nodded in understanding. It was true, the Empire, with its unlimited resources, could afford to waste a few soldiers chasing Jedi. Still, Tarkin felt a suspicion churning in his gut.
"There's more isn't there." He said. "There's something you're not telling me." Armand hesitated.
"Armand," Tarkin continued sternly, "Theoretically, I am your superior in this government. Now, I can order you to tell me what you know, or you can tell me on your own." The two men stared at each other, two men of power, storms raging against each other.
"Knowledge is power Tarkin. Why should I share my power with you?" Tarkin leaned back steepling his fingers.
"Because, the Empire is going to change the galaxy. New people will rise to power, others will be cast down." Tarkin smiled. "I suggest you side with me."
Armand was quiet. He was trapped. He was a very powerful man, very trapped man. No doubt he hated it.
"Very well Tarkin. I'll level with you. There are rumors going through the ranks of the clone army that they don't have to continue fighting, that there are ways to leave the Imperial army without consequences." Armand looked disturbed now. "In fact, some have gone missing, though the official records say otherwise."
"Someone out there is helping clones leave the army. Oh, they cover their tracks well, but it has been noticed. In particular, several different clone commando units have gone missing, along with a few ARC troopers. If we don't stop this now, we could have mass desertions on our hand." Tarkin nodded. A mass desertion would be a major threat to the stability of the Empire.
"How does following the Jedi help find missing clone?" Armand smiled slyly.
"Whoever is sheltering the clones is an enemy of the Empire and will need protection…" he said leadingly.
"And Jedi are going to need places to hide." Tarkin finished. "You plan to crush both rebellions with one blow." Armand nodded.
"Well," Tarkin said, "I must say, this is a clever plan. I really didn't expect such subtlety." Tarkin took the holodisk back out.
"Now, you've leveled with me, so I'll level with you." Tarkin stood. "Did you think the Empire wished to remain dependent on Kamino for its soldiers forever? Did you ever wonder why, in the last few days of the war, we were suddenly winning on fronts that had been stalemates for months and months?" Tarkin smiled at Armand quietly.
"Yes, we received reinforcements from Kamino just in time." Tarkin shook his head.
"No Director, we received reinforcements from Arkanian Microtechnologies facilities on Centax -2." Armand looked shocked.
"That's impossible! How did I not know about this?!" Tarkin smiled.
"Looks like you aren't as powerful as you thought."
"The Emperor knew better then to rely on the Kaminoans," Tarkin continued, " so he commissioned the creation of another army, an army that can be grown and trained quicker, if less effectively. While not as well trained as our Mandalorian trained Kamino clones, they are grown in Spaarti cylinders and reach maturity within a year. They will gradually replace the Fett clones until we are completely independent from Kamino. Then, this army will be used to maintain order throughout the Empire." Armand looked stunned.
"So, when several of my agents reported massive discrepancies in the budget…" Tarkin grinned. The man was beginning to detect the dots.
"The Emperor foresaw issues with the Kaminoan's fickle loyalty. He planned to use these clones, making the Empire completely independent. This, in addition to the recruitment efforts on member planets, will create the largest military the galaxy has ever seen." Tarkin leaned back on his desk, allowing his words to sink in. Armand looked annoyed by this information, probably because it had been kept from his own agency. Tarkin knew he shouldn't be too surprised. Palpatine himself had probably hindered the investigation.
"So," Tarkin whispered, adding drama to his words, "that begs the question, why is Chancellor Palpatine bothering to hunt down clones who he's going to replace anyways? Any thoughts Armand?"
"No, but I'd like very much to find out." Armand walked out of the room, no doubt intent on gathering knowledge. After all, knowledge is power. But first, he turned.
"Governor, thank you for informing me of this. I have no doubt that this information will save many lives." He left, the doors sliding behind him.
Tarkin returned to his work, gently smiling to himself. In politics, tearing enemies down while raising you up was optimal, and while this small alliance he'd formed with the director would benefit them both for now, in the end, Armand would lose it all.
Spoiler alert for Republic Commando Order 66 and Republic Commando True Colors
Hi again. Now, I said earlier in this story that I was going to try to keep this as canonical as possible, and I've so far been okay at it. But, I kinda was blindsided when Republic Commando Order 66 came out while I was writing it. Before that I'd never heard of Kina Ha, the Kaminoan Jedi. Unfortunatley, the RC66 version of Scout's escape conflicted with the one I was writing (explaining the lengthy period between updates). In theirs, she (P.S. she's just mentioned) escaped along with Kina Ha (Who ends up being essential to the plot, so I couldn't just kick her out) on a ship piloted by Ny. In order to remain as canonical as possible, I had to squeeze Kina Ha in there. I know it seems unlikely, but she is, according to wookipedia, canonical. I suppose the reason Jocasta Nu didn't know about them is because before the clone wars started, she remained hidden. Believe me, I wish I didn't even bother to put her in, but I really wanted to remain as canon as possible sooooo, my hand was forced.
Now, another thing I want to adress is the clone assassins. I know they were made for the video game, but they were also mentioned in Republic Commando True Colors, as being clones sent to kill other clones who deserted, which I wanted to incorporate into this story.
Okay, this one is really my bad. In Chapter 13, I don't think I really made it clear that the clones that attack them were clones, but not from Kamino. I really think I should have made that more clear and I apologize. Still, I think I rectified it above.
Now, I have a one more thing to say. Don't let my explaining this discourage you from reviewing and pointing problems. I had a lot of fun trying to weasel my way out of them and even more fun listening to your comments. I'm thrilled you all seem to enjoy this story and will continue to write it. Also, two kinda important announcments. 1, I'm thinkin' I may change the name if possible. In my original plot, the name made sense, but I've had to change some things around since then. I don't know....Okay, 2 is that I'm kinda planning a spin off (related to this story) that will probably be introduced later. I just want to know, show of hands, who would read it? and who knows about the Knights of the Old Republic games?
Riiiight, thank you all for reading. I'm sorry I had to squeeze this note in here. It probably goes against some rule or something, but this is the best way I know to tell everyone. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing. Special thanks to Yellow 14 and Elemarth for reviewing and pointing out these things.