Shadowwingwitch- Good to hear from you. Welcome to the review section.
Steven- Are you sure about that? If I ever hear another "Story from my people" line again I swear someone is going to get a face full of phaser. I can't help but feel sorry for Robert Beltran who played Chakotay though. He really did hate his job and realized that it was so stupid. I know it is cliche, but I blame Berman and Braga. Thanks for running Star Trek into the ground guys. For more of my feelings on Voyager, please check out the online reviewer Sfdebris, whose informative yet funny reviews pretty much fall in line with my own opinions on Voyager.
Dark Kronus- Thanks for the review. I have already written a short story on that duel that you may find interesting called the Tragedy of Darth Tyranus the Fool. Maybe you will like it.
Ashla- Perhaps you did. I will say this and only this. The man is a genius when it comes to ideas, but he is less adept with actual human speech processes.
Chocolate Teapot- Thank you for the feedback. My spell check device doesn't seem to pick stuff up like that.
Loteva- As always your reviews are greatly appreciated.
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Suspended in a warm liquid is an even warmer shape, curled into the fetal position, its eyes closed. It is at rest, it is at peace, its mind, simple though it may be, is devoid of any great cares or worries. It is a child, a baby at that, what many would consider a miracle of creation. It is resting now, its thumb in its mouth as it dreams some inarticulate dream.
It is ironic that this seemingly innocent child should be destined to mature into an agent of destruction.
My eyes shift about in their sockets as I take in the glorious view in front of me. For this child is not alone. Its brothers find themselves in similar states, sealed away in glass eggs just waiting to be hatched and unleashed. There are hundreds of them in this room alone. Throughout this facility, in facilities across this entire planet children are grown in tanks to grow up and become obedient killers.
They are, at this moment, all empty shells; blank slates waiting eagerly to be filled with great ideas and given a purpose.
My ideas. My purpose.
My sources inform me that the Jedi were most uncomfortable in this room. After all, places such as these are sacrilege to a Jedi.
The Jedi value life and the process of creation to the point where it is one of the most sacred parts of their ideology. To grow sentient creatures solely for the purpose of murder is an abomination in their eyes. But what can they do? In a galaxy at war where the very future of the Republic is at stake the use of clones is a moral sin in their eyes, but an acceptable evil nevertheless when compared with the grisly alternatives they see.
But is it is not the nature of the Darkside to take that which is sacred and precious to the Light and pervert it into something that it is not meant to be? If this is so then I find this room to be quite the wonderful place, for nothing is as just and right as the twisting of Jedi values into serving the Sith.
I find myself surrounded by military aides and slender, long necked scientists.
Kaminoans, some of the greatest geneticists in the galaxy, responsible for the creation of my army, the most critical aspect of my plans.
My purpose here is relatively simple, to inspect the facilities that have given the new Grand Army life. Thus far everything has met with my approval.
We move on from the nursery (though the term hatchery would seem much more accurate given the circumstances) and move on to other rooms. I observe a live fire combat training session, an indoctrination center and a simple meal room. But the final destination is by far my favorite. It is the culmination of decades of work, both for the Kaminoans and for myself. Here we see the clones, genetically engineered killing machines bedecked in the finest armor that money can buy. As one they march forward with lockstep conformity across the parade ground, the sound of their footsteps pounding on the cold floor beneath them. They march towards their awaiting transports that shall carry them off into the galaxy itself.
"Magnificent" Lama Su, the Prime Minister of Kamino whispers to himself. I allow myself an opportunity to role my eyes while he is busy staring at his creations. And they are indeed magnificent. They shall become the backbone of my new empire. Of course the new empire shall be made up of recruits and conscripts rather than clones, but the clones shall continue to serve as a core group of dedicated and loyal troopers that shall enforce my iron will.
But back to the Kaminoans and their pride in this army they have so painstakingly created. It is no secret that the Grand Army is seen by the Kaminoans as the greatest of their creations, a crowning achievement that has put their species and their homeworld on the galactic map. Before the contract for the Grand Army had come along the Kaminoans had gotten by cloning livestock for farmers and organs for hospitals. But this, this army of theirs was the opportunity they had long dreamed for.
In their minds the clones are genetic perfection, the ultimate weapon for the ultimate war, bred to be the best when it comes to perseverance and murder.
It is the ultimate irony I suppose that the greatest army the galaxy has ever seen dedicated to fighting the bloodiest war was created by a Jedi, one Sifo-Dyas. Sifo-Dyas was a fool, plain and simple. A well-meaning but bumbling Jedi who was so utterly pathetic that not even his fellow Jedi fully took him seriously. He was a person prone to worry and overreaction. Deep down I think they really pitied him. And so it was only natural that when he came into the Council Chambers ranting and raving about a coming darkness the Council dismissed him.
That was his first mistake. Sifo-Dyas, rather than gathering evidence to support his precognitive visions of doom went and made a fool of himself, resulting in the refusal of the Council to take any of his subsequent findings seriously.
His second mistake of course was actually deciding to create the clone army. It made sense from a certain point of view I suppose. If he started recruiting regular citizens for an army he would have been discovered quickly. Building a droid army would have cost a great deal of money and resources that would have been missed or noticed. But clones, ah clones would do the trick just nicely. Kamino was a practically unheard of world before the war, far off of the beaten path. All he needed was a little bit of start up money.
And that was his third mistake. Sifo-Dyas not only became convinced of the coming darkness, but was obsessed with it. It was all that he could think of. Such obsessions left his mind open to suggestion and persuasion. In enters my old teacher, Lord Plagueis under the guise of Magister Hego Damask who first approached Dyas with the idea of a clone army. It was Plagueis who convinced Dyas that the clone army would be absolutely necessary and it was Plagueis who provided Dyas with the funds to make the army a reality.
His fourth mistake though was his implicit trust in Dooku. Dyas was the most hopeless of Jedi idealists, believing not only in the Republic, but believing that Dooku was his friend. But Dooku has never had friends. Even during his time as a Jedi Dooku only ever had acquaintances and allies, but never friends. Friends were a weakness that he could not afford. And so Dooku, being the shrewd manipulator that he is took advantage of Dyas and his trusting nature. Dyas was indeed the perfect cover. To have a Jedi Master approach them with the contract for the clone army was more than enough for the Kaminoans to take the offer as legitimate. After the purchase was made it was easy enough for Dooku to have Dyas murdered and to take control of the Clone operation under the guise of Lord Tyranus.
I feel that the greatest and indeed the most rewarding aspect of the Grand Plan was the fact that the Jedi, in their attempts to save the Republic from the Sith have only wound up aiding our plot. Sifo-Dyas sought to create an army for the Republic to fight against the coming darkness. But that very army fights not against the Sith, but for the Sith. And the Jedi lead them. The Jedi lead the very forces that shall be their downfall. This army has allowed me to tighten my grip over the galaxy and to crush any and all persons in the galaxy that could hope to oppose me at the present time. This army has become a symbol of my power and a tool that shall allow me to remain in control of the galaxy long after this war has come to an end.
It is an incredibly simplistic thing, the mind of a clone. They are filled to the brim with ideas like loyalty and honor, duty and service. It is true that at the moment most of the clones love the Jedi, much as a pet loves its caring master. For the Jedi are amongst the only beings in the universe that treat the clones as people.
But the clones are not people. For you see, people do not have switches within the depths of their mind that make them do certain things, certain things that any clone would deny ever contemplating, let alone carry out.
Since the moment of conception in their gestation tanks the clones have been subtly conditioned to obey. For now they obey the Jedi, but there is one person above all that they care for, a person who stands above them as an idol of devotion and loyalty.
That person is the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic; me.
The clones would gladly turn their guns on their own brothers should I order them to (though the thought would be repellent to them in any other situation). They are loyal to me, and by extension to the Jedi, for the Jedi serve the Senate and its leader (me) and operate with our blessings. But should the Jedi find themselves at odds with the Chancellor, the clones will side with me.
In the end these clones marching off to battle shall be the ultimate Jedi trap. On worlds across the galaxy from Coruscant to Mon Calamari and from Mygeeto to Mustafar the Jedi and their clone comrades are stretched out in a vain attempt to contain and eventually role-back the Separatist advance. The Order has been stretched very thinly in the last few years as casualties mount higher and higher. At this point for every theater of the war there can only be one or two Jedi assigned. Only one or two Jedi, surrounded by thousands of clones.
Not even the Jedi, powerful warriors though they are, could survive an onslaught against thousands of clones.
What makes clones the most optimal Jedi slayers though is not their preprogrammed loyalty to me. Any droid could be programmed with loyalty. No, the greatest thing about the clones is that, when the time inevitably comes to purge the galaxy of the infestation known as the Jedi, most of them will never know what hit them. For the clones are not normal men. They do not hate the Jedi, they never have, and they won't hate the Jedi when they pull the trigger and gun their Generals down in a hail of plasma. The Jedi will never sense a single iota of hatred or distrust.
As far as the clones are concerned, they are simply following orders. And the clones know how to make sure that these orders are carried out. They are just intelligent enough to adapt and evolve, learning about their Jedi commanders and the weaknesses they possess that can be exploited.
But one wonders, what will become of the clones in the aftermath of the coming purge? Will they try to rationalize their actions? Will some be glad that they killed the Jedi? Or will some of them despair? Will a few of them recognize that they murdered their only friends in this galaxy, and the only thing that shielded them from a harsh and unforgiving universe? Will they recognize that they slaughtered their greatest friends for nothing? Will they realize how deeply and thoroughly they have been used?
I for one could not care less how they feel afterwards so long as they follow their orders to the letter. Serve or die, it concerns me not. That is their only purpose in this universe, to serve and to die.
As the transports lift off into the upper atmosphere with their troopers aboard bound for the front I know that they will serve me well. Time is growing short. The end is rapidly approaching.
A new era awaits us all.
The clones will do their duty well.