I braced inwardly as the emptiness of space gave way to the fullness of the planetary Force surrounding the planet Kamino. It was my first time here; each world's flow of Force energy was subtly different, making it impossible that I could ever confuse one planet for another as long as my senses remained intact.
Kamino felt… cold. The yearning for connection that was the birthright of all life was muted here, as though the world were sufficient in itself. As I steered our ship around severe weather systems to our landing point, it made me anxious. It was uncomfortable to be on a planet that, in contrast to most, seemed entirely neutral as to whether I came or went. It was somehow more uncanny than either the hot hunger of some worlds or the bristling hostility of others. This planet was just… alien, and content to remain so.
I maneuvered around a large electrical storm to arrive at the marked landing pad. The small metallic island stood above the constant motion of the planetary waves. Without any land to provide a reference, the roiling waters gave the illusion that the artificial structure was moving, adrift.
As I helped my passengers disembark, I nodded to Master Plo Koon as he closed up and secured that hatch on his craft. They had already landed with the other half of the delegation, apparently within minutes of our own arrival despite having taken vastly different jumps into the dwarf galaxy.
The functionary who greeted us in the salt spray of the surface spoke no words, merely gesturing toward a lift to descend into the complex. Her mind was a tight, dense ball of the sort I associated with reserved professionals of marked self-control. But as we passed other Kaminoans in the hallways of the oddly lit complex, the same mental structure was repeated; I came to the provisional conclusion that this was a common mental state for this race (or at least the ones hired to work on cloning projects).
It wasn't until we passed through our third identical unmarked doorway that I remembered to take out my eyewear. The electronics automatically activated as I slipped the wide glasses over my eyes, overlaying a range of colors and symbols on different surfaces that had appeared blank before.
"Why the goggles?" It was Koon who sped up to walk next to me with the question.
"Kaminoan visual frequencies are higher than humans," I explained. "The walls and panels look blank to us."
The Master tapped his own eyewear. "Yes, these provide a similar purpose by filtering out some of the blue-green light when on nitrogen-oxygen worlds. Otherwise the visual environment becomes quite painful after a little while." He looked around. "My spectrum must be broader than yours; I see the colors and markings without difficulty."
I was pleased to see that everything was labeled in Galactic Standard, and so I could tell when we moved past "Adjunct Hallway F" and into "Meeting Room 3."
The room was quite large, an oval with fifty seats deployed in an arc reminiscent of the Council Chamber. One Kaminoan was seated, speaking with Masters Windu, Fisto, and Sifu-Diyas. Other Kaminoans, their tall graceful bearings the very picture of quiet deference, stood nearby.
The last figure in the room stood off by himself, casually facing the door. Waiting for us… or, more specifically, for my Master's Master. I had not forgotten that Dooku had personally fought and killed several of Jango Fett's people in an ill-fated Republic intervention more than a decade ago. Fett had not forgotten, either. The seated Kaminoan rose toward us in greeting, but the Mandalorian was faster and stepped in front of us.
"Jedi Master Dooku," he began, "do you know who I am?" There was pain and anger under the surface of his mind, but it was held in tight control. This was not a man given to unplanned outburst.
"Jango Fett," came Dooku's reply. "A survivor of the Mandalorian Civil War."
"Yes." The fire burned hot but stayed tightly controlled. "You killed my men at Galidraan, and saw me sold as a slave."
"And you killed eleven Jedi that day," Dooku noted. I felt a sudden surge of anger there, but it was tinged with… not aggression, but guilt. "We both did what our duties required of us."
"Your duties were supposed to be the preservation of peace," Jango spat. "Not as the blade of revenge in the hand of the Death Watch. Those were good men you slaughtered for false accusations." He was wearing a flight suit rather than his armor, but his hand jerked as though moving to a holstered weapon.
Dooku neither cowed nor blustered, but kept his composure, clamping down on his own anger. "Which you would have had a chance to prove, had you submitted to arrest."
The mercenary shook his head. "No, there was no chance for a fair trial with the governor in Tor Vizsla's pocket. It was a set up, from start to finish." He sneered, "And now you tell me you would do it again."
"No." The word boomed from Dooku, and I felt the sincere truth behind it. Frustration, and regret. "I would not see innocent men killed as a ploy of vengeance. Nor justify it later with political evaluations and tricks."
The Master glanced just briefly at Yoda, and his flash of anger had a much clearer target than before - the Jedi Council. But even this did not spur any other individual in the room to talk or act; all were frozen save Fett and Dooku.
Jango bared his teeth, then, and I felt a rush of savage anger stoke him further, almost compromising his control. "You yield your cause, then, Jedi Master Dooku? You were in the wrong?"
Dooku's own mind took on an anguished despair then, but before he could respond, a smaller presence inserted itself between them. "At peace, should you be, young Fett," came Yoda's soothing reply. "The Jedi Council's the decision was, not Dooku's. A Knight he was when on Galidraan you fought; our orders did he carry out."
"You're Yoda?" Jango asked. His anger had simmered back to a more manageable level. "Head of the Council?"
"Misinformed, we were," the small Master said, his face upturned to meet Jango's. "A tragic day it was, yes. Many destroyed by deception have been."
Jango blinked, but then turned back to Dooku. The human Master's features were the same, but there was a growing relief in his mind, and something resembling surprise. He was not expecting Yoda to speak in such terms about the Jedi, that was clear. Jango asked, "Do you yield your cause, Dooku?" He stepped up close enough to the other human that their height disparity was clear, with the Jedi behind a whole head taller. "Do you yield?"
What followed was the stiffest, most formal bow I have ever seen. Dooku's eyes never left Jango's as the Master pushed his Jedi cloak from his shoulders, spread his arms out with palms up, and inclined from the waist. "I yield."
Jango nodded without another word, turned his back on the man, and left the room through a different door.
Silence reigned for several moments as the Count-to-be collected his robe from the floor and everyone looked at each other in consternation.
FInally, it was the Kaminoan who broke the silence. "I apologize for that. And for this improper welcome. I'm afraid we had not been expecting you… not for some years, in fact. Master Diyas," he inclined his head to the still-seated human, "had led us to believe we should operate autonomously during the early stages of development."
"Think nothing of it," Mace Windu replied, "as long as you can accommodate our visit and input."
"Of course," the Kaminoan nodded. "I am Prime Minister Lama Su, and am personally in charge of managing the overall clone program. We are still templating and correcting Mister Fett's genome, at which point the first batches will begin growing. But since the development cycle is only accelerated to double human norms, we still have several months before the early stage educational programming will begin."
"And each batch will receive the same programming?" I confirmed.
"At Stages 2 and 3, certainly. Mister Fett is working with our experts to craft an advanced combat curriculum which may include different specializations at the later stages." He gestured towards the back door that Fett had exited, and we all began moving in that direction. "Let me show you around the facility, and then we will give an overview of the entire growth process. I'm sure you'll have many questions by then."
Of that I had little doubt.