"Retirement? Doesn't that just increase the overall cost?" As usual, Mace Windu's demeanor towards my suggestions was skeptical at best. I had brought him and Dooku, along with a Kaminoan doctor named Pell, to speak with me and R2 on some of the programming and logistical changes the two of us had worked out over the last few hours.

"it certainly is a cost increase, yes," I acknowledged, "but not just that. It provides these men with the foothold to start lives for themselves outside of the Grand Army, when they're ready to do so."

"Along with the salaries during service, and the occupational training programs you're proposing," Windu mused, "it certainly would have that effect."

"Where," Dooku began, "are you expecting these men to settle to have their civilian lives?"

I smiled. "Serenno, for one." I hurried on at his alarmed expression. "Your planet is one of many with a population replacement problem. More people, especially young men, are leaving for other worlds than are arriving. The result is that Serenno already pays exorbitantly for off-world security forces."

"And your solution," Dooku followed, "is to allow these soldiers to retire to Serenno and other worlds."

"Yes, on whatever basis each world wants to allow them." I selected another panel readout for visual display. "To really cement the difference between the Separatist Droid Army and the Republic Clone Army, ours needs to be made up of citizens with full rights."

"Sorry, the what?" Doctor Pell's graceful grey features were agog. "Who are the Separatists?"

"The other side of the war these soldiers will be fighting," I answered, but moved on. "By having the Galactic Republic paying the soldiers' salaries, we can have payroll taxes going to whichever planets they claim citizenship on. And it's up to those planets under what conditions to offer citizenship."

Dooku caught on immediately. "So different worlds are in competition for the present revenue, and future labor, of these men."

I nodded. "Some states like Serenno might provide good benefits but require a period of local military service. Others, like Corellia, might have no conditions for citizenship other than the soldier's income being deposited and taxed locally. Clones can choose a planet of citizenship before they leave Kamino."

Dooku nodded thoughtfully. "This will require careful handling in the Senate," he pointed out. "But you've provided exactly the sort of incentives that bait them into action."

"I can count on your support, then?"

"I'll need to consult with the other Counts on the details, but I have little doubt they will jump at this," he assented.

I later found Sifo-Dyas in discussion with Yoda and Qui-Gon over some of the mid-stage educational programming.

"Masters," I addressed, "could I ask for your thoughts on a different matter?" They turned their placid gazes on me. "Follow me, please."

I led them to a console in a chamber removed from the main work areas. The work consoles faced a large clear barrier that led into a smaller chamber, a clean room, in which could be seen micro-etching equipment and a small electro-impulse conveyor.

I had specifically chosen a time after hours; no Kaminoan shared the chamber with us as I accessed the schematics in the work console. A holo-diagram of a printed circuit appeared, rotating slowly.

"Master Dyas," I asked, "you authorized the inclusion of a bio-mimetic inhibitor chip in each of the clones, yes?"

The seer nodded. "As a safeguard against units being corrupted by Dark Jedi or bribed to turn against the Republic. Jedi commanders could trigger one of several hardwired orders programmed into the chip, and a clone would have no choice but to obey."

"I see." I turned to Qui-Gon. "Your thoughts, Master?"

"I know you won't like my phrasing, Obi-wan… but, these are supposed to be human beings, not droids," my Master explained, looking at Sifo-Dyas critically. "We should allow them their own choices, even if some of them may turn their back on the Republic."

"Young Kenobi, see these chips in your visions, did you?" Yoda asked.

"No, Master Yoda. I don't recall any such thing being a part of the Clone Army. Which, in my mind, suggests two possibilities." I ticked them off my fingers. "One, the Sith arranged to have the chip implantation cancelled, so they could corrupt the Army exactly as Master Dyas fears. Or, two, the chips are themselves part of a Sith plot already underway."

"A third option," Sifo-Dyas added, "is that the chips simply didn't appear in what you saw. I don't mean to be critical, Obi-wan, but Force Visions aren't like watching a holo-drama. They aren't complete; they don't show every detail."

I nodded grudgingly. "I will keep that in mind, Master." Mine were very much like a holo-drama, but I was not in any position to contest the point. "Regardless, I recommend we cancel this element of the cloning process altogether. I agree with Qui-Gon: the soldiers should not be treated as automata. Not even in a seeming emergency."

"Keep in mind, we should," Yoda agreed, "the visions of a coming Galactic Empire. If tyranny we confront, this tool of great aid to them would be."

"I… yes. I concur." Master Dyas' agreement was hesitant, but I sensed his sincerity.

I nodded, and quickly touched a series of relays on the console. The machinery inside came to life. A small metal disk was floated down to under the etching equipment, and after a small flash, it continued onto an open compartment and the next identical disk followed.

"What did you do?" Qui-Gon asked.

"I had already programmed the laser etching equipment to slice the chips into useless pieces," I explained. "I just didn't want to carry out the process without some consensus."

That earned me some scolding looks, but nobody made any move to stop the machinery.

By the time the next regular shift started, there wasn't a single inhibitor chip left intact.

"There is another matter that I wished to discuss with you," Qui-Gon intercepted me out of the fabrication chamber. "It concerns Olana."

"You don't believe I handled the matter with Partha correctly?" I guessed.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "No, my concern has to do with her feelings for you."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm aware she's been shielding her mind from me so that I wouldn't notice her romantic aspirations. I had planned to address it once I had helped her complete her final Initiate Trial, and before she gives me her Oath as a Padawan."

"Have you heard her Oath?" Qui-Gon asked.

"No," I admitted warily. "Why is there…?" I shook my head. "No matter. I'll address the issue head-on, and soon."

As Qui-Gon looked at me, I sensed his concern growing further. "I don't believe you should," he opined softly.

"You… don't believe I should talk to her?" I was perplexed; Olana's 'crush' was exactly the sort of thing we were taught to avoid.

My Master shook his head. "I have some experience with this, Obi-wan. I would strongly suggest that you let it be."

"Lead her on? That's would be quite destructive."

"Not as destructive as extinguishing what she is feeling." He cleared his throat, and I could sense his discomfort. "I'm not saying you should do anything to encourage her feelings, and certainly not that you should reciprocate them. But as long as she keeps them from you - I would let her have her personal fantasies, her private illusions. They harm no one else, and I believe quashing them would hurt her bond to you."

I wondered how personally Qui-Gon's own experiences with this went. Did Dooku crush his own heart, years ago? Or did he have to crush some other initiate's?

"Thank you," I finally concluded. "I'll… think about it."

"Good," my Master nodded. "Oh, but do have her share with you her Oath. See if maybe she'll modify it to something less… obsessive. At least in front of others?"

I agreed. As we made our way to Meeting Room C in order to give parting words to the Kaminoans, I again found myself intensely appreciative of Qui-Gon's support and guidance.