Merry Christmas, everyone! Well... it's... it's, uh, been a while, hasn't it? My apologies.
Anyways, since it's Christmas and I have a few chapters that haven't been published, I thought I would give you guys another chapter!
Sorry!
Enjoy!
Dexter Jettster was still notoriously hard to find, but he had set up a diner on the Upper Levels of Coruscant. So he was easier to track than before, but still hard to find.
"Someone to see ya, honey!" a droid called at our request. "Jedi, by the looks of 'em."
Dex looked up from the serving window, raising his arms in happiness and surprise.
"Obi-Wan! Drinna!"
"Hello, Dex," Obi-Wan responded with a chuckle. I grinned from beside him and offered a wave.
"Take a seat," Dex said. "I'll be right with ya."
Obi-Wan and I found a booth, sitting on one side. He let me slide in first so I could sit by the window.
"You wanna cup o' Jawa Juice?" the droid called.
"Oh, yes. Thank you," Obi-Wan said while I shook my head.
Obi-Wan stood to greet Dex as he came by.
"Hey, old buddies!" Dex cried, giving Obi-Wan a two-armed hug. His remaining arms hung by his sides. Obi-Wan sat down beside me while Dex lowered himself and coughed. "So, my friends, what can I do for ya?"
Obi-Wan and I smiled at each other before Obi-Wan held up the dart.
"You can tell me what this is," he said, setting it on the table. Dex examined it in awe.
"Well, whattaya know!" Dex picked the dart up and examined it carefully. "I ain't seen one of these since I was prospectin' on Subterrel, beyond the Outer Rim." The droid rolled by and set down some Jawa Juice for Obi-Wan.
"Can you tell me where it came from? Thank you," he said to the droid.
"This baby belongs to them cloners."
"The Kaminoans?" I asked, brow scrunching. Obi-Wan looked at me quizzically and I shrugged.
"Yes. What you got here is a Kamino saberdart," Dex said appreciatively.
"I wonder why it didn't show up in the Analysis Archives," Obi-Wan said.
"It's these funny little cuts on the side that give it away," Dex continued. "Those analysis droids only focus on symbols." Dex let out a laugh. "I should think that you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and…" Dex laughed again. "Wisdom." Obi-Wan shook his head, concealing a laugh.
"Well, if droids could think, there'd be none of us here, would there?" he asked with a smile. I chuckled. Obi-Wan took back the dart and looked at it carefully. "Kamino. I'm not familiar with it. Is it in the Republic?" Obi-Wan asked Dex and me.
"No, no," Dex said, shaking his head. "It's beyond the Outer Rim. I'd say about, uh, twelve parsecs outside the Rishi Maze. Should be easy to find, even for those droids in your archives," he said good-naturedly. Obi-Wan smiled. "These, uh, Kaminoans keep to themselves."
"Though they are very invested in business," I inputted. "Don't know what it is they do, though."
"They're cloners," Dex said, giving me a nod. "Kriffin' good ones, too."
"Cloners," Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. "Are they friendly?"
"Oh, depends," Dex said with a sly grin.
"Depends on what, Dex?" Obi-Wan asked.
"On how good your manners are and how big your, uh, pocketbook is." Dex chuckled and Obi-Wan examined the dart once more thoughtfully, humming.
"Thank you, Dex," I said, giving Obi-Wan a little shove to get him to stand up. He held out a hand, helping me up. "We appreciate the help."
"Of course, Drinna," Dex said, giving me a hug and lifting me off the ground. I squealed a bit and laughed. He chuckled back, setting me down. "Always a pleasure to see you both."
"You shouldn't be too hard to find now that you've settled down, Dex," Obi-Wan laughed. "We'd best be off."
"Of course, of course!"
Obi-Wan stared at the bust of one of the Lost Twenty. Master Jocastu Nu approached.
"Did you call for assistance?"
"Yes. Yes, we did."
"Are you having a problem, Master Kenobi?"
"Yes, um, I'm looking for a planetary system called Kamino."
"Kamino," Madam Nu said, following Obi-Wan and me as we went to the charts.
"It doesn't show up on the Archive Charts," Obi-Wan continued.
"Kamino," Madam Nu said again. "It's not a system I'm familiar with. Are you sure you have the right coordinates?"
"According to our information," I said, "it should appear in this quadrant here," I pointed to the Chart as Madam Nu and Obi-Wan looked on, "just south of the Rishi Maze."
Madam Nu tapped a few buttons and zoomed in closer. There was nothing there, though something was off about the map. Madam Nu sighed and shook her head.
"I hate to say it, but it looks like the system you're searching for doesn't exist."
"Impossible," Obi-Wan said, looking back to the chart. "Perhaps the Archives are incomplete." I cringed. Wrong thing to say. Madam Nu bristled.
"If an item does not appear in our records," she said frostily, "it does not exist!" She turned to help a youngling who stood off to the side.
Obi-Wan leaned forward, examining the picture and stroking his beard.
"Perhaps Master Yoda will know what to do," I said softly, leaning over his shoulder and looking at the chart closely. "Something is off, like it should be there but… isn't."
"Yes," Obi-Wan said, glancing up at me. "The pull of gravity seems to remain the same as if there were a planet there…" Abruptly he stood and pulled me along.
"Reach out," we heard Master Yoda say as we approached the Creche. "Sense the Force around you. Use your feelings, you must." The younglings had training lightsabers and helmets to block their sight as the training droids floated in the air and shot at them. I smiled. It was the Bear Clan, my old friends.
Master Yoda tapped his cane against the floor a few times. One of the younglings immediately shut down his lightsaber.
"Younglings," Master Yoda called. "Younglings! Visitors, we have."
"Drinna!" a few of them called out, smiles wide on their faces. I grinned at them.
"Hello, Master Obi-Wan. Hello, Master Drinna," they said together.
"Hello," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Master," he said to Master Yoda.
"What help can I be, Obi-Wan, Drinna?" Master Yoda hummed.
"We're looking for a planet described to us by an old friend," I said.
"We trust him, but the systems don't show on the Archive Maps," Obi-Wan continued, glancing at me. Master Yoda hummed again, looking at the younglings. He would make this a lesson for them, I knew. I smiled at Obi-Wan and he raised a brow.
"Lost a planet, Master Obi-Wan and Master Drinna have. How embarrassing," he said, shaking his head conspiratorially. The children of the Bear Clan laughed. My smile widened as I looked at Obi-Wan. He merely shook his head and smiled gently back at me. "How embarrassing."
Master Yoda hummed as I moved towards the shades.
Let Master Yoda have control, Drinna, Obi-Wan nudged my mind. I nodded and stepped back to his side.
"Liam, the shades."
Liam stepped to the side and used the Force to close the shades. I smiled at him and winked, letting him know he did good. He grinned back at me.
"Gather round the Map Reader," Master Yoda said, prompting Obi-Wan to pull up the map. "Clear your minds and find Obi-Wan and Drinna's wayward planet, we will."
Obi-Wan walked to where Kamino should be and pointed.
"It ought to be here," he said, "but it isn't." He paused for the younglings and waved his arm around. "Gravity is pulling all the stars in the area towards this spot." Master Yoda hummed.
"Gravity's silhouette remains, but the star and all the planets, disappeared they have. How can this be?" Master Yoda asked the younglings. He hummed again. "A thought?" A moment of silence. "Anyone?"
"Master?" J. K. asked. "Because someone erased it from the Archive Memory." Obi-Wan smiled down at the boy while I smiled at Obi-Wan. Master Yoda always had wisdom, even if he borrowed it. Master Yoda chuckled.
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is," he said. I nodded. He laughed again. "The Padawan is right. Go to the center of gravity's pull and find your planet, you will."
Obi-Wan and I followed Master Yoda towards the doors to the Creche and Obi-Wan retrieved the map with the Force. Master Yoda hummed.
"The data must have been erased."
"But, Master Yoda, who could empty information from the Archives?" I asked as Liam raised the shades.
"That's impossible, isn't it?" Obi-Wan asked, glancing at me before turning his attention to Master Yoda.
"Dangerous and disturbing, this puzzle is," Master Yoda murmured. "Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who and why, harder to answer. Meditate on this, I will." Master Yoda hummed again.
Obi-Wan and I bowed to Master Yoda and left the Creche.
"Well, that was both helpful and not," Obi-Wan commented wryly as we left.
"We know where Kamino is. Now we just need to figure out its significance," I agreed.
We arrived in our fighters from lightspeed.
"There it is. Kamino," I said over the headset to Obi-Wan. "Looks wet."
"Just release the hyperspace ring," Obi-Wan said. I could imagine him rolling his eyes as he released his own.
"Fine." I released and streaked after him.
"There it is, R4," Obi-Wan said, forgetting to turn his headset off to talk to his droid. "Right where it should be. Our missing planet Kamino."
"What, did you think that with gravity still here, Kamino would be gone?" I teased.
"Oh, hush," Obi-Wan said.
The atmosphere was stormy and there was almost nothing but water and floating cities.
"You could drown if you fell off," I muttered.
"Then try not to fall," Obi-Wan returned, landing his fighter on the platform. I followed suite. There was more than enough room for the both of us. I pulled my hood over my head as I lifted the cockpit. Obi-Wan hadn't, and he was getting poured on in the few seconds it took to get out.
We walked toward the door, our robes quickly becoming soaked. Obi-Wan mumbled something about his hair, but I chose to ignore it. That's what you get for not being smart.
Obi-Wan and I pushed back our hoods as the doors shut behind us and a Kaminoan glided toward us. It was tall. Very tall with long arms, neck, legs, torso… I felt like a child in its presence.
"Master Jedi," the Kaminoan said, its voice distinctly feminine. She nodded to both of us. "The Prime Minister is expecting you."
"We're expected?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Of course," she replied. "He is anxious to meet you." Obi-Wan and I exchanged a look. "After all these years, we were beginning to think you weren't coming. Now, please, this way."
The Kaminoan led us down a blindingly white hallway towards a closed door that swirled open at our approach. Another Kaminoan stood from a chair, taller than the first and with a frill running from its forehead down its neck.
"May I present Lama Su," our guide said, waving an arm delicately in the other Kaminoan's direction, "Prime Minister of Kamino." Obi-Wan and I bowed to the Prime Minister, who bowed back. "And this is Master Jedi-"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi and Drinna Berrik," Obi-Wan said in way of introduction. I would observe as he spoke. He was good at negotiations.
"I trust you're going to enjoy your stay," the Prime Minister said. Two chairs descended from the ceiling. "Please," he said, waving an arm to the chairs. Our guide also directed us there, so Obi-Wan and I sat. "And now to business," Lama Su said, sitting as well. "You will be delighted to hear that we are on schedule."
Obi-Wan and I glanced at each other. First our guide's confusing words, now this? What was going on?
"Two hundred thousand units are ready with a million more well on the way."
"That's… good news," Obi-Wan said, glancing at our guide.
"Please tell your Master Sifo-Dyas," I froze, staring at the Prime Minister. I was probably breaking protocol, but… "that his order will be met on time." Obi-Wan glanced at me before answering.
"I'm sorry. Master…?" Obi-Wan asked, wondering as I did what was happening.
"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas is still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?" the Prime Minister asked.
"No," I murmured. "He hasn't been on the Council for over ten years."
"And he was… killed almost ten years ago as well," Obi-Wan added.
We don't know that, Obi-Wan, I sent. He cut off contact with me when he dropped out of hyperspace but wouldn't tell me where.
He wouldn't have cut off contact if something wasn't going drastically wrong, Drinna, Obi-Wan pled. He just didn't want you to sense… it.
"Oh," the Prime Minister said, drawing us out of our conversation. "I'm so sorry to hear that." There was a respectful moment of silence before he continued. "But I'm sure he would have been proud of the army we've built for him."
"The… the army?" Obi-Wan asked, not looking my way.
"Yes. A clone army, and I must say, one of the finest we've ever created."
"Tell me, Prime Minister," Obi-Wan began, "when my Master first contacted you about the army, did - did he say who it was for?"
"Of course he did," the Prime Minister said, his tone taking on the sort of tone an adult would use with a child. "This army is for the Republic." Obi-Wan looked at me. I shrugged slightly so he would see, but the Kaminoans wouldn't. "But you must be anxious to inspect the units for yourself."
"That's… why we're here," Obi-Wan returned confidently. The Prime Minister stood, prompting us to do the same.
We followed him back into the blinding hallway and on a tour of the facility.
It was truly impressive, but also a little terrifying.
"Very impressive," Obi-Wan spoke for the both of us.
"I'd hoped you would be pleased," the Prime Minister said. "Clones can think creatively. You will find that they are immensely superior to droids. We take great pride in our combat education and training programs. This group was created about five years ago."
Obi-Wan and I walked to the window to watch.
"You mentioned growth acceleration," Obi-Wan said.
"Oh, yes, it's essential. Otherwise a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now, we can do it in half the time."
"I see," Obi-Wan said, and we continued on.
"They are totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host."
"And who was the original host?" I asked quietly.
"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett," the Prime Minister replied. I looked at Obi-Wan. A bounty hunter? The bounty hunter we had… encountered on Coruscant had used a Kaminoan saberdart. Could it be?
"And where is this bounty hunter now?" Obi-Wan asked. The four of us stopped.
"Oh, we keep him here," the Prime Minister said vaguely. "Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing: an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?"
"'Unaltered'?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Pure genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile and no growth acceleration."
"We should very much like to meet this Jango Fett," Obi-Wan said.
"I would be very happy to arrange it for you," our guide said.
We turned the corner to a viewing platform, high above the clones. In neat squads, they marched onto giant platforms.
"Magnificent, aren't they?" the Prime Minister asked, standing with his hands on the railing next to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan nodded, more than a little concerned, though he did not show it.
Obi-Wan and I stood outside a door, led by our guide who I still did not know the name of. A young boy, most likely the unaltered clone, greeted us.
"Boba, is your father here?" our guide asked.
"Yep," he nodded. He only stood there, glaring us down.
"May we see him?" our guide prompted.
"Sure," Boba finally said, turning his back to us and walking farther in to the apartment. "Dad, Taun We's here." So that was our guide's name.
Obi-Wan and I followed Boba into the apartment.
"Jango," Taun We said, "welcome back." A man walked out of one of the side doors, rolling back his sleeves. Obi-Wan and I bowed to him. "Was your trip productive?"
"Fairly," Jango said, giving us a once over. Something flashed in his eyes that disappeared quickly.
I can't read him, I sent to Obi-Wan.
"This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Drinna Berrik," Taun We said. "They have come to check on our progress."
"Your clones are very impressive. You must be proud," Obi-Wan said, not giving any of our suspicions away.
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe," Jango said, hiding his profession. Something was definitely up or why would he be concealing it from us?
"Ever made your way as far into the interior as Coruscant?" Obi-Wan asked, smiling, letting the bounty hunter know he hadn't fooled us.
"Once or twice," the hunter said flippantly.
"Recently?" Obi-Wan pushed. I nudged him with the Force, but he managed to keep his feet. There was a small silence.
"Possibly."
"Then you must know Master Sifo-Dyas," Obi-Wan said, covering. Jango looked Obi-Wan and I over again and made his way towards his son.
"Uh, Boba, rood eht so-heeck." The boy made his way back down the small hallway while Jango turned to us. I followed the boy with my eyes while Obi-Wan turned to face Jango.
"Master who?"
Boba touched the control pad by the door which Jango had entered and I peered in as Boba moved past.
Mandalorian armor. Fits the description. Do not let him know we know.
I turned to Jango.
"Sifo-Dyas. Is he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?" Jango moved towards me and Obi-Wan watched tensely.
"Never heard of him," Jango replied in my face. He was twiddling his thumbs and Boba kept glancing between me, Obi-Wan, and his father.
"Really?" Obi-Wan asked, forcing Jango's attention from me.
"I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden."
"Curious," Obi-Wan said with a smile, raising his brow briefly. Silence.
"Do you like your army?" Jango finally asked.
"I look forward to seeing them in action," Obi-Wan replied.
"They'll do their job well. I'll guarantee that," Jango said. Were they talking about the clones or about the assassination attempt?
"Thank you for your time, Jango," Obi-Wan said.
"Always a pleasure to meet Jedi," Jango returned.
Obi-Wan led the way out of the apartment, sparing one last glance at the bounty hunter.