KEYnote: There will be another chapter this week. This is not a real chapter, you may skip it. But it was also requested by many. Also, Nauze is amazing.
Chapter 12 - What the Kark is Happening?
Mini Summary: The inhibitor chips were taken out after the bombing of the Senate. The Jedi are in hot water for not stopping said attack and protecting Ilum instead. The Council, partially in fear that the clones will be taken away from by the Senate, make the clones officially a part of them. The Clones took over Kamino, renaming the planet Zuko and renaming themselves Zukarians. Palpatine tries to execute Order 66, not because of a tantrum, but because of the sheer number of clones in the Temple. The Jedi and the clones would likely never be that close together, and even though it is unlikely that clones could have killed the Council, the Jedi having to kill their newly elected members would be bad. And Obi-Wan is married and the new Duke of Mandalore, and the 212th officially split from the GAR and are Mandalorian citizens, legally, Luke, Appo, and the 212th have been adopted by Obi-Wan and Satine.
Summary Of Plot Important Factors: A lot of people asked for a summary (and likely only wanted a brief one) and I thank everyone who is putting up with my artistic process of ten stories at once, just know that the things I put you through are nothing to the inside of my head which is a hellscape and it's snowing. And yes, this was supposed to be a short summary, and then I realized all the political nuances I was expecting you to be following…
Also, a few elaborations :D
This story starts out with Obi-Wan and Luke being thrown into the past, Obi-Wan's younger form appearing with/as him on Tatooine. Obi-Wan does the math and realizes he should be on Umbara. Luke has his first pilot experience where, for those of you who have watched the Clone Wars episodes, gets into that shenanigans with a significantly less loss of life. Obi-Wan splices two of Pong Krell's hands and has him dragged behind one of those mini-walkers for the duration of that battle. Pong Krell is now in prison, somehow, wink-wink, he needed all four of his arms amputated and he eats his meals lying on his stomach in Jedi prison, where he will grow old and die, alone and crazy.
After saving the Togrutas on Kiros and taking down the Zygerrian fledgeling Empire who are an ancient enemy of the Jedi, Obi-Wan came back to Coruscant where he realized that he couldn't handle working, even in pretence, with Palpatine. Instead of confronting him as a Sith Lord, Obi-Wan baited Palpatine into demoting and exiling him in front of Anakin, the Council, and Mon Mothra. Obi-Wan openly accused Palpatine of working with Dooku and revealing that it was Dooku, not Sifo-Dyas (in Legends it's Plagueis followed by Dooku) who greenlighted the clones to be made. Obi-Wan made it clear that he thought Palpatine was the only one benefiting from the war to his benefit. Of course, exiling the beloved General Obi-Wan Kenobi is among the stupidest things one could do, especially after a military success against a slave empire.
Palpatine's actions had the fallout of super bad press, spearheaded by conspiracy theories and a strategic dismantling of his reputation by Mon, and her friends, Padme and Bail. It's also at this point that Padme accepts, as does Anakin, that it was likely Palpatine who orchestrated the Naboo Crisis. Although Obi-Wan never directly calls out Palpatine as a Sith Lord, the Council is able to piece together that Chancellor Palpatine is probably the Sith Lord they are looking for. However, the Jedi Council holds back on taking action because they realized that Palpatine is trying to pin the war on the Jedi Order. Palpatine having the power to exile General Kenobi means that it is the Chancellor who truly holds the ropes, i.e. anything the Jedi can be blamed for will publicly be accepted as Palpatine's fault.
This should have been the end of his career. It really, really should have been.
The Jedi retreat their Forces from the frontlines, worrying that they are participating in a Sith scheme. Their forces occupy only willingly Republic or truly in need territories, which almost causes a ceasefire during the Civil War.
Luke and Obi-Wan, along with Appo and the entire 212th go rogue. Our two time travellers have made their lightsabres on Ilum, where they fought off an attack from Dooku's fleets, a mass amount of battle droids. All of which were easily stopped by Ilum's ion cannons. Upon hearing that Ilum was under attack, mind you, a single crate of kyber can be used for a number of weapons and even shields to repel lightsabers, the Jedi Council sends a few battalions that were stationed on Coruscant to help illuminate this threat.
Obi-Wan and Luke find it odd that Count Dooku, who was a Jedi Master, who knew the types of defences Ilum had would ever attack there. They realize that it is a trap too late.
Dooku and Palpatine came up with a scheme, and Dooku took the opportunity to try and usurp his Sith Master. His bombing of the Senate building, though planned, Sidious had not planned on being in the building when the bombs went off. It is really only misfortune that he survived at all. The initial bombing killed five of the High Jedi Council members who had been exiting the building and killed about half of the Galactic Republic's senate representatives. This bombing was only made possible because of Palpatine and because they purposely left the Jedi Temple alone, thus not raising any suspicions there. While the Senate building is still collapsing, Dooku takes almost all of his remaining forces and attacks, ya'know that huge ass fight scene in the beginning of The Revenge of the Sith, only at night, with a lot more numbers on either side and the Senate building itself being the prime target.
Nevertheless, our clone troopers and Jedi Knights prove most victorious and crush Dooku's forces. Dooku himself reaches the Senate in person where he makes another attempt on Palpatine's life. Palpatine screamed like a bunny and got a pretty face scar by his loyal and friendly Sith apprentice.
Grievous is absent in this fight, as he is in a battle somewhere off in the galaxy that Council Member Depa Billiba was also at. Dooku didn't invite him because Grievous is loyal to both him and Palpatine.
Dooku and Mace duel. Mace as the younger man, is winning, his Vapaad, i.e. redirecting the Dark Side at the Dark Sider, easily making him Dooku's equal. Until Count Dooku is able to reign himself back in and switch to relying on the Light Side. Why? Because Dooku is a badass, and the only Sith I can personally name who wasn't a raging psycho nor pushed to the Dark Side, but actively chose to become what he was. Therefore, I think he's the only one, Master Jedi as he was, to have the cojones to flip between Dark and Light at will.
Sir Christopher Lee is also smarter in this story because he has realized Palpatine's plans don't include him.
Anywhos, Mace was going to die but was saved by the dome they were fighting on literally collapsing beneath them. Dooku gets away, the GAR technically wins the day, but the Senate is left in absolute chaos.
This chaos gives Palpatine full control again, and any conspiracy theories against him will be brushed away as just another scream in the din. The Jedi come out of this looking terrible because it was their defence of Ilum, a Jedi territory that has no population, and left Coruscant open for attack. The Jedi Council at this point are more certain than ever that Palpatine is a Sith Lord.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan has told the 212th about the chips as they are leaving Ilum. Cody contacts the other battalions who are able to keep it a secret from the non-clones. Obi-Wan and Luke have landed on Mandalore and the timeline was tripped up enough that somehow got Asajj Ventress returning to Dathomir, attaining a new apprentice from Mother Talzin, Feral Opress, who was healed to be used as leverage against Savage Opress if the need ever arose. Savage, Feral, and Asajj team up to find Darth Maul, which leads to the four of them teaming up with Death Watch and the Nite Owls, with a mirror plan of the one from the Clone Wars series that ended with Satine murdered by Maul.
However, Obi-Wan is savvy enough of this potential threat, as are Satine's guard, that when the entire 212th takes station, Death Watch's plans are put on pause. Naturally, Darth Maul doesn't care and Savage is right there with them. Asajj stops Feral from dying, again.
Obi-Wan and Satine get married and adopt the 212th, Appo, and Luke officially breaking them from the Jedi Order and the GAR. Obi-Wan becomes Duke Obi-Wan Kenobi because he is credited with getting Satine to lift the pacifism ban and revoking warriors' exile from Concordia Moon. Obi-Wan also becomes the founder of Concordia Academy of Mandalore.
The palace is attacked soon after their marriage. Led by Bo-Katan, Death Watch and the Nite Owls are able to do a sneak attack. Korkie dies, Bo loses an eye. Everyone who attacked them dies aside from Bo-Katan, Asajj Ventress, and Feral who are all in prison on Mandalore.
Maul tries torturing Luke, but Luke is a good Padawan and listens to Appo; he runs away from the Sith like a sane person. Luke is able to give Obi-Wan enough time to get there. Luke drops from that move Maul used on Qui-Gon where he got hit below his jaw with the centre of the hilt. Maul wasn't trying to kill Luke but Obi-Wan was beyond done with this bantha-shit and slays Savage and Maul without so much as a quip.
Last chapter, the clones reveal that they have taken over Kamino, renaming the system Zuko, the clones are now Zukarians, and freeing themselves from the contracts and keeping the credits that the Republic paid to them. Yes, they are independently wealthy. Very, very wealthy.
On the Jedi High Council now sits 1-Mace, 2-Yoda, 3-Kit Fisto, 4-Plo Koon, 5-Shaak Ti, 6-Depa Billaba, 7-Aayla Secura, 8-Doom, 9-Trauma, 10-Monnk, 11-Wolffe, and 12-Rex. Only Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Kenobi, and the Council among the Jedi know about the chips.
Chancellor Palpatine attempts to execute Order 66 revealing himself to the Jedi Council as the, in fact, Dark Lord they have been looking for; Darth Sidious. However, the chips have all been removed for a few weeks. Palpatine did this because the Jedi Temple has been flooded with clones, even the younglings from Zuko have been brought to the Temple. If the chips had been in play, Order 66 would have killed at least half of the Jedi, almost all of the younglings, initiates and young Padawans. This would have also resulted in the Jedi killing nearly every single clone.
There would have been no easy way for the Jedi to explain why they killed the GAR. Palpatine had no use for an army that could only be turned against him.
Yet even now the Jedi cannot arrest/kill Palpatine because the Senate would believe the Jedi are the enemy. Therefore, the game is set; the Republic is crippled and in chaos, the Separatists are broke and basically army-less, while on the other hand, Mandalore, Zuko, and the Jedi Order are stronger than they have ever been, and with clear eyes as to what is happening around them.
The goals are now: Get Palpatine out of the Senate through political means, then kill him, hopefully capture Count Dooku and get him to testify before a lifetime imprisonment, and kill Grievous. Which means they continue the war and the politics.
Obi-Wan still has plenty to mess with Anakin about, Ahsoka gots some healing to do and Luke has some learning to do.
Phew, *wipes brow* I think that's the gist of it. Sorry to disappoint with a non-chapter, but I will update this fic again this week. As a reward for getting through this: I give you Qui-Gon and Tahl.
Tahl: So you figured out how to manipulate reality as a dead man and your first thought was, instead of, I don't know, killing Palpatine yourself, you take poor Obi-Wan from the hellscape on Tatooine and dump him back into the Clone Wars?
Qui-Gon: My dearest Tahl, if I had brought him back any further he would have had to either deal with teenager Ani, again, or deal with me, those seem like cruel punishments.
Tahl: Okay, first, he misses you terribly, and second, why time travel? Why not just change something else in the timeline?
Qui-Gon: Because if I would alter the timeline they wouldn't have understood what was at stake. The clones might never have been born, and-
Tahl: And what? Tell me, Qui-Gon, tell me why Obi-Wan had to suffer like this? The Force gave you one chance, one single opportunity to change the course of reality, what was so precious-
Qui-Gon: Luke.
There was a silence.
Tahl (whose energy twirled in the Force around Qui-Gon): His son.
Qui-Gon: In all realities that have ever been or will ever be, Obi-Wan always understood how dear Luke was to the wider galaxy. But only in this reality, does he fully understand how dear Luke is to him.
Dooku (who dies at some point in the future but time is meaningless within the Force itself so here Sir Lee): This does not mean, my dearest Padawan, that you are not an insufferable pest upon the galaxy.
Qui-Gon (rolls his non-existent eyes at his old Master, the sentiment wordlessly understood).
Tahl (Spun away laughing in the Force, a streak of starlight, Qui-Gon following after her like dust off a comet).
AN: Hope you enjoyed the summary, we have about five chapters left, everything is thoroughly plotted but if there are any particular scenes or meetings between characters you would like to see, speak now.