Chapter 2: You have set things in motion
***1***
Obi-Wan and Palis thoroughly examined the two explosion sites. In Padme's apartment, on one piece of the shrapnel, they found some cuts that could be a symbol. They already developed a habit. Whenever they needed a clue, they would go to Dexter Jettster's diner. They paid for the meal and got the intel as a giveaway.
Dex said the markings on the shrapnel were connected to a remote planet called Kamino. The locals profited from the business of cloning sentient beings. Things seemed to be going smoothly, but this planet could not be found in the library's star map.
"I am doing a search on cloning in the database. It may give way to some ideas. Maybe the planet name has a different spelling." Palis sat down in front of a library computer.
He and Palis were not the traditional master and apprentice. She was about five years younger than him. After Master Qui-Gon Jinn's murder at the Zabrak Sith's hands, Obi-Wan had lived with a deep sense of regret. He was knighted for slaying the Sith Lord, but he would have rather been a Padawan under Qui-Gon instead of a Jedi Knight on his own and alone. Every morning, he went to the Room of a Thousand Fountains to meditate, trying to find peace. Instead, he found Palis Athia.
Their relationship had started off a little rocky with an argument about murder. Palis's old master had been expelled for killing unarmed prisoners during a peacekeeping mission. The prisoners had been criminals who had terrorized the locals, with the blood of many innocent people on their hands. Her master had believed that there had been no functioning justice system on that world to hold them accountable for their crimes. She had done what she thought was best for the people.
There had been a heated debate on the High Council about her action. The final decision was that Palis's master should be expelled. Considering it unfair, Palis had contemplated the idea of leaving together. She challenged Obi-Wan as to why he had been promoted for killing a Sith. If the Sith had surrendered to Obi-Wan, would killing the Sith have led to his knighthood or expulsion? Immediately, she realized that she had crossed the line and apologized.
They'd bonded together mourning the loss of their masters. Both had wanted to escape the haunting memory of what they had lost. They reached an agreement. Obi-Wan would take Palis as his Padawan, so they would get on off-world missions together.
He carefully observed all the proper formalities, but Palis did not care. Even when there were other Jedi around, she did not call Obi-Wan Master. "You are not her," she told him once. Despite this, they grew to trust each other and complement each other. By the time of the bombing, Palis had already been a knight for several years, but they still frequently went on missions together.
The computer beeped as the search completed. "Done. I got the coordinates, cross-referenced with several sources. This place is very far from here. Let us leave now," She declared. Palis was analytical, but she could get ahead of herself at times.
"Hold on. We need to inform Master Jocasta Nu." Obi-Wan started to look for a librarian. "A missing star system from the Jedi database is suspicious."
Soon Joscata figured out that the system was erased from the database. Worse, even the record of the action itself had been erased.
"Only a Jedi can do it." The three of them looked at each other with uneasiness.
"I had a very bad feeling about it." Obi-Wan frowned. "It was a deliberate move."
"Agreed. But there was little we could do here. Maybe we can find it out on Kamino."
When they arrived on Kamino, they ended up discovering more disturbing news. The Kaminoans were expecting the Jedi to come to take possession of a clone army, commissioned by the long-dead Jedi Master Sido-Dyas. Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter, served as the template of the entire army. He had a son, an unaltered clone. He claimed that a man named Lord Tyranus had recruited him.
Obi-Wan did some quick research on Fett and Tyranus. Fett had an infamous record even for a bounty hunter, but he could not find mention of Tyranus in any record.
"Lord Tyranus. Jango Fett. Master Sido-Dyas… a clone army. Sido-Dyas was one who secretly altered the Jedi database." Palis said hesitantly, "Tyranus is an ominous name. Fett has no honor. It feels like a criminal gang. Maybe. Just maybe… Sido-Dyas turned rogue before he passed away. I don't think they are up to any good." She threw her hands up. "I was defeated. My brain is not working now."
Obi-wan answered after a long wait. "Palis, I have to tell you. I am confused as well. Master Sido-Dyas was a radical. If he is still alive, he would be a Jedi sponsor for the Military Act. My master Qui-Gon was a good friend of him. You know the mavericks got along well. Let us not assume the worst. While you think about it, I will inform the Council about all these suspicious new developments. We all need to meditate on this with the guidance of the Force."
"You talk to the Council. I will talk to this Fett guy again. Maybe he could give us a few more clues." Palis dashed out of the room.
Obi-wan contacted the High Council through Holocall. The Council members were astounded by a clone army's existence and the mysteries around its creation. None of them knew about it. Obi-wan's heart sank even more.
Palis returned with bad news. Fett and his son were gone. Palis found some explosive powders after she searched their room, precisely the same composition found in the explosion in Padme's apartment.
Immediately, they got into the fighters and located the Fett's starship on the scanner.
"Don't you think we are fortunate to go this far? We found the assassin by luck," Palis said to him through the comlink.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as 'luck.' I have a feeling that we have been guided. Maybe the Force. Maybe something else," he responded cautiously.
"We are heading towards Geonosis. Obi-Wan, I've heard stories. It was a brutal world."
An idea struck him. He must inform Padme about this army. Her opposition against the Military Creation Act was a lost cause. He keyed in Padme's comlink number.
***2***
There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no chaos; there is harmony.
There is no death; there is the Force.
After some digging on the Holonet, Rackeli found the source of "There is no emotion" and many exciting aspects about the Jedi. The Jedi Code was eloquently written. Who did not want these good things, peace, knowledge, serenity, and harmony? Of course, with the Force, it was even better. It was not a doctrine for emotional abuse.
Yet, the Shas were still upset. When they gave Ludi to the Order, they said they wanted her to be happy and free.
She understood where the concerns of Shas came from. Her homeworld's culture valued the experience of unbridled emotions and associated them with having a real life. Passion and righteous anger were great things.
The Jedi forbid attachment, family ties, and romantic relationships, which contradicted her culture. "If you never passionately loved, you were never truly alive." The parents would feel sad for their children not experiencing what they valued.
However, the bottom line was, force sensitives were different from other beings. People should respect the Jedi's expertise in raising and training these Force-sensitive younglings. It was the foundation of parents' consent to give their children to the Order, to which both she and Shas agreed.
However, deep down, something made her feel uncertain. She could not name it yet. Writing always helped her to think things through. Thus, she started typing on her blog.
Do Jedi have Freedom?
What is freedom? The foundation of freedom is to have free will AND have different options to choose from. If either one of them is missing, the being is not truly free.
Where does free will come from? Many believe it was a right that cannot be deprived, even if born in bondage. However, it was not always true. To exercise their free will, a being must have at least two paths to choose. Without choices, free will is an illusion.
The Jedi Order Pursues peace, serenity, and non-attachment. All are cherishable and honorable. Many religions embrace similar philosophies. Yet, most of their members choose a faith after exploration. Alternatives were available, such as practicing other religions or practicing no religion at all.
The Jedi Order is different. They recruit children in their infancy who can not yet make decisions for themselves. It is up to the parents to consent to give their children to the Order. At the same time, they also surrender the youngling's right to experience a different lifestyle. In an alternative world, they may choose to pursue passion, ambition, and love. All could be equally honorable. With the way that the Jedi recruit, the children may be deprived of both the choice and, worse, probably the capability to appreciate a different lifestyle even when other options are available later.
Do the parents fully understand how their children will be raised? Or do they have to decide on something they know little about on their youngling's behalf.
Here I ask, do force-sensitive children enjoy full freedom? Food for thought.
Rackeli had been occupied by work and adjustment to the new culture since she moved to Coruscant. She no longer had the luxury to write philosophical discussions anymore. Helping the Shas gave her a reason to come back to writing.
Now she felt replenished after she typed up these words. She reread the essay and posted it on her blog, "A lawyer from the Outer Rim," where she wrote abstract topics as exercise. She turned off her computer and went to sleep, satisfied.
The next day, she received quite a few comments.
Comment 1: A wordy essay. You can cut it short. Essentially, you are saying that Jedi have no freedom. It is not true. The Order is free to do whatever they want, as long as it does not infringe on others' rights. The Jedi seem content. As far as I know, very few of them left the Order.
Comment 2: You attacked a strawman by making your own definition of freedom. In reality, no one is truly free. Young people like you are obsessed with "freedom" to the level of anarchism.
Comment 3: The Jedi Order has been the peacekeeper of the Galaxy for a thousand years. There may be some minor flaws in their recruitment process. It should not be overly criticized.
She read through all the comments. None of them were interesting. She was disappointed.
Then she checked the blog's inbox. She had gotten a message.
I appreciate your very thoughtful writing. I am touched. The Jedi Order is not a religion. It is a governmental institution. The Senate sponsors their recruitment. Every infant has a blood test. If they are force-sensitive, the Order will visit their parents and persuade them to give their children to the Order. How easily could a parent reject a request from the Galactic Republic government? You have to factor in this in your essay.
I am curious, why are you interested in this topic?
-Skywalker
The message was exciting. It seemed that this "Skywalker" knew something about how the Jedi Order operated. It would not hurt if she asked them a question.
Dear Skywalker,
Thanks for your comment. Indeed, the power imbalance between the parents and the Jedi recruiters should be factored in. The parents faced pressure.
My friends gave their force-sensitive daughter to the Jedi Order. They are worried about their child's emotional wellbeing. I am helping them contact the Order to check in on their child. I am looking for a way to make contact.
You seem to know the Order well. Do you know how to contact them?
-Rackeli
Just in a few minutes Skywalker replied.
The Jedi define emotional wellbeing differently from the rest of the galaxy. They call it "the Jedi way." If the parents have concerns about their child, they should file a complaint to their senator and ask the senator to forward it to the Sentient Being Rights Committee. That Committee will respond. The Jedi only answer to the Senate.
File a complaint against the Jedi? It was unthinkable. But what other way did she have? Instead of writing a complaint, she could respectfully express her concerns on Shas family's behalf and ask for some assistance.
"Okay. It's worth a try." She closed off the datapad and went off to work.
***3***
Anakin finished reading the "Jedi Freedom" post. He was way beyond feeling "touched."
Her blog was about his fate in an alternative time and space. Reading it, he could imagine an alternate reality in which he had been taken away by the Jedi Order at infancy. In this reality, he had unfortunately been born into slavery. But in that reality, he still would be living without freedom. In the post, the absence of choice, deprivation of individual free will, and indoctrination of generations of Force-sensitives were all eloquently written. Once again, he relived the anguish inflicted by the Jedi's Order. Their supremacy over all Force users and persecution of the Sith for thousand years.
From reading her post, she didn't seem to know much about the Jedi Order, but her insight was uncanny. He needed to learn more about her.
His thoughts were interrupted by the commlink. Padme was calling. He immediately picked it up.
"Padme, I just read a brilliant post that analyzed Jedi's-"
"Anakin, please, I have an urgent issue. I don't have time to listen to the Jedi analysis today." Padme frowned.
"Are you alright? Is the assassin after you again?"
"Listen. I need you to contact your father. Obi-Wan just called me up. He said a clone army had been commissioned for the Republic and they are battle-ready. It is highly irregular and suspicious. He and Palis found the assassin. They were following them to Geonosis. I need to know more about Geonosis," Padme said quickly.
"You think my father knows about Geonosis?"
"The Senate Bureau of Intelligence must have some information. I do not have the clearance for it. It takes days to request any information from SBI, but there is no time." Padme smiled faintly. "Your father has the highest clearance. Sorry, it is not very ethical to ask for this, but I do not have other options."
"Because you are worried about Obi-Wan?" His face fell.
"Yes. I am worried about him and Palis, but it is much more than that. The assassin led them to discover an army. What next?"
"I will contact my father's aides. They will handle it. " He was still annoyed.
An image flashed in his head. He abandoned his work, grabbed his windbreaker, and ran out of his office. He needed to go to Padme. Now.
The temple guards stopped him from entering. A person had to have an appointment, a work permit, a Jedi escort, or be a Jedi themselves (showing a lightsaber) to be allowed in. Honestly, he wanted to give them a lightsaber demonstration. He argued that he worked for the Judiciary Department and had an important issue to report to someone higher up (Padme). The guard reluctantly allowed him in after scanning his coded rank cylinders.
He ran directly to the library, where he could feel her in the Force.
Padme walked out of the library door, holding her commlink projector with Palpatine's image on top of it. He immediately invited himself into the conversation.
"Aha, Anakin. Welcome. Your appearance is unexpected. You got into the Jedi Temple by yourself..." His master eyed him momentarily.
"I did not use the "I am Chancellor's son" card. I convinced the guards I have an important task." He felt uneasy.
"Yes. You have one. I just informed Senator Amidala that Separatist leader Count Dooku and his allies were congregating on Geonosis. They were preparing a public event. Padme volunteered to talk to Dooku as a diplomat representing the Republic to clarify any misunderstanding. The word about Jedi commissioning an army is already out. To be clear, the Republic is for peace."
"You cannot be serious. It is too dangerous," Anakin argued.
"Son, I understand your worry. It is why I am assigning you to go together. You have enough training to keep Padme safe. Do we agree?"
Then Papatine's face turned to Padme. His voice was sad. "My dear girl. It is unfortunate that your opposition against the Military Creation Act was doomed to fail from the beginning. You are ten years too late. We were all kept in the dark."
Then the Holocall ended.
Padme grabbed Anakin's hand. "Let us go now. We do not have much time left!" She looked into his eyes anticipatedly.
"Let us get some gear. Dealing with Dooku is not easy."
***4***
They set out for Geonosis in her Senatorial yacht. Anakin piloted the ship while Padme read through all the CIS information sent by the Chancellor's office. Anakin was quiet, which was good, though unusual. She finished all the readings in a couple of hours and started to prepare her talking points.
"Ani, I need your input about my speech. I am going to read my notes. Can you pretend that you are Count Dooku? "
"No. I cannot!" he snapped, turning to her sharply with anger in his eyes. "You are wrong to do this. This mission was too dangerous. Dooku could not be trusted. Not at all."
"We are the official delegates of the Republic. The CIS is an independent sovereignty. We are going to have a peace talk. If they do not want to listen, then we'll leave." She looked straight into his blue eyes. She saw not just anger but fear as well. "You are always fearless. You are upset." She took his hands and squeezed them.
Anakin turned away, looking into the swirling depths of hyperspace. His hands were cold. "I just have a real bad feeling, that is practice your talk. I will listen."
She stood up from her co-pilot seat and recited some of the prepared lines. Through it all, Anakin continued to gaze out at nothing, his eyes unfocused. Nonetheless, he gave some comments and applauded half-heartedly when she finished.
"You do not trust Dooku. You think the CIS is doing evil. I get it. Still, I think we should give it a try. Don't all the beings in the Galaxy deserve peace and prosperity? I had a long conversation with Dooku when I was still the Queen. I saw his point. There are worlds the Republic probably will never be able to take care of, like your homeworld. Some Republic worlds seceded. It was our loss, but it is their choice as long as the Republic and CIS stay friendly. It could be a win-win situation."
"It is...not that simple. Somehow the Jedi commissioned an army, and Dooku once was a Jedi. I don't know. I don't want to talk about it." He stood up and left the cockpit.
He returned a few minutes later, carrying some food, a bottle of Nubian champagne, and two glasses. "Sorry, I am not myself today. I did not sleep well. Not in a good mood." He managed a smile. "We should eat, have a drink, and sleep, and face the separatists tomorrow."
Padme picked up the wine bottle and filled the glasses. She held the glass high. "We will succeed. Let us have faith in it."
***5***
It was not a bad feeling, but a Force vision. He saw a Mandalorian shoot Padme, presumably the assassin Obi-Wan was tracking down.
Her body was lying on the ground, lifeless, blood staining her dress.
That was the whole vision. His Master had the power to use Force visions to see the future and advise his moves. Anakin's visions were always harbingers of death and destruction. He drew upon the Force to meditate. He felt nothing but desperation.
Dooku was behind all of this.
He would be thrilled to confront Dooku. To end his treacherous life, but not with Padme there. After Sidious showed Dooku the real way of the Force, he betrayed them and started the Separatist movement, weakening the Republic. Now the Jedi had an army. Threats kept multiplying. If he were honest to himself, he would admit he was upset. However, he would leave issues of such grand significance to his Master to handle.
Right now, he had to handle the immediate threat by himself. He must save Padme's life. It was foolish of her to sign up for this death trip.
He blanketed himself in the Force and hoped sleep could come to him.
He stayed awake until he heard Padme used the fresher.
"Ani, I hope you slept well. Time to prepare for our arrival." Padme wandered into his quarters in a silky nightdress. It immediately sharpened his mind.
"I am okay." He got out of the bed. He still had his blanket wrapped around him.
"You still feel cold in space after all these years?"
He nodded. Actually, he felt even colder after he learned the way of the Force. Sometimes, the chill was deep in his bone, like frost was biting, but the pain gave him focus.
"You should take your blaster with you, just in case." Anakin chose a tight-fitting black jacket and put on a grey cloak with golden embroidery to show his status as a Naboo noble. Padme went back to her room and came out with a very formal senatorial gown.
"I picked a dress that had embedded materials that can resist blaster shots. I listened to your expert opinion."
Padme started to do her hair. She tried to tie up all her hair into a single bun on the top, but a few threads kept falling down. "I wish Dorme was here."
"I can help you. Hold on." He picked up a few pins.
"You can do hair? " Padme looked at him with an incredulous look.
"Yes, I helped my mother when I was little," he said softly.
"Sorry. I don't mean to bring this up."
He simply nodded. He looked at himself in the fresher's mirror. He looked pale. Today was like a doomed day, with the worst memories. He had searched for Shmi on Outer Rim worlds for years. When he had finally found her, she was dying.
He was much more powerful now. The same tragedy would not replay. He would not allow it.
He piloted the ship out of hyperspace. They landed in a few minutes.
Dooku was waiting for them in the hangar, together with a squad of battle droids similar to the type that had devastated Naboo during the occupation.
"Welcome, Senator Amidala," Dooku spoke with his silvery noble voice. He bowed to Padme curtly, ignoring Anakin completely.
"We've come here to show CIS that the Republic has a most sincere desire for peace, and we have to build a prosperous future together." Padme bowed back and held out a hand.
Dooku did not take her hand. Instead, all the battle droids raised their blasters.
"So, we came here in vain then," Padme said harshly. "Anakin, we're leaving."
"No, not at all, my lady. You have set things in motion." Dooku laughed. "Take them down."