Chapter 31 – Discovery
DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars, even if we wish we did. xD
Author's Note: In which certain truths are revealed... :P
And I will not apologize for the massive cliffhanger at the end! ^-^ xD
~ Amina Gila
Shaak Ti, Fives, the Kaminoan, and I are waiting on the landing platform as Anakin and Obi-Wan's ship finally arrives. I can hardly believe they finally got here.
"Greetings Master Kenobi and Skywalker," welcomes Shaak Ti.
"Hello, Master," I greet.
"I believe we have some things to catch up on before getting to investigating," Anakin says.
I nod. "According to the Kaminoans, the purpose of the chip is to ensure that the clones are loyal to the Republic and will be more likely to obey orders. But I believe that there must be more to the 'malfunction' than that because it seems perfectly clear that Tup had orders to kill the Jedi."
"That is impossible!" protests the Kaminoan.
"It seems unlikely that his chip could have malfunctioned simultaneously to any other event that would have made him do that," I object, "Besides, we already know it's not a virus."
"Perhaps Master Shaak Ti was right that the clone was brainwashed by the Separatists," the Kaminoan suggests.
Of course. I'm seriously beginning to think they all know exactly what is going on. She's clearly trying to cover for Sidious. Yes, she must know. "We'll have to investigate further to determine anything with certainty," I argue, "If this truly has nothing to do with the inhibitor chip, we will consider other possible options. We need to start somewhere." Now, perhaps, we'll finally get some answers.
**w**
"I might have found something," Anakin says finally from where he's working in a room on Kamino.
"What?" Obi-Wan and I demand.
"The chips contain a list of orders," Anakin informs us from the screen he's looking at, "One of them is to kill all trained Force-sensitives."
"What?" I squeak in horror. I knew it. We figured it out. Except the only thing I need to do is make sure this leads back to Sidious.
"I do not believe this has anything to do with what happened," insists the Kaminoan, "The orders in the chips can only be given by the Supreme Chancellor."
"And why is there an order for this, then?" I ask, spinning around to face her. That statement in and of itself might lead back to him.
"The Jedi are leading a war," she argues, "There is a possibility that some of them could become corrupted, so the order is there simply for security reasons. So far, it seems everything is fine, so there is no reason for you to be concerned." Suuuure. Just as I was beginning to suspect. The clones were clearly created by Sidious with this exact purpose in mind.
Obi-Wan and Anakin don't look convinced either. "We shall report this to the Council and see what they decide about this information," replies Obi-Wan. She nods reluctantly, clearly realizing that she is out of arguments. There's part of me that almost feels bad for her – because I know Sidious will be furious – but she did agree to do this. She knows what it's for. She should have been prepared for the plan to backfire like this.
"We'll be going back to the ship to contact them," declares Anakin, rising. With that, we walk out of the room, heading back for the ship.
"I knew it," I murmur as we walk inside, "Obi-Wan's future self told me, and the moment Tup turned his blaster on me, I knew there was something controlling the clones."
"You think this is how the Jedi were destroyed?" asks Anakin, a confused expression on his face. Of course. He still hasn't put two and two together.
I nod my confirmation.
Obi-Wan frowns. "But she said the only one who could give the order is –" From his stunned expression, I just know he figured it out. "The Chancellor... is he the Sith Lord?"
"That's impossible!" hisses Anakin, shock and disbelief coloring his tone. I wish.
"He is," I confirm, unable to meet their gazes. Finally. Finally, they figured it out. The only question is how we're going to get enough proof for the Jedi to act on it.
"We must inform the Council of this immediately." Obi-Wan hurries into the cockpit.
"How could this have happened without the Jedi knowing?" Anakin demands. He knows I'm telling the truth, but he can't bring himself to believe it.
"He's a master of deception," I respond, "He's the most powerful Dark Side user the galaxy has seen for a long time, to be sure. He's been working on it for years and years."
"Well, that sure took a weight off my shoulders," grumbles Anakin.
"We're one step ahead of him right now," I reply, trying to be optimistic, "We're finding out about one of his most secretive plans that he definitely doesn't want us to know about. We could secretly begin dechipping the clones if the Council agrees. And now that we know who he is, we just need to collect enough evidence to prove it to the public."
"I still don't understand," Anakin objects after a long moment of silence, "I've known him for years, and I never suspected anything. He never seemed that type of person."
"You're not the only person he fooled," I reply, anger surging as the memories of my last days in the future surface, "He had the entire Jedi Order fooled. The entire Republic. If you want me too, I can show you my memories of when I found out."
Anakin nods his agreement, his expression still doubtful, so I send the memory through our bond to him.
"What year is it?" I demand.
"It's been twenty-two years since the formation of the Empire," Obi-Wan's Force ghost explains, "It was formed not long after you left the Order."
"But... what happened to everyone?" I query.
"The clones turned on us," Obi-Wan continues, "Hardly any of the Jedi survived, and the rest were hunted down after the Empire's creation and killed. The only one left now is Master Yoda. The emperor is Darth Sidious, formerly Chancellor Palpatine."
"Palpatine?!" I exclaim, "How could all the Jedi be fooled like that?!"
"The Dark Side clouds everything," replies Yoda.
I end the memory there, deciding there's no way I should show him anything about Vader. I don't need Anakin asking me a hundred questions about him again.
Before either of us have a chance to speak, Obi-Wan steps back into the room. "The Council requests that we go meet with the President of Kamino to discuss the situation. They want to begin removing the chips, but we cannot tell the president this. They said that for now, there is nothing they can do about Palpatine, since we do not have enough evidence to expose him."
"Just as I suspected," I sigh frustratedly. He did arrange things well so that if something backfired, it wouldn't lead directly to him, but I know there's a way. There has to be a way.
"Come, we must hurry and go meet him," says Obi-Wan heading towards the ramp of the ship.
**w**
"Welcome, Master Jedi," the President greets us as we finally walk into his chamber several hours later. We've been waiting long enough to see him and I'm glad we're finally getting this over with.
"It has come to our attention that the Clone Troopers are installed with chips that contain orders, one being to execute the Jedi. Do you have knowledge of this?" inquires Obi-Wan, getting straight to the point.
The President bobs his long neck up and down. "I am. The chips were installed in them – upon request of Jedi Master Sifyo Dyas – to ensure that they would always remain loyal to the Republic, regardless of changing loyalties of anyone else. For this reason, the chips were installed. Since the Jedi are loyal to the Republic and only the Supreme Chancellor can activate these chips, this should not concern you."
"Clearly, they can malfunction, so it is definitely a concern to us," Anakin practically snaps, earning a sharp look from Obi-Wan, "We wouldn't have found that out!"
"There is no evidence this was a result of the chip malfunctioning, and even so, it is an isolated incident. Regardless, nothing can be done because the chips must remain in the clones."
"Why?" I demand.
"If the chips were removed, the clones would no longer remain loyal to the Republic. They would no longer be able to be controlled. If the clones did not die, the entire army would revolt."
"Well clearly that aspect of them can malfunction as well since there have been clone traitors in the past," I point out.
"As always, no design is complete without fault and those were isolated incidents as well," responds the President coolly, "The chips must remain or the Republic will be severely endangered. I must warn you if you attempt to remove the inhibitor chips, we will be forced to stop producing any more for the safety of the Republic. Any clone without a chip is far too dangerous to be on the battlefield and must return to Kamino. The liability is far too great for us to allow this."
True. Sidious would be furious. And that would probably not end well for any of those in command here.
"We appreciate the information," Obi-Wan says politely, "We shall relay this to the Council." I can tell he's just trying to end the conversation. We've gathered all the information we expected to, but it's still not enough to do anything with. It does not implicate Palpatine of anything. He's playing his game well.
"It looks like we're going to have to start doing it secretly," Anakin grumbles as we head back towards the ship for Obi-Wan to give his report. I'm thinking we're nearly done with whatever we can do here now. Soon enough, we're probably going to be called back to the front. Not that I mind, but I'm frustrated this didn't lead us anywhere. Except that now we can start de-chipping the clones in secret.
"That shouldn't be too difficult," I offer optimistically as we arrive and Obi-Wan goes into the cockpit. Well, we can hope anyway. Especially since we need to keep this a secret from everyone beyond the Jedi, and it can't be done without the clones knowing. Word could spread far too easily and quickly.
"Just try not to act too different," I warn, "Palpatine can't realize anyone suspects anything, or we'll be doomed."
"I'll be careful," he assures me. I know he can be – he's a good actor, even though no one ever gives him credit for it – but it'll be hard. In the ensuing silence that falls, I begin to get the distinct feeling that something on Coruscant is dreadfully wrong. And whatever is, we're about to find out.
The door slides open again and Obi-Wan rushes out. "Coruscant has been attacked by the Separatists." he informs us urgently, "And the Chancellor has been captured."