The Arrival

The shuttle lurched between the cold emptiness of the edge of deep space as it sank down through the storm into a dark wall of flashing blindness that swallowed Kamino. Alanja gripped the seat belt as her insides crammed upwards in her throat as the craft skipped over the turbulence and dropped straight down into the churning maelstrom. Around her, faceless men in their white armor howled with glee at the wild ride.

As she squeezed her eyes closed, her long, brown hair curtained forward over her alabaster face as she was slammed back into her seat by a hard bank of the shuttle. A cry whined out of her glossy lips. Over her, she was sure the cloned troopers' howls of laughter must have been for more than the excitement of their rough descent towards Topica City. When the Imperial Venator-Class Star Destroyer that had been her home these last few weeks blipped out of hyperspace and the gray-blue ball of Kamino could be seen with her own eyes, Alanja had been beside herself to be on dry land again.

Her head banged into her headrest. She let out another mousy grunt. She could barely believe she had let her brother talk her into this. Alanja was not made to travel so far into the abyss. Her late husband had been an officer in the Grand Army of the Republic, but Alanja had seen no part of the war. Now she was at the edge of the unknown, sinking into the watery grave she and her brother, Rov, were about to make for the treacherous, cloned army of the old order.

Up and down, the turbulence rocked the shuttle, jarring her clenched teeth as if the planet itself was trying to stop them from their mission. Lightning flashed, momentarily blinding her, making the white armor of the clone troopers riding down with her glow in her vision like scowling spectres. She grabbed for her brother Rov's hand and squeezed her eyes closed, only to receive a laugh. "You're strapped in, Alanja. Relax." Rov stood proudly beside the clone troopers, his starched imperial uniform perfect and his short brown hair combed back without even a single hair out of place.

Alanja gasped as she shuttle lurched again. "Easy for you to say. This is all you do."

Over them, a half dozen cloned troopers held onto loops just like Rov, barely moving as the ship was tossed through the storm. She was sure they were all laughing at her behind those terrifying white-helmed frowns, just like Rov.

Thunder clapped as lighting struck outside the shuttle as it clunked down onto the landing pad. She watched the flickering of the more lightening while the ramp lowered. One of the troopers seemed to look down at her, the tilt of his head clearly hiding his amusement. She wondered if they were chattering about her on their comms by the way a couple of the others gave a slight shake of their heads.

When she couldn't get the seat buckles loose, Rov bent over, flipped them open, and shook his head too at how helpless she was. Though Rov did not like clones, he was a soldier like them. But it had never sunk home until now just how different he was from them. They were terrifying. All the same voice. All the same face. It was unnatural. Rov had never scared her, but seeing the clones made her realize just how powerful he was as a commander. They obeyed his orders as if they were machines made of flesh.

Rov smiled at her, the corner of the right side of his mouth almost a smirk as he gently helped her to her feet. "Come on, sister. We shouldn't keep Admiral Tarkin waiting."

Alanja looked down the ramp at the pouring rain and dark horizon as the shiny, white clone troopers marched onto the platform and made a wall on either side of the walkway to form an honor guard for Vice Admiral Rov Rampart and the newly appointed Ambassador to Kamino, Alanja Rampart. The wind and rain pelted the clones, but the troopers stood as rigid as statues with black blasters across their chests.

The wind shifted the rain, blowing it into the shuttle, smattering Alanja's slippers with water. "There's no dyer path we could have landed on?" she complained, looking down at her flowing, white gown.

Rov gave one of his I told you so laughs. "I warned you. I will not take you through the main hanger bays with all of the returning troops."

Alanja made a face at him as he unclasped his cloak from his shoulders and threw it over her as if he won another of their games of who's the foolish know it all. Surely, she was the fool today, but his insistence that she arrive in pants and a heavy overcoat was not something she was willing to do! She was a lady of high society. Even if there were only clones and their strange makers to see her, she refused to diminish her appearance for the sake of Rov's pragmatism.

"So glad you are chivalrous, brother," she said, sticking her nose in the air as if it could really hide her embarrassment. Even with his cloak, she would be soaking wet by the time they made it inside. He put her hand on his arm and led her down the ramp. He was still smirking. "I'm going to get you back for this," she said, her voice shooting up into a shriek as the first wall of rain pounded against her face.

Rov patted her hand and held his head high, the rain seeming not to bother him as he marched along the bridge to the open doors. In the dark of the storm, the curved doorway looked like a portal of pure light, pristine and sterile. As they walked through, the once flowing gown suddenly clung to her under Rov's cloak, and it was instantly cold. The corridor before them opened in bright, white arches like the ribs of a spotless beast. Approaching quickly were three tall and lithe beings that seemed a part of the pristine world of Topica City. Their long necks craned down, and their wide black eyes lowered in a bow to Rov.

"Welcome to Kamino, Vice Admiral Rampart," the male Kaminoan greeted. "I am prime minister, Lama Su." He motioned with his thin arms and too-long fingers to the females with him. "This is Tawn We and our chief scientist, Nala Se."

The two Kaminoan women bowed their heads with what could be perceived as pleasant, but Alanja was not so sure. Rov smiled at them all the same and gave them a slight bow of his head in return. "This is my sister, Alanja. The Imperial Senate has appointed her as an Ambassador to Kamino."

The three Kaminoans gave her a nod as if the introduction was just a formality. Nothing of Rov's introduction was news to them. "You are most welcome here," Tawn We greeted. "Shall I take you to your rooms?"

Alanja couldn't tell if the Kaminoans were amused like Rov at her soaked clothes or if everyone that came to Kamino arrived in such a humbled and drenched state.

"Take me to Admiral Tarkin," Rov ordered.

"Very well," Lama Su replied. Alanja felt an eerie twist in her stomach that the Kaminoans were more cautious of offending her brother than welcoming. "Sister, follow to our rooms. Your luggage will be delivered shortly."

Her brow furrowed as she looked up at her brother's fine uniform. There was not a drop of water on it as if it had merely all rolled off him. His hair was wet, but it still was in place. She patted absently at her own. Her long waves of brown hair were plastered to her face and neck, but his cloak was dry, just like his uniform. As if he couldn't help himself, he said with no words, just that look that said it all. I told you so. If Alanja didn't know better, she may have thought Rov chose that landing platform because he knew she would be forced to admit he was right, and it had nothing to do with the chaos of the returning cloned army. As angry as she was, she couldn't bring herself to think him quite that cruel, even if they often played childish games with one another as if they could somehow escape to a simpler time in their lives when war was far away. That was a long time ago now, but the two of them refused to let go of the goodness that had once been before she first laid eyes on Jango Fett, the father of the army birthed in this white hell.

Alanja let go of Rov's arm and followed alongside Tawn We. The tall Kaminoan woman glided along, her movements fluid and graceful as if carefully chosen for the next step of an excruciatingly slow ballet. Everything about Tawn We was peaceful, but caution remained tight in Alanja's gut that the calm and innocent outside of the Kaminoans was a cloak of deception concealing something awful. Perhaps she was just projecting her discomfort with the alien environment, but she couldn't shake it. The Kaminoans were not hostile, but they were wary of the presence of the newly formed Galactic Empire.

As Alanja walked alongside her alien escort, Tawn We pointed out various accomplishments the Kaminoans had made with the clone troopers and their facilities as if she had been sent with Alanja to give her some sort of sales pitch, a defense of their existence and their expertise. As if just creating some kind of small talk, Tawn We said, "We are so glad to have you here as ambassador to Kamino on behalf of the Empire. This is a great honor for our people to be fully recognized for assisting in the success of ending the war. Our Prime Minister wishes to give you full access to all facilities. There is a bright future ahead."

Alanja smiled at Tawn We. "You are too gracious." Though Tawn We took her statement as a compliment, Alanja felt the danger of this place more real than any logs or records could have prepared her for. Nothing of Tawn We's placid politeness would assuage Alanja from her mission to find out what the Kaminoans were fully capable of.

"You'll be perfect for this," Rov had assured Alanja when he came for her six months ago, where she had sequestered herself in the family hunting lodge at the beginning of the war. He paraded her through the lofty circles of Coruscant to remind her that her life had once been full of beauty and opulence, that she was born to be among diplomats and politicians. None of that had prepared her for this place, a darkness that was veiled in the purest of white.

Alanja stopped with an open mouth to peer through the windows at the thousands of tanks that birthed the clones. At her side, Tawn We clasped her skinny hands behind her with pride as she gazed out at the tubes of cloned infants. "Magnificent, aren't they?"

That was not how Alanja would have described what she saw. Horror crept through her bones. How many thousands of children were bred in this place, only have their lives stolen and thrust into violence? Behind her, a squad of little boys marched by in perfect lockstep with their Kaminoan master. She watched their precise steps in the refection in the glass as a couple of them glanced her way. Seeing their perfectly identical faces made all of the complaints made by Admiral Tarkin and her brother against Kamino's products roll through her mind like an avalanche that could crush the Galactic Empire. Slowly, Alanja turned to watch as the boys were led away. How could the Republic have condoned such a place to exist?

Tawn We led her onward. The tech felt endless as she weaved through the cloning facility as if Tawn We wanted Alanja to see every inch of it. She stopped at the broad blast doors to a massive hanger. It was as large as the flight deck of a Star Destroyer. Thousands of white-armored clones marched like droids as the announcement that they were to meet for inspection and a debriefing from Admiral Tarkin sounded over and over. Alanja scowled. Rov really had been making a point that she should listen to him. They could have landed in this hangar. In fact, there were a dozen or more shuttles just like the one they arrived in sitting before her, but there was a danger in not knowing the state of the minds of the returning clones. Everything was delicate, and a single slip would be death upon the razor's edge they stood upon.

Please leave me a few kind words below about what you think. - Regina