A MESSED UP DESTINY

A STAR WARS STORY

Chapter 35

Disclaimer: Disney owns everything and I make no profit from this.

Hello there everyone and welcome to chapter 35 of the story! Today's chapter is the last time we'll see Coruscant for the foreseeable future, but the glimmering city of lies and deceit will appear again, I've already seen to it. Now, this chapter follows Anakin and Fox as they investigate the Clone Troopers from last time, and Fox gets some answers he would have been better off without ever knowing.

Questions, conversations, contingency orders, Senators and Sith Lords are running amok on the Galactic Republic's capital and it's up to Fox and Anakin to discover the truth behind the brazen infringement of civil rights they witnessed last chapter, but will they succeed? Let's dive right in and find out!

Control of the Mind! As Clone Commander Fox and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker investigate the mystery behind a brutal and now dead group of Clone Troopers, Fox discovers that some questions are better left unanswered as Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni learns of their investigation, and attempts to secure her planet's interests by silencing the duo once and for all…

Jedi Temple, Halls of Healing, Anakin's point of view:

"Bring him in.", I said calmly, preparing myself to face the man who had once killed my friend, and had also saved my life today.

Fox appeared in the door a moment later, taking small steps towards my bed, where I sat still, waiting for him to come closer. He was nervous and partially terrified of me because of what he'd seen, so I didn't want to scare him by making any sudden movements. It was now more than ever that I would have to put my emotions aside and listen to my head, since letting something crucial slip could be catastrophic depending on what happened next, and after what Sidious and his goons had tried today, I wasn't about to allow such a thing.

"General.", the Commander addressed politely after clearing his throat. "I'm here to report that all hostilities have ceased, with civilians stepping back to allow us to investigate the scene properly. My men didn't find anything of interest, but are still looking into this matter.", he said mechanically, and I recognized that he was trying to calm himself by pretending this was a mission report, feeling unsure about how he should approach the subject.

Having no interest in avoiding the subject, I slowly raised a –rather sore- arm and pulled a chair from across the room, beckoning Fox to sit next to me. He obeyed immediately –like a good soldier would-, but then shot a panicked look in Padme's direction when he saw her leave the room, realizing that he was now alone with me.

"Commander, before we talk about why you're really here, I'd like to thank you for saving my life. You performed excellently out there, and I would be dead if not for you. ", I told him honestly, expressing gratitude through the Force. While he couldn't feel it the same way a Force Sensitive would, it got him to understand that I was being genuine, and therefore made him relax, if only a little.

Fox, not used to receiving such praise, fiddled with his blaster nervously, having little idea of what he was supposed to answer with. Wishing to relieve him of this awkwardness, I continued, addressing the real Krayt Dragon in the room. "You wouldn't happen to be in possession of the item I extracted from the hostiles, would you?", I asked in a low voice, more so because I was hesitant to inquire than of fear that someone was listening.

The Commander cleared his throat once before presenting the Inhibitor Chip to me, sealed in a casing used for tissue samples in Medical Facilities and perfectly preserved. "I-I do, sir. But…what is it, exactly?", he asked as I examined it, voice cracking with…fear, oddly enough. Does he think I'll punish him for the question?

Raising my gaze to look into his eyes through the visor of his helmet, I took a deep breath…and answered truthfully. He deserved to know after saving my life, and the Galaxy along with it. "This…", I said, showing him the Chip, "…is an organic chip implanted into the brain of every Clone. I happened upon reports of them not too long ago, but no one else knows of them. I myself aren't entirely sure of their intended uses, but they are dangerous, since they act as a way to force your brothers into obeying commands ordered by…someone.", I told him, and Fox recoiled in shock, clearly not expecting the answer he had just been given.

"General?", he questioned, in complete disbelief.

I allowed myself to sigh, not knowing what else to do in that moment. "The Kaminoans are certainly responsible for this, but someone would have requested their placement.", I continued, hesitantly placing a hand on Fox's shoulder as a means to offer comfort. He may not be my friend, but I knew the feeling of being controlled all too well, even if Force Lightning was acting as a metaphorical Inhibitor Chip for Darth Vader, not to mention the very real slave chip that had once been etched under my skin when I was a child.

For a moment, Fox said nothing, his mind busy absorbing the barrage of information he'd been given. Then, suddenly, he perked up, looked me in the eye, and spoke. "How long have you known about them?", Fox inquired, his tone one of accusation and betrayal.

Had I been a lesser man, I would have rushed to argue with him, deflecting the accusation. Had I still been a Sith, I wouldn't have responded, uncaring for the Clone Commander's emotions. Had I still been Anakin Skywalker as he was…before…I would've shouted at Fox, probably asking why he thought I was responsible. Had I still been a slave, I…wasn't sure what I would have done, but as a former one, I motioned for him to sit once more, knowing all too well what would happen if the one in control decided he wasn't useful anymore, or that he was a liability.

"I read about them on some classified records. I was looking for something else, but their official purpose is to act as inhibitors to negative or extreme emotional responses, supposedly to help you keep your head during a battle.", I answered, recalling one of the reports I'd bumped into while reading about Kamino's destruction a few weeks after the Empire had first been established. That Vader still held on to his attachments for the Clones, and that might have been the one thing Sidious had never managed to rip out of me. My care for those men.

Upon hearing my words, Fox accepted the answer, sitting down once more. Instead of trying to keep his cool, he covered his head in both hands, throwing the helmet across the room. In an effort to avoid one of Master Vokara's visits, I quickly used the Force to gently place it onto a small table next to my bed, before offering the Clone Commander a comforting smile, trying to convey that all would be well someday. While I didn't fully believe that myself, offering hope was the least I could do for him.

After a few moments of silence, with the exception of a muffled angry cry or two from Fox's direction, he looked up, his gaze burning with determination. "Thank you for telling me this sir.", he said, sounding truly grateful. "I'll let the boys know as soon as I find a way to get these things out of our heads. But for now…I think I need to have a chat with the nearest Longneck, don't you agree?", he asked rhetorically. Whether it was to access my response or simply for the sake of the question I didn't know, but I wasn't about to let go alone.

"I'm coming with you.", I declared, getting up and pulling a robe Padme had –probably- brought in with her to myself, wearing it over a damaged tunic and carefully concealing the Bacta Patches Vokara and her team had placed on me while I was unconscious. "The Clones have saved my life more times than I can count, and I know all too well what it's like to have a control chip inside of you.", I continued, but mentally berated myself for slipping up and hinting at my time as a slave. It wasn't that I was embarrassed by it, rather, it just wasn't something I had intended to share with Fox, or to really talk about at all.

The Commander couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the latter half of my declaration, but he made no comment on it, catching his helmet with ease after I tossed it to him and striding out of the room with confidence as I slipped the Chip to Padme -who had been waiting outside- so she could hide it somewhere safe, at least for the time being.

We met up with Commander Thorn and some other Clones at the Hangar –all off them having dashed here upon hearing the news for various reasons. As the pilot flew us to the Senate Building –where Fox knew the Kaminoan Senator was at this time of the day- Thorn hesitantly asked for a statement regarding the events in Padme's apartment, and with the group of 'hostiles' earlier. He refused to acknowledge them as Clones, because no brother of his would do such a thing, if I were to quote him on the matter.

When we all arrived at the Senate Building Thorn and the other dropped Fox and I off before leaving, stating that there was work that needed to be done and Fox, in a rare moment of a relaxed attitude, teased his fellow Commander on the paperwork he'd have to do to sort today's events out, reminding me of how awful sitting at a desk and looking at reports for hours on end can sometimes be.

I quickly banished the thought within the next few moments however, since Fox and I had work to do. He was determined to confront Senator Burtoni about the Inhibitor Chips, and I had to do damage control and ensure everything went smoothly, meaning that Fox didn't get himself killed, and that Sidious wouldn't catch wind of what we were doing, which would have already happened if I hadn't erected a Force Barrier around Fox and I, to prevent him from accidentally projecting emotions that Sidious could detect.

As the two of us strode through the walls of the Senate, I took notice of the hushed whispers people used when I was nearby, immediately changing the topic of conversation the second I came too close to them. Whether this was something serious or simply regular gossip I couldn't determine, but it was something for later, since Senator Burtoni's presence kept getting closer the more walking Fox and I did. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd memorized the entire building in his first week of deployment on Coruscant, he certainly seemed like the type of soldier to do so.

After turning a few more corners seemingly at random, the elderly Kaminoan came into view, with no one else in sight, including security cameras. The hallway was weirdly empty, though a mental snicker from Revan betrayed that he was the one behind this otherwise incredible coincidence. I wasn't quite sure how he managed to pull it off, but I wasn't going to waste time questioning it now, since Fox was dangerously close to putting a plasma bolt through Burtoni's skull.

The Kaminoan seemed completely unaffected by the sight of an angry Clone with a pistol in hand however, and simply ignored him, preferring to greet me in forced politeness. "Master Jedi. How good to see you here. With all the rumors circulating about you being injured, some had even written you off as dead."

"You scum! How dare you do this to us? To my brothers?", Fox screamed at her, getting only a look of indifference in response, which to him was probably worse than any insult the Senator could have replied with. Knowing that a blaster being fired in the Senate wouldn't be a good idea and that a dead Senator would cause us more problems than she was worth, I stepped between her Fox, never breaking eye contact with that excuse of a sapient being.

"Senator. The use of Inhibitor Chips on anyone is a direct violation of the Republic's Anti-Slavery Laws, and therefore, I place you under arrest for crimes against sapient beings.", I said coldly, holding myself back from flicking my wrist ever so slightly and snapping her neck. Lama Su would just send a different Kaminoan, one that neither I nor Padme would be familiar with, which would hinder my ability to advise her on matters regarding the Kaminoans in the future.

"Is it truly a crime to ensure the obedience of product, Master Jedi? Our Clones were created to serve a purpose, and those chips are there to ensure they don't stray from their task.", Burtoni said, tone calm and face stoic, emotions nonexistent. She truly didn't see a problem with what her race of slavers was doing…so perhaps a change of perspective was needed. And there were more than enough accounts of my persuasiveness at work for her to change her mind.

"I assure you Senator, they are more than just Clones. They are people, not the unthinking droids you make them out to be.", I responded, my tone colder than the icy surface of Hoth. My patience was running thin, and I wasn't known for having an abundance of it to begin with. "I suggest you reevaluate your assessment of them before these ideas lead to any unfortunate events. I'd hate for the Republic to lose someone so valuable to them as you are.", I continued, making her impending doom obvious enough.

The Kaminoan simply smiled in response, considering my threat a weak one, and if her emotions were anything to go by, she was unimpressed. "I agree with the General, Senator. It would be quite the tragedy if you were to meet your end at the hand of one of your products.", Fox added, spitting on the final word of his sentence. He was clearly furious, but knew he couldn't do something drastic about this, instead deciding to trust me to handle the situation in a moment of clear judgement amidst the fog of negative emotions swarming his mind.

As a prepared myself to hold back the flick of the wrist it would take to silence this slaver once and for all after another show of indifference, something unexpected happened. Burtoni had the audacity to start laughing! "Are you seriously trying to threaten your creators? Oh, this is clearly the result of some mistake in the Labs! I suppose I'll simply have to do away with you then, you appear to be quite defective after all...", she said, musing the last sentence to herself.

That was when I finally had enough and used the Force to catch her in a deadly grip, wanting to feel fear overtake her before crushing her slim neck as I should have done from the beginning. Fox had also put his blasters on lethal mode, ready to put several dozen bolts of Plasma through her head at a moment's notice. The Senator went back to being unfazed however, showing no fear at the prospect of losing her pathetic life, if one could call her existence that.

"Master Jedi, if truly don't believe me when I say that this unit is expendable, then allow me to prove it to you. Getting rid of a defective subject will simply be a bonus as far as I'm concerned.", the Kaminoan spoke again, and Fox let out a cry of rage as his fingers moved to pull on both triggers of his pistols, but he froze before that could happen, at the sound of words most familiar to him.

*Trigger Warning*

"Execute Order 44." The phrase was a short and simple one, and yet, Fox immediately lowered his blasters, leaving one on his belt while moving to raise the other once more, this time putting it right at his head, his other hand stiff and unmoving as it hanged in the air, doing nothing.

Sensing what was about to happen before I could realize it, I used my free hand to freeze the trigger of his blaster in place as his finger went right to it, managing to catch it right before the weapon could fire. Fox said nothing, made no move to resist or change position, instead continuing to apply steady pressure on the trigger, numb to the world around him.

Careful not to lose my focus, I threw myself at Burtoni, knocking her to the floor with a single strike to the chest. Anger rolled off me in waves like never before, hate burning through my veins hotter than the lava on Mustafar. Still, I made no move to grab my saber, or to ram a blade into her skull. That would be too quick a death, and by all accounts, a mercy she didn't deserve.

"You dare! You dare treat them all as property, to use your pathetic little fragment of what power truly means to force someone to kill themselves because they don't reach your expectations?", I screamed at her, too angry to think or consider, too hateful to do anything other than make her feel what Fox had felt when he discovered the Chips, when he found that he wasn't in control of his own life! I would show her what power and control truly meant!

"You will die for this, Kaminoan!", I screamed again, now able to see the yellow glow my own eyes were emitting.

The Senator had crawled away from me in fear, this being the first time she ever felt such emotion. She'd huddled in a corner, staring at me with true terror in her eyes, the kind of emotion I hadn't seen since the last time I'd murdered a Rebel during an Imperial Mission. I took a step towards her, finding great satisfaction as I soaked in her emotions, and gripped her heart with the Force, ready to finish her.

In a last pathetic attempt to save herself, Burtoni tried to shield herself from me with her hands as my blood continued to boil in anger. It was then that I allowed my fury to be unleashed upon her frail, fragile body, and it was then that the golden hue of my eyes intensified, becoming a blinding glow for anyone who'd dare to look into them. Unfortunately for her, the Kaminoan did, and shrieked in agony as her fingertips and other exposed skin began to wither away under my gaze, but the effect ceased soon enough since my own surprise caused to me stop and try to process what was happening, part of mind still focused on Commander Fox.

*Trigger End*

When I turned away from her, I concentrated my thoughts on the fact that Fox needed my help, and lifted Burtoni in the air as the yellow in my eyes began to fade away and was quickly replaced by a calm blue, now that my anger had subsided. Focusing my mind on the task at hand, I pulled the Kaminoan closer, letting her legs drag onto the floor so that we could be at eye level.

"Free. Him.", I commander of her, and the Senator had no choice but to obey, quickly rasping out the correct phrase.

"Commander. Order…44 is no longer…in effect.", she said, voice cracking and breaking under whatever internal damage my attack had caused her. In the single moment that occurred next, Fox threw his gun to the nearest wall and fell to his knees, crying shamelessly as he muttered something incoherent.

Forcing myself to focus on Burtoni for just a little longer, I uttered one final sentence to her. "Say a word of what happened here, and they'll never find your ashes.", I told her, Vader's voice escaping my mouth as I spoke. The Kaminoan seemed to understand that she'd been given a promise, and quickly scurried away as I was left alone with Fox once again.

The second she was gone I knelt down to the Clone, who was now visibly broken by what had happened to him. Fox continued to cry, not caring about anything else than simply letting go of the world, if only long enough to recover. When he registered that Burtoni was finally gone, he gather enough strength to look at me, before lunging forwards.

In a moment of confusion, it took me a second to realize that Fox was hugging me. "Thank you…", he managed to whisper. "Sir, I…I don't know how to repay you. She would've made me...", he continued, voice cracking before he could say what he'd been about to do, because acknowledgement would've made it real. He wouldn't be able to just shove this in the back of head and forget, he'd be forced to remember every day, for the rest of his life.

Plastering a pleasant smile on my face, I helped him up before using the Force to call his discarded helmet and pistol to either one of my hands. "I'm sure we'll think of something.", I managed to joke while handing them back to him.

Fox was trembling whole as I helped him walk to the Hangar, where I called for Obi Wan, who was at the Temple keeping an eye on Padme and her family –they had insisted on making sure I was alright-, to come pick us up. He arrived on a red and black speeder a few minutes later, and I recognized it immediately, since I'd been tinkering with this thing during downtime the last time we were on Coruscant.

Commander Fox did best to look presentable in front of Obi Wan, but when my brother shot him a sympathetic, understanding smile, he simply collapsed into his seat, not caring much for appearances anymore. During our ride to the Temple not a word was spoken, not physically at least, since Revan and I spent a few minutes discussing the strange new ability I'd utilized only a few minutes prior, and I discovered that it was a much stronger instance of Deadly Sight, a Sith ability I'd heard of as Darth Vader.

I'd never bothered practicing it much, but I did remember reading about how it could kill the user if they overexerted themselves, so Revan and I agreed on some practice –preferably with Battle Droids as targets- before using it against an opponent who truly was dangerous, for safety's sake.

When we finally arrived at the Jedi Temple's Hagar Fox and I were greeted by a very angry Vokara Che, who immediately demanded to know why I'd gone missing for so long. My immediate response was to blame Obi Wan's slow speed when flying, but she didn't appreciate the joke, instead ordering me back to bed and insisting that Fox let her take a look at him.

Upon seeing that even I had complied with her orders the Commander wisely hung his head and obeyed, allowing Master Che to lead him to the Halls of Healing as Obi Wan had to keep himself from doubling over in laughter at the sight of me following an order, but he had no right to laugh. Master Vokara was generally a nice enough person, but when it came to the health of her patients, she could even scare Sidious into submitting to a checkup…

And…scene! There you have it everybody, chapter 35 of A Messed Up Destiny! First of all, I am going to officially confirm that the Blue Shadow Virus Crisis is the next chapter of the story, followed by…wait for it…a duel involving Darth Sidious himself! Yes ladies and gentlemen, the man, the legend, the Lord of Lies himself is finally making a real appearance in the story! About time we actively involve the main antagonist am I right?

Anyways, we have quite a bit to get through today…so let's dive right into the exposition!

Firstly, Fox and the Inhibitor Chips. As any Clone would, Fox is rightfully angry at being 'controlled' by outside forces, especially by the Kaminoans themselves, who all clones have a varying amount of distaste for. They don't like them because of how they treat them and Fox is furious at having found what he essentially views as confirmation of those words through Anakin's information.

He's actually right to question how Anakin knowns about them since I'd be suspicious too if I was in his position, but he quickly drops that line of thought and puts his trust in Anakin, since while I haven't show it all that well so far, Anakin Skywalker is supposed to be this Legendary Hero in the Clones' eyes, since he's the one who saved countless of their brothers during the Battle of Geonosis and always wins all the battles he's in, no matter what the CIS throws at him. Fox is also moved by what Anakin says about the Clones right after revealing the existence of the Inhibitor Chips, and to him, revealing them at all is amazing, since he's –in Fox's eyes- in clear disagreement with their use, which is very much true for Anakin's character.

Also, the unrelenting hatred he feels for the Kaminoans in the moment he finds out what's been done to him and his brothers is expressed later on when he yells at Senator Burtoni, but it's there from the moment he finds out the truth.

Secondly, the Inhibitor Chips themselves. For better or worse, the Chips' existence won't come to light for a while now, and will only exist as an open secret amongst a select few Clones and their Jedi, meaning those that see the Clones as the people they are instead of cannon fodder, and also are trusted by Anakin. This will come into play sometime in the near future, right after Mandalor I think. For now however, assume that only Anakin, Obi Wan, Padme and Fox know about them, since we'll get a Clone-centric chapter where all the important people find out later on.

Thirdly, Order 44. I'm going to put a Trigger Warning for the rest of this paragraph, so skip this if you also did the in-chapter portion this applies to. Order 44 was a Contingency Order in the GAR in the pre-Disney Legends canon, and has since been erased from history, but was a self-termination order meant to keep the Clones in line if they ever rebelled against the Republic.

Needless to say, since the Clones have no choice but to obey in Canon, and SW Rebels has shown that they remember the events of Order 66, so Fox would also remember this like he did Order 66 in the other timeline. I'm not going to fully explore the effects this will have on the Coruscant Guard's leader, simply because this isn't something I want to write about extensively, and there will be a lot more important moments to focus on later on in the story. Plus, I'm not at all comfortable dealing with stuff like this, so now that it's been established and can be used as a plot device, I'm leaving it alone until it's needed and that's that.

Fourthly, Anakin's new powers. Throughout both Episodes 1 and 2, plus the side stories in between these two Books, Anakin has learned to use a variety of Force Powers against foes and for personal use, though the latter really is just confined to Force Pulling/Pushing stuff when he needs to, telekinetically lifting something heavy, talking to people via Force Bond etc.

This chapter specifically marks the beginning for the complete expansion of Anakin's roster of abilities, which will be completed by the end of Book 3, and shall include various powers and abilities that are either really obscure or extremely difficult to perform, but the point is that you guys should expect to see new powers pop up every now and again, since Anakin and Revan are always training and trying to learn more throughout the course of the story, their conversation about testing the limits of Deadly Sight being only one example of this.

Lastly, Dooku. I know this seems like a random addition since he hasn't shown up in quite a few chapters now, but is incredibly important to the story, so you can all expect to see him get a bigger role in the near future, since he's one of the catalysts in the fight against the Emperor. Keep an eye out everyone, because he'll be making his return really soon.

Next time: With another one of Palpatine's plans underway, Anakin, Padme and Ahsoka are sent to the Senator's home world of Naboo, where a Separatist Scientist threatens to unleash a long-forgotten virus into the planet's atmosphere, threatening to affect the whole Galaxy if it manages to escape to another planet. With time on the enemy's side and some of the highest stakes they've ever gone up against, will our heroes arise victorious, or are they destined to succumb to the virus' powerful influence?

That's all for now everyone! Reviews are always welcome, whether it be to ask question or to chat, and I'll see you all next chapter, but until then, May the Force be with you!