Star Wars 2.0

Episode 6

Chapter 3

Holographic dots representing stars filled the room over a sizeable projection table. Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Jedi Master Tosho Shiro studied it on one side while former Senator Sheev Palpatine – now Chancellor Palpatine because of his leadership on the Clone Army Initiative – stood close to his military advisor, General Wilhuff Tarkin, who was operating buttons on the table to interact with the holographic information.

Tarkin explained the military situation in relation to the Clone Wars. Images of fleets and names of leaders appeared as they maneuvered from dot to dot. Obi-Wan focused on the casualties list as it rose with every battle, and it made his heart sink.

Tosho Shiro and Yoda asked logistical questions about some of the systems and their strategic importance. Tarkin answered each question briskly. He knew all the details of every situation and had options and recommendations for each one. Tosho saw why Palpatine liked him. Yoda was less interested in the man than he was in what he had to say.

Palpatine acknowledged the complications by saying, "We seem to have a tangled web of strategies across the galaxy, General."

"Yes we, do, Chancellor. Might I advise…"

"I should like to find one grand design under which we approach the entire war plan."

"Difficult that would be," Yoda said. "The droid armies appear in many pockets to wreak havoc. Unexpected, they are."

Tosho added, "Their changing objectives are hard to keep up with. They require study and finesse that the clones aren't capable of."

"I can see how we might accomplish your goal, Chancellor," Tarkin said, and he pressed a few buttons. Tiny dots wiped across the entire hologram. "We blanket the galaxy with your clone troopers, and reinforce them with armored soldiers drafted from some of our most loyal worlds. These Stormtroopers will take over tasks that require more tactical acumen than the clone troopers are used to."

"I like the way you think, General Tarkin," Palpatine said.

"That would require a massive amount of clones," (Tosho) said. "You would have to increase production…"

"By 43%," Palpatine said. Mace's forehead wrinkled. The chancellor had that number already prepared even though he had just heard the plan from General Tarkin.

Yoda expressed another concern. "Already clones cover much of the galaxy. A police state we could have; and our war with the clones will be useless."

"How can we be certain that the clones won't eventually turn on the Republic and set up a government of their own?" Tosho asked.

"You all have worked closely with them, Master Shiro," Palpatine said. "Master Kenobi, you've even grown close with some of them. Tell us about their loyalty."

"What are those numbers there?" Obi-Wan asked, pointing at a long string of numbers with a lot of commas among them.

"That… is… the civilian casualties, I'm afraid," Palpatine said, drawing out the sentence as though hoping to be interrupted.

"Collateral damage is always inevitable," Tarkin said. "You know that as well as anyone, General Kenobi."

"A prolonged war is what causes this," Obi-Wan said. Matching droids with clones is the recipe of an unending war. We must find a way to bring this to a resolute finish, not expand it."

Tosho and Yoda nodded. Palpatine saw where the minds of the Jedi were, so he said, "The best people we have to deal with nuance are the Jedi. If the surgical method is what we are to go with, then the best course of action would be for you to split up members of your Order to go on missions in these locations."

Looking over the large number of systems that would require missions, Obi-Wan said, "That would split us up pretty thin."

"But we would be striking the Separatists where it hurt," Tosho said. "Each hit would be more likely to bring an end to the conflict."

"And we will send clone escorts with each Jedi to back up their efforts," Palpatine assured them. "If combat is necessary, they will be ready to do battle. If escort duty is all that's needed, they will protect them."

Tosho and Obi-Wan were nodding. Yoda was still studying the map quietly. "What say you, Master Yoda?" Palpatine asked. "Do you have some concern?"

"Strong are the Jedi when together, or at least in pairs. Here, so many missions there are, each will often be alone."

"We could amass more military forces from our worlds," Tarkin suggested. "There are some in enough poverty that they will not see the draft as so ba…"

"No more desire do I have for further military growth," Yoda said. "The Jedi shall see this war completed. Even if it means we split our own forces for the time being."

General Tarkin briefed everyone on the targets that needed to be dealt with and the missions that would need to be accomplished at those locations. Palpatine and the Jedi discussed how these missions would bring a swift end to the war, and prioritized each based on their importance to that one goal.

Yoda questioned the necessity of some of the missions, suggesting that some of them could be combined, or the Jedi going after one objective might be better used supporting another Jedi going on a similar one.

"You will decide, of course, Master Yoda, which Jedi will go on what mission," Chancellor Palpatine said. "But if any of these goals are not met, I'm afraid the droid armies will rally and we will be right back at square one."

"Our Jedi are very experienced at this point," Tosho said. "Even our youngest, like Skywalker, have learned enough to be on their own."

"Skywalker," Palpatine said, looking in the distance to remember him. "I think I recall him having a particular talent for speed and efficiency."

"I have worked closely with him," Obi-Wan said. "He is impulsive, but his instincts serve him well."

"In that case, I would like to suggest you and he strike at these droid factories." Palpatine pointed at a pair of star systems not far from one another. "They are of great strategic importance, and their destructions could tip the balance of the war. But the Separatists do not realize that we know about them, so their military presence is not strong. We will send sufficient clone forces to support your attacks, and you will destroy their factories, then get out before their reinforcements arrive."

Obi-Wan was nodding. It was a good plan, and he knew Anakin and he would be capable of leading such a strike. Plus they would be close enough that they might be able to support one another's attacks if they get into trouble.

They heard out the other plans, and Tosho told Palpatine that they would discuss it all with the Jedi Council. They would then get in contact with him to coordinate which Jedi would go on which missions and with what clone military support.

Yoda was quiet during the remainder of the meeting, deep in concentration. Palpatine kept looking over at him, but did not interrupt his thoughts.

It was after they had left the strategic headquarters and were on a shuttle back to the Jedi Council that Yoda at last spoke again. "A bad feeling have I about this."

"It's a risk," Tosho said, "but a risk I'm afraid we must take at this point."

"I agree. We need to make a decisive hit or this war will never end."

"Something at work behind the scenes, there is," Yoda said. "Something at play for which we are not a part."

"Have you seen something?" Tosho asked. "My own vision of far off places has been clouded."

"As have mine," Yoda said. "As if something interferes with the Force from within. But I have caught glimpses. Strange movements have the Separatists made; sometimes just before an attack. As if inviting defeat in key moments. Always they were with one thing in common."

"What was it?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Palpatine. Every time I saw erratic decisions by the enemy, it was when the chancellor suggested the attack. As if they wished to prove him correct."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?" Tosho asked.

"An eye we should keep on him. That shall be your task, Master Shiro."

"Should I change my plans with Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No!" Yoda insisted. "Go as instructed. But my own mission shall be out of the chancellor's sight, and without escort."

The shuttle slowed to a stop at their destination. Yoda hopped off his chair.

"I take it you can't tell us where that is," Obi-Wan said.

"To somewhere I have ears listening in on things we do not see, Master Kenobi." He turned to the door as the others rose from their chairs, and Yoda added, "The Force will need to be with all of us in this time of great importance to the galaxy."