Untangling the Web

Silence reverberated through the room. Light poured through the courtyard door to illuminate Cody's ashen face. The clones sat motionless, attention riveted to the tableau.

It was Kenobi who broke it, stumbling back a step and grabbing his lightsaber. Staring warily at the stricken Cody, he demanded, "Anakin? What is this?"

Cody paled further and his eyes flickered toward Anakin before returning to Kenobi's weathered face.

"I was planning to speak with you in a moment. But since you're here—I brought in the clones several weeks ago for an operation…" Anakin passed his hand over his face, all at once aware of his exhaustion. "It's complicated. Sit down, and I'll read you in." He gestured to the unignited lightsaber. "Put that away. You don't need it."

Kenobi kept an uneasy eye on Cody. "I think I might—at least until I understand what made my commander fire on me without provocation the last time we met."

Cody jerked to attention, his expression a painful mixture of shame, relief, and guilt.

"I said, sit down." Anakin rose to his feet. Reaching through the Force, he pinched the bundle of nerves that controlled Kenobi's hand.

"Ouch!" The lightsaber dropped toward the ground. Kenobi shook out his arm.

Anakin summoned the hilt, ignoring Kit's gasp. "Now, let's discuss this like somewhat civilized people. There's no need to clutch your weapon as we do it."

"Give that back," Kenobi demanded.

"No. Not until I'm sure you won't destroy my shop or damage my allies." He clipped the lightsaber to his belt and it slipped under his tattered cloak.

"What did you do? And how?"

"I pinched your radial nerve."

"Where did you learn that sort of control over the Force?"

"I have four prosthetic limbs," Anakin said drily. "I am intimately familiar with nerves and their functions." He dropped back onto his stool with a grim air. "I could have choked you, if you prefer. This seemed more humane—and with less risk of damage."

Kenobi pressed his lips together. After a long pause, he sank gingerly onto a stool as far from Cody as he could manage. As though his action had released a containment field, the other men began to fidget, eyes averted from the confrontation. "There was no need to confiscate my lightsaber, as though I were a recalcitrant padawan."

"I am enforcing a truce. Cody won't attack you—he feels guilty enough about Utapau as it is. And if it will set your mind at ease, their chips have been removed. They present no danger to you."

"Chips? What are you talking about?"

Anakin frowned. "Surely you remember. The chips that supposedly inhibited aggression."

"Oh, those chips. To improve their functionality within the command structure." Kenobi nodded. "Why should the fact the chips have been removed set me at ease? Won't their absence lead to more aggression, rather than less?"

"They weren't meant to inhibit aggression," Dash muttered.

"They weren't?"

The clones clammed up.

"Contingency orders were embedded in the chips," said Anakin. "They couldn't refuse them when properly issued and verified."

"Contingencies? For what?"

"Among other things—an order to kill the Jedi."

"An order—Kill…?" He looked from Anakin to Cody and back again. "How—" he wet his upper lip— "how did we not know about this?" His eyes wandered back to Cody. "Every clone?"

Cody stared at the wall and jerked his head in an affirmative.

"That—that was why…?"

Cody's only response was to clench his fists. Anakin observed him with concern, prepared to intervene if he showed any signs of instability. It was plain the others wanted to offer comfort, but the ingrained habits of military propriety interfered.

After a long silence, Kenobi asked in a soft voice, "Who ordered those chips?"

"A better question would be who ordered the army?" Anakin crossed his arms and scowled at Kenobi.

"Sifo-Dyas."

"Sifo-Dyas was a front. The Chancellor ordered them—and signed off on the purchase order. Dooku hired Jango."

Kenobi rubbed his beard. "Jango said he was hired by a man called…err… Tyranix? I think that was it?"

"Darth Tyranus," Anakin corrected.

Kenobi dropped his hand. "That was Dooku? You really mean to say that Palpatine ordered the army? Secretly? But…if Dooku hired Jango…He and Sifo-Dyas were friends, it's true…"

"Yes. The war was a plot between my master and Dooku. To destabilize the galaxy in order to found the Empire."

"But what was Dooku's role in this? Did he expect to be welcomed back into the Republic?"

"You forget already—it wasn't going to be a Republic anymore. And I'm certain he did. If I hadn't killed him, no doubt the two of them had a plan in place to restore his position." Anakin's mouth twisted, pulling his scars painfully. "Of course—my master didn't actually want Dooku, did he?"

Kenobi's mouth grew pinched. "No. So it was all orchestrated from the beginning. The availability of an army. The emergency powers. The entire Separatist Crisis. Naboo? Qui-Gon?"

"And the chips." Anakin met each clone's eyes in turn, except Cody, who was now staring at his boots. "Listen to me. The Emperor—and the Jedi—used you abominably. The Jedi were victims too, but they should have asked more questions. They should have withstood the political pressure. The Senate should have refused to vote the Chancellor emergency powers. I should have resisted…well, everything he ever told me. There is blame enough to go around when it comes to the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Republic. But the one group that bears no responsibility at all is you."

"But—sir—You really are General Skywalker?" Hex tugged at his gauntlets, then stilled himself with a visible effort. Anakin nodded once. "Our generals depended on us. They believed we were loyal to them. They deserved better than being shot down by their own troops."

"They did. But so did you. You deserved better than to be used as property by the Republic and the Jedi."

"We did not use the GAR as property." Kenobi surged to his feet in indignation.

Anakin glared. "An army bought and bred, with chips in their heads. That doesn't sound like slavery to you? And so far as I'm aware, no one in the Republic or the Order stopped to think about any of it. They just used them like the slaves they were. So much for your vaunted freedom and justice."

"I—I…" Kenobi trailed off. Anakin remained silent. Let him stew about it. Better late than never to consider the ethical dilemma the Jedi had ignored. Kitster and the clones were silent too. Cody raised his head, some of the shame fading from his expression. Several minutes passed before Kenobi roused. He sank heavily onto a stool.

"You're right. We never did consider it. I wasn't on the Council at the time, but I never heard that it had ever been discussed." He paused, then sighed. "I suppose we paid the price of our blindness."

Anakin grunted. "You could say that."

"So—the chips were removed? When?" Kenobi asked Cody.

Cody glowered. "When we were forcibly retired five years after the founding of the Empire. Lord Vader ordered them removed."

"You did?" Kenobi regarded Anakin in surprise.

"What?!" Cody snapped back to attention.

The men lurched to their feet, wide-eyed. Despite their varying superficial differences, at this moment they looked exactly alike. Cody tried to speak twice before he choked out, "General Skywalker became Darth Vader? But, sir—Wha—Why?" The words had no sooner escaped his mouth than he blanched and blurted, "I beg your pardon, my lord, and withdraw the question. Please excuse me. It was the—the shock."

The temperature in the room plunged. "I am no one's lord. You will not address me as such."

"Yes, my lo—sir." Cody gulped, sweat standing out on his brow.

Anakin became aware that the other clones were holding their breath. He made a conscious effort to release his displeasure to the Force. "At ease. I have no intention of choking anyone. And your question was entirely reasonable, Commander. The whole story is too long—and too personal. However, if you are to work with me, you have a right to know the relevant parts of what happened."

He took two quick paces to the end of the counter, then back the other way before coming to a halt. He clenched his hands on his belt, nerves twanging. "The Emperor offered me something I needed desperately—or believed I did—in exchange for swearing allegiance to him. He issued that order you didn't want to follow right after I agreed, Commander. He told me the Jedi must be destroyed so we could have peace. I had sworn myself to him. To his vision for the galaxy. So I led the march on the Temple."

Anakin was assaulted by the waves of revulsion rolling off Hex. "Did you serve in the 501st?" he asked gently.

"Yes, my—Yes, sir. I was transferred in after the Battle of Coruscant."

Anakin's gut twisted in a long-unfamiliar emotion. Shame. "I am sorry. I don't know that I could have prevented the Purges, but I wish I hadn't led them. It would have been better to have died than to have become dar'jetii. I was an or'dinii. Such a fool." He forced himself to draw a raspy breath. "Listen to me. I want you to hear this and believe me. I had a choice and I made the wrong one. I bear full responsibility for what I did. You didn't have a choice. You were slaves. You bear no responsibility for following that order."

He maintained eye contact, willing them to believe him. They began to shift uncomfortably.

At last, Hex said, "Did you really give the order to remove the chips?"

"Yes. It was far too little. Far too late. But I believed you had more than earned your freedom."

"Thank you." He deferred to Cody. "I'll do whatever you decide, al'verde. But after this morning, I have no regrets about 'damaging Imperial property and assaulting Imperial personnel,' whatever the objective may be." His grin showed all his teeth.

Cody glanced around the group. "Is that the way the rest of you feel?" The others nodded. He gnawed his lower lip before meeting Anakin's eyes. "All right, General. We're in."

"I'm not a general, either. Call me Anakin." At their shocked faces, he said, "You're not in the army anymore and neither am I. We're all just retired soldiers together. Well, in my case, I'm a deserter—twice over. I'm not entitled to any rank." Discomfort radiated off them. He sighed. "All right, if you can't manage Anakin, call me Skywalker or Kraytrider. I don't much mind which. But definitely not Vader or my lord."

Cody rubbed his finger along his jawline. "We'll try, sir." He paused. He still looked a little wan, but a roguish twinkle lit his eyes. "'Vader's out of the picture', eh?"

Anakin shrugged. "All right—not out of it. Just—on the other side."

"Ah—I see. From a certain point of view."

Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "If we're done quoting Kenobi, I'd like to get on with this morning's plans." He motioned for everyone to resume their seats.

Settling back on his stool, Kenobi asked, "So—these plans. What are they exactly?"

"We're in the final stages of a revolution. To that end, Cody and his men assassinated Jabba several hours ago." Anakin held up a hand. "Save your shocked exclamations. You'll need them later. At the podrace today, Kitster, as President of the Provisional Council, will announce the establishment of a new government and the emancipation of the slaves. In our original plans, I was deputized by the Council to inform Colonel Semchan of the change in regime and to assure him that, in accordance with galactic law, Tatooine will continue to meet its Imperial obligations."

Anakin was tempted to laugh at Kenobi's gobsmacked expression. He settled for exchanging an amused glance with Kit.

Sobering, he continued, "I'm changing the plan, however. Now it is imperative to draw the Emperor's attention to Tatooine and to me, so Darth Vader will arrest the governor for corruption and abuse of his office. I will put Semchan on a slow ship to Imperial Center, where the report I have surfaced will, no doubt, make its way to the Emperor's ear. I will intimidate the rest of the garrison into deserting in the wake of the arrest, leaving us free of Imperial interference. Cody—"

"Sir!"

"At ease, Commander. You and your men will assume roles as my personal agents. In the likely event that someone questions my identity, you will confirm it. Darth Vader's preference for clones in the units he commanded is well-enough known that your testimony will add veracity to my claim. And if necessary, I'll engage in some judicious Force choking." Anakin winced as the intended joke fell flat.

After an uncomfortable moment, he turned his attention to Kit. "Proceed to the race course and be prepared to make the announcement, but wait for me. I have some things to say during your speech. If I'm late, stall the start of the race."

"How?" Kit blinked rapidly. "Nobody cares what a minor shopkeeper wants."

"Get word to the announcers that Jabba has been delayed. They can't start without him, anyway."

Kit heaved a sigh and pushed himself to his feet. "All right. But this is not what I envisioned when you dropped that datapad in front of me."

"I suppose not. But you did want to free the slaves. We all must be prepared to sacrifice to achieve our ends." Anakin assumed a pompous imitation of a Coruscanti accent on the last sentence.

Kenobi groaned. "If you're going to quote Palpatine…"

"I was forced to listen to his speeches for years. Can I help it if some of the phrases stuck in my head?"

Ignoring the mock complaint, Kenobi said, "I don't see how this will lead to his defeat, though."

"I don't have time to explain it all." Anakin checked the chrono on the wall and rose. "The race begins in three hours and I have a lot to do before then. But the final aim is to lure him to Tatooine, using myself as bait, so that I can control the ground we fight on."

Kenobi folded his arms. "…That's ambitious. What makes you think he'll come to you?"

"His arrogance. And desperation to ensure I'm neutralized. You wanted a plan to bring him down? This is the first stage."

"But you don't have a lightsaber. Unless you're planning to keep mine."

"I do now." He held it up. "Oh, you can have this back." He offered Kenobi's weapon, which the older man returned to its accustomed place on his belt.

"May I see yours?" Kenobi asked with diffidence.

Anakin hesitated before he handed it over. Kenobi scrutinized it in silence, turning it in his hands as he probed with the Force. Anakin was surprised by an unexpected flash of pride at Kenobi's nod of approval; the older man almost smiled as he returned the weapon.

"It's exceptionally well-constructed. Very different from the others you've made. Marvelous work with the dual crystal, by the way—I've never encountered one like it. Where did you get it?"

Kit choked lightly. Anakin met his eyes in shared understanding.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Mando'a vocabulary:

darjet'ii [dar-JAY-tee] – Sith
or'dinii [ohr-DEE-nee] – a fool
al'verde [AHL-vair-day] – commander