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Chapter 3: Conspiracy
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
A flaw in the plan!
While in the middle of a heated battle, clone trooper Tup lost his senses and killed a Jedi General. Seeming to have no awareness of his actions, Tup's health began to deteriorate rapidly.
Fearing the illness was linked to a Separatist plot, Anakin Skywalker has dispatched his padawan Leia Organa, Captain Rex and ARC trooper Fives to escort Tup back to the cloning facilities on Kamino for an intensive evaluation. Desperate to prove that the clones are servants of the Sith, Leia does not suspect what secrets lie within the minds of the numerous clones…
Kamino. 19 BBY.
Leia returned to the stasis pod with Tup in it after she tried to look at the planet through the window. Sadly, the sky was filled with dense clouds and it seemed that a storm was happening. She heard about Kamino, it was where the clone army was produced for the Republic. After the war, Imperial control was firmly established upon Kamino through the force of arms. From what she heard, a small group of Kaminoans tried to rebel against the Empire by producing clones, which were engineered with absolute loyalty to Kamino. However, the clones and the Kaminoans were defeated by clone stormtroopers loyal to the Empire.
Although the Empire did not reveal about the mission to Kamino, Leia heard it from valuable resources; spies for the Rebel Alliance. Also, from what she understood, that was when the clones within the Stormtrooper Corps, which back then fully consisted of clones, were starting to be replaced with regular humans.
'Gods, when did that happen?' Leia thought. 'When I was… I was around six years old. Father and mother back then were still alive.'
Leia sighed as she looked around. The journey from Ringo Vinda to Kamino was quiet and boring. There was no one to talk with. The clones weren't eager to talk with her. She looked at them and it seemed that the two were having a good time, and she didn't want to ruin their mood and waste their time. Still, there was nowhere else to do, so she went towards the two clones.
"Can I hang out with you?" Leia hesitantly, but politely asked them.
Rex and Fives looked at her. "If what, I'll go somewhere else." Leia began to leave. "I'm afraid there's nowhere else for you to do, kid." The ARC trooper answered, though Leia immediately guessed that she was not welcomed here. The medical chamber of the cruiser was filled with silence as Leia looked at the clones nervously, hesitant even to start talking, for they were watching her with disdain.
"You seem to be quite a rebellious one." Fives stated. 'Because I am a person, you're just a killing machine,' Leia thought of answering, but instead, decided to lie. "Yeah… about Geonosis, I guess I just tried to impress him. It's just since I arrived and told him I was his padawan, something was bothering him so much. Do you know why? You've known him longer than I." Leia said. Rex and Fives looked at each other with discomfort, obviously knowing something. However, they also decided to lie.
"I don't think anyone knows General Skywalker well enough," said Rex. Leia wasn't surprised by that somehow. "But we don't get it in our way. Not when it means life or death."
Leia turned to look at him.
"But isn't that what is expected of you? It's not like you have a choice." Leia spoke, only to see the captain being affected that it was a wrong choice of words.
"You think you've got it all figured out, don't you? Why don't I explain how things are in the real world?" Rex said, with anger in his voice. Leia took a deep breath before answering.
"Well, you are soldiers, just created in labs and trained to be ones." Leia said calmly as she was positive that she was right. Fives, however, did not seem to agree with that, as he was planning to approach her and possibly slap her, due to the boiling rage on his face, only to be stopped by Rex.
"You better watch your tongue, kid." Rex told her. "One Jedi thought the same, and it didn't end well."
"Yes, we take orders from General Skywalker. So do you, or at least, you must, due to past events on Geonosis. It may seem they don't teach much about discipline at the Temple." He continued.
'I didn't spend my whole life at the temple, clone' Leia thought of protesting, but stopped. Being tutored by her adaptive parents on Alderaan, Leia tried her best to remain calm.
"I see you have your own views." Leia simply said.
"Yes, I do." Rex answered, nodded. "First; orders. They keep you alive, that's why you follow them. Else there would be chaos among the forces."
Leia wanted to argue with the clone, but decided not to, as she was thinking about her time in the Rebel Alliance. Due to being a leader and a princess of a planet, she wasn't the one to follow orders, she was the one to give them. She remembered how annoyed she was when being ordered by Han first during her rescue on the Death Star, then when they were escaping Vader's fleet on the Millennium Falcon after Hoth. However, she then complied, as she understood that Solo was the captain of the ship, and he knew better. Leia thought it would have been the same, if instead of being a leader she was a rebel soldier, she would have taken orders from other Rebel leaders such as Dodonna or Ackbar.
"Second; teamwork. This is something you really lack. We look out for each other, cover each other's back. General Skywalker does the same thing. My brothers have been covering you numerous times. Dogma took a shot for you! A good commander cares for his subordinates. I hope you learn that." Rex stated.
'As if I don't know about looking out for each other, how ignorant,' Leia thought, being annoyed that she was treated like a child. Despite having a rough start, she and Han always covered each other on missions, for they trusted each other. Leia, however, did not trust the clones. She was recalling her adventures with the Corellian smuggler as the cruiser finally landed on one of the landing platforms of Tipoca City.
The three ran down the gangplank with Tup in a pod once the Consular-class cruiser, with heavy rain pouring down. At the entrance to the city, they meet a Kaminoan and two clone troopers. The Kaminoan, under the name Lama Su, escorted them along the corridors of Tipoca City. Leia walked along as she looked around. The walls and the floor were white. Apart from clones in their armor, various clone cadets and several medical droids passed them.
"You have to say goodbye to your friend now." The Kaminoan spoke to the ARC trooper. "Yes, doctor." Fives answered with sadness and reluctance. Just then, a female Togrutan Jedi master appeared. Leia immediately recognized her as the Jedi questioning her about her origins back then in the temple.
"General Shaak Ti." Rex greeted her. "Captain Rex," Shaak Ti greeted him in response as the clone captain took off his helmet.
"Fives. Am I correct?" the Togrutan then asked the ARC trooper, who answered with a simple 'yes, general.'
"Ah, young Luce. We meet again." Shaak Ti spoke as she saw Leia standing beside Rex.
"Master Ti." Leia bowed in response.
"You both served with Tup?" Shaak Ti asked both Fives and Leia.
"Yes" they answered in unison. "Then you must come with me." She then told them as Tup was taken away by the clone troopers of the Kamino guard. Leia didn't expect this, though she was glad. Maybe she can encourage Shaak Ti to assist her in uncovering the Sith plot and the clones' involvement.
"With… with all due respect, general, I can't just abandon him now." The ARC trooper argued.
"You must let the doctors do their work." Shaak Ti told him. "Do not be afraid. Your friend is in quite capable hands. Dr. Nala Se is the Chief Medical Scientist on Kamino. She was one of the primary engineers of all the clones. Now, we must take care of you."
"Me? There's nothing wrong with me, general." Fives argued in response. "I'm perfectly fine."
"We can't be sure of that until we've completed a full exam of both you and Padawan Luce." Shaak Ti insisted. "Me? What have I to do with this?" Leia asked, looking confused.
"If a virus was the cause of Tup's breakdown, Fives have more than likely been exposed to the contagion. He hasn't entered the advanced stages yet, as Tup has. As for Luce, there is a slight probability, though she must undergo a medical test for the Jedi Council. Under the direct orders of Master Yoda. Any information we could gather from you two could help to find a cure for Tup." Shaak Ti answered her question.
'As if it could help,' Leia thought, but complied with the order.
"Alright, general. If it could help Tup." Fives answered, sighing heavily, but Shaak Ti has turned to Rex.
"Captain Rex, General Skywalker has ordered you back to the war zone. You are to leave immediately." The Togrutan told him. "I'm sorry Fives. I wish I could stay, but duty calls." Rex told the ARC trooper. "It's fine, sir. Fighting a virus is a nice change of pace from all those clankers." Fives answered.
"Take care of yourselves and Tup." Rex told Fives and Leia before leaving.
Shaak Ti entered the laboratory and she saw that everything was prepared. Tup was strapped to a bed with the breathing mask on him and Nala Se by his side, being surrounded by various medical droids such as 2-B1 droids, FX medical assistants and Chiewab medical droids.
"Let's begin the tests." The Jedi master ordered. Nala Se nodded and ordered a 2-1B medical droid to administer the stimulant. The droid did so, injecting a stimulant into Tup before removing the clone's mask. Tup immediately began grasping for breath as he regained consciousness, while at the same time struggling. Leia watched this from another room through the window a bit disturbed as a Chiewab medical droid was inspecting Fives. However, Tup's behavior caught the ARC trooper's attention, who immediately stood up.
"What are they doing to Tup?" Fives asked the droid, which told the clone to remain calm. However, Fives pushed the Chiewab droid away and approached the window. Leia immediately noticed that Fives watched the scene with concern and fear, but she sensed it was fear for Tup.
"Please return to the examination table." The droid told Fives without any emotion, but he ignored it. Nala Se, meanwhile, wasn't that concerned about Tup's current condition and behavior, stating his reactions were normal. Shaak Ti then turned and saw the worried looks of Leia and Fives watching.
"What's going on, general?" Fives asked fearfully. He even began hitting the glass a bit. Shaak Ti, however, without any emotion, used the Force to block the view of the ARC trooper and the girl.
"No, no, no!" Fives desperately yelled, as the droid approached him once again. "Please return to the examination table." It told the ARC trooper, but he instead began yelling and desperately hitting the glass. Leia just stood there. She remembered that they were many situations when she also behaved like that in the medical chambers of the Rebel Alliance, concerned for the safety of her friends. She remembered when she did that twice, once on Hoth after Han found an exhausted Luke, and the second time when the rescued him on Bespin after being injured and beaten by Vader. Leia didn't want to admit this, but for the first time felt sympathy for a clone.
"His reaction will subside. The patient must be awake for the next round of tests." Nala Se told Shaak Ti as Tup continued to struggle and desperately grasping for air.
"I am not fond of these hyper tests." Shaak Ti protested. "Yes, but they do give us all the information we need in a timely fashion." The chief scientist insisted as she observed the medical condition of the clone. "There does not seem any sign of infection in the blood. How curious. The subject has tested negative on all accounts. This clone seems to be in perfect health."
"We must be missing something." Shaak Ti argued. Just then, Tup began regaining his consciousness.
"Why am I here?" he asked as the Togrutan Jedi approached him, only for Tup to struggle once again, this time trying to attack Shaak Ti. "Follow orders! Kill Jedi! Kill Jedi!" he began saying. "Are you finished with your tests?" Shaak Ti asked the Kaminoan.
"For now." Nala answered and with that Ti ordered an AZI-3 droid to sedate Tup who kept repeating "Follow Orders."
"It appears, this clone has orders to kill a Jedi. Perhaps the Separatists found a way to brainwash him." Shaak Ti suggested as the AZI droid headed to the next examination room with Leia and Fives.
"Look, is Tup going to be alright? Have they found anything out." the ARC trooper asked the droid. "Please sit down, both of you." The droid insisted. Leia and Fives reluctantly sat on the examination table. "We are using hyper tests, so we shall be getting the results very quickly. We need to complete more procedures on you." AZI explained.
"Sorry." It said to Fives. "For what?" Fives asked, only for AZI to inject him with a syringe, then doing the same with Leia.
"Hey!" Leia yelled in annoyance, rubbing her neck.
"I said I was sorry." AZI simply responded. "You must understand, organic beings are so much harder to analyze than droids."
AZI then began analyzing the blood samples of both Leia and Fives.
"Well?" Leia asked. "Everything seems normal." AZI answered.
"Oh, great! Well, that means they can let me out." Fives stated. "I'm afraid that is not that possible." The droid answered, however. "Both of you must remain quarantined until we have pinpointed the exact cause of the clone's breakdown. We cannot risk any further casualties."
"Wait a second, I'm not a clone." Leia began to protest. "And yet, it is best for you to remain, commander Luce. Under the command of General Ti." AZI told her.
"Look, I'm not a threat, and neither is Tup!" Fives argued. 'Yes, you are,' Leia thought. "Are you certain?" AZI asked. "Well I am certain,' Leia told herself.
"Eh, you're just a droid. You don't know about real duty." Fives continued to argue with the droid. Leia frowned at Fives with that comment. 'Artoo and Threepio know about real duty, and also honour,' Leia argued to herself, but didn't say that, while Fives continued. "… about what it's like to have a brother."
"I am sorry. I always wanted to have human feelings." AZI answered. Even Leia turned to the droid with shock and surprise on her face. "But I do not. Goodbye."
And with that, AZI left the room.
"Maybe, whatever causing his aggression is psychological. It seems to be an isolated case. The other clone has yet to display any symptoms." Nala Se suggested as Tup's condition began to become even worse.
"I need an answer now." Shaak Ti demanded. "This isn't just a physical manifestation of psychosis. You must have missed something."
"Might I suggest a second brain scan, an atomic-level brain scan?" AZI asked Nala Se. "This is unnecessary." The Kaminoan objected. "The phase 1 and 2 scans we did are sufficient. He's too weak for a phase 5 atomic-level scan."
"I calculate that the beneficial knowledge we could gain from a phase 5 atomic scan is worth the risk." AZI argued. "The only way to discover what has happened to this clone is to terminate him and do a full-scale autopsy on the molecular level." Nala stated, only to hear objection from the Togrutan Jedi.
"We must be cautious."
"I do not believe this is a physical ailment, but a mental condition caused by possible Separatist brainwashing." Shaak Ti stated. "I do not agree." Nala argued. "This is a virus of some kind. I am in charge of this examination and I will decide what is best for my patient."
"Actually, since the Republic and the Jedi commissioned the clones, it is our responsibility to oversee their care." Shaak Ti told her. "Every clone and their genetic makeup is property of the Kaminoan government." Nala Se insisted. "Now as a client of ours, I will respect your wishes, but as to the fate of this clone, I will speak to our Prime Minister, Lama Su."
"And I will advise the Jedi Council on the atomic brain scan and see how they would like to proceed." Ti answered.
Soon, AZI returned to Fives and Leia.
"What's going on?" Fives asked after sitting on the examination table in silence.
"CT-5385's condition seems to be deteriorating." The droid explained. "Tup. His name is Tup." Fives told AZI, obviously annoyed by being referred to as a number, which kind of surprised Leia as she thought that clones and stormtroopers were used to be referred to by their numbers.
"Tup? What is a Tup?" AZI asked the clone. "Tup is my friend. He's not a number." The ARC trooper answered. "Yes, he is. We all have numbers." AZI argued back. He then began telling his number to them, irritating the two.
"Wrong. He has a name." Fives told the droid. "No clone uses a number. Not anymore."
'Tell that to the ones with whom me and my friends fought against. There were kind of your brothers, and yet, they used numbers, duh.' Leia thought. "But you are a number, CT-5555." AZI continued.
"No, I'm Fives. Call me Fives." Fives insisted.
"But five is a number."
"No, not five. Fives." Leia couldn't believe it, but she said it. Even she was getting annoyed with that droid. "Oh… the difference is minimal." AZI responded to that.
"Not to me. And not to any clone." Fives answered in a mild tone. Leia looked at him puzzled. She didn't know how or why, but his words seemed genuine and true.
Meanwhile, Lama Su, the prime minister of Kamino and Nala Se entered a chamber. As Lama Su pressed some of the buttons, the lights in the room went off and a hologram of a hooded figure appeared.
"I've been expecting your transmission." The figure spoke. "I have heard of the malfunctioning clone. How widespread is the problem?"
"It seems to be an isolated incident." Lama Su answered. "However, this is a delicate situation. We need to terminate the clone as soon as possible in order to extract and analyze the inhibitor chip you provided to us."
"Very good. Terminate the clone immediately. However, send the chip to me for analysis." The figure ordered. "And what if the Jedi ask for the chip and the results of the autopsy?" the Prime Minister asked. "You must remember, the chip is a safeguard against betrayal from rogue Jedi. Master Sifo Dyas was the only Jedi who knew of this. But with his passing, we alone know of this secret and you must keep it that way."
"Yes, Lord Tyranus." Lama Su answered and the two Kaminoans bowed. Once the hologram vanished, he turned to Nala Se. "These Jedi are a curious cult." He told her.
"Too spiritual for my taste." Nala commented. "I will terminate the clone immediately."
Jedi High Council on Coruscant.
"The Kaminoans have suggested that we terminate the clone immediately and do a rigorous molecular autopsy to discover the virus. I believe this solution is ill-advised. My belief is that Tup was brainwashed by the Separatists using some new process we do not yet understand." The hologram of Shaak Ti told the members of the Jedi Council.
"Brainwashing? How could that be possible?" the hologram of Mace Windu spoke for the first time since the start of the meeting. "General Skywalker reported Tup missing on Ringo Vinda, but after five rotations he turned up again. That event proceeded this episode. Perhaps he was compromised at that point."
"We must find the truth behind this situation, or we could find many more clones turning against us." Windu stated. "Bring clone trooper Tup back to the Jedi temple." Obi Wan told Shaak Ti.
"Yes. Examine him with the Force, we shall, and unravel this mystery we will." Yoda spoke. "Yes, master. I'll bring him back immediately." The Togrutan spoke.
Tipoca City, Planet Kamino.
"Arrgh! There's too much procedure and protocol here!" Leia growled. "Tup is a soldier. He risks his life every day, and I know he would risk it now if it meant finding a cure for what's wrong with him." Fives told AZI.
"I recommended an atomic level brain scan, but that request has thus far been denied." The droid told them. Leia looked at him puzzled. 'Why would the Kaminoans deny an atomic level brain scan,' she thought. Suddenly she heard Fives saying.
"Then we have to get the results of that brain ourselves."
Leia mentally smiled. She could use it to prove the Jedi that the clones are a threat, the true enemy. The only problem was the droid. "That is against protocol." It argued. Leia glared at him. Even C-3PO would have agreed with them. Thankfully, Fives was eager to help.
"Think about it. It's your duty to save the patient, right? And you recommended this atomic brain scan as the best way to save the patient, right? So, by not performing this scan, you are letting the patient to die, willingly."
"Impossible. This is against my programming." The droid panicked. "That's not the way it looks to me." Leia stated her opinion. "I cannot perform the atomic brain scan without disobeying orders."
"Check you're programming." Leia insisted. "I thought saving the patient at all costs was fundamentally your highest order."
"You are correct."
"Right. Then let's get to it!" Fives declared.
The three entered the room with Tup without being caught by the clones and droids in the corridor. "Okay, let's get to work." Fives said as Leia closed the door behind her. Without questioning, AZI headed to the computers. Leia helped Fives place the unconscious Tup into an MRI scanner.
"The scan is almost complete." AZI told them as he observed the screen. Both Leia and Fives looked at the display of MRI of Tup's head and brain.
"Everything appears to be normal." Leia said. She mentally smiled. This can prove that the Separatists had nothing to do with the murder of Tiplar and that Tup was guilty. Her smile faded once AZI spoke again.
"Wait a second." The droid said and flew towards the computers. "What is it?" Fives asked, worried as usual. "It appears this clone has developed a tumour." AZI answered as a large red dot was labelled at Tup's brain on the screen.
"Is that even possible?" Leia asked skeptically. "I have never witnessed anything like this in your kind." AZI told Fives. "Well, then, what is it?" the ARC trooper asked. "I cannot be sure without a biopsy." AZI stated to the clone.
"You're gonna take it out of him?"
Suddenly, Leia accidentally knocked down a tray of surgical instruments earning a glare from Fives.
"Do you think anyone heard that?" Fives asked the droid. "The probability that someone heard that is high, yes." AZI stated in response. Suddenly Leia heard Nala Se's voice.
"It came from this room." She said.
Leia and Fives hid moments before Nala Se entered the room. AZI waved to her.
"What do you think you're doing?" the Kaminoan asked in annoyance. "I was only following protocol. Save the patient." AZI simply answered. Nala Se stared at the droid until she spotted one of the surgical instruments lying on the floor.
"Doctor, I have found something unusual in this scan." AZI continued talking to the Kaminoan. "It appears to be a turmoil. Perhaps you should take a look."
The news, however, did not seem to please the chief scientist.
"You performed a second scan without my authorization?"
"As I stated, I was following my programming." AZI simply gave the same answer as Leia and Fives watched from their hiding place. Nala Se then began typing on the keyboard.
"Then you are like this clone, defective!" she declared. "You will be put on report for deactivation!"
"But the tumour…" AZI tried to explain. "This tumor seems to be blocking neuro-impulses from communicating within the brain. We should scan the rest of the clones to see if this is a problem with their base genetic model or a mutation with the current models."
"There is no tumor. Your scan is incorrect." Nala Se sternly declared.
"But…"
"This clone clearly has a virus that remains undetected, but I will find the cause once he is terminated. Now leave." Nala Se ordered the droid as Leia and Fives escaped the laboratory behind her back.
"I can't believe they're gonna kill him." Fives said in frustration once they returned. 'Well, I am not surprised,' Leia thought to herself.
"In a case like this, it is the logical course of action." AZI told the ARC trooper.
"No, no. We were not created to be disposed of this way." Fives refused to agree.
"Perhaps you were." Leia said before she could stop herself. Fives glared at her with disdain. "CT-5385 will be terminated so that others like him could survive." AZI tried to explain.
"There aren't others like him!" Fives yelled at the droid. "Tup doesn't have to die. You found a tumor. I'm sure that's the cause of all this. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"But how can we proceed?" AZI asked.
"Do your biopsy. I'm sure what you find will prove Tup does not have to die." Fives ordered.
"But Nala Se does not believe..."
"We're not going to Nala Se with whatever you find." Fives explained. "We'll go to the General, to Shaak Ti. She helped me once as a cadet. I know she values the life of a clone. Not to mention we have a Jedi padawan with us."
"But we will be disobeying direct orders." AZI panicked. "Yep, for the second time today." The ARC trooper answered, smirking. "Can you hack into the medical center's mainframe?" he then asked.
"I do possess that ability, yes."
"All right. Well, here's what you need to do." Fives said as he approached the medical droid.
Sometime later, Lama Su entered the laboratory as Nala Se bowed to him.
"It will be a painless death." Nala told the prime minister. "Soon, all our questions will be answered."
"You may proceed." Lama told her as she took a syringe from Chiewab medical droid.
"Hurry. You got it? Are you in?" Fives meanwhile asked the droid which was hacking into the mainframe.
"Got it." AZI answered. Nala Se was about to terminate Tup when an alarm went on and through the intercom orders were given to the nonessential personnel report to a safe room for lockdown. Frustrated, the two Kaminoans left the laboratory and Tup alone while clone troopers swarmed the corridors.
"Master Jedi. Status report?" Lama Su asked Shaak Ti once he contacted the Togrutan.
"Scanners have picked up an intruder in section C-6, but we have no visual confirmation." The hologram of Shaak Ti reported. "It could be the enemy looking for our patient." Nala Se immediately declared.
"I'm on my way." The Jedi master told her. "Please report to a secure room."
"Ha! Good work, AZ." Fives praised the droid. "You better get started before they figure out it's a false alarm." Leia added. "Right away." AZI answered as Leia began cutting through the sealed window using her lightsaber. Soon, the trio entered the lab with Tup once again. AZI approached the strapped clone.
"You might want to turn away for this part." AZI told them as he took out some instruments from his kit. Both Leia and Fives turned away as the droid started to perform a biopsy.
Meanwhile, Shaak Ti entered the command center with a squad of troops escorting her.
"I want a report." She told both the clones and the Kaminoans within the center. "It appears to be a false alarm, triggered from the medical bay." A clone sergeant told her.
"Medical bay?" Ti asked. "It's Fives. Come on."
The clones followed her as she ran down the corridor.
"Is it done?" the 14-year-old girl asked the medical droid.
"It is now." AZI answered as he extracted the apparent tumor, showing it to Fives and Leia. Jus then, the door opened, and Nala Se burst into the laboratory.
"What have you done?" the Kaminoan asked.
"We've saved my friend's life." Fives answered. "This tumor is the cause of his illness."
Just then, Nala Se tried to snatch the evidence from Fives.
"Give me that!" she demanded. "You can't be trusted." Fives answered, as he grabbed a syringe and was about to inject it into the Kaminoan, while Leia ignited her lightsaber and pointed the blade at Nala. At this time, Shaak Ti burst into the lab.
"Stand down, both of you." She ordered.
"General! We have evidence. It's right here." Fives told her as Tup began whispering.
"I'm free. The mission... Free..."
"Tup?" Fives asked as he approached his friend. "The mission... Free. The mission."
"What is he saying?" Shaak Ti asked as the clones aimed the DC-15S blasters at Leia and Fives.
"Brother, what mission?" Fives asked Tup. "You... you know the one. The... the mission, the one in our dreams... that never ends. The one in our dreams... Oh, brother. This is the end. Forget the mission. Oh, the nightmare. I'm... free."
And with that, Tup made his final breath before passing away. "No. No." Fives desperately cried. "I thought I saved him."
Leia stood there, watching the whole scene as her ignited lightsaber was still directed at the Kaminoan. She watched as a couple of glistening tears falling over her cheekbones. She didn't know why, but she felt sorry for that clone.
Office of the Supreme Chancellor on Coruscant.
Chancellor Sheev Palpatine approached the desk, with the hologram of Nala Se and Shaak Ti displayed.
"Sir, the clone CT-5385 has died." The Togrutan reported. "Such a tragedy." Palpatine simply stated as he looked at the Coruscant landscape. "I recommend we do further tests on this tumor at the Jedi Temple to see if it is the cause of the problem." Shaak Ti continued.
"Or even better, have the tumor sent to the Grand Republic Medical Facility here on Coruscant." Palpatine proposed. "The Jedi Council requested the clone…" Shaak Ti objected. "I think the Chancellor is correct." Nala Se interfered. "The Grand Medical Facility is state-of-the-art. If we are to find an answer to this puzzle, we will find it there."
"We are in agreement, then?" the Supreme Chancellor asked the Jedi.
"Yes, sir."
The hologram was gone and Palpatine sat on his chair as he smirked.
Legends Trivia Notes
The Kamino Uprising
On her way to Tipoca City, Leia recalls hearing the news of an insurrection among the Kaminoan cloning engineers. After the war, seeking to secure the vital cloning facilities that were responsible for providing the Empire with the clones that helped to secure Emperor Palpatine's rise to ultimate power, Imperial control was firmly established upon Kamino through force of arms. Although Kamino would continue to grow more stormtroopers for the Empire, a small group of Kaminoans grew resentful of the Empire's treatment of Kamino as a virtual military police state. In response to the Imperial presence on their world, the Kaminoans launched a covert rebellion against the Empire by discreetly breeding a new army of clones, all based on the genetic template of Jango Fett. Unlike the first Clone army that had been bred for the Republic, the newest generation of clones were engineered with absolute loyalty to Kamino.
Over the next decade after the conclusion of the Clone Wars, in the year of 12 BBY, the Anti-Imperial Clone troopers were grown and trained to eventually liberate Kamino from Imperial rule. Garbed in Phase I armor and composed entirely of Jet troopers, the Anti-Imperial clones were augmented with a series of ARC troopers, as well as a few LAAT gunships. Approximately twenty years after creating the first generation of clones based on the Fett template, the Anti-troopers were fully grown, armed, and evidently prepared to fight against their Imperial brothers.
Around the same time, however, the Empire discovered Kamino's clandestine operation and responded by sending an elite detachment of the 501st Legion to Kamino in order to destroy the Kaminoan rebellion and restore Imperial rule to its cloning centers. The 501st's main target was Kamino's capital, the Tipoca City Cloning Facility, by then occupied by the Kaminoan rebels and their Anti-troopers. Boba Fett, also a clone of the long-dead Jango Fett, was hired to serve as the 501st's mission commander during the re-taking of Kamino, due to his extensive knowledge of the inner layout and workings of Tipoca City. To prevent any chances of encouraging other insurrections throughout the galaxy, the mission to Kamino was completely off the record.
The entire battle was virtually lost to the Anti-troopers from the start. Despite their advanced training, the younger Fett clones were outmatched by their older and more experienced Imperial brothers, none of whom held any reservations about gunning down their fellow clones. Aside from possessing many veteran troopers from the Clone Wars and superior firepower, the 501st Legion was greatly assisted by Boba Fett: the bounty hunter commanded his forces on site and led the stormtroopers into Tipoca City, killing the Anti-troopers wherever they encountered them.
This event became known as the Kamino Uprising. Unwilling to risk losing what remained of Jango Fett's blood, the main source for producing the Fett clones, one of the 501st's primary objectives was to capture a container that held a sample of Fett's DNA. After storming Tipoca City and retrieving the container, the 501st brought their progenitor's blood sample to a landing platform an Imperial shuttle awaited them. From there, the shuttle took Fett's DNA off planet to safety while the 501st fought on against their rebel brethren. After gaining further ground from outside the city, the 501st went on to fulfill its next primary objective—destroying the Kaminoan life support systems in order to kill all of the rebel clones that had not yet been decanted, thus preventing the Kaminoans from raising more Anti-troopers against the Empire in the future. Despite being protected by a numerous elite ARC troopers, the rebel clones failed to prevent the 501st from killing the undeveloped clones within the facility.
Although the stormtroopers of the 501st Legion proved their loyalty to the Galactic Empire once again, the circumstances surrounding the battle convinced Emperor Palpatine that a clone army, composed entirely of clones based on one genetic source, was too susceptible to corruption. From that point on, it was decided that new clone stormtroopers would be created from various templates; the Empire even resorted to enlisting regular Humans into the Stormtrooper Corps. Though the 501st Legion remained composed purely of Jango Fett's progeny for the time being, the rest of the Imperial Army became increasingly diverse through an ever-growing pool of enlisted troopers and alternative source clones.
However, apart from the Disney Canon, the Empire did not destroy Tipoca City. Despite the 'Clone Revolt', the cloning facilities on Kamino were still used by the Empire for various cloning programs, such as producing the clones of the deceased Galen Marek, Darth Vader's fallen apprentice.
The Kamino Uprising first appeared in the 2005 LucasArts video game Star Wars: Battlefront II as the fourth mission in the Empire section of the "Rise of the Empire" campaign.
The Timeline of the Clone Troopers
Since I have just told you the Legends version of why the Empire replaced clones with regular Humans, I will give you a short timeline of major events for the Jango Fett clones serving the Empire. One of the main plotlines of Star Wars: The Bad Batch is about the Empire getting rid of the clones due to producing them was expensive and the war came to an end. Not to mention that they immediately got the iconic stormtrooper armor we all know. What I do not like is that in the Disney Canon the Empire immediately replaced the clones with regular recruits shortly after the war. So, let's begin:
19 BBY:
Clone troopers receive the signal from Supreme Chancellor to execute Order 66. All of the Jedi are declared traitors to the Republic and must be terminated. Only 2% of the Jedi Order managed to survive the Jedi Purge, some going into hiding, some joining rebel factions, and some joining the Empire and becoming its first inquisitors. With the formation of the Galactic Empire, the clone army was reorganized into the Stormtrooper Corps, with the clone troopers being referred to as 'stormtroopers' while still wearing the Phase II clone trooper armor.
During the galaxy's transition from democracy to despotism, the stormtroopers retained the Phase II battle armor they customized with unit colors and markings during the Clone Wars. But the alterations that the New Order introduced soon affected the Empire's shock troopers, particularly their armor and weapons. Around the same year, the Empire brought an end to the Republic tradition of unit markings and armor customization. Stormtroopers restored their clone armor to a blank white condition, thus emphasizing the Empire's preference for uniformity and obedience in contrast to individuality and creativity.
19 - 17 BBY:
Despite the end of the Clone Wars, the fighting did not end in the galaxy. Shortly after the war, the Empire began its first major military campaign known as the Reconquest of the Rim. Most of the fighting happened in the Outer Rim, which the Republic lost control of during the Clone Wars. Various Republic worlds either joined the Separatists or were occupied by Separatist forces. Despite being left on their own without the Battle droid army that was shut down by Darth Vader on Mustaphar after slaughtering the Separatist leadership, the local Separatists continued to resist, sometimes they were even assisted by Jedi that have survived Order 66. Also, another main objection of this campaign was to deal with numerous drug cartels, pirate gangs and slavers that have been using their opportunity during the war, such as the Zygerrian Slave Empire. In fact, the campaign against the Zygerrian Empire was Admiral Yularen's last campaign before joining the ISB.
14 BBY:
The clones replace their Phase II armor with the new Stormtrooper armor. Though to be honest, I like the Phase II.
12 BBY:
The Kamino Uprising occurs. The stormtroopers of the 501st Legion led by Boba Fett easily defeated the rebels. However, this incident convinced Emperor Palpatine to commission the creation of new clones from different templates and the recruitment of birth-born soldiers to fill the ranks of the Stormtrooper Corps. He also did this because he believed that the non-birth-born troopers were too susceptible to corruption and believed that a more diverse group of soldiers would solve this issue. Although the Jango Fett template would still be used, none of the Fett clones, especially the members of the 501st who defeated the rebel clones, would ever get used to the increasing diversity in the army ranks that they once filled as a whole. As a result, the clones within the Stormtrooper Corps became referred to as 'Clone stormtroopers.'
