NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Kamino Pt. 2
At first, he’s not sure he heard right. The Kaminoans are so inhuman, so alien, that maybe his understanding of their thoughts is just… not accurate? In fact, is it possible that Lama Su is just confusing the two Force-Centric Orders with one another? When he’d thought ‘Sith’, could he have meant ‘Jedi’? But no, that didn’t quite make sense, not when one took into consideration the Prime Minister’s other key thought, which had been crystal clear.
Lama Su did not think that Master Sifo-Diyas would be proud of this Clone Army’s intended purpose. If it was commissioned by the Jedi Master for the Jedi Order, then why wouldn’t he be proud of it? If instead… it had been suborned by the Sith…
Tylo shivers, only to feel a hand fall on his shoulder and Obi-Wan’s voice intruding on his thoughts.
“Padawan. Padawan, are you with me?”
Realizing he’d fallen into a stupefied silence in the wake of what he heard in Lama Su’s mind, Tylo notes that both Master Kenobi and the two Kaminoans have risen to their feet and are all watching him at this point. Jolting to his own feet, he tries his best to shake off the feeling of dread worming its way up the back of his neck. Surely… surely he must just be misunderstanding. But as they said, trust but verify. Frankly, Tylo didn’t trust anything going on right now. But at least he could try and verify SOMETHING.
Sensing that he had not quite recovered, Obi-Wan has a concerned look in his eye, even as he clears his throat.
“Come along, Padawan. We are to see inspect the Clone Army… on behalf of the Republic.”
The warning tone in Obi-Wan’s voice makes it unnecessary for Tylo to read the Jedi Master’s mind, though he picks up on Kenobi’s thoughts anyways.
It might have been a mistake, bringing the Padawan here. I myself am floundering with all of these revelations. I can’t expect him to hide his shock any better than I am.
They had to present a united front. This… whatever the Kaminoans were planning, Tylo had to remain the quiet, stalwart Padawan at Master Kenobi’s side, or they might realize something was up. Letting out a shaky breath, Tylo calms his raging emotions and gives Master Kenobi a nod. The Jedi Master nods back with a smile that doesn’t quite reach their eyes, and together they follow Lama Su out of the room and down the hall.
Once Tylo has a handle on his emotions, he focuses back on the Kaminoan Prime Minister. With Obi-Wan doing the talking, it’s up to him to gather the intel… and at least he knows what he’s looking for. Any and all information he can get on this ‘Master Tyrannus’, for once. Tylo had never heard of a Master Tyrannus in all his time as a youngling, initiate, and finally padawan. But to be fair, there were thousands upon thousands of Jedi.
He wouldn’t have thought anything of it, if not for the mention of Sith in Lama Su’s thoughts. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s mind is a lot quieter as they’re walking, and his thoughts do not linger on any of the more pertinent information that Tylo is looking for. Not… not until they reach the tube.
Until now, they’ve been walking down a tube-like hall with opaque walls. All of the sudden, they’re moving onto a tube-like bridge, with clear windows along its sides. And all around them are… the clones. He wouldn’t have understood what he was seeing nearly as fast, if not for the Prime Minister telling them previously. The Kaminoans were cloners, and their operation… was massive.
“Very impressive…”
To his credit, Obi-Wan only sounds ever so slightly taken aback. He’s managing to keep the faintness in his voice down to a minimum, even as he and Lama Su walk and talk.
“I’d hoped you would be pleased.”
After all, the entire plan hinges on it. The Jedi must accept their role, Master Tyrannus was very clear about that.
Tearing his eyes off of the thousands upon thousands of clone embryos in different stages of artificial growth all around them, Tylo focuses on Lama Su, now that the Kaminoan is once more thinking about the things he wants to know more about. The Jedi were expected to accept their role, were they? That was interesting.
“Clones can think creatively, after all. I believe you will find that they are immensely superior to droids. We take great pride in our combat education and training programs. This group was created about five years ago.”
As they come to a stop and look out the window, Tylo finds himself thoroughly distracted from his self-imposed task of studying Lama Su’s thoughts for a moment. There are children in the room beyond, each of them at a desk of some sort… every last one of them female. But they aren’t all the same. There are four different types, that Tylo can make out in the chamber beyond. Obi-Wan notices this too, of course.
“The Clone Army does not share the same template?”
We would not have allowed Fett to have her way if it wasn’t for Tyrannus backing her up. A diversity of template only causes problems, and it has raised costs considerably over the past ten years. If we had only been allowed to stick with one template… but no matter. What’s done is done.
If not for Tylo’s mind-reading abilities, he would never have guessed that the Prime Minister was upset about the fact that the clones came from multiple templates instead of one. Whether that’s simply because Lama Su has an excellent Sabacc face, or because of his alien nature, Tylo knows not. Certainly, Obi-Wan doesn’t seem to pick up on the alien’s irritation. Or if he does, the Jedi Master simply doesn’t comment on it.
“You mentioned Accelerated Growth?”
“Oh yes. It’s essential, otherwise a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. No, we can do it in half the time.”
“I see.”
As the tour continues on, they reach a point where the clones are more visibly matured, fully grown… at least physically and in appearance. Tylo has to admit… their templates are all very striking women. Two distinct red heads and two distinct brunettes, from what Tylo can see. All of the clones wear their hair short, but there’s a difference in build between the two brunettes and the two red-heads. One of each pair are simply built a little beefier, while the other side of each pair are lither, more… limber and agile, perhaps?
“They are, of course, totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent compared to the original templates.”
They will obey the Jedi until the order is given. And then, the Sith will rise and take us with them.
That thought from Lama Su’s mind chills Tylo to his core. If he was understanding the Prime Minister right… this whole thing was a plot to destroy the Jedi. By the Sith? On the one hand, it made sense… on the other hand, the Sith were supposed to be gone, slain a thousand years ago!
On the other, other hand, Tylo was quite literally following after the Sith-Killer himself. Whether that creature Kenobi had slain on Naboo ten years ago was actually Sith or not was still a matter of debate, but it didn’t stop half the Temple from giving the Jedi Master the moniker behind his back. It was looking more and more like the Sith really had returned… and currently, only Tylo knew the full extent of their machinations. Fuck.
“Ah, and who are the original templates?”
Obi-Wan is suddenly laser-focused, latching on and tugging at the thread. Tylo focuses on the conversation, even as Lama Su stops to answer the question.
“A collection of bounty hunters.”
“Mandalorian?”
“Yes, that’s right. The very first template we chose was a Mandalorian woman named Janga Fett. Soon after the finalization of our deal with her, she brought in three others of her profession and culture. Their names are Rook Kast, Vhonte Tervho, and Bo-Katan Kryze.”
“And where are these bounty hunters now?”
Latching onto the point like a bloodhound, it’s clear from both Obi-Wan’s mannerisms and his thoughts that he thinks they’ve found a lead to the real reason they even came here in the first place… that is, Senator Amidalla’s would-be assassins. Tylo didn’t disagree with the Jedi Master necessarily, but knowing what he knew about the situation now, he couldn’t help thinking that all of it was on purpose. A trap, to draw the Jedi in and let them discover the Clone Army for whatever decimation the Sith were planning.
“Oh, we keep them here, mostly. Two on base at all times, while the other two travel off world for their own business. Currently, I believe Janga Fett and Bo-Katan Kryze are on planet.”
Pausing for a moment, Lama Su continues on, clearly making small talk.”
“Apart from her considerable pay, and the eventual demand to expand the list of templates to include her fellow Mandalorians, Fett only asked for one thing. An unaltered clone for herself. Curious, isn’t it? Unaltered, pure, genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile, and no growth acceleration.”
A child. The female human wanted a child, despite the life she led. I will never understand it.
Here, at least, Lama Su’s thoughts and the words coming out of his mouth line up. His disdain for Fett’s demand couldn’t be more obvious. For Tylo personally though, it humanized this not-so-faceless bounty hunter a fair bit. He didn’t really understand what she was about, whether she was part of the Sith Conspiracy or not, but at the very least she wasn’t in it totally for herself. The fact that she’d asked for a unaltered clone… it was possible she was barren and couldn’t have children of her own.
“I would very much like to meet this Janga Fett.”
Kryze… I would know if it was Kryze back on Coruscant. What Bo-Katan is doing here, I know not. I would rather not contact her young sister Satine to find out, if I do not have to however.
Tylo’s head twitches as he has to resist the urge to whip around and look towards Obi-Wan. Master Kenobi recognized the name of one of the templates? How could he possibly know this Bo-Katan Kryze already? The galaxy was supposed to be a massive place! What sort of coincidence was that?!
At Obi-Wan’s request, it’s actually the female Kaminoan who speaks up. She’s been following them all this time, and apparently is some sort of administrative assistant or something, because she immediately leans out from behind Tylo, getting Master Kenobi’s attention.
“I would be very happy to arrange it, Master Jedi.”
Down below, there are clones picking up armor and helmets, all of it snow-white in color, completely devoid of creativity or individuality. As the four different types of clones put their helmets on, they become seamless from one another, save for the slight difference in their body types. However, Tylo can tell they’re sorted based on that as well, and that most of the lither clones are grouped with one another, while the bulkier clones are grouped with each other as well.
He can’t help but wonder what sort of thoughts are going through their minds, but they’re all too far away, hundreds of feet below the four of them as he, Master Kenobi, and the two Kaminoans make their way out onto a balcony. The sight… it takes Tylo’s breath away, though not in a positive way.
Its terrifying. There’s no sugar-coating it. The vision below would have been horrifying even if he didn’t know what he knew. Just based off of what Lama Su had SAID so far, it sounded like these Clones were little more than slaves. But worse than that, they were actually weapons. Sith Weapons.
Down below, those Sith Weapons, designed to lull the Jedi into some sort of false sense of security, are lined up in the tens of thousands as they board ships sprawled out all across the flat area. Its an army, just as Lama Su said… and a fleet to go along with it. A Grand Army of the Republic, but secretly having its strings pulled by the Sith.
“Magnificent, isn’t it?”
Tylo didn’t think so, but luckily the Prime Minister isn’t asking him, he’s asking Kenobi. As the Jedi Master looks out over the army, he swallows thickly and then shakes his head.
“Its… certainly something.”
-x-X-x-
After the end of the tour, Lama Su says his goodbyes and leaves them in Taun We’s hands, at the same time finally introducing the female Kaminoan properly. It was a little awkward, only then learning her name, but hey, at least Tylo wasn’t just calling her ‘the female Kamonian’ in his head anymore.
Unfortunately, Taun We didn’t know any of the secret shit that Lama Su did. It made sense of course, but Tylo still wished he could have mined her mind for a bit more information all the same. Still, before they could go any further, Taun We had a question that needed to be answered.
“You have expressed an interest to meet with Janga Fett. Bo-Katan Kryze’s quarters are in the same area. Do you also wish to speak with her?”
“No.”
Obi-Wan’s response is immediate, and would probably confuse Tylo if he didn’t already know that the Jedi Master somehow knew Kryze. As it is, Kenobi quickly realizes how he sounds and clears his throat to correct his behavior.
“Perhaps after… but at the moment, I wish to get the measure of the woman this all started with. This Janga Fett… let’s start with her.”
“Of course, Master Jedi.”
Ah, but what if they could split up and tackle both issues at once? Tylo could admit it, part of the sudden idea he had in mind had to do with wanting to know more about Master Kenobi’s connection to this Bo-Katan Kryze. However, he also wanted to try and get a measure of what the fuck was going on around here.
“Perhaps, Master Kenobi, I could go interview Kryze while you interview Janga? Divide and conquer, so to speak?”
Obi-Wan’s gaze flickers over to Tylo, and it’s clear the Jedi Master is conflicted. It’s a good idea, after all… but at the same time, he has his own personal reasons for wanting to say no. The only question is, will the Jedi Master give in to those reasons, or set them aside and let Tylo off the very tight leash he’s had him on since Coruscant?