Qui-Gon Jinn
Obi-Wan, Lama Su, and I stride down a walkway overlooking the section of the facility in which the clones are kept. Taun We, as the Kaminoan who greeted us introduced herself, is hovering nearby. There are large floating, circular structures in the first massive room, with glass compartments containing the embryos of the clones. There must be thousands of them in here. Living beings being bred as soldiers... for what?
"They're immensely superior to droids, capable of independent thought and action," Lama Su explains.
"Very impressive," Obi-Wan says.
"I'd hoped you would be pleased," the Prime Minister replies as we continue down the walkway. As we continue a little farther along, another room can be seen. What looks like literally hundreds of identical ten-year-olds sitting in rows in what must be a classroom.
"You mentioned growth acceleration," I state, looking back at them, the question obvious.
"Oh yes, it's essential. Otherwise, a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now, we can do it in half the time. Those items you saw on the parade ground were started ten years ago, when Sifo-Dyas first placed the order, and they're already mature," Lama Su elaborates.
"And these?" Obi-Wan asks, scanning the room.
"About five years ago," he replies. From there, we continue on. Lama Su leads Obi-Wan and I across a walkway overlooking a very large room where hundreds of clones are eating. They all look around twenty, all dressed exactly alike. Taun We follows behind us.
"We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host. As a result, they are totally obedient, taking any order without question," Lama Su explains.
"Who was the original host?" questions Obi-Wan as we continue walking along the balcony.
"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett. We felt a Jedi would be the perfect choice, but Sifo-Dyas hand-picked Jango Fett himself," Lama Su responds, turning to look down at us. Perhaps one step closer in solving the mystery.
"Where is the bounty hunter now?" I demand.
"Oh, we keep him here. After a few hundred thousand clones, the genetic pattern starts to fade, so we take a fresh supply. He lives here, but he's free to come and go as he pleases," Lama Su explains. Good. Then we might have a chance to speak with him. This entire situation is very strange, and we need answers.
"Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing – an unaltered clone for himself. Curious isn't it?" Lama Su remarks as continue walking through the facility.
"Unaltered?" echoes Obi-Wan.
"Pure genetic replication. No tampering with the structure to make it more docile... and no growth acceleration..." the Prime Minister trails off.
"I would like to meet with this Jango Fett," I inform them casually. I can't shake the feeling that he was the one involved in the assassination. Besides, it's only reasonable to assume so, considering that he lives here and the dart used in the assassination came from here.
"I would be most happy to arrange it for you," Taun We replies.
The rain is continuing to pour around us, and the wind is whipping violently as we step out onto an outdoor balcony overlooking a large platform below. The Kaminoans seem quite used to it, however, so I assume it's a naturally stormy planet where it's almost always raining. Below us, thousands of white-armored figures march by. They're walking together in groups. They were made to be an army, and that's precisely what they look like.
YOU ARE READING
Path to War (The Chosen Twins Book #2)
FanfictionIt's been ten years since Anakin and Aniya Skywalker have seen Padme Amidala, who is now the Senator they need to protect. Though they are happy to see her and her brother again, there is hardly time for reunions. As the situation in the galaxy esca...
