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─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

After having charged out of the training room earlier, my head was still full of confusing thoughts. I tried to meditate, but everything kept returning to that moment. I had never wanted to leave. But no matter how drawn I was to Obi-Wan, I had been too careless with letting down my shields and needed to ensure I wouldn't again, knowing it would hurt us both.

When leaving at twilight, nothing more than pleasantries are said. We remained neutral with one another, acting like nothing had ever occurred between us, and we remained so until our arrival. The view before me is just like the star map from the hologram. It is truly a sight to behold the planet Kamino, which should be shrouded in storm clouds as we disengage from our hyperspace rings and head towards the planet.

"There it is, R4, right where it should be," I hear Obi-Wan state over the comms system as we descend into a planet that looks like it has more water than land. "Our missing planet, Kamino. Someone from within the order must have altered those files."

The weather outside was as chaotic as the hidden thoughts inside my head. Rain was whipping around our starships, and the sea was choppy and furious, with wave after wave smashing each other and spitting foam into the air.

"The important question is more about who and why erased those files?" I ask, trying to ignore that he was looking at me from his ship. Do you think these Kaminoans had anything to do with trying to kill Padmé? Do we need to be extra cautious?"

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough whether or not they were involved, but the dart from Padmé's so-called assassin came from here, so it would be wise to be cautious," I briefly glanced across to Obi-Wan then away, not wanting to afford myself to get distracted and keep focused on the mission.

"Okay, got any ideas on where we should land?"

"R4 has detected a city not too far away; hopefully, we can land."

After a few more minutes, the colossal, ultra-modern-looking city of Tipoca on vast stilts comes into our vision. We make our way through the howling winds towards a tower on the far side of the platform. Once we land our Starfighters, we get out tightly, wrapping our brown cloaks around us before they get ripped off. As we dash towards a tower on the far side, glass doors come sliding open, and a brilliant tunnel of white light cuts through the twirling rain. Both of us ran towards it, Obi having his arm placed ever so delicately yet so protectively around my waist without any thought as we passed through and entered inside.

The light enveloped us as we entered a corridor, Obi-Wan's arm slipping away, wishing for it to stay there. He slipped his hood off, but mine remained up a few seconds longer to hide the redness of my face. His very touch made me feel weak and almost helpless. Now, finally lowering my hood, I felt his eyes upon me. I had looked like a mess; my hair clung to my skin, and the padawan braid around my neck looked like a necklace.

"I look like a wet porg," I complained, screwing my face up in disgust a little and shaking myself, a little water scattering around. Yet I hadn't been entirely aware that Obi-Wan had still been staring until I had caught him off guard, looking past him to spot a what be a Kaminoan, a figure approaching and reverting my gaze to Obi again. Brows raised slightly, and I nodded behind him, his cheeks a little flushed, before clearing his throat awkwardly, his hand carding through his wet beard.

We both turned our attention to the now ever-approaching figure, yet I couldn't help but let my gaze remain on Obi-Wan for a moment longer. On closer look, the Kaminoans were tall, white, and slender, and they moved with such grace that they almost looked like they were floating. Their neck and limbs looked almost impossibly thin and flexible. They had large, black almond eyes with a shimmer of silver where you would typically find the iris.

In all my years growing up on Tatooine, I have seen many different alien species come and go, but they weren't like anything I had seen before, and they looked the most stunning I had ever seen.

"Master Jedi, it's so good to see you," the female Kaminoan greeted, her voice almost sounding light as air. Bowing her head, she closed her eyes briefly before lifting her head back up. The Prime Minister expects you."

"You were expecting us?" Obi-Wan questioned warily as we shared a brief side glance, my face poised but my eyes questioning.

"Of course! He is anxious to meet you. After all these years, we were beginning to think you weren't coming," she replied before telling us to follow her back the way she had come. "Now, please, this way!"

Of course, we covered up our surprise as we followed behind her along the corridor, sharing a questioning look with Obi-Wan. We wondered how they knew we would be coming when there had been no possible way for anyone at the Jedi Temple even to know where it was, as it had been erased from the map archives. It was becoming more puzzling, making us all the more cautious to keep our wits about us.

After briefly walking through a few brightly lit passageways to the Prime Minister's office, we learned our guide's name, Taun We. The door before us slid open easily as we entered the room. The Prime Minister sat there before he rose to greet us with a smile like everything else here. His chair gave off the same radiant white light as the rest of the place.

"May I present Lama Su, Prime Minister of Kamino..." At the same time, I, Obi-Wan and Lama Su bowed to one another, "And this is Master Jedi..." Taun paused, swaying her hand towards us. Having not asked our names, we took the chance to introduce ourselves.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan offered politely, casting his eyes over at me and gesturing his hand to me briefly. This is my companion and fellow Jedi Padawan, Ambrose Skywalker." Afterwards, he bowed, and so did I, as Lama Su offered us chairs. However, we remained standing with Taun. We were still hovering, and the room was as bright as ever.

"I trust you are going to enjoy your stay. We are most happy you have arrived at the best part of the season," Lama Su said pleasantly as he gestured forward again, and two seats appeared, twirling down delicately from the ceiling above.

"You make us feel most welcome," Obi-Wan returned kindly.

"Please..." Lama Su insisted again on the chairs, and we got ourselves seated. I had to say they were relatively comfortable to sit on, "And now to business. You will be delighted to hear we are on schedule. Two hundred thousand units are ready, with another million well on the way."

"That is... good news," I could tell Obi-Wan was improvising, just like I, who pretended to smile with enthusiasm and offered a nod. All I knew was that this now gave us more questions than answers.

"Please tell your Master Sifo-Dyas that we have every confidence his order will be met on time and in full. He is well, I hope."

"I'm sorry. Master -?" I could see a strike of familiarity within Obi-Wan's eyes.

"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. He's still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?" Lama Su asked of him. Of course, I had never heard of him much until now, yet he had gone behind the backs of the Jedi Council to produce what exactly?

"Master Sifo-Dyas was killed almost ten years ago," Obi-Wan broke to them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. But I'm sure he would have been proud of the army we've built for him." Yet, the Prime Minister's tone to me didn't sound at all sorry for the Jedi Master's passing, or maybe it was just the way the Kaminoan's natural lightness to their words, but he seemed even more pleased about the army he had brought up.

"Sorry, did you say an army?" I spoke up, keeping my voice level and face composed, Obi-Wan leaning forward from his chair beside me as we got a better look at Lama Su.

"Yes, a clone army," they responded, closing their eyes and nodding. "And, I must say, one of the finest we've ever created," he went on to boast as I carefully turned my head to Obi-Wan but pretended to be casually slow about it. Yet he could see from within my eyes how utterly confused I was. First, the army and that army happened to be clones.

"Tell me, Prime Minister, when my Master first contacted you about the army, did he say who it was for?" Obi-Wan asked, still trying to keep calm about him.

"Of course he did. This army is for the Republic." I instantly went pale at this, sharing a subtle look with Obi-Wan. But we had to let it wash over us, so we nodded and smiled as if accepting it. But you must be anxious to inspect the units for yourself."

"Of course, that's why we are here," Obi-Wan pretended to agree with false enthusiasm and a smile as the three of us stood up from our seats and headed towards the door. Obi-Wan and I shared a look as we left the prime minister's quarters.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

We followed Lama Su through the facility at a slow but leisurely pace that, in time, had begun to dry our hair, noting out the corner of my eye how Obi-Wan's hair was delicately curling around near his ears, almost brushing his neck. Our journey was filled with complete silence.

Finally, upon reaching the cloning facility, it was anything but bizarre. What was right before my eyes was nothing I could have imagined witnessing: thousands upon thousands of fetuses floating in a laboratory-made liquid. The operation was so vast and, at the same time, somewhat overwhelming that I didn't know what to think.

"Very impressive," I heard Obi-Wan's voice with false enthusiasm, but Lama Su was none the wiser.

"Yes, I agree it's quite remarkable," I nodded, letting awe seep through a little into my voice.

"I hope you'll be pleased," Lama Su happily hummed as we continued to walk down a glass passage on both sides, allowing us to take in what was all around us. One area had held children, and young men sat before computers just typing away, yet each was identical to the last. "Clones can think creatively. You will find 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."

We stopped to look at the children, who appeared to be no older than twelve years of standard age.

"You mentioned growth acceleration..."Obi-Wan trailed off promptly but calmly, hands resting before him, calm and at ease.

"Oh yes, it's essential," Lama Su said with a smile. "Otherwise, a mature clone would take a lifetime to grow. Now, we can do it in half the time."

"Of course."

"You'll find they are totally obedient, taking any order without question," Lama Su subtly boasts.

"Really?" I questioned as we entered an eating area and approached one of the windows. Looking down at the adult clones, nothing seemed out of place—they moved with purpose, like it was all routine.. None seemed bothered that they all looked the same as one another as if they were considered normal, as they knew nothing else beyond it all. I can't help but furrow my brows a little as I continue to look on below, frankly finding this somewhat disturbing.

"Yes, as we modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host."

"Who was the original host?" Obi-Wan asked as we passed through and walked down another narrow corridor. As they had previously told us, they were doing combat training, all dressed in different colours.

"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett," Lama Su replied. Obi-Wan nodded from beside me as, at that moment, I instantly recalled hearing the name of the bounty hunter thrown about here and there before when growing up on Tatooine. Bringing myself back to reality, I continued to listen, "We felt a Jedi would be the perfect choice, but Sifo-Dyas hand-picked Jango Fett himself."

But it just brought up even more questions than ever. Why would Sifo-Dayas have enlisted a bounty hunter and have him cloned? Why create an army for the Republic that nobody knew anything about? Or didn't even the Jedi Council know about it? The more I thought about it, the less it made sense. And now I had a headache to show for it.

"Where is this bounty hunter now?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to keep his interest strictly professional.

"Oh, we keep him here," Lama Su responded casually. "Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing - an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?"

"Unaltered, as in they would grow naturally?" I asked before Obi-Wan could as Lama Su inclined his head in my direction,

"Pure genetic replication," they explained as Obi-Wan and I nodded in understanding. "No tampering with the structure to make it more docile... and no growth acceleration."

I locked eyes with Obi-Wan, his left eyebrow-raising a little. Both of us are probably wondering why a Jedi would enlist the help of a bounty hunter and then clone him. There was also the dart he and Anakin had found on that of Padmé's assassin, one of the many accessories in the bounty-hunting profession. If this place were where he resided to raise his child, his weaponry would have come from here on Kamino. But another thing bothered me: Why create this army for the Republic that nobody knew about or the Council had not told a soul about? Things were now beginning to make less sense than before. As I broke eye contact with Obi-Wan, we watched several clones getting into armour as if about to go into battle.

"We would both like to meet this Jango Fett," Obi-Wan said.

"Yes, we would certainly like to thank the very man who has provided his genetics for the Republic's cause," I added with a forced smile.

"I would be most happy to arrange it for you," Taun We bowed to us both before leaving.

The Prime Minister guided us onto a balcony overlooking a vast hangar of troop carriers. Still, I couldn't count how many clone troopers there must have been—a couple of thousands at least divided into blocks of regiments, their formations perfectly in sync when commanded. All I could do was stand stricken, wide eyes and mouth almost hanging open. That was when the painful reality began that war was only around the corner.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" Lama Su asked of Obi-Wan and me with a subtle hum, almost as if beaming with joy at the sight.