t e n

My eyes widened.

An army? For the Republic?

I looked to Anakin wondering if he knew what this meant from a political point of view.

An army for the peace keepers of the galaxy.

An army with weapons.

Though they have good intentions, this could most definitely be percieved in the wrong way and start unnecessary conflicts.

"But you must be anxious to inspect the units for yourselves?" The Prime Minister asked.

"That's why we're here." Anakin laughed lightly.

I cracked a smile at his antics.

Lama Su nodded and rose from his seat.

Anakin and I followed suit, but waited for the Prime Minister to walk past us so we could trail him.

I could feel Anakin looking at me, but I couldn't bring myself to return his gaze, the image of us kissing in the rain fresh in my mind.

We exited through the same doors we originally entered from and began walking down yet another long white hallway.

After a bit, the walls became glass and offered us a view of the events going on down below.

Thousands of small pods holding what appeared to be human fetuses were connected to large towers streching higher and lower than our glass windows would allow us to see.

What are these things?

And why are they here?

Anakin interrupted my thoughts, "Very impressive" he said, sounding both confused and awed at the same time.

"I'd hoped you would be pleased." Lama Su replied.

When neither Anakin or I responed, he continued.

"Clones can think creatively-"

So thats what they are, baby clones. I guess this is where they grow them.

Never thought that sentence would cross my mind...

"-You will find that they are immensly superior to droids." he finished, seeming quite pleased with our awestricken faces.

"We take great pride in our combat education and training programs." he said as he continued to lead us down the hallway.

He gestured to the left, "This group was created about five years ago."

From my view I could see rows of teenage boys wearing  headsets and controlling a spacecraft on their computer screen.

Lama Su mentioned that the teenagers were created five years ago, how could that be?

The boys looked to be at least 14.

"You mentioned growth acceleration?" Anakin asked, answering my question.

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

"I see." Anakin replied to keep conversation going.

Lama Su continued his explanation, "They are totally obedient, taking any order without question, we modified their genetic structure to make them less dependent than the original host."

"And who was the original host?" Anakin inquired.

"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett." Lama Su answered simply.

A bounty hunter?

Anakin stopped walking and look up at him, his answer obviously making him uneasy.

"And where is this bounty hunter now?"

"Oh, we keep him here." The Prime Minister replied, seeming distant.

"Apart from his pay, which is considerable, Fett demanded only one thing, an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?" Lama Su asked, clearly not understanding the point of Jango's request.

He wanted a son.

Probably to continue the 'family business'.

"Unaltered?" Anakin questioned further.

"Pure genetic replication, no tampering with the structure to make it more docile and no growth acceleration." He answered simply.

"I should very much like to meet this Jango Fett." Anakin requested.

Getting involved with a bounty hunter is the last thing we need.

"I would be very happy to arrange that for you." The female alien replied with a perky voice.

Anakin smiled and nodded to her.

Lama Su continued to lead us down the hall to a dimly lit balcony.

It over looked what appeared to be the clone army.

Thousands of them stood and walked in formation, following their leaders, who were marked in primary accent colors. Probably so they could be easily identifed, they were clones after all.

I stood next to Anakin watching as three platoons of clones marched their way into a platform located above ground level.

The Prime Minister joined us at the balcony, "Magnificent, aren't they?"

I snuck a glance at Anakin.

He simply nodded, his face oddly grim.

The female alien guided us down the winding hallways of this eccentric maze and I quickly became lost.

We could have been going in circles for all that I knew.

After what seemed like an hour, she finally stopped in front of a white and black door.

It slid open mere seconds after our arrival, a young boy standing in the doorway.

I smiled at him, but he frowned in return.

How rude.

"Ah Boba, is your father here?" She inquired.

"Yup" He answered, his voice sounded perky and nice, but his expression remained in a seemingly permanent scowl.

Did this boy have emotions?

"May we see him?" She asked after Boba made no attempt to let us in.

"Sure" he answered simply, a look of digust graced his features as he gave Anakin a once-over.

He turned around and walked towards the inside of the room.

"Dad" he called out.

"Taun We is here." He glanced back at us.

So that's what her name is.

The door closed automatically behind us.

The room was circular, with a large window covering the back wall, all the furniture was white and clean.

Anakin made his way through the room, leaving me with Taun We and Boba.

He seemed to be inspecting the contents of the room, I wish I knew what he was thinking.

Taun We looked to her right, with me following her gaze.

A tall man walked out of an ajoined room.

"Jango, welcome back, was your trip productive?" She inquired, her voice light and elegant.

Jango rolled his sleeves as he answered, looking Anakin in the eyes, "Fairly."

"This is Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker and Senator Verena Leoet, they've come to check on our progress." Taun We introduced us, obviously not sensing the tension between the two men.

"Your clones are very impressive, you must be very proud." Anakin smirked slightly as he talked to Jango in a condescending tone.

"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe." Jango replied, adding just as much sarcasm to his words.

"Ever made your way as far as the interior of Coruscant?" Anakin asked, his playful demenor gone and replaced with a stone cold expression.

"Once or twice" Jango answered nonchalantly.

"Recently?" Anakin was clearly getting tired of Fett's attitude.

"Possibly" The bounty hunter had a slight smirk on his face, he was certainly enjoying toying with a Jedi Master.

"Then you must know Master Sifo-Diyas."

Jango walked toward Boba, Taun We, and I.

He spoke to his son in a language I did not understand and Boba went down the hallway we had just come from.

Jango faced Anakin again, "Master who?"

He was either feigning confusion or lying.

The latter seemed more possible, considering he was a bounty hunter.

"Sifo-Diyas" Anakin answered.

Boba closed an open door in the hallway, but I was unable to figure out why.

"Is he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?" Anakin asked, obviously confused.

Jango walked dangerously close to him and Boba joined his side.

"Never heard of him." he answered simply.

I glanced between the two men, the testosterone levels seemed to increase as they both tried to intimidate the other into submission.

"Really?" Anakin asked, clearly not believing the bounty hunter.

"I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bubdyn." Jango replied.

The names were too unique for him to be lying, but I still don't trust him.

"Curious" Anakin said quickly, smirking at Jango, obviously not believing him, but still continuing the charade of innocence.

The men fell silent.

"Do you like your army?" Jango inquired, though his tone of voice suggested he was annoyed and not interested in Anakin's thoughts on his clones.

"I look forward to seeing them in action." He answered simply.

"They'll do their job well, I'll guarantee that." Jango stated with an ominous undertone.

"Thank you for your time Jango." Anakin bowed his head in respect, though it was clear he didn't mean it.

"Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi." Jango didn't try to hide his displeasure with Anakin.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, Anakin eventually breaking eye contact and looking to me.

He walked in my direction and then turned down the hallway to the door, I followed his lead, with Taun We trailing behind us.