#he's confident enough to think he could kill dooku.

[mutatiio]

@starssung is being so nice and not mean at all: ' so you live ... ' from ♡ darth sidious

he falls to one knee instantly upon sensing him, head bowed. steels himself as the sound of footfalls draw near. his pulse quickens when he hears his voice, just as it had before naboo. just as it had on lotho minor. even in his crazed state, memories… or hallucinations- if there was really a difference it was slight and unimportant. maul had heard his master's voice in the tunnels. fear. hunter. filth. nothing… there is no mercy, mercy is a lie.

" yes, master. " maul says aloud, or tries to, his words lost in his throat - leaving his voice hardly above a whisper. golden eyes close, willing himself calm. " your teachings- your training… it was because of you that i was able to survive, master. " as if it had been on purpose. as if he had clung to life and used the tools he'd been given to survive. he would have preferred to die, preferred it had kenobi finished the job. but was the dark side ever willing?? or was he, whether he liked it or not, merely trapped within it?? a slave to it. was there anything in his life he could seize control of??

" and i return to your side. i am yours to command. "

[totally-not-your-babe]

Too Much Love Will Kill You Vol.1 Prologue

Warnings: alcohol, mention of death, star wars cursing (is it needs a warning?), maybe a bit OOC I’m not sure 

Summary: A bounty hunter and a bit different clone (and his brothers) meet in a shady bar, what could go wrong? 

word count: 1567

Note: English is not my first language so please bare with me

MASTERLIST

The bar wasn’t crowded, quite the opposite, but the air was still tight, smoke lingered the whole place, and it was with one simple word, dirty. But people hiding from the Republic, people I usually had to find and deliver, barely hid in luxurious hotels. Barely, sometimes it happened, but usually it made my job harder. In places like this shady sorry excuse of a bar people didn’t bat an eye if a bounty hunter grabed someone and they never came back, in fancy places on the other hand where they typically paid a great amount of money to security to protect them it wasn’t so easy, and I didn’t like making too much of a scene. 

I asked for another round and tried not to lose all hope for the bounty to turn up. It’s been hours and still nothing. He had a routine, I knew that, every time after he met his contac he came here and drank a great amount, probably for the nerves. The guy was giving information to Dooku, which means the contact could’ve been Ventres and that woman was intimidating even I had to give her that. The Council and the GAR had not yet asked me to try to get Ventress but I was assuming it was only a matter of time. And that was a job I was not looking for no matter the credits paid for it. I didn’t lack confidence about my skills, not at all, but Ventress was a lighsaber wielding maniac and if half the things I’ve heard were true she was pretty good at using the force too. In a word, I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of fighting her. 

Another hour passed and I lost all hope, he wouldn’t show up that day. Or maybe any other day. It was possible that the Count thought he wasn’t useful anymore and made Ventress kill him. With a sigh I asked for one last drink and accepted my defeat. 

“That must be the worst drink” said a husky voice right next to me. At first I wanted to act like I didn’t hear him but something deep inside told me it would be a big mistake. So I took a sip from my drink and turned to him. I was a bit stunned to say the least. When I turned, I’ve met a pair of brown eyes that kind you could get lost in if you are not careful enough. Half of his face was tattooed, he had longer hair which was pulled back by a red bandana, he wore armour painted dark grey and red. It took me a moment longer than I’d like to admit figuring out why he was so familiar. He was a clone. So that’s why my bounty did not show up today.

“And why would you think that?” I raised a brow at him.

“Most people get more relaxed and in a lighter mood when they drink alcohol” he said, and I looked at him expectantly. “you on the other hand getting more and more tens seemingly with every sip.”

“And tell me how long have you been watching me to be so sure about that?” a little flirting wouldn’t hurt.

“Long enough” his voice when he said that sent shivers down my spine. Almighty gods here and the galaxy beyond woman get a hold on yourself!

“Maybe” I cleared my throat and get another sip from my drink. It was indeed awful, but there was no way I would admit it. “I’ve been stood up. It can ruin your mood quite easily.”

“Their loss, setting up a woman like you.”

“Now you are flirting” I said with a smile and I could swear I saw a hint of blush on his face.

“Maybe, never been really good at it” he shrugged his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that” he didn’t say anything to that but a small smile played on his lips. “And what brings you here? I thought clones usually hang out in the 79s.”

“Me and my brothers, we are not so welcome there” he pointed behind himself where I saw three other clones sitting at one of the tables. I had to blink a couple of times to believe they were clones too. One of them was so big even while he was sitting, he looked like he could break someone with only using two of his fingers, when he saw I was looking at the he waved at me with a genuine smile and I couldn’t help myself I just had to wave back to the apparently gentle giant. Next to him sat a man with goggles and he must have been reading or writing somethin interesting on his datapad, because he didn’t even look up when his huge brother nudged him to look at my way. But the last one. The silverhaired clone with the crosshair tattoo around his right eye was looking right at me. He raised one of his brows like he wanted to chalenge me, stared me down trying to make me look away, but he didn’t know just who he has been dealing with. “Ignore Crosshair” he said when he noticed my little stare down with his brother. “he is just... Well Crosshair. The one who has his datapad glued to his hands is Tech and the giant who just can’t stop smiling is Wrecker.”

“Why wouldn’t you be welcome in 79s?” I asked him after I waved at his brother Wrecker again.

“Well... we’re different.”

“Sometimes different is good” I winked at him from behind my glass.

“Now who is the one flirting?”

“You caught me. Why is it such a problem?”

“What?” he looked at me a little puzzled.

“Being different. I mean typically clones all look the same, sometimes different hair and beards something like that but all the same. One would think being a bit unique is like a breath of fresh air” I wasn’t really looking at him while I was talking or rather ranting but when I glanced at him after he looked at me in a way, I can’t describe other than awe. I only lasted for a couple of seconds then he looked away and asked for another round for himself.

“Ask the regs, I grew tired thinking about it a long time ago.” How long could it have been? - I asked myself. He was a clone so at the very top he could only be ten years old. “Would you like another?” he asked which stopped my train of thoughts. I was about to answer him when my comm went off.

“Dank ferric” I didn’t have to look to know who it was. They wanted answers, they wanted the bounty. “I’m sorry. Work” I said with an apologetic smile and stared to stand from the bar stool.

“Maybe next time.”

“Looking forward to it” and I was about to leave but turned back one last time. “Didn’t catch your name Mr. Different.”

“And you’d like to know it” no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t hide his smile.

“How else would I know who to look for to get my drink?” I didn’t try to hide the smile that was slowly forming on my lips.

“Hunter” and Maker, it suits him.

“Hel” I answered for his unasked question and didn’t even wait for him to say anything before turning towards the door.

“Why is she leaving?” asked the booming was which I assumed belonged to Wrecker.

“Isn’t it obvious? He kriffed it up” I just know it had to be Crosshair.

“Given to the fact that she told Hunter her name and was delighted by the idea of meeting again, I highly doubt it” and that just had to be Tech.

I was smiling to myself listening to their very brotherly dispute while I walked to the door and I almost made it out but someone stepped in front of me blocking the exit. It was a trandoshan man almost a head taller than me, looking me up and down like I was his next meal. But that one would get stuck in his throat.

“You are in my way” I looked him dead in the eye but I could see that three of his friends circled around me. “I will correct myself; all four of you are in my way.”

“You have no business here bounty hunter” he hissed and tried to grab my arm, but I was faster.

“That’s exactly why I’m leaving” I said with a fake smile full of venom.

“You are not going anywhere” one of his friends a Rodian man grabbed my hair and jerked my head back.

“So that will be that kinda night, huh?” I hissed at them and I saw Hunter and his brothers move but I didn’t give them enough time to get to me and my newly found friends.

To be continued...

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

I love the jedi but enjoy the sith, mostly vader,new republic sith and old republic sith, do yoi have a lost of your favorite star wars villains.

In order, Dooku, Thrawn, Palpatine, Vader, OT-era Tarkin, Maul - and TCW!Hondo right after Dooku if that counts.

Pretty vanilla lmao. I like the Son as a concept but he's really not hardcore enough to really embody what he's supposed to represent. (There's not enough of the slimy slithering madness and viciousness that makes the Sith do stuff like sacrifice Jedi on altars and do blood magic rituals, among other things.) He's too tame for something supposedly worse than the Sith, though he'd be horrifying if he'd been more Dark-Side-y.

So, Dooku, because he's a disaster and a mirror to Anakin's garbage and because there's a lot of genuinely interesting things about a character who was among the wisest and noblest and who knows what the darkness is and willing embraces it anyway. he's Star Wars' Saruman and I love Saruman. It certainly helped that he was played by Sir Christopher Lee. The man was just that good.

Thrawn, because of the smooth, calm demeanor - much like Dooku's. That scene where he slowly explains what a kalikori is without revealing right away who is Hera, toying with us with his incredible score in the background, gave me shivers the first 4-5 times I watched it. I love sophisticated and collected villains. Brutish villains feel too simplistic and not nearly as frightening. I also love Star Wars aliens.

Palpatine because he's a delight to hate. He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever - he's just absolute selfishness embodied and that makes if very fun. Also love the 'frail' old man whose power is in his insidiousness. I love how maniacally happy about his plans he always is and I love to think of how completely bored he must have been during the Empire days, before Luke showed up and gave him something to plot about. Sure I wish the Zillo beast could have flattened him to a Sheev pancake - or that Dooku would have just punted him into the sun before Naboo, but hey, at least he got thrown down a reactor and exploded twice and was never ever heard of again, right?

Vader because he's a powerhouse and that's always impressive. James Earl Jones' voice was always magnificent as well and there's something so expressive about faceless characters.

OT Tarkin because- smooth, calm and collected old villain. I really have a type ah ah. There's something so maddening about that complete confidence that they're right, that end-justify-the-means mentality they confuse for wisdom, that dismissive way they see the hot blooded righteous heroes as so beneath them...

Maul mostly for the times he goes completely crazy and either turns into a spider or a Temple-dwelling Sith cockroach and runs around painting Kenobi on the walls with his blood. I love his arc with Obi-Wan, I love what it says about the light and the Dark, the Jedi and the Sith, and the Florrum and Twin Suns duels are my favorite ever.

Finally, Hondo... Well, is Hondo. Much smarter, much more ruthless, and much saner than people give him credit for - just spectacularly greedy and ballsy. I wouldn't call him a villain so much as the true example of what a 'morally gray' character is. It's not good guys in impossible situations like Mace, it's not complex villains like Dooku, it's not the image people have of a tortured prince of darkness that deep down feels really sad about all the murder he's doing and it's not the selfless hero who angsts about quickly killing a monster that one time - it's Hondo.

I'm generally pretty indifferent to Ventress, Jango, Boba, bounty hunters like Cad Bane, the Hutts, villains of an episode, or more minor villains and/or reformed antagonists like Bo-Katan, Kallus, etc - as characters anyway. I might like them when they're onscreen or like their place in the story but they don't do much for me individually beyond that.

And a special mention goes to Miraj Scintel - the Zygerrian Queen and only Star Wars villain I truly and deeply loathe. I hate seeing her onscreen, I hate hearing her talk, I hate watching her move, I hate her aspirations, I just detest her. Everything about her is infuriating.

[symphoniesoutofsilence]

Okay, someone asked for more of teenage Dooku being a hot mess, so here's a few more quick situations (ft. my own experiences when I was about 15 because you guys had to know that I was getting the disaster energy from somewhere):

Dooku, being the haughty lil snot that he is, definitely had a phase where he thought absolutely everything Yoda told him that he didn’t like was just made up to keep him from doing stuff, which led to him doing those things just out of spite and causing more hassle for himself. For example, on the way out to meet his friends, Yoda would warn, "Go outside, I would not. Storm, it is going to." Dooku would simply scoff that nice try, there's not a cloud in the sky, you just don’t want me to have fun, and head on his merry way. He returns not fifteen minutes later, dripping wet, covered in mud, and very grumpy. "Back so soon, are you?" "It rained." (Yoda thought it was hilarious.)

I think he probably trained this out of himself, but you cannot convince me that young Dooku was really bad at pretending that food on host planets was good. Man has a naturally sophisticated palette (save for swamp stew because I will die on the hill that he enjoyed it), so when some random species gives him a bunch of unidentified bugs marinated in what tastes like engine oil, he doesn’t respond well. “Master, are you sure these things are friendly?” “Of course.” “Doesn’t the food taste a little...suspicious?”.” “Too judgmental, you are, padawan! A delicacy, this is. Open your mind.” “Open my--?!This tastes like they’re trying to kill us!” Just,,,dramatic bastard child who Does Not Like the food and is making it very obvious.

Dooku undoubtedly had at least one instance (though probably more) where something small went wrong and he knew he'd get scolded by Yoda for it, so he tried to fix it himself, which led to thing after thing going wrong and, in the end, he had a lot more to explain than a late homework assignment or a warning about sparring without supervision. (Bonus points if Jocasta and Sifo-Dyas get involved too, which makes it even worse; honestly, the masters of the Temple cannot believe that these three bright young padawans with two out of the three being exceedingly sensible 95% of the time can still get into so much unnecessary trouble.)

Dooku had a deep and steady voice from pretty early on in his apprenticeship--usually, between this and his general air of confidence, he could pass for a padawan nearing knighthood if he tried hard enough--but in the rare cases where someone aggravated enough for him to yell without reservation, his voice cracked, bad. It was honestly hilarious, hearing someone so controlled squeal like a twelve-year-old, unless of course you were Dooku; he usually contemplated moving back to Serrano and changing his name when this happened.

[nevertheless-moving]

Could you talk more about your gumbo jar jar au or the frog one? 🐸

hm on close review the frog promise draft is a now redundant drabble from this au. Here it is in its entirety:

“I will never join you,” Luke said with a sneer of disgust.

Palpatine, as well as the nearby politicians, Jedi masters, and reporters were taken aback. 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning, Master Jedi,” the Senator said incredulously. “Do you mean to tell me that you consider yourself separate from the Republic? I know the Jedi Council had disavowed recognizing you but I never could have imagined...” he trailed off, leaving the crowd to murmur in alarm.

“I mean I will never join the Sith,” the rogue master replied calmly. “I imagine you’re responsible for the traces of the dark side I felt amongst the trade federation leaders.”

“The Sith...I see.” Palpatine took a step back, deliberately reassuring tone and alarmed expression clearly indicated that he suspected the man before him of insanity. “It’s been a very long day and you clearly intended to do good by my humble home world. Perhaps your fellow Jedi can take you to the healers so you can-”

“Why are you working alongside a Sith Lord?” Luke cut off the Senator and addressed Grandmaster Yoda directly. 

“A Sith Lord, you say?” Master Yoda replied. “A most serious allegation, this is.”

Basically, Luke derails the Naboo Crisis by absolutely annihilating the trade federation army, only realizing after the fact when and where he is. This means that Padme turns right around from Tatooine and never voices her vote of no-confidence. Now, Palpatine probably had contingency plans in place, but the public accusation by a Jedi of being responsible for the crisis in the first place, despite absolutely no evidence, hurts his image enough that he’s not going to win a vote, because people will think it’s a power grab. 

And it’s funny cause it’s true but Luke only barely knows that! He’s just accusing Palpatine of being behind the first evil thing he sees and he fuckin happens to be right!!!

Anyway Luke doesn’t focus on Palpatine; there are like 10,000 other Jedi around. He commits himself first and foremost to completing his training with Master Yoda because sometime Yoda just dies and fades into thin air so, you know! He’s not going to procrastinate on that again!

He goes before the council and humbly asks to be taken on Yoda’s student (this is right before Qui-Gon can ask about Anakin- literally, Anakin and Qui-Gon are in the waiting room). He gives several extremely vague banthashit explanations of who he is ‘I’m a follower of the Force,’ where he comes from ‘the Force sent me,’ and why they should train him when he’s way too old ‘the Force willed it.’ Yoda is somewhat impressed because those are some real unhelpfully wise answers and- here’s the kicker- Luke actually believes them! 

He is really committed to being a Jedi! Is 110% all about being a luminous being! This is several years after return of the Jedi and Luke has pretty much just been hanging out in force temples meditating with ghosts so he has quintessential Jedi vibes, he just knows jackshit about anything!

What really clinches it for Yoda is the fact that his robe pocket starts squirming and he pulls out a live Nabooian Salt Frog. And hands it to Yoda like, “These are one of your favorites right? :) I saw it and I thought of you :)”

Now Yoda- let’s step back a second. Yoda is old. Yoda, in his youth, was a bit more feral. He’s a top level predator and the order has always celebrated diversity and being true to your origins! He’s hunted with Tortugans on Shili! He’s unhinged his jaw with Besalisks on Ojom! 

But as the Republic’s boundaries caved in on themselves, he was more and more put into contact with Core senators who tend to be unnerved by more, ah, carnivorous tendencies. And the more he was put into high level positions by virtue of being really frickin old, the more restrained he became in his public behavior. 

Decades passed and younglings who only ever knew his more ‘harmless-prank’ feral tendencies were increasingly shocked and scared to see him occasionally unhinge his jaw to eat a scrocodile whole. Some of the prey-origin younglings from that field trip actually avoided him for the rest of the their lives.

So. Yoda is still a carnivore- but- in private. With his padawans and his closest peers. But his closest peers age and die and his padawans get younger and smaller as the decades pass. He took on two herbivorous padawans in a row and as a result restrained himself from openly hunting with another soul for around for 50 years.

And then there’s Dooku. ‘Ah a human,’ he thinks. ‘They hunt sometimes. Well. They’re omnivores at least.’

And Dooku is- and I’m not saying this to shame Dooku- but he’s prissy. He likes...neatness. He’s not afraid of violence but force forbid it’s untidy. So when Yoda, excited to get his ambush predation on, takes 14 year old Dooku who’s barely ever left the sterile confines of Coruscant on a trip to a swamp world- yeaaahh it doesn’t go well. Dooku- he doesn’t mean to, honestly. How would he even know that Yoda might be sensitive about things? He’s Yoda. 

But Dooku sobbing openly and puking a little in a bush and running away from Yoda because his Master is terrifying and gross. It... kind of puts the nail in the coffin for Yoda being open about that side of himself. He doesn’t really have it in him to try again. People’s view of him is too fixed, they can’t handle him also being a flesh creature so he focuses on the luminous side of him which is and always was, genuinely, more important than him.

And that’s been the last 100 years or so. The thrill of a live kill is just a little piece of himself that he meditates away and that’s ok. He has the force. He has the order. He’s old anyway, a real hunt would probably hurt his joints. 

And then in comes Luke, radiating Light and earnestness and Jedi serenity while also holding out a very tasty looking live frog. And Yoda realizes Dooku’s not around, he’s surrounded by a council he trusts and respects and likes, none of whom are 14 year olds, all of whom have seen the galaxy and seen worse. He is almost seizing the moment but there’s a little part of him that shriveled up when Dooku cried that’s having a hard time accepting this.

“Want it for yourself, you do not?” Yoda cackles, playing off the offer.

Luke smiles sheepishly and pulls out another live frog. “I was saving it for later. Forgive me Master, your senses are keen as ever I see.”

And Yoda...it’s not about the bribe, really, so much as the symbolism, and it’s not about the flattery either, but darn is the kid really pulling out the stops to make himself likable. And he is a kid, to Yoda anyway. Everyone is these days. What does he care about numbers when there’s a boy smiling like his third padawan, an adorable Rodian who took great delight in their more amphibious and wild missions?

Yoda snatches one of the frogs and slowly raises it in a parody of a toast. Luke does the same. The rest of the council quietly watches in various shades of bewilderment and bemusement.

They’re not actually going to eat that right? Mace thinks. Ugh I hate frogs the skin is so slimy. Shaak Ti thinks. I cannot believe they’re not even offering me one. Yaddle thinks.

And Yoda bites the head off the frog in a quick snap of his jaws, the rest following rapidly. Luke does the same- a slight assist from the force helping his less specialized mandible tear through skin and bone in a well practiced move. He chews slower, but finishes the frog soon enough, the rest of the council looking on with deep uncertainty and a tiny bit of hunger, but no actual fear. They’re Jedi Masters; they’ve eaten everywhere, it’s just a little weird for a human to be eating a live animal and Yoda as far as anyone knew only ate stew and also they were in the middle of a council meeting.

Yoda belches and Luke smiles genially.

“Take you on as my padawan learner, I will. Much to learn you have, much to teach you, I do.”

Luke beams. The council looks on in shock. 

“Master Yoda,” Mace Windu says hesitantly, “He’s clearly in his late 20s, at the earliest. If this is about the... frog thing-”

“Was a pleasant surprise, the frog. The reason for my decision, it is not. Had some training already, he has. Know each other before this day, we do. Taking over for a Master passed into the force, I am merely. Our custom, this is.”

Luke bows lowly and an initiate is summoned to escort him to the quartermasters and then the long-empty padawan suite next to Yoda’s chambers. 

Qui-Gon and Anakin are brought in and. Well. It’s a little hard for them to simply reject the boy after Yoda just pulled that stunt. He’s sent to the initiates dorm, eventually. Mace Windu has a headache from the shatterpoints blinking in and out of existence. Shaak Ti is delighted to discuss a hunting trip with Master Yoda and his new padawan learner Luke Svader. 

The force dances.

[willowcrowned]

Can you imagine how much Obi-Wan must have annoyed Palpatine just by existing? Can you imagine how many plans he ruined, how many treaties he negotiated that never should have gone through? Can you imagine how many times Palpatine must have thought he’d finally gotten rid of the man, pour himself a nice glass of space champagne, then learn Kenobi survived, dump out the space champagne, and start chugging space vodka from the bottle?

Obi-Wan is already really annoying for Palpatine in Phantom Menace. Firstly, he doesn’t get killed by Maul. Secondly, he kills Maul, without even having the decency to fall and give Palpatine a new apprentice candidate. (In my personal opinion, I think Qui-Gon being sent to Naboo and subsequently killed by Maul was an intentional measure on Palpatine’s part as a way to (a) get Dooku to leave the Order, and (b) to go kill Maul in revenge, thereby cementing his status as new apprentice. If this is true, then Obi-Wan has already ruined three things for Palpatine by the end of Phantom Menace.)

Then, all throughout Anakin’s childhood and adulthood, he’s right there. Do you know how hard it is to turn Anakin against him? Do you know how many starry-eyed rants about Obi-Wan Palpatine has had to endure? And then, just as Palpatine is making headway turning Anakin against him, Kenobi will go and do or say something that makes Anakin think he walks on water, and Palpatine is back to square one.

Then the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan finally starts playing into his hands a little more— giving Anakin enough space for Palpatine to manipulate him better, being an excellent General and therefore very easy to point at a battle Palpatine needs won and winning it— but every single time he tries to get Kenobi killed (the Hardeen gambit was his best— it’s just too bad Anakin didn’t kill him), Kenobi somehow, miraculously escapes, usually with perfect hair intact.

Then! Palpatine gets Obi-Wan out of the way long enough for Anakin to kill Dooku, and manages to get Obi-Wan away again for long enough to turn Anakin. Order 66 happens, and he thinks he’s finally, finally done with Kenobi.

…and then Kenobi shows up on Mustafar and leaves Palpatine’s shiny new apprentice a burnt mess. (Now, arguably Palpatine wanted Anakin extra crispy so he could dump him in a life support suit and tie him even more closely to the dark side, but I think we can say with great confidence that Obi-Wan getting out of there alive was not in the picture.)

Finally, at the end, at the very end of it all, the young upstart that Kenobi trained (well, both of them actually), ends up overthrowing him.

Can you imagine. Can you IMAGINE!

You are Darth Sidious, one of the most powerful people in the known universe, and you have been plotting the downfall of the Republic and the rise of an empire with you at its head for all your life, and yet. and yet! This one ginger Jedi, no one important, or powerful, or even particularly clever (at least compared to you), keeps messing with all your plans.

You are Darth Sidious, Lord of the Sith, and Kenobi is the horrible goose about to ruin your day.

[mwolf0epsilon]

Remember my "Palpatine Dies and the Clones get a Childhood AU"?It's time I revisit it with a better coat of paint and some more thoughts other than "this just how it goes".

AU where Palpatine's grand-scheme, although planned out over the course of literal years, comes crashing down because of some unpredictable wrenches popping up unexpectedly. Mostly the fact that no plan survives first contact, and that saying definitely goes for anything related to the Star Wars universe.

Continue reading... ---

The first wrench in the plan is that when pushing for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum, Padmé doesn't manage to convince the Senate due to being worried about the ongoing conflict. This means that Palpatine doesn't get voted Chancellor like he wanted, and that he has to think of a different way to usurp the title.

The second wrench in the plan is that, Qui-Gon survives the duel with Maul by a thread and doesn't allow Palpatine access to Anakin, who would make for a pretty good replacement apprentice after Maul was seemingly killed. He could try getting to Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon's renounced padawan, but we all know Obi-Wan doesn't trust politicians so that's a no go solution in the end...

The third wrench in the plan is that Valorum resigns from his position unexpectedly and Bail Organa is named the new Chancellor before Palpatine can do anything to stop it from happening. From there, things only get more interesting... Namely, Jango Fett loses his patience when he notices that his employer hasn't given him any promising updates on the whole Jedi eradication plan he agrees to be a part of, and he decides to seed some doubts within the older clones.

He's a sleep-deprived single father caring for a baby (and again I have no idea where Jango had the time to learn how to care for a child, where are your parenting guide books sir, but I doubt Boba was a little angel and that Jango was anywhere near ready enough to be a parent when he became one so...), and he's starting to think his buir would have been incredibly upset with him that he would only claim one ad when he technically has hundreds of thousands of them, so he's not really thinking straight and someone's gotta pay for that right? Why not Lord Tyrannus and by proxy Palpatine?

One thing leads to another and suddenly Kamino is going quiet for reasons Palpatine can't quite understand, but that doesn't really matter to him as much when he realises his attempts to begin a war he can manipulate from both sides are becoming slim to none. He kinda forgets about Kamino entirely in the chaos of trying to gain some form of power and ends up getting killed in a freak accident involving a hoverbus. You know what they say, can't have shit in Coruscant and all that...

Dooku does the smart thing and absconds the hell out of this mess. So now there's a cloning planet that's gone completely dark in the midst of creating an army the Republic doesn't even know about, and actual honest diplomacy solves the growing tension between separatists and republican spaces. The Jedi don't quite know why the galaxy suddenly feels so much lighter, but they sort of assume it's because a war was prevented. Everyone carries on with their lives! Happy ending right?

Well... About that...

Eventually Lama Su manages to send out a distress signal, and suddenly the Jedi are being told their army is out of control and trying to overthrow the Kaminoan government. As the Jedi had no idea they had an army they are sorta left scratching their heads and Obi-Wan is sent out to see what's going on after figuring out where the planet might be.

He's met with the Alphas who are pretty much just teenagers right now, alongside 99 and little Omega. They explain what's been going on to the best of their ability, mostly about the decommissioning and abuse, and how Prime told them that it was their right to fight back against oppression before he left with Boba.

And that's what they all did... Only, in their haste to fight back, they destroyed all available transports so that the Kaminiise didn't escape, and now the Alphas are scrambling to figure out how to feed hundreds of thousands of children that may or may have not gone unsocialised (there's way too many cadets and not enough grown-ups to make sure they're all getting an equal amount of socialisation and education and that's a major part of the issue), when their food reserves are starting to run low... None of them are old enough to really know how to rear children or how to request aid from an unknown government, and they are desperate for any sort of a solution. Even if it means begging their supposed "owners" that they know nothing of other than what little stories they'd heard from jaded Mandalorian trainers that ultimately left them behind.

Needless to say, Obi-Wan is not having a great time but he's nothing if not a decent young man so he's gonna try to help this surprise army of angry children. Starting with requesting that any and all available Jedi with starcrafts come help pick up the kids, because they're not staying on Kamino any longer.

What are they gonna do with all these cadets? Who knows, but they'll make it work and the clones won't be spending their lives as cannon-fodder.

[littlemisspascal]

The Last Mandalorian

Chapter One: The Warrior in Carbonite Part 3

Fandom: The Mandalorian / Pedro Pascal

Eventual Pairing: Din x Togruta!Female!Reader

Word Count: 4,320

Rating: G

Summary: A series that is a mixture of Mandalorian, Star Wars, ATLA, and my own imagination. The Imps have seized control of the majority of the galaxy, including your homeworld Shili. You and your sister Ahsoka have developed a daily routine despite the stormtroopers keeping your village imprisoned. One morning you make a startling discovery that will change the course of your lives forever.

Warnings: I don’t know much about starship mechanics so probably nothing in this is accurate but it’s fanfiction people so cut me some slack please, reader gets a nickname 🥳, plot plot plot, discussion of loss of loved ones, worldbuilding, dialogue heavy, this is a slow burn but it’s also ridiculously self-indulgent so I’m including as many cute getting-to-know-you scenes as I can, reader is 17 and Din is 19 so I’m going to warn this as underage even though nothing sexual or even vaguely romantic happens in this chapter.

Author Note: Thank you anyone and everyone who has read even a sentence of this story! Special thanks and love to @dindja for creating this stunning, fantastic, amazing piece of fanart for me 💖💖💖 I still can’t believe how perfect it is. I mean, I’m such a sucker for pinky promises it’s not even funny and this is just beautiful 😍😍😍

Part 2

Cross-posted on AO3

For as grand and wide-reaching as the Galactic Empire has become in its ten years of existence, it had relatively small beginnings. A group of radical Force-wielders banded together under the leadership of an old, beady-eyed man named Sheev Palpatine who believed it was his divine destiny to seize control of the entire galaxy, rewriting the ancient laws to match his own beliefs. His cult, the Sith Order, gained attention by attacking Jedi temples, capital cities, places with large populations until every corner of the galaxy had heard of them. Most regarded them with fear, but over time they began garnering a startling amount of followers who were discontent with the status quo and willingly drafted themselves as soldiers in Palpatine’s fight for control.

At first everyone in your village thought Palpatine and his cult of followers weren’t worth worrying about—after all, Shili was a peaceful planet that never drew much attention to itself. But within the first year of its inception, the Sith Order captured Ryloth and the similar peaceful characteristics between the Twi’lek planet and Shili were too glaring to overlook. A seed of anxiety took root in every Togruta’s mind after that, and continued to grow with every planet seized as the years progressed.

The Decimation of Alderaan didn’t start as a tragedy, believe it or not. The Mandalorians, Jedi, and Alderaanians combined their numbers in an all-out fight against the Sith Order. It was the largest battle ever fought in the history of the galaxy, thousands of souls willing to die to defeat Palpatine’s followers. For the first three days of warfare, the fight seemed to be in favor of the allies with many noteworthy Sith members reportedly killed in the fray, such as Palpatine’s second-in-command Dooku and lethal Zabrak assassin Maul. You remember there was a sense of hope felt within your village as everyone listened to the news reports blaring across the Holonet. A belief that things were finally, finally going to return to normal after so much chaos.

But on the fourth day, the Sith Order brought their own ally onto the battlefield.

At the time there wasn’t a name for the droids that slaughtered every opponent they faced. They were described as indestructible, unharmed by blasters and the intense heat of Mandalorian flamethrowers. Not even lightsabers could damage them. The allies didn’t stand a chance, brutally murdered one by one, their dying screams echoing across the Holonet, forever haunting listeners far and wide.

The Dark Troopers were unleashed upon Mandalore afterwards and out of the ashes rose the Galactic Empire, except, in a twist nobody—not even the Sith Order—saw coming: Palpatine died before taking on the title of emperor, passing away in his sleep. A mediocre ending for the monster who permanently altered the foundations of the universe. One of his loyal followers from the cult’s early beginnings took control in his place, a vile man with a penchant for spilling blood and a deceptively bland name: Gideon.

Only seven years-old then, you didn’t understand the unbalance in the Force your aunt kept referencing. You didn’t understand the meaning of the word genocide either. But you did understand the galaxy would never be the same ever again, and the lesson was only further established as truth when the Imperials seized your village. 

There is no normalcy to return to anymore.

And as long as Emperor Gideon remains in control, there is no future to hope for either.

__

Silence reigns in the aftermath of Maar’s explanation as the long list of tragedies hangs heavy over the four occupants. There is tension in the air as you await the Mandalorian’s response to the extinction of his people, whether that be an outburst of anger or tears, and each passing minute only intensifies the nervous energy thrumming through your veins. Your leg starts to bounce restlessly, a bad habit you have had since childhood.

The Mandalorian stands eerily motionless. Your eyes keep flicking from your lap to his visor though you know it is rude to stare. His helmet hides his expression, but you don’t need to see it to know he is floundering right now, mind scrambling to piece together all the details thrown at him. From personal experience, you know the loss of a loved one hits like a tidal wave, hitting you over and over again until you must decide if you are going to stand up or surrender to drowning. Grieving the loss of your parents is the hardest experience of your lifetime to date.

But this...this is vastly different. The Mandalorian didn’t just lose his loved ones. He has lost his friends, neighbors, comrades, acquaintances, everyone all at once. This loss isn’t a tidal wave. It is a kriffing avalanche, burying him ten feet under in total darkness, and there is no one he can count on to save him. 

Finally, after the longest five minutes of your life, he shifts, resting his hands upon his belt with an unexpected air of seriousness. “I need to go.”

You frown, head tilting. That is his reaction?

“Go?” Ahsoka echoes, sounding as incredulous as you feel. “Go where?”

“To look for survivors,” he answers, blunt and harsh, the words forced through clenched teeth. 

Ahsoka is struck silent, and you feel your heart break on his behalf. Your mother’s stories about the Mandalorians had always included, one way or another, their lifelong bonds with each other. You had felt those ties when you had connected with the Mandalorian, believed for a moment as strongly as he did that his fellow warriors would come search for him, that his absence would be noticed and missed amongst them. And here he is now, still desperately clutching to them, unable—or, perhaps unwilling is more apt—to believe a stranger telling him those bonds have been cruelly severed. 

“What you need is to rest,” Maar says, gentle yet firm, letting her authority as the eldest in the room seep into her tone.

He shakes his head, not backing down. “I’ve been asleep for ten years. I don’t need any more rest.”

“Your ship, it, uh,” your shoulders hike up defensively when his visor snaps in your direction, pinning you with its blank stare. Clearing your throat, you continue with a slight grimace, “It’s going to need some repairs before it can take off. I can help you fix it.”

Ahsoka looks over at you in surprise, and then in worry. You don’t blame her, especially since the offer had slipped out without you consciously meaning it to. Once again, the Force is calling the shots and you are just along for the ride, a passenger in your own body.

He considers you for a long moment, then asks, “What do you know about the mechanics of a gunship?” 

If anyone else had asked you that same exact question, you would have bristled at their condescension and retracted your offer in the next breath. But with the Mandalorian, there isn’t even the slightest hint of patronizing courtesy. It is a serious question prompted from genuine curiosity.

You sit up straighter, smiling at him now. “Enough to confidently say I’m your best shot at getting off the ground.”

__

“What’s your plan, exactly?” Ahsoka asks you, braced against the wall with one eye on you and one on the Mandalorian across the garage, patiently waiting for you to finish assembling your tool kit. 

“Huh?” You reply distractedly, trying to decide if you should bring your carbon chisel or not. 

“You don’t have one, do you?”

Not. There are bigger concerns than a bit of carbon scoring. You move to grab your favorite screwdriver with a tapered socket, only for Ahsoka to snatch it away, holding the tool hostage.

“Hey!”

“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” Ahsoka asks slowly, staring you directly in the eyes. “Once you fix his ship, he’s gone. And he’s taking our best chance at escaping Shili with him.”

A quick glance over your shoulder shows the Mandalorian studying the scattered BB unit parts on your workbench. You are missing a few vital components needed in order to bring the little droid back to life after a stormtrooper shot a plasma bolt through it for accidentally bumping into his leg, and haven’t had any luck convincing the village traders to track them down for you when they went to the capital. 

“We can’t keep him here against his will,” you manage at last, turning back to your sister. “Otherwise we’re no better than the Imps.”

When Ahsoka doesn’t say anything, you shrug a shoulder, adding, “Besides, I think I’m supposed to fix it for him. The Force seems pretty insistent about it.”

She makes a face at that. “I liked you better when you ignored your Force instincts. You didn’t make me worry as much.”

A laugh escapes you, embarrassingly loud in the otherwise quiet space, and your cheeks immediately start burning. Ahsoka’s lip twitches like she wants to smile, but instead she schools her features into a blank expression when the Mandalorian’s head turns at the sound. Only once he diverts his attention elsewhere again does her stare lose some of its intensity, looking less like she wants to dissect him beneath a microscope. You can practically see her protective-older-sister-instincts buzzing, reacting to the warrior’s presence. 

As much as he is a chance at providing an escape, he is also first and foremost a complete and total stranger. Even worse, he is a complete and total stranger who knows how to handle weapons. 

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” You squeeze her arm reassuringly. “Shouldn’t take longer than a couple of hours. You’ll be so busy smoothing the Elders’ ruffled feathers you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Ahsoka finally relinquishes the tool, exhaling a quiet sigh. “You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.”

__

Walking side by side with the Mandalorian in silence isn’t awkward, per se, but it definitely isn’t comfortable either. He is close enough your arm keeps accidentally grazing against his, the cold brush of metal against your skin startling you each time. You would have considered his nearness strange if you hadn’t heard Ahsoka threaten to castrate him if you wound up hurt before she sent him flying at the juni tree branch outside your window with an unnecessarily strong push of Force. 

To his credit, the warrior handled her rough treatment with the same ease he has handled everything else thrown at him. You are beginning to think Mandalorians don’t just wear beskar—they are made of it too. Other than the few glimpses of frustration earlier in Maar’s office, he keeps his cards close to his chest, impossible to read. 

He watches everything though, reacting to the slightest of movements and sounds. Constantly alert. You are certain he is watching you right now, despite the fact his helmet is facing forward, your nerves prickling in response to the sensation of eyes upon you.

To your surprise, he is the one to break the silence first. “You sneak out often.”

It is a statement, not a question. 

You suppose the dots are easy enough to connect to reach that conclusion. Still, the certainty in his voice has your heart skipping a nervous beat. He hasn’t even known you a day and yet he is privy to secrets no one outside your community is aware of. “Yeah,” you nod your head after a brief lapse of silence, “Ahsoka can’t train in the village. Not with the stormtroopers around.”

“Has your village tried to run them out? Fight back?”

It is only because you know he is just trying to understand your village’s predicament with the little bits of information he has that you don’t snap at him for being so insensitive. He has no idea what these past five years have been like for you all. No idea the amount of losses and sacrifices the community has suffered. 

Your grip on your tool kit tightens. “I was twelve when they came. The community is mostly traders and hunters, not trained fighters. The few weapons we had were nothing compared to their blaster rifles, but some of the adults tried to defend the village, including our parents. They...” You swallow, or try to, at least, your throat suddenly dry as sand. “Our aunt looked after us until last year we woke up one morning to find a note she’d left to join the rebellion. We haven’t had any contact with her since.”

The Mandalorian’s gloved hand brushes against your knuckles. This time you think it might have been on purpose.

“I lost my parents as a child, too. There was a riot and they died protecting me,” he offers his own private details with the same reluctance as one volunteering to have their teeth pulled out. “The Mandalorians took me in, raised me as one of their own.”

You say nothing about the way his breath slightly hitches when he says Mandalorians, appreciating his openness as it puts you both on somewhat equal footing with each other. 

“I owe it to them to look for survivors,” he tells you, and your montrals detect the quietest hint of a plea in his voice. 

“I understand,” you answer, keeping your tone light to preserve the fragility of this moment. This kind of situation doesn’t happen often—two strangers on the same wavelength, exposing their vulnerable underbellies, desperate to be heard and yet skittish at the same time—and it is oddly therapeutic. 

A decision is made right then and there in the span of a heartbeat. And even more significantly, it is 100% your own choice without any intervention or manipulation from the Force. 

You stop walking, causing the Mandalorian to halt as well. He scans the area for a threat, then visibly jerks when he turns back to find you have your hand held out towards him, pinky raised high, reacting as if you are pointing a weapon at him.

“I don’t understand,” he says, blunt and almost suspicious sounding. Are you just imagining it or can you actually hear him frowning? “What are you doing?”

“Haven’t you ever made a pinky promise with someone before?”

“...A what?”

You snort, ducking your head to hide your smile, and then reach for his hand. Surprisingly, he doesn’t protest your touch.

“A pinky promise,” you repeat as you make his hand form a fist, curling his fingers towards his palm, and then adjust his pinky so you can wrap yours around it. He watches the whole process wordlessly. “It’s a sacred vow shared between two people. The Elders say once it’s sworn, the promise can never be broken.”

He cocks his head, skeptical. “Never?”

“Never,” you reaffirm with a nod. Licking your lips, you look at his visor, right where you instinctively know his eyes are staring back. “I promise I’m going to help you. No matter the odds.”

And something leaks into your voice then, something resolute and binding and otherworldly. A tremor shoots down your spine, too quick for you to make sense of it.

Your sister’s words echo in the back of your mind, ‘You shouldn’t make promises you don’t know for certain you can keep.’ 

You try to pull away, self-doubt gnawing a hole in your stomach, only for the Mandalorian to wrap his pinky tighter around yours, holding you still. A gasp escapes your lips, muffled by the bleeding sincerity in his voice as he swears:

“I promise I will be there when you need me. No matter the odds.”

And although your sister could undoubtedly provide you with a long list of reasons why you shouldn’t, you believe his promise to be true.

__

The Mandalorian heaves a heavy sigh at the sight of his crashed ship. 

“I can’t do much about the landing gear,” you inform him, believing honesty to be the best policy for cases like this. “And I brought some foam-jet for the cockpit viewport, but it’s not a permanent fix. You’re going to have to find someone offworld to replace them.”

“Right,” he agrees absently without turning his eyes away. It occurs to you then that this ship is the closest thing to a home he has now. One of the few precious relics from his past he can still physically cling to. 

“Does your ship have a name?” you ask.

He looks at you, as if coming back to self-awareness, and answers, “Razor Crest.”

A good name, you think. Strong. A bit mysterious. Just like its owner.

You nod decisively. “I like it.”

His modulator crackles faintly, a quiet noise produced from a sudden exhale of air. You blink at the unexpected sound, surprised to realize you recognize it. A laugh. The Mandalorian just laughed at something you said. What is next in store for you? Are akul going to sprout wings and start flying?

He steps around you, heading for the side entry door still open from yesterday with its ramp laying on the ground, pebbles shifting noisily beneath his boots with each step. You don’t realize you are staring, oddly entranced by the swish of his cape and his purposeful strides, until he calls out your name to ask if you are coming.

You nearly drop your tool kit in your haste to follow after him into the Crest’s interior, ignoring the flaring heat radiating from your cheeks. 

For the next few hours, you and the Mandalorian work in companionable silence, engrossed in rerouting wires and welding damaged components with your trusty hand torch. The gunship is older than you initially assumed, perhaps even as old as yourself, and you idly wonder if the Mandalorian found it in a scrapyard somewhere or maybe inherited it from another Mandalorian. You notice the way he handles each piece with an experienced and respectful touch; the same kind of care someone reserves for their most cherished possessions. Anyone with eyes can see how much he loves the Crest just by watching him.

Once you have finished sealing the numerous cracks dissecting the cockpit’s viewport like a spiderweb with foam, you approach the Mandalorian to see his progress on returning power to the dashboard. He is on his back beneath the steering controls, rearranging a mess of wires, and barely acknowledges your presence when you squeeze yourself into the tight space next to him.

“The red wire goes before the white one,” you point out, noticing the mistake immediately. “Fire hazard.”

He pauses, looks at where you have gestured, and corrects his error without criticizing your intervention. You bite back a smile, pleased to be heard. Within your community, even though you have proven your skills time and time again, some of the villagers, usually men, don’t always adhere to your advice, thinking you are too young and too female to know about technology, until they inevitably make their problems worse for themselves and come back to you with their metaphorical tail between their legs. 

You help him reattach the cover plating once he has finished, screwing the bolts back into their corners, and then watch, fingers crossed, as he attempts the ignition sequence, flipping a series of switches.

None of them light up with even the faintest flicker of life.

“Dank farrik,” he growls under his breath, slamming a fist upon the console.

You take a tiny step forward, hesitant to direct his frustration your way. “Can I try?” 

He tilts his head, probably thinking he knows this ship better than anyone and if it doesn’t work for him then you aren’t going to have any luck either.

Eventually he steps back with a shrug, uttering a simple, “Sure.” 

Although you can’t remember the last time you were on a ship, it doesn’t take long to refamiliarize yourself with the various controls and screens once you take a seat in the pilot chair. When your hobby for fixing broken machines changed into a passion you wanted to pursue as a future career, you started memorizing any reading material you could find on the Holonet, including the flight manuals for different classes of starships. You flip through the stored information in your mind about gunships as you press a few buttons on the panel overhead, trying out different sequences for a response.

When your third attempt fails, you bite your lip, racking your brain for a solution. You think about Huno’s kitchen droid and how you had been on the verge of ripping off one of your head-tails trying to repair it after one of its fuses blew, causing it to malfunction. Your tools and knowledge hadn’t been able to fix it in the end. It had required a special remedy to bring it back to life.

You lay your palms flat on the console, just as you had held onto the droid’s square torso. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the Mandalorian fidget, as if he wants to come closer but is hesitant to crowd you. You ignore him, pressing your fingertips harder against the metal, visualizing in your mind the unseen gears, cables, and components stiff and powerless. You imagine the parts working properly, a current of electricity running through each wire, life ultimately returning to the entire ship, and whisper under your breath a request to the Force.

“Please work, please work, please work…”

An invisible pulse of energy burns down the length of your arms and discharges through your fingertips, strong enough you jerk backwards against the seat. Every button and screen on the dashboard lights up all at once, beeping with alarm at being so rudely resurrected.

You sit there helplessly, stunned and breathless, hands twitching in your lap. The kitchen droid hadn’t required even half as much energy to restart, barely a pinch. Now your body feels like you have been thrown against the electric fence a dozen times. Wordlessly, the Mandalorian comes to your side to help, punching buttons and turning knobs until the alarms quit blaring. A distant part of your brain thinks the Razor Crest as a whole seems strangely soothed by his presence, not quite as cold and dark, but it is hard to follow that train of thought due to the distracting pain throbbing along your temples.

“That’s quite a spark you’ve got,” he says, not unkindly or accusingly, just a statement of the obvious. He looks down at you, not outright asking for an explanation, but giving you the opportunity to open up if you wanted to.

“Yep, that’s me,” you reply, forcing a cheerful smile, praying it doesn’t resemble a grimace. “Sparks Tano at your service.”

He chuckles again, oblivious to how your heart stutters at its raspiness. “Thank you, Sparks. I appreciate it.”

“Well, we’re not done yet.” You rub at your temples under the guise of adjusting your headband. “I need to take a closer look at the engines before we attempt flying out of here. I—”

“I’ll do it,” he cuts in, already heading for the ladder. “You stay here, see if you can update the navicomputer settings.”

You know he knows that updating the navicomputer is child’s play for you. Clearly you aren’t as great at concealing your pain as you thought you were and this is his way of giving you a break. A small part of you is irritated at being treated like a porcelain doll, but you push those negative feelings aside as quickly as they develop. Your aunt always used to remind you and Ahsoka it was okay to accept help when it was offered, that needing support didn’t in any way make you weak. 

“Hey, wait a second,” you call out as you spin around in your seat, freezing him right before he disappears from view into the hull. He holds onto the ladder, waiting patiently for you to continue.

“Back at Maar’s place you didn’t introduce yourself and it’s weird just calling you Mandalorian in my head,” you say, awkwardly drumming your fingers on top of the armrests. He doesn’t answer, eliciting a sigh from your mouth after a drawn-out beat of silence. “What’s your name? You do have one, right?”

“I do, but I can’t tell you it,” he admits at last. “By Mandalorian Creed, only other Mandalorians or my riduur—my spouse,” he corrects, seeing your confusion, “are allowed to know my name and see my face. This is the Way.”

He doesn’t linger to hear your response, dropping down into the hull with a resounding thud. You slowly turn back around, staring absently out the glass. Every culture is unique, including your own, but you think there is something especially interesting about the Mandalorians’. It sounds like a lonely existence, only able to show your face while in select company. What would have happened if he had been unconscious and you had slipped the helmet off his head? What consequence would he have faced? 

And if there truly aren’t any Mandalorians left besides him, his spouse will be the only one to ever know him completely. It almost sounds like a love story, if not a little bit heart-wrenching. 

Two high-pitched dings from the console jerk you out of your thoughts with a wince. You look for the source, finding the radar lit up and actively scanning the area, and bristle when you see a pair of red dots moving across the screen. 

Not even a minute later you are sprinting out of the cave, ignoring the Mandalorian’s alarmed shout from the roof of the Razor Crest. They’re early, you think with panic, looking towards the sky where two starships with Imperial logos are heading straight for your village. Why have they come back so soon?

You push your legs to run faster, your surroundings a blur beyond the trail in front of you, but the effort is meaningless. You won’t make it back home before they land.

And when your absence is noted, bloodshed is not a possibility. 

It is a guarantee.

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[helbertinelli]

Found this quote i mention to you a few days ago

The holopresence of Ki-Adi-Mundi flickered in and out of focus as the Cerean Master leaned forward, folding his hands. "I, too, have reservations on this matter, but it seems that in these desperate times,only desperate plans have hope to success. We have seen that young Skywalker has the power to a battle a Sith Lord alone, if need be; he has proven that with Dooku. If he is indeed the chosen one, we must keep him in play against the sith-keep him in a position to fulfill his destiny."

"And even if the prophecy has been misread," Agen Kolar added, "Anakin is the one Jedi we can best hope would survive an encounter with a sith Lord. So let us also use him to help us set our trap. In council, let us emphasize we are intensifying out search for Grievous. Anakin will certainly reports this to the chancellor's office. Perhaps, as you say, that will draw Sidious into action."

"It may not be enough," Mace Windu said "Let us take this one step farther-we should appear shorthanded, and weak, giving Sidious an opening to make a move he thinks will go unobserved. I am thinking that perhaps we should let the chancellor's office know that Yoda and i have been forge to take the field-"

Let's take a moment and realize those 3 were confident could handle Sidious either by himself better than Yoda and Mace. Mace further was confident Anakin with some council members without Mace and Yoda backing him up was more than strong enough to handle Sidious. That is huge

This is good. Anakin was extremely powerful and people knew. TCW ignored that and the movies, I guess they weren't long enough to both show all of his power and tell the story. GL should just give us 10-hour cuts of all the prequels.

It made me mad when that anon was like "bUt dIdNT AnAkIn lOsE hIs FiGhTs?!"

TCW had the opportunity to pair him against powerful opponents and have him defeat them, but they didn't. And they're cowards for it.

Anakin wasn't the most powerful Jedi for nothing. He had the skills to show it and the Jedi knew it. Probably everyone else knew it, because even Padme (I think it was her) said that people don't think the Republic can win the war without Anakin. And as the quote from the book above says, the Council were confident Anakin could take on Sidious with no problem. And he probably could have. Like if Anakin started fighting Sidious when he figured out who he was, that would have been it for Palps. He knew that too, that's why he was like "oh but if you kill me, how will you save Padme?" Anakin + Mace vs Sidious? It would have made Palpatine's death of exploding twice in the Death Star seem like nothing.

[officialgomezaddams]

Morality

I honestly dk what this is but its set in AOTC kinda want to turn this into a little series $wag also shout out to my fellow nihilists this is for you bb

Palpatine had always kept watchful over her but never loomed. It would have been too obvious. When he met Anakin, it was like a breath of fresh air, a realization that this little boy was destined to restore the balance in the force and his daughter, Y/n, would be the one to defeat him. He had begun the idea of his daughter once he joined the Darkside, already knowing that the possibility to be overthrown was something he couldn’t let happen. The dark energy, the power, was simply too much to let go of. The moment he saw the nine-year-old boy, the lord was happy to know that the power would stay on the dark side. 

Dooku trained Y/n as a padawan, and when he left the order, he took Y/n with him, kidnapping her into the night. When she asked why they were leaving the temple as he dragged her into a ship, he simply replied, “Sometimes when politicians can’t do their job, we must do something ourselves.” Over the years together, he would open up more, telling Y/n about the death of Qui-Gon and every step that drove him to leave. 

“The Jedi rely on selflessness. To strip one’s ability to have connection and emotion. They lose themselves in conformity. We need to take control of the life we’re given. Emotion, passion, drive. Those are how we will be victorious. Corrupt politicians pull the Jedi around like kites on strings. You can not try and save a house that its lousy foundation has torn down. Tear it down and build a new one.” 

It was her job to ensure just that, a new foundation set within the heart of the Darkside. Relentless training to mentally and physically defeat the chosen one. Palpatine would often tell her that her destiny was a part of the Sith Two, that the strongest one of the two would survive, and it was to be her. Darth Sidious found comfort that his creation would take over the Darkside once she had killed him and the Count. The most decisive Jedi ruling on the side of the night. 

She didn’t quite understand it, but to stay on the Darkside made the most sense to her. It wasn’t about power. It was the lifestyle. Why be selfless if there was no personal gain? Why spend a life living for something else? Shouldn’t one live their life for themselves? Everyone, she determined, had to want something. As long as she did what she wanted, it was enough. It had to be. Because without drive and her idea of what was truly right and wrong, how would she get anything done? 

She rationed that it all didn’t matter. She would never know who was right because, in her mind, the concept of being right varied too much. The Jedi thought they were right, the sith thought they were right, the politicians who voted against their people’s needs thought they were right. She had to suffer through Palpatine’s long lectures about how awful the senate was and now terrible the Jedi Order is. But who was to say he was right? That was only his opinion. Who was to say the Jedi were right because a frog that was almost nine hundred years old said so? 

“I’m just…” Anakin went on, pulling a piece of grass out of the ground. “I mean, I don’t know. Padmè is beautiful and wonderful. She’s everything that could make someone perfect: marriage, it’s so permanent. I know I’m supposed to be excited, which I am, of course. But what if we were not supposed to be together.” 

His speech made her frown. “Sometimes, it’s better just to dive in and see where you land.” She offered. The dreams with Anakin were a peaceful escape to a Jedi’s life. Neither knew why their dreams brought them together or what they even meant. Neither of them bothered, living the same training life on opposite sides. A sweet dream was the perfect reward. “And who are you going to be with then, me?” She teased back. 

The setting of the dreams was in the meadows of Naboo. The pastel-colored flowers stood dim in the moonlight from the starry night above. Anakin laid with his head in her lap as they talked about their personal lives, never going in too deep about what their destinies were. Anakin no longer had the pressure of being the chosen one, and Y/n never had to admit she would kill the chosen one. 

“I wish,” Anakin admitted, now looking up at her. “I want so bad to meet you Y/n, not just in my dreams but in real life. If I could have you by my side, all of this would be less confusing. I’ve fallen in love with you, a woman in my dreams. Why can’t you be in my reality?”

“Don’t say that,” She whispered. Whenever Anakin talked about his little girl-thing, Y/n wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what their relationship was, and she always felt a slight nic in her heart. Y/n knew that she was in love with Anakin, but to hear about another woman making him the happiest he’s been in the majority of the years that she knew him, that it wasn’t her, the one sneaking in kisses with him in the shadows. It brought out an ugly feeling of jealousy and possessiveness to Y/n that she didn’t know she had. 

“I promise, one day, I’ll be with you in all the ways you want.” She spoke with a smile. She would often daydream about what life would be like to meet him real-time. They would run up to each other and crush each other in a hug. She imagined it all.

“Tell me about it,” Anakin edged on, closing his eyes as if it was going to play out in his head.

“Well, I want to go somewhere like D’Qar, somewhere quiet where I won’t have to worry about neighbors or anyone I don’t want finding me. Or us, because you’re coming with me no matter what your soon-to-be wife says,” You teased, making him laugh. “Maybe- Sometimes in my dreams, there’s no Padmè, it’s just us, and every so often there are kids, but it’s just us. Tucked away where we can be together, and nothing can bother us or stop us from being together.”

The silence that sat in between them began to scare Y/n, “Is that a future you would want with me?”

His eyes met hers, a peaceful moment in the chaos of their lives. He reached up to tuck a strand of hair that fell in front of her face, behind her ear. “If I were able to, I would.”

“And why can’t you? Why can’t you have the things you want, Anakin? Is it wrong to be happy?” 

Waking up from the dreams was always the most challenging part, the reality of it not being a reality. Y/n woke up already in a bad mood, mentally kicking herself for pushing too far in. Of course, he wouldn’t want to. He’s getting married to someone else. You’re too late. It had always been Y/n’s plan to end up with Anakin in some way or another. From the first dream to now, she decided to leave the Sith once she had killed the chosen one. Somedays, she would pace around, impatiently waiting for whoever held the title to cross her path so she could just finish the job and take the next ship to wherever Anakin was. 

She tore the necklace he had given her off her neck, clutching the carven japor snippet in her hand with a grip so hard she could have cracked it if it wasn’t made out of stone. She was squeezing her eyes shut, trying not to cry. Anakin had given Y/n the good luck charm when they were at the age of thirteen. Y/n was upset that once everything was over that he may not want to be with her, the reputation of her choices would drive him away. 

“Well, you can’t be that bad,” He commented, pulling out the carved stone from his pocket and shyly handing it to her. “I made this for you,” Anakin explained as she put it around her neck, “So that when good things happen, you can think of me. It’ll be my way of keeping you safe, and in return, one day, you will come to me safely.”

She opened her eyes and stared at the carvings, remembering how Anakin said he made it just for her, so she better not lose it. Y/n wanted to break it, throw it away, and never see Anakin again. She wanted more than just the dreams. She wanted the sunsets and the early morning and the rainy days - all of it. Maybe they were wrong, they weren’t supposed to meet, and it was just a nice dream. 

She couldn’t do that. She at least owes him a simple greeting, and then she can get rid of him. Putting the necklace back on and wiping her face to make sure she wasn’t crying, Y/n walked out of the room, ready for whatever the sith wanted her to do. 

“Just be patient,” Her master told her as they waited outside the still open ship. Geonosis was overrun with battle, the sith fighting tooth and bone to claim the planet as its capital, the major droid foundries, and its Mandalorians. Nothing could be more perfect for the sith. The two force signatures caught Y/n’s attention. Looking up at Dooku, she told him, “Well, let’s make it quick then.” 

“The chosen one will be here,” he whispered back. “I’ll leave that one to you.”

“You’re gonna pay for all the Jedi you killed, Dooku,” A familiar voice said as you both turned around in unison. “Y/N?” A pit dropped in her stomach. It was him, Anakin. Anakin’s blue saber was pointed at the ground, more focused on her than the older man. 

The necklace he gave her burned her through her robes. Anakin was finally there in front of her. This Anakin was different from her dreams. He stood with more pride and confidence. He was also the chosen one. “I-I didn’t expect to meet you like this,” She told him, knowing full well once on the ship, she would be interrogated about her knowledge of the boy. 

“Why are you with him?” The venom in his voice almost made her feel guilty about being who she was. “Are you-? Don’t tell me Y/n-” He couldn’t find the words to express his confusion and disappointment, “You’re a Sith. How can you be with them? You lied to me! Can’t you see what they’re doing to you? Can’t you see what they’ve done!”

“The Jedi know no facts,” She spoke, looking over at the Count, waiting for his head nod and sign of approval to ignite her orange saber. The whole weapon was made for destruction, a perfect saber to kill the chosen one. Its orange glow was representing strength. The curved hilt that matched hers of her masters was perfect for duels and close fights. “Only assumptions.”

It hurt her to have him looking at her in disgust. As if she was suddenly less than him because of her beliefs. “Anakin, you need to calm down,” She warned him as he charged towards her, only for Dooku to step in front of her, raising his hand to send bolds of electricity into the boy’s body and fling him into a rock wall. “Don’t keep me waiting,” Her master spoke before walking up the platform of the ship. 

Y/n only had seconds to understand that not only her master had abandoned her, Anakin was also lying limp in a pile of rocks, and the other Jedi was making his way towards her. She pointed her saber straight ahead at him, taking careful steps around him, trying to think about how this all would end. Was this it? When is supposed to kill the chosen one who happened to be the boy Y/n had fallen in love with over the past ten years? She knew that once she killed Anakin, she would have to kill the two sith above her, starting the two over with her as a master. 

“I heard the little green guy talks highly of you, Kenobi. What a pity it will be when I kill his two strongest men.”

Obi-wan shook his head, “You’re not Dooku’s apprentice. You’re just an assassin to him. Y/n why would he elect a child to be his successor?” He spoke as if he could read her mind, his blue eyes pleading with her. 

“You don’t know anything!” Y/n yelled, making the first strike. His saber skills were advanced, but quickly she was able to disarm him and left two marks on him, one on his arm and one on his thigh. She walked up to him, the two staring at each other. Was she about to kill this man? She had never killed a human before. Taking down droids and other creatures were casual to her. Humans? This man was edging her on with his eyes, both understanding that she wasn’t able to drive her saber into his neck. She couldn’t just kill a man who had done nothing to her. That would be wrong, right? But if it was so bad, why was she encouraged to do it? 

Before she could thoroughly choose, Anakin came at full force again. This time his master had tossed him his saber, making the fight two against one. “Why won’t you join our site, the right side?” Anakin asked, swiftly dodging her but failing to make any advancements to disarming her. 

“I don’t believe in any right sides.” She told him, knocking the green lightsaber out of his hand, evening out the fight. “I believe in one thing. Power of human will.” 

She walked into the ship quietly, ignoring the little green Jedi behind her. She didn’t care about the older man, Yoda or Count Dooku. She walked past the sith and made her way right to the pilot’s seat before sitting down. 

Dooku followed her, giving her space as she sat down. Crossing his arms like a disappointed parent, he asked, “Well?”

“I cut his arm off,” Y/n spoke, taking out the necklace and looking at the charm in her hand. She left right after, watching him lay unconscious against his master, missing apart of his right arm. She had hurt him, and for a moment, when she was looking at the injured pair, the padawan’s master had the same look on his face as before. An eyebrow raised as if to say, Do it, kill us. I doubt you’ll do it. 

“I’m disappointed in you.” He said. Y/n could have done it. She would have just pictured them as droids and slice the two in half. It would have been quick and painless. She could have plaid her life out, kill the chosen one, rule the sith, and live her life. Why didn’t you? She kept thinking as she admired the gift. 

Looking at the charm, the future she talked about seemed too far away, especially now. The end with the boy she loved, Anakin, who also was the boy she was supposed to kill. But for right now, she thought to herself. She wouldn’t kill him, at least not yet, until she knew for sure that her fantasies with Anakin were just wild dreams. It was her own life. Why couldn’t she have the things she wanted? 

[cinna-wanroll]

Obi-Wan’s Unusual Behaviors Towards Satine Kryze

Ft. 2am character analysis notes

 Obi-Wan Kenobi is hardly a people-pleaser. In fact, it is speculated in Wild Space that he may never have told a single flattering lie in his entire life. Prime examples of this trait would be in the TCW movie, where he has tea and friendly banter with the enemy general- he even winks at his opponent. He unashamedly flirts with Sith assassin Asajj Ventress multiple times throughout the series- even in front of others. He lets himself lose terribly in a fight during the Kadavo arc to buy Anakin and Ahsoka time, and constantly makes snarky/sarcastic commentary. He can be rather blunt, and isn’t afraid to contradict other people’s ideas, views, or tactics. He does this with Anakin throughout the series, with Count Dooku in the Dooku Captured arc, and even with Captain Tarkin in the Citadel arc. All in all, Obi-Wan is a confident man who doesn’t let the judgments of others affect the way he operates. 

That is, until mid-season two. 

Why, Cinna? You ask, voice full of curiosity. You have no idea where this is going. You’re on the edge of your seat, waiting for me to tell you. Are you ready? Do you wanna know? I’ll give you one hint- I never shut up about her.

Yes ladies and gentleman, I’m talking about Satine Kryze. 

You gasp, shocked. 

When she shows up, Obi-Wan suddenly displays multiple uncharacteristic habits. He constantly touches her, constantly checks to be sure she’s safe- which shows doubts in his own abilities as a protector, and he even seeks affirmations of friendship from her. 

He isn’t afraid to look into her eyes, but is shy at some moments, which we almost never see from him in any situation, ever, unless he’s being touched. See: the moment he’s being hugged by a Talz. 

Examples of his shyness around Satine would be the way he looks down after she teases him about falling and dropping her, or when she comments about his beard ‘hiding too much of his handsome face.’ He doesn’t instantly make a snarky or light-hearted comment back to her gentle teasing here like he normally would, instead he asks her seriously why she doesn’t like it. 

“Why? What’s wrong with it?”

Although I would like to note he never truly looses his Obi-Wan characteristics here- he doesn’t shave after she makes the comment, but his questions show that he cares not just about what she thinks of him as a person, but physically as well. 

This adds a softer, sweeter side to the Jedi Master/ my husband, and is an indicator of a difference to all of his other relationships. Upon further analyzation, I have broken Obi-Wan’s stages of relationships into six stages of companionship.

Stage 1- Puts up walls, distant, stiff, snarky/witty, deflective, non-emotional, sometimes chiding. An example of someone in this category might be Sugi, from the Trouble on Felucia arc. (although I mean there is some sexual tension there, its probably because shes also played by Anna Graves who plays Satine, but-)

Stage 2- Friendly, cheerful, lets his guard down a little. Dex would probably fall under this section.

Stage 3- Still a little distant but will show he cares about you in some ways. Will defend you. This is probably where all his work friends go- Yoda, Mace, etc.

Stage 4- Listens to you, checks on you, jokes with you, will give you advice. Ahsoka is a good example of someone in this category. 

Stage 5- Basically Anakin. Will confess his flaws and internal struggles.

Stage 6- Satine Kryze. Cares about what you think. Probably thinks about making out with you a lot.

Now there is another important component of their relationship to discuss- their PDONAs, or public displays of non-affection. 

The over-the-top argument on The Coronet in front of the senators is a perfect example of this. While Obitine may butt heads on occasion alone, their squabbles are usually tedious and are centered around one thing: tension.

Whether it’s the tension of a dangerous situation, physical attraction, or things left unsaid, they take every opportunity to deny their tensions to both one other and themselves. This of course is aided by their intellectual and stubborn personalities, however their private disagreements are a lot more about their concern for one another than they are grandiose like the aforementioned Coronet argument. A good example of this is when Obi-Wan responds to Satine’s comment on him hurting people by fretting:

“You don’t seem troubled that I could’ve been killed back there.”

Obi-Wan could have said so many different things to counter what Satine said, like ‘Would you have preferred I stood by while they ground me/you to bits?’ But no, instead he very directly asks the question, ‘don’t you care about me?’

This is the heart of their personal arguments. However in public, not only are they trying to convince themselves they aren’t in love- they also have an audience. And since they are both stubborn, passionate, and very extra, things explode. 

Obi-Wan isn’t really disputing Satine’s beliefs- he’s known about her political views since they were young. So the argument they’re having only makes sense to me as a young Obitine argument. No, he’s convincing those around him that he could never be with her because they have different interests. 

Satine doesn’t think Obi-Wan is war-hungry, she knows that he’s almost as dedicated to peace as she is, and she’s intelligent enough to understand he just has a different opinion on how peace is achieved in the first place. So when she is accusing him of such things, she is attempting to erase their history and understanding so that their audience won’t know what is going on between them or what went on between them. 

In that episode (Voyage of Temptation) the inner turmoil felt by both Obi-Wan and Satine is palpable, and driven by the rekindled emotions which were never properly burnt out- only unhealthily buried by two emotionally constipated and overly-responsible young people. 

Their desires are coming to the surface after all these years of repression faster than either of them knows how to deal with. So, they attempt old methods of burying their emotions from when they were apart- i.e. convincing themselves they are too different, they have different goals, one of them is incompetent, etc. Except no it’s not just themselves they are dealing with, and the truth is in front of their faces so it’s harder to deny their chemistry and compatibility. 

This eventually dissolves into Obi-Wan becoming more physical with Satine, constantly needing to be around her and not being able to get her out of his mind. 

He is seen watching her defend her world when he’s admitted to disliking politics and has different views. He attempts to comfort her afterwards, even running to catch up with her and grabbing her arm, then later attempting to grab her hand. He seeks her out after she’s been avoiding him to make sure she’s okay and when she says she “didn’t want to worry him,” he replies, “on that count, I’m afraid you failed spectacularly.” 

He doesn’t say, ‘Well, I was,’ or even ‘on that count, you failed.’ 

No, he adds spectacularly, which shows that most likely all he’s been doing is worrying about her. He grabs her by the shoulders and leans his face in way too unnecessarily close just to talk with her.  

He’s shown gazing out the window worriedly while Satine is on the run. He stares at her (which is technically putting her in more danger the longer he waits!) just to watch her and how good she looks in her disguise. He even smiles like a fool at her. He only comes to his senses when police pass by. He sits with his hands close to hers and then when he’s about to enter the senate building he looks back to make sure she’s okay. 

They both touch each other like crazy in every episode, and as I mentioned before, Obi-Wan has expressed how uncomfortable he is with physicality, which shows how comfortable and trusting he is around and of Satine. 

In conclusion: Obi-Wan is soft for Satine.

[doctorwenqing]

tonight i’m thinking about attack of the clones, specifically: what the FUCK was palpatine’s plan??

okay so, his goals are

start the clone war

turn anakin to the dark side so one of the most powerful force users ever, the “chosen one”, will be his apprentice.

so in order to accomplish those goals he… tells dooku to kill padme? then dooku sends jango who sends zam wesell who sends a droid who sends some bugs. nobody actually wants to do their fucking job and this plan fails!

okay, let’s say that plan succeeded. padme is dead. anakin is understandably upset, however while he’s had a crush on this girl for a long time he hasn’t actually seen her in YEARS so there’s not really enough of an attachment there for this to trigger his turn to the dark side. also MAYBE the death of the senator from naboo could be enough to start a war, but the republic hasn’t even discovered the clones exist yet.

instead let’s say palpatine always intended the assassination attempt to fail. so the actual plan is:

either influence the jedi council in some way or just hope they decide to separate master and apprentice and send anakin alone to protect the senator who now has at LEAST two assassination attempts against her, even though they’re clearly not confident in anakin’s abilities.

rely on the romantic destination of naboo being enough to cause anakin and padme to fall in love so that fear of her death later will help influence anakin’s fall to the dark side

make sure when the assassination plan failed, jango knew to kill the person he hired with darts from kamino instead of… you know… just shooting her with a blaster like a normal person

still have dooku delete all record of kamino from the jedi archives so obi wan can’t find out about it that way. because that would be too easy, let’s make it a bit of a challenge.

hope that obi wan has a friend who just happens to recognize kaminoan darts (is dexter jettster in on it??)

okay this next part i’m not sure if it was part of palpatine’s plan at all but at this point it wouldn’t even be the craziest bit:

convince some tusken raiders to kidnap, torture, and kill anakin’s mom to get him to go back to tattooine, encouraging his fall to the dark side and making him and padmé the closest people to geonosis who could help obi wan

hope that anakin and padmé don’t die in the arena at geonosis (again, anakin would be upset but i don’t see padmé being suddenly mauled by a reek to be enough to fully turn him into vader)

either the force is just on palpatine’s side and he got lucky or he’s really got a galaxy brain. honestly maybe he deserved to get to be in charge of the galaxy for a little bit.

[communistkenobi-archive]

Obi-Wan & Maul, 3 (and maybe 5? Idk it so alsjd funny) >:)c smooch

Do you remember when Anakin and Obi-Wan were chained to Dooku in that one episode. It’s like that again

—

from this prompt list

3. Snow being shoved down the back of your coat + 5. Trying to walk on ice - Obi-Wan & Maul

One point six metres. That had been the exact measure of privacy in his life for the past thirty-eight hours.

“Move,” came a rude hiss in front of him, followed by a jerk of the tether around his waist that threatened to send him tumbling to the ground.

“Any quicker and we’ll fall through the ice,” Obi-Wan reminded him. Not that it was necessary; it creaked beneath their feet with every step. “And I’m not the one with metal legs.”

Maul whipped around. “And who’s fault is that?” he seethed, teeth bared. His hand clamped around the chain tether, almost in warning. It must have burned his fingers, but with how much the man was shivering, perhaps that was a good thing.

“Eyes forward.” Obi-Wan nodded to the ice beneath their feet for emphasis. And then, seeing the dangerous slant of Maul’s shoulders, stopped walking altogether. “If you attack me, we’ll—”

Maul didn’t strike him. He did, however, spit directly in Obi-Wan’s face before turning back around, shuddering as he let go of the tether.

It blurred Obi-Wan’s vision and made him stumble. But more importantly— “you are disgusting,” he muttered with a curl of his mouth, pulling off his glove to wipe at his face. “And unhelpful.”

“Does filth bother you, Kenobi?” The petty outburst seemed to have relieved some of Maul’s rage, because his voice was almost light when he spoke this time. “Is it above you?”

The ice groaned beneath his feet. It sounded like the timbre of a great tree, threatening to fall to the earth. Obi-Wan held his breath as he took his next steps, and didn’t grace the barb with a reply. 

Maul shuddered again in front of him. Aside from having to deal with being attached to steel legs in sub-zero temperatures, the man was only wearing a sleeveless shirt and a hood. Why he decided to dress for desert weather when travelling to a planet as cold as this, Obi-Wan could not tell.

“Even listening to you think is insufferable,” Maul said between clenched teeth. “Are all Jedi so loud with their thoughts?”

“I’m an outlier,” Obi-Wan replied. “Would you like my gloves?”

“Fuck you.”

“Interesting choice of attire,” Obi-Wan continued, mostly because he couldn’t help himself. It was perhaps the only chance they would have at a frank conversation where the threat of killing one another wasn’t imminent, and he wasn’t about to waste it with silence. “Freezing to death to defeat your enemies isn’t a strategy I’d considered before.”

Maul laughed, though it came out more like a cackle. “You do think you know everything, don't you?”

“I know enough to understand how frostbite works.”

Maul shuddered again. He had his arms wrapped around himself, hands fisting into the fabric of his shirt near his ribs. “If that’s all it takes to—strike you down, I won’t bother with a lightsaber.”

Their trek across the frozen lake continued. The ice would hold, Obi-Wan thought with confidence now. They had made it past the centre of the waterbody where the ice was at its most thin. He walked behind and to the side of Maul, allowing a bit slack between the chain tethering them to one another. Each of the Sith’s heavy boot prints made distinct impressions in the ice, sometimes leaving webbed cracks in their wake. He was careful to avoid treading over them. A plunge into the water would be an immediate death sentence for the both of them, which while perhaps being immediately satisfying, would prove to be troubling long-term. 

And what a disappointing and inconsequential way to go, he thought with a twitch of his mouth. Especially attached to a man such as Maul.

“It is a genuine offer, you know,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I’m wearing several layers.”

Maul looked over his shoulder, yellow eyes bright. His breath curled out of him, almost throbbing in the air as heat vented from his mouth. “I don’t need your kindness.”

“Not kindness,” he corrected the man. “Pragmatism. I’ve no intentions of dragging your frozen body around.”

His teeth flashed in a wicked grin. “How un-Jedi-like of you.”

Obi-Wan was about to respond when the next of Maul’s footfalls made a different sound. They were solid—the creak of ice became the crunch of hard-packed snow. It was impossible to see where the waterline ended and the shore began, but apparently they’d just found it.

“Excellent work,” he found himself saying, despite the circumstances, and let out the sigh he’d been holding in the entire time they’d crossed the lake. “That was harrowing—”

It was his own mistake, not anticipating a retaliation for comments made on the ice. Now securely on dry land, Maul grabbed Obi-Wan’s hood and yanked it back viciously. It pulled him off balance, and before he could buck back against his grip, Maul shoved a handful of snow down the back of his jacket.

Obi-Wan cried out as his back seized at the horribly, unfathomably cold trickle of ice down his back. He fell to snow, and shuddered so violently that the tether wobbled between them. Above him, Maul laughed.

“I was right!” He tamped his feet, and Obi-Wan had enough wherewithal to cover his face in anticipation for the snow kicked in his direction. “Felled by snow. How your master would be disappointed in you.”

The first real spike of anger finally pierced his belly, and Obi-Wan rolled onto his back to glare up at him, gloved hands fisted and ready for a fight. Maul had managed to get some of the snow beneath his sweater, and it stuck to his skin now like knives. It would melt, and cover his spine with moisture that would freeze in the night. 

The Sith grinned above him, face shrouded in the meagre protection of his hood. He looked immensely pleased with himself.

“Are you finished?” Obi-Wan hissed.

Instead of responding, Maul kicked him in the thigh. The steel was cushioned by his thick pants, but there was enough force behind it to leave a bruise. “Get up, corpse,” he replied, his grin disappearing. “We’ve miles to go yet.”

[saradathesalad]

read me your life

ao3

For Star Wars Soulmate Month

Anakin has never been a fan of the whole soulmate-book thing. Some people found it romantic to be able to read all about their soulmate’s life before they’d met, but for Anakin it just showcased the worst years of his life; the years he spent as a slave. 

As a child he’d wanted to burn his book, so his soulmate would never have to know that he’d once been a slave (he’d known down to his bones that he’d be free by the time he met his soulmate), but his mother had talked him out of it, telling him he’d never be able to find his soulmate without his book.

Anakin still thought about it.

He never read his book, not because he believed that only his soulmate should ever lay eyes on it like some did, but because every time he tried he felt the hot flush of shame and anger. Even the joy a soulmate was meant to bring was tainted by slavery, the one thing that he thought might be able to help him get through until he was free. 

He hated Watto, and Tatooine, and the whole stupid universe that let him and his mother be slaves.

And then came Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who freed him and promised him training as a Jedi. Even at nine, Anakin had had some reservations, but the thought of being free, being able to travel the stars instead of being stuck on Tattooine won him over in seconds.

So he wins the Boonta Eve Classic and he gets freed, something he hadn’t known about until it was happening, Qui-Gon’s promise of him becoming a powerful Jedi seems in his grasp. 

But he has to leave his mother behind. It’s the hardest thing he ever does, even later after he’s gone on several missions, even after he fights in a war, even after he has to kill the old man he’d thought was his friend but wasn’t, leaving his mother and not looking back remains the most difficult.

He almost left his book behind then, with his mother. Almost. Even if she couldn’t see the writing on the pages, it was still something to remember him by. But she’d refused, and Anakin had been strangely relieved.

He’s glad he didn’t when later, after the Jedi told him they wouldn’t allow him to be trained, after he blew up a spaceship, after Qui-Gon’s funeral, after being assigned as Obi-Wan Kenobi’s padawn, he checks his book, to read about the past few days, to remind himself that they were real and that he’s really free. 

And he finds blank pages from the moment he climbed aboard the Naboo cruiser that first time. He’d met his soulmate. He’d met his soulmate and he hadn’t noticed. All those stories about sparks flying and knowing instantly were wrong. Anakin should’ve known. Nothing good is that easy.

His first thought is that it’s Padme, the beautiful angel, the Queen of the Naboo, Anakin’s first friend off Tatooine. But the timeline doesn’t add up. He’d met Padme days before his book stopped writing, but maybe that’s how it works? The only person he’d ever been able to talk about it with was his mother, who’d never met her soulmate and would never know unless they showed her their book.

Hers had been burnt when she’d fallen pregnant with Anakin.

Over the years he convinces himself that it’s Padme. He slowly chips away at all his doubts, refusing to back down. It’s Padme, it has to be. Who else had been kind and gracious to him, who else had made him feel like the most important person in the room whenever they spoke to him? No one. It had to be Padme. If it wasn’t Padme then who could it be? He didn’t want it to be anyone else. 

He trains, he gets better, he fights with Obi-Wan and gets scolded by the council more often than not. But Obi-Wan is always there after, to apologize, to be apologized to, to hug and to take him to Dex’s. To reassure him that he’s wanted. 

Anakin is sure he got lucky with his master. His fellow padawans always complain about theirs, and while Anakin and Obi-Wan clash over many things, they work well together and get along very well when neither of them are being stubborn. He’s glad, most days, that he landed with Obi-Wan instead of Qui-Gon. He gets the feeling that the other man had far too many expectations for him he’d never be abe to live up to.

Anakin never speaks about his soulmate to Obi-Wan, for all that he trusts his Master, he’s far too embarrassed to say anything to him about it. He doesn’t want to feel stupid anymore, and after his peers reactions to his inability to read, Anakin is hesitant to admit any gaps in knowledge to anyone at the Jedi temple. 

So he keeps quiet about his questions and silent suspicions. He doesn’t want to be made a fool again. He waits in excitement for the day that he’ll be able to see Padme again and find out whether his decade-long suspicions are true. 

And then he meets her again. He and Obi-Wan are there to guard her from assassins, and as he’s terrified as that time he’d accidentally kicked Master Yoda across the hall and into Master Windu’s face. 

He’d had a rough time during his growth spurts and hadn’t been able to control any of his limbs, okay? He’s sure half the reason Master Windu hates him is because of that day. Anakin maintains that he should’ve dodged. What is the Force for, if not for sensing when a young teen with no control over their newly elongated limbs punts your weird-speaking toad boss at your head?

No, Anakin is not victim blaming. 

In any case, he feels like throwing up, passing out and running away all at the same time. He’s about to meet his soulmate for the first time in ten years. 

He sees Padme, and those feelings fall away. So does the feelings of passion and love he’s been associating with her for the past decade. Instead he just feels nostalgia for those fleeting days of almost-perfection when he’d first met Padme.

Something inside him tells him that Padme isn’t his soulmate. 

He’s right, he finds out later. When they’re hiding on Naboo Padme confides that she’d thought he was her soulmate for the longest time, but had found out it was actually one of her newer handmaidens she’d met around the same time as she’d met Anakin. 

Anakin tells her that he’d also thought she was his soulmate, up until they’d met again, but he doesn’t think so anymore. 

They try to read each others books, but they can’t. They laugh at their childish foolishness and spend a few days fooling around and revelling in their lack of responsibilities. Anakin gets to meet Lorde, Padme’s soulmate and he revells in the way they fit together. Even if Padme wasn’t his soulmate he’s still glad she gets this. 

And then Anakin dreams of his mother again and they leave for Tatooine. Anakin meets his step-father and mother’s soulmate and he rescues his mother. He barely stops himself from slaughtering the whole village, but his mother needs him more. And Obi-Wan would be disappointed in him.

His mother almost dies twice in one night, but Padme’s Naboo cruiser has very good medical supplies. Anakin gets to speak with his mother again, gets to hear all about how her life has gone and how happy she is with Cliegg. When Obi-Wan’s message comes through she encourages him to go help him. 

So Anakin leaves his mother with a promise to visit when he can and he and Padme set off for Geonosis. They get captured, they escape, they get rescued, they chase down Count Dooku and Padme falls out of a ship and Anakin loses his arm. 

The Clone Wars begin. 

Padme gets married to her soulmate and Anakin is there at the small ceremony, hosted at the same place where they’d spent their last war-free days. Padme tells him she wants to keep it quiet, because Padme has a target on her back and has no interest in endangering Lorde

When he gets back to Coruscant Obi-Wan gives him a strangely sad look, but Anakin chalks it up to the loss of his hand. 

The war rages on and Anakin gets knighted, far too soon in his opinion. Despite his chafing against Obi-Wan’s occasionally tight leash, he’s well aware that he still has a lot more to learn. Nonetheless, its still near the beginning of the war and they still get their seven days together after the ceremony, a luxury not afforded to newly-knighted jedi later on. 

The war rages on and Anakin sees Obi-Wan a surprisingly large amount. They become the Team, the face of the war. They’re sent on large scale public missions together more often than not, and Anakin is glad for it. 

The war rages on and Anakin gets a padawan of his own, Ahsoka Tano, though she’s as much Obi-Wan’s padawan as she is his. She’s far to young to be in war, but tragedy doesn’t care about age. It only seeks to inflict itself on whoever is most vulnerable. Anakin teaches her to be a Jedi, but he also teaches her how to deal with her emotions healthily. He wants her to be better than him, he wants her to suffer as little as possible. Obi-Wan shares this desire and helps in whatever way he can.

The war rages on and Satine dies, Obi-Wan’s soulmate dies and Anakin figures that if there’s any time to break their mutual silence on soulmates it would be now. 

“I’m sorry. Losing your soulmate must be hard,” Anakin says, doing his best at trying to comfort his ex-master. He’d never had to comfort Obi-Wan before, if he’d ever got upset he’d always go and meditate. But not this time. 

His comfort doesn’t seem to be very good because it brings a grimace of pain to Obi-Wan’s face and Anakin wishes he could travel back in time a minute to prevent that expression from crossing Obi-Wan’s face. 

“She wasn’t,” Obi-Wan starts, “My soulmate. I was hers but. She was never mine.”

Anakin doesn’t think that makes losing her any easier for Obi-Wan. He wants to comfort him, but instead his stupid curiousity that he’s been suppressing for years comes to the surface. 

“Do you know who is?” he asks and immediately wishes he could just erase this entire conversation. 

Obi-Wan has a lot of issues that he’s repressed over the years. His feelings of inadequacy and fear of abandonment are well hidden to everyone except Anakin. Anakin knows how to recognise that in someone else, he knows those feelings well enough. 

Which is why he notices Obi-Wan withdrawing into those feelings at Anakin’s question. 

“Yes,” Obi-Wan whispers, “I’ve met them.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t say anything else immediately, but Anakin can tell he’s got more to say, so he waits in shocked silence.

“It’s,” Obi-Wan says, faltering. “It’s you, Anakin.”

Anakin blinks once, everything quickly falling into place, and feels like a complete idiot. Of course it’s Obi-Wan. He met Obi-Wan right when his book stops. 

How had it never occurred to him?

And based on Obi-Wan’s sad but hopeful expression, his years of being an oblivious idiot have hurt his master. 

“Oh,” Anakin manages to get out. 

Obi-Wan deflates at that singles syllable, clearly misreading Anakin’s reaction. Before Anakin has time to fix his mistake, Obi-Wan opens his mouth to say, “I know your soulmate is Padme, but, well. If there’s any time to tell you it’s now. I finally understand how Satine feels. Felt.” 

And if Anakin doesn’t feel like absolute garbage. Obi-Wan is already having a horrible day and Anakin has gone and forced him to bare his soul and 

“It’s not Padme, it’s you,” Anakin says. Obi-Wan’s eyes widen. “I thought it was Padme for a long, long time. But. It’s not. Hers is one of her handmaidens. And mine is you.”

Obi-Wan still hasn’t moved, and Anakin decides to continue. “I didn’t realize until now, but I’ve been an idiot. My book finished writing right before I first met you. It never occurred to me until now-”

Obi-Wan hugs him. It’s been years since Obi-Wan has hugged him, but Anakin’s instincts cause him to bring his arms around him almost immediately. Obi-Wan squeezes him tightly to his chest and Anakin knows immediately that they’ll be fine. They’ll figure this out together.

They’ve always been the perfect team.

[dettiot]

the prince heir 2/2

part 1

As they made their way through Fire Swamp, a place of lightning sand and rodents of unusual size, Luke felt no fear. Because he was with Mara, and together they could handle anything.

And it was an excellent opportunity to share what had happened in their lives.

“But how could you be the Dread Pirate Ohnaka, when everyone has known that name for fifteen years, but you only left five years ago?” Luke asked as they moved through the swamp.

“It’s a funny story,” Mara said. “I told you the truth about my capture, but Ohnaka was taken by my attitude and what I said. So she said, “Well, Mara, I’ve never had an assistant. I’ll try you out--but I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.” For three years that was how it went. Every night she warned me that she was most likely to kill me in the morning.” 

Luke grinned a little, not surprised at Mara being able to convince someone to change their mind. 

Mara smiled back at him. “And then one day, Ohnaka invited me into her office and said, “I am not the Dread Pirate Ohnaka. My name is Ventress. I inherited the title from a previous Dread Pirate Ohnaka. His name was Dooku. The real Ohnaka has been retired five years and living like a king on Florrum.” 

She neatly blasted a clump of branches out of their way. “So we traveled to a distant port, took on a new crew, and Ventress stayed, all the while calling me Ohnaka. Once the crew believed, everyone did, and I’ve been Ohnaka ever since.” 

“You’ve been very successful,” Luke said quietly. 

“I have. But . . . but now, I’m going to retire and pass the title to someone else. And you and I . . .” 

Mara looked at him, and Luke reached out and took her hand. “We can be together.” 

“If you’re sure . . . you’re a prince now--” 

Luke tugged on her hand, pulling her close. “Nothing has changed with how I feel,” he said, lifting his free hand to stroke her cheek. “When you died, I wanted to die. Don’t make me feel like that again.” 

For a long moment, Mara gazed at him, before a soft, beaming smile appeared on her face. “I won’t.” 

Their faces leaned towards each other, ready to seal thier agreement with a kiss, when the sound of speeders made Mara break away. And as Luke saw his father’s personal storm trooper unit, and his father, he wondered if Mara would stay confident in their love.

XXX

Luke could not see how he was going to avoid his fate. King Palpatine was ready to name Luke as his heir, skipping Luke’s father in the line of sucession. 

Not only did he not want to hurt his father like this, but he wasn’t ready to be so close to the throne. Palpatine was already controlling, pushing Luke towards evil. His father had served as a buffer, but if Luke was the heir, he wouldn’t be able to exert any influence over Palpatine.

And worst of all, Palpatine would never let him see Mara again. He had no idea where she was now and he sensed that she was in danger. 

The sound of blaster fire just reinforced that bad feeling. 

A gloved hand gripped his elbow and Luke looked up at his father. “Come with me. The king has ordered me to guard you.” 

“Father, we don’t have to go along with this,” Luke said quietly as they moved through the halls towards his chamber. “We can use the upheaval as a distraction. You and Leia and I can escape the king--find freedom someplace else--”

“You shouldn’t talk about things you don’t understand,” his father said, a note of something in his voice. Was it regret? Sadness? Luke wasn’t sure. 

Pulling his elbow loose, Luke looked up at his father. Finding him, getting to know him and Leia . . . it had been the only good thing to happen in the last five years. And he wasn’t about to leave them alone here. But he could not allow Palpatine’s plan to go ahead. 

“I won’t allow myself to be named heir,” Luke said. “I love Mara. I want a life with her. And I don’t trust Palpatine.” He paused, looking at his father’s masked face. “Come with me.”

“I . . . I cannot,” his father said. 

“Please, Father,” Luke said, ready to beg for his father. Not wanting to leave him here alone. 

His father looked at him for a long moment, he sensed, and then he lifted a hand and rested it on Luke’s shoulder. “You should go. I . . . I will handle the king.” 

“I won’t leave you!” Luke insisted. 

“You don’t have a choice,” his father said, suddenly pushing Luke into his room. “Through the window--there’s a speeder waiting for you. It will take you to Mara.” 

“What about you?” Luke asked, only for the door to slam shut between him and his father. 

He banged his fist on the door, but then he heard his sister’s voice. 

“Luke! This way,” she said, already half-out the window. “They’re waiting for us.” 

“Who? Who are waiting?” Luke asked, following Leia. 

“Mara, with some new friends,” Leia said with a quick smile. 

His heart leaped, but he couldn’t help looking back at the door. Worrying about his father. 

“We’ll save him, Luke--but we need help to do that,” Leia said. “You can’t go up against Palpatine alone.” 

She was right, he knew--but Luke still didn’t have to like it. 

And with Mara, they could definitely save his father. 

“All right,” Luke said, following Leia out the window. 

In the speeder, Luke recognized two of his former kidnappers. But his eyes were only for Mara, who was sprawled across a seat. “Mara!” he cried out, staring at her. 

“Easy, farmboy,” she said, her words crisp even as her muscles seemed as limp as noodles. 

“What happened to you?” he asked, hopping into the seat next to her and stroking her hair. 

She looked up at him and sighed softly. “It was Palpatine.” 

XXX

Luke wasn’t sure about this plan. But he knew there was no way to dissuade Mara when her mind was made up.

So she was with him, leaning against Chewie, as they approached Palpatine’s throne. 

Thanks to Han and Leia’s blasters, the king’s guards were quickly stunned. Leaving Luke and his friends facing off against Palpatine . . . and Luke’s father. 

“Luke!” he cried out. “What are you doing?” 

“Saving you,” Luke said, keeping his eyes on Palpatine. 

“Oh, young Luke,” Palpatine said, not moving from his seat, Acting like he was amused by Luke’s actions. “You’re so attached to your father.” 

The king’s eyes narrowed. “It will be your downfall.” 

Luke took out his blaster, trying not to think about how uncomfortable it felt in his hand. “I will not leave without my father. You’ve failed, your highness. I am a good man--like my father before me.” 

A sour expression appeared on the king’s face as he lifted his hands. “Then you will die.”

And to Luke’s surprise, lightning burst forth from the king’s hands, slamming into Luke. 

He could hear Mara and his father crying out, could hear blasters firing, but the lightning didn’t let up. His muscles tensed, feeling the electricity course through his body. He smelled something burning and knew it was his body. 

Suddenly, the lightning stopped and he could breathe. Looking around blearily, he saw Palpatine, his limp body falling from his father’s hands. And he saw Mara on the floor near him. 

“What . . .?” he asked, looking around. 

Leia crouched beside him, her smile wide but her eyes worried. “Mara convinced Father to turn against the king.” 

“Wrong,” Mara said, gazing at Luke. “It was all you, Luke. I just gave him a nudge.” 

Luke looked up as his father limped over to him. He was breathing hard, yet seemed unable to get enough air. “Did . . . did you mean it?” his father asked, looking at Luke. “About . . . me . . . good man?” 

“Of course I did,” Luke said, grabbing his father’s hand. 

His father nodded slowly and drew off his mask, revealing a pale face covered in scars. His blue eyes, just like Luke’s, gazed into his. 

Staring at his father’s face, Luke wondered what was happening. Mara moved closer to him, and Luke’s father nodded a little. “I’m . . .glad . . . won’t be . . . alone . . .”

“Father!” Luke said as he began choking and slumped to the floor. “Father!” 

Leia helped him lift up their father, but . . . but it was too late. Luke could feel it. 

He bent his head, feeling the tears come. Mara’s hand rested softly on his shoulder, proving comfort, but Luke still felt a wave of grief. 

“We need to go, Luke,” Mara said gently. 

“We can’t leave him,” Luke said. 

“We won’t,” Leia said, nodding to Chewie, who picked up their father and laid him gently across the back of the speeder. 

Slowly rising to his feet, Luke swallowed, feeling weak and unsteady. Mara took his hand. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly as they slowly shuffled towards the speeder. 

“I am, too,” he said, looking at her. “I . . . I wanted to save him.” 

Mara nodded and then squeezed his hand. “I think you did. You rescued him from Palpatine’s hold over him. And he saved you, too.” 

Looking at Mara, Luke considered her words. He helped her into the speeder, then she helped him in. Leaning against her, he said, “That’s true. But this isn’t the ending I hoped to have.” 

She gently stroked his hair. “I know. But it’s a good ending. After all, you’re not a prince anymore. You’re just Luke again. And Luke is all I’ve ever wanted.”

He couldn’t help smiling softly at her and leaning towards her. “As you wish.” 

Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses rated the most pure, the most passionate. This one left them all behind.

End.

My Star Wars Fic Masterlist

[padawanlost]

Hi, I really enjoy your blog and your insights into the prequels. If you have time, could you explain a bit more about how the clone army was commissioned. I've watched the prequel movies and Clone Wars several times, but I'm still a little confused. The Kaminoans say Sifo-Dyas commissioned the clone army. Jango says he was hired by Tyranus (Dooku) and has never heard of Sifo-Dyas. And Obi-Wan thinks Sifo-Dyas was already dead when the army was commissioned. So what is the deal with Sifo-Dyas?

Sure, I tried to make a timeline. Maybe it’ll help see things a little more clearly :)

Before 52 BBY: Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas becomes close friends with Jedi Master Dooku.

52 BBY: Sifo-Dyas, along with Dooku and his apprentice Qui-Gon Jinn, attend a meeting where they meet  Magister Hego Damask (Darth Plagueis). He and Hego discuss their worries about the future of the Republic. At some point during their talks, Plagueis suggest the need for a military force to keep the peace but Sifo-Dyas rejects the idea.

“Lest you’re thinking of investing in military enterprises, Magister, I can assure you that the Republic will not reverse its stance on demilitarization.” His words were forceful, but lacked certainty. “The Ruusan Reformations will not be repealed.” Plagueis showed the palms of his hands. “And I can assure you, Master Jedi, that my questions were in no means motivated by thoughts of profit. We—that is, I—don’t wish to see the Republic caught off guard. For now I’ll place my faith in the Jedi, and in the belief that an army could be raised if necessary.” Sifo-Dyas’s gaze faltered. “Out of thin air? Unlikely, Magister.” “Grown, then.” “Manufactured, you mean.” “No, I was being literal,” Plagueis said. “But I know of only one group that might be up to the task. The group who grew laborers to work the mines of Subterrel.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]

52 BBY to 32 BBY: Over the next 20 years as Dooku’s concerns for the Orde rand the Republic grew, so did Sifo-Dyas own worries.  Like Dooku, he also tried to warn the Council about the approaching darkness but they didn’t listen to him. At some point he was invited to join the Jedi Council but his seat was removed after he considered too extreme for them.

“Prior to the blockade of Naboo, Sifo-Dyas sat on this Council until we judged his ideas to be too extreme.  Indeed, he said he foresaw a great conflict  and that the Republic would need to raise an army. At the time, the Council rejected those ideas.’ – TCW 06x10

During this period, Sifo-Dyas and Dooku meet Senato Sheev Palpatine from Naboo. After this, Dooku and Palpatine become friends, having many conversations about politics and the Jedi.

“By right of birth. My family is agreeable. Now it’s simply a matter of informing the High Council.” “Has anyone ever left the Order?” “Nineteen before me.” “Have you shared your discontent with any of them?” “Only Master Sifo-Dyas.” “Of course.” Dooku looked up. “He worries that I’m going to do something rash.” “Leaving the Order isn’t rash enough?” “He fears that I will denounce the Council openly, and reveal how divided its members are about answering to the Senate.” He looked Palpatine in the eye. “I’ve half a mind to join your cause.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]

32 BBY (right before the events of The Phantom Menace): Sifo-Dyas once again meets Magister Hego Damask, but this time he’s interested and willing to listen to what he has to say:

“You said that you have some vague recall of our conversation on Serenno. Do you remember my mentioning a group of gifted cloners?” “I’m sorry, I do not.” “They are native to an extragalactic world called Kamino. I have on occasion done business with them on behalf of clients who desire cloned creatures, or require cloned laborers capable of working in harsh environments.” The Jedi shook his head in uncertainty. “What does this have to do with anything?” “I believe that the Kaminoans could be induced to grow and train a cloned army.” Sifo-Dyas took a long moment to reply. “You said yourself that the Republic would never sanction an army.” “The Republic needn’t know,” Damask said cautiously. “Neither would the Jedi Order have to know. It would be an army that might never have to be used, and yet be available in reserve should need ever arise.” “Who in their right mind would fund an army that might never be used?” “I would,” Damask said. “Along with some of my associates in the Banking Clan—and in conjunction with contacts in Rothana Heavy Engineering, which would supply the ships, armaments, and other matériel.” Sifo-Dyas fixed him with a look. “Come to the point, Magister.” “The Kaminoans will not create an army for me, but they would do so for the Jedi Order. They have been fascinated by the Jedi for millennia.” Sifo-Dyas’s dark brown eyes widened. “You’re not proposing cloning Jedi—” “No. I have been assured that such a thing is impossible, in any case. But I have also been assured that a human army a million strong could be ready for deployment in as few as ten years.” “You’re suggesting that I circumvent the High Council.” “I suppose I am. The Kaminoans need only a modest down payment, which I could provide to you through untraceable accounts I maintain in Outer Rim banks.” Again, the Jedi remained silent for a long moment. “I need time to consider this.” “Of course you do,” Damask said. “And when you’ve reached a decision, you can contact me at my residence downside.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]

32 BBY: Qui-Gon Jinn dies and Master Dooku leaves the Jedi Order 32 BBY: Sifo-Dyas places the order on Kamino;

Obi-Wan turned to face Yoda. “Master, did Sifo-Dyas order the clone army?” Yoda nodded. “Contacted the Kaminoans, he did.” “Without your knowledge?” “Without it, yes. But exists, a record of his initial contact.” [Labyrinth of Evil. James Luceno]

“And Master Sifo-Dyas?” Dooku frowned. “He knew that my leaving was simply a matter of time. Although he did say something I found to be rather curious. He said that if I had any designs on instigating dissent, he would be one step ahead of me.” [James Luceno. Darth Plagueis]

32 BBY: Palpatine kills Plagueis and takes Dooku as his new apprentice. Some time after that, Palpatine tells Dooku about the clone army, so he kills Sifo-Dias. After, he finds Jango Fett – whom he had fountgh in the battle of Galidraan – and convinces to become the template for the clone army.

One of your former confidants at the Jedi Temple has perceived the coming change, Sidious had told him. This one has contacted a group of cloners, regarding the creation of an army for the Republic. The order for the army can stand, for we will be able to make use of that army someday. But Master Sifo-Dyas cannot stand, for the Jedi cannot learn about the army until we are prepared to have them learn of it. And so with the murder of Sifo-Dyas, Dooku had embraced the dark side fully, and Sidious had conferred on him the title Darth Tyranus. His final act before leaving the Jedi Order was to erase all mentions of Kamino from the Jedi archives. Then, as Tyranus, he had found Fett on Bogg 4; had instructed the Mandalorian to deliver himself to Kamino; and had arranged for payments to be made to the cloners through circuitous routes … Ten years passed.  Under its new Supreme Chancellor, the Republic recovered somewhat, then grew more corrupt and beset with problems than before. As best they could, Sidious and Tyranus helped things along. Sidious had the ability to see deep into the future, but there was always the unexpected. With the power of the dark side, however, came flexibility. Having traced Fett to Kamino, Obi-Wan Kenobi had turned up on Geonosis. All at once, here was Qui-Gon Jinn’s former Padawan, right under Dooku’s nose. But when he had informed Sidious of Obi-Wan’s presence, Sidious had only said, Allow events to play out, Darth Tyranus. For our plans are unfolding exactly as I have foreseen. The Force is very much with us.

22 BBY: Obi-wan Kenobi discovers Kamino and the Clone Army. The kaminoans have no idea Sifo-Dyas had been dead for 10 years or that he had nothing to do with choosing Jango Fett as the template.

In conclusion, the Sith manipulated a Jedi Master into creating an army for them to destroy the Jedi.