Count Dooku looked intently at the hologram of Darth Sidious.
"My lord, everything went according to plan. However, what happened during the battle is regrettable. Merai was talented."
"There are other talented minds who will serve our purposes even more willingly."
"Yes, Master. However, the Jedi were unable to completely destroy the Separatist fleet."
"It was foolish to expect that. Still, we will make the necessary adjustments." Darth Sidious nodded with satisfaction. "We are playing a very delicate game, Count. Absolute balance is required — and it has been restored. All the advantages of the Separatists have sunk into the waters of Kamino. Merai is dead, Kamino is still churning out clones… no, this war is far from over. This is only the beginning."
Darth Sidious ended the transmission. Count Dooku smiled contentedly. Everything was going according to plan. Yet there was no time for reflection — many urgent matters awaited the leader of the Separatists.
***
The Grand Master of the Jedi Order listened silently to the hologram of Master Windu.
"...Adi Gallia is being too hard on herself," Windu was saying. "She believes she should have foreseen Merai's breakthrough, which ultimately led to heavy casualties. I advised her to take comfort in our victory. Kamino is safe, and I'm confident the Separatists won't risk attacking it again. We'll leave a large covering fleet there, which will soon be replenished with new ships."
"And yet, like her, dissatisfied you seem, my friend."
"It's because of Merai — the Mon Calamaricommander." Windu frowned slightly. "I… knew him, and I knew what he was capable of. He was a competent soldier. Despite the fact that his attack was almost successful, it was still unlike him. Why would he launch such a poorly planned assault? And on whose orders?"
Yoda sighed heavily.
"Foggy, our future grows. Clouded by the Dark Side, our vision is."
"Master, what shall we do with these new clones?"
"Hmmm. Proven themselves, these clones have — good warriors they are. Use their talents, we must."
"Then I'll inform Master Ti that these clones should be assigned to the sectors where such specialists are most needed."
"Approve of such actions, I do," Yoda said, nodding.
***
Amidala was awakened by the voice of her loyal secretary and companion, C-3PO.
"Lady Amidala! Lady Amidala!"
"What is it, C-3PO?"
"Lady Amidala!" The golden protocol droid flailed his arms excitedly. "News from Anakin!"
"Then why are you delaying?" Amidala's voice grew anxious. "What news?"
Moments later, she was viewing the recording Anakin had sent.
"Dear Padme! I miss you so much — I want to hold you again! But I hope we'll see each other soon. Obi-Wan, the other Jedi, and I repelled the CIS attack on Kamino. Don't worry, nothing dangerous happened, except we had to take a dip in the local waters. The fauna here… is almost like Naboo's — at least underwater. So, we'll be arriving on Coruscant soon, and we'll finally meet. Kisses."
Oh, Ani... always trying to reassure me. Amidala smiled softly. He's still the same boy. I worry about him — he always manages to get himself into trouble.
Nighttime Coruscant shimmered with thousands of colorful lights. In her chambers, Amidala lay on her bed, smiling in her sleep. On the bedside table beside her, casting a soft glow across the room, stood a small hologram of Anakin Skywalker smiling back at her.
***
The Prime Minister of Kamino entered his office. After making sure the door was securely closed, he pressed a hidden button that opened a secret passage. Passing through, Lama Su found himself in a small room with a holographic projector at its center. Activating the signal, he waited for a response.
Soon, a figure cloaked in darkness appeared before him.
"Lord Sidious."
"Prime Minister."
"The Jedi repelled the Separatist attack, but some of the third-generation clones were damaged."
"I will compensate you for your losses. And I can assure you that the Senate will soon vote to purchase an additional batch of twenty million clones." Darth Sidious waved his hand imperiously. "I trust that satisfies your interests?"
"Completely," the Kaminoan bowed. "I hope our cooperation will remain as fruitful as ever."
"Without a doubt."
***
It's been a long time since I've been on the Marat... yet it hasn't changed much. The same corridors, the same cabins — all systems running like clockwork. Well, of course — the ship is only five years old, four and a half of which it spent in stasis. Why would it break down? As Captain Ragnos once explained, there's at least six months left before the first scheduled maintenance — unless, Force forbid, it takes damage. Then it would definitely be heading for dry dock. Hopefully, we can avoid that.
However, while we are flying, though, there's something more pressing. Something tells me that, to fence properly, I need to recalibrate my cybernetic arm. The specialists at the hospital advised me to do that after I got used to the replacement.
Naturally, it would be unrealistic to expect all the parameters to match my natural abilities. No, for a ordinary... um, person, everything would be within normal limits — but for the gifted, this is not enough. Especially for fencing, where we sometimes move so fast that we exceed normal parameters several times over.
It's already pretty good that the joints in the prosthesis came from a training droid. Still, that's no cure-all — the strain they endure during combat is monstrous. I wouldn't be surprised if, after a dozen fights at full strength, they'll have to be replaced entirely. Then again, nothing lasts forever. Compared to the joints of, say, a B-1 or — Force forbid — a C-3PO unit, mine are a dream.
Having found the necessary equipment, I reached for the comlink — I was clearly going to need help.
"Ahsoka, where are you right now?"
"Master, I'm in the training hall."
"Perfect, Snips. I'll need your help. Can you assist me with calibrating my prosthesis?"
"How can I help with that? I'm not exactly an expert in technology — especially that kind!" The Togruta's voice carried clear surprise.
"Nothing complicated. We'll just do a bit of fencing."
"Well, that's no problem! I'll wait for you here, Master."
After navigating the ship's maze of corridors, I entered the training hall a few minutes later.
"Master," the Togruta greeted me with a nod.
"Snips, grab the training sabers — it's not the time for actual combat."
Approaching one of the tables in the corner, I set down a small box of tools and a datapad loaded with the calibration program one of the hospital engineers who specialized in cyberprosthetics had installed. It was supposed to help me adjust the prosthetic's performance.
Stepping into the middle of the hall, I ignited the saber Ahsoka had tossed me and said,
"Let's begin the exercise."
The Togruta spun her blade lightly.
"Where should we start?"
"Perhaps let's begin with the standard combination — number one. Then we'll move on to two and three."
"Ugh. How boring," she drawled.
"I need this to calibrate my prosthesis. Otherwise, I won't be able to handle a saber effectively."
"Okay, okay, I'll help," Ahsoka said, nodding vigorously.
Soon, we began practicing the standard techniques of Shii-Cho. To the naked eye, the imperfections were almost invisible, but in the Force, I could clearly feel the lag — the reactions of the artificial muscles and joints were slightly delayed. The prosthesis didn't feel like an extension of my own body. Then again, it would be strange to expect that from a piece of metal, however advanced.
After a few more exercises, I signaled Ahsoka to stop.
"That's enough for now."
Deactivating my saber, I walked back to the table. Ahsoka followed, curiosity lighting up her expression. Using a set of tools, I removed the outer casing of the prosthesis to reach the internal connectors and mechanisms. It took several minutes.
Ahsoka watched the operation with wide eyes.
"Um… Master, do you even know what you're doing?"
"Don't worry. I consulted with a specialist."
"Well, if you say so," the girl said with a shrug.