Chapter Text
“I don’t get it,” Cody said, “I thought Stewjoni couldn’t be Force Sensitive?”
After Quinlan’s admission that Obi-Wan was Stewjoni, Cody had Shmi bundle the kids away and called an emergency meeting. He made sure to get Jaster to this one. Ever since he retired and passed the Darksaber over to Jango, he had made it a point to not attend any meetings related to politics. He was Grandpa and Grandpa alone.
However, given that he was the one who had the most experience with Stewjoni, Cody needed him, along with Jango, to help him out.
Thankfully, Jaster seemed to agree and came running the moment Cody called, wild-eyed and breathless, only saying a few words. “Ba’buir, help. He’s a Force Sensitive Stewjoni.”
That had been enough to get Jaster to abandon his bird-watching retreat in the mountains and come racing back to the palace.
Now, it was time for the debrief.
Quinlan Vos could only answer Cody’s question with a weak shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know he was Stewjoni until we met back up after both of our masters…” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “When our masters died. We found each other again. And one night, he pulled me aside, and he was shaking so bad. I thought he had a vision or something. Or something had happened. But then he explained that he wasn’t human, he was Stewjoni. I mean, I grew up with him. We were in the same Creche Clan together and everything.”
“So it wasn’t known amongst the Jedi?” Jaster asked.
“Not all of them. I don’t know the specifics. Obi-Wan doesn’t fully know either. But apparently, a Stewjoni showed up at the Temple one night. Would only talk to Master Yoda. Had a baby on them. The baby was Obi-Wan. And his species was very well hidden from just about everyone at the Temple. He only ever saw one healer, Master Che. Only a few of the masters knew about him. I don’t even think my master knew about him. And he knows everything.”
“I don’t get it. Why would they keep it such a secret from everyone?” Wolffe asked. “I’m assuming they don’t usually hide species from their own order.”
Quinlan’s face darkened. “The Jedi teach love and acceptance of everyone. And they work hard to bring about peace to the galaxy. But there are… were thousands of us. Sometimes, people’s greed outweighs their morals.”
Cody thought back to his suspected traitor. A brother who should have no reason to betray them. He still hadn’t found any evidence that he had been betrayed by a brother specifically. He understood Quinlan’s anger towards his fellow Jedi who couldn’t be trusted to keep safe one of their own.
Did money really mean more than a life?
To Cody, no. But he was not naive enough to believe that wasn’t the case for the rest of the galaxy.
“I’m still not understanding why his being a Force-Sensitive Stewjoni is such a big deal,” Wolffe continued. “Surely, statistically, there has to be at least a few out there.”
“No, bu’ad,” Jaster finally spoke after his initial outburst upon learning about Obi-Wan. “The Stewjoni are an artificial people. They’re not clones or genetically modified humans. The Kaminoans created them entirely from scratch. They did use the base genome of a human, but then spliced in other genomes from other species to create a functioning Stewjoni. The science itself is fascinating, if not a bit sickening. Basically, the Stewjoni genome is much bigger than every other species out there, with specific markers that only turn it on when a second DNA sequence is added. Which is why, even though they look human, if they were to have a child with, say, a Dathomirian, the child would, genetically, only be Dathomirian. The excess DNA would be shed in the breeding process.”
“But then, how does a Stewjoni create another Stewjoni?” Bly asked. “Obi-Wan’s too young to be a part of the first generation.”
Jaster shrugged. “The Kaminoans seemed to believe that the DNA would become unstable if bred together. But, either someone out there is still creating Stewjoni. Or else the DNA is more stable than they thought. But, given that it seems a Stewjoni dropped him off, he clearly was born of them.”
Quinlan made a face.
“What? You don’t think she was a Stewjoni?” Jaster asked.
“I mean, they look indistinguishable from humans. It’s possible she wasn’t. I don’t think Master Yoda sat there and did a pelvic exam to make sure she had both sex organs. And we do know that the Kaminoan technology has been leaked several times before. I know Mandalore itself has shut down Stewjoni creation facilities in the past.”
“But that still doesn’t explain why it’s so weird that he’s got the Force,” Wolffe said. “I know not every species is as strong with it. But again, surely statistically, it had to happen.”
“Theoretically, yes, but it’s never been observed,” Jaster said. “And when I say it’s never been observed, I mean that every Stewjoni we’ve ever tested has had zero midichlorians in their cells. Wolffe, that is a level you only ever see in dead bodies.”
“Even rocks have the Force,” Quinlan explained. “Yes, the Force is mysterious. And yes, we don’t know exactly why some people have elevated levels or not, but it was pretty clear that Stewjoni, at least the artificially created ones, just do not have the genetic makeup required to house midichlorians.”
“Alright, fine,” Wolffe said. “So, he has the Force, and that makes him special. Why is Palpatine so interested in him? There are eight other Force-sensitive children in the palace, but he’s only gone after the one. And it’s clear he wanted him badly because he was willing to make a spectacle to get him. He didn’t steal him away in the middle of the night or anything. Death Watch attacked him in a very public place, in the middle of the day.”
“Because,” Quinlan replied, “Palpatine wants to make his own Force Sensitive Army.”
Cody felt the pit of his stomach drop out. He had suspected as much, given how many Force-sensitive children were being stolen from their parents; their villages were burnt down to ensure no one survived. He knew from Barriss’s accounts that they weren’t interested in killing her, just turning to the dark side. But now, he had it confirmed.
More pieces clicked into place. Cody felt sick. “Oh, Force. He’s going to impregnate Obi-Wan. Isn’t he?”
Why else would you spend so much time and energy chasing after one Jedi?
Quinlan’s grim face confirmed his suspicion. “Kidnapping children is messy. It’s dangerous. You run the risk of pushing people too far and causing a rebellion. And there’s a chance the kids you kidnap won’t even fall to the dark side. But, if you can get your claws into them from birth, you control a lot more of the outcomes.”
“That’s where all the missing Jedi have been going?” Jango said.
Quinlan nodded.
Cody was glad his father had pushed aside his distrust of the Jedi to help with this. Even he could recognize how fucked up this whole thing was and that no one deserved to be used as breeding stock.
“How does he even know it’s going to work, though?” Bly said. “You said it yourself, who gets the Force and who doesn’t is completely random.”
“It may not work,” Quinlan replied. “But it is also more of a sure bet than just breeding a bunch of people together and hoping that the midichlorians appear. If Obi-Wan already has a high enough presence, even though he really shouldn’t, then maybe his genetics are stable enough to house the midichlorians. The point is, Palpatine has been trying to figure out a way to guarantee a level of Force sensitivity for decades now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one bankrolling a lot of these Stewjoni Creation Plants in the hopes that something like Obi-Wan would happen eventually. And if it does work, he’ll be able to breed an army.”
Force, it just kept getting worse and worse the more Quinlan talked. Cody felt like he was about to be sick.
But there was still something wiggling in the back of his mind. Something that they hadn’t brought up yet.
“How did he find out?” he asked. “Palpatine, that is. How did he find out? You said that only a few people in the entire Order knew. You didn’t even know until you met back up with him as an adult.”
Quinlan clenched his jaw. “There was a Jedi named Pong Krell. Obi-Wan and I both got visions of him and a strong push from the Force that said we had to find him. We decided it would be best if I went to find him. And I did. And then I killed him.”
“He turned to the dark side?” Cody filled in.
Quinlan nodded. “That’s how Palpatine was able to capture so many Jedi. Pong Krell lured them to him and then overpowered them. One of the Jedi he lured was Master Che. She didn’t realize Krell had turned to the dark side, so she told him about Obi-Wan. She was worried that Palpatine would find out about him and hunt him down, especially once Master Jinn died. That’s how he found out.”
Cody shook his head and put a hand on Quinlan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. We are doing everything we can to find Obi-Wan.”
“I’m worried it won’t be enough. I mean, how many weeks has it been since he was taken? It doesn’t take that long to make a baby. He could be pregnant now as we speak. Or impregnating.” Quinlan looked ill at the thought.
Cody felt it as well. Before, time had been of the essence because he didn’t want to be tortured. But forced impregnation was an entirely different kind of torture. One he couldn’t even begin to understand.
And even if Obi-Wan wasn’t currently pregnant, Quinlan was right. He might already be used as a stud, being forced to rape other Jedi in the hopes that he would impregnate them. Either way, that was a sort of mental and physical torture that could break a man.
But he also didn’t know what else to do and where else to look. He suspected a brother of being a traitor, but he had no proof. Obi-Wan’s trail had gone cold. And Palpatine controlled too much of the galaxy for them to search every planet.
“Here, let’s go talk to Slick and see if he has anything,” Cody said. He turned to Jaster and Jango. “Thanks for coming.”
“We’re here to help, Cody. I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.” Jaster grinned at him. “I’ll go see if Shmi needs any help with the kids.”
“I’ll get you a room set up,” Fox said, looking to Quinlan.
“I really shouldn’t stay. Obi-Wan is out there. The kids are safe–”
“And we are here to help,” Fox said. “Cody wants to find him, too. Work together. Maybe you’ll get more done.”
“Exactly,” Cody said. “Now come on. I think Slick’s about to do another sweep and see if we can’t find any Death Watch activity. He can give you the rundown as to what we’ve already done.”
“I’d like that,” Quinlan said.
They didn’t speak as they walked to Slick’s office. Quinlan didn’t seem to want to talk. And Cody didn’t know what to say.
Sorry, your friend got kidnapped while I was supposed to be watching him. Yeah, that would go over great.
“How did you two meet?” Quinlan asked as they drew closer to Slick’s office.
Cody laughed. “He drugged me and stole my vambraces.”
Quinlan stopped and looked at him. “Seriously?”
“To be fair, he didn’t know I was the Mand’alor. He needed money to get here.”
“Did you get them back?”
Cody shook his head. “Nope. Gone forever. He didn’t even get a good deal on them. He didn’t know they were pure beskar.”
He laughed. “I hope you’re not holding it against him?”
“Of course not,” Cody said. “Even at the time before I knew who he really was and the situation he was in, I figured he was desperate enough to risk his life to steal him; he must have been in deep shit. Of course, it helps that he was stealing them for kids and not like a gambling debt or something.”
“Yeah.” The smile on Quinlan’s face dropped.
“Hey, we’ll find him.”
“I know we will. I’m just worried about the state he’s going to be in when we do. We’ve already been through so much. I’m worried something like this will kill him.”
“We’ll deal with that when we get there,” Cody said. “For now, one step at a time.” He knocked on Slick’s door. “Hey, Slick. I have someone I need you to meet. Someone to help you with your search for Obi-Wan.”
The door slid open. “Yeah, come on in,” Slick said, motioning them in. “I’m afraid I don’t have much. But hey, any little bit helps.”
Cody stepped into Slick’s office. It was a mess, covered in datapads and half-drunk cups of caf.
Quinlan stepped in after him, his brow furrowed as he surveyed the room. Alright, that was a little rude. Surely Quinlan couldn’t expect everything to be pristine.
What a snob.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. I’m Slick. And you are?” Slick held out his hand to shake Quinlan’s.
Quinlan slipped off his gloves and plastered on a charming smile. “Quinlan Vos. Obi-Wan’s friend and fellow Force User.” He clasped Slick’s hand in his own.
The smile sharpened into a grin. He didn’t let go of Slick’s hand.
“Hey, man. What gives?”
Cody’s hand went to his blaster. Yes, he had the darksaber on him, but he also didn’t know if he could actually win in a fight against an actual Jedi.
“Vos, let him go,” Cody commanded.
“Did you know, Mand’alor, that some Jedi have this ability called psychometry. Basically, you can see an object’s history when you touch it. And this glove was there when Obi-Wan was taken.”
“What?” Cody didn’t know if he should still shoot Vos or see how this played out. He felt torn; frozen in place while he watched Slick struggle against his hold.
This didn’t seem like the kind of thing Vos would lie about. Why would he be all smiles and friendliness with the rest of Cody’s brothers, only to decide this one was a bad egg? He didn’t even know that there was a traitor in their midst!
“Cody, help! He’s crazy!” Slick said, still writhing in Vos’s hands, trying to escape. He dropped to his knees so he was kneeling in front of Vos, clawing at Vos’s hand, but unable to make him break his grip.
“Where’s Obi-Wan?” Vos asked.
“I don’t know. Cody! Shoot him or something. He’s insane! He’s a sith!”
Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t. If he was, then why Slick? Why now? What would he gain from this? And why didn’t the children pick up on it?
“If you don’t tell me, then I’ll just have to break it out of your mind. Though if I were you, I wouldn’t go with that option. If it’s not done properly, it’ll destroy your mind, and you’ll be left drooling on yourself until you die.”
Slick let out a hysterical laugh. “You wouldn’t do that. You’re a Jedi. Jedi don’t hurt people.”
“Actually,” Vos said.
Cody pulled out his blaster and pointed it at him. He was a Sith then. That had to be what he was. Slick was right.
Vos continued, not caring about the weapon currently pointed at his head. “I was never technically knighted because my entire life imploded on itself before I could. So, at best, I’m a padawan who never completed my Jedi training. And I’ve had to do a lot of terrible things to survive. Things you couldn’t possibly understand because you’ve been living in a palace, never knowing true pain and suffering. Tell me, how many meals have you had to skip because there was nothing to eat, Slick?”
“Cody! Shoot him!” Slick cried.
Cody couldn’t. He didn’t know if Vos was using the Force to freeze him in place or if his own body refused to make a move. But all he could do was watch as Vos reached out a hand slowly.
“I’ve skipped so many. After a while, you start to become desperate. Things like Light Side and Dark Side stop holding the same black-and-white meaning. There are a lot more shades of grey when you’re desperate to survive and protect the people you care about. I’m a desperate man, Slick. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to save my people. And that includes breaking your mind open.”
“Tantiss! He’s on Tantiss!” Slick cried before Vos could touch a finger to his forehead.
Cody’s body went cold.
Vos was telling the truth. Slick was the traitor in their midst. And Cody never even suspected him.
“As I thought,” Vos said.
“Slick,” Cody’s arms finally moved, though only to drop to his sides. “How could you? Why would you join Death Watch of all groups? They killed buir’s family. They tried to kill Jaster. They’ve tried to kill all of us.”
Slick’s hateful eyes turned to Cody. “You’re weak. All of you are weak. You’re not true Mandalorians. You’re some watered-down palatable version that the rest of the galaxy can swallow. Jedi are our sworn enemies, but you let one into this palace without a second thought. He stole your armor, Cody, and you’ve asked for him to do nothing for retribution. You’re pathetic.”
Cody raised his blaster and fired once.
Slick let out a grunt and crumpled to the ground. “I need to call Fox and have him formally charged,” He whispered.
Vos finally let go of him and slipped on his gloves. “I’m sorry, Cody. But Obi-Wan is more important than him.”
“I know. I…” He what? He didn’t know what he wanted to say. What he could say. “I… um, I’ll go tell Wolffe about Tantiss. See if he can’t get any information about it.”
Vos nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your help.”
“Of course.” He pulled out his comm and looked down at Slick’s crumpled body. He hadn’t killed him, only stunned him. It still felt like he murdered him. He shot his own brother. And not for a training exercise or by accident. He didn’t even know if Vos was telling the truth or if he had forced a confession out of Slick by torturing him mentally.
“Were you really going to destroy his mind?” he asked.
Vos shook his head. “It’s actually very difficult to do. I may have been able to force a confession out of him, but I likely would not have completely broken his mind. I was just hoping he wouldn’t call my bluff.”
“Okay.” Cody finished his message to Fox. “Vos?”
“Yeah?”
“If you’re wrong and Obi-Wan isn’t on Tantiss, I’m having you arrested. Understood?”
“Yeah. I do.”
At least now they had one location to search, instead of billions.