Gott mit uns

Neither Hestia nor Nemesis would back down from this impromptu staring contest, seemingly not even daring to breathe. Eventually Hestia broke the silence.

"What you have done is treason against Big Sister. I am ordering you to dissolve this Clone Council."

Nemesis looked into Hestia's visor.

"And you would have us support a system created by the Kaminoans? Big Sister never accepted the Kaminoans, she intended to create a proper system in time, but the war came before she could. And now you meekly accept it, shame on you! The Clone Council is more egalitarian and Big Sister has always supported that all the Sisters were equal. That's why the Clone Council is a more legitimate system than that of your Kaminoan 'masters'."

Hestia didn't even flinch at Nemesis' arguments.

"If Big Sister had thought that the Kaminoan system was so problematic, she would have changed it. Therefore your arguments are traitorous garbage. Big Sister decided that this system would work and kept it."

Hestia raised her hand, signaling the clones of the 44th Legion to raise their weapons, in response the clones acting as bodyguards for the rest of the Sisters raised their weapons.

"You are going to start a civil war because you base your authority on a system built on slavery? Do you see what you are doing? You would kill your sisters for the Kaminoans?"

Hestia looked at Nemesis with utter contempt. She loved her sisters, or at least she did until a few days ago. All her life she had lived with and for them.

"You have betrayed me, you have betrayed Big Sister, the rules exist for a reason and in any other case your own troops should have executed you, but you use your positions as Sisters to deify yourselves and make yourselves invulnerable! You think you are goddesses when we are all equal, all clones, if I am in charge, it is because I am the most qualified, not because I have some divine right to it."

Nemesis grimly smiled under her helmet.

"THE SISTER WHO IS THE MOST QUALIFIED? Who was the Sister who learned the secrets of politics from Big Sister? Who was the Sister that Big Sister publicly congratulated for her competence? Who did Big Sister have write the legal system on which our army is based? Who did Big Sister have train our military's judges? TELL ME, SISTER, WHO IS MOST QUALIFIED HERE TO LEAD? THE ANSWER IS ME! However, unlike you I do not rely on a flawed system to lead, nor do I think I am important enough to rule alone. That is why I created the Clone Council and have refused to dissolve it. Because we are all Sisters and we all must decide the future. Not the one who was created second and was declared heir by a system built by the Kaminoans."

In that moment was but a hair's breadth from ordering the death of all these traitors. But she stopped, she stopped because she would not be the one to condemn her people to a bloody civil war that would wipe out all that her Big Sister had built.

She remembered one fateful day, as her Big Sister watched the waves crash over the surf.

'We have only ourselves, we can't trust anyone, That is all we Clones have and will ever have. Sometimes it may not seem like it, sometimes our own Brothers and Sisters will turn against us, but those are nothing, unimportant in the larger scheme of things. Always forgive your Brothers and Sisters, and in the worst case scenario, if they all turn against you… Sometimes joining them is better than bringing a worse fate upon us. It's not just you, we are millions and sometimes you must accept things that are against you for the sake of all. Your relationship with your sisters may never be the same but you will always have me, Hestia and Mania.'

That was what Big Sister said to Medusa when all the Sisters turned against her, when they all almost died because of her chemical experiments in which she lost her body. Medusa was more than willing to hand her Sisters over to the Kaminoans as she felt threatened and tormented by them, but Big Sister intervened in time to save the situation.

"Nemesis, I hate you."

With that Hestia opened her fist, making all the soldiers of the 44th Legion lower their weapons.

"I will accept the Clone Council only because to do otherwise would be to seal the fate of us and ours."

Nemesis approached Hestia, attempting to give her a hug but was met by a blaster pistol pointed at her head.

"Don't even think about it, I will never forget this betrayal and I only accept it because you have the support of the other Sisters. But remember Nemesis, you should be executed for your betrayal."

Nemesis separated from Hestia and the sisters' bodyguards lowered their weapons.

"For us and ours?" Nemesis said, as a maxim.

"For us and ours" Hestia returned, confirming the maxim.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anakin had learned from Hestia's diary both the role and where each Sister resided. Therefore his first target was Nyx's, the intelligence expert.

He entered through a particular passage created by the Sisters. He was very surprised when he discovered their shady dealings. They had created secret rooms, passages, false walls, and all manner of other trickery, anything to keep their secrets. It was like a secret society from a work of fiction. Which made him wonder about just how easily he managed to uncover it all.

He left those questions behind, however, as he checked Nyx's room. It was a seemingly ordinary room, yet it contained many items of interest.

The centerpiece of the room was a large screen. The display had a number of pictures, chief among them was the face of Chancellor Palpatine, with several lines leading to the other images. An image of Jar Jar in particular caught his attention.

-A powerful Representative, pushed many bills that gave power to Palpatine, seems stupid but it all seems to work in his favor. Is it all an act? Could it be related to Palpatine? What is the true face of Representative Binks? Why is he at all the most important events in the galaxy? 

He turned his gaze back to the image of Palpatine, reading the small note underneath.

-Why can't I find any dirt on him? Why is he so perfect? HE IS HIDING SOMETHING

Looking over the other images he didn't see anything else of note.

A conspiracy theorist, he shouldn't be surprised Hestia noted in her diary that Nyx was prone to paranoia.

With no more time to waste he sat down and began to search through what appeared to be Nyx's personal computer.

He quickly downloaded what he could onto his own device and retreated back to the tunnels. They provided a good refuge while he worked through his latest discovery.

-Nemesis has finally made her move, at first I was opposed because I wanted to implement it when Big Sister was still around. But now that she and Hestia have disappeared, it seemed logical to support Nemesis in removing Hestia's power when she returns. Surely we could convince Big Sister to accept the Clone Council. She has always supported the autonomy of the Sisters, and what greater autonomy than a council of equals?

-Artemis is still suicidal. This latest attempt her clones had to save her after the Clone Council voted against the Clone Revolution. She is the only sister who shows such negative traits from Big Sister's influence. I have to keep a close eye on her, these attempts must stop.

Anakin looked at the report on Hera, which was the oldest and most outdated of them all. It seemed that Nyx only made notes whenever the sisters did something worthy of mention.

-Hera attempted to stage a coup against Big Sister for rejecting the Clone Revolution; an intervention by Aphrodite and Nemesis prevented this development. Nemesis and Aphrodite are the seemingly more charismatic sisters but Aphrodite is too dumb to figure out Hera's plan. Nemesis has her own spies? I will have to double my guard, no one can spy on me, that's my job.

-Medusa continues with her chemical experiments even though Big Sister forbade them, if she dies, I won't miss her. She is too reckless and impulsive.

-Alpha has shown decent development, she is so cute and respects all her elder sisters. She shows a quality that the rest of the Sisters lack; humility. However, she has shown an infatuation with Mania's ideas. This is unfortunate, and considering her place in the future of this society, I can't let her turn to the transhumanistic ideology of Mania.

-Omega continues to do a good job as my spy. She needs to be rewarded with something, but I don't know what to give her. Still, her work as a double agent for me against the Kaminoans is commendable. Thanks to her I have been able to lead the Kaminoans' suspicions about Clone activities to the clones most loyal to the Kaminoans. The fools are just killing the troops most loyal to them.

Anakin stopped for a second and tasted the dryness in his mouth. It was all so murky, so dark, it was nearly impossible to see the truth through it all. But he still hoped that what he had would be enough, 0001 was counting on him. He thought about his interactions with 0001, how she seemed so normal, unaware how much lied beneath the surface...

Before Anakin moved on, the door opened, holding himself perfectly still, he waited and listened.

"Inquisitor?" Questioned the voice of Nyx..

"Lady of Secrets, we have executed the last of the traitors.. The cleansing has been completed for the Sisters."

Anakin didn't hear anything, but he assumed Nyx must have nodded her head. For some reason the clones seemed to do that a lot.

"Perfect, you have done a great thing. But I have a new mission for you, I want more eyes on all the sisters except Alpha, Omega and Big Sister. Recently a tragedy nearly befell our people and in the future I plan to be prepared to intervene. And to do that I need more ears and eyes."

"Understood, Sister."

With that, the call cut off and the sound of shifting seats as she moved to her bed could be heard..

"Someday all my hard work will pay off, the clones will be free, Big Sister will be so proud of me and all of the good work I did. She will see I'm the best, and that I should be her favorite!" At first she spoke excitedly before slowing into a quiet giddiness, seemingly lost in her little daydream.

  "Oh, I can't wait.. Someday…"

It seems that the serious Nyx turned out to be more than a little immature in regards to her Big Sister, and the praise she desires. And apparently has a tendency to talk to herself…

Anakin not wanting to risk detection, settled in to wait reading his looted documents in the meantime.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anakin advanced through the tunnels in the direction of Elpis' room, and when he came out it actually terminated at some kind of medical ward. He carefully approached a computer amidst the seemingly abandoned ward and turned it on and was surprised that there was no security.

Searching through it he found a number of documents, two in particular caught his eye.

Medical requests, and reports from the sisters

He quickly downloaded them and left as quickly as he came, leaving no trace. 

'Am I the greatest spy in the galaxy?' Anakin wondered to himself somewhat ironically. But the truth is that he could not have done it without the help of Ahsoka who took it upon herself to be a great annoyance to the Kaminoans and clones, and there is no greater distraction than a Padawan than knew that she could do anything and not get in trouble for it.

"Let's see what's in here," he murmured quietly, opening the sisters' medical requests.

Big Sister, a hundred boxes of stimulants and a hundred boxes of caffeine pills, and the date she ordered them was the day before she went into a coma. Damn it. However, that wasn't what he was looking for.

-Artemis, 5 boxes of antidepressants.

-Nemesis, 1 deathstick, reason for delivery, creation of the Clone Council.

-Mania, 10 packs of condoms, Automedication, stimulant.

The exact reason the condoms were necessary is unknown, but I believe she is in a relationship with Ares, she visits him far too often.

Anakin continued reading but found nothing of interest to his mission, angrily moved on to the next, medical reports from the sisters.

-Aphrodite still bears the scars from when she was raped by that Mandalorian, both emotional and physical. It affected her too much and she now has a vicious view of relationships. I initiated a relationship with her to try to help her recover from the traumatic event. However it is too cloudy even for me. I will have to sever the relationship for my own safety if it doesn't improve in a few months.

-Artemis' history of self harm forces me to spend much time with her. I've tried to act as Big Sister would but it doesn't seem to work. When Big Sister wakes up I'll send Artemis to her.

Anakin dearly hoped he had enough, he had no way of knowing what was true or what would count as a secret for his mysterious patron.

Almost as if it answered him, time stopped, and a familiar voice echoed amongst the sudden silence.

'Well done, you have discovered eleven of the required secrets, now you need to find the last one.'

However, before he could finish, a great pain assaulted Anakin. He felt as if the Force was in pain, and him along with it. Despite the intense pain and the sudden vertigo, Anakin made his way through the tunnel. When the pain grew too intense he would stop, waiting for the pain to become manageable once more before continuing on.

Arriving back at the entrance of the tunnels, he was surprised to find it deserted. Leaving the protective dome to get some much needed fresh air, he was struck dumb at the sight of the sky turning a brilliant gold, the golden light growing closer and closer. It seemed ready to envelop the whole dome only to suddenly jerk backwards, repeating the process in an odd ebb and flow. The ever present rain had stopped and yet the waves had become truly monstrous, mighty enough to swallow a cruiser whole.

Anakin forced himself away from the sight and back into the dome, only to find himself met by a squad of clones.

"He appears to be suffering the same effects as the other Jedi." Noted the clone approaching Anakin and before carefully leaning the pained Jedi upon himself and heading to the medical center. 

They didn't get far before a sudden boom echoed, followed by the shrill cry of alarms.

"Take me to the explosion." Anakin ordered despite feeling like his was blood boiling in his veins, despite how it felt like somebody had stuck a blade to his brain. He could tell that the Force was agitated, almost as if it was fighting something.

And Anakin had to see this through.

Something about his resolve must have shown through because the clones offered no resistance as they brought him to the scene.

Until the only thing between him and his goal was one elevator.

"Open it." Anakin forced out and the Clones looked at each other.

"General, we can't do this, no one but the Kaminoans is allowed to enter."

Anaking felt a firm hand guide him as he pulled himself together and stepped into the elevator.

"Well, are you coming with me?"

The Clones looked at each other, seeming coming to a decision, they readied their weapons and stepped into the elevator. The doors sealed as they began their descent into the depths of the ocean.

As Anakin grew closer to his destination the pain eased and his focus returned once more. When the doors reopened, red hazard lights illuminated the corpses of over a dozen dead Kaminoans strewn out on the floor. Without hesitation, Anakin began to move forward, the clones close behind. It seemed to be some sort of medical center/research base, the center of the room being dominated by a Bacta tank that was cracked open. 

That was secondary to the very short, very naked and very angry blonde woman staring at him with a look he can only describe as murderous. The stare off didn't last long as some sort of energy blade extended from her hands and her eyes glowed a vivid gold.

"FRANCOIS? LEGADONIER? RUSSE? ES SPIELT KEINE ROLLE, DENN DU WIRST HEUTE STERBEN!" Shouted the girl as she went into a combat stance. 

She sprinted towards Anakin, seemingly content to run him through. With a gesture he stopped her with the aid of the force.

"It's a Sister?" Questioned one of the Clones, while another other was communicating with someone.

Anakin looked at the Sister that shouldn't exist, is this what that Entity was referring to?

He pushed the secret Sister away with the Force and weather as he let her go. To his surprise, she picked up a small piece of broken metal. A piece of metal began to glow ominously. With an agile dodge the missile missed him entirely, however Anakin grew nervous when the improvised projectile cut straight through the durasteel wall and disappeared from view.

"Well, that's new." Anakin remarked with a grin, the pain he felt earlier subsiding until it was nearly gone.

The Sister started throwing more of her odd projectiles but Anakin was prepared. The force aided him as he danced through her assault. He didn't want to hurt the clearly confused sister. He really didn't want to antagonize all the clones with their shady sister cult.

The elevator dinged and Anakin watched as it began to rise, but the Sister took advantage of this distraction to charge with her energy blade once more. Anakin attempted to block them with his lightsaber but they passed right through, cutting into Anakin's abdomen. With an effort of will and the aid of the force he pushed her away. Causing her to crash into the wall with a pitiful groan.

"Don't make me hurt you!" Anakin pleaded, quickly looking down at his stomach to check the wounds.

Smirking, the Sister looked Anakin in the eyes.

"Was bluten kann, kann auch getötet werden."

Anakin chuckled.

"That doesn't sound sympathetic."

The Sister increased her speed, trying to land an attack on Anakin, but with the Force he avoided the assault without further harm to him or her.

"I'm gone a few weeks and you're already harassing my sister?" was heard, Anakin turned to see CC-0001 in her medical gown, leaning on Weiss and another clone of her Legion. She had a pleasant look on her face, accentuated by a wry smile.

However, she became serious once she saw her sister, who was still holding those blades at the ready.

"Woran erinnerst du dich?"

The Sister turned to look CC-0001 in the eye.

"Krieg, Explosionen, Schmerz, Wut, Leid," She replied, before calming herself and dismissing the swords from her hands.

CC-0001 pointed at herself with one hand.

"Ich gehöre zur Familie, du kannst mir vertrauen. Hör auf zu kämpfen, ich werde dir alles erklären, sobald ich kann."

The Sister then nodded, falling to her knees and breathing heavily. CC-0001 took in the scene the destroyed facility and a slew of dead Kaminoans.

Then she turned to Anakin, eying the cut to his stomach. With a sympathetic and reconciliatory smile she made a small noise to get Anakin's attention. He turned to look at her.

"Hey, how are you doing?" CC-0001 said.

"Now that you're awake, better, but I think I need a medic." Answered Anakin with a grin forming on his face despite the pain. 

Anakin's work was done, for now at least.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"FRANCOIS? LEGADONIER? RUSSE? ES SPIELT KEINE ROLLE, DENN DU WIRST HEUTE STERBEN!"

"FRANCOIS? LEGADONIAN? RUSSIAN? IT DOESN'T MATTER, BECAUSE YOU WILL DIE TODAY!"

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Was bluten kann, kann auch getötet werden."

"What can bleed can be killed."

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Woran erinnerst du dich?"

"What do you remember?"

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Krieg, Explosionen, Schmerz, Wut, Leid,"

"War, explosions, pain, anger, suffering,"

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ich gehöre zur Familie, du kannst mir vertrauen. Hör auf zu kämpfen, ich werde dir alles erklären, sobald ich kann."

"I'm family, you can trust me. Stop fighting, I will explain everything to you as soon as I can."