Clone Wars: Chronicles of the 607th

Prologue: Kamino

Rain splattered on the ground of Landing Platform 7 of Tipoca City, and as usual, the Kaminoan sky was black from the storm clouds. His boots squeaking on the wet floor, Jango Fett marched inside, desiring to be out of the weather for good. Once inside, he slipped his helmet off, and his boots sounded even louder. In the back of his mind, he knew he was leaving wet footprints behind, and he didn't care a bit.

Taun We was awaiting him at the end of the hallway, her tall form almost blending in with the blinding-white walls of the cloning facility. "Greetings, Master Fett," she said, her melodious voice toned to be even more subservient than usual.

She must have known that he was not in a good mood.

"What's the issue?" he demanded coldly, not bothering with more preamble.

Taun We ducked her head as if to apologize. "We wish for you to examine one of our assets," she replied. "He is showing significant signs of weakness, and we wish to make sure that there is not a defection causing him to be lesser. As you know, we strive only for perfection in our clones—"

"I'm well-aware of your standards, Taun We," Jango cut her off. "But you wouldn't call me in just for a regular piece of bantha fodder. What's so special about this clone?"

Taun We seemed uneasy. "Come with me and I will show you."

At that moment, Jango wished he could have said many things—that he had bounties to catch, a son to take care of, that the least of his worries was a failing clone. Instead, he held his tongue and followed Taun We down the corridor, a scowl floating over his face.

The Kaminoan led him to none other than the dojo where the so-called "elite" clones trained. Curious. As they walked out onto the balcony over the dojo, Jango leaned forward to watch the sparring clones below. Most of these he had hand-picked himself to be Advanced Recon Commandos or high-ranking field officers. And as expected, all of them were performing well.

"What seems to be the issue?" Jango asked again. He smirked as the clone CC-2224 gave his opponent a round-house kick. "They all seem fine to me."

"At first glance, yes," Taun We agreed. "Until you notice CT-7938."

Jango frowned as he scanned the room for the clone. "Which one is that?"

"The one on the floor."

Jango raised an eyebrow as he finally saw who Taun We was talking about. 7938 was indeed sprawled on his back, unmoving. Silently, Jango watched as the clone finally regained his senses and slowly got back to his feet.

"CT-7938 is the weakest of the group, and concerningly so," Taun We declared. "As you will see as we watch, he is continuously failing. He has never once defeated an opponent. Yet he is one of the few you yourself chose to be apart of this advanced training."

"Indeed?" Jango muttered, leaning on the railing. "Well, if I picked him, we shouldn't have any issue here, should we?"

"That is where my concern comes in," Taun We replied. "One picked by you should not be failing in such a manner."

Jango snorted to himself. "We'll see."

Back on his feet, CT-7938 brought his hands in a defensive position as his opponent began to circle him. Deftly, the opponent threw a right jab at the ribs, but 7938 blocked it with ease. A whirlwind of punches and kicks followed, and 7938 managed to dodge or block most all of them. However, whenever he blocked a jab to the jaw, he caught a knee to the stomach; two seconds later and he was back on the floor.

"Interesting," Jango mused, watching intently.

"What is your conclusion?" Taun We asked. "Perhaps he is defective in his abilities?"

"Wait," Jango said brusquely.

With a visible groan, 7938 returned to his feet and brought his hands back up. Jango leaned forward even more as the two clones began to spar again. The fight was longer this time before 7938 hit the ground again, but he rolled back to his feet. His opponent kept throwing the punches, and he kept blocking as many as he could, and dodging the others. Abruptly, his opponent knocked him backwards with a kick, and he tumbled to the ground; yet once again, he returned to his feet immediately and waited for an attack. Even from the balcony, the sweat on his forehead was visible.

"As you can see, he is nowhere near the level of his comrades," Taun We noted.

"Wait!" Jango ordered. "Just wait."

Hands in defense position, 7938 remained still as his opponent circled him again.

"Wait," Jango murmured, staring hard.

The opposing clone lunged from behind—as expected. 7938 stepped to the side just in time, and his opponent fell forward, off-balanced. Grabbing him by the collar, 7938 rammed his knee into the clone's stomach and followed it up with a solid hit to the jaw. The clone reeled over and tumbled to the ground.

Jango laughed and pushed himself away from the railing. "Taun We, there is no defect here," he said. 

"But this victory is but one compared to his multiple losses," the Kaminoan protested. "Surely he is substandard."

"Different, but not substandard," Jango replied. He smiled tightly. "His weapon is his defense—did you notice? Even though he appeared to be weakened, he was playing the long game; waiting for his enemy to tire before conquering them. It's a slow strategy; a game of patience. But it pays off, as you can see. He's not lesser, Taun We. He's cautious—and that can be a good thing."

"Yet it such caution may cost him a victory," Taun We countered. "It may cost him a war."

"Perhaps," Jango replied. "But I'll be willing to bet that he'll be around longer than most of these 'elites' down there. And I'd wager he'll be more victorious than you'd think."

"As long as you do not believe him to be flawed, his fate is of little consequence," Taun We replied. "We merely do not wish our armies to be hampered by defective clones."

"Yes, let's do try to keep that reputation up," Jango replied dryly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to."

Sensing that this was his dismissal of her, Taun We bowed her head. "Of course, Master Fett. Thank you for your time."

Jango turned away and slipped his helmet on. "Next time don't bother me unless it's something actually important."

Striding down the hall, he smiled to himself as he reviewed 7938's fighting style in his head. Yes, the clone was cautious—and yes, perhaps he was too cautious. But a cautious warrior was a wise one, and one that would win a war.

Still, what did it matter? The clones were all expendable resources anyway. Perhaps 7938 would live longer and therefore fight longer. It made little difference to Jango Fett either way. He was getting paid, and that's what truly mattered.