Ghosts of Tomorrow

Setting: Jedi Temple – Cain's Quarters | Mandalore – Encrypted Line | Council Chambers

Date: 25 BBY – Three Years Before the Clone Wars

The Message to Bo-Katan

Cain sat alone in his quarters, his datapad glowing with encrypted blue light. On the screen hovered a file marked "K-35: Jango | Kamino | CLN-Origin".

He took a breath.

This is the part where the war either begins early… or never begins at all.

He began recording.

Encrypted Transmission – "For Mand'alor's Shadow"

Bo,

The clones are real. A secret army. Grown in silence on a planet called Kamino, hidden from Jedi knowledge and Republic records. The template?

A man named Jango Fett. Mandalorian by culture, bounty hunter by trade, killer by profession. He was hired by Count Dooku himself under a false identity—Tyranus.

I don't know the full reason yet. But I know what's coming if we let this go forward.

I am asking you—not as a Jedi, but as someone who sees the Mandalorian people as more than pawns—to take your most trusted warriors, even those still in Death Watch, and halt production. Disrupt it. Delay it. Expose it.

You won't be alone. I'm going there myself.

This isn't for Satine. Or for the Jedi.

This is for the galaxy.

Coordinates attached.

—Cain

He attached the last known location of Tipoca City—Kamino's primary clone facility—routed through an encrypted Temple archive he shouldn't have had access to.

He clicked send.

Cain stood in the middle of a private strategy chamber within the Jedi Temple. Master Fay and Plo Koon stood before him, quiet, composed, but tense.

Beside him stood Seris and Anakin, both informed, both ready. Behind them, their Masters—Adi Gallia and Obi-Wan Kenobi—were already hearing whispers from Cain's report.

"I know I'm asking a lot," Cain said, golden eyes focused, unwavering. "But you told me to trust the Force when I knew something was wrong. Well… something's wrong."

Fay folded her hands. "Kamino does not appear in the Archives."

"And that's exactly the problem," Cain replied. "Why would a planet connected to the Republic's most dangerous secret be erased?"

Plo Koon nodded slowly. "And you believe this is linked to Count Dooku?"

Cain activated a small holoprojector.

A brief image of Jango Fett, timestamped several years prior, fighting Jedi on Galidraan.

"Jango. Mandalorian armor. Hired as the clone template. There's no record of Jedi Council approval. No official Senate authorization. Yet the army's being bred for war."

Anakin muttered, "And nobody's questioning why."

Cain looked at Obi-Wan. "Master. Jango was last seen on Kamino. If we go now, we may catch the truth before it buries us."

Obi-Wan stared at the projection, then at Cain.

"You want us to preempt the Council's discovery. That's risky."

Cain didn't blink. "So is letting a war walk to our doorstep."

Hours later, the Council gave conditional approval. The mission would be logged as an "External Verification of Republic Genetic Programs"—disguised under humanitarian inspection and Jedi oversight.

Four Jedi would go:

Master Fay and Padawan CainMaster Adi Gallia and Padawan SerisMaster Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padawan Anakin SkywalkerPlo Koon, as senior oversight and stealth entry coordinator

They would not travel in Jedi transports, but under neutral clearance, using a diplomatic cruiser repurposed to avoid detection.

Before departure, Cain received a return transmission:

Encrypted Response – From Bo-Katan Kryze

"Jango Fett is a disgrace. Not because he's a killer—but because he's a pawn.

I've assembled three squads—loyal to me. Not Satine. Not Pre.

We'll be there. In the dark. Watching the skies over Kamino.

Delay the Jedi. Disrupt the Senate.

We'll make sure the clones never march early."

—Bo

Cain's Final Reflection

Back aboard the cruiser in meditation, Cain sat in his chamber, the rain of hyperspace casting faint blue shadows across his face.

I'm not the Chosen One.

But I remember what happens when Jango dies and the clones are activated. I remember Geonosis. Order 66. The cries across the stars.

I may be late.

But if I can halt the machine… just for a while… maybe I can turn it sideways long enough to snap the gears before they grind us down.

This is the first real move in the war. And I'm not fighting to win yet.

I'm fighting to survive long enough to change the ending.