Garfield surveyed the five robot dogs standing at attention before him. They required designations.
"You'll be numbered One through Five," he declared. "The numbers will be engraved on your frames. That will be your identity."
"Yes, Master." The robot dogs responded in unison.
Dogs handled.
He turned his attention to the robot birds. They, too, would need assignments.
He delegated them to Terradive and his team for integration and training.
Meanwhile, a steady stream of Star Wars weaponry arrived from the factory inventory.
Flying Wing. Wind Wing. Zero Wing. Sky Wing, and Terradive each received upgrades new weapons systems calibrated for space operations.
The shield technology of this galaxy proved particularly noteworthy, Transformers possessed similar defensive capabilities, and after minimal adaptation, the systems integrated seamlessly.
With preparations complete, Garfield requisitioned a transport shuttle from the factory pool, commandeered two additional droids as pilots, and embarked toward his destination.
Behind him, the robot dog continued its silent data acquisition, reaching across galactic networks.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Coruscant
Alarms blared through the Temple's intelligent control systems.
"WARNING."
"WARNING."
"BASE INTRUSION DETECTED."
"FIRST FIREWALL BREACHED."
"SECOND FIREWALL BREACHED."
The alerts cascaded upward through layers of defense.
"ALL FIREWALLS BREACHED. DATA EXFILTRATION IN PROGRESS."
In his quarters, Yoda sat in meditation.
Centuries of existence, countless apprentices trained, the ebb and flow of the Force witnessed and now this.
An invasion of the Temple itself. Not by lightsaber, but by something far more insidious.
The Jedi have fallen far, he reflected, when our very sanctuary can be penetrated thus.
He reached out through the Force to the Temple's management system. "What information was taken?"
"Galactic Republic historical archives." The system responded.
"Complete roster of Jedi elders. Mission files: Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, current assignment and historical records."
Hmm.
The Trade Federation, perhaps? They had motive, certainly. But this level of sophistication...
A presence approached.
Yoda sensed him before he arrived.
Mace Windu entered, his brow furrowed with concern.
The Korun Master had risen from meditation with urgent news. "Master Yoda.'
"The Force alerts me, a new presence has entered our galaxy. Something... unfamiliar."
Yoda nodded slowly. "Sensed it, I have. Good or ill, unknown it remains."
"But our focus must stay on the Trade Federation. Behind their actions, a greater shadow moves, I fear."
"Perhaps we should take the initiative. Seek out this presence before it acts." Windu scratched his bald pate thoughtfully.
Yoda shook his head. "Scattered across a thousand worlds, our knights are. The tide of the Force recedes, and with it, our strength diminishes."
"One day, fade entirely we might."
Windu found the ancient Master's words unexpectedly bleak.
As a human in his prime, as a Jedi of considerable power and conviction, he rejected such fatalism.
"Master Yoda, despair serves no purpose. However dark the path, the light of the Force guides us."
"Dawn will come."
Yoda's ancient eyes crinkled with something approaching warmth. Youth. Such precious fire.
"Send warning to Qui-Gon, you will. Caution him. And for the shadows that gather..." Yoda paused, weighing his next words carefully.
"Preparations, we must make. For what may come, should we fall."
Windu understood. Plans to ensure that if the Jedi Order collapsed, if darkness consumed them, something would remain.
Some seed of hope.
He nodded gravely. "I'll begin immediately."
Later that same day, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas departed Coruscant aboard his personal starship, bound for the remote waters of Kamino.
After his departure, Yoda personally accessed the Temple archives and initiated a deletion protocol.
Every reference to Kamino.